A large number of people had gathered in a conference hall, garbed in business attire.
None of them wore a pleasant expression on their face.
The various Kandrian stakeholders, patrons, and benefactors of the Rui Faction had indeed promptly accepted the invitation to a conference address from Rui himself, but his words no longer mattered all that much.
With the return of the Emperor of Harmony, Rui would most certainly no longer be the Emperor.
Even if he did, it would be in a distant future after the Emperor of Harmony finally croaked. This was no longer happening soon since he had access to all the longevity potions in the world. At the very least, he was going to live for a few more centuries.
It didn't matter what words of encouragement or consolation Rui was undoubtedly going to give them. The fact of the matter was that they had made major investments in his campaign and had now lost all their bets big time.