Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1780 The Sleepy Guardian~

Somewhere within the Young Sector 99- ”Hmmmm~” Holak let the scorching desert sun sting and kiss his thick, battle-hardened skin as he lay sprawled lazily on a beach-style couch, the kind nobles usually put in front of ocean waves. He was almost half-naked-bare chest, relaxed limbs-and the satisfied smile on his face grew brighter and deeper with every passing second, as though the heat itself were fueling his pleasure.

Bam Bam ”Iʼll kill you!!!” ”Hmm?” Holakʼs expression tightened in mild annoyance, then he lazily tilted his head downward and placed a massive finger on his lips. ”Shhhhh~!!!”

Si----lence ”Hmmmm.” Only when he was fully convinced that the slaughter occurring below had shifted back to ʼsilent modeʼ did he allow a slow grin to return, resuming his enjoyment of the desert sun as if nothing mattered in existence except its warmth.

It had been several years since Holak personally left his palace to search for new recruits for the Imperial Guards.

This wasnʼt because candidates had become scarce-far from it. The Three Armies were still expanding like wildfire, conquering and annexing more planets every single year.

But Holak had raised the acceptance standards so dramatically that most of the population no longer qualified...

By previously opening recruitment to anyone with even a basic affinity for the three fundamental laws, he had managed to gather an absurdly large number of trainees in record time-hundreds of thousands of them, all standing proud at one point as if the galaxy were offering him its young.

But once the practical training began-once they attempted to comprehend the laws, then were thrown into beast territories, war zones, and crushing real combat... reality hit hard.

Tens of thousands died gruesome deaths, tens of thousands were rescued and sent back home in shame, tens of thousands possessed affinity but lacked the intelligence or discipline to progress, and tens of thousands simply collapsed under the pressure and withdrew on their own.

The disappointment that followed was suffocating.

The remaining number was still huge-large enough to form a terrifying legion capable of assaulting full empires-yet to Holak, this wasnʼt even close to the number he envisioned!

Those who survived the training and graduated were either individuals with unbelievable determination and dreams burning inside them, even if the dream was as small as escaping poverty... or people blessed with such absurdly high affinity that the laws themselves seemed to welcome them.

Like Betha... the blind girl Holak had personally carried into the training complex.

That fragile-looking girl had now become a formidable woman walking the Path of Time, and soon enough, she even became one of the instructors teaching the newcomers!

Seeing this, Holak decided to change the system entirely... He released hundreds of Imperial Guards equipped with advanced scanners to roam the sector and search for people with high affinity-no less than 20% toward any of the three fundamental paths-then remain with them on their home planet, train them personally for three full years to test their personalities, resolve, and sanity before escorting them to the true training centers.

Many guards joked that he had simply become too lazy to train recruits himself anymore... and honestly, they were probably right.

But Holak didnʼt care. Maintaining quality was his responsibility-and that alone was what mattered.

Especially after the arrival of new imperial orders to establish a fresh elite division-

The Gravity Division!!

He was thrilled and on the verge of madness at the same time. He had always relied on veteran warriors from the three original divisions to train the newcomers so what was he supposed to do with this brand-new, specialized category?!

The first five years after receiving those orders were absolute hell. Holak had to journey personally to Nihari, bringing with him a full team of guards, to gather a group of local inhabitants-people born and raised under a gravitational force seventy times stronger than Juraʼs. These people naturally possessed an extraordinary affinity toward gravity. Even then, Holak designed extremely strict methods to measure and test gravity affinity to pick only the absolute best. This time, he refused anyone below a staggering 60%!

When the count finally reached twenty thousand young men and women, Holak and the veteran warriors began teaching them the fundamentals of survival, the art of killing efficiently, how to sharpen instincts, read danger, and all other general combat principles- but they left gravity comprehension entirely to the recruits themselves, believing that only self-struggle could unlock the essence of that law.

Now, after fifteen long and grueling years since the Gravity Division was first established, more than half of the original candidates have already withdrawn or perished, and even now more continue to be expelled or die every single day. The remaining survivors are still desperately struggling just to stay alive. Even the strongest among them are barely within the Saint Realm; in fact, those very same ”strongest” are the ones currently being crushed and worn down in the training center at this very moment.

According to Holakʼs directives, since there are no veteran warriors in the Gravity Path, he must forge this very first batch into veterans-even if they have never stepped onto a real battlefield before.

How?

By forcing them to fight the other three teams relentlessly, day and night, without pause or mercy! ”Supreme Guardian.” At that moment, a shadow approached Holak and blocked the sunlight from reaching him. ”There are messages for you.” ”Hsssh-” Holak raised his hand, pushing the guardian slightly to the side with his brows tightly knit, before basking in the warm sunlight again and smiling lazily. ”Mm, thatʼs much better.” He then took the letters with complete disinterest and simply placed them on his stomach. ”...Arenʼt you going to read them, sir? There might be something important... perhaps a summons.” The guardian insisted with a more serious tone.

This guardian was the one responsible for the largest training center and knew

Holakʼs habits well-if he didnʼt pressure him, Holak would most likely never open those letters at all. ”A summons?” Holak exhaled with clear annoyance. ”Has that irritating Millennium Empire finally invaded Jura, Greenland, or Nihari?” ”No, sir,” the guardian responded quickly. ”Then nothing important.” Holak waved his hand lazily several times. ”As long as those three planets are safe, then nothing else concerns us. The rest is the responsibility of the three armies. Or do they expect to eat, drink, and enjoy their privileges without contributing anything?”

He then rested his hands behind his head again. ”Iʼm not moving from here for anything else. I still have to supervise the training of these kids, and I still have to ensure your protection should those troublesome pests decide to launch an attack. If I, the Supreme Guardian, am not here with you, how exactly do you plan to manage things?” ”...Sir, honestly...” The guardian pointed at the letters. ”I was informed that one of those messages came from the Middle Belt... specifically from the Shadow

Sword serving His Majesty.”

Poof! Holak jolted upright as if Durger himself had bitten him. He rummaged through the letters until he found a slightly different one, tore it open, and began reading like a madman.

Silence... ”Sir?” The guardian slowly widened his eyes, curiosity burning inside him. What exactly was written in that message? ”Iʼm leaving.” Holak stood up and began hastily putting on his clothes. ”Huh?! What about supervising us-and protecting us?!” the guardian asked anxiously. ”Supervise yourself! Are you a child?!”

Then-BAAAM-Holak stomped the ground and shot toward the nearest space gate like a cannon shell.