Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1116: Chapter 1116:- True Colors of Elders

Seeing that no one had anything else to say, Sect Leader Ken let out a long sigh before rubbing his forehead with one hand. It had only been a few days since he had taken over the position of Sect Leader, yet he already felt as though he had aged at least five years.

“By this evening, the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder will leave for Axel City. Both of you will personally deliver a generous compensation along with numerous valuable gifts to the Harrington Family.”

His expression became even more serious as he looked directly at the two Elders.

“And please… if either of you truly cares about the future of this sect, then leave your arrogance and pride behind before you step out of this meeting hall. Do not provoke them. Do not argue with them. No matter what happens, endure it.”

The Third Elder opened her mouth as if she wanted to object, but after seeing Ken’s expression, she quietly swallowed her words.

“As for the compensation, I am thinking about—”

Before Ken could finish his sentence, a loud commotion suddenly erupted from outside the meeting hall.

Shouts echoed across the sect, followed by the hurried sounds of a large number of disciples running in panic. The noise grew louder with every passing second, making everyone inside the hall instinctively turn their heads toward the entrance.

“What is happening outside?” The Third Elder snapped in annoyance. She was already furious over Sect Leader Ken’s decision, and the sudden commotion outside only made her even more irritated.

She immediately stood up from her seat and was about to walk out of the meeting hall to see what had happened. However, before she could take more than a single step, Sect Leader Ken suddenly spoke.

“They are here.”

His voice was low, but every person in the hall heard it clearly. The simple three words instantly froze everyone where they stood. Several Elders looked toward Ken in confusion, while others slowly widened their eyes as they realised what he meant.

Ken did not need to send anyone outside to investigate. There was no need to ask for a report or confirm what was happening. From the scale of the commotion alone, he had already guessed the truth.

His worst fear had become reality. The Harrington Faction had come.

A bitter smile slowly appeared on Ken’s face as the last trace of hope disappeared from his eyes.

“We are doomed!” He murmured quietly to himself.

Just then, a Core Court disciple rushed into the meeting hall without even knocking on the door. Under normal circumstances, such disrespect would have earned him a severe punishment. However, not a single Elder was in the mood to question his manners. Everyone could tell that the situation outside was far too urgent for formalities.

“Master!” The disciple shouted while trying to catch his breath. “There are six 7th-order cultivators under the command of a young man with long blue hair in the marketplace!”

Hearing those words, Ken’s face instantly turned even paler.

One Peak 7th-order cultivator alone was already enough to put their entire sect under tremendous pressure. Yet Aditya had actually brought six 7th-order cultivators with him.

The last bit of hope inside Ken’s heart completely disappeared.

At the same time, the expressions of every Elder in the meeting hall changed. The colour drained from their faces.

Some subconsciously tightened their fists, while others felt cold sweat forming on their foreheads. A few Elders even found it difficult to breathe as fear quietly spread through their hearts.

It was as if they had already seen the end of the Chimera Shadow Sect.

None of the Elders or the Sect Leader spoke. No one knew what to say.

They were too stunned… too shocked… and too terrified to even open their mouths. The meeting hall fell into complete silence as everyone tried to process the horrifying news. The only sound that remained was the disciple’s heavy breathing and the loud commotion continuing outside the hall.

For the first time in countless years, the Elders of the Chimera Shadow Sect truly understood what it meant to stand before a force that they had absolutely no confidence in defeating.

“What should we do?” One of the Elders asked in a shaky voice. He was the second-youngest Elder of the sect and had only recently crossed four hundred years of age. Compared to the other Elders, he still had a very long life ahead of him. He did not want to die here. More than that, he did not want to lose his cultivation and spend the rest of his life as a cripple.

Elder Ken remained silent for a few moments.

His fists slowly tightened beneath the table as countless thoughts ran through his mind.

‘Renji… you damned bastard… you arrogant fool… you selfish idiot…!’

‘You dragged this entire sect into your personal grudge, and now all of us have to pay the price for your stupidity.’

‘You are already dead, yet you still managed to leave behind this mountain of shit for me to clean up. If you were still alive, I would have crippled your cultivation with my own hands before handing you over to the Harrington Family.’

Ken slowly closed his eyes before taking a deep breath to calm himself. In this moment, he needed to remain calm and not show his fears to anyone.

After a few seconds of thinking, he came to a painful decision. “A few of us will go and buy as much time as possible!” Ken finally said in a calm but heavy voice. “Meanwhile, evacuate all of the students. The remaining Elders will take charge of the evacuation. Get every disciple you can off this island as quickly as possible.”

The moment those words left his mouth, almost every Elder secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Their expressions immediately became much brighter.

It was as if they had suddenly seen a ray of hope shining through complete darkness. As long as some of them could stall the Harrington Faction long enough, there was still a chance that thousands of disciples could escape the island alive. Even if the Chimera Shadow Sect were destroyed today, at least its future would not completely disappear.

Sect Leader Ken knew that the moment he stepped into the marketplace to face Aditya and the others, his fate would already be decided. There was almost no chance that he would return alive. Even so, he hoped that his sacrifice would not be meaningless. If he could buy enough time for the disciples to escape, then his death would at least have some value.

As long as the core members and the younger generation of the Chimera Shadow Sect survived, there was still hope for the future. Even if Aditya eventually won the civil war, the surviving disciples could go into hiding and keep a low profile for the next several centuries. With the remaining Elders guiding them, the Chimera Shadow Sect might one day rise from the ashes and regain its former strength.

‘Who should I take with me?’ Ken thought while looking around the meeting hall.

When his gaze landed on the Third Elder, he saw that she had already stood up from her seat and was walking toward the exit.

“I will help the disciples evacuate!” She said without even waiting for Ken’s reply or even looking at him. The moment she finished speaking, she left the meeting hall.

‘What a coward!’ Ken cursed inwardly.

He slowly looked toward the other Elders, hoping that a few of them would willingly step forward. However, one after another, they all found different excuses to leave the hall. Some volunteered to organise the evacuation, while others claimed they needed to protect different parts of the sect.

Although their words sounded reasonable, Ken could clearly see through their intentions. They were afraid. They did not want to face Aditya. More importantly, they did not want to face the six 7th-order cultivators standing behind him.

Ken even suspected that some of the Elders would not help with the evacuation at all. Instead, they would quietly gather their personal belongings and escape from the sect on their own, abandoning all the responsibilities that came with being an Elder of the Chimera Shadow Sect.

Even if he knew that was likely to happen, there was nothing he could do to stop them. At a time like this, he had neither the authority nor the strength to force them to stay. Everyone was thinking about their own survival first.

Looking at the empty seats inside the meeting hall, Ken felt nothing but bitterness. He had devoted his entire life to this sect. He had spent countless years protecting it, strengthening it, and helping it grow into what it was today. In his heart, the Chimera Shadow Sect had always come before himself.

Yet now, when the sect faced its greatest crisis, some of the very people who had once held the same position as him showed almost no sense of responsibility.

When the time finally came for them to stand up and protect the sect, they tucked their tails between their legs and chose to run away instead. They hid behind poor excuses, convincing themselves that they were helping the sect, when in reality they were only trying to save their own lives.

Seeing this, Ken felt deeply disappointed. At that moment, he finally understood that not everyone who became an Elder truly deserved to hold that position.

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