1804 Patience, Calm and Loyalty.
The atmosphere was quite tense. With two enemies being forced to face one another for the first two families, or rather three, had been at one another's throats for centuries, pulling back and forth on one another and sowing grudges that lasted through the generations.
Within the crowd, they could spot individuals who had killed their brothers, their sister, their husbands, their wives, their parents, their grandparents.
It was a hard pill to swallow. If not for Leonel’s existence in the middle of it all, they would have been entirely crushed.
Libli, who had lost her own father not too long ago, tried to maintain her calm, but it was obvious that even someone as cold and calculating as her couldn't quite maintain a cool head.
She couldn’t help but look toward Leonel with a blaming look in her eye. She thought that Leonel had come with intentions to help them eradicate this evil, but he had instead brought their enemies to their front door and was even acting as a shield for them.
“What do you mean by this, Leonel?" Libli asked.
Although Leonel was indeed a Prince, and though he did, indeed have a high standing, as a Matriarch herself, she couldn’t take a soft stance against something like this.
Also, she hadn’t been there to personally witness Leonel's battle against Harmony like the Florer family had been.
If she had, there was likely no way she would allow her tone to be so disrespectful. Didn’t say anything immediately. He had already known that things would likely be like this.
But when there was conflict within an Empire's borders, things would always escalate in this fashion.
In truth, the true weakness of the Ascension Empire was that they hadn't gained all this territory through their sheer might.
They were just lucky enough to be born into an exceptionally talented world which then proceeded to swallow up the territories of others.
As things went, it wasn't exactly wrong for these families and organizations to feel little toward the Ascension Empire other than some fear toward their potential and what the strength they had displayed already in protecting their expanding territory.
This also meant that when it came to territories like that of the Radix family, or the Florer family, the way they saw things, their territories were still their own to protect or flourish within, they just happened to be under a new umbrella of influence, much like they had been when the Luxnix and the other three pillar families ran things.
Due to this, Libli still felt that it was within her right to make it clear that Leonel had disrespected her by bringing her enemies into her home.
When in reality, as a Prince, Leonel was just bringing a faction from one section of his territory into the territory of another faction of his Empire. Leonel tapped his finger and a wave of violet King's Might spread out in all directions.
It was the simplest of his abilities, Emperor's Aura, but it was also the most effective in a situation like this one. It immediately suffocated all opposition and seemed to remind Libli who she was in the presence of.
"... I'm aware of many things, “Leonel suddenly began to speak, "I'm aware that many of you feel discontented about the sudden rise of the Fawkes family and the Ascension Empire. You feel that everything you've spent generations of blood building is being swept into the hands of another just because they were born into a higher station than you.”
Many gripped their fists as Leonel spoke as he seemed to be whispering right into their souls. He was right, but none of them dared to so openly confirm such a thing.
However, Leonel's follow up shocked them. "This much is true, there is no denying any of that. The world is unfair. There is only so much that hard work can do, and working hard isn't something you can have a monopoly on either. You might be working your ass off, but there might be someone twice as talented as you willing to work just as hard, and that person will make it further just by virtue of the fact they're luckier than you are,”
“This is reality. This is how the World works. I take certain responsibilities on my shoulders for no other reason than the fact that I acknowledge myself to be luckier than others. There are probably many people who work harder than I do, but it will never matter because my starting place is so much higher than theirs,”
"This is how the world functions. "Leonel swept his gaze through them. He could see bitterness, he could see unwillingness, but most often he saw sighs and acquiescence.
"Even if it wasn't my Ascension Empire, it would be my Luxnix family. Even if it wasn't my Luxnix family, it would be the Chaotic Water Sector. Even if it wasn't the Chaotic Water Sector, it would be the Constellation Alliances. Even if it wasn't the Constellations, it would be my Morales family. Even if it wasn't my Morales family, it would be the Void Palace, and if not them, it would be any of the other Races who deem themselves to be superior to our Human Race.”
Every family and organization Leonel mentioned was more suffocating than the last.
Even though these small families didn't understand the weight of what half of these names meant, just the fact they could suppress the Ascension Empire and the Luxnix family was enough for them to understand just how isolated they were.
"You all lack that luck, the chance to be given a place of high birth. You may never be destined to climb to the top of the Dimensional Verse, even I may not be destined to do so..." Leonel's gaze flashed when he thought of that young man he saw after climbing to the top of the Bow Pagoda...His gaze flashed again when he thought about his father... and then again when he thought about that mysterious pressure he felt when he thought about the demoness.
"... But what I can give you all is the lucky opportunity you've been lacking. The only price to pay is patience, calm and loyalty. If you can pay that, I will give you an opportunity. If you cannot pay that, your road will end here."
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