Chen Yu couldn't help but sigh as he left the open space.
The slaves' subservience was far more severe than he had imagined. Their numbness sent ripples through Chen Yu's heart. No wonder these slaves dared not resist even when beaten and humiliated by the overseers.
Perhaps they had tried to resist once.
But ultimately, they had failed.
Countless instances of despair had brought them to this point.
"City Lord~"
Suni called out softly.
Hearing the call, Chen Yu turned his head, a wry smile on his face.
"I didn't scare you, did I?"
"N-not really." Suni hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "I know you are a kind person, City Lord. You must have had unspeakable reasons for saying those things."
"Ha~"
Chen Yu just chuckled, saying no more.
Serious cases.
They required strong medicine.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the slaves in this city soulless walking corpses. To make them instantly let down their guard and believe that a bright life belonged to them was difficult.
It was better to let them remain in their accustomed environment and state, subtly changing their inner thoughts, awakening them little by little, and letting them believe in the authenticity of it all.
"Suni~"
Chen Yu looked at Suni beside him. Hearing her name, she raised her eyebrows, her eyes expectant.
"I'll have to trouble you more with the slaves in our city. Of course, you don't need to praise me excessively. Just guide them in their work."
Too much praise would have the opposite effect on these slaves.
Their wariness was quite high.
Or rather, they were afraid of opening their hearts again after being hurt. They feared facing despair again if they dared to trust. At that point, their emotions might collapse.
Chen Yu could understand this.
In fact, he knew very well that no one looked forward to the future more than these slaves. If they were allowed to see hope for themselves, even without others telling them, they would believe and be even more grateful and joyful in their hearts.
"I understand."
Suni whispered softly.
"What should I have them do? Before, they were all..."
"Tomorrow, my management team will enter the city, and she will arrange the work," Chen Yu explained softly. "You will lead the slaves to work. This way, they might adapt better."
"Okay~"
"You should go back and rest. You don't need to follow me."
"City Lord, aren't you going to visit the City Lord's mansion?" Suni asked with curiosity. Chen Yu chuckled at this. "I'll have plenty of time to visit the City Lord's mansion later. I also need to check on my camp. I went all out for this siege, so I need to go back and see how things are."
Upon hearing this, Suni pursed her lips and disappeared into the night.
After her figure had completely vanished from Chen Yu's sight, he turned to Er Gou, who was standing guard beside him.
"Er Gou, you will stay to guard the city," Chen Yu said with a serious gaze. "Tonight might not bring any surprise attacks, but we cannot relax our vigilance."
"City Lord, I should go back with you."
"No!"
Chen Yu refused outright.
The militia needed Er Gou to lead them. If he left with Chen Yu, it was unknown what chaos might ensue.
"Then you should take some soldiers back with you." Er Gou looked worried. Chen Yu pondered for a moment and nodded slightly. "That's acceptable. Have Kuka take 100 militiamen back to the city the way we came. Black Bean and I will return directly by scroll. In short, this city is entrusted to you, don't let anything go wrong."
"Please rest assured, City Lord!"
Er Gou thumped his chest vigorously, standing tall.
Chen Yu smiled slightly.
He took out a scroll from his bracelet and tore it apart.
A radiant light surged.
When Chen Yu came to his senses again, he was already standing on the platform at the designated coordinates of the camp.
Looking around, everything in the camp was as usual.
This relieved Chen Yu.
To ensure the siege went smoothly, Chen Yu had sent out all the troops from the camp, leaving only about a dozen Blood Pill warriors behind.
There were also the kobolds from the smelting area who possessed some combat strength.
Others—
Could be considered to have zero combat effectiveness.
If anyone had attacked his camp at this time, the situation would have been dire.
"Camp Master!"
A shout suddenly came from afar.
Immediately, the staff in the camp cheered loudly.
"Camp Master is back!!!"
Soon, Kailin, Nuoya, Su Bei, and the other girls ran over. Seeing Chen Yu standing safely on the platform, joy filled their eyes.
"Welcome back, Camp Master~"
"Hi~" Chen Yu waved with a smile and walked down from the platform. Kailin asked curiously, "Camp Master, was the city taken?"
The other girls also looked expectant. Chen Yu smiled and spread his hands.
"Did I make a move and fail?"
"It's really taken!" Kailin exclaimed. Su Bei also pursed her lips, her face filled with surprise. "Brother Camp Master, does that mean I can see my sister?"
"Yes, you can~"
Chen Yu reached out and flicked Su Bei's little nose.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll take you into the city to see your sister. Your sister misses you very much. When I returned to the city just now, I could feel that she missed you dearly."
"Yay, I get to see my sister."
Su Bei waved her little hands excitedly. Chen Yu smiled and rubbed her little head, looking around the camp.
"Did anything go wrong in the camp while I was away?"
"Nothing went wrong, but..." Kailin hesitated to speak. Nuoya also licked her lips with her tender tongue. Seeing this, Chen Yu's heart tightened. "What, did the grain tickets run off?"
After leaving the camp, Chen Yu had actually considered this possibility.
But—
Once the arrow was shot, there was no turning back.
If he had divided his forces at that time, Chen Yu certainly wouldn't have considered it a good omen, so he hadn't done so. Moreover, even if the grain tickets had run off, he could have accepted it.
Trading grain tickets for a city.
It was worth it!
As long as they hadn't damaged the camp, Chen Yu felt it wasn't a loss. At most, their escape would have changed his huge profit into a small profit.
"They didn't run, though." Kailin pursed her lips slightly. "It's just..."
After much stammering,
Kailin couldn't say a word, which left Chen Yu completely confused.
"What's going on?"
"We actually made a big profit." Nuoya also spoke with her tongue out, making Chen Yu even more bewildered as he stretched his neck. "Ah, a profit? Did they really come to redeem them?"
"Not exactly~"
Kailin shook her head, then said in a low voice.
"You should go and see for yourself. You'll know when you get there."
Chen Yu, completely clueless and suspicious, followed Kailin and Nuoya to the area where the grain tickets were kept. When he saw the scene before him, his eyes widened in surprise.
"What the hell!"
"What's going on here?"