The Kind of Evil

Chapter 625: Honor.

Patriarch Gang walked into the main building and went into the meeting room where all the elders had gathered. He didn’t expect to be summoned by all the elders early in the morning, and he knew why they all looked restless and anxious. When he sat down and poured tea into everyone’s cup, he leaned back and settled comfortably in his chair.

"Patriarch Gang, the reason we asked you to join us is because of what happened last night," one of the elders said as he took a sip of the tea. "Why didn’t you accept that man’s proposal? Instead of sending them away, you welcomed them into our clan, that woman as well," he asked and glanced at Gang.

Patriarch Gang nodded as he brushed his beard with his fingers, listening to the elder speak while observing the other elders that seemed to have a similar opinion. He understood their concern, especially when it had something to do with their honor and pride.

"Because I know it would be impossible to scratch him even with our combined attack," Patriarch Gang answered with confidence.

"We are one of the big clans, our martial art isn’t that inferior to the great clans. If this accident ended up ruining our reputation, you’ll be the one who take responsibility for this," another elder said with a serious expression with dissatisfaction written all over his face.

"There’s an invisible line that separates arrogance and confidence. One who refuses to acknowledge the other outcomes while the other who already acknowldege the outcomes and have the ability to deal with them no matter what the results are. What I saw last night in his eyes wasn’t merely confidence, it was something beyond that," Patriarch Gang responded with a calm voice. "If you believe that we can put a single scratch on him and you’re confident that you can, I will gladly accept my punishment and put down from my position as the patriarch," he said with a serious expression as he looked at every elder at the table.

All the elders looked at each other as soon as Gang said those words without hesitation. Gang was chosen as patriarch not merely from inheritance, he was a patriarch because he was the reason Ganyi Clan was still one of the big clans to this day. He was experienced in battle, in decision making, and in his ability to run the clan.

"If all of you care so much about your pride and honor, then I have no choice to request Rasmus to test those things you’re so attached to," Patriarch Gang slowly stood up and left the room.

Rasmus and the others were ready to leave the Ganyi Clan’s estate when they saw Patriarch Gang and the elders following him from behind. Rasmus stared at them and lowered his head to show respect to those who had shown their hospitality.

"Are you leaving, Rasmus?" Gang asked.

"Yes, as I have promised, we are going to leave the city, Patriarch," Rasmus nodded. "I wasn’t expecting to see you and the elders of your clan to see us leave," he pointed out.

"They’re not here to see you leave, they’re here because they wanted to accept the proposal you offered to us last night at that inn," Gang answered as he looked over his shoulder at the elders. "I know that the proposal is no longer necessary, but they wanted to test whether they can put a scratch on your body or not with our combined attack," he pointed out.

Anastasha, Aris, and Rullein were smiling when they heard it, they could see the pride of the elders being stepped to the ground in their faces.

"Very well," Rasmus nodded with understanding.

Everyone went to the training ground where the warriors of the Ganyi Clan were training intensely. The warriors were confused and surprised to see Gang and the elders entering the training ground. When Gang ordered them to empty the training ground, all the warriors moved aside and stood next to the walls while he and the elders stood at the center with Rasmus.

When Gang and the elders stood in positions where they surrounded Rasmus, the warriors began to murmur to each other. They knew that formation, the Eight Feathers formation, which was the strongest and the most complicated attack formation of the Ganyi Clan. Aris and the other overheard about it and wondered what kind of attack it was.

The moment Gang and the elders unsheathed their thin swords and readied their stances, the air became thicker and heavier by the amount of Mana they produced. The Mana each of them released amplified the others’, creating a density that would normally be almost impossible to control. Yet none of them showed the slightest strain and only focused on their target in front of them. As soon as they had all coated their swords and limbs with Aura, they dashed toward Rasmus.

Rasmus watched their swords wobble almost like floating strings, and it was fascinating because Aura enhanced the durability and sharpness of the blades, yet the blades still maintained their flexibility. The amount of control to do that was immense and worth praising. The moment they were in range, they swung their swords at him, and with the momentum like a whiplash, the swords stiffened and hit him from all directions.

The whole platform cracked and released a devastating shockwave that sent big chunks of the platform flying in all directions. The warriors dodged and covered their eyes from the debris. Everyone stood there in silence when the thick dust blocked their visions, wondering if Rasmus died from that attack. However, the moment the dust dispersed and dissipated, everyone’s eyes shot wide in disbelief. Gang’s and the elders’ swords broke into pieces, their clothes ripped and tore apart, but Rasmus was still standing, unharmed, not even a scratch on his suit, only covered in dust.

"This makes no sense!" One of the elders exclaimed, his pupils trembling in disbelief.

Gang expected failure, but he didn’t expect it didn’t end with just a failure, it ended with the realization that there were heights beyond what the Ganyi Clan had believed possible. On the other hand, the other elders were too stunned to speak.

Rasmus did the hands gesture toward Gang and the elders, he had just seen and learned something new about Aura. He didn’t say a word and just looked Gang in the eyes.

"Thank you for opening our eyes, Rasmus," Gang said as he did the hands gesture.

"The honor is mine," Rasmus mirrored Gang’s hands gesture.

Rasmus excused himself since he had promised to leave by the morning. Gang, the elders, and the warrirors of the clan could only watch him and the three women leave.

"You’re covered in dust, how can you be so comfortable covered in it?" Serena chuckled softly as she brushed off the dust from Rasmus’ shoulders.

"I don’t want to be unnecesserily seen as being disrespectful," Rasmus answered as he brused the dust off his sleeves. "Now that you’re done playing with them, where to next?" He asked as he looked at Anastasha.

"Hmm? There’s no need to be in a hurry. We just put the chicken in the pot, let it broth seep into the meat first. Let’s just go to somewhere peaceful for a moment," Anastasha smirked.

At the same time at the training ground, the elders looked at Gang and they all lowered their heads at him. They admitted their wrongdoings and that their impuslive act could ruin the clan even more if Gang chose to accept Rasmus’ proposal last night in front of the eyes of the people.

"Now do you see what I see, elders?" Gang asked as he looked at them. "A man with such power has no reason to lower his head at us, he did it because he had no reason to tarnish our honor and reputation. If he did, all of us would be on the ground on our knees," he pointed out.

The elders didn’t have anything to say and kept their heads lowered.

"We need to send a message to the other clans. I still don’t like Anastasha Asghar in the empire, and not only that, the guests she brought, aren’t ordinary people," Gang said before he walked away.

"Understood, Patriarch," all the elders answered in unison as they did the hands gesture.