Chapter 417: Benefits
Vossberg pointed out, "Do not forget the Ito Clan. We already gathered some evidence that they're also getting sponsored by someone. If we should leave our base unattended, we will surely find that some people are interested in occupying it.
"And yes. We will need all of that to attack Athrimir now."
Vossberg was slightly worried about things. His base, Matsumoto, had been wiped away. Apart from what his Clan gave the Matsumoto to support them, Vossberg himself, in recent years, had used a lot of his own resources to invest in them. His gain was to be the one who would have total control of the territories when they finally unified Hinterlands.
After all, his father would have new territories to focus on. His siblings knew of this as well, and they were only too happy when they heard about the mess.
So Vossberg wasn't in support of all-out war with Vale Athrimir. With his previous investment wiped clean, he naturally turned his attention to the next best thing, Vale Athrimir!
For the past months, he had bought as much information as was available on the man. And what he found out only left him with a deep sense of possession.
He wanted Vale to submit to him and work for him! He also wanted to gain back the authority he had over the territories, and what better way than to be the one ultimately giving orders to Vale Athrimir?
Hartmu nodded slowly. "I do not support an all-out war either. Father is against it, and that was why we came up with the plan of using the Clans to fight themselves. But now, we must change our plans.
"Our objective remains the same. While Father continues to fight on his front, we will bring the Clans of Hinterlands under the Tachibana Clan. What stands before this objective? Vale Athrimir and the hidden hand behind him, and the Ito Clan with the hidden hand behind them.
"At this time, we cannot use too much force, but we can't use none as well. We must not appear weak."
There was a pause again as Hartmu laid down the whole situation in his flat tone.
Seraphine spoke first. "We can still use the army."
Hartmu shook his head. "Can we? The army that was left behind was done so for the protection of the Clan. We can use them, of course, but that means all-out war."
Cassian snorted. "We can't use the army. Won't we even need Father's go-ahead for that? He gave us the authority to act, but the remaining army is also his reserve. We can write to him, but I don't think he'll approve. Really, you should know better than this, Seraphine."
The last part was added as a mockery, and who didn't know why?
Seraphine opened her mouth to speak, but then she closed it and gritted her teeth. If the army was used, then it would be her faction in the army, which meant she would have the upper hand, and none of her siblings were willing to do that!
Vossberg blinked. He could already imagine Vale attending to him and doing his bidding. All the wealth in the three territories would be his, and if he could get hold of the Ito Clan...
'....but how can I get myself to be in charge of Vale and Matsumoto again after all of that....yes. I'll need support. My biggest problem right now is Hartmu, who has the strongest faction! I must pass him a bone!...'
Vossberg cleared his throat and smiled. "The Ito Clan and Athrimir. I think we can do the same thing with a single stroke. We need to put pressure on Vale Athrimir and make him come to Tachibana to swear loyalty by himself.
"How do we do that? Brother Hartmu, you should head over to the Ryujin Minor Clan and help them 'gain' freedom from the Ito Clan. By doing this, we'll show our power to the Athrimir and, at the same time, send a strong warning to the Ito Clan!"
The room fell into silence.
Seraphine reluctantly said, "That could work. The Ito Clan won't dare retaliate because of Vale. And at the same time, Vale would see the consequences of his actions if he should continue down a certain path."
Cassian snorted, but he didn't mock anyone as he said, "We should circulate a rumor about the Grandmaster in our Clan. I realize that a lot of Hinterlands Clans don't know this. Their leader might, but what about their followers? We can cause internal fear with this. Spread the rumors that our Clan leader would turn his attention to the Hinterlands once he's done with his war!"
Hartmu nodded slowly. He locked eyes with Vossberg and realized what the young man was planning.
To split the issue into two. Although the Ryujin Minor Clan was small, it also didn't have the issue that was Vale Athrimir. And Hartmu, as a steady person, would undoubtedly like it as he would slowly build it up and suck the small Clan dry of resources.
But... what if the Vale issue was resolved? Would Vossberg get all the benefits as they previously feared? The siblings had just gotten around to putting a restraint on him. No way were they letting him go so easily!
Seraphine looked between Hartmu and Vossberg, and a small smile played on her lips. How could she not understand what was happening?
And how could she let it go on, huh?
"That is a brilliant plan!" Seraphine said solemnly. Then she added, "But you are missing something. What is the infrastructure for keeping them in line? I suggest that we build a military base in both Ryujin and Matsumoto! We should make it official with what we plan to do, and by using Cassian's suggestion of letting everyone know about our Grandmaster, we can let the military base be a knife against everyone's throat."
The three siblings didn't immediately say anything, but they were all thinking the same thing.
'...A military base that will be infiltrated by your faction, right? Right?...'
Hartmu and Vossberg quickly accepted that plan, while Cassian was left with a bitter smile on his face. Everyone was getting their benefits from the situation... what about him?