Lord of the Sky City

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Time flew, and a month had passed. By the end of that month, the guests invited by Rocky and the Apple Tree Corporation had nearly all arrived. Thus, the two entities jointly made arrangements and decided to host a grand ball at the City Lord's Mansion in Carltos City three days later, using the occasion to announce their collaboration to all the guests.

Since the specific time for the ball had been set, preparations became indispensable. In fact, preparations had already been underway for a month ever since Rocky and Archimonde decided to hold the ball at the City Lord's Mansion, but only now had the specific time been decided.

On the other hand, once the specific time for the ball was known, Darius and others, just like Rocky, became tensely busy with their final preparations.

That night, within the same unremarkable mansion, Carnell once again summoned everyone together.

Carnell, the mastermind and initiator of this operation, had once been a confidant of the Carltos City Lord. He was a nobleman in the city, possessing considerable assets. It was precisely because of his close ties with the Mairente Family that one could imagine what his fate would have been like after Rocky took over the city and Voss became the Governor. Without exaggeration, during Voss's purging of the city's management and nobility, Carnell was a prime target for attention!

In such circumstances, Carnell's predicament was not hard to imagine. Stripped of his noble title and his properties forcibly confiscated, he had lost everything. And why? Because his relations with the Mairente Family were too close!

But never assume that Voss was a soft-hearted, kind old man. Being a veteran of the cunning old guard, he knew all too well how to wield power.

It was precisely because of such a plight that Carnell's hatred for Rocky and Voss was stronger than anyone else's. When Carltos City still belonged to the Mairente Family, he was second only to one in the city. The City Lord would often heed his advice. But as the city fell into Rocky's hands, Carnell's world plummeted from the heavens straight into Hell.

So even though Rocky didn't take his life, he essentially severed all Carnell's means of survival in the city. Staying in the city had become meaningless, so he had long wanted to leave.

As fate would have it, just as Carnell planned to depart, Rocky's partnership with the Apple Tree Corporation was sealed. This presented Carnell with an excellent opportunity for revenge. He immediately gathered all the dissatisfied people around him and began planning how to retaliate against Rocky before he left, to soothe the hatred burning within him.

Now, with Rocky announcing the ball to be held in three days, Carnell and his group were ready to make their move.

"Vian, have you arranged everything, everyone?"

"Everything has been arranged."

Giving Carnell a glance, Vian nodded, "I've already spoken to several foremen. Starting tomorrow, they will gather all the workers to take to the streets in protest in three waves. They'll cause disturbances in the streets every day. Even if Rocky wants to catch them, he won't be able to keep up."

"Are you certain they will follow your plan?"

The cunning lay in Carnell and his group not participating in any of the orchestrated events; they had arranged everything, but by the time trouble started, they would have long left the city.

They were well aware that once the chaos erupted, Rocky would not settle down lightly in his fury. Not only would many suffer, but Rocky's response would surely be swift. It would be too late to leave once the situation had escalated.

To avoid getting caught in the aftermath, the merchant vessel prepared by Darius was already docked at the Skyport. The men had agreed that today would be their last meeting. Tomorrow, they would board the merchant ship and leave the city!

That's why Carnell repeatedly inquired about the arrangements. He feared that once his group was gone, the gathered citizens would be without direction, rendering their preparations useless.

However, from what Vian said, such worries were unfounded. He had already reached out to several foremen, gathering citizens who had lost their jobs due to factory closures, and instructed these foremen to lead the crowds in causing trouble.

More sinister, he instructed these foremen to act separately, each leading a group across several days of disturbance. That way, even if Rocky caught one group, there would be another, and after the second, a third. It was surely enough to trouble Rocky.

Having heard Vian out, Carnell finally nodded in satisfaction, then addressed everyone, "Gentlemen, since everything is in order, it's time we leave. Tomorrow, we say goodbye to this damned place!"

After this declaration, they each nodded and then rose to leave the villa.

Once everyone had left, Carnell called for his butler.

"How are the packing arrangements?"

"My Lord, everything is packed."

"Good. First thing tomorrow, we leave this place. Remember, don't bring anything superfluous, just the valuables, and let's not make a spectacle of it to tip anyone off."

"Don't worry, my Lord. Everything has been prepared as you ordered."

"Alright, you may go."

After gesturing for the butler to leave, Carnell sat alone in the study and exhaled deeply.

He could finally leave this accursed place and, moreover, take his revenge on Rocky before departing. These thoughts brought a particularly pleasant mood to Carnell, arguably the most content he had been since Rocky retook control of Carltos City.

After a long sigh, Carnell stood up to pour himself a glass of wine. He intended to enjoy a small drink before bed to ensure a restful sleep on his last night in the city.

But at that moment, just after pouring his drink but before he could take a sip, he heard a knock on the door.

"Hm?"

The sound of the knock caught Carnell by surprise. After all, he lived in a villa, and his study was on the second floor. Generally, it was impossible to hear the door being knocked upon from there, but for some reason, his ears had become particularly sensitive this time.

As he wondered, the knocking stopped...

"Butler, who's knocking at the door?"

When he found the knocking noise had ceased, Carnell naturally assumed the butler had gone to answer it and inquired, but he received no response...

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