Elder Sergey frowned deeply and Sion also didn't like this.
Elder Sergey is the biggest supporter of Sion and the two of them are backing up each other since Sion beca the Grand Master.
Sergey helped Sion get rid of many disciples of the previous Grand Master in order to thin out the competition and remove anyone who might challenge one of the impactful positions.
Of course, Sarah knew all this because of the information Maksim provided on the Elders.
Elder Sergey looked at Sion pleadingly, silently asking him to find a way out of this.
Just like Lebedevs, the Elders and seniors of the Voronin family were corrupted and not willing to give up their spots, and for a long ti, they are using underhanded thods to remove any potential challengers while forgetting to keep themselves ready to fight in the arena. After all, they removed or reassigned many capable people of the younger generation, and the ones who survived internal strife ended up eting the Army of Chaos over the last few years.
The corruption of the Voronin family started long ago.
Many were involved in sches for gaining power, even before the previous Grand Elder (aka Hong's father, aka Feodor) passed. Feodor witnessed the disappearance of his son (aka Hong), and he buried his daughter-in-law, and he was aware that the family is going to collapse on itself, but he didn't know how to fix things as it all spiraled out of control.
Elders and seniors were fighting for power, and only the scheming ones remained because the ones who relied on the rules were removed silently.
Feodor was helpless and dejected, and then he decided to teach an outsider the techniques that might give him the right to contend for the position of an Elder. That is how Aiden ended up learning moves that put a target on his back because Feodor himself let out a leak that there is an outsider who is a threat. Of course, Feodor had no intention of turning Aiden into an Elder, but Feodor hoped that his family will stop infighting and unite when they realize that there are so many external threats they should focus on. Unfortunately for Feodor, it didn't work.
When Hong left, Sion saw that as an opportunity to seize power and he was gathering allies and chipping away power from Feodor gradually. The last few years that Feodor was alive, he was rely a puppet while Sion was the one running the show.
Back to the present…
If this is normal business, Sion would ignore the challenge and just kill them all, however, this is being stread to the Voronin family for everyone to see and Sion can't blatantly avoid the rules that are allowing him to stay in the position of power.
Sergey is a good ally to Sion, however, he is only one out of many. If soone succeeds and takes Sergey's place, Sion will take care of him silently, when the caras are off. That will be easy.
"And who is the challenger?", Sion asked while suspiciously eyeing the people who ca, and Sergey's brows ca together in a frown.
Aiden stood up. "I am."
Elder Sergey swallowed hard. "What? You can't!", he shouted, and his eyes darted nervously. "Qualified candidates need to know techniques that only our family mbers know. You don't qualify."
Aiden arched an eyebrow smugly. "How about you test ?"
Elder Sergey understood that Aiden's confidence is coming either because he has the skills or because he is good at bluffing. But if this is a bluff, Aiden would not be here with a delegation from the Lebedev family.
Elder Sergey looked at Sion, silently asking for help and Sion understood that Sergey has no chance against Aiden, but there is nothing much Sion can do when everyone is watching them. They all saw Aiden fight and Sergey as well as other Elders are all from the older generation who are not actively participating in fights or missions, but there is one person who might tip the scales in their favor.
Sion looked at his right. "Maksim will test the candidate."
Maksim kept on his poker face while scowling internally. Sion and Sergey are happy to rub each other's backs when it cos to power and assets, but when it's ti to fight, they call out Maksim.
Also, another thing bothered Maksim. Did Sion forget that in the last two days Maksim was being severely beaten because Sarah escaped? Sion blad Maksim for the escape and for the explosion, like Maksim orchestrated everything.
Maksim stood up. "Sure."
"No…", Elder Sergey said weakly, but no one paid any attention to him.
"Well, then…", Sion's voice trailed. "We should take this to the training grounds."
Sarah's eyebrow arched. Why is the old man talking about the training grounds when they have a perfectly good fighting arena in this sa building? Is he trying to delay the fight by moving it to a different place? Or is he trying to sabotage them on the way there? So many options.
"You wanted to say, to the fighting arena that is designed for challenging Elders, right?"
Sarah's question made Sion narrow his eyes and he cleared his throat.
"Yes. That is what I ant."
Sarah smiled. "Lead the way."
The arena reminded Sarah of their fighting clubs where the center of the space is separated by the wire and it looks like a circular cage. Seats for Elders are perched above so that they can get a good view, and senior people from the family have separated seating, while others can stand in the area around the fighting cage as they see fit.
For this occasion, Sarah and others from the Lebedev family got to sit in seats that are higher than others. Those seats are usually reserved for the senior people, but this ti they let guests sit there because they didn't want to risk Lebedevs mixing with the Voronins and using this chance to sneak in or cause a commotion bigger than it already is.
Sion looked at the screens that are hanging above the fighting cage and he frowned when he saw that everything is being shown there, and the image is definitely not from their caras. A smug smile on Sarah's face told him that this is their doing, but he could not figure out how they are doing it. On his way here, he told his n to investigate, but so far they didn't find anything. At this rate, they will need to proceed with this challenge or risk losing their reputation. How troubleso.
One Elder spoke into the microphone. "Elder Sergey Voronin received a challenge for his position. Maksim Voronin will test the skills of the challenger to ensure that he is qualified."
Aiden removed his suit jacket and loosened his necktie which Sarah held, to remove it completely.
"Don't be too harsh on him.", Sarah told Aiden.
Aiden narrowed his eyes at Sarah. "Are you defending Maksim?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. "The guy has internal injuries, and if he collapses, it will not be good for the plan. Can you please stay focused and don't allow him to provoke you?" Sarah cupped Aiden's cheeks with her palms and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Now go and do your thing, husband."
Aiden's lips lifted into a smile and he pecked her lips one more ti before heading down to the fighting cage where Maksim waited for him.
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