RB Chapter 125 Same City

"My lord, there has been an surge in the appearance of beasts with energy channeling mastery in the wild these past few weeks." A woman, seemingly a secretary, stood in an office facing a person behind a desk.

The person behind the desk was an old looking man with few wrinkles on his face. He was dressed to the nines in a black suit, a tie, and a white shirt underneath. His hair was combed back, sticking to his scalp and giving off a glittering shine, signifying that it had been jelled.

Even behind the desk, his entire being graduated a feeling of authority which contrasted with his amiable looking expression.

His fingers were crossed above the desk and he was calmly and seriously listening to the woman's report.

The woman's previous words hadn't elicited any change in the elder's expression. The woman had paused momentarily, thinking that the elder was going to comment, but that didn't seem to be the case.

So, she could only continue on with the report...

"The surge has resulted in more losses of people in the wilderness and impacted trade with the other cities..."

"The engineers have also reported some good news. They have managed to make 100 vehicles with mounted laser weapon technology."

"Do we have the necessary trained personnel to handle them?" This time, words came out of the elder's mouth in the form of a question.

The woman scrolled on her tablet to search for something.

"...so far, only a little bit above 50 people have been trained." She answered after finding the relevant information.

"Continue." The elder said.

"There is only one last thing left to report. It concerns the people who supported us during our coup...they are requesting that the remnants of the ten clans should all be the vanguard in this war." The woman, whose expression hadn't been subject to change this whole time, finally manifested one, eagerness. 

"The ten clans had the largest number of combat personnel in the city. We only won due to the element of surprise and a little bit of scheming. They might have scattered now, but do those fools think that they will just lay down and let themselves be rolled over?" Elder Muti lost his composure. He was so angry that he even banged his fist on the desk.

"What reply should I give them?" The woman asked. She didn't flinch, even when the Elder lost his temper. The elder wasn't angry, on the contrary, he was just acting!

"Hmmm...tell them that their request is a bit hard to fulfill. Most of the remnants have fled to that underground city. We don't have any jurisdiction there. Plus some of them have powerful backings. We can't afford to antagonise them.

'Heh! I will give this problem to you. You will have to find the solution. Do you think I don't want to get rid of them? I want to! Really! But I can't!' The elder thought. This woman was one of those from the faction of those and, she was their way of conveying their wants to him.

"We could send out a recruitment to all the city's citizens, making sure no one is allowed to shirk off their responsibilities as long as they have combat experience..." The woman suggested.

'Heh...so you even had a plan of action prepared, wanting me to execute it, is that right?' The elder looked into the woman's eyes and she too looked back. She didn't flinch even a little. The people supporting her were powerful so she had the capital to be on the same level as the elder.

"I will issue it out." The elder relented, after all, their goals were aligned.

'But these people are getting bolder and bolder. I need to find a way to smother their influence.' He thought while looking at the woman, who now spotted a smile.

"So far, how many people have mastered energy channeling among the citizens?" Elder Multi changed the topic. He had no guarantee that his temper wouldn't blow up for real if they kept at it.

"A little bit over 200." She once again adorned her emotionless mask. Even though it was good to clinch small victories over the elder, if you flaunted for too long, you might lose your head. The people behind her wouldn't bat an eye if she was killed. They would just replace her with someone else.

"200...we can work with that, but still, I need more numbers before this year ends. The war is nearing with every passing day." The elder instructed.

"Yes, Sir."

"You may leave, and on your way out, contact Kiwuka and have her come see me." Elder Muti ordered.

A frown appeared on the woman's face, upon the motion of that name, but she hurriedly resumed her emotionless mask.

Kiwuka, was one of the few people who was entirely under the elder, someone who couldn't be swayed over to their side.

'We need to get rid of her and the others.' She maliciously thought.

"Pathetic trash. They only know how to scheme." The elder shook his head dismissively after the door closed. They didn't have any personal combat power, but were trying to scheme against genuine powerhouses. That alone caused you to wonder whether they were idiotic or clever.

'The war is upon us. I need to make sure that I clip their wings before its over. The territory under my command will have enlarged by then, and if they try to get a piece of it, it will be troublesome. It might even lead to a civil war.' He wasn't being an alarmist here. Those people could make it possible with the influence they now had.

The city had jumped from the hands of the clans, to those of the organisations. They were fundamentally still the same.

"Elder, may I come in?" A female voice asked from behind the door jolting the elder from his thoughts.

"Come in." He answered, causing a familiar person to appear.

"Kiwuka, its good that you have arrived, I have a task for you." The elder said before the woman even sat down onto the sofa.

"You do know that that woman hates me and I too, feel the same way about her. So why do you always have her be the one to contact me?" Kiwuka made herself comfortable.

"You always complain about her. Aren't you tired of that? Anyway, even if I remove her, 'they' will still find another one to take her place." Elder Muti answered in exasperation. His expression alone revealed his fatigue at the woman's complaints.

"Okay okay...what did you invite me here for? I am busy! You too know that." She asked.

"Isn't that why I chose a building directly under your lair? For ease of communication? I have a task for you. A very important task." The elder's face took on an expression denoting seriousness.

Kiwuka gave her complete attention to the elder upon seeing his serious expression.

"I want you to eliminate some of their confidants, once they leave the city." Elder Muti lowered his voice. His office wasn't bugged, since he inspected it with his genetic abilities every second. You could even say that he was the one bugging it.

"Oh! Could it be that you are finally ready to wage war on them?" Her eyes lit up.

"No, I just want to cut down on some of their loyal surbodinates." The elder refused.

"Tch! When did you have your balls in a vice like this? You are the motherfuckin leader of the city! I miss the times when the ten clans were still the rulers...then, you were a fierce person, scheming their downfall."

"You used to be cunning, but now, I only see cautiousness." Kiwuka had disappointment written all over her face as she conjured the memories of those times in her head.

Elder Muti was rendered speechless at her criticism.

"You are partly right, but a tiger still doesn't lose its fierceness even when its trapped in a cage." He uttered with confidence.

"But, that still means that its shackled." Kiwuka pointed out coldly.

"Don't worry. This coming war is going to be a chance to get rid of those trash. Their usefulness has been exhausted. We can always find puppets to take over their organisations after their death." The elder leaned back into the sofa. He was seated opposite Kiwuka.

"How many commander levels have you produced so far?" Elder Muti asked.

"17."

"Only those!?" The elder appeared visibly shocked.

"It is very hard to produce them, and the resources needed are way too many...

...also, many people have started taking over my hunting grounds near the city, so I have had to cast the net further." She explained.

"Haaa...at this pace, you wont be able to contribute to the war. I have a suggestion." 

"What is it?" She asked.

"Could you sacrifice all the normal ones to produce only the elite? Right now its advantageous having a very large colony, but people are still evolving...someone, one day might reach a level where they can decimate your entire colony in a single move, think about it."