As they talked, they deliberately avoided the deaths of a Holy Knights member and Saint Mars of the Five Elders. No one wanted to dwell on it.
Without question, the news would cause upheaval throughout Mary Geoise and among the Celestial Dragons.
They had lost two Top Combatants, each a central figure in his Family.
Their deaths were devastating news for their Families.
And those two were not the only Celestial Dragons who had died.
Several Holy Knights candidates had also been killed, despite the protection of powerful Path Guardians.
The advantage created by the Magnetic Storm Bomb early in the battle had been enormous.
The Chains Okeanos controlled struck with deadly precision, piercing the bodies of more than a dozen powerful fighters.
They had targeted the most crowded area: the group of Holy Knights candidates and their Path Guardians.
Carnage Kabuto had killed several of them with ease.
Outnumbered and with some of their people wounded, they had been on the back foot at first.
But this was not something to discuss in front of the Marines and the others.
The Holy Knights had already been one member short. Now they had lost another.
Someone also had to succeed Saint Mars.
Finding a powerful Celestial Dragon whose strength, judgment, interests, and views aligned with theirs was exceedingly difficult within the current World Government.
How to choose that successor was a problem.
In the past, the five had assessed candidates together, then the retiring elder had chosen his own successor.
Ordinarily, the other Five Elders would not object, and the Celestial Dragon Council would approve the choice. It was little more than a formality.
But a member of the Five Elders had never died in battle before. That process had been thrown out the window.
Their candidate would almost certainly