Lord of the Sky City

Chapter 545: Chapter 508 Governor Chapter 545: Chapter 508 Governor “Because Rocky simply doesn’t trust this city,”

“Oh?”

Upon hearing this, Liliya furrowed her brows and turned to look at Athena.

“Why? This is his city.”

Truth be told, Athena’s words puzzled Liliya. Carltos City was Rocky’s city, in the past and now. How could he possibly not trust his own city?

“This is indeed his city, but this city has betrayed him.”

Turning her head as well, Athena gave the answer, “Two years ago, the city was deceived, but do you remember the scene of that duel? Just two years have passed, and the people in the city have already forgotten Rocky. They consider themselves part of the Mairente Family and are unwilling to leave the family.”

“The reason for this outcome is not important, the outcome itself is what matters. And how do you think Rocky views this city?”

“This…”

This question left Liliya slightly opening her mouth, but no answer came out.

“In Rocky’s eyes, every single person in Carltos City has betrayed him at one time; these people are extremely dangerous. He would not be willing to stay in Carltos City for an extra minute, so we absolutely must not let him go there, otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?”

“Otherwise… Carltos City will run with blood.”

“Impossible, Rocky wouldn’t…”

“Liliya.” When Liliya tried to speak, Athena suddenly interrupted her, then looked at her, “You must remember, at the end of the day, Rocky is the City Lord.”

After saying these words, Athena nodded to Liliya, then strode out of the City Lord’s Mansion’s gates.

Watching her leave, Liliya took a while to recover, but the conversation between the two kept echoing in her mind. Eventually, she sighed helplessly and turned to go back.

……

……

A series of measures for Carltos City were officially introduced a few days later.

As Athena had said, Rocky did not go there himself, but instead appointed a new Governor to manage the city. However, the appointed Governor was rather surprising.

Voss.

The new Governor of Carltos City was none other than Voss.

Upon hearing this name, many may have forgotten it, even some who had joined under Rocky’s command later, such as Lin Feng, had no idea who this person was. But this man was an old acquaintance of Rocky’s. He was not only the former finance officer of Thunderhawk City but also Aileen’s grandfather!

Rocky appointing Voss as the administrative officer of Carltos City was an unexpected move for many, but upon reflection, it also made perfect sense.

As the previous finance officer of Thunderhawk City, Voss could be described as cunning and astute. Rocky’s quick control over Thunderhawk City was in part due to Voss’s support, which is why the former officials of Thunderhawk City were all purged, except for Voss. He not only escaped any consequences but also had his position taken over by his granddaughter, and Aileen fulfilled the expectations by becoming one of Rocky’s most important confidantes and right-hand person.

This was another reason for Rocky’s appointment of Voss, which was trust.

Because of the relationship with Aileen, Rocky had considerable trust in Voss. Given Voss’s capabilities, appointing him as the Governor of Carltos City was not such an inconceivable decision.

Along with the appointment of Voss as Governor, Rocky also transferred half of the Guard Corps from Thunderhawk City and the Second Fleet to Carltos City to maintain public order.

As mentioned before, when the families handed over Carltos City to Rocky, they surrendered everything about the city, but this did not include the military and the Fleet, which were property of the families. Moreover, even if the families had been willing to hand over these military forces, Rocky would have been even less willing to accept them. This left Carltos City essentially unarmed, hence the decision to temporarily deploy troops from Thunderhawk City to maintain order.

Undeniably, Athena’s insights into Rocky’s thoughts were spot on; he indeed did not trust the city. Without delving into details, Rocky sending the Second Fleet to Carltos City was proof enough of his lack of trust.

Thunderhawk City had a total of three Fleets; the First and Second Fleets were the main forces, whereas the Third Fleet was more of a reserve force. Normally, even if there were concerns about disorder in the city, sending the Third Fleet would have been sufficient, but Rocky dispatched the main force, the Second Fleet, to Carltos City. With the Second Fleet’s firepower, should anything truly amiss arise in Carltos City, this Fleet could level the entire district!

Of course, as a large Sky City with a population of over thirty thousand, Carltos City could not be permanently garrisoned by troops from Thunderhawk City; it was just a temporary arrangement. In reality, Rocky had already started expanding his forces, but the recruitment wasn’t taking place in Carltos City, but rather in Thunderhawk City.

Fortunately, the population of Thunderhawk City had reached three thousand, and once Berg delivered another two thousand people, the population would hit five thousand, allowing for the expansion of the Guard Corps without much issue.

Once all arrangements were in place, Voss formally proceeded to his appointment in Carltos City.

Before departing, Voss had specifically sought instructions from Rocky, asking what he hoped for him to do upon arriving in Carltos City. How experienced was Voss? Like Athena, he was well aware of Rocky’s disposition towards Carltos City, so some things had to be clarified.

“Don’t let anyone cause trouble, by any means necessary.”

That was the sole statement Rocky made to Voss.

The words spoken from Rocky’s mouth were taken by Voss as a command, so upon arriving in Carltos City, he immediately took a series of actions.

The first thing he did was reduce taxes.

As a former finance officer, Voss was acutely aware of the importance of the economy and how taxing a city’s populace could become a heavy burden for the common people.

As a mid-sized Sky City with a population of over thirty thousand, Carltos City had a considerable level of taxation, at least several magnitudes greater than Thunderhawk City, with over a million Gold Coins in tax revenue each quarter. Therefore, Voss’s first directive upon taking office was to reduce taxes.

Because a reduction in tax revenue could significantly shrink the city’s income, by the same token, the people’s burden would be lessened, and as their burden lightened, so would their grievances towards the rulers decrease—a very clear rationale.

The second action Voss took after taking office was to purge—and it was a massive purge!