It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Alayya lowered her head in thought.

Alas, this was probably too hard for her little brain to comprehend.

I patted her shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, in fact, Yuxi City is the best choice for me right now. It's a pity that my father didn't think of this."

Alayya asked doubtfully:

"why?"

I shook my head, changed my posture, and lay down in the carriage holding my precious cash box, and said lazily:

"If I were to switch places with him, I would definitely grant him a relatively wealthy city in the center of Yunyang Territory. On the one hand, I would wear down his fighting spirit with a wealthy life, and on the other hand, I would deploy numerous spies in the city and set up layers of obstacles outside the city. I would surround him with countless cities around him, blocking all his possibilities and making him stay in such a cage for the rest of his life. This is what counts as revenge, and this is the safest way."

Alayya shuddered.

I realized that I might have gone too far, so I smiled and said:

"Anyway, Yuxi City is not bad. Think about it in a positive way. With four different forces in the east, south, west and north, we might encounter some opportunities. If there are no opportunities, at worst we can just run away when the demons come. It is common for human cities to be captured by demons. My father and the king won't be able to say anything then. They will just make up a story and say that I am too shameful and suggest that I get out of Yunyang immediately. They have done this a lot over the years."

I yawned:

"But there is one thing I don't understand now."

Alayya asked:

"what?"

I looked out of the carriage and said as I thought:

"The reaction of the people. Logically speaking, if a person lives in fear of bandits every day, his enthusiasm for work will be greatly reduced. But Yuxi City should not be able to give these people some "guarantees". Is there anyone in Yuxi City who can fight against the demons? Impossible... One person can fight against the demons, even if they are only low-level demons, but it is not something that those with extraordinary strength cannot do. Such a person should not have any reason to risk his life to protect Yuxi City... After all, my father doesn't seem like a wise leader who can win others' desperate service."

"Is this important?"

Alayya asked.

I nodded:

"Yes. Because from the description, Yuxi City is already crumbling. Before I think of a way to make it prosperous, the most important thing is how to keep this city. If there is a guardian in the city and I can recruit him to my side, the work afterwards will be much easier."

After all, I don't want to go to the battlefield myself. It's very troublesome.

The carriage was very comfortable and I just felt a little drowsy.

In a daze, I heard the sound of water outside.

When I opened the curtains and took a closer look, I found that the carriage was passing by a lake. Several women in black robes were surrounding the lake, and a woman with long white hair was soaking in the clear water without any clothes. Because the distance was too far, I couldn't see what she looked like.

It’s getting late.

Why don't you go out to take a bath late at night? ?

Are you so willful?

I felt like I couldn't look any further. There was a huge yellow exclamation mark in the sky above that piece of land. I felt like if I looked over there a few more times, I would be forced to take a super troublesome side quest. My primary goal at the moment was to go to Yuxi City to check out the situation. I'd better avoid these troublesome things if I could.

Thinking of this, I yawned again and hugged Alayya beside me.

Damn, I picked up the wrong one.

While she was still sleeping and didn't notice, I quickly turned over, hugged the cash box beside me and closed my eyes.

The heavy gold coins made a rustling sound, which made me happy just by listening to it.

Listen, this is a reassuring sound.

I always feel like I can have a sweet dream~

12. This place is too dilapidated

When I first arrived at Yuxi City, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

How can there be such a dilapidated city in the world? Is it really not a garbage dump or a dog kennel or something? ?

What the hell is this.

The city wall was once considered tall, and one could glimpse its past glory from it. But now it was full of scars and cracks, as if it would fall down with a little force. Outside the city were fields full of weeds, wild birds chirping, and dirty dogs walking cautiously on both sides of the road with their tails between their legs. When they saw me, they actually looked at me with sympathy.

Do I look like a lost dog?

What surprised me most were the people of Yuxi City.

Their clothes were ragged and full of patches, and they looked basically the same as wild people. Many of them were holding wild fruits or tree bark in their hands. In short, they were as miserable as they could be. As the saying goes, raise boys in poverty and girls in wealth. I saw that those children, both boys and girls, were almost the same. Even those little girls who looked a bit pretty looked at me pitifully. I guess I could kidnap a bunch of them with two steamed buns.

But the strange thing is that their eyes all look bright and even a little excited.

It gives me a feeling like Chinese New Year. Has anything good happened in Yuxi City recently?

After entering the city, a large number of nobles in the city soon came to welcome me.

What makes me angry and funny is that they all wear patched clothes, hold their hands, and look poor. However, everyone is fat and pot-bellied. I don’t understand. Think about it with your piggy heads. Can people who can’t afford clothes eat so much?

Do you really think my IQ is on the same level as my elder brother? ?

Although I was very angry, I did not expose the matter. They bowed to me and I bowed to them.

After some polite talk, the fat man in the lead coughed a few times and said:

"Ah, Master Lide is really young... Come, we have prepared wine and food, please move over... Yuxi City is poor, and there is nothing good. We have worked hard to come up with a decent banquet, but I don't know if it will please you..."

What does this mean? ?

It sounds like I'm a bad guy who collects taxes and extorts huge sums of money.

Are you so skilled in all these things?

I smiled and replied:

"Oh? Then I will obey your command. Lead the way."

When I arrived at the restaurant, I sat down on a worn stool and looked at the food and drinks in front of me.

To be honest, the quality is not good, but it is definitely not bad. It's just that my intuition tells me that these guys in front of me are just perfunctory. This meal definitely didn't cost much - at least in their eyes, it definitely doesn't count. Before I could say anything, the fat guy in the lead said:

"Master Lide, you are the son of Lord Yunyang and have seen the world. We are just guys from small villages and don't have much experience. But the situation in Yuxi City is special. You haven't seen it. The demons are like wolves and tigers. They come to us every few days to get some money. We, the old guys who support this city, are in a state of panic every day and night..."

I nodded.

Since I don't know why this city survived, I don't mind these guys taking the credit for it.

The fat man continued:

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself to you yet. My name is Pierce. Before you came, I was the boss here. Now that you are here, you are the boss. But Yuxi City is not a good place. The demons are fierce. Our army has as much water as we want, but the food and grass are pitifully scarce. I have to say that if you take over these things, you will not be able to sort them out for a while, but the demons will not care. They will come as usual... If this continues, Yuxi City will be in danger."

Pierce, really? You are really naughty.

I didn't comment on his words and simply asked:

"What do you want to say?"

Pierce coughed a few times, put his hands in his pockets, took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeves, and stuffed them into my hands.

"We all make a living in Yuxi City. We also want to maintain a 'peaceful coexistence' with you, right? This... In addition, we have arranged a few maids... The life you lived before will not change after you come here. We promise you that you will even live more comfortably than before."

I picked up a piece of chicken breast with chopsticks and put it into my mouth.

It tastes pretty good.

After swallowing it, I looked into Pierce's eyes and asked with a smile:

"I have a question too."

Pierce lowered his head, looking as if he was listening attentively.

I said slowly:

"How did they manage to defend Yuxi City?"

13. Let’s keep the pigs in the pigsty for now

When it comes to the military, it’s actually quite difficult to give a definition.

Sword skills and magic greatly enhanced the combat capabilities of individual soldiers, making the measurement of the army's strength less absolute. For example, it was rumored that the great swordsman Yaluo, who was beside the king, had reached the tenth level of swordsmanship, and could kill an army of about 10,000 people with just one sword.

That's called real bullshit.

But sword skills vary from person to person, and have no reference value at all. Swordsmen like Alaya are pretty good in my opinion, but if they face an army, they can only kill a thousand people at most with all their strength. This is when the army does not receive the protection of the formation.

The most advantageous weapon against the army is actually magic.

Also on the tenth floor, it is said that the great magician Galileo defended the king alone for three months when faced with the rebellion of eighteen lords. Compared with sword skills that are good at fighting and assassination, magic has a unique advantage in range attacks.

But there are too few magicians.

Since the founding of Yongtian Kingdom, there have been four swordsmen at the tenth level of swordsmanship, but only one magician at the tenth level of magic.

Even for the lord, recruiting an outstanding magician to protect the capital is actually a dream. What is the most precious thing in Yongtian Kingdom? Of course, it is talent. So what kind of talent is the most precious? It is magician talent.

After all, in theory, if there is an army of thousands of magicians, it seems that it can crush any army. Not to mention that magicians are not good at close combat, wouldn't they let swordsmen, knights, and shieldmen take the damage in the front? In the iron triangle of warrior, magician, and priest, the mage is the main C position.

Delving into complex magic is more difficult than practicing swordsmanship day and night.

After much thought, I realized that it would be impossible for the defeated troops in Yuxi City to resist the bloodbath of the demons, unless there was a magician who could really protect them.

But if there is a rare magician guarding this place, I think it is even more impossible.

There are not many magicians in the whole Yunyang Territory who are worth looking at. Last time, a bald wandering magician passed by Lingyun City. My father took away countless good things to keep him, but in the end, he was still slapped in the face and left.

I couldn't figure it out. Because I couldn't figure it out, I wanted to get some answers from Pierce and the others.

But as I expected, after I asked this question, Pierce started to talk about irrelevant things and refused to reveal some core information. I asked him indirectly, but I felt that I couldn't get anything out of him, so I left with Alaiya after dinner.

Walking on the dilapidated streets, Alayya whispered:

"Master, it seems like those guys have bad intentions."

I smiled:

"Yes, in order to keep the right to dispatch food and troops, they did not hesitate to use the demons to threaten me. They were unwilling to reveal the cards they had in their hands... They are all old foxes."

Alayya hesitated and placed her hand on the sword at her waist.

I stole my father's sword and gave it to her.

"Master, do you want to..."

I hit her forehead back.

Alayya was like this. She could have avoided it by just turning her head slightly, but I hit her anyway. She followed me stupidly, rubbing her forehead.

"No need. Not to mention that it's not good to kill people for no reason right after arriving, since they are willing to take care of these things, isn't it good? I'll just be a hands-off boss and everything will be fine. After all, think about it, if we kill them, who will defend the city for us? You and I alone can't defend this Yuxi City."

"I'm sorry, Master. It's Alayya's fault..."

I tapped her forehead again with my backhand.

Really, don't put all the blame on yourself.

Wouldn't it be unbearable for me to be so useless?

It's like a student who got 98 points in the exam sighing in front of a student who got 59 points, "Oh, I'm such a loser, I'm such a rubbish, it would be so much better if I worked harder, what do you think those who didn't do well in the exam will think? ? Can't you give a little face to a parasite like me?"

Of course I can’t tell this to Alayya, after all, I still have to maintain some dignity.

I was walking aimlessly on the street with Alayya when we were suddenly stopped by a little girl who was carrying wild fruits in her clothes pocket.

Her ragged clothes were covered with grass and twigs, so she looked at Alayya's light silver armor with envy. She asked in a low voice:

"Would you like some wild fruit? I picked them today. They're just not very sweet..."

I burst out laughing.

How can you sell things like this? This is too honest.

I picked up two fruits, threw one to Alayya and took one for myself.

I touched the little guy's head and asked:

"How to sell it?"

"Hmm... I don't know either..."

The little girl scratched her head and replied embarrassedly: