“Thank you all for your hard work!” Billy addressed the group.
“Lord Dragon, it’s our duty,” one of the young men replied, bowing respectfully. “I haven’t been able to contribute much in these years due to my low authority and abilities, and I am truly ashamed,” Billy admitted.
“Don’t worry, everything will change after today,” Billy nodded slightly.
“Lord Dragon, what are your instructions? What do you need us to do?” Joshua Reynolds asked, curious about their tasks. He and Jacob Scott were only told to come and assist Billy without knowing the specifics. James Reynolds didn’t provide any details about Billy’s plans.
“For now, there’s nothing to do but wait,” Billy responded.
“Understood!” both Joshua Reynolds and Jacob Scott nodded in agreement.
At ten o’clock in the morning, the Guardians’ election assembly for the new council began. The five members of the Elder Council of the Guardians took turns walking onto the temporary stage in the center. Apart from the three members of the Teigh faction, the other two were elderly men with white hair. Their aura indicated that they were also at the Saint Realm level, just like the other three. Soon, an inspector from the Western part of the Guardians named Archie took the stage as the host of the election assembly.
“Thank you all for attending this election assembly!” Archie spoke loudly, standing on the stage.
“Unlike previous assemblies, this one has two purposes,” Archie continued after scanning the crowd below. “First, according to tradition, we will elect Provincial Governors and Inspectors for the four areas. Second, as most of you are aware, the Guardians have experienced several major events recently.”
“First, the Provincial Governor of the East was severely injured, then the Provincial Governor of the North was killed, and finally, the Provincial Governor of the West was killed by the city Lord of Aquilandia. All three incidents are related to Glavale. They are challenging the entire Guardians organization!”
“Therefore, the Elders have decided that after the election, we will all go to the city of Glavale and demand an explanation from them.”
“Those Glavaleans are despicable! We must make them pay!” a white man shouted angrily after Archie finished speaking.
“Yes, they must pay with their blood!” a woman echoed loudly.
“Blood for blood!” many people in the crowd shouted in unison.
“What a bunch of idiots!” Judge said with a sigh.
“Billy Boy, should we just kill him right away? Amber asked Billy.
Joshua Reynolds and Jacob Scott both choked at the same time; they were surprised by her sudden intent to kill the other party who were all filled with righteous indignation about seeking justice against Glavale.
“Thank you, Amber. But it’s not time yet. Let’s wait a bit longer.” Billy replied with a smile.
“Okay!” Amber nodded.
Joshua Reynolds and the others took a deep breath upon hearing their conversation, since they had never expected that Billy would really plan to kill them. Everyone present was a member of the Guardians, and the five members of the Elderly Chamber were sitting on the stage!
“Everyone, please be quiet!” Archie raised his hand, trying to calm the crowd. “Let’s proceed with the election first.”
As his words fell, the venue quieted down once again.
“First, according to the usual rules, each of the five Elders will nominate two countries,” Archie continued.
The five Elders received electronic devices from the staff and began operating on them. A few minutes later, the names of the countries nominated by each Elder appeared on a projection screen on the stage. A commotion erupted among the crowd as they saw the names on the screen. Except for Billy and his group, including their fellow Glavale citizens, everyone stared at the screen with shocked expressions. Because, on the screen, three of the Elders had nominated the same two countries: Glavale and Aquilandia.
Aquilandia’s nomination was understandable since they had secured the position of Provincial Governor of the Southern Polar Domain in the previous term. However, the appearance of Glavale’s name, and all three Elders nominating it simultaneously, was a surprise. This was an unprecedented event in the entire history of the Guardians. For over a hundred years, the core positions in the Guardians had always been controlled by the Western countries. Never before had Glavale been involved!
“Elder Teigh, is there something wrong with the system?” Archie, on the stage, looked at Teigh after a long pause and asked.
“No, there’s nothing wrong. The countries we nominated are Glavale and Aquilandia!” Teigh responded.
“Teigh, Lance, Neil, what’s going on with you three?” The other elder with curly hair frowned as he looked at Teigh and the other two. He couldn’t help but wonder. Just like in previous elections, the five of them had discussed their choices before coming from the Central part. The positions of Provincial Governors and Inspectors for the four major areas had already been decided. This election assembly was just a formality. But now, the result was completely different from what they had discussed. How could he make sense of it?
“Burt, isn’t it our right to nominate the countries for the election? Do you have a problem with that?” Lance retorted.
“Have you three lost your minds today?” The other elder spoke angrily.
“Vic, shut up!” Neil responded coldly. After a brief pause, he turned to Archie, who looked bewildered, and said, “Inspector Archie, why are you still standing there? Vote!”
“Elder Burt, what do you think?” Archie hesitated for a moment before turning to the elder with curly hair.
“Why are you asking me? Just vote!” Burt waved his hand impatiently.
“Well… alright then,” Archie took a deep breath and responded.
Then, they proceeded to the voting process. The results were predictable. First, they voted for the elected country for the Provincial Governor of the East, and Glavale won with three votes. Next, they voted for the elected country for the Provincial Governor of the South, and Glavale won with three votes. As for the positions of Provincial Governors in the North and West, they were both secured by Aquilandia.
The venue erupted into chaos once again. No one could have expected this result before today. It was completely illogical and incredibly surprising. The Glavalean citizens, including Joshua Reynolds and Jacob Scott, were equally shocked!
“Lord Dragon, did you arrange this…?” Joshua Reynolds asked Billy tentatively after a while. In the midst of his shock, he had a rough idea and guessed that Billy had called him and Jacob Scott here for the Provincial Governor positions!
“The Guardians are in need of reform!” Billy replied calmly.