The King of Urban Mercenaries

Hearing this General’s words, Lin Fei suddenly understood. So the residents of this little earthen town already had a bad reputation to begin with, which was why they were being shut out this time.

"General, I’d like to have a proper talk with your City Lord. I wonder if that’s possible?" Lin Fei asked.

Hearing Lin Fei’s words, the General hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head. "Our City Lord holds the same opinion as we do, so you’d better stop thinking about it. Take your people and leave this place."

"That won’t do. We came here today precisely to enter the city and find a way to survive. If there’s no way out, we’re as good as dead. So I still hope you can open the city gate and let us in. Don’t worry, we definitely won’t be the way you imagine us to be. Isn’t that right?" Lin Fei asked.

Hearing Lin Fei’s words, those villagers immediately nodded and said, "Yes! We won’t be lazy gluttons!"

The Generals shook their heads. "Every single person from that little earthen town says the same thing, but once they get here, they become like dogs wagging their tails and begging for pity, lying in the streets every day, not moving at all, just waiting for someone else’s dog food. People like that are nothing but a scourge in our small earthen town, so you’d better leave and never come back."

This General had made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t going to let them in, and Lin Fei really didn’t know what to do.

"How about this then, call your village chief over and I’ll talk to him, all right?" Lin Fei asked. He was truly helpless now; if this didn’t work, he really didn’t know what else he could do.

"No. Our City Lord just doesn’t want people like you coming in, that’s why he ordered us to guard here. If we run into residents from that little earthen town, we’re to keep them outside the gate, that’s all. So you don’t need to say anything more to me. Our City Lord won’t see you, and he won’t let them in either."

The City Guardian General spoke.

Hearing this, Lin Fei frowned tightly. This was something he hadn’t been able to foresee, and when things went beyond his expectations, Lin Fei had no move to make. In the end, he decided to first camp outside.

"We’ll live out here for two days and hope they’ll change their minds." Lin Fei said to these people, then settled down on one side of the city wall. Lin Fei decided to just waste two days here, and see if what the Capital City General had said was true.

If it was true, then there was nothing he could do. If it wasn’t, then he’d just have to break into the city by force.

Besides, these two days were also two days for them to prove themselves. If they didn’t perform well enough to satisfy those Generals, and the Generals refused to open the gate, then they would have only themselves to blame.

Finally, on the second day, the day of going hungry, many residents were already starving. They came to stand in front of Lin Fei, and the children said they were hungry.

Lin Fei nodded and said, "Men, come hunting with me. Women, take care of the children. Those without children, come hunting with us. Let’s go."

Lin Fei gave the order and walked forward, taking the lead. But after he had taken a few steps, he looked back and found that no one had followed.

"Aren’t you hungry? You’re not coming?" Lin Fei asked.

The residents were silent. At this moment Lin Fei noticed a few problems. The City Guardian General at the Forest Border hadn’t been wrong at all. It seemed the residents of this little earthen town really were lazy gluttons.

Up on the wall, the City Guardian General who had been watching laughed loudly. "Brother, the moment I saw you I knew you were a good man. But good men don’t get good endings. You need to understand, some people deserve pity, and some don’t. People like them deserve to die, so I advise you to just leave. When the Demon Beasts come, we definitely won’t open the gate. Let them die in the mouths of the Demon Beasts."

Lin Fei frowned tightly. The General’s words really weren’t wrong. It seemed he truly had overthought things. These people had indeed disappointed him, but Lin Fei wasn’t completely in despair.

He looked at the group opposite him. A few hundred people—there had to be some capable hands among them. If they united, they could definitely survive. So what had made them this lazy?

"I’ll ask you one more time. Aren’t you hungry? Then come hunting with me. Whoever is willing to go, follow me!" Lin Fei said, then walked off into the distance.

But still, no one moved. Lin Fei walked a few steps, stopped, and looked at these people whose feet seemed glued to the ground. Lin Fei laughed. "If you really insist on doing this, what awaits you is nothing but death. Are you truly unwilling to fight with your own hands?"

No one moved at his words. Lin Fei was disappointed. He decided to leave just like that, disappear from here and continue on his way. These people were exactly as they’d been described—utterly unworthy of pity, and not worth doing anything for. Lin Fei had seen them clearly now, so he said nothing more, turned, and walked toward the forest.

Just then, a child suddenly ran over to Lin Fei and said, "Uncle! I’ll go with you!"

Lin Fei stopped, flicked the child’s nose, and said, "Good kid, let’s go."

With that, Lin Fei took the child, and together with Little Dao, the three of them headed deep into the forest.

All along the way, Lin Fei and Little Dao had been able to handle all sorts of difficulties, and the Demon Beasts they killed were more than enough for them to eat. But Lin Fei wasn’t going to keep staying with those people, feeding them. So he had no intention of giving them this chance.

Once they entered the forest, Lin Fei said, "Do you know how to hunt?"

The child shook his head. "No."

"Then why did you come with me?" Lin Fei asked, puzzled.

"I want to eat. I’m hungry."

Lin Fei laughed. So simple and honest—this was good. He said, "If you’re hungry, then you have to hunt for yourself. Do you understand that?"

"I do, but I... I can’t beat them..." The child seemed to really understand this principle.

"Don’t worry. If you can’t beat it, we’ll help you. You go and attack, and when the time comes I’ll step in," Lin Fei said.

In the distance, there was a small Demon Beast, furry and very cute, but with a rather ugly face. The child ran toward this Demon Beast, picked up a stone, and threw it at the beast.

The Demon Beast looked at the child, a dazed expression on its face, but it was quickly struck in the face by the stone. At once, the Demon Beast’s expression turned vicious, and it lunged at the child.

The child was so frightened he screamed, then suddenly crouched down...