Chapter 1750 - Before The Tournament (1)

In the afternoon, Sarah attended a meeting with the Elders. Konstantin and Zack were present as well. They discussed everyone's status and she was pleased that no one reported any issues.

After they retrieved Aiden, Sarah asked all the Elders to keep an eye on Voronins and to report if anything is out of the ordinary and this was the time when they shared their findings.

"Voronins usual activity is lowered…", Elder Dimitri said. "They are preparing for the tournament and most of their attention is focused on that."

Sarah was happy that Dimitri brought up the tournament. She would ask about it, if it was not mentioned. "How much do we know about the tournament?"

Gavril responded: "Voronins are planning to strengthen their ranks and for that purpose they allowed their people to bring in promising individuals from outside that can fight. The tournament starts tomorrow and as the outcome, they plan to identify the top ten participants who will get to form their teams and depending on the performance even establish their own bases. However, if more than ten individuals show extraordinary talents, they will expand the number of people they keep. My sources say that they are willing to retain at least ten people in leadership positions and many other regulars with a goal to mix them with their current forces and revive thirty of their bases, maybe more."

Sarah was happy to hear this. Those thirty bases are probably abandoned after the attacks from the Army of Chaos. Knowing that Voronins are shaken up and scrambling after what her army did, was making her giddy on the inside.

"Do we know where the tournament will be held?", Sarah asked.

Gavril confirmed. He typed on the laptop in front of him and a big screen on the wall showed a map of Europe and Asia.

Gavril stood up and pointed at the map. "They will all gather here… and the tournament will be held here, in one of their main bases, fifty kilometers Northwest from Borodin…"

Sarah knew about the location of the initial gathering, and the fact that Gavril pointed at the same spot confirmed that his information is matching with the one Natalia revealed.

The base Northwest of Borodin was one of the locations they suspected as possibilities where the tournament will be held.

"How confident are your sources about the location?", Sarah asked Gavril.

"The information is solid. The Voronins will need to transfer all the participants to the base that can host such an event. Other than being the closest major base, this one is the main base in the Voronin family for training, and we confirmed increased activity in the area. That base has large training grounds that can be used for a tournament with slight modifications, and it also has barracks that can host more than two hundred people."

"While on the topic of Voronins adding more people to their forces…", Elder Todor spoke. "Over the last few years, Voronins are suffering systematic losses in manpower and territory and the rumor is that several organizations are to be blamed. Per our reports, one of those organizations is the Army of Chaos. Can you confirm if that is the case?"

Sarah understood that since Aiden's rescue operation in Natalia's camp, her involvement in the Amy of Chaos is revealed and the Elders were eager to find out the details. After that event, Sarah left, and they must be bubbling with curiosity.

Well, there is no point in denying the obvious. 

"Yes. The Army of Chaos is targeting Voronins for the last three years."

All the Elders exchanged glances, surprised at the straightforward response.

"Do you mind telling us the reason?", Elder Todor continued probing.

Sarah was ready for this. She will not reveal the connection between the old Grand Master and Aiden, but there are other things she can say… "I am a Lebedev and they are our enemies. As you probably know, my husband is from the White family whose base is in Austin, Texas, in the United States. Voronins infiltrated the White family and some of their people participated in the internal struggle within the White family several years ago and that was the catalyst for us to start acting against them."

"Can we assume that you have the control of the Army of Chaos?", another Elder asked.

Sarah looked through the room and other than her mother's, everyone's gazes were full of anticipation. Her lips curved into a smile. If Sarah says that she does not like this position of power, she would be lying. "Yes. Anything else, or can we move on with the agenda?"

Vasily had a question: "Is the Army of Chaos going to merge with our family's forces?"

"No. However, if you need my men for an operation, collaboration is possible."

Vasily was not pleased with Sarah's response. "I can assume that those extra people you brought in are members of the Army of Chaos. They are here, having access to our resources, yet we can't access theirs?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes at Vasily. "They are not extras. They are my people. They are my family. I will appreciate it if you keep that in mind. As I said, if your men are lacking in skills or numbers, collaboration is possible. Other than manpower, the Army of Chaos has one of the most sophisticated surveillance equipment. If you are interested to find out more, I have people who are willing to give you a demonstration, and it can be installed in locations of your choosing. It's installed in two villas I'm using currently. Anything else?"

Vasily pressed his lips into a line. He was obviously not pleased. He spoke with Milena (aka Stella) about merging the Army of Chaos with their forces, and Milena told him that Sarah just arrived and that he needs to give her time to adjust to the family. But how much time should he wait?

Vasily understands that Sarah does not want to merge forces because this makes her a powerhouse in the Lebedev family with a separate army, but merging would be beneficial for the Lebedevs. The fact that Sarah keeps her Army of Chaos separate, is telling him that Sarah has an agenda different from the one of strengthening Lebedevs and leading them into a bright future.

Sarah took Vasily's silence as if he does not want to talk about it anymore. "Alright, as the last thing before we end this meeting, I want to announce my absence starting tomorrow. Zack will continue acting as my proxy in collaborating with other organizations, and Konstantin will be my proxy as the Grand Elder. Communication will be limited, and if you need to reach me, you can through Anna and Sophia."

"How long will you be out?", Elder Gavril asked.

"I'm not sure. It will depend on the circumstances, but I estimate at least one week…"

Sarah left the conference room last with Konstantin by her side. They were finalizing a few things when she spotted Vasily in the hallway. He was obviously waiting for her.

"Can we talk?", Vasily gestured toward the outside.

"Sure.", Sarah responded.

Sarah told JoAnna and Sophia who were in the waiting lounge to go ahead, and she will join them later.

Vasily dismissed Ivan. "I have something to discuss with Grand Elder Sarah..."

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