"What's wrong, what's going on?" The bigwigs asked angrily. "It hasn't happened in 10 years! It's—"

"An early warning of disaster!"

"Damn, how can this be?"

"Is there anything like or worse than it was ten years ago?"

・・・・・・

There was fear and uneasiness in those humming voices. That's when --

"Ladies and gentlemen, is this the way you should behave?" Suddenly, a cold, old voice suddenly interrupted their restless discussion. I saw a deep dark shadow slowly stand up.

And the moment his shadow hung over the hall, the candles flickered, and the so-called big men were silent.

Unlike the others, the patriarch did not wear a mask or cloak that symbolized authority, but the rest of the patriarchs looked at the dying old man with deep awe.

"Lord Claudius!"

The old man in the purple robe looked at the screeching siren on the round table and said, "Throw this broken thing like a crow into the sea!"

Everyone, it's time to be quiet! As the elite of the Partik family's elite, you are inevitably out of place. ”

"But Claudius, this is a harbinger of disaster..." An elder subconsciously glanced at the siren, and felt a chill in his heart, the flickering blood-red crimson was shocking. After all, it was an alarm of a divine calamity, and although it was only a vague symbol, it represented the seriousness of the situation. And the last time it sounded in the family's castle was ten years ago, and that great battle almost destroyed the entire family.

But Claudius still had the white attendants take the siren away from the council hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, instead of worrying or accusing us like this, we should face the so-called disaster and use our strength to quell it."

Worthy of His Excellency Claudius, the senators couldn't help but admire in their hearts when they saw the dying old man exuding the aura of an iron-fisted king.

The iron-fisted Claudius, even though the name has not been mentioned for thirty years, is still the man who dominates everything. This is the reason why Claudius does not need to wear a mask, because his identity does not need to be hidden, even the other families know that there is this iron man in the senate of the Patik family.

"Perka-kun, can you tell us what's going on, the person in charge of the intelligence group?" Claudius snapped his fingers, and saw the wooden door of the hall slowly open, and a middle-aged man walked in.

I saw a middle-aged man dressed in black respectfully bowing to the elders sitting at the table.

"Head of the family intelligence group, Perka has met your lords."

"Just tell us what's going on!" An elder waved his hand impatiently and interrupted Perka's salute, it stands to reason that this kind of place has no qualifications at all with Perka's status, and how can the patriarchs, who are the top of the family, take him in their eyes, and needless to say, give him a good face.

"Yes, my lord." Perka lifted his body in embarrassment.

Claudius didn't have any expression on his face, just nodded and let Perca continue. And the senators are waiting for Perka to tell them what happened.

"Two hours ago, we received information that a family ship had wrecked in Sicily, and the source of the disaster warning should have been this ship."

Perka said with a solemn expression: "And according to the information of the intelligence officers we planted in Sicily, the wreckage of the ship that appeared on the beachhead should be the battleship Samson, which disappeared ten years ago. ”

"What did you say!" Suddenly, among the group of patriarchs, one of the patriarchs stood up and shouted. Everyone couldn't help but be shocked! "What's wrong, Fusent?" Claudius turned his gaze to the senator, who stood prominently.

The other patriarchs couldn't help but look sideways, and although what Perka reported was indeed bizarre, Fusent's attitude was even more curious in comparison.

But Fusant shuddered, his face turned pale, and he said slowly: "Ladies and gentlemen, the warship was sent to Crete by us, and he suddenly appeared in Sicily, and sank inexplicably, which set off the alarm of disaster. ”

"Can't you guess the reason for this, all of you who have participated in the ten-year plan?"

"Could it be that you say..." Someone then remembered, and their voices couldn't help but tremble.

Before they could say anything, Claudius interrupted the whispering conversation with a wave of his hand, and said, "Everyone, be silent. We're not the only ones here. Suddenly, the hall was quiet again, and everyone's eyes converged on the same person.

Perka was watched by a group of bigwigs, and he was suddenly out of breath with nervousness.

"Take him down!" Claudius's voice echoed around the corners, and in the darkness behind him, the white-clothed attendant suddenly appeared, leaving the council hall with a startled Perka.

Only these patriarchs remained.

"Claudius, Samson is in charge of guarding the [Cretan Bull], how can it appear in Sicily!?" An elder asked with a trembling voice.

"I don't know." Claudius shook his head calmly, "But, as far as I know, the Hydra, which was in charge of the mission to the New Brad Kingdom a few days ago, docked in Crete and stayed for a while. Do you know what your nephew is doing this? ”

"What, how is this possible!" Fursunt's eyes widened suddenly.

"Yes. The Samson must have been escorting something out of Crete. However, it mysteriously sank on the way, but now we can be very sure that it must be carrying the prototype of the [Cretan Fire Bull]. That's because we had an alarm system in place on it, and once the mech was activated outside Venice and Crete, we would be warned of a disaster. And all this happened after Antony, the nephew of His Excellency Fercente, arrived in Crete without our authorization. Claudius looked at the shocked Furcent and calmly stated the facts.

The eyes of all the patriarchs were focused on Frecente's body.

Claudius continued: "Moreover, an hour ago, the Duke of Athens had sent someone to come to Crete and meet the Knights Hospitaller, only to be astonished by the facts. Castro and General Pelux received orders from Antony, claiming to be from the Senate, to initiate the plan and escort the prototype to Venice. ”

"That is, Anthony forged our orders!" One of the patriarchs exclaimed.

Claudius nodded, "Yes, but according to them, Castro has indeed arrived at the Senate's letter. In other words, Anthony should have a real oracle, otherwise he would not be able to deceive Castro, who is also a senator. ”

"But what about the oracle!" Fresente asked, all the evidence was very unfavorable to Anthony and even himself at this time, if the oracle was true, then it meant that one of the patriarchs was a real black hand!

"It's a pity that the oracle was carried by Castro, and now his life and death are still unknown." Claudius replied. "But one thing is for sure, the sinking of the Samson was definitely not an accident." One of the patriarchs suddenly said, "Now only Anthony is the key to knowing this. Claudius, please give an order declaring Antony treason, and ask the kingdom of New Brad to arrest him. This is the only way! ”

"How can this be! Now it is simply impossible to determine Anthony's guilt, and if convicted of treason, his life is not even guaranteed! Fresente shouted angrily at the patriarch's words. Your Excellency Fercente, you should be calm. The current situation threatens the safety of the family. Claudius's voice stiffened suddenly, but unexpectedly, he also rejected the senator's suggestion, and said:

"I don't agree with a hasty declaration of Anthony's treason, but it doesn't mean that the family is letting it go, and we should secretly send troops to bring him back to the family. After all, Constantinople isn't just where we are, don't forget that our enemies are sharks, and the slightest smell of blood will make you crazy! If they knew our secrets, it would be doomed. ”

After listening to Claudius's statement, all the elders in the council hall looked at each other, and after a long time, everyone finally reached a consensus.

"In that case, let's do as Claudius instructs!"

The Senate eventually gave instructions.

"Claudius! Anthony he is absolutely innocent. How can you do that! Furson suddenly lost his cool and walked up to Claudius and shouted in a low voice. Even if you want to suppress us, you should not use such insidious tactics. ”

But in fact, Anthony did. Your Excellency Fergent, this time it's about the family, and it's not about anything else. Claudius replied coldly, and walked away from Frecent, who was in front of him.