" My fault that you guys were so overconfident in yourself?" Julien asked, smirking.
"It was you all who were hungry for war. It was you who were underestimating the enemies. It was you who was saying that the old man was wrong in taking time to decide what to do with such weak enemies."
"Moreover, you were the ones who suggested only sending two people since the enemies were so-called weakling, according to you."
"The old man went along with your demands, and now that it turned out to be wrong, you're blaming the old man?" Julien asked.
"It's not that I particularly care for the old man or this Council, but still, even I can see how stupid you're all being. If anyone was at fault, it was you for being stupid. And if there was any mistake of that old man, it was listening to you all."
"That's why I said you're all acting like vultures here. Moreover, since your last suggestions are the reason we're in this mess, shouldn't it be you all who should be apologizing?"
"The so-called loss of respect? That's because of you. The so-called insult... That's because of you. The death of three Warlock Leaders, that's because of you! So before the old man apologizes, you should do it."
After finishing what he wanted to say, Julien closed his eyes again and stopped speaking.
For a moment, there was complete silence in the entire hall. No one said anything, however, the heavy breathing sounds could be heard as some people were infuriated by Julien blaming them.
One of them opened his mouth to yell at Julien, but before he could say anything, the old man who was incharge of the meeting stood up.
The sound of his chair moving alerted others who looked at the old man.
"Can I say something now? If you've all had your turn, it's time you listen to me. First of all, I'm not giving away my seat, at least not at a time like this."
"Second of all, before I have the decision of Zhu leaving for Elisium, I asked from you all. And you all said it was a good decision. So Julien isn't wrong. I did what the majority wanted!"
"What about sending Andreas to the Divine Empire..."
"That was also what Andreas wanted! I didn't tell him, nor did I force him. We were confident, and I let him do it. Even I'm surprised that he was killed, but that's no reason to divide ourselves!"
"I've had enough of being silent and letting you do what you wanted! This time, you'll listen to me, and that's final!"
"But..."
"No but! It's the time of emergency, and I'm taking command!" The old man declared. "Those who don't want to listen can leave this meeting right now!"
Hearing the old man's tone, some Warlocks were indeed upset, but they didn't leave. They stayed behind.
"That's better! Now that we're done with the nonsense, time to talk seriously!"
"The Warlock Council had suffered damage in two places, one in the Divine Empire while the other in Elisium! Moreover, the damage in Elisium is even higher since two of us were killed there!"
"That just shows how threatening the Uprising has become after the arrival of their new leader... So I have decided what to do!" The old man declared.
"We'll attack them with full force. I know. I'll keep my men ready." One of the Warlocks nodded.
"No. We won't do such a thing," the old man replied.
"What? Why not?"
"Because I want to talk to him instead. If he is actually so strong, we can use him. We just need to bring him to our side."
"Nonsense! He killed our men! And you want to bring him to our side?"
"Yeah. That's exactly what I want. That man is strong, and he is someone that can help us take over the Divine Empire."
"Heck! We don't need his help! We must kill him first and then destroy the Divine Empire!"
"You're not understanding. You need to see the bigger picture," the old man replied.
"What bigger picture! I don't want to see any such thing! All I want is to kill the men that dared to challenge us so we could gain back our dignity! If we make him join, it'll just make us seem weak and scared!"
"Yeah! What would our enemies think if we did that? It'll send the wrong message that you must kill a Warlock Leader if they want to be invited to the Warlock Council! It'll paint a target on our back!"
"Yeah! We don't accept!"
"Sigh, you still don't listen. Just think about it clearly. How many people will die if we attack Elisium? The person who could kill Zhu with all his Summoned Beasts, just how talented could that guy be?" the old man asked.
"If I'm not wrong, at least five of us will be killed in the War with them! And with that weak side, will we be able to attack the Divine Empire? That would be more embarrassing!" he added. "On the other hand, we can team up with Lucifer and fight the Divine Empire! We can use him to take out the Divine Empire."
"That still seems like a compromise." The Warlocks still didn't agree.
"I have a suggestion. With that, both of you will get your wishes." Julien opened his eyes and smiled.
"Yes Julien?" The old man asked.
" Why don't you do both?"
"Both? How is that possible! We want that person dead, and he wants that person to be a part of us?'
"You're really naive," Julien replied. "Have Lucifer join our side. And take his help in the War against the Divine Empire. If he is killed in that War, then fine. You'll get your wish."
"If he isn't killed, then?" One is the Warlocks asked.
"If he isn't killed, then just kill him yourself. He would have already served his purpose by then. Moreover, he would be unsuspecting. You can easily kill him. I mean, come on. Did none of you think of such a basic thing?" he asked, amused.
"This..." Hearing the suggestion, almost everyone was stunned. This was indeed a good plan. They could use him, and then they could get rid of him easily.
Even though it was a little shameless to backstab a teammate after using him, it didn't matter. That guy killed their men first. So it wasn't a bad plan.
"I agree. That can work."
"Yeah. It'll be much easier that way. I also accept that."
"Even though I don't generally agree with Julien, this is indeed good.. I accept it as well. We should go forward with the plan!"