While the marines stood dumbfounded, in a vast, lavish hall in the Holy Land...
The Five Elders, the highest authority in the World Government, had gathered.
Clang!
The elder in refined black-rimmed glasses sheathed his sword and calmly watched the man collapse before him. He looked at him as though he were an insignificant ant, not a butler of the Dragon People Family.
A bloody line ran across the butler's chest from left to right, yet strangely, not a drop of blood flowed from it.
"That was the last person who knew, wasn't it?" asked the slightly portly, bald elder leaning against the sofa.
At the question, the elder who had struck the blow clacked across the floor in his wooden sandals and sat down. Only then did he answer, "Yes. Everyone else has been killed."
"Then let's vote. Do we approve the Antonia Family's purge of the Athos Family?"
"In favor."
"Abstain."
"In favor."
"In favor."
The elder on the sofa looked around and said calmly, "I'm in favor."
"Now inform the Antonia Family."
Whatever else was at stake, the Dragon People's attempt to gain eternal life had crossed everyone's bottom line. This purge was not merely about the other eighteen families coveting the Athos Family's wealth. More importantly, they owed the Five Elders an explanation.
They held exalted status and retained their royal privileges, but they had lost political power. However high their standing, they could not place themselves above the World Government or these five old monsters. In fact, they often had to consult them.
That was the balance. Anyone who tried to break it would find themselves alone.
No one was indispensable. The sun would still rise each day.
The Dragon People were no exception. It had been true of the Nefertari Family at the beginning