Novel Full Chapter 990: Final Hit
Chapter 990: Final Hit
“I dare any of you to try and leave the Conclave,” the Grand Xor’Vak said as he looked at all the leaders present. It was one of the few times that he had made a direct threat. Most of the time, he preferred giving implied threats that left the recipient to imagine the horror he would inflict on them, which was pretty scary for these people, as they always imagined the worst possible things, in turn working in the Grand Xor’Vak’s favor.
“Before I returned here, I contacted the empire,” Costcka said, panning his head to look at the leaders across the table, who were now all focusing on him the moment they heard him mention the empire. “I thought they wouldn’t answer since, at the moment, although difficult to acknowledge, the empire has control of the battlefield, and we are left to react. But they answered, and I was able to have a very fruitful conversation with them.
They said that they are open to stopping this war since it is also very expensive for them, both materially and monetarily, as their avatars are being expended very fast, and the economic warfare is also hurting them. However, they said they are not going to stop attacking unless a new and more beneficial agreement is reached, but it will not be done with the Conclave, but with a new organization. Now, I’m trying to form that organization where, instead of just acting as a mutually beneficial agreement, we will have an even closer and more equal one, unlike the current Conclave, where most of the power is concentrated at the top.
And I believe that you can’t do anything about it and are only grandstanding, as you are afraid that the empire will attack you at any time. So, as a start, I will officially tender my civilization’s withdrawal from the Conclave alliance and will be open to receiving and welcoming the leaders who leave as well, to join the meeting with the empire and discuss matters regarding the new alliance.”
When he was done, he didn’t even bother to wait for a response from the Grand Xor’Vak, who looked like a balloon on the verge of exploding from the way his chest was rising and falling through his speech, as he just closed the call, leaving the meeting.
Although the Grand Xor’Vak had wanted to interrupt Costcka during his long-winded response to his dare, his arrogance didn’t allow him to do that, as he deemed it beneath him to interrupt someone. That counted as a weakness from his point of view, and he couldn’t shoulder that.
The room fell into chaos with leaders reacting differently to Costcka’s actions. Many made clear signs that they were against it, but many knew that they were just acting like that because they didn’t want to divert the Grand Xor’Vak’s attention to them, as he was about to vent his anger very soon by the look on his face. But many were considering it, as it meant they would have better prosperity than even when they were just allies. They were holding back because they were worried that the empire, which had gone behind their backs to cause internal turmoil, would keep its promise, so they were taking the time to weigh the pros and cons of the proposal.
“I’m sure you all know that it is impossible for anyone to leave the Conclave the moment they enter, and any attempt at doing that is met with an appropriate response. So, does anyone have a suggestion on what to do with Nymari and Elara, who have decided to test our response?” the Grand Xor’Vak asked, his sound coming out as if it went through a storm.
This was usually a protection in order to give the civilizations that had fought hard to join the Conclave the peace of mind that they would remain in the Conclave so long as they didn’t lose a mutually agreed-upon war, with a few rare circumstances. At least, that was the argument those at the top believed. But to those at the bottom of the hierarchy, this was nothing other than a forever chain. Despite knowing that, it remained the best possible solution to their problem among the options they had, which were to join the Conclave or be a vassal civilization, which is just a better-framed form of slavery with a few more protections.
“We should paint them so that it looks to the empire like they are our spies sent to infiltrate them and gauge their real strength. That way, the empire will deal with them without us having to raise our hands or move our forces,” the head of the Shadari civilization said, his voice sounding as if it was coming from every direction.
“No, we can’t let outsiders discipline our own dogs, or they will think we don’t have the ability to discipline them ourselves. He is a top-ten civilization leader, and if we do nothing about his transgressions, then everyone else will look down on us and attempt to do the same, so we need to set an example.
I plan to destroy the Nymari civilization first as a warning while leaving Elara for later, when we can all get ready and enjoy pieces from them,” the Grand Xor’Vak said, his words sounding like he had already made a decision and he was just informing them of it. His confidence was so high that he didn’t even hide his thoughts about the reason he was doing these things was to act as a warning, even when the leaders of those lower-ranked civilizations were present in the meeting.
They already knew he didn’t care about them and considered the entire Conclave his property, as it was obvious from the way he behaved, but he had never been this blatant in the past, to the point of actually speaking the thoughts behind his underlined words.
In the eyes of the strong, the benefits they gained were nothing but the result of their strength, and through that belief, arrogance is born. The Grand Xor’Vak’s arrogance had been growing for centuries, with very few people saying anything against it, and it had finally reached a point where he said everything on his mind, confident that those at the bottom would swallow it and do nothing. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Although the last hit destroys the object, it is a result of the culmination of the thousands of previous hits that had constantly been chipping away at its durability.