"Listen to me!" Fang Joshua roared, voice ringing through the courtyard.
"Fang Yuan cannot save all of you. He is just one man and he can't stand alone against two entire kingdoms, let alone protect us all! If we continue to follow him, he'll only lead us to annihilation! Follow me and let us take the offer and join the Ember-Heart Monastery. There, we can start anew, and we can even survive!"
"Survive?" someone spat back.
Fang Chen stepped forward, face flushed with fury. "You dare speak of survival, you coward? You retreated from your post during the Feng Clan attack! Do you know how many of our children died that day because you abandoned your duty?!"
A ripple of anger surged through the Fang clan disciples.
But Joshua didn't even flinch. His expression was cold, too calm, too rehearsed.
"And yet," he said slowly, almost with pity, "that massacre only proves my point, Fang Yuan cannot protect all of you."
He swept his gaze across the gathered clan members.
