Poverty makes me capable of anything.

"We must hold onto this small piece of land and not let down the efforts of the past forty years."

The elder with the sword in hand expressed his deep agreement.

Their view was actually very simple: no matter how big your ideals are, or whether you have the ability to make Star Ring the overlord of the park, as long as you touch what we are desperately holding onto, then don't expect to get any support.

For the greater good?

This is a struggle for power.

If so many people truly prioritized the greater good, there would be far fewer regime changes throughout history, and history would be drastically different.

"He gained a lot of face this time, while our reputation has fallen a lot. With one side gaining and the other losing, I reckon he won't be able to hold back any longer."

"Let's see how things go first. If necessary, we'll also try to gauge the other two's opinions."

nod.

They still have concerns.

Before this expedition, the success rate of doing the same thing might have been over 50%, but now it's hard to say how many.

Just as I was about to say a few more words, a drone suddenly flew over from the foot of the mountain.

drip...

The drone projected Mai He's image, who looked anxiously at the two seemingly calm and collected elders.

"It's terrible! We just received news that Elder Todd, who was bedridden, passed away two days ago."

What?

Upon hearing this, the two elders were momentarily stunned.

died?

They were just thinking of asking Todd for help when he suddenly died, and at such a critical moment.

This is not good news.

Todd has no children, and his position as elder statesman needs to be inherited, which is bound to cause a stir.

The struggle for this position will undoubtedly lead to various open and covert battles.

"I see."

"I'm coming right away."

After the video call ended, the two elders exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming extremely serious.

We can't keep dawdling.

"Let's go take a look first, and get started on what needs to be done immediately."

The tasks are: to go to the scene to understand the situation; to win over Todd's men who agree with them; to test the attitude of the inexperienced Johanna; and to consolidate their own forces and see how many are truly determined.

The two elders had considered everything very clearly.

However, having a clear understanding does not guarantee that things will go smoothly when you do them.

Winning over Todd's men wasn't difficult, but they ran into trouble with Johanna.

—Now that the position of elder statesman is vacant, such an important position cannot remain vacant for long. Who do you think would be the best candidate to succeed him?

Qiao Qina raised an eyebrow: Of course, whoever is stronger goes first, and the weak should stay somewhere cool.

"..."

Damn it, how dare you talk like that?

Is your brain filled with nausea?

If everyone played like you, the Star Ring would have been gone long ago!

—This matter cannot be handled so hastily; it needs to be considered more carefully.

Qiao Qina chuckled: "You can think about it however you want. As far as I'm concerned, whoever is stronger should go. It's shameful for the weak to go out."

"Incomprehensible, absolutely incomprehensible!"

"How could they have let such a woman succeed to the throne! It's infuriating!"

"Could it be that she's actually already hooking up with Maihe and is deliberately using these words to annoy us?" The elder with the sword gently rubbed the hilt of his sword with his thumb.

"No matter what the situation, even if she doesn't help either side, our chances of succeeding are greatly reduced."

What's even more heartbreaking is that when the two elders turned around to test their subordinates, they suddenly realized that everyone seemed to be out of sync.

What the hell?

Not long ago, you were all very enlightened, but now when you ask me questions, it's like you've been hit with a hammer. Did someone hit you with a hammer?

This is not a good thing.

If you can't find external partners, and if even your own house is on fire, then trying to compete with Maihe is just an unrealistic dream.

"Are they even choosing to side with Maihe? Are these people out of their minds? What good would it do them to follow Maihe?!"

"Don't rush to conclusions. Let me have someone I've secretly trained gather some information first," Elder Zhujian said, stopping the other elder's anger.

Old Huang, when it comes to handling things, especially important matters like this, you have to be able to stay calm and collected.

If things go well, you can enjoy the benefits for decades to come; if things go poorly, you might be lucky enough to survive, but if you're unlucky, you might be launched into outer space like a satellite.

Beneath the surface, spies are at work.

Despite their best efforts to investigate, the two elders discovered that their subordinates had no connection with Maihe.

"I never imagined they were hiding so well. You wretched creatures! All my hard work in raising them has resulted in such a bunch of ingrates."

The attendees were no longer just the two elders, but also their closest associates.

Everyone shared the same motto: to overthrow the wheat.

They share common goals and work together in the same direction.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find any useful information.

Because Maihe had never contacted those people.

However, the stark contrast shown in the battle against the Star Barrier left those who still had passion puzzled.

Following those two old men and turning the wheat harvest upside down didn't necessarily bring in much profit; on the contrary, the reorganization of Star Ring seemed to have a better future.

If there were a leader like the Time Traveler, Star Ring wouldn't be in such a stifling situation!

The two elders never expected that this was a problem with their thinking!

"Boss, this guy's thinking is flawed, but he didn't exaggerate it!"

Qiao Qina did not join forces with Maihe. With extremely low "political awareness," she still does not know that her personal maid is a traitor.

They were baffled by the questions asked by the two elders, and equally baffled by Maihe's wandering around after returning.

Huh... what is this all about?

One or two are just bored and have nothing better to do.

"They do nothing productive all day long, no wonder Star Ring has become like this," Qiao Qina lamented.

"What? Those two old geezers questioned Qiao Zina?"

Upon hearing the news relayed by the maid, Maihe immediately became anxious.

He originally intended to proceed slowly, first winning the battle for the succession of the fourth elder to increase his leverage, and then stirring up the wolf in the opposing camp.

Time waits for no one.

“We must act ahead of time!” Maihe said to his trusted confidant.

"We can't let this continue, before the pessimistic atmosphere spreads! And we also need some external assistance."

The other members of the Sword-wielding Elders team said.

The aid inevitably fell to large pirate groups like the Hundred Wood Pirates.

They learned from An Ran that Bai Mu's people had rescued Sheila, but the Star Ring Pirates were not worried at all that Bai Mu would attack them.

The Hundred Wood Pirates also have enemies, and it makes no sense for them to attack the Star Ring Pirates just for the sake of the lone Shira.

This isn't a political struggle, and Sheila doesn't have any leverage to negotiate with the Hundred Wood Pirates. What makes her think she can persuade them to take action?

"Not interested."

"I'm busy."

"It doesn't seem reasonable to interfere in other people's affairs."

"That's something we can consider."

MMP!

After asking around, the two elders realized that no one was willing to participate in such a matter.

Just like interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, even if it succeeds, it will arouse the indignation of other pirate groups.

The balance of power within the park is relatively stable. Each pirate group has its own defined sphere of influence and shipping lanes. Generally speaking, no one wants to provoke anyone else; simply exploiting the resources within the park is enough to keep them happy for a long time.

"Enough talk, let's take action tomorrow afternoon!"

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

"Tomorrow is Todd's funeral, and as the leader, Maihe will definitely be there. We'll just take him out on the way to the funeral."

"But if this happens..."

"Chaos is inevitable. If we kill him directly, our chances of winning will increase significantly. Although Star Ring's strength will be somewhat weakened, even if we are forced to leave Paradise, it's better than losing our own heads!"

"You make a lot of sense."

I'll listen to you this time!

Tomorrow, the Star Ring Pirates will be in a period of upheaval.

Gazing at the dimly lit satellite in the sky, the ambitious man revealed a cruel smile.

Don't blame me, young man, you brought this on yourself.

If you honestly accept the status quo, everyone will naturally live in peace. You enjoy your glory, and we enjoy our power. But young people are just too hot-tempered, their minds full of this and that. It would be better to just think about things more simply.