"Why are you standing here? Not going in to take a look at their ugly faces?", Vanessa's chilly voice came from behind, her words carrying her usual indifference.
She didn't stop her steps, walking straight past Rosse and heading through the main gate.
"Ugly? The ones who died were our kin, friends, and family. Someone has to give an explanation," Rosse had a slight mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, his tone frivolous and casual.
He followed Vanessa unhurriedly, his pace leisurely, as if this meeting was just a formality.
"Your thinking is just as vile as theirs. You're born to be a Five Elders," Vanessa shot Rosse a cold glance, her tone full of sarcasm.
What she hated most were people who played mind games.
And Rosse in front of her, though known for combat and slaughter, was in her eyes a master manipulator.
Saying nice things like 'brothers and sisters, friends and family.'
When the Golden Lion dropped an island, Rosse didn't even make a move, just stood there watching.
"Thanks for the compliment," Rosse didn't care at all. On the contrary, he seemed to take her sarcasm as praise, the smile on his lips deepening.
He wasn't really a psycho, more like someone with a slight taste for the morbid.
In comparison, each and every one of his kin had already become near caricatures of humanity.
Among this bunch, Rosse often stood out for being too normal.
Don't be fooled by how normal Vanessa looks now, this crazy woman was someone even Rosse preferred to keep his distance from.
Over the past month, the two had been staying at Marine Headquarters, waiting for the Holy Land to be rebuilt.
During this period, more than a hundred pirates had been tortured to death by this woman.
Her methods were so cruel, it was downright appalling.
Even the ten greatest tortures seemed benevolent compared to her techniques.
She might appear calm now, but when she went mad, she was crazier than your average Celestial Dragon. Who knows what kind of trauma she suffered?
In that state, she wouldn't even recognize her own kin.
One time Rosse went to talk to her, right when she was torturing a pirate in her frenzy.
The moment he stepped in, he was attacked by Vanessa.
Rosse wasn't the kind of guy to take a hit without hitting back.
After that, the entire temporary holding facility was destroyed in their battle. He had to suppress Vanessa by force to calm her down.
Since then, at least she wouldn't attack him even when she lost it. Though even when she was in her normal state, she couldn't help but throw a few sarcastic jabs his way.
Rosse didn't mind. He only regarded her as a collaborator, never had any intention of deepening the relationship.
As long as she stayed calm most of the time, that was enough.
"By the way, I should congratulate you in advance," Rosse suddenly spoke, a faint smile at his lips, casually addressing, "Commander Vanessa."
Today's meeting looked like a session for the Celestial Dragons to fight over benefits.
But to Rosse, it was just for show.
Everything was already decided, and the benefits had long been divided.
There was to be a major reshuffling of the Five Elders, and the position of Commander of the God's Knights would be handed over to Vanessa.
"Just an empty title. You wouldn't obey my orders anyway, would you?", Vanessa's expression was completely calm, her tone icy cold.
She didn't care about such hollow titles. In fact, she was somewhat satisfied with the current state of the Celestial Dragons.
There were still too many of them. If more died, even better.
The two chatted idly as they walked into the grandest conference hall.
This hall, originally used for meetings between World Government member nations, could accommodate over a hundred people, but today it looked unusually empty.
All the living Celestial Dragons were already present, but their numbers were less than a hundred, not even enough to fill the hall.
"That's all the people left?", Sweeping a glance at the sparse figures within, Rosse raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of casual mockery.
He'd always liked being the last to arrive, and from what he knew, he and Vanessa were indeed the last ones here.
Which meant the Celestial Dragons still alive were only these in front of them.
'Good thing. Might as well throw a banquet to celebrate.'
And this wasn't just his idea. Most of those present were probably thinking the same.
The dead don't speak. The living get to share more of the Heavenly Tribute each year.
What's not to like?
"Everyone who could attend is here, Saint Rosse. Please sit in the front," Saint Nusjuro, seated at the head of the Five Elders, spoke in a low voice.
He still sat upright at the highest position, his voice deep and full of authority.
This meeting, like always, was arranged according to rank.
At the very top sat the Five Elders.
Saint Nusjuro, Saint Saturn, and Saint Mars sat firmly in place, their presence suppressing the entire room.
The other two seats remained empty, inviting boundless speculation.
Below the Five Elders were the seats for the God's Knights.
Saint Garling sat at the uppermost left seat. The positions across from and beside him were also empty, looking particularly stark.
"No problem," Rosse casually responded and strolled over to the chair opposite Saint Garling and sat down.
"Yo, Saint Sommers, long time no see," After sitting, he casually greeted Saint Sommers beside him, his tone as relaxed as if he were chatting with an old friend.
"Long time no see," Saint Sommers replied cheerfully.
They were all old acquaintances.
Those who survived and made it to this meeting were, in a sense, the winners.
At a glance, it looked like the World Government had suffered a heavy blow, but in truth, not at all. Not only had they won, they had won big.
Vanessa, who entered with Rosse, didn't say a word. She simply sat silently beside Saint Garling.
With the two of them seated, the God's Knights' section was finally filled.
Below the God's Knights were the seats of the family heads.
Unfortunately, half of those seats were empty. The original nineteen Celestial Dragon families would likely need a name change after this incident.
As for the seat meant for the head of the Jaygarcia family, it was now occupied by Sora.
In terms of identity, she was indeed already a member of the Jaygarcia family.
She'd been staying in the Holy Land these past days, handling matters with Saint Saturn. She was one of the busier ones.
Now, the Jaygarcia family only had three people left on the surface.
All other family members had died in this incident.
If anyone had the right to complain about losses, the Jaygarcia family definitely could.
And as for Saint Peter, who once held the lofty position of a Five Elders, he didn't even show up for this meeting.
Dead? Definitely not. Rosse was sure of that.
But according to Saint Saturn's intel, as the only Five Elders who had survived the entire battle without ever participating, Saint Peter had met a miserable end.
One could treat it as though this person no longer existed.
His only remaining value in the future was to help the Shepherd family reproduce.
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