Chapter 201. Knowing when to advance and retreat

The news about The Lodgekeeper, the new city Lord of Madcity, spread across the Kahra Desert at an alarming rate.

These were not exaggerated rumors. There were actual videos of what had happened.

Everything—from the trap he set for Madmax by using his daughter as bait to kill him, to his manipulation of the six city lords of the neighboring cities by using himself as bait, all so that he could kill them all and thousands of their men in one go—was true.

Every city and town that received the news was completely shocked.

But there was no way of denying the truth because there was actual proof to back what had happened.

All the city lords who heard the news decided to steer clear of MadCity. They were not fools.

The Lodgekeeper was a terrifying person who could not be offended. They didn’t want to die.

News about his feats in Rustwater town before he went to MadCity also came to light.

The Lodgekeeper was indeed a madman who treated killing like a chore.

He didn’t even move a muscle when killing.

Chills crawled up the spines of the other city lords of the Kahra Desert whenever they thought of the Lodgekeeper.

None of them dared to offend him or even try to cause trouble for MadCity.

However, chaos broke out among them over the territories of the six dead city lords.

Each of these city lords was fighting the other over who should claim the six neighboring cities of MadCity.

It was chaotic and brutal. But MadCity remained completely unbothered and untouched.

Eventually, the city lords realized their fights with one another were not yielding any results. They were all equally matched in power. They could not kill each other, and they could not overpower each other.

So, they did something that had never been done before in the Kahra Desert.

They decided to take joint ownership over the six cities.

This news sent ripples across the Kahra Desert.

Everyone knew that everything could be traced back to the Lodgekeeper.

His actions had literally shifted the geopolitical structure of the Kahra Desert. How terrifying.

*****

The remaining days of Aiden’s time in MadCity went by in a flash.

Soon, his two-month period was up.

Currently, it was morning.

Clad in a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, he had blended quietly into the crowd outside the gates of the city, waiting for the transport to the southern seaport.

The Dickinsons and enforcers of the city wanted to see him off, but he decided against it.

He was just passing through these parts. His time in MadCity was over. He was not a king leaving his territory on a far-away journey like it happened in novels.

He had left the city to the Dickinsons, too. Whatever happened to them or the city was none of his business. Their deal was complete.

Currently, because his hoodie cap covered his face, no one realized who he was.

"I heard that he can kill people with a thought."

"Indeed, the city Lord is indeed a terrifying person."

"Yeah. Do you know that everyone in the Kahra Desert fears him now?"

"Indeed. So what is his actual name?"

"Rumors are that he goes by the name Alex Turner."

"Alex Turner? I don’t remember that name from anywhere."

"Yeah, well. He must probably be a retired crime lord or something. Most of those people operated with different identities in their active years to avoid securities of the empires from causing harm to them."

"That’s plausible."

Suddenly, someone bumped into him.

"Out of my fucking way!" It was a tall man with a piece of tobacco in his mouth. He looked extremely stressed out.

He was an expert rank 2 warrior.

A group of three trailed behind him.

The moment the crowd saw him, they were shocked.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah. He’s one of the retired crime lords whose son died for hanging out with Madmax’s daughter the night The Lodgekeeper killed her."

"They say he has been grumpy ever since."

"But there’s nothing he can do to the city Lord. Sigh... he must be really suffering."

"Yeah, I heard that for the past two months, he had been frequenting the duel arenas to take out his anger."

"At least he didn’t kill himself. The others whose daughters and sons died alongside Madmax’s daughter committed suicide."

"Seriously? Are you serious? How can they be so stupid?"

"Stupid? Can you blame them? Their children were killed by the most powerful man in the Kahra Desert as collateral damage to a scheme he engineered. Imagine being unable to do anything to him because of his power... How do you think that would make them feel? Were you in their positions, wouldn’t it drive you crazy and mess with you emotionally?"

"That’s true. You have a point."

The man heard the conversations, but there was nothing he could do to anyone in the crowd.

Everyone here was a terrifying retired criminal or mercenary.

All of them were expert rank 2 warriors and city enforcers leaving the Kahra Desert. They were all notorious retired criminals.

Now that the identity-forging business of the Dickinsons was booming as a result of Unor Dickinson’s return, those who wanted to leave the southern continent found it easier. They emptied the last of their vaults to have him forge new identities for them so they could leave MadCity.

Some of them wanted to leave the southern continent completely, start a new life in the Western continent, and never return.

The group of three trailing behind the crime lord who had bumped into the strange fellow in a hoodie were completely offended at what was happening.

They were his three remaining children: two teenage girls and a teenage boy, all about 18–19 years.

The man in the hoodie was still not budging.

The retired crime lord was offended.

These powerhouses were insulting him, and this person in a hoodie was in his way.

"The only person who looks weak enough to bully to cut the queue is this man under a hoodie. So why is he not budging? Why did I feel like I hit a wall when I bumped into him?" The retired crime lord calmed down.

This man beneath the hoodie may not be weak. He could be a terrifying powerhouse. If not, how could he remain as steady as a wall when an expert rank 2 powerhouse bumped into him?

He was not weak.

Fortunately, the man didn’t care about him enough to retaliate.

"I need to apologize to him," he thought.

"Friend, I’m sorry about what happened just now. I was way in over my head."

The man in the hoodie replied politely:

"It’s not a problem."

"Thank you."

Everyone observing the interaction nodded in approval. This retired crime lord was not stupid.

He knew when to retreat and advance. No one here was weak. When he realized the fellow could not be bullied, he quickly adapted and retreated rather than holding a grudge.

"Dad, why do you have to apologize to someone who looks so weak?"

Everyone turned to look at one of the daughters of the retired crime lord.

Was this girl crazy? Was she trying to cause trouble for her father?

Suddenly, the desert wind blew, and the hoodie cap of the man in the hoodie accidentally came off.