NOVPUBBai E fell into a brief contemplation before raising his head to the doctor and said, "This is a major issue, Blackwater City wouldn't hide it from me."
Indeed, it couldn't be hidden, even if those high-ups deliberately avoided him, there were always their own people in the city whom they couldn't avoid.
Helen, Aglaya, Kiro Lan, and even Caesar...
As long as any one of these familiar figures received the message, he would never be completely oblivious.
Thus, the truth was that when he left Blackwater City, the messenger from the imperial capital hadn't yet arrived at Blackwater City.
And since Grey Iron City was not far from Blackwater City, since the messenger to Grey Iron City had arrived two or three days ago, he estimated that the messenger heading to Blackwater City should have also arrived by now.
If it was such a significant event that could influence the future direction of the entire city, those city leaders who were trying to keep him out of the power center might even consider involving him in the deliberations.
"..."
With this thought, Bai E realized, "I need to go back once." 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
Although his personal freedom in Blackwater City wasn't completely restricted, it could still be somewhat troublesome if those higher-ups couldn't find him in a timely manner without a reasonable explanation.
Bai E was not afraid of them, but it was indeed quite annoying to be "educated" by those people all the time.
Most importantly, if he managed to return in time, he might be able to catch the response strategy meeting to the imperial messenger.
Knowing the reaction of the Blackwater City leadership, he could also inform the doctor in time, so that Grey Iron City could make plans to move forward or retreat together.
"It is indeed time to return," the doctor muttered in response, "I'll wait for your reply."
"Hmm!"
...
Inside the Blackwater City council hall, a familiar old man heard a report from his subordinate through the earpiece: "The military camp people say he went out on a mission; they didn't say when he'd be back."
"..." The cold gleam in the elder's eyes flared, "Disobedient thing!"
He was told not to enter the city, and he ran off outside the city walls?!
He's the leader of an army; does he always have to personally lead his men on missions?
'It seems the position of Military District Marshal really can't be directly handed over to him. Once Weslin wakes up, he still needs to be there to check and balance this guy!'
With these thoughts in mind, the elder waved his hand and said to the other members of the Elder Council beside him, "We won't wait for him. He's gone off who knows where outside the city, and waiting for him doesn't have any strategic significance."
A mere enforcer, who neither understood the city nor possessed much of a political mind, was only awaited out of respect for his strength and status.
With him not present, it made no sense for so many people to wait for just one man.
An enforcer, having post-event awareness, that would be sufficient!
Clearing his throat, the elder looked around at the representatives of all social strata of the city that had been gathered and said, "Now that everyone is here, let me tell you about something that has just happened. Most of you here must already know about the arrival of the imperial messenger, but I reckon many of you are still in the dark about their purpose. We called everyone here today to hear your respective views on this matter."
"The message from the imperial messenger is a decision from the imperial capital..."
The imperial messenger conveyed the message very clearly; their Elder Council had already had a small internal discussion on their own.
However, given the magnitude of the issue, it was manageable to hear the different views of people from all levels of the city, which might lead to a more suitable response plan.
"...that is the intention of the imperial side. Regarding this proposal initiated by the imperial capital, what are your thoughts, ladies and gentlemen?"
"..."
The room went quiet for a moment.
The news from the imperial messenger was indeed vast, and many representatives who had just heard it needed time to digest this information, think it over, before making a rational judgment.
But there were also some who had known earlier and wanted to influence the audience with their preconceived notions, and spoke up in the midst of the silence, "In my opinion, this is nothing but a blatant scheme by the imperial capital!"
Since the imperial messenger was not on site, this was entirely Blackwater City's own internal discussion without the need for secrets or pretenses.
Someone echoed the question, "How so?"
The person scoffed and explained with a sneer, "This so-called alliance is nothing more than an attempt to use the strength of all our cities to create a super-secure core zone! The global spread of nests, smart machines, and roving beastmen are disasters that even our ancestors from the Golden Age failed to completely eradicate from the Earth. Just with us now, they hope to clear the globe? Dream on!"
"Didn't the imperial capital say they would support every city in clearing the threats from the surrounding wilderness?" someone countered.
The critic sneered again, "Thousands of cities across the globe, can the imperial capital really provide that much support? The sole consequence of joining this alliance is to help them build a grand paradise centered around the imperial capital. As for other places, they will inevitably be abandoned under the threat of natural disasters. The imperial capital only wants to gather strength, not to protect each and every city! That is their true starting point! What do we have here? Nothing! We aren't a rich mining area, nor are we close to the imperial capital. Why would the imperial capital have any reason to spread its resources to protect a city like ours?"
Repeated defeats against these disasters over time had taken a heavy toll on some people's will to fight.
Even if the city now had Bai E, a warrior with heaven-defying strength, as long as the nests remained standing, it signified that humanity could not conquer these natural calamities.
