Rocky had never imagined that in the short while he was away, the situation would have evolved into this.
Perolo and Voss, along with Eyer who had been captured, all the officials of Thunderhawk City were present. What were they planning to do? And those four guards pointing their swords at Liliya, what were they doing—staging a coup or rebelling!?
The scenes unfolding before his eyes filled Rocky with fury, and he shifted his gaze from Voss and Perolo to the four guards pointing their long swords at Liliya.
"What are you trying to do, rebel?"
Before the guards before him could even react, Rocky aimed his palm at one of them, and immediately gathered a Magic Bullet, firing it in an instant!
The Magic Bullet, the most basic magical attack of the Void Magic Armor, uses Mana to form a pure Magic Sphere that can be fired like a cannonball and has the power equivalent to one.
With a loud bang, the Magic Bullet hit the chest of one of the guards, and the struck guard was sent flying out before he even had the chance to scream!
Clang clang clang...
This spectacle made the remaining three guards quickly drop their swords like hot potatoes and kneel before Rocky.
"City Lord, spare our lives! It wasn't us trying to rebel; it was Perolo who instructed us to do this!"
"My Lord, it was Perolo who told us to do it. It's not our fault!"
Kneeling before Rocky, the three guards begged for mercy non-stop, immediately pinning the blame on Perolo as if fearing that if they were too slow, Rocky would fire another Magic Bullet at them.
As for Perolo, mentioned by the guards, he had already been frightened out of his wits by this point, staring dazedly at Rocky with eyes bulging as wide as cowbells, nearly dropping to the ground.
"Void Magic Armor... Void Magic Armor... How is this possible..."
Seeing Rocky clad in a set of Void Magic Armor and having knocked down a guard right off the bat, Perolo was so frightened that his legs trembled, and he almost sat down on the floor.
He had never anticipated such an outcome. How could Rocky possess a set of Void Magic Armor?
In contrast to the terrified Perolo, Voss beside him remained much calmer. Yet even he was slightly startled upon seeing Rocky, the smile that had been constant on his face freezing for a moment, but soon he regained his composure.
All these reactions were keenly observed by Rocky, and they perfectly matched his impression of the two men: Perolo was a dumb pig, while Voss was as sly as a fox.
So Rocky didn't bother with Perolo at all but instead changed his grim expression to a smile, looking at Voss, "Lord Voss, what was it that you wanted me to explain just now?"
"My Lord, please don't misunderstand; that was my indiscretion."
Hearing Rocky's words, Voss bowed to him with an unchanged expression, and then spoke calmly, "I wouldn't dare ask my Lord to explain anything. I'm just very curious to know what crime Captain Eyer has actually committed?"
Voss spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, showing respect to Rocky while also getting his question across. Unless Rocky wanted to find fault deliberately, there seemed to be no flaw in his words.
However, there was no need to find fault with Eyer's case. Rocky directly said, "Captain Eyer has been unlawfully trafficking the population of Thunderhawk City, so I detained him for further interrogation. Any problems with that?"
Sitting back in the City Lord's position, Rocky spoke casually, and Voss did not inquire further.
Seeing Voss remaining silent, Rocky then turned to Perolo and asked coldly, "Perolo, was it you who ordered these guards to threaten Liliya?"
"My Lord, have mercy! This is a misunderstanding. I, I was just, I wanted to..."
Thumping to his knees on the ground, Perolo continuously begged for mercy, yet he couldn't come up with any excuse and could only sneak glances at Voss, as if hoping Voss would intercede on his behalf.
Interestingly, at this moment, Rocky also looked at Voss, and even added, "Lord Voss, Captain Eyer is trafficking people, Perolo is insubordinate; what do you think should be done with these two?"
Rocky's question seemed casual, but in reality, he was probing Voss's attitude, because in his mind, Voss was the one person to be wary of!
In Rocky's eyes, Eyer and Perolo were not of much concern; neither of them needed him to employ any strategies—a set of Void Magic Armor was more than enough to deal with them, and indeed, that was the case.
But Voss was different because among the three, he was the only one with real power, and this power, even Rocky couldn't shake!
Thunderhawk City was very small, so small that there was virtually no industry to speak of. The over one thousand residents living in the city could only rely on two means for their livelihood: farming and textiles.
Typically, each Sky City is surrounded by vast tracts of farmland to solve the food problem; Thunderhawk City was no different, with most of the city's residents living off the land around the city. However, being a small Sky City, even with farmland, it was not enough to feed all the residents.
This gave rise to the city's second industry: textiles.
Importing yarn from other Sky Cities, and then having the women of the city spin it into cloth before selling it, they would use the income from selling the cloth to buy food. This was how the residents of Thunderhawk City made a living.
As the Financial Officer of the city, not only did Voss control the city's finances, but more importantly, he had close connections with all the Chambers of Commerce involved in importing yarn!
So it's no exaggeration to say that if Thunderhawk City were to lose Voss the Financial Officer, then the city's textile industry would immediately fall into paralysis and those residents who relied on textiles for their living would starve to death!
The reason Voss was feared lay exactly in this: Rocky could deal with Eyer and Perolo with thunderous methods, but he could not treat Voss the same because this man was too important to Thunderhawk City.
Therefore, Rocky asked Voss for his opinion at this time to gauge his attitude towards himself.
But somewhat unexpectedly, Voss's response came quickly, as if he had been well-prepared:
"My Lord, trafficking in people is a serious crime, with the mastermind being executed and the family members and other participants being expelled from the city, banished to the land."
"Rebellion against one's superiors is equally a grave offense, where the death penalty may be spared but not the punishment. The main culprits and their families should all be expelled from the city, banished to the land."
Facing Rocky's question, Voss didn't show the slightest change in expression and began to speak.
"You! You!"
His words not only stunned Rocky but also left Perolo, who was expecting him to plead on his behalf, pale-faced and so furious he couldn't speak.
This old fox... was too decisive, wasn't he?
Such an answer left Rocky feeling a chill down his spine. He remembered clearly that while Voss had not deceived him like Eyer had, there was certainly no respect shown towards him; there was more of an ignoring, disregarding himself as the City Lord.
Yet from Voss's stance earlier, it was clear he was drawing a line between himself and Eyer and Perolo—almost as if he was helping Eyer eliminate the two of them!
Was it possible that Voss had now acknowledged him as the City Lord?
Looking at Voss, who stood with his hands hanging at his sides, Rocky couldn't fathom the old fox's thoughts. But since the other party had already taken the initiative to speak for him, he certainly didn't need to be reserved or cautious and said directly:
"In that case..."
While speaking, he looked at the three Guards kneeling on the ground: "From today on, you will be under Liliya's command. Now, take Perolo to the prison to await further handling, and if anything happens during this process, I'll hold you responsible!"
"Yes, yes... Thank you, my Lord!"
"Thank you, City Lord!"
The three Guards, without a second thought, immediately seized Perolo; mere moments before they had been his Guards, but now they were the ones taking him to prison.
After Perolo was taken away, Rocky turned to look at Voss:
"Lord Voss, if there's nothing else, you may go now."
"Yes."
After agreeing, Voss gave Rocky a slight bow and left the City Lord's Hall. He was the same as when he had come, as if nothing had happened at all.
Watching his figure leave the hall, Rocky finally let out a long sigh of relief. He truly hadn't expected things to turn out this way. It was just as well that Voss had not challenged him because, given his status and importance, Voss would not have been an easy adversary.
However, it was also thanks to what had just happened that the two cancers, Eyer and Perolo, were suddenly removed. This was indeed an unexpected blessing for Rocky, saving him quite a bit of trouble.
"How was it? I did quite well just now, didn't I?"
Pleased with the outcome, Rocky turned to Liliya and posed the question, looking like a child seeking praise and completely lacking the imposing air he had just moments before.
His action caught Liliya off guard, but she nodded and then looked at Rocky: "You seem... you seem different..."
"Of course I'm different, and I'll keep getting better."
Laughing heartily, Rocky instructed Liliya: "Gather fifty Guards and arrest everyone who returned with Eyer. Deal with any who dare to resist as you see fit, then take your men to meet me at the Skyport."
"Understood."
After she agreed, Liliya handed Eyer over to Rocky and hurried out of the hall.
Once Liliya had left, Rocky turned his glance to Eyer, his face beaming with a smile, "Captain Eyer, let us make another trip to the land, shall we?"
"Yes, yes... I'll follow your lead, my Lord..."
Having witnessed everything that had just transpired, Eyer no longer had the courage to refuse. He now profoundly understood that Thunderhawk City was about to see a change in the tides.