Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 240: For Your Majesty (55)

Dragon Raja 5

Pompey initiated this ancient procedure, and if he could obtain more than 2/3 of the votes in favor, he could temporarily deprive the Senate of control.

Gattuso, whose family started out in the underworld but admires ancient Roman civilization, finally came to Valhalla and demanded the highest authority from the secret party.

Pompey looked at everyone quietly, a hint of a smile on his lips. The black card fluttered between his fingers like a butterfly, a signature move of Anjou’s. It seemed as if the unruly old gentleman was still sitting at the end of the conference table.

The silence lasted for five minutes. It was undoubtedly a difficult decision, and a storm was brewing in the minds of every elder.

Black cards were thrown onto the table one after another. Some people let out a long sigh after throwing out the black cards, while others stood up and left the conference room.

Mr. Vanderbilt tightly grasped his black card, closed his eyes and sat quietly, looking at his nose, his mouth and his heart, as if he was willing to protect the card with his life and not let it fall into the hands of the Gattuso family; but Mr. Turing was the first person to throw away his black card.

Opponents glared at supporters, accusing them of abandoning their stance in the face of Gattuso’s financial offensive. Former friends would also turn left and go against the grain.

Everyone was mentally counting the votes. Pompey’s support was rising, approaching two-thirds of the vote. The vast majority of those present had already made their stance clear, with only a few senators remaining undecided.

Pompey needed only one more vote, and one more vote would make him the temporary leader of the entire secret party, but without that vote he would have to return to Rome in disgrace. It seemed that it would not be difficult to win a vote from several hesitant people.

Mr. Vanderbilt opened his eyes. “Gentlemen, Rome’s destruction began with its belief in heroes! From Sulla to Scipio to the great Gaius Julius Caesar, they defended Rome, but also destroyed its foundation! The Romans who believed in heroes lost confidence in themselves. They repeatedly called for heroes, and ultimately called for an emperor! Look at the man in front of you, Pompey Catuso! You worship him as a hero today, and he will be emperor tomorrow!”

The old and hoarse voice was deafening, and the elders who had not yet made up their minds couldn’t help but clench the cards in their hands.

Pompey raised an eyebrow. “That’s true, Mr. Vanderbilt. But the Gallic hammers are already knocking on the gates of Rome. Do we really have time to discuss institutional issues?”

“Rome may die as Rome, but to live as an empire is to her shame!”

A crisp sound interrupted the debate between Pompey and Mr. Vanderbilt. It was another black card thrown on the table. Mr. Vanderbilt’s face turned pale. Because of this black card, Pompey had gathered 2/3 of the votes in favor, and all the efforts of the opposition were in vain.

The one who threw out this black card was Beowulf. This silent old man was even regarded as the backbone of the opposition.

“The Secret Party’s millennia-old crown cannot be taken away by someone like Henkel Han Gao!” Beowulf said coldly, looking around at everyone with authority. “Rome will not perish, nor will it become an empire!”

“Gentlemen! The debt has been collected! Accept the defeat!” Pompey slammed the table and laughed.

He circled the conference table, collecting the black cards from the elders one by one, making faces at them, sticking out his tongue, and gesticulating. The man’s dark, kingly demeanor suddenly collapsed, and he was back to being that flirtatious second-generation rich kid.

He sank back into his seat and counted the black cards over and over, like a gambler who had just turned the tables. “Mother! I’ve really risked my life for our son!”

Beowulf sneered. “Do you still want to pretend? Sulla and Cicero would be outshone by your eloquence. We should have known that the Cattusos would not choose the wrong heir.”

“What do you mean by eloquent? My secretary wrote that speech, and I memorized it all the way on the plane. Do you think the President of the United States wrote his own inaugural address?” Pompey rolled his eyes. “Do you think I really want to be your boss? Isn’t it the will of those old guys in my family? But they don’t want to take the lead themselves, so they ask me to run errands for them. I’m really reluctant. I just fell in love in Prague, and now I have to abandon my girlfriend and run to the mountains to argue with you old guys.” Pompey sighed again, “But then I thought, for the sake of my son, what does it matter if I don’t pick up a few girls?”

Beowulf was stunned for a moment.

What Pompey said was not necessarily nonsense. He seemed to have little interest in power. Otherwise, as a school director, he should have appeared in this meeting room more often. However, he first gave the voting rights to Frost and then to Caesar.

“A man known as ‘Stallion’ wants to say that he is also a good father?” Beowulf softened his tone slightly.

“Sir Beowulf, I must correct one of your statements.” Pompey sighed. “A playboy and a stallion are two different things. A stallion is a beast that does hard labor, while a playboy is a man who loves and appreciates beauty and understands life. It’s true that I am a playboy. This way, when I am about to leave this world, I will have countless beautiful things to recall. And my son Caesar is the most beautiful of these beautiful things.”

    ***

The ship’s chaplain was still reciting his last prayers, but the dying crew member had already been wrapped in a body bag, leaving only a hole for breathing.

Schneider and Rebalko both attended the crew member’s funeral, which took place on deck. The body would be dumped directly into the icy sea. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to bring the crew member’s ashes back, but they were out of extra fuel, and the fuel consumed by cremating a body was incredibly valuable on the Yamal these days. The body was sealed in a body bag before death because of concerns about contagion. No one knew the cause of the ash-turning disease; perhaps the snakes had introduced bacteria and viruses aboard the Yamal, or perhaps it was a curse from the little Inuit witch.

They lost 18 crew members in a few days. Except for two wounded who died due to the low temperature, the rest were killed by this strange graying disease.

Schneider coughed violently a few times. “The nuclear power module still can’t be started?”

“The engineers are still working hard but the equipment has been badly damaged.”

“Communications haven’t been restored yet?”

Rebalco shook his head.

“Can your people still control the situation on the ship?”