Helge Degener, the sect master of the Red Crown Sect, had lived all his life under the Royal Family's shadow. In a sense, he was the Royal Family's dog. He had always done anything the Royal Family asked him to do.
However, he wanted to resist the Royal Family's influence with all his might this time! The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect's declaration of war appeared to be the only way he could. Thus, he accepted their invitation and arrived here at this banquet.
Helge's presence was naturally rather surprising for the other sects. They hadn't expected that one of the strongest sects under the Royal Family would arrive here.
They could guess that this was a trick or that even the Red Crown Sect wished to escape the Royal Family's control.
All of them were led to the Great Hall by the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect's elders.
The sect master of the Stony Rock Sect, along with a couple other sect masters, were startled to see such beautiful women.
They had heard that the sect mistress of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect was very beautiful. Moreover, she was very strong and managed to overpower the sixth prince Philip for a brief period.
However, they had not anticipated that even the sect's elders would be so gorgeous. A few sect masters and the companions they brought were infatuated with the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect's elders at first glance.
They tried to strike a conversation with them, but the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect's elders didn't respond.
These women knew just what these guys were hoping for and had a disdainful look in their eyes. Even though they were influential figures in their respective factions, they couldn't compare to Azaroth.
After arriving in the great hall, all of them saw three large semi-circular tables and took their respective seats. These tables were pointed in the north direction, and in that direction were placed a couple of chairs.
These chairs belonged to Tiana and her subordinates. Azaroth didn't yet plan to make an entrance in front of these Sect Masters.
The banquet soon commenced with a few questions from the sect masters.
"I have accepted the invitation to this banquet only for a single reason. It is to find out whether your sect possesses the capital to confront the Royal Family or not! And from what I see, it was an empty threat," The Stony Rock Sect's Sect Master stood up as he spoke with a sneer on his face.
A few other sects supported his words. They also couldn't see anything extraordinary in this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.
Tiana listened to this question rather calmly and responded with an ice-cold tone, "Sit!"
Instantly, the Stony Rock Sect felt a strong suppression on his body, and he was forced to sit back on his seat!
"What?!" All the sects, excluding the Black Lake Sect and the Red Crown Sect, were stunned!
Erica already knew of Azaroth's skill in arrays. While the Sect Master of the Red Crown Sect had already sensed the presence of some arrays in this Great Hall.
Some of these arrays were completely unfathomable to his senses, and even he would be restricted to some degree by them! This made Helge think 'I made the right decision to come here. A mysterious yet rather incredible existence is definitely supporting this Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect.'
"I believe you all can understand what happened just now?" Tiana coldly asked the other members. She added. "You shouldn't be mistaken into thinking that we are weak. I assure you that even the Royal Family will suffer if they attack us with their full strength. They have already lost three 6 Star Warriors in their earlier attack."
"What did you say?! The Royal Family attacked you, and you lot actually managed to repel them?!" The Origin Sect's Sect Master found it unbelievable.
"That's correct. If you don't believe me, I can display their corpses. You can return and confirm whether these three were 6 Star Warriors or not," Tiana responded coldly.
Soon enough, a few members of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect brought three large trays. Each one was covered by a thin white cloth.
After walking to the center of this Great Hall, the cloth was removed, and all the sect masters were startled to see three injured heads on the trays.
Helge Degener was so shocked that he instantly stood up. He knew all three of them personally!
He frequently sparred with them, and although he won, the margin wasn't large. This already spoke volumes of their capability.
Each one of these warriors was just a tiny bit weaker than Helge Degener. And Helge Degener was one of the strongest 6 Star Warriors of the Glerian Kingdom!
Tiana glared at Helge and spoke, "Sit!"
Another suppressive array acted and forced Helge to sit down. Well, this was actually just a 6 Star Array. It could force Helge to sit down because Helge wasn't actively resisting it.
If Helge began to actively resist this array, the entire Great Hall would be instantly destroyed!
However, Helge's reactions already informed the other sect masters that Tiana was speaking the truth.
What did this mean?! It meant that they possessed the capability of slaughtering 6 Star Warriors!
Most of the sects were unaware of the Royal Family's true foundation. The two Ancestral figures of the Glerian Kingdom possessed 7 Star Rank! These sects were becoming hopeful of their chances!
"Now, that should have convinced you of our power. If anyone is still doubtful, I can provide another demonstration. I wonder if we have any volunteers?" Tiana asked that question with a contemptuous gaze.
All the sects were more or less convinced of the Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect's strength.
"How do you plan to attack the Royal Family? Are you going to attack the capital?" It was Helge who asked this question.
His question naturally garnered lots of attention. He was the Sect Master of the Red Crown Sect and could be considered the most influential person in this banquet.
Tiana was prepared for such a question, though. She instantly shook her head and responded, "No. What we are going to do is attack all the cities except the capitals. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated because if we all join hands, the Royal Family can't possibly deal with all these attacks at the same time."
At that moment, Erica spoke aloud, "This is an amazing idea. We can steal the Royal Family's territory while also harming their very foundation in the Glerian Kingdom. Once the Royal Family has weakened to a certain extent, we can attack the Capital and end this swiftly!"
The Stony Rock Sect's leader had a sneer on his face as he responded, "What do you know of the Royal Family's strength, little girl?! We will need a decade to completely uproot the Royal Family if we go through this method!"
Another sect master added and supported the Stony Rock Sect's leader, "The Royal Family is bound to resist with all their strength. They hold complete control over the Beast, Alchemy, Array Associations, and many sects that haven't joined us today! The sects with 6 Star Warriors might survive the battle against the Royal Family, but what about sects like ours?!"
"If the Royal Family attacks our sects, we will be destroyed! Tell us, why should we take the risk of joining you in this war against the Royal Family?!" This question resonated with all the leaders of the small sects in this meeting!
Silence fell over the entire hall.
"I have a solution to that question," Tiana spoke confidently.
"Really? What is it?" The Stony Rock Sect's leader asked with a curious expression.
"If any of the small sects are in danger, the top grade sects nearest to their location would assist them. And if even the top-grade sects are helpless, then my sect will launch an attack on the Royal Capital! And if you are captured by any chance, I give you my promise to try my best to free you," Tiana solemnly spoke.
"That makes it seem as if we have no choice but to trust your word for it! You have no way to prove your words!" Another sect master sneered.
Meanwhile, Patrick asked at this moment, "Why would the top-grade sect assist a lower-ranked sect and risk fighting against the Royal Family? What do we stand to gain from it?"
Tiana responded calmly, "All the resources, territory, and even treasures of the Royal Family will belong to you. The Sacred Ice Aurora Valley Sect will not take anything of the Royal Family. However, we will supervise the division of these resources, territory, and treasures according to the contributions in this war against the Glerian Kingdom."
"To ensure impartiality, I invite an expert from each sect and propose to form an association that will receive the latest status of the war against the Royal Family of the Glerian Kingdom! They will debate and assign contribution points to sects based on their impact on the war. In other words, if you have a great impact on the war, the small sects can become the top-grade sects, and the top-grade sects can become even stronger. You won't get opportunities like this every day. So, choose calmly and wisely. Don't you think the rewards are something worth risking your lives?!"
All the sects were taken aback by the time Tiana finished her speech.
At that moment, Tiana suddenly stood up and spoke up, "Let's take a small break and have dinner. Please follow me."
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