Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 213: Two?

Tiber nodded. "He has the support of Chief Ryvlan Chox and Chief Helena Varrow. But it seems as if he favors Chief Ryvlan Chox more because he is the one that is in the capital with him right now.

"And among the other remaining chiefs, Chief Morwen Voss is neutral, at least for now, but the man hasn’t involved himself in the politics of the Athrimir territories for a while now, and it was expected that it would remain so.

"But then there’s Chief Eamon Rikon, who is definitely not neutral. He’s against it and has never forgiven Thrain for stealing his faction. You should know that he’s the chief who wanted to take over as the Clan Leader before his faction was stolen."

Vale digested all this and nodded. They all knew where they could exploit, but so did their enemy and everyone else. He could feel a headache building, but he forced everything back and overworked his already heating brain. "Anything else?"

Takoda nodded. "Commander Wrt moved the bulk of his army down from the west to the south, closer to Rikon City, before he went to the capital to stage the coup."

Vale raised his brow at that. It seemed Thrain wasn’t joking around.

’...he’s already making his move... By involving the military from the start, it will make it difficult for them to stay out of it...’

Vale frowned. There were two strongholds in the Athrimir Clan, and they contained the bulk of the army that the Clan Leader directly commanded. The Clan Leader was more than just the Clan Leader; they were the general as well.

’...i have to find a way to command the army that’s south of here before Thrain has a good hold on them... But the problem is that the plan is too... open, too obvious... It’s almost an expected outcome because what else?...’

’...but then... What if I’m expected to die here as well?... Then they must not put me in their plan... Meaning Rikon will soon bow to Thrain because he has no support...’

Vale felt a little better as the shape of his next move began to form in his mind. "It’s likely a warning to Rikon not to do anything stupid. And right now, the odds are far from Rikon’s side, so it would be stupid to do anything.

"What Rikon needs is some kind of support," Vale pointed out the obvious.

Slya nodded, then frowned. "But from what you said, that chief is looking to take over from the Clan Leader. Why would he support you? It’s not making sense."

"Pride. And his own ambition. He has been embarrassed by his faction getting taken over by Thrain. He’ll want to get back at him. What better option than fighting for the position by using another piece who has a strong right to it?

"Either he’ll support me entirely, or he’ll support me enough that he’ll be able to take over, kill me, and take the position for himself." Vale shrugged. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Slya leaned back and frowned. "That’s a double-edged knife."

"It is. But in this kind of situation, he will only betray me once we are victorious, or we’ll both go down together." Vale tapped the chair he was sitting on. "That is my plan. For now."

Tiber nodded. "It’s a good plan, but that’s only if we are able to truly absorb part of the army. Otherwise, we’ll be crushed faster than we can think by the combination of two chiefs and the might of the army."

"They are Wrt’s men. I can’t imagine they are too happy with the way their commander was killed. They may even be disorganized. I’ll have a talk with the one in command, and if they won’t work with us... then they won’t work with anyone."

Tiber’s eyes widened as he understood what Vale was implying.

A force is only as strong as the highest rank of their knight. And if Vale were to get the support of two Master Knights, he would be considered a threat. Right now, the army stationed close to Rikon had lost their Master Knights. They couldn’t hold back Vale from wrecking them.

’...And that is if they support me... But I really doubt Thrain will leave the army unprotected... But then... From his point of view, everything should have been planned smoothly... With my death, any legitimate opposition is gone...’

"How many assassins do you think were sent after me?" Vale asked.

"Two?" Slya asked.

"Probably three, to make sure the work is done completely, and with some mean artifact to boost their power since there’s no Master Knight with them," Tiber said.

Vale nodded at the older man and asked, "What should I do now?"

"The first thing is to know for certain if the Flagbearers will support you. That is the crux of the matter. We can only plan what we will do after."

Vale’s eyes darkened. He did not like that he had to rely so much on his strategy and plans on the powers of others, but he had no choice. "Then you know what to do, Tiber. Eyes will be watching my every move. Go on, get their answers, and you must not leave until you have them."

Tiber nodded and stood. He waved at Slya as he went out of the room. Slya turned to him. "What are you going to do now?"

But Vale had already removed a book from his ring. It was the book of techniques given to him by the demon. Now that he had ranked up, it was time to learn some techniques.

"I’ll be studying this. There’s no time to waste. I must shore up my power," Vale said as he opened it.

Slya scowled and yawned. "I’ll just... wait here or something. Don’t mind me."

Vale snorted and opened the book to where he wanted the Infernal techniques. He looked at it intently. He could still use Dominion, but the formation had changed slightly to allow for more essence.

"Good thing that it’s not too elaborate, and I can easily add it to the one in my mind," Vale muttered.