Inside an ethereal hall, different beings sat on their respective thrones. Some thrones were grander than the others, while some seemed similar. A peculiar thing to note was that in this hall, everything—the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the decorations, and even the thrones—seemed to have been made from the same white, translucent material, giving it a magical feel. It looked as if everything here didn’t even exist in reality. And that was correct. This entire hall was a formless creation, made using the Laws of Time and Space. As for the beings here, all of them were mere projections. This was the way the Crimson Covenant Faction held its meeting, with every being sending his or her projection to this otherworldly hall, where the agendas were discussed, and decisions were made. At the highest point, there were five thrones, much more luxurious and detailed than any other thrones here. On those five thrones, there sat five beings, all representing their respective Lower Level Worlds. Yes, Lower Level Worlds. Normally, these thrones were reserved for beings from Middle Level Worlds that led the Crimson Covenant Faction. However… The five worlds leading the Faction were… …destroyed. No one knew what or how it happened. The Faction just suddenly lost all communication with the five worlds, and when the scouts were sent to see what was happening, they only saw a void. The worlds that were once there… weren’t anymore… And this was also the reason this meeting was called. "Then… what is the final decision?" A being sitting on one of the highest thrones questioned with a grim look on his face. "Surrender." "Surrender." "Surrender." "Surrender." The other four beings sitting on the other four thrones all had the same answer. It wasn’t just them; the rest of the beings sitting on the thrones below nodded as well. Not a single being here had a different opinion. After all, the enemy faction was simply too powerful. After all, how could they possibly face six Middle Level Worlds on their own when the strongest worlds on their side were somehow destroyed without a trace? The moment the enemy faction found out about the disappearance of those worlds, they would come for them. They were helpless. Even one of those six worlds could destroy their entire faction. There was no point in showing resistance. Yes, there was an option to seek help outside the Sector, but… Even that felt useless. After all, that would only attract foreign attention to their Sector, something none of them wanted. Surrendering was much better than resisting foolishly. Honestly, for most worlds, the only difference it would even make was that they would now be paying tribute to different worlds than before. Of course, this didn’t mean it was the same for every single world. For some Lower Level Worlds, it was different. In the Crimson Covenant Faction, there weren’t just five Lower Level Worlds—there were quite a few. The five Lower Worlds sitting at the top weren’t there because they were the strongest. No, they were there because they were closest to the Middle Level Worlds that ruled the Faction before. These worlds stood above the rest because the Middle Level Worlds gave them the power to control and manage the rest of us. It was similar to how Sylveris had power over the Foxes’ lives. Now, however, that wasn’t the case anymore. With the Middle Level Worlds gone, the power of the ’Mark’ was gone. The Foxes, together with the rest of the worlds, were now free. And now… Now that there would be new rulers, things would be different. The rest of the Lower Level Worlds now had the chance to get ahead and form a closer connection with the new rulers so they could stand below one and above the rest. This was exactly what every representative of the Lower Level Worlds was thinking, and the representatives of the five Lower Level Worlds knew that as well. Enjoy exclusive chapters from freewebnovel Right now, no one here could be trusted since there was no power to lead them. "The meeting’s dismissed." One of the beings sitting on the five thrones spoke as he then turned towards a certain fox and nodded. The fox nodded back, and with a flick of her finger, everyone was sent back to their respective worlds. Even the representative of Sylveris. "Tsk." He snorted in his head as he realized what happened. He wanted the fox to send everyone but him and her because he still wanted to talk to her. But seeing how she blatantly ignored his signal made him tremble in anger. "That bitch." He cursed. "Let it go, Aghaast. We already expected it." Another being appeared beside him and spoke with a calm look on his face. "Rather than them, focus on what we are going to do now. We need to offer them something that would attract their attention—something different from the others." The being spoke in a solemn tone. "What if… we reveal the existence of the Secret Weapon?" Aghaast spoke after some consideration. "Have you lost your mind? Even the previous worlds couldn’t get their hands on that weapon. Don’t forget, even a party led by a Transcendent was killed, and we still do not have any information regarding it. Not to mention, the only link we had to get to that weapon is now broken since we no longer have a way to control the Foxes. The Foxes are finally free. I highly doubt they would make the same mistake of going against a world that has a way to kill a Transcendent. They will probably surrender to the Leaders of Yrniel, and this time, they will stay loyal to their world. At least, that is what I would have done. If we reveal the existence of the Secret Weapon to those worlds and they do something about it, it won’t take long for the Foxes to tell on us and for the Yrniel Progenitors to use that weapon against us. Trust me, those Foxes would be dying for this opportunity after generations of suppression. I see it in their eyes—they seek revenge." "Then… what do we do…?" "We need to talk to the Leaders of Yrniel. We need to form a truce. I doubt even they would want new worlds to know about their Secret Weapon and attract pointless attention, so we will use that to our advantage."