Chapter 83: Preparations XII

The discussion was ongoing. As the elders and deacons began to talk about the information they had received, the expression of the members in the clan hall changed gradually. As they began to compare the information and piece together the bigger picture, their expression changed from surprise to horror. They knew that the foreign powers entering the city when there was nothing going on meant it would be highly disadvantageous to the Rijal clan.

Even if there were some opportunity, the Rijal clan would be among the first to know about that. But recently there was nothing notable happening around the city or even the Bareback mountains. This meant the clans were preparing to make a move towards the Rijal clan. If this really happened, then the results would be disastrous. If it was something simple, they could just avoid that by fleeing but if the major clans were really prepared, their every move was probably monitored right now, so they couldn't leave the clan. The most viable and only solution for them was to stay in the clan and defend it with everyone.

 If they could hold back for a few days, then the commotion would alert the other cities or the authorities and they would suffer less. If the war within the city goes on for more than a day or the civilians are affected in large numbers then, the city lord manor usually interferes. Although they usually stay neutral when the clans are fighting among themselves, they can't let it affect the civilians or the innocent people. If the innocent died on their watch, it would drag the image of the royal family.

When the people find out that the royal family didn't protect their citizens for some petty profit then they would surely shift their support for the major families. Although in the world of cultivation, number doesn't always count as strength, losing the support of their people would surely affect the royal family as most of the armies come from common cultivators. The discussion then changed from exchanging information to surviving and defending. The elders then began to propose different plans for mobilizing the personnel and resources.

Some of them made some really insightful arguments and some of them pointed out the deficiencies of the arguments. All in all, this turned out to be a productive day. There were many things Punya hadn't considered previously. Even some simple things regarding the defense were left out by Punya previously, if he hadn't noticed these little things, it would have been a blind spot when the war happened. He was glad that the elders and deacons were present today and were discussing the safety of the clan.

On the other hand, he was frustrated because he knew there was a mole or moles present so everything that had been discussed needed to be improvised. He really regretted not having one one-on-one session with the elders, at least he could have gotten bits of advice from them without exposing it to the moles. But what has been done has been done, he now needed to engrave the compelling points and later show them to the supreme elder. They can then discuss it in detail.

 This was a hindsight on his part. But it didn't matter, the trump cards they had will surely prevail even if the enemy knows about the inside of the defense process. This was because even Punya didn't know all about the trump card they had, Keshab had just assured him that the attacker would pay. Well, he and Radha as well as the ring could serve as a great trump card but that was all Punya knew. He was still listening to the elders and deacons discussing the way to maximize the resources and the defenses in the clan.

 They were in full support of recalling every clan member from the outpost. Punya had already sent a shadow to the outpost to recall most of the members but since the elders were in full support, he then informed the shadow to empty the outpost. There was no point in defending the outpost now if there was no search ongoing for resources, it would just be a waste of manpower. After sending a message to the shadow, Punya focused on the elders. He was nodding sometimes and sometimes giving suggestions.

As they were discussing, one of the deacons raised a question about the fifth elder not being present. Even though the fifth elder despised them for their petty schemes and politics, he wouldn't be absent when such a thing was happening to the clan. He was the most read and also wise among the people present here. Not only that he loves the clan more than other elders, but this was also why he took an oath to guard the Skill pavilion for life. When the question was raised, the elders became surprised, from their sources the elders knew that the fifth elder had left clan yesterday with children.

Although they didn't know where the fifth elder was right now, this was probably done by the clan leader and the supreme elder. So questioning about him at this time was a dumb idea. All the elders and deacons looked at the person who asked the question. They just shook their head at him. Punya looked at the deacon and got a little dazed. He was thinking even if the deacon was a spy, he wouldn't be that dumb right?

 If he was, he would have gotten caught a long time ago. Punya shook his head and replied "The fifth elder thought he needed an heir for the Skill pavilion so he chose a few bright children from the clan. I don't know where he is but he is likely to be staying in one of our properties in the city. After he got the approval of the supreme elder, the fifth elder left the clan yesterday afternoon." Punya knew that after today, the members present here would find out that around hundred and fifty children had left the clan and even if they inquired all over the city, they wouldn't even find a shadow.

 He looked at the elders present there with a warning gaze and said solemnly "You shouldn't disturb the fifth elder even if you find him. He has his way of surviving and the children would be safer with him. And you don't want to suffer his wrath, do you? You know what happens when he gets angry."

 When Punya finished his statement, his lips were curving upward as if he was snickering at someone's misfortune. The elders present had color drained from their faces when they remembered the past they had hidden from the younger generation.