"I know this part!"
Scarlett's eyes lit up when a question came up that she could finally answer.
The others had been talking about things way over her head just now, she was already doing her best just to understand, let alone voice an opinion.
"The Employment Association was first established in the fifty countries represented at the World Conference. The first batch of chosen representatives were all royal members from those countries. But I heard most of them were the unpromising ones, or the younger ones."
Scarlett herself was an example of this. In fact, her joining the Employment Association was mutual, both sides choosing each other.
"After that, it was up to us, the regional chairmen of the Employment Association, to expand downward to affiliated and non-affiliated regions. The targets were still the non-heir members of royal families, and through them, we gradually spread our influence."
Simply put, it was a top-down strategy.
Among the royals and nobles of the member nations, there were all kinds of people, some capable, some not.
And with the intelligence network of the World Government, they could easily and precisely identify their desired targets.
And such targets only needed to meet two conditions: They had to be capable and they had to either aspire to become World Nobles or harbor strong admiration for the Celestial Dragons.
In short, Rosse's identity was a golden brand.
At the beginning, no one thought much of it. They simply assumed Rosse was acting on impulse, using the Employment Association as a means to curry favor with the Celestial Dragons.
But no one expected that as the Association's rules were enforced, its power within each member nation would actually grow strong enough to rival that of the royals and nobles themselves.
And since the Association's mid-to-upper ranks were filled with royal members loyal to the Celestial Dragons, that made the member nations even more uneasy.
After all, these pro-Celestial nobles were the sort of people who would literally do anything just to become World Nobles under the World Government.
It was through these people that the Employment Association rapidly expanded. But of course, it also paid the price for recruiting such individuals.
Those who were in the know at the gathering only needed a few sentences to explain everything clearly.
Those who could understand quickly grasped it.
Those who couldn't, well, they were the muscle types anyway, and didn't care.
At that moment, standing behind Rosse, Moa began to feel slightly uncomfortable.
She was caught halfway between understanding and not understanding.
She could follow what Rosse and the others were saying, but she didn't grasp the meaning behind it.
Checks and balances? Sense of security? Weaknesses and limits of nobles?
Were those idle, pleasure-seeking nobles really that complicated?
Moa's face showed confusion.
For the first time, she felt like the Revolutionary Army was just playing pretend.
Before, she had simply believed that as long as they liberated the oppressed, more people would find happiness.
But just by sitting here listening as an observer, she was nearly stunned speechless.
Was leading a faction really this complicated?
She felt that even the youngest person here, Scarlett, knew far more than she did and could even propose practical suggestions about the Employment Association, all from the perspective of royals and nobles.
Moa herself, on the other hand, had thought and thought, yet couldn't figure out how to make nobles willingly work for her without killing them first.
She hadn't even known that royal families in member nations had their own personal ambitions. She had always thought they were all just dogs of the Celestial Dragons.
The gap was enormous.
Moa lifted her head, quietly watching the ongoing discussions in the banquet hall, and suddenly felt a wave of despair rise in her chest.
Before coming here today, she had secretly overheard Rosse talking with Sora.
According to Rosse, tonight's gathering was nothing more than an amateur ensemble. A temporary stage far from the true government he envisioned.
Maybe that was why Rosse was unusually reserved tonight. He just smiled, sipped his wine, and let Sora lead the discussions.
But even this "amateur ensemble" in Rosse's eyes was already at a level that left Moa in utter despair.
It wasn't just a difference in strength, it was a difference in thinking, in vision, in mindset.
Just thinking about the people in the Revolutionary Army made Moa feel hopeless about the future.
Even if they truly managed to liberate a region, they wouldn't have the ability to govern it.
Before, both Dragon and Moa had believed that the World Government's pursuit was the reason their liberated areas were quickly retaken.
But now, it was clear, they simply lacked the capability.
Liberating a country required force, but governing one required far more considerations.
They were still far, far away… She couldn't help but wonder, 'What are things like over at NEO Marine and the Figarland Family?'
Meanwhile, as Rosse's banquet was in full swing, the Figarlands and NEO Marine were far from idle.
Taking advantage of the World Conference period, NEO Marine had sent large forces to the North and West Seas to recruit new soldiers.
With Sengoku's generous terms, plus a lineup of over three top-tier powerhouses, and the prestige of heroes like Garp, NEO Marine had no shortage of appeal.
Even if they couldn't recruit true followers of justice, there were still plenty eager for promotion, wealth, or protection.
Sengoku and the others had no choice, they were desperately short on manpower. They had to grit their teeth and take whoever they could get, hoping that later training could reshape these people's values.
But even Garp knew, that was a near-impossible task.
———
[The Figarland Family]
While Rosse was hosting his banquet, the Figarlands were also entertaining other Celestial Dragon families.
They were nobles among nobles, of course, they looked down on the representatives from member nations, and would never share a table with them.
But inviting other Celestial Dragon families? That was perfectly fine.
Even if everyone knew they were all scheming against each other.
In fact, Figarland himself was well aware. If given the chance, these families would gladly devour his own.
But at least for now, they could still talk openly.
After all, above all of them stood the blazing, all-powerful Jaygarcia Family.
They needed Rosse to intimidate the world. But at the same time, they didn't want him to become too powerful.
If Rosse's family grew too dominant, the others might no longer enjoy their Celestial Dragon privileges, and that would be worse than death for them.
At that point, who would care if the World Government still had prestige? They wouldn't even be part of the ruling class anymore.
After all, there were no longer ten Celestial Dragon families, and soon, there might not even be eight.
"Father, they agreed readily enough, but I don't feel much sincerity in their tone," said Shamrock, frowning, after seeing off the representatives of the other Celestial Dragon families and two of the Five Elders.
"They're hoping we'll pick a fight with the Jaygarcia family, so that when both sides are weakened, they can swoop in and devour us. Of course they're not sincere," snorted Saint Garling coldly.
"Then why are we still cooperating with them? Didn't we plan to take them all down first, then go after the Jaygarcias?", Shamrock asked in confusion.
"Idiot. You think we have a choice?", Garling cursed, then irritably explained, "Tonight, Rosse openly forced the Celestial Dragon families to pick sides. You think it's just us versus the Jaygarcias, but have you considered another possibility? That there are three forces right now: the Jaygarcia family, the Figarlands, and the Ethanbaron family with the others."
"Right now, it's not that we're eager to move, Rosse's actions have provoked Saints like Nusjuro. They're using us as pawns, pushing us to test Rosse's strength."
"If we hold firm, they'll support us depending on how things go. But if we fall too quickly, they'll immediately strike us next."
"Ah? Then what should we do?", Shamrock asked anxiously.
"Do nothing. Let the member nations test the waters. Whether they succeed or fail has nothing to do with us," Saint Garling sneered.
"If anyone should be anxious, it's Nusjuro and his lot. We may look like the weakest now, but in terms of sheer individual family strength, we're second only to the Jaygarcias. What do we have to worry about?"
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T/N: As you all already know my 2nd Account(Ambitious_Guy) is susp*nded, due to obvious reasons. But, the novels in it are still on the platform. Due to which I can't repost them on my new account(Ambi_Guy). Because everytime I try, the book just gets blocked because of 'Spamming'. So, those novels will now be exclusively available on ScribdleHub. For more details and novels please check announcement on Discord(discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y).
Another thing, from now I will post my new novels via 2nd Account(Ambitious_Guy_2) that used to be my 2nd Patreon(ZenonTL). It has some good fanfics and novels, you can try.
I am afraid of getting another block or susp*nsion so I am not saying more and censoring any trigger words.
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