King of Titans and Dragons
Chapter 1052 - 1052 1039 Adhering to the Supremacy of Might

Chapter 1052: Chapter 1039: Adhering to the Supremacy of Might Chapter 1052: Chapter 1039: Adhering to the Supremacy of Might Muria picked up his communicator, glanced at today’s news with a slight smile, then tossed it aside and began to deal with the day’s clan affairs,

“Douglas family member sentenced to 396 years in prison before turning 13,” the news was filled with impact, explosiveness, and a wicked sense of humor.

The wicked humor in this piece of news lay in the punishment that the young troublemaker received: a prison sentence of 396 years, which was not much different from life imprisonment, except for the specification of a precise number.

This indicated that the judge who tried the young man was probably not a very serious person. After all, the normal human lifespan, even with all the efforts of modern medical technology to extend it, is only about 120 years.

While Star Armor Masters can improve their life grade by cultivating and refining the connection with their Star Armor, this particular troublemaker was only a Third-Order Star Armor Master, with a lifespan of at most about 150 years. In simple terms, even if his lifespan were doubled, he would not live long enough to serve out his prison sentence.

However, Muria underestimated the impact this incident had within the clan. As the head of the clan, he certainly had the power to expel an official member and kick them out of the clan’s ranks.

But Muria’s actions, viewed through the eyes of some elders, could be categorized as arbitrary. After all, whether the matter was big or small, some of the elders felt that Muria should have discussed it with them and held a brief meeting about it.

…

Thus, in the clan’s conference room, Muria sat at the highest seat with a barely concealed impatience, looking down at the other elders.

His real age was now nearly a thousand years old, so he understood that many things could not be solved with violence.

For instance, he was strong enough to kill all the elders present, but he still had to sit here and listen to them when they voiced their opinions.

“Sir Jelos, it was only today through the news that I learned you expelled an official member from our clan’s ranks,” as most of the elders had gathered, with those unable to attend in person appearing via projection in the conference room, an elder raised a question.

“Is there a problem?”

“Could you not have informed us before taking such action? Or at least, held a discussion and meeting about it? After all, an official member is the most precious asset to our clan, no matter what.”

“Ovis, you think that someone like him qualifies as an asset to the clan?” Muria asked coolly in response.

This form of subtle suppression, or a warning, he had experienced plenty of times since he became the head of the Douglas clan at twenty-four.

Muria realized that some clan elders were trying to usurp his authority or weaken his rights as the head of the clan, attempting to make him a mere figurehead of the Douglas clan’s military force and nothing more.

A clan head with power and fame but no real authority was what some of the elders envisioned for his future. To these plans of the elders, Muria would like to say that these “little” guys had water in their brains.

“Of course not, someone like Ovis is like a tumor to any clan, and it’s only natural to remove them as soon as possible.”

“If that’s the case, then what objections do you have? As the head of the clan, I don’t seem to need to consult with you about matters of this level.”

“But now, a clan member has been expelled, and we, as elders of the clan, only found out after the media reported it widely outside. Don’t you think that is a bit much?”

“Fine then, since you say so, I will grant you the right to be informed. In the future, if similar things happen, I will issue a notice within the clan.”

Hearing this from Muria, several elders in the conference room twitched their lips, unsure of what to say, as this was not what they wanted.

“If all you brought me here for is to discuss this, it’s simply a waste of time. Are the clan’s elders so idle now? Have they nothing else to do? Calling a meeting over such a trivial matter.”

Muria tapped on the table, frowning slightly, and as his mood fluctuated, a massive Emperor’s shadow appeared behind him, instantly filling the conference room with an overwhelming and oppressive presence.

“This…” Seeing Muria seemingly about to get angry, several elders began to sweat on their foreheads, knowing too well what would happen when Muria got angry.

When Muria had just ascended to leadership, he once lost his temper simply because an order he issued was not carried out properly.

And after that incident, three elders were stripped of their positions with an unwavering determination by Muria and demoted to ordinary clan members, sent back to retire.

It was precisely because of that incident that many elders realized that their position in the clan, combined with the power Muria himself wielded, had turned them all into mere figureheads, nullifying their ability to balance power.

Therefore, some elders began to entertain the idea of weakening Muria’s grip on power, but so far, this had remained just an idea, as they found no way to directly confront Muria.

They couldn’t just go up and say, “Hey, Lord Jenos, you have too much power in your hands, and we feel insecure, so could you please hand over part of your authority to make us feel at ease?”

The elders dared not imagine what the consequences would be if they spoke those words directly to Muria. Angering the clan leader, who possessed immense strength and outstanding talent, was inevitable, and likely several of them would end up retiring to their homes.

So they wanted to weaken Muria’s power without inciting his wrath. In that case, they could only pray for him to make a mistake, and then use it as a pretext to strip away some of his authority, but unfortunately, although this clan leader’s mode of conduct was incredibly domineering and tyrannical, he had never made any mistakes in handling clan affairs.

This time, strictly speaking, they were just nitpicking, and it couldn’t truly be considered a mistake.

“Since this meeting has already been convened, we should address some practical matters. Speak up, what important but unresolved issues do you have in your hands? Bring them out for everyone to discuss.”

“I have encountered a thorny issue recently. In the most influential thirteen provinces of our Douglas clan, there has been an outbreak of mutated species, causing a sharp rise in the death rate among the common people, and even several excellent young Star Armor Master seeds have died.”

“You mean to say, in these provinces, the number of mutated species has gone out of control? What a joke!”

“What’s going on? Shouldn’t the mutated species be regularly cleared? Normally, those used for our descendants’ training should not lose control.”

“So, what I’m facing is an abnormal situation,” said the elder who raised the issue, shaking his head and offering a wry smile.

“Are you suggesting that someone is interfering within these provinces under our rule, and that is why this peculiar situation has arisen?”

“Problems arising simultaneously in thirteen provinces… Such a move could only be made by our rivals. Three families—I wonder which one it is, or perhaps they are all involved.”

An elder sneered and tapped the table. Of course, the Four Great Families weren’t all harmony and peace; while maintaining relative tranquility on the surface, the families were in fact engaged in cutthroat competition with each other in secret,

The four top families of the federation, unseen by ordinary citizens, fought a brutal battle for limited resources.

Just like now, the incidence of other families setting traps for the Douglas family had occurred countless times in history; of course, sometimes the Douglas family would also lay traps for other families.

“This problem is easy to resolve. Send out strong fighters and swiftly clear all the mutated species from those thirteen provinces with a thunderous approach.”

Upon hearing the problem, Muria merely listened to the elders’ discussion for a few moments and then promptly offered the most straightforward solution. Force was the simplest, most direct, and most effective way to deal with such issues.

“Uh!”

“…”

When Muria spoke, the conference room fell into an eerie silence. The many elders exchanged glances, then revealed an ‘as expected’ look, not at all surprised by Muria’s response,

Because since this clan lord had taken charge, the methods he had used for handling matters suggested that he was a pure believer in the supremacy of martial strength, who would use his fists over his brain whenever possible.

“Cough, Your Excellency, there must be an instigator behind this matter. We can’t just kill off those mutated species that caused us losses and leave it at that. We must also find out who’s behind it and exact revenge,” said another elder.

“Haven’t you already discussed this? Apart from the Three Great Families, who else would have the guts, or rather the means, to set traps for us?” Muria looked surprised.

“But we haven’t confirmed who it is specifically?”

“If it can’t be confirmed, then let’s retaliate against all of them. Better to kill wrongly than to let one off,” Muria said, sweeping his hand decisively as he identified the targets for revenge, which only deepened the helplessness in the other elders’ eyes.

“How shall we retaliate? Should we release mutated species into the provinces they control as well?”

“We don’t engage in such despicable tactics. Let’s invite them to a friendly match with our clan members—an exchange match between the new generation of Martial Artists and Star Armor Masters. I believe they will find it interesting and won’t refuse,” Muria suggested.