Chapter 554: Time To Break Free
Beneath the surface-level reactions, the true consequences of the Dragon Army’s emphatic victory on Planet Koral had already begun to ripple through the deeper political currents of the universe.
The Cult Of Ascension’s rise was a common problem for everyone belonging to the Righteous Alliance, which included the Six Great Clans as well as the Universal Government.
And no one felt the weight of that problem more heavily than the founding gods themselves.
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Inside a dimly lit, sanctum-like chamber, meant to only be used to hold emergency meetings, Su Ren sat alone on a throne of polished marble.
Before him were five holographic projections of his counterparts, each one seated upon their own throne, their figures stabilized by ancient projection runes that only the founding gods could access.
Mu Shen of the Mu Clan.
Du Trask of the Du Clan.
Lu Han of the Lu Clan.
Ru Vassa of the Ru Clan.
And Yu Kiro of the Yu Clan.
All the six founding gods were present for this meeting, but none of them seemed to be willing to speak first, as they all just kept staring into each other’s eyes without uttering a single word.
*Sigh*
Eventually, it was Su Ren who exhaled slowly and leaned forward, his voice cold but measured.
"We all know why we’re here." He said, as he alternated his gaze between all of them.
"The Cult’s new Dragon is a problem, he has the makings of the next Timeless Assassin in him." Su Ren said, as his words immediately caused an uproar amongst his peers.
"Oh there he goes again.... This guy? Can you believe him?
Isn’t that the same garbage that he said about Noah Ashburn? And now what? Noah’s dead just like the rest of the Cult’s previous Dragons.
The ancient prophecy is a farce! The Timeless Assassin died 2200 years ago!
We killed him ourselves!" Yu Kiro complained, as he threw up his hands in disbelief.
"The Cult’s no longer a threat. It’s just Soron.
After the Timeless Assassin’s death, we have systematically dismantled the Cult and its ability to be a universal power.
The current Cult Of Ascension has what?
One God, No Demi Gods and One Monarch in their upper echelons.
They’re no longer a Universal Power.
We can crush them any time we want, if it weren’t for Soron." Lu Han said, as the others nodded in agreement.
"What we need to focus on is how to decouple with the Universal Government, this is not the time to focus on the Cult.
We have been planning to break free from the Universal Government’s influence for over 500 years now.
I think it’s time we put our money where our mouths are and do it!
At the next conclave, let’s put up a united front and tell those three that we will no longer serve under them." Du Trask said, as his words gave way to more chaos and tension.
"We can’t break free from the Righteous Alliance yet.... Not while the Cult Of Ascension is still a threat.
Not while Soron is still alive.
Do any of you have the confidence to face that monster alone?
Cause I sure as hell don’t.
You might have forgotten how ferocious he was, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
After the Timeless Assassin, Soron’s the second best fighter I’ve ever seen in my life." Ru Vassa pointed out, as she suggested that they not make any rash decisions at this point in time.
"You don’t understand Ru, that’s how Mauriss gets us!
It’s the threat of Soron and the Cult that binds this Righteous Alliance together.
Why do you think Kaelith has never taken out those origin metal blades in the past 2 millenium?
Why do you think the three of them haven’t killed Soron yet?
Because they know damn well that the moment the Cult is no longer a threat, they’ll have nothing to keep us under control.....
This is all a ploy, why can’t you see it?" Du Trask argued, as the discussion devolved into Chaos once more.
The Six Great Clans had long yearned to break free from the Righteous Alliance, where their position beneath the Universal Government resembled that of glorified vassals.
Yet somehow, the timing never aligned.
Every time they inched toward independence, the Cult and its newly appointed Dragon stirred unrest, forcing them to turn to the Universal Government for military support, thereby chaining them to the alliance for a few more years.
Now, however, after centuries of waiting, the Six Great Clans were finally on the verge of severing ties. They had even internally agreed to formally notify Mauriss, Kaelith, and Helmuth of their decision at the next conclave.
But just as they prepared to make their big move, the Cult’s new Dragon had once again begun to disrupt everything.
"The timing behind all this is too suspicious.... I refuse to believe that the Cult made no moves for the past three decades, but suddenly appointed a new Dragon right before we were about to break free.
I firmly believe this is Mauriss’s doing, the Deceiver is making us all dance like marionettes on a string." Mu Shen said, as his words upset almost everyone.
No god in this room liked Mauriss even slightly, however, they all feared him nonetheless.
"I propose that we change nothing..... So what if the Su Clan lost one planet? I’m sure it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
What’s more important is to secure our independence.
The universal government has dictated their terms on how to run our land long enough.
I think it’s about time we tell them to fuck off...." Yu Kiro said, as everyone in the room but Ru Vassa nodded.
"I’m telling you all, the timing is not right! A couple more centuries and Soron will die.
We can make our move then....
Right now it’s too soon!" Ru pleaded, however, nobody in the room paid any attention to her words.
It was exactly concerns like these that had blinded them to this unfair alliance for over two millenia.
But in the eyes of the other five, it was time to now break free.