Chapter 31 Public Address

With the almost deified status that Hu Yuanbo possessed as the City Lord, there was hardly anyone in Ivory Rock City who did not know who his son Hu Shenwei was.

Lu Tianzi was no exception, and their interactions did not just stop at that.

Lu Tianzi had actually conversed with him before when Hu Shenwei visited the Ivory Rock Martial Academy. Thus Lu Tianzi was able to immediately recognise the son of the City Lord.

But he naturally was not the only one who did.

"Hu Shenwei?"

"It is the son of City Lord Hu!"

"The son of City Lord Hu is here!"

The workers started to exclaim among themselves in surprise.

Hu Shenwei took in all these with a stoic face, but unhappiness was already starting to slowly well up within him.

As an Essence Condensation realm martial artist, Hu Shenwei was by no means a nobody.

But rather than his own identity, Hu Shenwei's relationship to the City Lord still overshadowed every single one of his personal accomplishments.

No matter where he went, people would refer to him as the son of City Lord Hu.

When he was still young, hearing that had filled him with pride.

But as he grew older, Hu Shenwei started to long for his own identity. And thus he cultivated with all his effort, fighting for every opportunity to display his capabilities.

However, no matter what he did, people still thought that it was as expected of the City Lord's son that he managed to accomplish so much.

This was truly a point of frustration for the talented Hu Shenwei, but there was simply nothing he could do to change the public opinion about him.

All he could do was to continue striving hard, hoping to one day break free of being the backdrop for the bright halo that was his father.

Sadly, it did not seem like such a day did not would arrive in the near future.

At this moment, Hu Shenwei and Cui Zhenghao stood proudly atop the elevated platform, ahead of the rest of the group as they stared down at the numerous workers gathered below.

Under the perfect lighting from the sun and the strong winter winds, the two of them truly looked like brave young heroes of the new generation, drawing an imposing sight!

Apart from a girl who was standing right beside Hu Shenwei, the rest of the group were obviously guards, and were positioned slightly further back with weapons in hand.

"The son of Hu Yuanbo and the son of District Head Cui Yuanping…" Lu Tianzi thought out loud. "Then that young lady is…"

Lu Tianzi was referring the young girl standing right beside Hu Shenwei. Even though she was not dressed in luxurious robes, she still exuded an air of gracefulness. Her long black hair was tied up in a neat bun, and her eyes were shining with a clear light, giving off an overall pleasant aura.

"I have never seen her before either," Uncle Ye answered. "City Lord Hu does not have any daughters, so perhaps she is the daughter of one of the District Heads?"

"Is that so?" Lu Tianzi held his chin in contemplation.

Just as they were wondering about the identity of the lady, a familiar voice drew both of their attentions over, only to see Gong Shengjie approaching with a smile on his face.

"Her name is Yan Caijie, a newly joined clerk who is currently working at the City Lord Manor," Gong Shengjie answered, apparently having overheard their conversation. "Good day, Brother Zhanyuan. Uncle Ye, are you feeling better now?"

Hearing Gong Shengjie's question, Lu Tianzi immediately felt alarm bells go off in his head!

"Me?" Uncle Ye tiled his head in confusion.

"Y-Yes! Thanks to Brother Shengjie, we are both fine now," Lu Tianzi hurried answered in Uncle Ye's stead.

After receiving the Rainbow Lotus from Gong Shengjie that was supposed to be for Uncle Ye, Lu Tianzi had completely forgotten about it. Since Uncle Ye was fine, he naturally did not think too much about it. But now with the appearance of Gong Shengjie, he inevitably recalled the fact that he had not even told Uncle Ye about the matter.

Things would definitely become awkward if the two realised that Lu Tianzi had secretly pocketed the precious herb!

"That's good, that's good," Gong Shengjie nodded in relief while Uncle Ye eyed Lu Tianzi is suspicion.

"Brother Shengjie?" Uncle Ye raised an eyebrow as he repeated Lu Tianzi's words. "Since when have you two become so close?"

"T-That's not the important!" Lu Tianzi awkwardly brushed off the question before turning the attention back to Gong Shengjie. "But why are you down here with us and not up on the platform? Aren't you the son of a District Head as well?"

"Well, that is a long story…" Gong Shengjie sighed helplessly. "The thing is, my father wanted no part of this, and thus explicitly instructed me to stay out of it. He refused to tell me anything so even I have no idea what is going to be announced. That is why I came here to listen along with everyone."

"So that's the case. It sounds like things are pretty complicated," Lu Tianzi nodded before turning back to the stage.

"It sure is. How troublesome," Gong Shengjie sighed.

At this time, the crowds were finally starting to quieten down as they waited for Hu Shenwei to speak.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Hu Shenwei, sent here from the City Lord's Manor to address everyone."

Hu Shenwei strengthened his voice with Spiritual Essence, allowing him to effortlessly project his words to the large crowd even without the need to shout.

"As most of you would have already known, yesterday had marked a dark day in the history of Ivory Rock City's history books. We actually suffered a surprise attack by the demons, and unfortunately there are some of us whose whereabouts are still unclear. However, rest assured that we have already taken measures to ensure that there are no demons who might have sneaked into the city."

"But we understand that is not enough! With that, the City Lord has passed down his instructions. All workers are to remain in the city for the time being so as to prevent further casualties." Hu Shenwei's voice was solemn as he gave a brief account of the previous day's happenings.

Hearing that, the workers present felt their moods going downhill as well. Those missing workers were all their friends and family. Compared to the city administration, it was far harder for those present to accept the fact that they were lost.

"However! We are not about to just sit back and take this lying down!" Hu Shenwei suddenly raised his voice, dispelling the despondent moods of everyone present.

"Having you workers stay within the city walls is just a temporary measure. While you remain in the safety of the city walls, the military will be sending out our very best warriors to secure the perimeters! We are no longer intending to stay down! If we see a demon, we will kill a demon! If we see a dozen, then we will kill a dozen! We will not stop! Not until the perimeters are finally free of threats, and the darned demons finally realise that we humans are no longer the weaklings that our predecessors were in the past! They need to learn that as of this moment, we of the Ivory Rock City are a force that they can no longer afford to suppress!"

The strength behind his words showed his heartfelt determination, and that could be clearly felt by everyone present.

Hearing those words, even the workers felt their fighting spirit being ignited. While they were no warriors, they felt a strong sense of belonging to this city that was the last bastion of humanity.

If the warriors of Ivory Rock City were able to emerge victorious against the demons, not only would it be able to avenge the ones who were lost, but it would also be a source of pride for everyone who lived in Ivory Rock City!

"You might be worried about how long you have to remain in the city, as that would affect your livelihood. But fret not, for the city administration has already taken that into consideration," Hu Shenwei continued. "This is definitely a short term measure, and will be done away with before spring arrives. In the meantime, we would have to ask for your patience and cooperation! Please believe in the city administration!"

Hu Shenwei took a deep bow upon concluding his speech, and the workers present were completely shocked!

Who was he?

He was the son of City Lord Hu, the next in line to be the Lord of Ivory Rock City!

How would they dare to accept such an apology by him, especially for something that was not his fault in the first place?

"This is nothing! It's not like I can't find any jobs to do in the city! I can stay in the city forever if I need to!" it was not clear who was the one who first shouted out.

"That's right! This is for our own safety, so why are you apologising?"

"This is the least we could do to alleviate the problems that the city is facing!"

"Please raise your head! We believe in the efforts of the city administration!"

One by one, the workers shouted out, and the main square quickly turned rowdy.

"Thank you for your understanding, everyone," Hu Shenwei finally straightened his back after receiving the acceptance of the people. "This is all from us. I will be here for a while more, so feel free to approach me if you have any other queries."

But none of these workers had any more questions, not at the moment at least.

They started to slowly clear out of the main square, and Lu Tianzi similarly followed along.

While everyone felt a fire burning in their hearts, eager to witness the moment of humanity's counterattack against the demons, Lu Tianzi felt otherwise.

What did he mean by no longer intending to stay down?

The warriors of the martial academy had never thought of staying down from the start!

That was also the reason why Lu Tianzi had cultivated so hard all these while, only to end up being betrayed by the City Lord Manor in the end!

Believe in the city administration?

What a joke!

He would be a fool if he still did so!

But then again, things were truly changing.

With the demon attack, Lu Tianzi no longer knew what the future had in store for Ivory Rock City.

If his actions were truly the cause of the conflict, then he could only pray that the matter would not escalate too quickly.

After all, if General Nanbai Zhaoyu of the Shadowfront Fortress decided to call for reinforcements to attack Ivory Rock City, then they would not even stand a chance.

As of now, Lu Tianzi was still far too weak to help!

He could only pray that the situation would remain at the current level of small skirmishes until he was able to gain the strength he needed to have an impact.

At that time, he did not mind personally leading the defence of Ivory Rock City, or perhaps even strike at Shadowfront Fortress!

To achieve that, Lu Tianzi had initially planned to scout the area around Shadowfront Fortress for any Essence Stone mines. That would have been the fastest way to gain strength.

But even if he wanted to follow through with his plan now, with the workers no longer allowed to leave the city walls, Lu Tianzi would have to find another way to exit.

If he could sneak into the group of warriors who were leaving to conduct investigation missions, then things would become easier…

At the same time, Lu Tianzi knew that it would be an extremely difficult thing to do, and decided to take his time considering his next move.

After walking to the edge of the main square, Lu Tianzi turned around once more and look towards Yan Caijie standing beside Hu Shenwei.

To think that the sister of a Holy Guardian had actually ended up working for the City Lord Manor, he wondered how she would feel when she finally realised the truth behind the naming of Holy Guardians.

Then he turned his gaze towards Hu Shenwei who was standing proudly on the platform, and the words of the servants from the City Lord Manor rang out in his ears.

'It is exactly because of his talent that he ended up like this! At the rate that he is growing, he might even reach the level of the old master in the future! Why would the old master allow the continued existence of someone who could possibly threaten his place as humanity's leader? Taking a step back, even if the old master retains his position, there is no way that the young master would be able to outshine this Lu Tianzi! When the time comes, the masses might even support Lu Tianzi as the next City Lord. What then of the young master?'

Those were the exact words that he heard while he was trapped in the Ironwood cage, being delivered straight to the demons.

Even up to this day, he could still clearly remember every single word in his mind, as though it was just yesterday that he heard them.

They wanted to remove him so that he would not threaten their standing in the city?

Then he would return the favour!

Lu Tianzi swore that as long as the opportunity arose, he would never allow this father and son pair to live!

At this moment, Lu Tianzi subconsciously let out a faint killing intent, which was actually picked up by Hu Shenwei who was standing on the platform!

Hu Shenwei frowned and immediately swept his perception out in caution.

However, the killing intent exuded by Lu Tianzi was only present for the shortest of moments, and it was so faint that even an Essence Condensation realm martial artist like Hu Shenwei was unable to determine the exact direction of its source.

With the mass of people moving out of the main square, there was simply no way to perceive every single person present, and he could only choose to give up.

But just then, Hu Shenwei caught sight of a familiar back view, and his eyes widened in shock.

That person over there… didn't it look similar to the Holy Guardian Lu Tianzi?