Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1812 Pride of the grave

Thirty years ago, two monumental events unfolded-two shocks so immense that they completely overturned the balance of Mid-Sector 99 and sent tremors far beyond its borders. The news did not merely spread; it thundered across the neighboring sectors, stirring panic, awe, and endless speculation. For months on end, these two incidents dominated every council chamber, every trading hub, and every wandering fleet. They became the primary topic of discussion, rivaling even the colossal Cosmic War raging relentlessly in Mid-Sector 101.

The first event was a perplexing announcement... so bizarre, so unprecedented, that cosmic historians still argue about it today. Out of seemingly nowhere, five entire Centennial Empires emerged together and publicly declared that they would join the Wing System of the Grave Empire!!

The announcement was not simply surprising-it was shattering on every conceivable level. These five empires were not allies, not culturally aligned, and not even remotely close in distance. One of them happened to be in the same starfield as the Centennial Grave Empire, but the other four were scattered across starfields so distant that even high-speed interstellar bridges barely connected them.

To be precise, three of these empires existed in an entirely different region known as the Broken Saber Stars Field, a wild and dangerous starfield located at the far northern edges of the cosmic map-an area separated by countless light-centuries from Specter Blood Starfield, the ancestral domain of the Grave Empire!

So what in the universe could have possibly convinced these five empires to willingly attach themselves to another empire that shared no history with them? No traditions, no trade agreements, and no deep ties? Why would they join an empire with fewer planets, less recognized heritage, and a shorter recorded lineage than their own?

What hidden force brought all five of them together at the exact same moment in time? Why did they all issue their allegiance simultaneously, as if following a script none of them admitted to writing? Why did they abandon centuries-old identities, relinquish their prestigious titles, and discard their grand legacies without a visible reason? There had been no wars between them and the Grave Empire, no defeats, not even a diplomatic crisis. The entire shift happened abruptly, without buildup, without warning, and without a single leak hinting at what was coming.

And yet, the impact was colossal. The joining of those five-especially the renowned Empire of Stray Predators, one of the most prestigious Centennial Empires- instantly propelled the Grave upward to become Millennial in a single breath!

Practically overnight, the once modest Centennial Empire transformed into a force worthy of being whispered about as a potential Millennial ruler in the NEAR future.

Of course, reality imposed its limits. They still possessed no user of the Law Domination Realm, no Monarch, no Guardian, and no 7 star Royal Soul master to legitimize such a leap. They could not claim the title of a true Millennial Empire. Instead, they adopted a new label-one intentionally provocative, deliberately bold: a Double Centennial Empire. A title that had never existed before, coined personally by Marshal Aro as a declaration, a warning, and a challenge to the cosmic hierarchy that they were no longer to be viewed as ”just a Centennial Empire.”

The second event, which began during that same turbulent period thirty years ago, was the catastrophe that engulfed the Eternal Turtle Millennial Empire.

This ancient empire that was once a pillar of sector, but suddenly lost influence after the loss of its final Law Domination Realm ruler. With no Guardian remaining to unify the huge Empire, the empire devolved into rule by a fragmented council composed of rival factions constantly fighting for influence. Their prestige collapsed. Their refusal to give up their millennial title only added fuel to the fire, attracting the envy and hostility of their neighbors. Still, no empire dared to openly wage war against them.

After all, the Eternal Turtle Empire had once been ruled by a strong Guardian. It still possessed formidable armies, deep-rooted traditions, and vaults overflowing with treasures accumulated over thousands of years. Even other Millennial Empires chose caution. Rather than direct confrontation, they turned to shadow warfare-economic strangulation, backing rebellious factions, and weaving vast conspiracies aimed at slowly breaking the empire from the inside, or at least fracturing it enough to remove it from the cosmic stage.

And amid this massive tangle of political webs and hidden blades... a single, earth-shaking report surfaced.

Wade, the infamous commander of the dreaded Black Wasps, suddenly appeared deep inside the territories of the Gragnakh Faction, accompanied by three hundred elite Black Wasps-his entire squad, the full unit.

Over the next thirty years, their campaign became the stuff of nightmares. The Black Wasps obliterated every city on one hundred planets, erasing civilizations in their wake. They razed the main cities of another one hundred and fifty planets, sometimes launching simultaneous coordinated raids on fifty separate worlds. In those horrific days, when they started their raids, fifty cities would fall before dusk, each one collapsing into smoke and rubble by night. And despite three decades of unending warfare, fewer than twenty Black Wasps were killed. Their casualties were microscopic compared to the devastation they unleashed.

The Gragnakh Faction, once a mighty ruling power of the Eternal Turtle Empire, was destroyed politically, militarily, and economically. By the end, they were so disgraced that they were banned entirely from attending council meetings and were blamed publicly for dragging their empire into humiliation.

Two events...

First: the unexplainable union of five Centennial Empires.

Second: the devastating, unstoppable wrath of a single Black Wasp squad.

A tremendously dangerous and deeply alarming message struck all the powers of Mid-Sector 99 right at their heart, dealing a blow that none of them could ignore. It forced every major force to pause, reconsider, and completely recalculate its political and military stance toward the strange, rising current led by the Grave Empire-a current growing faster than anyone had expected. Even the medium and small powers began to tremble, overwhelmed by the tidal wave of changes sweeping across the sector and reshaping the balance they thought was stable.

All factions, without exception, instinctively took a defensive step backward. Their perception of the Grave Empire shifted dramatically; what was once viewed as a curious, promising rising star suddenly transformed into a genuine and imminent threat-a threat empowered by an ancient, unseen entity, and a threat capable of shaking the foundations of every empire around it. And would the Double Centennial Grave Empire be satisfied with causing just this initial shock?

The answer, unsurprisingly, was: absolutely not.

Marshal Aro immediately seized the enormous momentum generated by the unexpected unification of the new wings. Using this wave of excitement and fear, he began a large-scale military campaign targeting Specter Blood Starfield and Broken Saber Starfield at the exact same time-a bold move that stunned

the entire sector.

Even the Green Wind Wing, isolated in its own quiet and distant starfield, suddenly shifted its stance and launched attacks on the three nearest powers to it, aiming to secure territory for themselves as well!

Then came the declarations-sharp, direct, and carried with the confidence of a rising hegemon. Marshal Aro issued calls to all newly formed empires and all multi-planet forces across the three starfields, threatening them with a simple ultimatum:

Submit and join as wings... or be marked as potential targets for conquest.

But the boldness of the Double Centennial Grave Empire did not stop there. They dispatched envoys to the Centennial Empires scattered across those starfields, negotiating their conversion into wings. Each envoy carried offers overflowing with promises-boundless trade routes, technologies to enhance their bloodlines, advanced methods to strengthen their warriors, and countless other tempting benefits. All of this was wrapped in dependency contracts that lasted only ten thousand years, a duration laughably short on the cosmic scale.

A number of those empires felt their hearts soften as soon as they heard the offers. But others, far more cautious, leaked the negotiations in secret. Unlimited wealth? Endless weapon deals? Advanced bloodline-strengthening

methods?

Where could such staggering resources come from?

Who was their mysterious supporter?!

Questions spread like wildfire-endless, circular, and with no clear answers.

The identity of the entity supporting the Grave Empire remained completely hidden. Yet most forces believed the same conclusion: the one aiding them was none other than the Behemoth of neighboring Mid-Sector 98, who was now extending his influence into their lands as well.

The idea alone was terrifying. Every empire knew the vast, almost bottomless depth of that Behemothʼs coffers. The Grave Empireʼs sudden abundance of wealth and power suggested that he had invested tens of billions of Pearls into them-proof that he was preparing for something monumental, something

dangerous.

However... there was still a glimmer of hope.

A small opportunity remained-because the Behemoth had not openly revealed himself yet. And as long as he stayed in the shadows, the sector believed they still had a chance to fight back without immediately drawing his wrath.

Thus, whispers turned into meetings, and hidden meetings turned into

coordinated plans. A secret alliance began to form quietly in the dark-an alliance with a single, deadly purpose:

An alliance forged between the Millennial Empires, to annihilate the Grave

Empire.