And right at the time Rosse returned to the Holy Land, at the tower belonging to the Figarland family.
At the top of the tower, the Figarland banner fluttered high in the wind.
This flag, the third highest in all of Mary Geoise, was displaying to everyone who arrived at Mary Geoise the power it represented.
"Gotta say, that guy Rosse does have some taste. The view from this tower is great, especially this feeling of overlooking Mary Geoise."
Shamrock leaned on the railing with both hands, gazing down at Mary Geoise below, a trace of arrogance showing on his face.
But his sense of superiority didn't last two seconds before he got smacked on the head. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick and his body nimble, or he would've fallen straight off the tower.
"Father, did I say something wrong?", Shamrock helplessly turned his head toward Saint Garling, who was lounging leisurely in a recliner.
'Seriously, why hit me for no reason?'
"Heh, if you keep thinking like that, you'll just fall into Rosse's trap," Saint Garling said lazily.
"What trap?", Shamrock didn't get it.
"Is the scenery here nice?", Saint Garling suddenly asked.
"Yeah. If we could tear down the tower of the Jaygarcia family, it would be even better."
Shamrock unhappily glanced toward a certain direction, but unfortunately, blocked by taller World Government buildings, they couldn't see the Jaygarcia family's tower from here.
Still, Shamrock knew very well in his heart, that tower was a little higher than their family's.
Though this was a fact everyone acknowledged, with the World Conference about to begin, having it displayed so openly in front of everyone was still pretty upsetting.
"Heh, idiot."
Saint Garling's face shifted in an instant, scolding with frustration.
"Huh?", Shamrock was still confused.
"What strength do you have? What strength do I have? On what basis does our Figarland family hold the third-highest status in the Holy Land?", Saint Garling sneered.
"What do you mean on what basis not? If we father and son join hands, we can easily crush Rosse," Shamrock protested.
Back when he fought Rosse, sure, he lost. But that was only because his father didn't step in.
And besides, he wasn't the same person he was two years ago.
If they joined forces now, they could definitely finish Rosse easily.
Shamrock had heard Rosse's intel.
But things like the Red Count or Golden Lion, those were just petty thieves who didn't dare face them head-on, sneaking attacks on the Holy Land from behind. They were never real opponents.
If Rosse could kill them, so could they.
"Heh! Looks like your self-awareness only goes so far. If we fight Rosse, then who's going to deal with Saint Saturn, the Marines, and Gion's group? That brain-damaged brother of yours?", Saint Garling sneered coldly.
"This… but didn't we also make contact with the Neo Marine and Dragon?", Shamrock's voice shrank a little.
He still knew that when it came to group fights, they weren't a match for Rosse and his people.
But come on, he was just running his mouth.
Honestly, being the second-ranked Celestial Dragon family and the third in world power wasn't bad at all.
In the past, there had been Five Elder families pressing down on them.
Now that Saint Garling had become one of the Five Elders and could wield the world's highest authority, they had risen along with him to become the second Celestial Dragon family. That was already enough to make Shamrock happy.
"Calling you stupid isn't wrong."
Saint Garling gave Shamrock a glance. After all, he was his own son, he could tell what the kid was thinking at a glance.
"Who was it that proposed the tower heights in the end?"
"Rosse made the initial proposal. Saintess Vanessa and Saint Topman suggested the heights. It was approved jointly by the Five Elders, with you casting a dissenting vote while the other four voted in favor," Shamrock answered without hesitation, this wasn't any kind of secret.
The nine towers hadn't been built for long. Rosse had barely left the Holy Land before they were built from the foundation up.
Rosse made the proposal, then ran off, and most of the follow-up was pushed forward by Saint Topman of the Five Elders.
"Father, I think there was no need to vote against it. The higher Rosse and his group climb, the more others will fear them. We can just work in the shadows," Shamrock analyzed.
"Don't you get it? Since you know Rosse is leaping high, can't you understand their real intent?", Saint Garling shot him a look.
At those words, Shamrock's eyes widened in sudden realization. He looked at Saint Garling a little belatedly, "No way… They're making us second, don't tell me it's to set us up too."
"They can't deal with the Jaygarcia family, but they can't deal with us?"
Saint Garling's face darkened as he hit the key point.
In the Holy Land incident, there had already been plenty who suspected them.
Now Rosse was putting them up as the second Celestial Dragon family, perfectly suiting the desires of certain people.
Meanwhile, on Rosse's side, since the other Celestial Dragon families all needed to lie low and recover for now, they needed a tough banner to wave outward.
And that banner was best borne by Rosse himself.
After all, Rosse had already proven himself on the seas. Wherever he went, no force dared resist.
So for now, for the bigger picture, the other Celestial Dragon families wouldn't move against the Jaygarcia family. Still, some families would definitely group together in secret.
From what Saint Garling had learned, three of the other Five Elders were already showing signs of forming a bloc.
A new alliance needed a common enemy and some shared gains. With a good start, deeper cooperation could follow.
Since Jaygarcia wouldn't be touched for now, it was obvious who the target would be next, them.
"Those bastards, we haven't even made a move yet, and they're already trying to strike first?", Shamrock was stunned, and also a little furious.
He never expected he'd end up on the same wavelength as the other Celestial Dragons.
Wasn't this a coincidence? They too had wanted to take down other Celestial Dragons.
Nine families, still too many.
If ten had already been eliminated, then what harm in cutting down a few more?
If they could absorb the power of other Celestial Dragon families, they'd finally have the strength to crush Rosse.
"Heh, it's only the beginning of cooperation. And in this situation, no one's tearing the veil just yet. At most it'll be small skirmishes."
Saint Garling said flatly. He understood all too well the mindset of his kin.
Rosse was the only exception, the one he could never predict.
"The World Conference?"
Shamrock wasn't dumb, he just needed a nudge.
Besides, they had already planned to stir trouble at the World Conference. Only their target wasn't the existing Celestial Dragon families' client states, but the ten families who had been stripped of status.
Those ten had plenty of client nations backing them fully.
If they could bring them under their banner, their power would grow greatly.
"Exactly. Looks like this World Conference will be quite lively."
Saint Garling let out a cold laugh.
The situation was very clear now.
Celestial Dragons couldn't afford further losses in population. In the short term, breaking into open conflict was out of the question.
But with their numbers already too few, the biggest problem every family now faced was how to develop their lineages.
The more client states they controlled, the easier it was to sift out excellent seeds to fill the gap in their dwindling bloodlines.
If they were too slow at this step, then the only option would be to draw from non-affiliated nations, or even slaves.
In that case, leaving aside whether they could tolerate their bloodlines growing ever more debased, the decline itself would make them weaker and weaker while other families grew stronger. Sooner or later, the difference would become fatal. In a hundred years, their family could even face extinction.
This World Conference might look like it was hosted by the Jaygarcia family, but behind the scenes, their own plotting was no less.
The Figarland family, would definitely seize the top prize.
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