Chapter 194

The man who had been eyeing the empty head seat glanced around at everyone seated around the long table with a chuckle.

“This organization may have been founded by Lord Nathan, and all of us were gathered by him, but everything changes.

In my personal opinion, the current Lord Nathan is no longer suitable to continue leading us. I wonder what everyone else thinks?”

“What do I think? I don’t care about anything!”

After the stout middle-aged man finished speaking, the bald woman playing with a slingshot let out a humph, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction as she said,

“The leader will always be the leader. He saved my life, and it was he who helped me obtain my abilities. I don’t care what others think; I only recognize him!”

“Very normal, extremely normal.”

Unsurprised by the bald woman’s attitude, the stout middle-aged man nodded towards her before cheerfully explaining,

“Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not denying Lord Nathan’s accomplishments. All of us have benefited from his kindness, including myself who hopes for a new leader.

But whether you want to admit it or not, Lord Nathan has grown old. In the past two years, he hasn’t been as infallible as he used to be, making mistakes instead.”

As he spoke, the smile on the stout middle-aged man’s face faded slightly, replaced by a somewhat sorrowful expression as he dejectedly said, “A few years ago, we were all doing well, but since the failed assassination of the prince earlier this year, Samantha was captured first, and the bandaged anomalous item was taken away by the Clearing Bureau.

Then Barton, who was undercover in the Secret Investigation Bureau, didn’t return after being cornered inside by that cleaner named Leon Lane while covering Samantha’s evacuation.

Later, when Lord Nathan led people to seek revenge and sent David to infiltrate the knighthood ceremony, attempting to ambush that Leon Lane using ‘Heartfelt Moment,’ they also fell into the hands of the Clearing Bureau, and it’s estimated that they won’t return either.

Compared to those past few years, after losing three companions in succession, this originally crowded long table now has an empty corner.”

“…”

Unlike before, after the stout middle-aged man finished speaking and looked at the three empty chairs around the long table, the rebels fell silent, even the “Leader faction” bald woman refrained from opposing at this time.

“Everyone, I admit that Lord Nathan has indeed contributed a lot in the past, but haven’t we all contributed as well?”

After waiting for a moment and sensing some wavering in everyone’s attitudes, the stout middle-aged man’s expression changed again as he pointed at the old woman and the little girl across from him, angrily slamming the table,

“Not to mention others, how much have Lucy and Phoebe sisters sacrificed for everyone over the years? When they joined us, they were both in their youthful prime, but due to frequent use of their abilities, one regressed in age, her intelligence is less than that of a five or six-year-old child, unable to speak a coherent sentence.

And although Lucy is slightly better off, she has turned into an old woman. Despite not yet reaching thirty, her physical condition is worse than that of someone in their seventies or eighties. Speaking of contributions, have they given any less than Nathan?”

“That’s enough! Stop beating around the bush!”

As the group surrounding the long table remained silent, a severely burned man humphed, showing impatience as he said,

“Oliver, why don’t you just come out and say it: you want to replace Nathan and become the leader yourself!”

“I do have that intention.”

After hearing the burned man’s words, the anger on the stout middle-aged man’s face disappeared, revealing an undeniable look of joy as he excitedly said, “Do you all remember our original intentions when we joined? It was to seek revenge on everything that drove us to this dead end! To destroy this kingdom full of sores! To stop tragedies like ours from repeating endlessly!

Not to randomly cause destruction everywhere, fighting relentlessly against the Military Department, the Senate, the nobility, the Chamber of Commerce, these tough opponents! Definitely not to provoke the extremely troublesome Clearing Bureau!

So everyone, it’s time for change now!”

“I feel that the Lord Nathan of the past two years is no longer the same person he used to be, nor is he suitable to continue being our leader anymore.

We must make changes immediately while there’s still time! If we allow Lord Nathan to act recklessly, it’ll be too late!”

“I agree!”

Just as the stout middle-aged man finished speaking, the burned man who had previously criticized him without hesitation raised his hand, becoming the first to express support.

“I don’t agree with Oliver being the leader, but I do agree with changing who sits in this position.”

Facing the astonished gazes of the group of rebels, the burned man licked his lips, squinting his eyes as he said, “I don’t care about all this talk of change and whether there’s still time or not. I just feel that Nathan isn’t suited to be the leader anymore, mainly because compared to when I first met him, the scent of strength on him is gone.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Glaring at the burned man who was even dumber than himself, the bald woman stood up, her face filled with dissatisfaction as she rebuked, “What scent of strength? What nonsense are you spouting?”

“There definitely is!”

With a disdainful glance at the bald woman, the burned man humphed and said,

“You not smelling it is normal; it’s the fragrance of the strong! Only we powerful ones can perceive it! This scent belongs to the strong, it’s that belief that even if your bones are shattered, you can still stand up again and bite your opponent to death with your teeth!

The reason I joined back then was because I was attracted by this scent on Nathan, thinking he could definitely achieve what he promised, so I was willing to follow him!”

“But in the past two years, every time we carry out a major operation, he spends some time alone afterward. When he returns, the scent becomes weaker, growing increasingly hesitant and decadent.

After the knighthood ceremony incident, his scent changed again. Now, he smells like a baby antelope abandoned before weaning! Weak! Smelly!”

“…”

After listening to the somewhat chaotic speech of the burned man and barely understanding his meaning, the group of rebels couldn’t help but exchange glances, and even the bald woman retracted her annoyance, biting her lips and sitting back down.

The “scent of strength” mentioned by the burned man, described in less “feral” terms, should probably be called confidence.

Compared to the confident leader of the past, the current Lord Nathan seems to exude a strange air of decline.

Like the giant in mythology who keeps pushing stones up the mountain only to watch them roll back down into the valley time and again, the current leader appears to have lost the confidence to change everything compared to the past…

Could it really be time for a new leader?

“Huff…”

As the group of rebels fell into silence, a massive inhalation sound suddenly echoed through the room.

Forcing open his nostrils like two dark caverns, greedily sniffing the unchanged air, the burned man abruptly kicked his chair aside and stood up, squinting his eyes as he gazed outside.

“A tiger! A tiger looking to hunt has entered! The scent is divine!”

(End of Chapter)