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The city of Velos had grown quieter around Noah's penthouse, though not in a way that offered peace. It was the quiet before a storm, one that Noah had begun to engineer from his position above the sprawling city. The Avaros Clan, with its ancient strength and deeply rooted influence, was an obstacle Noah could neither ignore nor confront directly. Strength alone wouldn't win this battle; they boasted hidden powerhouses with stats and skills that could crush entire guilds. Instead, Noah would tear them down as he had always preferred—with calculated ruthlessness and precision.
Months. It would take months to dismantle them, but Noah was patient. Every move he made, every coin he spent, and every pawn he placed would serve to destabilize the clan. The collapse wouldn't be immediate, but it would be absolute.
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Phase One: Undermining the Foundation
Noah started with intelligence. He hired **The Shadebrokers**, the underworld's most elusive guild of spies, to gather every scrap of information on the Avaros Clan. Their business dealings, rivalries, alliances, and family tensions were meticulously cataloged. Noah poured wealth into the endeavor, ensuring that no secret was beyond his reach.
The reports painted a vivid picture of a clan held together by tradition and fear. The matriarch's iron grip was both their strength and their weakness. The loyalty of her subordinates stemmed not from love but from fear of her wrath—a fact Noah intended to exploit.
The Avaros Clan controlled several key industries in Velos: arms dealing, rare mana crystal refinement, and a covert protection racket that funneled enormous sums into their coffers. These pillars were the foundation of their power. Noah's first objective was to shake those pillars until the entire structure trembled.
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Through a network of shell companies and hired intermediaries, Noah began a quiet campaign to undercut the Avaros Clan's businesses. He offered competitors lower prices, subsidized by his vast wealth. Legitimate clients of the clan were presented with more favorable contracts from these phantom competitors, luring them away. Even their black-market dealings faced interference as Noah paid smugglers to redirect shipments or "lose" cargo bound for Avaros warehouses.
Within weeks, the clan's revenue streams started to dry up. Payments to suppliers were delayed, causing further disruptions. The matriarch's lieutenants scrambled to address the growing crisis, but the cause remained elusive. To them, it appeared as if the world itself had conspired against them.
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Simultaneously, Noah turned his attention to the clan's internal dynamics. He identified ambitious lieutenants who felt stifled under the matriarch's rule. Gifts began to appear anonymously—exquisite weapons, rare artifacts, and cryptic messages hinting at their potential to rise if only the current leadership faltered. Whispers of betrayal were planted carefully, suggesting that trusted allies harbored treacherous intentions.
These subtle provocations created fractures within the clan's leadership. Meetings grew tense, accusations were whispered, and trust began to erode. The matriarch's once-united council became a battlefield of suspicion.
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Phase Two: Turning Allies Into Enemies
As the months wore on, Noah shifted his focus to the Avaros Clan's external alliances. No powerful entity in Velos stood alone, and the Avaros were no exception. Their pacts with other clans, guilds, and mercenary groups were critical to maintaining their dominance. Noah sought to poison those relationships.
Through **The Shadebrokers**, false evidence was planted implicating the Avaros in betrayals and double-dealings. Letters were forged, intercepted, and "leaked" to their allies, suggesting that the clan had been skimming profits or plotting against their supposed friends.
At the same time, Noah's intermediaries approached these allies with lucrative offers, providing them with alternatives that weakened their dependence on the Avaros. Some alliances crumbled entirely, while others became strained to the point of breaking.
By the end of the third month, the Avaros found themselves increasingly isolated, their network of support unraveling.
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Phase three: Coup de grace
Noah understood the power of death as a tool, but he also knew the dangers of being directly implicated. Instead of hiring assassins, he manipulated circumstances to turn enemies against each other. A critical turning point came when he orchestrated the death of one of the Avaros Clan's prominent lieutenants.
Using forged letters and fabricated evidence, Noah made it appear as if the lieutenant had been colluding with a rival clan to overthrow the matriarch. The matriarch, in her paranoia, ordered the lieutenant executed. The resulting fallout further destabilized the clan, as those loyal to the fallen lieutenant harbored resentment and distrust toward the leadership.
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The final phase of Noah's plan was to destroy the Avaros Clan's reputation entirely. He orchestrated a public scandal that exposed their involvement in illegal activities, using planted evidence and bribed officials to ensure the information reached the right ears. News of their black-market dealings and extortion schemes spread like wildfire, tarnishing the clan's image beyond repair.
The city of Velos, once cowed by the Avaros' power, began to turn against them. Merchants refused to do business with them, and even the criminal underworld grew wary of associating with a clan so clearly on the decline.
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Through it all, Noah remained in the shadows. His name was never spoken, his involvement never suspected. The Avaros Clan, once a pillar of strength in Velos, was reduced to infighting, financial ruin, and public disgrace. Their powerhouses, those hidden warriors with terrifying stats and classes, were rendered useless by a lack of resources and fractured leadership.
From his penthouse, Noah watched as the once-mighty clan crumbled under the weight of his machinations. It had taken months of careful planning and relentless execution, but the outcome was exactly as he had envisioned. The Avaros Clan was no longer a threat.
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