chapter 757 i have no use for worthless people in my family
inside the ashford clan's main branch...
"clark, explain yourself," claude said, sternly looking at his son who stood in front of him. "why did you want our clan to ally with the leventis family?"
"father, zion is not someone our clan can offend," clark replied in a solemn tone. "although he's a mere rookie, he has done things no ordinary rookie should be able to do. in fact, i think even monarchs can't replicate the feats he had accomplished.
"isn't that enough reason to avoid any conflicts with him? having an alliance with the leventis family is very beneficial. father, please, listen to me."
claude frowned but didn't say anything to undermine his son's words. claude had his share of being on the receiving end of zion's notoriety, suffering defeat one after the other.
the teenage boy was like a gremlin who would not hesitate to bite them whenever he was given a chance.
"you're scared of him?" claude asked, wanting to believe that his son wasn't afraid of anyone, knowing that the latter once looked down on the wanderers of his generation.
however, clark's answer made him feel as if cold water had been poured over his head.
"yes, father," clark replied. "i'm afraid of zion leventis. we don't stand a chance against him whether in open or underhanded conflicts."
at that moment, an arrogant voice spread inside the room, making clark feel as if a pressure as heavy as a mountain descended on his shoulder, forcing him to kneel.
"are you saying that the ashford clan should submit to a mere child?" aaron ashford's cold voice spread inside the room, making claude worry for his son's safety.
"father, please forgive clark," claude said. "he's still young and doesn't understand anything."
"no," clark said through gritted teeth. "i understand everything. grandpa, we can't fight against zion. we just can'tâarghhh!"
"i didn't say you can talk, clark," aaron said, increasing the pressure, which forced the young man to lower his head on the floor, unable to raise it up. "you disappoint me. to think that i had high hopes for you. it seems that i spoiled you rotten, that you've become weak."
clark wanted to refute his grandfather's words, but he was worried that if he said more, his grandfather would lose all reason and smash his head like a watermelon.
in the end, he bit his lips in frustration until blood spilled from it.
"understood, father," clark replied with dim eyes. 'fine. since grandfather doesn't care about us, i won't care about him either.'
clark could vaguely tell that zion had something against the ashford clan. however, since he explicitly said that he wouldn't target clark and his family, with the exception of his grandfather, that meant that they would escape this conflict that had nothing to do with them.
clark had seen things others can't. he had heard things that others don't.
those were enough to make him realize that the mighty ashford clan was not as strong as he initially expected.
back then, he thought that with his family's background and influence, he could do anything and look down on anyone, for he belonged to the ashford clan.
but he had been humbled.
humbled by a teenage boy who was a few years younger than him and was stuck in the rookie rank.
but that "weakling" wielded authority and influence that would make the monarch clans seem like a joke.
fortunately, his eyes had been opened, and he now understood the reality that was hidden behind the faint smile on zion's face.
right now, clark didn't care about what would happen in the ashford clan.
as long as his family was safe, he no longer cared for whatever grievances zion had against their clan.
however, one thing was clear.
the moment the teenage boy made his move, everything that the ashford clan had built over the past hundreds of years would come crumbling down like a house made up of cards.
so what if they had a monarch?
in the face of a rank 9 sovereign, a monarch was nothing.
since that was the case, how could they possibly stand against not one, not two, but three existences whose strength surpassed that of a rank 9 sovereign?
a chuckle escaped clark's lips, making claude, who was beside him, look at his son as if he had gone crazy.
what claude didn't know was that the laughter that came from clark was actually a laugh of relief, knowing that they would not be included in the calamity that would befall their family the moment zion leventis finally decided to make his move.