Chapter 1049: Chapter 1036: Supreme General, Demigod, Patriarch Chapter 1049: Chapter 1036: Supreme General, Demigod, Patriarch “How are things on your end?”

“The position of clan leader is secured. I have started to familiarize myself with the operational systems of the Douglas clan. Once I am familiar, the current clan leader will step down, and I will take over the management,” Muria replied, sitting on the sofa managing the documents sent by his clan, not even looking up, while on the screen beside him, a languidly poised woman leaned back, apparently in a religious setting.

“That sounds quite promising, but at your current age, taking over as clan leader could draw criticism and envy from many,” the Golden Dragon Mother commented.

“Yes, there are quite a few voices within the clan opposing my rise,” Muria answered while handling the documents, “but those voices have been suppressed.”

“The objections to you are probably just about your abilities. Those envious fellows could only comment on your lack of experience in handling matters. That’s the only aspect they can criticize, but such opposition is useless. It will only delay your rise to power,” she added.

“Hmm.”

“In that case, let me give you a gift to demonstrate your capabilities to the clan behind you,” she proposed.

“What?” Muria looked puzzled at the light screen.

“You could directly integrate the consortium I’ve developed through your clan’s business channels. The core of my consortium is built around a Martial Arts Hall. With your martial arts talent and strength, leading it within the Federation would be no problem at all. Perhaps after you take over, you could even expand my business further.”

“Are you sure?” Muria looked at the Golden Dragon Mother with surprise. He knew that the consortium was where she had invested most of her energy since her arrival in this world, and it was her greatest achievement in trying to change the world. Now, she was just giving it away to him.

“This consortium is no longer of use to me. Let your father stay in the Empire, not return to the Federation. As for me, I am currently stationed at the Stars Congregation and cannot leave. Even if I find time later, I doubt I’ll return to the Federation.

So without me and your father as the figureheads, there’s no need for the consortium to exist anymore. If you don’t take it over, someone else will end up buying it, so it might as well benefit you.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then I won’t be shy,” Muria nodded and agreed to her plan without any pretense.

…

Five years quietly passed, making it twenty-seven years since Muria was reborn in the Star Armor World, which meant his reincarnated body was now twenty-seven years old.

In these five years, Muria hadn’t made any grand moves. He simply formalized the status of the Douglas clan’s next sole candidate. By thirty, he had become the leader of one of the Federation’s Four Great Families.

Muria remembered when he announced himself as the official head of the Douglas clan, it became a sensational news across the Federation. Almost every human nation’s media scrambled to report the news, as, combined with his age, the story was incredibly impactful.

Muria’s early ascension to head of the Glass clan was undoubtedly linked to the Golden Dragon Mother gifting him the entire business empire as capital.

As Muria was consolidating power and expanding his influence within the Federation, the Golden Dragon Mother was hidden in the Stars Congregation, covertly stealing the powers of an unconscious deity. As the faith she captured grew, her presence was discovered by the higher echelons of the congregation; thus, she was now outwitting a group of humans.

However, to say so is not entirely precise. Strictly speaking, the Golden Dragon Mother was merely toying with those humans. The battle over deity faith, which the church’s upper echelons saw as pertaining to their future development, was merely an interesting game in her eyes.

As for Ansol, under the dual advisement of Muria and the Golden Dragon Mother, he made his temporary position as the Empire’s general permanent, and formally joined the Empire.

Without a doubt, this was seen as betraying the Federation government; when Ansol announced his official integration into the Empire, the Federation government immediately issued a statement condemning Ansol’s act of treason and the Empire’s despicable act of undermining.

Of course, Ansol had no regard for such condemnations. As a Titan, he didn’t hold the concept of a nation, only that of a tribe.

Besides, since his birth in this world, the Federation government hadn’t given him much support; all his achievements were earned through his own efforts. He had no allegiance to the Federation, and when he initially joined the Federation government, he had also guided a few people.

Of course, Ansol remained silent, but the Empire’s media was not vegetarian either. How could they allow their nation to be subjected to such criticism? Hence, regarding this matter, the Empire had only issued a notice and the Federation had merely released a condemnation statement. However, the media of both nations, with the Stars Congregation between them, began to fiercely attack each other, and the war of words was incessant.

And this directly affected the lower strata. Yes, because the people involved held such high statuses, the commoners adopted an attitude of watching the drama unfold while eating seeds, not personally concerned but merely joining in for the excitement, while some hot-headed and impulsive ones joined in the battle, mutually attacking each other.

After all, everyone thought they were justified, but Ansol didn’t care about any of this. He was active on the battlefield, leading his legion in charge, indulging in the kill, and enjoying the pleasures of battle.

…

“Bullying classmates and at the same time…” Muria looked at a report in his hands, his brow slightly furrowed — with more clan members, naturally, there would be all sorts of people, and it was only normal for a few social scum to emerge.

The Douglas clan had few official members, and those with insufficient talent did not possess strong capabilities. The number of peripheral members forbidden from using the Douglas surname was dozens of times greater than that of official members.

These people were also within the clan management’s scope, but Muria did not manage them. He was only responsible for the official members, and the document now in front of him was concerning a matter caused by an official member of the clan.

This official clan member had been detected with a 62.57% Star talent at birth and had successfully obtained the status of an official member. However, due to issues with later education, this member seemed to have gone astray.

According to the intelligence handed to him, this clan member made use of his identity to create problems in school, freely bullying classmates and harassing girls — he was a very standard bully.

Previously, although the bully’s actions were excessive, they were still within the tolerance limit, considering his identity made the school and the government afraid to handle him recklessly.

But this time, what he did was too much, to the extent that the residents around him as well as the students at the school were thoroughly enraged, hitting rock bottom, and even held a protest, marching to the local government’s doors demanding severe punishment for him.

“Bullying classmates to death, invading a female classmate’s home and assaulting her. He is truly thoroughbred societal scum,” seeing the actions of this underaged official clan member, Muria tapped the table, having made up his mind.

“Paris, the butler!”

“Your Excellency,” as Muria called out, an elderly man with white hair but an energetic spirit pushed open the door and came in, bowing slightly to Muria.

“Go to Qiong En City, find Aowis Douglas, and tell him that he will be completely expelled from the clan. He is no longer a member of the Douglas family.”

Upon hearing Muria immediately decide to revoke the identity of an official member, although Paris, the butler, was somewhat surprised, he did not show any extra emotion or question Muria’s order. It was not his place to do so.

“Yes, I follow your command,” the elderly man bowed slightly and then prepared to execute Muria’s command.

“Wait a moment,” Muria called the elderly man and handed over the document in his hand. “Take a look at this!”

Paris, the butler, who was already prepared to leave, turned around, took the document handed over by Muria, and carefully read it. He then instantly understood and knew why Muria had issued this order.

“When you announce his removal, bring a whip and give him a severe whipping. As for how many lashes and how hard, just follow your own judgment.”

“I understand,” the butler thought through this order and could understand the reason behind Muria’s decision.

Although an official member was very important to the clan, they were not indispensable. Just like in the current situation, when such a member’s presence could only bring disgrace and tarnish the clan’s reputation, then there was no necessity for his continued existence.

In a federation system like this country, for a top-level great family like the Douglas family, reputation was extremely important. A clan that wanted to grow and strengthen could not rely solely on its own members.

It was also necessary to recruit other talents from outside since even if the Douglas family’s lineage was very excellent and the probability of producing elites was higher than that of ordinary commoners, it could not compete with a federation that had a large population base.

Thus, for a clan to thrive continuously, it must maintain an excellent reputation, and actions like those of Aowis, as a clan member, and the damage he caused to the clan’s reputation, expelling him was the most appropriate solution.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read