Chapter 3040: Shares
Chapter 3040: Shares
The request sounded unreasonable, but it became clear that no one would dare refuse a Supreme.
The governing council represented all twelve Halfblood races, but gathering everyone was not as simple as sending out a summons. Normally, such gatherings of grand magus could be held through the Cosmic Palace, making physical travel unnecessary. However, because deep discrimination still exists among the Halfblood races, with many still denied access, the halfblood alliance decided to hold the meeting in person instead.
It was scheduled for ten days later.
Emery suspected the delay served another purpose as well. It gave each race enough time to prepare themselves
For the next several days, Emery stayed in Ronan’s cave lair, studying the advanced spells and formations required to create the perfected true clone body. The techniques were far more complicated than he had expected, and several parts would require considerable time for him to master.
Throughout the days, one question continued to bother him.
What exactly was Ronan planning to accomplish?
As the meeting drew closer, representatives from the various races began arriving at the mountain.
From the Serpent side, an elder of the Boa Clan arrived personally to pay his respects to Ronan. Not long afterward, Emery received another visitor.
It was Elder Warwick, the right-hand figure of the Silvermane Wolf Clan, who had come personally on behalf of the Wolf race.
With Ronan still refusing to explain anything, Emery decided that Warwick might be able to give him some answers instead.
It didn’t take Warwick long to connect the pieces—the new research, the universal clone bodies, and Ronan’s sudden insistence that Emery receive compensation for his contribution.
"This will be about the share ratios," Warwick said. "The serum and the clone bodies."
When the project had first begun years ago, the Dragon Clans had taken the lead and invited the other races to contribute. After weeks of negotiation, they eventually agreed on how the project’s future output would be divided.
The Dragon Clans would receive fifteen percent.
The other top-tier races- Bird, Turtle, and Tiger- each received ten percent. The Serpent Clan also held a ten-percent share while the Bat and Goat races received five percent each. The Wolf Clan and the remaining four races received three percent apiece, while the final twenty percent was reserved for public auction.
Emery couldn’t help being baffled by the numbers.
During the past few days, he had already learned the facility’s production rate. Barely twenty universal clone bodies were produced each month, meaning the Wolf Clan would receive only six or seven bodies a year at most. Those few bodies would be fought over among the many Wolf clans and their several hundred Grand Magus.
With the constant wars across the Magus Universe, demand for such bodies was enormous.
The Superior Gene Elixir was produced at roughly five times that rate, but its demand was even greater. Magus and Grand Magus half-bloods wanted it, especially those struggling against the limits of their bloodline.
And the percentages didn’t represent free supplies.
They only gave each race the right to purchase its allocated share before the remaining products reached the open market.
A single universal clone body cost one billion spirit stones, while one batch of the superior gene serum cost three hundred million. With demand vastly exceeding supply, those same products could easily sell for two or even three times their original price on the open market.
Emery frowned.
"I understand that the Serpent Clan built much of the original foundation, and Senior Ronan sacrificed a great deal for this project. But why would that only earn the same share as the top-tier clan?" He paused before adding, "And the Wolf Clan has contributed plenty as well. Why do we receive only three percent?"
Warwick let out a long breath before answering.
"Power."
He then explained that the original distribution had not just been based on how much each race contributed to the research. Instead, it was determined mainly by the strength of each race, the number of Grand Magus it possessed, and, most importantly, the Supremes standing behind it.
The system had been designed around necessity rather than fairness.
The Wolf Clan was a particularly clear example of that imbalance. They had not possessed a Supreme figure since the death of the Alpha Supreme nearly half a century ago, leaving them without the authority enjoyed by the stronger races. Their current Patriarch, Tidus the Chain Breaker, had only recently broken into the Three Cosmos realm himself, and even that achievement had come after the clan poured nearly every available resource into supporting his cultivation.
One more question nagged at him.
"What about the Zodiac faction? What about the Insectoid race? Didn’t they get a share?"
Warwick shook his head.
"They don’t. Lord Alduin never accepted a share to begin with. The Insectoid faction is in the same position. Both of them have to compete for the portion reserved for public auction, just like anyone else.
Something clicked into place for Emery then.
Whatever Ronan actually wanted from this meeting, it was starting to look as though he intended to use Emery as leverage to force the entire quota system open for renegotiation.
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The gathering convened the following day, inside the Supreme Gene facility’s main chamber.
Emery had expected some version of a council session — twelve representatives, seated and arguing points back and forth. What he found instead left him briefly speechless.
The twelve Grand Magus representatives had all been seated toward the back of the chamber.
Because three other Supremes had joined the gathering.
The meeting had been arranged around a circular table at the center of the chamber.
Ronan sat on one side of the table, the other three arrayed around it. Their presence alone was enough to change the atmosphere of the entire room.
Directly opposite him sat the Nine Heaven Supreme, arms crossed loosely over his chest as he leaned back in his chair, looking thoroughly unbothered by the gathering.
Beside him sat a strikingly small figure, barely the size of a ten-year-old child, slender and sharp-featured, fingers steepled before him as his gaze swept the chamber, quietly cataloguing every person and every reaction.
Ferrin, the Plague Warden Supreme, Patriarch of the Rat halfbloods.
Beside him sat a stark contrast — a massive, heavyset man with thick tusks protruding past his lower lip, forearms as thick as tempered iron. Grendel, the Warhog Supreme, looked as though he found the entire affair mildly tedious.
Ronan, entirely unfazed, glanced around the table, taking in the three Supremes seated with him, and had just opened his mouth to speak when the chamber doors slammed open.
A fierce, bristling aura swept in ahead of him — Kaelgor, the Raging Sun Supreme, tiger-stripe markings sharp along his jaw, amber eyes fixed on Ronan with open challenge.
Four Supremes, gathered in addition to Ronan himself.
There were only fifteen halfblood Supremes across the entire halfblood Alliance. One third of them had joined the gathering.
The message wasn’t subtle. None of them intended to let Ronan control the meeting through the sheer weight of his own authority alone.
"Let’s not waste any time." Kaelgor said impatiently, "Let’s hear it."
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