It would be a great struggle to calm down the council members around the table. It was no longer them against Darius, but them against each other as many parties argued and pointed fingers at one another.
Elijah's eyebrows twitched as this had been something he had deliberately avoided mentioning because he had predicted this kind of response. The various reps here had been cordial enough to follow suit, pretending not to see the issue.
Darius wore a frown, but he was smiling deep down. As For Gunner, he gazed at the ongoings, understanding some things, yet also confused about others.
The chaos did not subside over time, rather getting more and more heated. At one point it seemed as if several parties were about to trade blows. It wasn't until a soft cough sounded out that many parties felt their bodies weaken and their rage subside.
As a consequence, the chaos paused as all eyes turned to the source of this feat. It was the sagely fellow that was a 'friend' of Elijah, Sothe.
"Fellow dignitaries, there is no need to be so incensed over this matter. While it may seem troublesome, I feel like it's something we absolutely have to discuss before the due date comes, otherwise instead of harming our target, we might end up harming each other for him."
At this, many parties couldn't help but murmur in agreement. Selfish or not, sound logic was sound logic, even if one did not like it. They all recognized a need for a proper and fair solution, but because they knew such a thing was realistically almost impossible, they had become incensed.
"Young Lad Stone, since you are currently on the floor and have brought this matter up, am I right to assume you also have a solution for this?" Sothe asked gently while stroking his beard.
All eyes redirected to Darius, who nodded thankfully to the old man. "That's right. As I have said before, I have identified certain problems the camp was facing under Lord McNickles and have come forward to resolve them. If I mention an issue, it likely means I have thought up a solution for it, so I ask the council members to please refrain from such thoughtless outbursts in the future."
Being chastised by this young fellow didn't feel too good for these old fogeys, but they couldn't retort because he was right, their behavior was unbecoming for true powerhouses.
"There are three options the camp can choose to resolve this future problem. Before that, we all have to understand and accept that the method of everyone for himself against the final enemy is unacceptable and crass. If the majority still feels that this is the best way to handle things, then I have to agree with Lord Seneschal's idea. In that case, it would be best for this camp to disband,"
Seeing as there was silence meeting his words, Darius took it as consent. "The first method is through luck. A wholly untampered lucky draw managed by a neutral faction could be set up. Each party draws a lot which will decide your 'challenge number', indicating your 'turn' for sieging the necropolis."
"Secondly, through battle. A short tournament can be drawn in the next few days, with each faction appointing their champion to fight on their behalf. Placement will decide your positioning and order in the final battle."
"Thirdly, there is the option of collaboration. The various factions here can team up with others to form teams attacking the necropolis, and the larger teams get to go first."
Darius cast his eyes around. "Which one do the various Lords and Ladies feel is sensible?"
Many parties seriously pondered the choices. When Darius saw that more than half had made up their minds, he smiled and called for a vote.
In the end, out of 124 reps, 33 choose method one, 45 for method two, and 46 choose method three. Darius was left surprised by this development, as he had estimated for the various parties to largely accept method two.
In fact, method two seemed like the most obvious choice for a world like this. However, it seemed he had underestimated the natives of Faust, comparing them to brainless side characters in fiction who also made the same choices in the same scenarios.
However, the third option was not bad either. Darius would still be able to fish for benefits, just not as easily. Since the vote had been taken, it was up to the various factions to decide their own matters and Darius could no longer intervene.
"And that brings us to our fifth and final issue threatening our group, which is the very same Bone Dragon. I have spoken with Lord Seneschal in-depth about this and although I have not seen it, I understand that this Bone Dragon has been a serious thorn in your sides for a long while."
Darius frowned. "Its train of abilities are unreal. Death and Frost are natural for undead dragons, but how can it retain Fire and Wind elements? This likely means that the corpse must have been a powerful Master-stage dragon, not too far away from reaching Grandmaster. It must have also been revived using special means."
Darius leaned forward. "However, I feel it cannot be so simple. I have studied the history of the Plains of Death extensively and how necromancy in general works, and I can safely say that there are differing tiers to 'bonuses' when reviving an undead."
"The easiest is basic intelligence. The difficulty climbs from there, including memories, soul, bloodline, powers and innate blessings."
"Fellow friends, from what information I've received on this dragon, it has reached that stage of powers at the least, most likely innate blessings. What this means is that all that comes before has already been achieved, because one cannot skip stages."
Darius's eyes flashed with dread. "In other words, Lords, and Ladies, this Bone Dragon has been hiding its true prowess in order to trick you all to commit your forces in a fight! It has its intelligence, memories, soul, bloodline, and powers, meaning that aside from having a maximum strength capped at the Adept-stage, it possesses everything it had when it was alive!"
