Lord of the Sky City

With the last guest sent off, the significant event for Rocky had finally concluded satisfactorily. It was the first time he had hosted so many guests in Sky City as a host, so once everyone had left, he was almost on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

However, that was not the end, because as soon as the collaboration was announced, the Apple Tree Corporation sprang into action. They clearly did not want to waste any time. Archimonde, the Vice President, was directly put in charge of cooperating with Thunderhawk City and decided to stay in Thunderhawk City.

So after the guests had left, Archimonde immediately found Rocky, and they decided to start building factories in Thunderhawk City, beginning with an armaments factory. The Apple Tree Corporation would take care of the materials, while Thunderhawk City would provide the manpower. As soon as the factory was completed, production would begin immediately, and the Corporation would also prepare for the sales during this period.

In this matter, Rocky and Archimonde quickly reached an agreement, and the Apple Tree Corporation began to allocate resources to transport everything necessary for constructing the factory, including materials and equipment, to Thunderhawk City. Meanwhile, Rocky had Old Jack start recruiting workers, ready to start construction as soon as the materials arrived.

In light of these events, Thunderhawk City immediately became a hive of activity. After all, the two thousand newly settled residents were eagerly waiting for a chance to work. Thus, when the recruitment notice was posted, almost all of these two thousand people rushed to the recruitment center. The number of people and their enthusiastic response far exceeded Rocky and Old Jack's expectations.

"Everyone, line up! No disorder! Everyone will have a chance!"

After the recruitment notice was posted, long lines formed outside the recruitment center early the next morning. Hundreds of people were eagerly waiting to register, and to avoid any unnecessary trouble, Old Jack had to deploy a team of guards led by Sandro, a Void Magic Warrior, to maintain order.

Watching the long lines and seeing the anxiety and hope in people's eyes, Sandro couldn't help but feel emotional. He considered himself an old-timer in Thunderhawk City, having been in the Guard Corps since the day Rocky took charge of the city. Reflecting on the former state of Thunderhawk City and seeing its current state, Sandro felt as if he was living in a completely different era.

However, nostalgia aside, his job had to be done. With hundreds of people lining up here and more expected to arrive, maintaining order was crucial. Being one of Rocky's loyal subordinates from the beginning, Sandro knew well that Rocky detested disorder, especially any problems with the city's security. Therefore, he could not afford to take this matter lightly.

Fortunately, although Sandro had brought only a small squad of about a dozen guards, having him, a battle-armored Void Magic Warrior, there indeed helped. Initially, the scene might have been somewhat chaotic, but it improved significantly once Sandro and his team appeared.

"Everyone, maintain order! The City Lord detests any problems with the city's security, and we are so close to the City Lord's Mansion. Don't make it difficult for me! Otherwise, I will deal with it severely!"

While maintaining order and ensuring everyone was properly lined up, Sandro sternly instructed. When he mentioned Rocky, the crowd instantly became much quieter and more compliant, even stopping normal conversations, which took Sandro by surprise.

It was no wonder these people behaved this way; their status was that of refugees, grateful to have a place to survive, making them very compliant. Being frightened like this only made them more obedient.

Moreover, although they had just arrived in Thunderhawk City, they had heard about the city and especially Rocky to some extent. Even if some had not heard of Rocky before, they had mostly learned about him from the 'old-timers' of Thunderhawk City in the past few days.

Rocky's reputation among the old residents of Thunderhawk City naturally need not be mentioned. The city's long-term residents, who had witnessed and experienced the changes in Thunderhawk City, spoke highly of Rocky, the City Lord. This praise from the old residents made the new ones feel fortunate. Even if they had not yet met Rocky, the mention of his name alone stirred a solemn respect, deterring them from speaking freely.

Seeing everyone suddenly behaving so docilely, Sandro couldn't help but smile wryly before motioning his team to bring forward a stack of forms.

"To save time during registration, we will give each of you a form. Take a look at it and carefully read the content. When it's your turn, make sure to fill out all the required information. Pay special attention, and if you have any special skills, make sure to write them down."

While shouting to the crowd, Sandro led the small team and the recruitment staff to distribute forms to everyone.

"Little girl, what are you doing here?"

Standing in the middle of the line, Sandro had just passed out forms to a few people in front, and when he turned around, he found a little girl standing in the middle of the line, which amused him.

This time, they were recruiting construction workers to build an armory. Although the notice did not specify gender, it was clear that construction work was meant for men, given it involved physical labor. So, what was a little girl doing signing up? Besides, she was too young, looking to be only about sixteen or seventeen—she couldn't possibly handle this type of work.

No sooner had he asked than the little girl quickly shook her head at Sandro, "Sir, I—I can do it. I can do anything! Really! So... could you... could you give me a form, please..."

Clearly, the girl had caught Sandro's implication, so she hurriedly spoke up, and as she did, her eyes reddened.

Seeing that the girl was about to cry, Sandro immediately felt a headache brewing. Before he had decided how to respond or comfort her, someone next to them spoke up.

"Sir, please just give her a form..." The one who spoke was a man in his thirties or forties, standing in front of the girl, with an honest face. He turned to Sandro respectfully and said, "Sir, this little girl's name is Annie. She was supposed to come to the city with her parents. Unfortunately, they fell seriously ill on the way. Her father died on the skyship, and now it's just her looking after her mother, so you..."

At this point, the man stopped speaking due to a sobbing Annie behind him, whose tears had started flowing freely. Her crying also stirred a sad expression on the faces of others around, prompting many to wipe away tears—not for Annie's misfortunes, but because these people were reminded of their sufferings.

Coming to Thunderhawk City as refugees, every one of them had endured painful experiences. Why else would they be refugees if their lives were perfectly happy?

But this made Sandro's headache even worse. Those familiar with Sandro knew he was not eloquent, so he was not the one to manage this situation.

Just as he felt baffled, suddenly someone behind him asked:

"What's going on here?"

Hearing this voice, Sandro was taken aback, and as he turned around, he saw Rocky.

"City Lord!"

Sandro had not expected Rocky to show up and quickly stood at attention, then gave him a salute.