"Is this how you want to uproot my Void Clan?!
"Have we not always been brothers in arms?!" Grand Elder Void roared. "Have we not always fought those bastard Shruti side by side?! What has my clan done to deserve such deceit?! Such schadenfreude?!"
The various Heads were quick to raise objections. They understood the Grand Elder's plight, but this kind of careless talk could fracture their clan.
Sure, from the outside looking in it was odd that such a dangerous mission was undertaken by the Void Clan alone. After all, were Misoka and Gin among the captives along with Aki? So why did the Void go alone? Where were the Heaven and Jikan Clan?
However, everyone here knew the late Head Void's personality. He was impulsive and fiery tempered, just like his father. It was more likely that he rushed forward alone than to say that he was plotted against.
"TELL ME WHERE THIS MASKED MAN IS, TELL ME WHERE HIS CLAN IS, I'LL DESTROY THEM MYSELF!"
The surrounding elders didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Wasn't this the same mistake your son made? Why are you making it again?
"Grandfather, please hold on a moment." Just as the various Heads were losing hope in reining this old man in, a collective sigh of relief passed over them as a family young man rushed in.
This young man was none other than Aki's father and Head Void's son, Kaori Void. Although he only had eight tails unlike his son, father and grandfather, his genius still seemed to surpass them all. He was truly an anomaly of the Void Clan.
"Kaori." The Grand Elder's expression softened slightly. "Do you see what these bastards did to your father? Revenge. We need revenge!"
Kaori sighed, looking toward the shattered jade plate of his father. His heart hurt, but his temper was far more cool-headed than his predecessors. In fact, it was he was responsible for teaching Aki that a man should rein his emotions in.
However, it seemed difficult for even him to do so. His son was kidnapped. His clansmen and fellow brothers and sisters were killed. And now, even his father was gone…
Months ago, when the first seven jade plates shattered, they had believed that Head Void escaped. But, just a few hours ago, even his plate shattered so this could no longer be kept a secret from the Grand Elder.
"We need to think careful." Kaori said heavily. "This might be a ploy of the Shruti…"
A heavy atmosphere shrouded the already gloomy air. The Shruti? If this was true…
In reality, the Void Clan repurposed a void tunnel they had constructed for the Shruti. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't mean much… However, it wouldn't be a stretch to believe that the Shruti would continue to monitor said tunnel. After all, it was in their territory. If it hadn't been, the Shruti would have never taken the chance to ask for the Void Clan's help.
"According to the information we have," Kaori began to explain with a pensive attitude, "Alexandria Snow is the child of Kawa Snow and the most recent completer of the River trials, an Elvin King Acacia.
"From the information given to us by the River Clan, Alexandria Snow's home universe is exceedingly weak. However, clan Heads…" Kaori continued in a grave voice. "It's not my place to say this as a mere tenth elder, but your actions were far too impulsive.
"From what we know about the masked man, he has the ability to suppress the bloodline of the Emperor Giant Clan. This fact alone should have made you rethink not just twice, but even five, ten times!"
Kaori's anger seeped through his words, startling those who knew him since he was a child. This young man was known for never losing his temper, but it seemed the combination of his son's kidnapping and his father's death was too much for even him to handle.
Head Heaven and Head Jikan lowered their heads. Under normal circumstances, they'd slap Kaori across the room for disrespecting their position, but would Grand Elder Void allow such a thing to happen to his favorite grandchild?
"Not only does he have a bloodline capable of suppressing faint angel blood, he alone had the battle prowess to toy with numerous Kings and Emperors while handicapped.
"This was a man who flaunted high grade treasures with ease, whether it be his supreme grade mask, or his grandmaster and Spiritual grade array plates.
"YOU BELIEVE A MAN WITH SO MANY RESOURCES WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PROTECT THE FAMILY OF HIS WIFE?!"
The more Kaori thought about it, the more pissed off he grew. He hated his father for being impulsive, but he was still his father! These bastards also had their own children taken away, yet they didn't act? At the very least, they should have died along with his father!
"Even worse," Kaori continued still seething in rage, "You made use of a tunnel constructed by us with Shruti territory?! SHORT-SIGHTED!
"The Shruti are aware of our working relationship with the Emperor Giant Clan, do you believe that they wouldn't be making preparations? What you did was nothing short of handing them an opportunity on a silver platter!"
"You're going to far, tenth Void elder." Head Jikan emphasized Kaori's position, anger clear in his eyes.
"Too far? You tell me how you would react if you saw your arch enemy suddenly take the risk to use a tunnel within your territory?!"
Silence pervaded the room, but they weren't dumb individuals, they understood perfectly well…
The Shruti, knowing that the kitsune were in bed with the Emperor Giant Clan would be panicking. However, what if they suddenly got the opportunity to form a link of karma with a clan even more powerful than the Emperor Giant Clan?
Everyone believed that the Clan of the Masked Wife Stealer was unfathomable. So, what kind of debt of gratitude would be forged if they tipped off this masked man about an impending attack on his wife's family? Wouldn't such a relationship be far stronger than the one held by the kitsune and Emperor Giant Clan?
Yet, until now, none of them had thought of any of this. Kaori might have only been a tenth elder, a mere middle celestial, but his insight was far deeper than any of theirs.
If Dyon had been there, he would have been wholly impressed. Such a line of thinking is exactly why he was completely ill-prepared to deal with such a powerful attack.
Of course, Dyon had no idea about "void tunnels", but what he did know was that enemies kept tabs on each other. If the kitsune were sending so many powerful experts, the Shruti should know. It was unacceptable for them to not.
However, it was during these past days that Dyon learned that he must plan not only for intelligent opponents… But also stupid opponents… Unless he could plan for them both, he would continue to run into such situations.
"For centuries…" Kaori's voice lowered, "I've done nothing but lay out plan after plan for our Supreme Kitsune Clan to rise… In just a few more hundred years, I was confident that we would be able to call this quadrant our own… But time and time again….
"First Princess Saru was born… Then my son was kidnapped… Now my father has died and we of the Void Clan had lost 10% of our fighting power…"
The kitsune frowned when the heard 10%. Only 10%?! You lost a dao formation expert, yet you dare to say the losses are so low?
However, Kaori only looked up at them like they were fools. Giving a mere eight individuals an evaluation like this was already too high in his estimation. He only said 10% so as not to insult the memory of his father.
Plus, he knew quite well that although his father was impulsive, he wasn't stupid… He only took the elders at the end of the potential… As for the remaining tenth, fifth, fourth and first elders… They still had far more room to grow.
"I didn't want to start this so soon, but you all have forced my hand. It's time we wipe the Shruti Clan from existence. Grandfather!"
Grand Elder Void nodded. "From this day forth, the new head of the Void Clan is my Grandson, Kaori Void."
