The captured Corsair and Firefox were brought to the damaged track. There were not only the city lord and local guards, but also a group of ragged resisters. There were several professionals among them. Although their strength was far inferior to the guards led by the city lord, they told the city lord that if they failed to return alive, the track outside the city would also be blown up.
It seems that these people are Corsair's accomplices.
When Sylutia brought Corsair here, this group of rebels was obviously a little panicked. After all, among them, Corsair was the strongest, especially the fire fox he contracted, which was also the main reason for the success of their plan.
Fifth Order's "Phantom Flame Fire Fox" is not only flexible in movement, but can also use flames to easily transform and cover their actions. Without this fox, this group of people would have been eliminated by the city lord Gilson.
Seeing the fire fox being caught and frozen into ice crystals, this group of people lost their backbone and naturally became nervous and panicked.
"Release Corsair, otherwise we will detonate the tracks outside the city."
"You bunch of the Alliance lackeys!" Some of them cursed.
Facing the hostile looks of these people, Sylutia felt like the villain in the story. She was obviously just here to check the situation and restore rail transit as soon as possible.
When someone put Corsair down, he no longer had the calmness he had before. He covered his frostbitten arm and lowered his head in silence.
The city lord was overjoyed to see Sildiya catching the culprit.
"It turns out that this fire fox was confused in the middle, and this wild dog from out of town - he was the one who dared to sabotage the Alliance's plan." He was going to have people drag Corsair over to intimidate the group of resisters on the opposite side.
However, as soon as several guards approached, they were stopped by members of the Lancha Department. Seeing this, the city lord immediately looked at the girl not far away from Yuan.
Sildiya ignored the city lord at this moment, but walked up to the group of resisters, glanced over them, and looked at them carefully.
This group of people should not be pretending. They are indeed the lower class people who originally lived in poverty in the city. From the frostbite calluses on their hands and the wrinkles on their faces, it can be seen that they have suffered a lot.
Although the circumstances were excusable, if something happened to North Wind Defense Line, the consequences would be unimaginable, so ensuring the rapid passage of the train was still the most important thing for Sildiya.
"I know that you are quite dissatisfied with the city lord, but if you continue to destroy, even if you have the last resort, this behavior has seriously affected the survival of ordinary people in various regions in the north. Every time the tracks are stopped for a day, supplies will be stuck on the road, and I don't know how many people will freeze to death or starve to death in the cold wind." Sylutia said.
"Of course, your suffering is real, and I will not ignore it, but if you don't explain it clearly and just fight in this way, I won't be able to do justice for you."
Her words made the rebels shaken. Because Corsair was captured, they were already in danger. If the resistance continued, maybe the track could be blown up and blocked for a period of time, but it would also completely offend the group of the Inspection Department people in front of them, and it would be difficult to have a safe escape route in the future.
Regarding Sylutia not turning to him, City Lord Gilson's expression changed, and there was some hidden hatred in his eyes.
At this time Corsair came back to his senses and looked at the girl's back, with a bit of hope in his eyes.
Soon, a few people came out from among the resisters, and they began to talk about their experiences during this period.
Since the arrival of Wind Disaster, many villages in the Woze District wilderness have been destroyed, and small towns have been unable to withstand the powerful storm. Many people and animals have been lost in the strong wind. The survivors have naturally gathered towards the main city of Woze District.
As the number of people stranded in the main city increased, the price of food here began to rise. In the early days, people might have gritted their teeth and accepted it, but later it was no longer at a level that ordinary people could buy. In this regard, the city lord Gilson did not implement effective policies to stabilize prices.
Some people began to riot and rob food, and thefts and robberies began to occur throughout the city. Public security deteriorated rapidly, and the city guards were overwhelmed. Only then did the city lord Gilson begin to provide disaster relief and proactively contacted the Chamber of Commerce to lower food prices.
But this situation only lasted for a few days, and the city lord announced that the food reserves in the city were no longer enough to continue disaster relief. Then the price of food skyrocketed, and then there was a severe crackdown, and anyone who started a riot was directly executed.
Under the high pressure, stability was barely maintained for a while, but hunger would not disappear. As more and more people's savings were exhausted, the conflict became more intense until it finally broke out.
Up to this point, the development of the matter was not much different from the explanation Sylutia heard before, but the subsequent rhetoric soon became divergent.
"Actually, there is still a lot of food in the city, but it is jointly controlled by the city lord and several major chambers of commerce. They deliberately raise the price just to make more profits." One person pointed out the reason for the tragedy.
In response, Sylutia turned his attention to the city lord Gilson. He had an ugly expression on his face, but he still managed to explain.
"It is true that there is still some food, but I must consider the long-term interests of the entire city's residents. If all disaster relief is released and the storm continues, how will we survive the cold winter in the future."
"Sir, you should also know how difficult it is to apply for support from Alliance Council now. Wind Disaster is encountered everywhere and every place needs support. Not to mention that Woze District is located in a remote area and is not as important as other areas. How can I believe that there will be sufficient food support in the future."
"Yes, I sat back and watched many people starve to death, but it was not my fault, but the inevitable result of the disaster. The reserves of Woze District were not prepared for people like them. Giving them some food before was already a great gift."
"Does it have to be the right way out for me to hand over all the food, consume it all, and then let everyone wait to die together?" He said through gritted teeth, looking excited.
These words aroused a burst of sympathy among the guards, and some people also spoke up for the city lord.
"That's how it is. We don't owe these people anything, so why should we give them precious food and they don't want to spend a penny to get it."
"They are pitiful, but aren't we pitiful? If there is no food in the future, do I have to watch my family starve to death one by one?"
After hearing these words, some of the resisters were dissatisfied and began to rebut and shout loudly.
"Fart! These despicable and shameless guys, do you think they can deceive people by shedding a few tears?"
"The food hidden in your warehouse Kuli is enough to last a year or two, and now you are maliciously exaggerating the results, as if your family is really dead!"
"I watched my daughter go from lively to hungry and unable to speak, and then shriveled up little by little. You guys all deserve to die!"
These words once again aroused anger in the crowd, and various voices of refutation and curses were heard.
In response, the guards in the city fought back relentlessly, saying that these people deserved their death and the Alliance did not owe them anything.
Such mutual curses made the scene very noisy for a while, and many words gradually changed from arguments to simple attacks and insults.
Sildiya raised her hand, and a dark blue rune mark appeared, and then invisible ripples spread, giving everyone on site a chilling spirit Impact. Although it was not strong, it was enough to make everyone stop temporarily.
She did not immediately judge who was right and who was wrong, but asked them to select a few representatives, and then asked the accompanying team members to check and verify the food reserves in the city.
"I wonder if the city lord agrees with this verification?" Silutia looked at Gilson who had not spoken for a long time. "Of course I have no complaints." He looked calm, and he didn't have anything to worry about at this time.
The team members sent out for verification came back about 40 minutes later and reported the situation.
At present, all warehouses in the city have been checked, and there is indeed not much surplus food. If calculated based on the consumption of 400,000 people by Woze District, it can last for 1-2 months.
"Where's the Chamber of Commerce?" Sildiya asked.
"I also checked several warehouses announced by the Chamber of Commerce, and the total can provide about 3 months of consumption."
It seems that there is not much leftover food, which is roughly consistent with Gilson's previous answer. Sylutia turned her attention to Corsair. She always felt that the other party's motives were not that simple.
Seeing Sylutia looking at him, he slowly stood up with trembling legs. At this time, the injury on his leg had only barely healed, and he couldn't run at all.
"I have something to say." He looked at Sildiya.
"Say it."
"There are three large chambers of commerce in the city, namely "Demiz Chamber of Commerce", "Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce" and "Siali Chamber of Commerce". I don't know about the other two, but Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce has a secret warehouse. I know the location. There is definitely a lot of food stored there."
"Since you know, why don't you go there?" Sylutia asked with a wink.
With the opponent's level 4 strength, there were not many Woze Districts who could resist Fifth Order's "Phantom Flame Fire Fox". She didn't think that the chamber of commerce could hire a Fifth Order Transcendent to sit in the warehouse.
"This-" the other party sighed, knowing that if he didn't tell the real reason, he might not be trustworthy and pass the test today.
"Because I have selfish motives and want to take revenge on the city lord Gilson, causing him to lose power and suffer a blow."
"Is it because of hatred?" the girl continued to ask.
"Yes, but not because of myself, but because of revenge for my former classmate Salan."
"It sounds like a long story, let's talk about it as we walk." Sylutia gave some instructions, asked some people to stay, and then took Corsair to the place he mentioned.
Seeing this scene, Gilson stamped his feet angrily, but did not dare to explode on the spot. However, after Sildiya left, he quietly ordered his subordinates to report the news.
Under the guidance of Corsair, Sylutia and others came to a corner of the city, which should be Workshop District. There were shops along the street, and inside were various workshops of various sizes, and some large mechanical facilities could also be seen.
"Continue walking inside. In Workshop No. 78, there is a warehouse that stores Charcoal Brick. If you remove the carbon bricks, you can open the passage below. There is a large warehouse there."
Everyone quickly arrived at the explained location, where the personnel from "Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce" tried to stop them, but when they saw the personnel from the Inspection Department, they dispersed in fear. They could only watch as they opened up the piled Charcoal Brick and found the entrance to the closed warehouse below.
After opening it, there were indeed a lot of supplies stored inside. In addition to food, there were also some metals, weapons and armor.
At this time, the person in charge of Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce also rushed over and stopped in front of Xiludia and others.
The leader was a woman with dark purple curly hair. She had a charming appearance, was wearing a burgundy dress, and was holding a silk folding fan in her hand. She was accompanied by a group of elite chamber of commerce guards.
"Sir, please allow me to explain." She took the initiative to step forward, held one arm in front of her, and bent down to salute.
"These stored supplies are the Chamber of Commerce's last guarantee. Although in critical situations, they should be used to help everyone tide over the difficulties, after all, they are our hard work, so I want to ask you something."
"Say it."
Sylutia It feels like everything that happened today is like peeling off a ball of yarn. The more you peel off, the more it becomes messy.
"Am I the only chamber of commerce that will provide the last supplies for disaster relief, or will all chambers of commerce put out corresponding reserves?"
"Are the members of our chamber of commerce also included in the disaster relief scope, and can their families be protected?"
"Will the Alliance officials provide corresponding compensation and comfort in the future?"
"Are these supplies sent out for disaster relief in the official name of the Alliance or in the name of our chamber of commerce?"
It's really sharp, Sylutia thought to himself, these questions are all very sharp. If she was the kind of arrogant and unreasonable person, I'm afraid she would be furious on the spot and have someone take this woman down.
But a gentleman can be deceived. Maybe the other party saw that she cares about the lives of a large number of civilians and has a certain moral baggage, so she dared to ask such questions. But Sylutia is not someone who retreats and escapes so easily. She began to answer these questions head-on.
"You are the only one who has put out the last supplies for disaster relief. You are the only one at the moment."
"Members of your chamber of commerce are naturally included in the disaster relief scope, and their families should also receive corresponding protection."
"Afterwards, the Alliance officials should provide compensation. Even if not, I will help you apply."
"These materials sent out for disaster relief should be in the name of "Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce"."
After hearing this, the other party bent down to thank him, moved out of the way, and stopped blocking him.
Silutia ordered the team members to contact the guards in the city and asked them to organize food distribution to temporarily suppress hunger and prices, and then led people back to the track for emergency repairs. By this time, Gilson had already learned the news.
"I really don't know about Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce's private storage of food reserves. Please forgive me."
Some mistakes cannot be easily admitted. Not knowing can be explained as a lack of ability. After all, no one can guarantee that they fully understand the secrets of all matters under their jurisdiction. However, if it is said that the mistake was committed knowingly, the nature is completely different.
Even though Purple Silk Chamber of Commerce had private reserves, this kind of thing was not enough to convict the city lord. The maximum punishment was just a demotion. Silutia knew that Corsair must have other secrets, otherwise these alone would not be able to endanger the city lord's status.
Sure enough, Corsair spoke again at this time.
"You really don't know? Gilson City Lord." Corsair asked.
"Do you dare to swear that if you know about the storage of other chambers of commerce and transfer food from the official warehouse to the chamber of commerce, you will immediately commit suicide and apologize!"
Although Hour in this world does not respond to oaths of any size, the existence of "Secret Speech" and Aspect Power leads to the authenticity of the things sworn. There are still many ways to verify, but it is relatively troublesome and expensive.
"Of course I can swear it." Gilson responded through gritted teeth.
After saying that, he took a deep breath and was about to speak, but when he saw members of the Inspection Department taking out various props to record, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, and he hesitated again.
After a pause for a few seconds, he spoke again, swearing in a neither fast nor slow voice.
"What I said after taking an oath is not false."
"After Wind Disaster happened, I worked hard to rescue the victims, opened many places in the city to accommodate the victims, and distributed food to support the victims."
"During this period, I also negotiated with various chambers of commerce in the city to assist in the rescue, and entrusted representatives of the chambers of commerce to go all out. During the process, I did not accept any money or bribes, nor did I resell food to the chamber of commerce."
"On the contrary, I used a lot of my savings to buy food and distribute it to civilians to alleviate the famine."
It sounded flawless, but Corsair immediately refuted it.
"No, you have to swear that you didn't move the food to other places, not resell it!"
Faced with these words, the city lord's expression changed slightly, but he still insisted on continuing to swear.
"I did not move the food to other places." After saying this, a Inspection Department team member came to Xiludia.
"He lied about what he just said."
"Hmm." Sildiya looked to one side, where the track had almost been repaired.
"Gilson City Lord, if you can convince the remaining chambers of commerce to use their reserves for disaster relief, I can temporarily not pursue the train delays caused by this riot."
"I--" his voice was stuck.
If he agreed at this time, wouldn't he admit that what he swore before was a lie? But if he didn't admit it, how long could he persist under the Inspection Department's search?
Just when the situation was in dilemma, another key figure in the city arrived.
He is tall, with sword-like eyebrows, and is wearing an iron-gray robe. Judging from the aura emanating from his body and the badge on his chest, he should be the high-level Mage of "Fifth Order".
Woze District's Mage Guild president, local tower guard Mage, Lightning School members, "Thunder Magnetic Storm" Garrett.
"Sorry, I'm late. I also have a share of responsibility for the track damage accident. Please don't embarrass the Gilson City Lord too much, Ms. Hedra." He arrived with a group of members wearing Lightning Robe. Like a thundercloud moving, the sky was flashing with weak electric light.