Titans Throne

Trust

"Young master I hope we have made the right decision."

"Of course we have, or rather to be honest; we had no choice in this issue."

Kai and Shasha were sitting in the office discussing the events from the day before. Kenshin and Bastian had not arrived yet, so the duo were just having some small talk, which followed along the usual formula of Shasha sounding confident and Kai being overly cautious.

"Good morning gentlemen." Bastian entered the room with Kenshin in tow. Kenshin immediately performed the necessary procedures to make the room sound proof and sat next to Bastian in front of Shasha's desk.

"So young master, have you prepared what I asked for." asked Bastian.

"Ah yes, of course, Kai please bring them out." replied Shasha

With a wave of his hand, a bunch of documents appeared on the table. Maps, diagrams and scrolls of all sorts were covering the whole desk. Those were details concerning Yani City, from the population, to detailed maps of the city, to information on the powers that were spread out across the city. The night before, Bastian had requested for that information; he gave the reasons that he needed to know that city like the back of his hand, before doing anything.

Bastian had spent only two months within the city, yet he knew next to nothing about the city due to the fact that he had been immersing himself in his research.

If we are going to take over this city, we need to know everything we can. Unfortunately, this isn't enough.

The information in front of Bastian was not difficult to obtain, thus it didn't contain that much crucial data. For example, he had roughly learned about the power dynamics that occurred within the city, but when it came to power, especially politics, there was always more than meets the eye.

It was unlikely that Bastian and co were going to amass an army big enough to siege the city, and it was common sense that if one was going to siege a city of that magnitude via normal means, then the invading force had to be stronger. Normal means were certainly out of the question at the moment, thus Bastian had to look at other avenues.

One method Bastian had thought of was to receive help from one of the major powers within the city.

The first name that came to mind was the Cole family.

Those elders represented the most powerful families within the City but four families stood above the rest. These were the Dwight family, the York family, the Oxlade family and the Cole Family.

The Cole family had the smallest number of members within the elder's council, but no one in the city would deny that it had the second most terrifying presence within the city. This was due to the fact that, ninety percent of the goods that went in and outside the city, went through their hands. They owned the majority of the ships, caravans, carts and other modes of transport and were essentially the kings of trade.

Unlike the other 3 families, the Cole family had only come into power not long ago. They were new in the trade business. The other 3 had been in power for many generations and were aristocratic in nature. That resulted in the three families ganging up on the Cole family, but the Cole family was not to be underestimated. Their leader, Tyson Cole, was incredibly intelligent, and rumor had it that his cultivation was unfathomable.

If we are going to take this city, then we definitely need the help of the Cole family, their control over trade routes and the amount of ships they have are essential if we want to take over this city. The only question is, how do we get them to our side?

According to the information in front of him, the Cole family and the Oxlade family had recently been clashing often. The Oxlade family owned most of the land in the city, while the Cole family held the majority of businesses within their grasp. Both families desired what the other has, resulting in them not seeing each other in a friendly way.

Before the Cole family had arrived, the entire private sector had been run by the Oxlade family. However, under the leadership of Tyson Cole; the Cole family had snatched up a large chunk of the Oxlade family's pie. The animosity between the two families was irreconcilable, and the Dwight and York families were constantly siding with the Oxlade family, making life difficult for the Cole family because they had no powerful allies within the city. Yet one thing nagged Bastian. Exactly how was the Cole family able to expand so quickly within the city?

From the records in front of Bastian, he concluded that there were many times when the Oxlade family should have been able to crush the Cole family, yet they did not. It is instances like that, which made Bastian realize that, he truly had little information.

"Shasha is it possible to rely on Tino for information gathering."

"Well she is quite skilled at it, and I doubt she came alone, odds are other warriors with her skills came along with her. Although she was given to me by my big brother, I don't fully trust her."

"The young master is right, that woman should not be trusted!"

Both Kai and Shasha seem to really dislike her, and I can't blame them, but they don't seem to understand what I meant.

"I know that you do not trust her, due to the fact that she is your brother's dog; however your perspective is wrong. Don't look at it as trusting her as, 'an ally', think of it as trusting a soldier of the thunder tiger empire.

Think about it, what would your brother gain by preventing you from fulfilling your orders? If he does then we can forget about her and the soldiers she sent. Yet, if your brother seriously does intend to take this city, and wouldn't mind helping you do it, then it would be foolish not to use the tools he gave us," explained Bastian

Bastian's words caused Shasha to frown. Tendai indeed would not gain anything from preventing Shasha from gaining this city; in fact, one could even say it would please him if Shasha succeeded. Yet even so it was precisely that fact which made Shasha unhappy; He did not like the idea of dancing to his brother's tune.

"This city isn't really valuable in my brother's eyes, but it isn't unimportant either. Although I can't say I know him very well, Tendai would definitely want me to succeed at this." said Shasha with a grim expression.

"Are you sure? Don't forget that if I involve her in our discussions there is no going back."

"I am positive. I hate her, but I know that Tendai gave her to me so that she can assist me. She might have ulterior motives, but she definitely would not do anything that would ruin the operation or endanger me, now that I think about it...sigh"

Bastian looked at the usually talkative Kai and saw him quietly nod his head, which meant that he also agreed with what Shasha had said.

Man, this family sounds complicated, not to mention the way she looked me at, The King of Titans huh...

Bastian clapped his hands. "Right now, that is settled; let us discuss a few more details regarding this city. I do have a rough idea on how to take it over, but I need your opinion on my plan. So let's begin."

...

Across the street from Shasha's manor, was a large house which housed Guy and his crew. Within one of the rooms sat Guy and Tino, opposite each other.

"To think The Blind Swordsman has the capability of preventing you from listening to their conversation, I am very impressed." said Guy enthusiastically.

Opposite him, Tino sat quietly drinking a cup of tea. Then instantly, her pupils expanded. She had suddenly realized that Guy had known what that meant, so he simply gave her a lazy wave. "Have a safe trip."

Her silhouette flashed, and her tea cup landed on the table in front of them, revolving violently until it settled down after a few seconds. Yet even after all of that, the nearly full tea cup had not even spilled a single drop.