The Conquerors Path

Chapter 935: Chapter 933-Complaints.

The room’s air only got heavier with Emma’s words, her pout mixing with the way she clenched her fists, her eyes shimmering with the dangerous light of someone who was far too close to letting loose. Her soft, gentle image was betrayed by the way her mana flared slightly, as if her ”babies” were screaming through her.

Mark, already on the edge, had his aura spike, the heat rising off him enough to make some around shift uncomfortably, but before he could burst, I raised my hand.

”Cool it.”

My words were flat, not loud, but the weight in them immediately chained Mark back, his burning gaze still locked on Emma as if promising death for whoever dared to hurt her little creatures.

’Now this is starting to get fun.’

Taking in the full atmosphere of the room, I leaned back further in my chair, making myself seem more relaxed than I really was. Truth be told, the waves of irritation, anger, and exhaustion hitting me from everyone here were thick enough to choke someone weaker.

It was good. I needed this. I wanted all their complaints out, all the dirt dragged into the open, because only then would I know exactly how to crush the roots of the problems before they took more from us.

”Alright,” I finally spoke, turning my gaze on Alex. ”You started this with your whining, now we’ll make it systematic. Everyone will spill what’s eating them. No holding back. No sugarcoating. We clear the table before we break it.”

Alex’s grin twitched wider, his smirk hiding the way his jaw tightened.

”Fine then, since you’re asking so nicely,” he spat, leaning forward. ”My problem is simple. While you were away relaxing, these bastards kept poking holes at my authority. Every damn second, someone wanted to test me, someone wanted to see if Alex is just a shadow of his leader. I had to burn my mana and blood just to hold the line. Do you even know what it means when the enemies are lining up one after the other like they’re treating you as a trial boss?”

His voice was sharp, his eyes glinting. ”I kept standing, sure. But I’m running out of patience. And mana.”

’So, Alex is close to snapping. Not surprising.’

I gave him a nod, the barest recognition, but nothing more, which made his smirk twist into a pout. I wasn’t about to stroke his ego just because he was tired.

”Next,” I said, my eyes falling on Nathalia.

She startled a little, clearly not expecting me to call her so quickly. Her fingers twisted against each other, her lips opening and closing before she finally forced the words out.

”They... they’ve been following me. Not just in public, but outside, during private practice. Everywhere I go, eyes are there. They whisper things, not even directly, but just loud enough that I hear. About me.”

Her voice dropped low, but I caught the meaning in it easily. She was trembling slightly, her pride trying to hold against the humiliation of being singled out. ”They’re trying to break my focus, trying to make me doubt every step I take. And...” she paused, glancing at me quickly before looking down again. ”It’s working more than I want to admit.”

I watched her for a second, then gave a small smile. ”You’ll hold. You’ve already proven you’re better than the their shit words.”

Her shoulders loosened slightly, though she still didn’t meet my gaze.

”Lanora,” I said next.

The musician practically slammed her hand on the table, her fiery eyes blazing.

”They won’t let me play. Every time I set up, every time I try to perform, they send idiots to disrupt me. Noise, hecklers, fake emergencies, even rigged instruments swapped out at the last moment. They’re trying to drown out my sound. My music. Do you know what that means?!”

Her voice cracked at the edges, anger and desperation mixing. ”Without music, I am nothing. And they know it. They’re tearing at the only thing I care about, and I swear if I catch even one of them—”

”Calm.” I cut in again, my tone sharp enough to slice through her rage. Her lips tightened, her breathing ragged, but she leaned back.

I nodded once, then turned to Nyla. She met my eyes directly, calm on the surface, but I could see the storm behind them.

”My case is simpler,” she said evenly. ”They’re not attacking me directly. They’re ignoring me. Cutting me out of every circle, every conversation, every plan. Pretending I don’t exist. You’d think it’s nothing, but it’s worse. Isolation eats faster than battle. My contacts, my information networks—choked. I’ve become a ghost in my own life.”

That earned some mutters around the table. Nyla’s information was one of the pillars we stood on, and losing it was worse than a battlefield loss.

My smirk widened. ’Smart move from Girika. Cut the eyes, blind the body.’

I made a note.

”Sonia,” I said next.

She straightened, confidence rolling off her, though I could tell it was an act to keep herself strong in front of the others.

”They’ve been testing me in debates. Public challenges, forcing me to defend positions that twist against our goals, making it look like I’m contradicting myself. I win, sure, but the constant challenges are wearing thin. They’re trying to make me trip, make me stumble once in front of the crowd, and then...” she shrugged. ”Once the mask cracks, people stop listening. My words mean less.”

Her jaw clenched. ”And I won’t let that happen.”

I gave her a long look, then turned towards Clara again. She seemed steadier now that her complaint was already aired, but I still raised my brow.

”You done, or more to add?”

She gave me a faint smile. ”Enough for now. Though if they keep dragging sick patients into this just to smear my name, I won’t sit still anymore.”

The words weren’t loud, but they carried weight. Clara, the healer, threatening retaliation—that was a sign of how deep they are playing. I shifted my focus, sweeping through the table.

”Mark?”

He cracked his knuckles, still glaring at Emma’s earlier words. ”You already know my problem. They come after Emma, they die. It’s simple. But they’ve been clever—never attacking head-on, always through indirect shit, poking holes in her care, blocking her supplies, hurting her creatures. And it drives me insane because I can’t just swing my fist at them.”

He spat the words, frustration dripping from them. ”Give me someone to punch, and I’ll end it in a second. But like this...” He growled low.

I smirked slightly. ”You’ll get your someone soon.”

His eyes lit up dangerously at that, which was enough for now.

Then my eyes fell on Amon, whose aura was darker than before, flames licking in the shadows that clung to him.

”They’ve been hunting my ’disciples’,” he said flatly. ”The ones I picked up, the discarded ones. hurting them off in shadows, mocking them as trash. It’s pissing me off, because those kids believed in me, and now they’re dying before they even got the chance to prove themselves.”

His fists trembled on the table, the darkness spreading slightly. ”I’ll gut the bastards myself.”

’Good. Anger is useful.’

Finally, my gaze turned to Rina.

She grinned, sharp and feral. ”They’re trying to out-assassin me. Sending their so-called elites to test mine, cutting into my network. They want to see if my legs are dull. Guess what?”

She leaned forward, her grin widening. ”Every single one of theirs is already dead. They just don’t know it yet.”

Her words sent a ripple through the room, some uneasy, some amused, but I chuckled softly.

’That’s my Rina. Always ahead in the game.’

I let the silence stretch for a moment after that, letting all the weight of their complaints, their anger, their exhaustion hang thick in the air. One by one, every gaze turned to me.

The leader. The center. The one who was supposed to give them direction, answers, hope.

I smirked, feeling all the tensions around me, more though I am proud that they withstood all this, many of them here were broken, lost or thrown away, but now they have grown, they have become stronger and powerful enough to take on the ones grown up with resources beyond count.

”Good. Now I know the shape of the battlefield.”

I leaned forward, my elbows on the table, my fingers steepled together.

”They want to break us apart? They already failed. All they’ve done is piss us off. And nothing is more dangerous than a family that’s angry together.”

A few lips twitched into smiles, some shoulders loosened slightly, but the fire in their eyes only burned brighter, I could tell many of them liked the word of just family itself, after all many of them aren’t left with many good ones, that’s why this attack hurts more than they speak of, cause they are attacking a family they have and it hurts.

”Now,” I said, my voice dropping lower, sharper, cutting through the tension like a blade.

”We stop whining. We stop reacting. And we start hunting.”