CHAPTER 2147  WHEN WAR?

While the Republic of Gorteau could be characterized as the greediest of its peers, its reaction and approach were hardly unique.

While all three powerhouses were extremely alarmed at the revelation of the mass Apprentice breakthroughs, none of them leaped into an all-out war.

The Sekigahara Confederate certainly came the closest, though.

"Now then…" a woman calmly remarked as her gaze swept across the table. The thirteen other leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate met her gaze.

A pleasant smile appeared on her face.

"Shall we declare war today or tomorrow?"

She heaved a melodramatic sigh as she gazed out a window. "I'd love to do it today, but…"

Her expression became one of displeasure.

"War should be declared at dawn. It is a bad omen to do so at dusk."

The matriarch of the Tsukishi Clan snorted. "You superstitious lot of the Tanaka Clan. War is war. We should declare war right now as far as I'm concerned."

The air grew cold as the two women exchanged chilling gazes. This is from .

"Hah, you lot and your declarations of war." A gargantuan man grinned wildly. "I say we just invade the Kandrian Empire without any formal declaration of war. This isn't a formal duel. This is war!"

Many of the others stirred at his words.

They made sense.

Leveling the Kandrian Empire was a lot more important than adhering to any silly norms of formality or honor. It was best to gather as many Martial Sages as possible, launch an ambush on the Kandrian Empire, and wipe everyone out. Yet, not everyone was on board with triggering a war against the Kandrian Empire.

"I disagree," the Patriarch of the Nindo Clan declared. "This is not a circumstance that warrants waging war. What we should be focusing on is gaining the ability to cause so many breakthroughs to the Apprentice Realm. That is what the other two Sage-level powerhouses will be focusing on, after all. Even if we wage war and win, it won't matter if we don't get our hands on the method to cause breakthroughs at will."

"Hah," the patriarch of the Kaze Clan snorted. "Of course the clan that focuses on intelligence and covert operations would be inclined to go for that route. Try to hide your blatant biases better next time."

The patriarch of the Nindo Clan glared at him. "Fool. Even if we end up winning the war, do you really want to end up heavily weakened with a pyrrhic victory in a destroyed Kandria while the other two Sage-level powerhouses happily get stronger after stealing the Kandrian Empire's secrets through espionage?"

This gave pause to the other clan leaders.

His words painted an outcome that was deeply unpleasant to all of them.

It was on purpose.

As the leader of the clan that served as the intelligence and covert operations of the Sekigahara Confederate, the Nindo patriarch knew exactly how his peers thought. He knew the moment they learned of the Kandrian Empire's ability to trigger mass breakthroughs, they would immediately itch for war even if it didn't even make sense to jump to war as a first resort.

That was why he painted what was a realistic outcome.

He knew that the Republic of Gorteau and the Britannian Empire had probably already begun aggressive intelligence to gather the method by which the Kandrian Martial Union broke Apprentices through. The longer they took to participate in this race, the further behind they would be.

"Tell me." His sharp eyes swept across all of them. "Are you willing to obtain victory against the Kandrian Empire at the cost of losing to the Britannian Empire and the Republic of Gorteau forever?"

The leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate curled their mouths with disgust at the very thought of it.

They hated losing more than they loved winning.

"…and ask yourselves, is it possible to defeat the Kandrian Empire all by ourselves without suffering massive losses?"

"…"

None of them uttered a word.

Yet, their silence was deafening.

To even assert that it was possible was laughable.

All wars had prices and losses.

The Sekigahara Confederate, which waged more war than all three other Sage-level powerhouses of East Panama combined, knew that better than anyone else.

This was especially the case for an opponent as formidable as the Kandrian Empire. With the recent addition of the Silas Clan, they almost had as many Martial Sages and Masters as the Sekigahara Confederate.

"I'm aware of how much we hate the Emperor of Harmony and his disgusting philosophy. However, I'm sure we hate falling behind the Republic of Gorteau and the Britannian Empire even more."

The patriarch of the Oni Clan narrowed his eyes. "So, let me get this straight. You want us to leave the Kandrian Empire alone after they have obtained the miraculous power to create as many Apprentices as they want? If we do that, then they will surpass us Martially and will forever be out of our reach!"

This was what the patriarch of the Nindo Clan had been waiting for.

"I'm not saying we leave them alone." His voice grew stronger. "I'm saying we steal their power and use it for ourselves. Out of all the four powerhouses of East Panama, we are the most Martially developed and the most Martially powerful. Imagine how much this new power they have obtained will benefit the Sekigahara Confederate if it falls into our hands. Imagine how strong each of our clans will eventually be with a surplus of Martial Apprentices at our disposal!"

Greed and lust filled the eyes of the leaders of the Martial Clans.

"Fine," the matriarch of the Tanaka Clan finally relented. "We will destroy them after we have stolen their method. But what if you are unable to steal their method?"

A smile appeared on the face of the Nindo patriarch. "In that case, wage war by all means. If it truly cannot be pried from the hands of the Kandrian Empire, then the Britannian Empire and the Republic of Gorteau will also come to the conclusion that war is the only solution. Thus, regardless of what happens, the Kandrian Empire's only fate is destruction."