Several days passed.
One city after another fell under the control of an unknown force, and reports of entire industries going completely silent finally alarmed Siracusa's major families.
Faced with this mysterious force—one that clearly possessed formidable strength—the family heads did not rush into action. Instead, under the initiative of Madam Sicilia, a meeting was convened to discuss what stance they should take toward this suddenly emergent power.
"According to intelligence from our scouts, this force appears to be composed entirely of young, white-haired female Lupo. They also seem extremely familiar with Siracusa's internal situation. Preliminary judgment suggests this is not an invasion from another country. It may be a newly risen local power—or possibly an external wolf pack coveting our interests, trying to take a slice of what's ours."
Inside the conference hall, one family head spoke first.
"Hmph. A bunch of overreaching fools. Their actions have clearly violated Siracusa's rules. I believe we should unite and completely wipe out this force."
Another family head followed up coldly. Among those present, his family had suffered the greatest losses in recent days—several of the cities that had been seized contained key industries that formed the backbone of his family's wealth. If anyone hated this sudden new force the most, it was undoubtedly him.
Although everyone present understood that he was hoping to use their collective strength to drive out the newcomers and reclaim his own industries, the other family heads still nodded in agreement.
He wasn't wrong.
This unknown force had blatantly seized their industries without observing any rules and had even openly taken control of multiple mobile cities. Even if it were just to "teach them a lesson," the families had to join forces and let these upstarts experience the iron fist of Siracusa's old powers.
Who did they think they were, trying to snatch food from the mouths of families that had ruled Siracusa for generations?
The cake that was Siracusa was only so big. One more mouth meant less for everyone else. Naturally, none of the family heads were willing to accept that.
From their perspective, it would be far more in line with their interests to make this new force disappear altogether.
However, just as emotions in the room were running high, Madam Sicilia, seated at the head of the table, suddenly spoke.
"Do not act rashly."
In an instant, the conference hall fell silent.
As the uncrowned queen of Siracusa, Madam Sicilia's authority was deeply ingrained in the hearts of all the families present. In a very real sense, the "rules" of Siracusa were rules she herself had laid down.
Now that she had spoken, everyone waited to hear what she had to say.
"Two days ago, I dispatched the Great Wolf's Maw to investigate this unknown force," Madam Sicilia said calmly.
"Twelve members were sent. Only one returned alive."
A ripple of tension spread through the room.
"According to that survivor, the young white-haired female Lupo in this force are each individually terrifying in strength. Moreover, they possess an extremely frightening regenerative ability. Even piercing the heart or cutting the throat is not enough to kill them."
"And in terms of combat power—just two of them defeated all twelve members of the Great Wolf's Maw."
As Madam Sicilia finished relaying her intelligence, the family heads present widened their eyes in disbelief.
They all knew what the Great Wolf's Maw represented.
It was Madam Sicilia's personally cultivated elite guard—her will made flesh—the most elite fighting force in all of Siracusa. Their status within Siracusa was comparable to Ursus's Inner Guard, Yan's Imperial Guard, or Kazimierz's Silverlance Pegasi.
Of course, that comparison was mainly in terms of role and standing. In actual combat strength, the Great Wolf's Maw fell far short of those three groups. After all, they were a private force personally raised by Madam Sicilia, not a top-tier unit trained with the full resources of a nation.
Even so—
Two members defeating twelve of the Great Wolf's Maw, with only one survivor left to report back, was already absurd enough.
And then there was the part about regeneration.
Throats cut. Hearts pierced. Still not dead?
Did you even hear what you were saying? Were those really still Lupo?!
If anyone other than Madam Sicilia herself had said this, the family heads would have openly questioned it on the spot.
"Could it be an exception?" one family head asked hesitantly.
"For example, perhaps those individuals just happened to possess Originium Arts with similar effects?"
"I've confirmed this repeatedly," Madam Sicilia replied, shaking her head.
"It is definitely not an isolated case."
Given the importance of such intelligence, there was no way she would present it without thorough verification.
For a moment, many of the family heads present felt their minds clear in an entirely different way.
Compared to facing a monster force where just two individuals could slaughter twelve members of the Great Wolf's Maw, losing a few mobile cities' worth of industries suddenly didn't seem completely unacceptable.
Seeing that the room had gone quiet, Madam Sicilia nodded.
"As for how we should respond going forward, my proposal is this: if the other side ceases its expansion, we can attempt to accommodate them. If they continue expanding, then it will not be too late for us to act."
This decision was not born of senility.
The simple truth was that this suddenly emerged force was frighteningly strong.
The Great Wolf's Maw were elites she had cultivated at great personal expense. Losing more than ten at once had already caused her real pain. If the conflict escalated further, it was entirely possible that all of them would be wiped out.
Thus, even Madam Sicilia—who was usually decisive to the point of tyranny within Siracusa—now sincerely hoped this matter could be resolved in a relatively peaceful manner.
But would reality really unfold as she wished?
Obviously not.
After taking control of several mobile cities in succession, the Borisin girls dispatched by Lappland showed no intention of stopping. They continued expanding outward without pause.
All representatives sent by the families to attempt negotiations were summarily turned away.
After all, Lappland's mission was to seize the nation's political power and overthrow the mafia families' rule over Siracusa. From the very beginning, the two sides stood in irreconcilable opposition. There was no point in talking.
With communication failing and the Borisin girls' expansion showing no sign of slowing, the family heads had no choice but to begin mobilizing their forces.
Preparations were made.
An annihilation campaign against this insatiable foreign wolf pack was about to begin.
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