Chapter 384: Chapter 386: The Elder Council’s Compromise Chapter 384: Chapter 386: The Elder Council’s Compromise [Additional chaotic code, restored at 3:50 AM, if not restored open the directory and long press this chapter to re-download]
“Ah~” In the end, everything turned into a sigh, nothing could be changed.

“Why not… let’s draft Martial Alliance to deal with it, haven’t they always considered themselves the side of justice? If that’s the case, it’s a good opportunity to press them with righteousness,” said the Right Governor with a sneer, plotting to set a tiger to fight a wolf.

“But if they don’t resolve it, we can’t just ignore the problem, otherwise, it will eventually lead to a catastrophe.”

“Alright, since it’s unanimously approved, let’s send a letter to Martial Alliance for the follow-up,” said the Great Governor calmly, but the reluctance was visible on his face, what could be done about it?

“Next, there’s another matter to address, a monster has appeared in the south, and the situation is very unclear. I presume you’ve all heard about it,” the Great Governor said, and then took out a photograph and placed it in the center of the table.

“We’ll talk about that later. We can’t just let this monster roam around; the Federation itself doesn’t have much prestige to lose. Can it sink any lower if we fail?” the Great Governor said with self-mockery, but he also firmly made the decision.

“Time waits for no one, with another year’s time, Super Soldiers would be mature enough. But now we’re only at the initial stages of development; if things go as Martial Alliance says, we’ll never get a chance to turn things around in our lifetimes,” said Right Governor Yuan Si with a sigh, as he was the one in charge of this matter.

“The cat’s out of the bag now, they demand that we destroy all Super Soldier Serum and research data and execute the entire laboratory staff on charges of treason,” said Great Governor Situ Ke, regaining his composure before speaking.

“Those in favor of a truce, raise your hand,” seeing this, the Great Governor could only speak out.

“Let’s decide with a vote,” said Left Governor Yang Yi, speaking directly. He also felt this was a difficult issue to solve. The matter of Super Soldier Serum was unlikely to end well. Even if they didn’t pursue it, it would give Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters leverage, and who knows if they might do something even more outrageous.

“There’s not a single injury on the outside!”

“We can’t deal with this monster by relying on those powers, but what if we lure the monster to the Secret Martial Sect’s mountain gate or the Secret Spirit Organization’s base? Would this plan work?” the Right Governor had another idea, once again a scheme to set a tiger to fight a wolf, only this time, they would be driving an even more dangerous beast.

“Let’s pressure them with righteousness first and see if that works, if not, then use Heavenly Thunder. We can’t let this monster roam any longer, and it could serve as a warning to the Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters not to go too far,” said the Left Governor.

“That’s too simplistic. Pulling the tiger’s skin is fine, but when it comes to making them act, they’ll have plenty of excuses,” the Left Governor knew this was just the other side’s angry talk. Did they really think these people were fools?

“What if it doesn’t kill them?” the Right Governor suddenly asked.

“These Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters are shortsighted, merely focusing on their small territory without a greater vision, a pity…” the Great Governor understood thoroughly. Just as the Secret Martial World was divided into north and south or the demarcation of territories, they would not care about the life and death of other forces unless they expanded their realms.

“This won’t be easy, we want to do it, but Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters will certainly refuse. To them, it would be a feast of reshuffling the deck. If the monster is truly dealt with, it would be the same as cutting off their money flow,” the Left Governor said.

The Great Governor fell silent for a moment, then said, “I’m afraid that won’t work, this face-stealing monster’s killing methods are too strange, belonging neither to Secret Martial nor Secret Spirit; where it passes, the dead show no signs, their bodies become mummies with their hearts taken.”

The Great Governor’s tone shifted, filled with determination.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that serious, but the Elder Council’s three Great Governors would definitely need to be replaced. They clung to power and cherished life, but the other concern was that once they stepped down, their successors would likely be puppets, so they had no choice but to grudgingly back down.

There was also good news, however, the local Secret Martial Sects and Secret Spirit Organizations seemed unable to hold back the monster either, all becoming one of the faces on the monster’s body.

For these two Extraordinary Groups, more deaths would be welcome; later, they could take over the legacy, because the monster only killed people, it did not take Resources.

Afterward, all three individuals in the emptied council hall raised their hands, clearly, even the most reluctant Right Governor chose to submit.

After discussing many more issues, the three of them left the Elder Council’s council hall.

The two nodded their heads, not bothering to look at the photo because they already knew.

It truly was as expected, but as for the saying that one feels insecure when witnessing another’s misfortune, it was unlikely to happen in this case.

Heavenly Thunder was indeed the most powerful weapon in the Duke Federation, with a vast range and intense damage. Even Martial Artists of the True Martial Rank and Secret Spirit Masters of the True Spirit Realm dared not face it head-on, for death was a genuine possibility.

To say the situation was unclear was an understatement, the reality was probably that it had become a complete dead end.

Gazing at the glaring sun, the Great Governor’s heart was cold. As a conventional human, he had no ability to confront those powerful Transcendents and could only seek benefits by compromising and appeasing them.

Regrettably and indubitably ignorant, because since ancient times, these two Extraordinary Groups had undergone reforms, but each reform had been minor and, while perhaps beneficial to the sect or organization, did nothing for the ordinary people of the world.

It was as if the Martial Alliance, typically a mediator, had turned a blind eye to everything.

Secret Spirit Power was not only found in remote mountains and ancient forests, but also on plains, swamps, grasslands, and so on. The better the location, the higher the concentration.

Secret Spirit Masters were slightly better off, but only slightly. They occupied the remote mountains and ancient forests, and to ensure the concentration of Secret Spirit Power, they prohibited all conventional humans from entering, leading to a drastic shortage of resources such as Wood and Minerals, even Food, for the Duke Federation’s ordinary people.

To them, people were just numbers; the more who died, the larger their slice of the cake.

Nowadays, the world’s plethora of longstanding problems, such as rampant gangs and the suffering of the weak populace, were mostly caused by these two Extraordinary Groups, and if they were to seize power, it would likely lead to collapse.

First off, these powers hadn’t witnessed it for themselves and would likely dismiss it as an exaggeration. Even if they were aware of the danger, in the face of such immense interests, who could resist?

So naturally, they were not satisfied, but what could dissatisfaction accomplish?

They were very shrewd, naturally able to weigh the benefits. If they truly had this awareness, they wouldn’t be threatening the Duke Federation at this time. Both the Secret Martial Sect and the Secret Spirit Organization were turning a blind eye to this matter.

Martial Artists needed Resources for cultivation, and these Resources couldn’t just appear out of thin air. Having those sect disciples work was unrealistic, as consistent effort was required for cultivating Secret Martial techniques, so the ordinary people were definitely the ones getting squeezed. This is why in regions where the Secret Martial Sect was more powerful, the ordinary people were all the more impoverished.

Once the Duke Federation became puppets of the Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters, the consequences were naturally foreseeable.

Because the Super Soldier program had not succeeded. Had it truly succeeded, or even if it had been just a bit more time, he would have persuaded the Great Governor and the Left Governor without hesitation. Unfortunately, this process would take at least a year, and in that year, the Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters could turn the entire Duke Federation upside down.

In terms of top fighting force, the entire Duke Federation wasn’t up to par, not to mention that many of their lands had already been hollowed out by these Secret Martial Sects and Secret Spirit Organizations. Even those that hadn’t been hollowed out had achieved a balance through various means.

The photo depicted an androgynous humanoid monster, its body clustered with a terrifying array of human faces, men and women, old and young. Wherever it passed, no one was left alive.

This left the other two Governors in silence. How to solve this problem was even more challenging than dealing with the Extraordinary powers. At least the latter were human and could be dealt with through mutual interests.

As for fear that the monsters would come for them in the future, they weren’t afraid; they felt capable enough, not believing they could be wiped out by monsters.

As for recruitment, that was likely not an option. Most of the Martial Artists and Secret Spirit Masters were trained from a young age, with unquestionable Loyalty. Those who took up the craft later in life were largely useless and inferior to a mere weapon.

Inside the Elder Council of the Duke Federation, the three Governors looked at the notification sent by the Martial Alliance, their expressions very grim.

As the Great Governor, who oversaw all authority, it was naturally up to him to take the lead. The remaining Governors, the Left Governor in charge of administrative affairs and the Right Governor in charge of military affairs, were also reluctant to speak.