57 The Secret Meeting
The negotiation between the Duchess and Countess Shaw went for another hour, with Rana able to persuade the countess to change her allegiance to a major faction. In exchange for Deron and Fort Stromfist assimilating to the countess's territory, Rana gained natural resources for William's war effort and military support for the crown.
Lastly, there was something Rana gained from the newly appointed governor of Deron. The names and locations of minor nobles who are determined to be extreme and dangerous for the Alderim. Rana and Wiliam knew a certain number of nobles would go to extreme measures to go against their king and country. These acts are nothing but heresy and traitorous in Imperium standard, from plotting systemic economic ruination to gathering rebellious military armies. If this were happening in the Imperium world, the Inquisition order of Ordo Hereticus would happily search and burn every traitor until the entire planet is covered with traitors' ashes.
To the Duchess's surprise, the countess freely gave the list of names and a location of their secret meeting without hesitation. It turned out Countess Shaw knew of these extremists and kept track of their activities even though they were fellow members of minor nobles. The countess might have been a traditionalist and not a military genius, but this doesn't mean she would blindly follow anyone without conducting her own investigation.
"Trust me, Rana. If you didn't ask for their name, I would have done it myself eventually. I may be a number pusher and politician, but I know when to slit my enemy's throat and bury the body in an unmarked grave." Countess Shaw said delightfully as if this information was insignificant compared to news of William's plan to conquer a neighboring country. The list of names was more extensive than Rana or anyone would have expected. More than a dozen names, few of them holding critical positions, including regional budgets and trade within Alderim.
'I knew minor nobles were upset with King Benton and his loyal court, but this is ridiculous.' Rana thought to herself as she quickly reviewed the piece of paper with a list of names. Most noblemen on the list were first or second sons, but few prominent names held essential positions within internal regions.
"I had the same reaction just like yours when I received the paper. Please don't mistake my action to provide this information for my unconditional loyalty to the crown, Duchess. I'm doing this for Alderim and her people. Consider this my participation in cleaning the house." Countess Shaw points out her reasoning and finishes her tea from her cup. With this, the meeting between the Duchess and Countess Shaw ended with both parties obtaining certain rewards and new things to do in the future. The critical information of traitors will go to Prince Benton and William, but since William asked for this information, it is most likely he who will solve the problem thoroughly.
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Two Days Later,
"Gentlemen, we need to make a move before Prince Benton takes over our country. We must show our strength and take it by force to save Alderim." The leader of the secret group started the meeting while the rest of the nobles quietly sat and paid their attention to the main nobleman. The meeting location is secret to the outsiders and many minor nobles who didn't 'earn' their rights to be members, but their membership and influence grow broader with each passing time.
"I'll say we should take over the palace and force the foolish crown prince to abdicate the power and the entire royal family's title. We need a leader who can take charge and believe in our way of thinking." One of the young noblemen quickly said for everyone to hear. Hearing this, many young men in the room nod their heads, and some cheer for an arm.
"And what should we do with the royal family? Should we let them live and let their influence spread without retaliation?" One of the older men said mockingly as if the young man's words were nothing but foolish and a half-witted plan.
"A simple solution would be public execution of all royal blood and anyone who stands against us. We can't have a revolution without the complete removal of previous rulers and their blinded loyal followers. Let us take arms!" The same young man slammed his fist on the table and started routing others to follow his lead. The room went louder and called for blood as if they were hungry dogs ready to devour their prey without hesitation.
"Keep the women and kill the rest."
"And take their riches and lands."
"I can use more slaves for personal use. Especially the young ones." One random nobleman said to himself while licking his lips. Beside his seat, he has a young woman, naked and chained up like a dog with a metal collar attached to her neck.
"Now, now. We can't simply force our way into the palace and take heads without a plan. Don't forget, wizards of Scholar's Pillar still support the royal family, and the crown's noble dogs hold greater military forces." The elder nobleman next to the leader reminded everyone why they remained in the shadows and didn't challenge right on equal footing. Even though minor nobles are many, their military forces are small compared to their opposition, not to mention their military gears aren't the latest to match the royal guards. The minor nobles blamed royal taxes and conflict three years ago, but the truth is minor nobles have a habit of spending more for themself than investing in their territory nor the well-being of the people in their territory.
"Don't forget the giant scum aiding the prince and the Duchess. We need to remove him quickly before it gets out of hand. I suggest hiring assassins from the underworld to resolve this new problem." The second older man on the other side of the table spoke as if the subject was related to killing a stray dog. After mentioning assassins, the old nobleman raises his silver cup, signaling one of the slaves to pour wine into his cup. Seeing the silver cup, a slave girl immediately approached the nobleman to fill the cup. Just as she was about to finish filling the cup, another nobleman spoke without holding any restrain.
"Who needs assassins when I can kill him with a much better result? Just say the word, and I will hunt him down like how I killed the wild boar with my dagger." A young man sitting next to the old nobleman pulled out a fancy dagger and slashed the air with no precision. But because the young man wasn't paying attention, he accidentally cut the slave girl's arm, and the girl dropped the wine bottle, spilling everywhere.
"You useless girl!" The older nobleman quickly got up and threw the silver cup at the slave girl's head. The cup hit hard, and the slave girl started to bleed, but she quickly picked up the cup and wine bottle while asking for forgiveness.
"Get lost, you piece of waste. I should have flogged you when I was done with your sister." The nobleman kicked the slave girl, and the girl quickly left the room, disappearing back to the kitchen while her tears mixed with blood on her face.
"Let us not hear your dominance while we are conducting an honorable meeting, sir. I'm sure she will repay your mercy tonight. Hahaha," At the end of the leader's words, many noblemen in the room laughed as if this was normal. The rotten minds of privileged men show no humanity, for many of them secretly have sickening luxurious self-indulgence and overindulgence with riches to cover their crimes (Slaanesh would be proud).
"Well, let us end this meeting with a pin on the subject 'Knight Lord of Metal' for the next meeting. Until next time, feel free to kill the giant and his mercenary army." Just as the leading nobleman was about to end the meeting, a young nobleman sitting next to the man with a dagger suddenly got up and grabbed the weapon, and slashed the man's throat with a single motion.
"What?!" One of the nobles who saw from the other side of the table reacted after realizing what just happened, but during that time, the killer already slew the second nobleman and threw the dagger in a fraction of a second towards the leader. The blade hit the target's head, instantly killing him without allowing a moment to think or time to dodge the attack.
The entire room fell apart as both young and old noblemen ran around like a chicken without its head. Meanwhile, the killer quickly blends into the shadow of the corner of the room. A woman with an athletic body wearing a black suit emerges from the shadows, armed with a green blade and chemical pistol. William's Callidus Assassin continues her mission with extreme prejudice, for she doesn't have any problem killing human trash.
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"Run!" Few young nobles attempted to open the main door while the rest armed themself with daggers and small swords to defend themselves. Due to panic and witnessing carnage in the meeting room, the young man couldn't find the right key or place it while the female assassin slowly approached them in the hallway.
"Damn it, Richard. Hurry up! She is coming." One of the young men cried with fear on his face while holding a small sword with both hands. The last time he held any sword was when he publicly killed a beggar four weeks ago for not quickly moving away.
"I'm trying," Man named Richard shouted with frustration while searching for the right key within the key ring. Just as the assassin approached closely, other young noblemen gathered much courage to muster and attack the assassin without any sign of teamwork.
One by one, Callidus Assassin dodged undisciplined swordsmen and decapitated them using her C'tan phase sword. The living weapon cut everything in its path as the green blade left no one alive. With melee fighters all gone, the assassin pulls out her Neural Shredder (A short-range psionic disrupter with enough power to kill the target by liquidating brain matter and spasming the entire body) and fire her weapon at two other nobles who were right behind Richard who is busing attempting to find the right key to the door.
"HAAAA!" The painful screams made Richard panic more, and for some miracle, he found the right key and managed to open the door while his companions died with unspeakable pain.
"I can't die here; I can't die here.' Richard dropped everything and ran as fast as possible. Running outside of the big mansion in the middle of the night, the last surviving minor noble made a quick escape towards the main gate as he regretted every decision he made to join the secret group. From killing his father to become head of the family to 'donating' a few local girls to the right members of the group, Richard did everything to get himself a seat at the table. Finally reaching the gate, Richard smiled while breathing heavily, for his chance of survival increased higher.
'Yes, yes, yes! It can't be the end of my legacy.' Just as Richard was about to escape through the gap of the gate, a single projectile went to the back of his head and out through his forehead. A fist-sized hole can be seen in Richard's head, killing the last extreme minor nobleman while a Vindicare Temple assassin moves his head from the scope and repositions himself on top of the mansion roof.
"Target eliminated. No survivors on sight." The Vindicare Assassin said with a cold voice to the vox communicator while Callidus Assassin cleaned her blade using one of the dead noble's clothes.
"No survivors here," The female assassin replies and disappears into darkness as she accomplishes her mission. After receiving a reply, the Vindicare Assassin packed his equipment and left the site without leaving any sign or clues.
No living souls were left alive that night, for every nobleman, staff member, servant, and slave had their neck sliced, body disfigured or poisoned with unknown substances. The purge of traitorous nobles ended with no clues of who could have done it, and empty positions quickly filled a few days later with silent warning of what could happen to the traitors in the future.
