Rocky planned to personally meet with Monte to see if he could persuade the beastman to stay under his command.
As for his approach, Liliya naturally gave her full support.
Since their goal was to recruit Monte, it was undoubtedly a sign of sincere commitment for Rocky, the Lord of one city, to meet with Monte himself, which was certainly much more effective than having someone else make the visit.
Thus, shortly after, Rocky and Liliya left the City Lord’s Mansion and took a carriage to the city district.
Monte had not met with Rocky since coming to Thunderhawk City, but Rocky was well aware of his movements. First, because Thunderhawk City wasn’t large, and Monte had few places to go; and second, because Liliya had already instructed the patrolling guards to pay close attention to his whereabouts.
So after leaving the City Lord’s Mansion, they rode the carriage directly to the inn where Monte was staying and arrived shortly after.
“City Lord, you, how come you’re here…”
When Monte opened the door to his inn room and saw Rocky standing before him, the tall beastman was completely stunned, clearly not expecting to see the City Lord again.
“What, not pleased to see me?”
Observing the dumbfounded Monte, Rocky jokingly remarked.
Unfortunately, he forgot the status difference between himself and Monte, for the beastman’s face turned sour in an instant upon hearing his words, “My Lord, I beg forgiveness, I didn’t mean it like that!”
In the midst of speaking, Monte hurriedly moved aside his towering figure and invited Rocky and Liliya into the room.
“City Lord! Hello!”
As Rocky entered the room, he immediately heard an exceedingly crisp greeting. Looking towards the source, he saw Monte’s daughter, the young female beastman.
Monte’s daughter seemed to be only about fourteen or fifteen years old, but because she was a beastman, her appearance and figure were almost on par with Liliya; she now greeted Rocky with enthusiasm.
“Hello.”
Rocky nodded slightly to Monte’s daughter and smiled.
“Dusa! Stop fooling around!”
Monte, following behind Rocky, scolded his daughter for her lack of manners: “Go back to your room, don’t bother the City Lord here!”
“Oh…”
Scolded by her father, Dusa pouted, lowered her head, and then reluctantly returned to her room. Though she closed the door, she still left a crack open and peeked out at the outside.
“Monte, no need to be so nervous, I just came to check on your injuries.”
Ignoring Dusa’s little antics, Rocky glanced at Monte and then said with a smile.
“City Lord, please have a seat.”
However, no matter how much Rocky said to relax, Monte couldn’t possibly do so. He hurriedly offered Rocky a seat and stood without sitting himself.
“You sit too, no need to be so formal.”
Only after Rocky’s repeated requests did Monte finally take a seat opposite him, still appearing quite constrained.
“How are your injuries?”
Seeing that Monte remained tense, Rocky couldn’t take it anymore and simply started to chat with him.
“Thank you for your concern, my Lord, my injuries are no longer a concern.”
“That’s good…”
Upon hearing this, Rocky nodded and then glanced at Monte’s severed arm, which had been bandaged up and clearly received professional medical treatment; it indeed seemed no longer to be a major issue.
Rocky then shifted his gaze back to Monte’s face, looked at him for a moment, and asked, “Monte, do you still plan to continue being a Demon Hunter?”
“This…”
Monte was taken aback by Rocky’s sudden question, then he gave a wry smile and shook his head, “My Lord, in my current state, I don’t think I’ll be able to hunt Demons anymore.”
As he spoke, he unconsciously touched his severed arm and sighed.
His arm had been severed, and although he received timely treatment and would heal after a period of rest, he could no longer be a Demon Hunter.
“What are your plans for the future?”
Monte’s answer was entirely within Rocky’s expectations, so after a slight pause, he spoke again.
At this question, Monte, who had previously been somewhat confused, immediately understood why Rocky had come to see him and why he was asking these questions.
Thus, after thinking for a while, Monte spoke again, “My Lord, my daughter and I have some savings, so I haven’t made any plans for now.”
“Then… would you be interested in staying with me?”
At this point in the conversation, Rocky stopped beating around the bush and directly entered the main topic, plainly stating his purpose in coming.
“My Lord, I haven’t considered that,” Monte replied, looking at Rocky, his response was very tactful.
This answer was effectively giving Rocky a response—that he did not plan to stay in Thunderhawk City.
This truly reflected Monte’s thoughts; he had been living in Thunderhawk City for several days, and although he spent most of that time in the hospital, he had already learned a lot about the city and knew exactly what it was like.
Monte felt that such a city was too small for him.
Indeed, just as Liliya had estimated before, Monte was a Fifth Level, or even on the verge of breaking through to Sixth Level warrior before his injury. Even now, with only one arm, he still had the strength of at least a Fourth Level Warrior, which was not considered low.
With such strength, Monte might not be able to hunt Demons, but he could certainly find a job in any Sky City to support his family, and that was absolutely not a problem.
If that was the case, why should he live in such a small city as Thunderhawk City?
Monte, who had traveled far and wide, had visited many medium and large Sky Cities. In those cities, he could ensure a good life for himself and his daughter without any need to stay in Thunderhawk City.
However, that was just what he thought internally; he couldn’t say it out loud. After all, even though Rocky was just the Lord of a small city, he was still the City Lord, and the difference in status made Monte express his thoughts as tactfully as possible.
“That’s roughly what I was thinking…”
What Monte didn’t expect was that Rocky, upon hearing his tactful response, did not show displeasure but smiled as if he had anticipated it.
Following this, Rocky opened his mouth to say, “Monte, you think Thunderhawk City is too small, right?”
“My Lord, I absolutely did not…” Monte quickly shook his head in denial. If he agreed now, he would really be a fool.
However, Rocky simply waved his hand to interrupt him, then said, “Monte, is that the only ambition you have for your future?”
“I…”
“Do you think that now, you can only serve as a guard for some minor noble, or find a menial job in a guild, and that’s it?”
Rocky’s words stunned Monte on the spot; he couldn’t speak for a long time because most of his thoughts were precisely what Rocky had articulated!
When he said he hadn’t made any plans for the future, it was just to brush off Rocky. How could Monte not plan for his future, especially since he was also a father?
His plans were indeed as Rocky said: intending to head to a large Sky City, then become the guard for some noble there. With his abilities, achieving this would not be difficult, even with one arm lost.
He believed that with his current conditions, if he could live such a life, that would be fairly good. The earnings from being a guard would be enough to support him and his daughter, with some left over to save for the future. When his daughter reached adulthood, he could find a good family for her to marry into, and that would complete his life.
Those were Monte’s thoughts: no lofty ambitions, just solid and realistic ones.
Clearly, Rocky didn’t see it that way, so he then said, “Monte, you indeed cannot go hunting Demons anymore, but this might not be a bad thing. Rather, it could be an opportunity.”
“I hope you can stay here with me. Believe me, following me will be much better than serving some minor noble.”
“My Lord, I… I really haven’t made up my mind,” Monte replied.
Rocky’s words were straightforward but also sincere, a sentiment Monte could feel. He even felt slightly persuaded, but this was, after all, a significant matter, and he needed to consider it carefully.
“No problem, I hope you think it over and give me your answer later.” Rocky said with a slight smile, not seeming to rush, “We will arrive at Eternal City in two more days; you can leave at any time, and I won’t stop you.”
“But I hope you can wait and give me some time because you will soon witness the transformation of Thunderhawk City. Once that happens, it won’t be too late to make your decision.”