Chapter 281 - 156: Permission to Leave the City

"City Lord, what if we just let them out?" a City Defense Army officer asked tentatively after careful consideration.

"And where do you propose they go?" White Hair Pulan looked at the officer, gesturing for him to continue.

"Let them go find the Undead! Since they don’t want to be in the city, we should let them out. It’ll save us the trouble of them causing chaos here. They came to fight the Undead in the first place, after all," the officer quickly laid out his idea.

Upon hearing this solution, the other City Defense Army officers’ eyes lit up, and they all turned to look at White Hair Pulan.

Currently, the Komeilan City gate facing the Undead was closed. Without White Hair Pulan’s command, no one could leave. This led to a growing population within Komeilan City, and with it, a rise in troublemakers, placing immense pressure on the City Defense Army.

White Hair Pulan’s original plan was to do as before: wait for people to gather, then organize them to leave the city together. But this time, the influx of people was too large, and too many of them were unruly. Gathering them would be far more difficult than the last time.

If this continued, they didn’t know what would happen with the Undead, but they knew a disaster was brewing in Komeilan City.

"I’ve decided. Let them out. Let them go destroy the Undead!" White Hair Pulan mulled it over. The officer had a point; this really was a solution. His spirits lifted instantly.

"But if we do this, won’t the casualties be a bit high? If the losses are too great, it will be hard for us to answer to the other City Lords," another officer questioned.

The Undead guarded three passages, numbering in the tens of thousands. The last time, 15,000 Demonized Creatures were sent out, and they failed to break through, losing nearly half their number. If they let these people go out in a scattered, disorganized fashion, they wouldn’t stand a chance if the Undead surrounded them.

Besides, small-scale battles were far less efficient at eliminating the Undead than large-scale operations. Moreover, with no organization and letting them run wild, wouldn’t this just be handing the Undead an opportunity?

"No, let them go. The Undead aren’t as terrifying as you imagine. No one understands the Undead better than I do!" White Hair Pulan stated decisively. He already had a massive headache from all the outsiders, and now that he had a solution, he brushed aside any further reservations.

’No one is going to stop me. If you all want to cause trouble, then go cause trouble! Go kill the Undead, just don’t come mess up my Komeilan City.’

It was open!

Komeilan City was open!

Right after White Hair Pulan finalized the strategy, the entire city erupted in celebration.

The visiting Demonized Creatures celebrated because they finally had something to do—they could go out and hunt the Undead. The residents of Komeilan City celebrated because those troublemakers could finally leave and stop causing chaos in the city.

But regardless of their reasoning, all the Demonized Creatures were ecstatic and thoroughly satisfied, feeling that the City Lord of Komeilan City had made a great decision.

White Hair Pulan was no fool. He wanted to solve the chaos in the city, but he didn’t want to open the gates completely. On one hand, he was still unwilling to give up on the idea of organizing a large force to attack the Undead. On the other, he feared that a full opening would provoke a sudden attack from the Undead against Komeilan City.

Therefore, the Komeilan City Gate facing the Undead was opened only a crack... a small gap just wide enough for three or four people to pass through side-by-side. This way, the Demonized Creatures in the city could leave, but if the Undead showed any intention of attacking the city, the gate could be shut quickly.

’As for whether the Demonized Creatures who go out to hunt Undead can return... Hah, what does that have to do with me, White Hair Pulan? I only said you’re allowed to leave. I never said I’d protect your lives. If you die out there, that’s just your bad luck.’

The Demonized Creatures, their heads already swimming with the promise of enhanced Power, didn’t bother to consider White Hair Pulan’s ulterior motives. They just wanted to get out, see the Undead for themselves, and get some Soul Fire to strengthen their own Power. They hadn’t come all the way to Komeilan City just to spend their money and resources supporting its development.

On the very day Komeilan City was opened, the Demonized Creatures organized themselves into groups and left the city in droves. After they left, the gate was closed again. Even leaving a small crack open made White Hair Pulan uneasy. He designated two specific time slots during which people could enter and exit freely. At all other times, the gate would remain shut tight.

Their fates were now in their own hands. They had been given a chance; it remained to be seen if they could make use of it. Regardless, one thing was certain: an Undead invasion of Komeilan City absolutely could not be allowed to happen.

Reports that the Demonized Creatures were forming their own teams and leaving the city in high spirits soon reached the desk in the City Lord’s Mansion.

"Hahaha, good, very good! A happy outcome for everyone. What about the public’s approval rating? Are they satisfied?" White Hair Pulan asked, beaming with joy after reading the reports.

"The people are all saying that Lord City Lord is a man of great foresight. With you here, our city is bound to prosper," the City Defense Army officer immediately chimed in with flattery.

White Hair Pulan stood up, puffing out his large potbelly, and nodded with a huge smile. "See? I told you. I understand their thoughts best. No one understands them better than I do!"

"Ah, yes, yes, of course! Lord City Lord is brilliant," the City Defense Army officer continued to suck up.

There were several thousand Demonized Creatures who left the city. They formed their own teams—the large ones numbering nearly a hundred, the small ones just two or three—and after crossing the plaza, they headed straight for the passages.

But to their surprise, the passages were completely quiet. The so-called Undead were nowhere to be seen. All they could occasionally spot were some bone fragments, mostly debris left over from previous battles.