Chapter 416: Tachibana
After the news broke about what happened and how Matsumoto failed to capture Athrimir and Akatsuki in one swoop, they instead ended up with the mess of Athrimir gaining control of three territories!
And when Vossberg heard the news, he had been so angry that he nearly killed Oskar on the spot. Even Elder Siegmar Longchen felt his anger. The only thing that stayed his hand was that he had already invested in the two of them, who were part of the core members of his faction, one a Saint and the other an Elder of the Longchen family.
But the news had darkened his mood for days, especially as his father kept quiet on the whole issue. This was something his father had tossed to him so that he could gather contributions bigger than those of his other three siblings, and yet he fucked it up.
He even had the mind to go over to Matsumoto and deal with Vale himself, but he couldn't! His failure caused his siblings to meddle and the remaining Elders in the Clan to subtly pull strings.
Vossberg turned to his eldest brother, the man who had the strongest faction due to the fact that he was the oldest. All the oldest Elders subtly supported him as well, and if not for the fact that he wasn't supported by their father, he would have become the heir!
"Brother... indeed that was a failure of mine. Has father sent word on how the next process should be?" Vossberg asked.
Hartmu shook his head. "Father kept his silence on this matter. He seems to be saying that this is our problem for us to deal with."
Vossberg sneered inwardly. '...or you mean you now want to swallow the contribution that's now meant for me. That Oskar... I must find a way to deal with him...'
Without hesitation, Vossberg swept aside all the beating around the bush they were doing. He said firmly, "Since this is my problem, I will deal with it."
Cassian didn't let him finish before he snorted out loud. "This is precious. How can we trust that you won't make an even bigger mess of things than what's already on the ground?"
Seraphine butted in. "As much as I might want to disagree, this is a valid question that we need to look out for. Vossberg can't be trusted to manage things in Matsumoto anymore!"
Vossberg clenched his teeth subtly. '...you mean now that the chance has been given, there's no way you want me to preside over this, right...?'
But he wasn't one to back down easily. "Father appointed this to me, and father has not withdrawn that appointment!"
The words cut sharply into the room and gave the others pause as they realized that it was the truth. Their father favored Vossberg, and even now, he still did not punish him for the mess he caused!
Hartmu, though, produced a rare smile, a little thing that lit up his gloomy face. He said, "Actually, father sent a letter to the Elders yesterday."
Everyone froze, and Vossberg's heart skipped a beat. What? His eyes suddenly narrowed as he came to a realization. A letter was sent, and only Hartmu knew about it? Was this because of his closeness to the Elders, or had the tide of favor changed?
All the others wore similar expressions, not truly liking the fact.
Seraphine pointed out, "You said father kept his silence on the matter."
Cassian cursed, his eyes flashing. "What games are you playing, Hartmu?"
Only Vossberg did not immediately say anything.
Hartmu didn't seem bothered as he answered. "Father kept his silence on the matter regarding Matsumoto. But he provided updates on the issue regarding the war he's fighting. He's in a crucial situation and can't return anytime soon to help.
"The former Master Knight who led the Clan he was fighting advanced to quasi Grandmaster!"
The words rocked the room.
Eh?
The competition for the Rift is serious and fierce, but it was projected to be won by the Tachibana in the end because they have a quasi Grandmaster! The Akakawa Clan has chosen them, invested in them to absorb the other branch Clan, and then mop up the Hinterlands.
But now, their opponents, one of them now had a quasi Grandmaster? The entire battle had just changed!
The four heirs looked at each other, and they could see the footprints of conspiracies written in the matter. Just when a mess was created in the Hinterlands and the power split with Vale standing strong, someone moved to keep the Tachibana quasi Grandmaster occupied.
So he wouldn't have the time to directly interfere in the issues of the Hinterlands!
The High Clans!
One of them, maybe even more, were helping the Athrimir!
They quickly understood this.
"You can request the letter from the Elders," Hartmu continued. "The Clan Leader has ordered that the heirs should immediately solve the issue without undercutting each other."
Eh?
For their father to be so direct... it meant he wanted the issue to be dealt with quickly, and maybe the position he found himself in with the war was now awkward.
Hartmu looked at them. "Father said we should use pressure before we use direct force with the Athrimir. He's already holding the majority of our army. Although we can fight the Athrimir, it's not really wise to fight on two battlefronts at the same time."
They all understood what he meant.
"We must make Vale submit to us. And soon, before he turns into something that'll be difficult to remove later. We should use his meeting to make him submit!"
Seraphine shifted. "We can send assassins to directly go and kill him. Yes, I know they'll be watching for something like that, but sometimes, the direct approach works best!"
Cassian snorted mockingly. "Always with sneaky deaths with you! Why should we do all of this when we can just gather some of our men and attack them?"
Vossberg shook his head and finally spoke.