Chapter 135: The Battle of Listen-Wind City (Part V)

"How is it?"

"The person is indeed outside the city and is unharmed... but they truly cannot enter the city anymore."

Shortly after Zhao Nan left, the gathered crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a tight circle. Inside the circle, everyone wore an ugly expression.

"What... should we do?"

"Are we just going to... pretend nothing happened?"

"Banishing someone from the city, isn't that driving them to their deaths?" someone could not help but say bitterly.

"Right! This kind of behavior is simply too heartless! They completely disregard human life!"

"Let's go! We'll unite all the guilds and expose this incident! By arbitrarily banishing people like this, he is simply not fit to be the Lord of the City! I refuse to believe he dares to banish everyone!"

"Let's go, mobilize everyone!"

Watching the crowd gradually disperse into the various streets of Listening Wind City, the area soon became empty.

...

...

There were no obstructions along the way, and by the time Zhao Nan returned to the Lord's Fortress, night had completely fallen. Just as he stepped through the entrance, the steward Blade Edge walked up to him with a slightly grim expression.

"My Lord, those two personal guards you arranged... have suddenly died!"

Zhao Nan was stunned, and subconsciously asked, "When did this happen?"

"The morning of the first day after you left."

Zhao Nan waved his hand with a gloomy expression and said, "I understand... This is Miss Ye Anya, arrange for her to wash up and freshen up."

"I'll accompany her. Blade Edge, stay here," Fenina said softly.

Zhao Nan nodded and said, "That's fine."

Watching the two women walk away, Zhao Nan asked, "After I left, did anyone come looking for me?"

"Aside from a few people who wanted to join the City Guard, none of your friends came, My Lord," Blade Edge lowered his head and said.

Zhao Nan walked with his head down. For that couple to meet such an accidental death meant the lead had been cut off. However, nestled safely within the safe zone, unless someone took action, it was utterly impossible for Zhang Zhao and his companion to die for no reason. Yet if someone had taken action, they should currently be locked up in Listening Wind City's prison.

Since Blade Edge did not mention it, it only meant there was no direct perpetrator.

"Were they suicides?"

"That remains unknown," Blade Edge frowned and said. "When the woman's corpse melted, a relatively complete embryo of a small life could indeed be seen. I think the possibility of suicide is very low."

Zhao Nan frowned and said, "Go and see if Fenina needs any help with anything. I want to be alone for a while."

"Understood."

After Blade Edge left, Zhao Nan sat quietly alone in the courtyard. With the lead broken, he was now completely at a loss.

"It seems there are still many people who are willing to spend contribution points."

Such a bizarre and unnatural method of death could probably only be achieved by those strange items inside the temple... That was the only conclusion Zhao Nan could reach.

His brows remained tightly knitted afterward. Not knowing how much time had passed, a soft set of footsteps startled him back to awareness.

...

Zhao Nan forced a smile and asked, "Why did you come over?"

"Anya seemed tired, so I let her sleep first." Fenina sat down beside Zhao Nan and hesitated before asking, "Still thinking about what happened today?"

Zhao Nan only recounted the cause and effect of the matter, naturally omitting some of the events that had taken place within the Out-of-Dust Palace.

Fenina could not help but sigh, "More trouble is likely to happen next."

Zhao Nan sighed, "I just had people directly banished from the city, and it will probably spread very soon. In the eyes of these people, my reputation naturally won't be good. Besides, the people who left the city are still alive, so they can certainly serve as witnesses. The person pulling strings behind the scenes will probably use this incident to stir up a huge commotion."

Fenina worriedly said, "This is extremely disadvantageous for you. Previously, you constantly concealed the Lord's privilege precisely to avoid unnecessary panic. But this time, all your previous efforts have gone to waste."

Zhao Nan gave a bitter smile and said, "I didn't want to make the situation so rigid either. I never wanted to be this City Lord in the first place, but if someone else had taken over, they would probably just enforce a harsh system of level suppression. Who knows how many years it would take for us to finally leave Listening Wind City. Besides, holding the Lord's various privileges in one's own hands is always better than having them in someone else's."

Fenina reached out, placing her hand over the back of Zhao Nan's hand, conveying a trace of warmth.

Zhao Nan shook his head, pulling himself together as he said, "This time, I was thoroughly schemed against, and I still don't know who is behind it. But the opponent probably doesn't know that I still kept this card up my sleeve."

Zhao Nan stood up, his expression dark as he said, "Originally, I planned to slowly win over the people's hearts and clear the dungeons to open up the map. But now that the rhythm has been disrupted by someone, I might as well abandon this gentle approach."

Fenina hugged him from behind and asked, "Have you thought of a way?"

Zhao Nan turned around and embraced her as well, saying, "There were two methods from the very beginning. It's just that people are always a bit hypocritical; even if they don't want to be this City Lord, once they become one, they still want to hear people praise how wonderful they are. That's why I chose the milder approach. Now that someone has come out to stir up trouble, it's actually even better... Instead, it's helping me."

Suddenly, the area outside the Lord's Fortress became noisy and clamorous.

Blade Edge hurried over, his face no longer calm and composed.

"My Lord, a large crowd of Chosen Ones has gathered outside the fortress, demanding to see you."

Zhao Nan said calmly, "Then let them wait outside. Tell them I am resting now, and I will come out only after I wake up."

"Understood, My Lord."

Blade Edge withdrew, and Fenina asked in puzzlement, "Why make them continue waiting? Won't that just gather even more people?"

Zhao Nan suddenly leaned close to Blade Edge's ear and whispered for a long time, causing Blade Edge to frown repeatedly as he listened. When it was over, Blade Edge wore a peculiar expression as he asked, "My Lord, won't doing this..."

Zhao Nan said nonchalantly, "Since I'm going to play the villain, I might as well look the part. Without being a bit arrogant and despotic, how can I make people remember to hate me? Moreover, the more people who gather, the better. It would be best if all ten thousand of them came over to save trouble in the future."

Although Fenina could not hear what Zhao Nan and Blade Edge had discussed, she did not pry, only smiling and saying, "Just don't overdo it."

"This isn't a game... I'm serious this time," Zhao Nan said word by word. "Later on, I'll need your help with something too..."

"Hmm?"

...

...

The night was always a bit chilly, but the temperature outside the Lord's Fortress was slightly higher due to the crowd. Voices of discussion rose one after another, seeming to have reached the limit of endurance.

The absolute majority of players were currently blocking the entrance. Of course, layer upon layer deep, most of them had no idea what had actually happened.

When the moon was directly overhead, Zhao Nan finally strolled out step by step.

At the same time, he spotted many familiar faces. The most familiar ones were naturally Lin Yun and Fu Yun.

"Everyone, quiet down!!"

Seeing Zhao Nan walk out, the bearded man shouted repeatedly, then frowned and walked over, followed by Lin Yun. Behind them were various guild leaders of all sizes.

"Zhao Nan, they said you can arbitrarily banish people from the city, and that you've already banished several. Is that true?"

Fu Yun had always favored this straightforward style of communication. His roaring voice allowed many to hear him clearly, and upon hearing it, the crowd quieted down, adopting an attitude of listening intently.

Zhao Nan replied, "Yes."

Lin Yun said in a deep voice, "Zhao Nan, reason?"

Zhao Nan shrugged and said, "I saved Listening Wind City, yet you all come to interrogate me without even asking about right and wrong?"

Fu Yun could not help but angrily retort, "One thing is one thing! Does helping you mean I can treat you however I want? No matter what, banishing people from the city is your fault!"

...

Zhao Nan looked coldly at Fu Yun. "Fu Yun, do you also think I'm that kind of person?"

Fu Yun shook his head. "I verified it personally! They are still outside the city and can't get in. What do you expect them to do from now on?"

Lin Yun then tried to persuade him nicely, "Everyone, I think there might be some misunderstanding in the middle of all this. Or perhaps there's something we don't know? Zhao Nan, why don't you explain."

"There's no misunderstanding! He kills people to seize their treasures, acting one way to your face and another behind your back! What's the point of talking with a two-faced person like him?"

"Right! Justice lives in people's hearts! You made contributions to Listening Wind City, but does that give you the right to casually trample on human lives?"

"That's right! That's right! Relying on your status as City Lord, you even bullied my woman!"

"My friend was killed by you! I saw it with my own eyes, but I never dared to speak up out of anger!"

"Since everyone is here, I can't hold it in either! The other day I happened to get a pretty good item, and when you saw it, you said you'd buy it from me, only to turn around and vanish without a trace. When I came to the Lord's Fortress to find you, I was blocked at the door!"

The curses gradually increased, popping up here and there. The crowd listened as if lost in the fog, finding it more and more fantastical the more they heard.

"Stop talking so much! This person is abhorrent to both gods and men. Even if it costs us our lives, we have to slaughter him!"

"Kill him!"

Dozens of cries to kill rang out.

"What on earth... is going on?" Fu Yun frowned deeply as he watched the seething public outrage, then turned to look at Zhao Nan. "How could you possibly have done all these things in just a few days?"

Zhao Nan sneered, "Why couldn't I? Since you can all say such things, naturally I can do them, right?"

However, right at that moment, a masked dark shadow suddenly darted out from the crowd. In the dead of night, it crossed the distance past everyone at a terrifying speed. They saw a short dagger in the figure's hand gleaming with light, piercing straight into Zhao Nan's heart with blinding, unstoppable momentum.

"Ah!"

The crowd was shocked.

At that moment, a black hole appeared in the void, and a pair of giant iron hands suddenly reached out. Grabbing the masked person, they prepared to pull him into the black hole.

The masked figure let out a strange shriek, "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for offending someone you shouldn't have! There is no capital punishment in Listening Wind City's prison, hahahahaha!!"

A dagger was plunged directly into the left side of Zhao Nan's chest as he lay motionless on the ground... (To be continued.)