Chapter 60: End the war before it even begins
What Judem had announced was seen as a horrible news by everyone....Except by Giran who joyfully yelled.
" YESSSS ! This could be it !"
Everyone looked at him like he had grown a second head, while Shina immediately understood why he was acting like that. Judem and her had already discussed this, but they had kept the information for themselves exactly because what had made Giran so happy was merely a supposition, with no basis at all.
"What's going on, Patriarch ?" The Sect Head asked, getting nods from the elders who were all quite confused. Now there were also some new faces in this council, faces belonging to the members of the Children of Raja, and contrarily to the elders, they all knew what Giran had thought about.
They ,who wanted to avoid the war at all costs, knew what got him to yell like that. And just like Shina and Judem, they were doubting this, but they allowed some hope to seep into their hearts. Stopping the war before it even truly began would be magnificent. Of course, the Buddha Free States were attacked, the knights orders were attacked too...But if they could get the sects to abandon, the Zhao Warriors would have to face everything on their own.
This wasn't ideal, but it was a much better situation, and in said situation the sect would be able to get ressources. Also, fighting the Zhao Warriors wasn't the same as fighting the sects of the continents. This was a common enemy, one almost everyone hated...They were sure to gain many allies for this war.
The desperate situation had now turned around. And the Raja Sect could only thank the previous tragedies that fell on their sect and only their sect. For they were the only ones who knew just how impossible to beat the Void organisation was. This was a titan, and all the players in this world, all those who held even the biggest amount of power, were mere ants compared to it. Ants could kill an elephant...Not a titan. At least not this one.
Make preparations for the entire world to crumble, this wouldn't be enough. Make preparations to face an army strong of millions of soldiers, this still wouldn't be enough.
Giran knew better than most people in this world...No matter who you are, you won't stop the Void, you can't do it and you won't even try it.
However the sects who were attacking the Raja sect didn't know that. At least most of them didn't know....So this left only one target to eliminate out of the dozens they had before.
"Okay....Call me crazy if you want...But I just found a way to turn around the whole situation. But this would require us to take some insane risks. I will start by saying this....."
The tension in the room grew stronger. Those who were confused about his new idea were scared, for they knew just how crazy he could get at some times. Those who knew where this was going were also afraid....At least they wouldn't get a heart attack from his next words, contrarily to the others.
" We will slaughter the Starlight Sect and then use our agents to spread the words about the Void. We will break the one rule that allowed us to remain alive until this point....We will reveal the existence of the Void !"
" HELL NO !!"
"HAVE YOU GROWN SENILE ?!"
"No no no ! I am not hearing this ! LA LA LA LA LA ! You didn't just say this !"
Only one person had a smile on his face at this exact moment...The smile of a very satisfied manipulator, giving a stark contrast to the terrified expression of his partner in crime who just realized his plan.
'You didn't just...' She mouthed, too afraid to say it out loud.
' I indeed just did that. ' All she got in response were these words and a smug smile. She had just served the enemy without knowing it. And the worse was ,she couldn't reveal anything now.
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(With Jian, a day before the tournament.)
It had been a few weeks since Jian had registered for the event that would be held right before the tournament. However the birthday of the prince had actually been postponed. Everyone was quite shocked to learn this, as it had never happened in the past. Even when one of the princes had been kidnapped once, his birthday was held while he was in captivity and he was brought back during the party.
But this time, something grave had happened. A part of the Sun family had been annihilated. It was an immensely powerful noble family, so it was more than bizarre for them to just slaughtered out of nowhere, without anyone being able to tell anything.
Theories about this accident were thrown around, without anyone actually getting the truth out of the government. Whatever the royal family had found while inspecting the property of the family, it had terrified them. So much so that no one could get even the slightest bit of information.
Jian had ordered Su Biyu to get her hands on members of the government and get answers out of them.
This was why everyone was sitting at the same table early in the morning. All of them looking incredibly exhausted, due to how bleak the situation was. They shouldn't have been involved in all of this, but for some reasons The Crow was now suspected of being the responsible for this accident that wasn't so accidental after all.
He didn't know who had spun the public's opinion to go against him, but they must truly want him dead. In a matter of a few days, the entire country was searching for this Crow that no one even knew about.
This was what allowed Jian to remain relatively safe. He was still an unknown variable. Even though someone had created a true crusade against him, he was still too fresh for anyone to instantly know where to look for him.
That wasn't the only reason as to why everyone looked like their soul had left their bodies. Because Fangs and Zhao Shu didn't actually care about the crow. Fangs was only in it for the money there was to gain from Jian's plan. While Zhao Shu...Well no one knew what he wanted, but no one even asked. He looked too sinister these past few days for anyone to muster the courage to ask him.
But none of those who sat at this table cared about the crusade being held against the Crow, no.....For they knew something most people didn't know. Su Biyu didn't get informations, and it's by not getting any informations that she gained a precious one. One that filled them with dread, much more so than the fact that the entire country was against them....Well against the group , minus Zhao Shu who didn't consider himself part of it. Fangs on the other side was in it for the money....But he also had another goal. Money was good, but it obsessed only his colleagues. He was a curious man, and informations had much more values in his eyes. He was a curious man, and he would be a damn liar if he said that Jian, Zhao Shu and Biyu didn't poke his curiosity...And poke it they did, immensely even.
A Zhao Warrior who loved AND hated his tribe, a serial killer from another race who was spying on her old family whom she thought she had lost....And then a kid with weird powers that he had never seen. This was an ideal situation for him. He would get to learn so many interesting things....Or he would be able to if his colleagues joined the boy's group. If not, then he will have to abandon his hopes of getting new and interesting knowledge.
"So.....I'm having some troubles understanding this whole thing. But this really looks like some sort of conspiracy...Or worse, it's actually a threat so terrifying it stunned the royal family into a silence. But this...This is way too much ! No one is talking. Biyu you tortured those guys for so many hours, you did the worst things to them, or at least you used drugs to make them believe that...Thanks for following my idea too, I don't like making people suffer for no valid reasons...But anyway, even after all you made them believe you did to them...No one said anything ! We only know what everyone else knows ! The mansion went up in flames all of a sudden, no one was seen near the compound at this hour, no one left the city in a hurry, the guards looked around all week and found nothing.....Damnit." Jian said. Uma and Biyu shared his feelings, this was worrying.
Zhao Shu on the other hand didn't feel exactly the same. To him, this could very well be the act of the Zhao Warriors, and if it that was the case...Then it meant that they were here. It meant that they entered the city and he didn't notice. So lost in his training he was, that he forgot the very reason he was training so hard.
But those sitting around the table weren't the only ones who were worrying. A certain unholy immortal was worried too. And immensely so at that.
' Jian...I might have to reveal some things earlier than I thought. Leave the room, you won't be able to act normally in front of them with what I'll say.' Mara said, in the most serious tone of voice Jian had ever heard.
Jian complied and suddenly left the room. Everyone thought he had simply left to cool his head, and it was understandable.
"Alright, what is it ?" Jian asked right as he locked the door of the bathroom behind him.
" The flames Jian...The flames that engulfed the compound...They are not normal flames. I have seen them during my time in hell....Those were a weaker version of a type of fire that I know all too well....The Phoenix Fire !"