Chapter 609: Panic Inside The Su Clan
"The Su Family God is DEAD?"
Charles asked, his voice heavy with disbelief, as Soron simply nodded, his expression indifferent.
"Yeah, I think they made an example out of him.... An example of what the cost is to defy the Universal Government.
The Six Great Clans wanted independence from the Righteous Alliance at this year’s All Gods Summit, but they didn’t get it.
Instead, Su Ren died, and now the Su Family lands will be gobbled up by the other hungry wolves.
It’s a tragedy.... But Su Ren had it coming." Soron explained, as both Leo and Charles turned eerily quiet.
This was quite a big development with major universal implications.
However, no public news had been leaked yet, meaning not many people knew about the Su Family god’s death.
"You’re going on an expedition to capture planet Nemo, yeah?
Should be easier now that the Su Clan will be in internal turmoil.
Play your hand right and you’ll secure a nice piece of land for yourself." Soron said to Leo, as Leo nodded absent mindedly.
He had no particular affection for the Su Clan as a whole, and hence he did not care what happened to them.
However, he did care for Su Yang, and wondered if he would be okay through all this mess.
"Lord Soron.... If you were the remaining five clans, would you allow a direct Su Family descendent to live?" Leo asked, as Soron clicked his tongue in refusal.
*Click*
"No chance. Not just the main clan.... I wouldn’t let anyone carrying the Su name survive, for they’ll only cause more problems down the line."
He said, as his reply was all the confirmation Leo needed to realize that his friend might be in deep trouble.
—-----------
(Meanwhile, inside the Su Family War Room)
The atmosphere within the Su Family War Room was solemn, as all Su family warriors holding the rank of a Monarch, or the distinction of a Commander, were called for an emergency meeting at the capital.
At the head of the table stood Su Tang, the Su Family Patriarch, his silk robes disheveled and clinging to him with sweat as though even his clothing had turned against him, while his trembling hands gripped the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
His eyes darted between the assembled veterans of his clan, his voice caught between duty and dread, as before him sat the past, present and future of the clan.
Some of them were his uncles and aunts, gray-haired Monarchs who had once guided him when he was a child barely able to circulate mana.
Others were cousins and their children who had grown into their prime, their eyes sharp and unyielding as they represented the next generation of leaders.
These were not ordinary warriors; each of them was a pillar of the Su name, a symbol of the clan’s enduring might, veterans who had fought wars on countless planets and carved the Su legacy into the stars.
Yet tonight, all eyes bore into Su Tang, searching not just for words but for reassurance, for answers, for a glimmer of hope that the foundations of their clan were not about to collapse.
Finally, Su Tang drew in a breath, steadying himself before speaking.
His voice wavered, but the silence was so complete that every syllable seemed to echo against the stone walls.
"Father left for the All Gods Summit two days ago," he began, his words heavy with strain, "and he has not returned since."
Murmurs broke out immediately, though he raised his hand to silence them, forcing himself to continue.
"Although we cannot confirm what might have happened, our spies embedded within the other Clans report something troubling. They say... they say that he might have been betrayed, and killed. And that the other Great Clans may already be preparing to carve apart our lands."
The words fell like thunder across the chamber.
For a long heartbeat, there was only stunned silence, eyes darting between one another as though seeking some denial that refused to come.
The very notion that Su Ren, the God of their clan, the pillar who had carried them for centuries, could be dead was not something that could be absorbed in a single moment.
"He cannot be dead," an elderly aunt spoke, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"Do you hear yourself, Tang? Your father is a God. The Su Family God. Who among the righteous alliance would dare kill him? Who among them could?"
Another slammed his palm on the table, sparks of mana lashing from his hand as his eyes burned with fury.
"This reeks of conspiracy. Betrayal. The Six Clans have long envied our lands. If Su Ren truly fell, then it was not in a fair fight but in some coward’s ambush."
The room erupted in overlapping voices, disbelief mutating into outrage as old Monarchs roared their indignation.
Some cursed the other clans, vowing vengeance even before the facts were fully known.
While others accused the Universal Government of orchestrating the downfall, pointing at the timing of the Summit, their suspicions fueled by centuries of mistrust.
Su Tang raised his voice, straining to be heard above the chaos, but the storm of outrage raged on.
For them, Su Ren was not just a father, or a leader. He was a symbol of immortality, a shield that had always stood between them and annihilation.
To accept his death was to accept that the Su name was vulnerable, that the universe would no longer bend around their banner.
Yet as the minutes dragged on, the outrage waned, replaced by something far colder.
Nervousness.
The room grew quiet again, though now the silence felt heavier, more suffocating than before.
Eyes darted across the table, no longer filled with denial or rage, but with the slow realization of what this meant.
The Five Great Clans were now united against them.
Each only comparable in strength to the Su Clan by themselves, but together, an unstoppable tide.
It was then that Su Bal, the Commander of planet Nemo, who was seated midway down the table, finally broke the silence.
His tone was steady, but the weight of his question pressed down on everyone present.
"If the news is true," he said, his words calm but his eyes burning with quiet fire, "and if the other clans come for us all at once... what is our course of action? We cannot pretend this storm will pass us by. If they are intent on eradicating the Su name, then they will not stop until every last one of us is buried."
His question lingered in the air like a blade pressed to every throat.
Su Tang swallowed, his eyes shifting to meet his nephew’s, then scanning across the grim faces of his clan’s pillars.
"We need to strategize," he said at last, his voice hoarse, "to decide which planets we will protect, and how much territory we can realistically hold onto. We cannot delude ourselves into thinking we can hold everything. Not against five enemies. If we try to clutch it all in our hands..."
He paused, his lips tightening as though the words themselves were poison.
"...then we might lose everything."
The chamber fell silent again, but this time the silence was different, laced with unbearable dread.
The veterans of the Su Clan, the strongest and most loyal of their blood, looked at one another with the sinking realization that history itself had turned against them.
For the first time in two millennia, the proud warriors of the Su Family felt the shadow of extinction settling across their shoulders.
And the fear that their days of universal dominance were finally coming to an end.