Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1814 Excitement & fear

After several long, grinding months-Young Sector 99-Nihari

With steady, unwavering steps that echoed with a disciplined rhythm, a bare-chested human ascended a massive stone staircase carved into the side of a towering structure. His muscles tensed with every stride, glistening faintly under the pale morning light. At the staircaseʼs peak hung a colossal horn-an ancient, ceremonial-looking instrument shaped as though it were crafted for sacred declarations or divine offerings.

He paused, inhaling deeply-his chest expanding as if he intended to draw in not just the surrounding air, but the very essence of the region itself-and then

BOOOOOOO0~

The horn roared across the horizon. ”YEEEEEEEES!!”

The moment the thunderous blast echoed outward, the enormous crowd gathered beneath the colossal platform exploded into cheers. Thousands surged upward with unrestrained joy, waving their arms, jumping, shouting, releasing a storm of excitement that felt strong enough to shake the mountain base itself. Their eyes gleamed with thrill, pride, and an almost overwhelming anticipation.

Yet, strangely... despite the sheer size of the crowd-despite the hundreds of thousands filling every inch of the industrial grounds-there wasnʼt a single child among them. No elders leaning on canes. Not even a gentle-looking housewife with soft hands or mild features.

Every single person present bore thick coats of dirt or deep-black oil smudges across their exposed skin. Many had fresh outer injuries, bandaged tightly, or scars still in the process of healing. Their bodies bulged with muscle, shaped by brutal labor and grueling conditions. Their hardened expressions declared unmistakably that these were people of grit, discipline, and overwhelming physical might...

These were the equipment factory workers of the True Beginning Empire-the unseen engine behind the rise of the three great empires and the reason they could stand proudly across so many sectors. These were the iron-willed citizens of the factories that had begun spreading like wildfire throughout the northern region of Nihari. ”Itʼs happening!!”

A woman with her hair tied back in a sharp horsetail-her face etched by a long scar crossing her eye-shouted as she pointed toward a specific direction, her voice trembling with excitement she could barely contain.

There stood a massive metal warehouse...

Its giant ceiling began to open slowly, piece by piece, before the eyes of the gathered masses. A heavy metallic rumble accompanied the unfolding panels- then something began to rise from within.

A ship emerged-

A vessel of the Destruction Note class.

A model every worker here had seen hundreds of times. More than a quarter of them had personally worked on that class, assembling its plates, forging its internal components, or adjusting its power circuits. They knew its design intimately the shape of every bolt, every line of wiring, every hidden chamber.

Yet this time... everyone stared at it with a strange, heightened sense of excitement, awe, and respect.

Because this one was different.

The modifications were unmistakable. The vessel had grown noticeably larger- its silhouette more imposing and powerful. The two primary cannons at the front were now significantly bigger, extending farther outward like the claws of a beast ready to tear apart the sky.

Four additional large cannons had appeared-two on each wing. Smaller than the main pair, but no smaller than the older main cannons, clearly enhanced with the same extraordinary refinements.

All six cannons protruded forward with an aggressive, unmistakably predatory posture. Along each cannon, glowing embedded tubes ran like luminous arteries-stretching across the metal frames and burrowing deep into the shipʼs internal systems as though feeding them with some mysterious, potent energy. Aside from the increased size, the altered weaponry, and the long luminous tubes stretching across the shipʼs body... everything else in the design remained the same.

Yet even those few changes were more than enough to transform the vessel into something completely different-something far more menacing. ”Hooo~”

Zara exhaled sharply, tension trembling through her breath as she watched the massive craft rise into view. The waves of excitement and horia washi through the hundreds of thousands around her never once found their way to her expression.

Instead... she simply looked afraid. Deeply, silently afraid.

At that moment, a voice sounded casually beside her: ”Wow, they told me something big was happening today-but this is bigger than

I imagined!” ”..?”

Zara turned quickly. Normally, absolutely nobody dared approach her this closely-much less start speaking in such an informal, relaxed manner.

But the instant she saw who it was, she softened, her features relaxing as she offered a gentle, welcoming smile. ”Mr. Jabba, I sent you an official invitation to attend, but I didnʼt think you would actually come.”

Two months earlier, Jabba had arrived from Medium Sector 99 and immediately assumed control over supervising the arrays for the Fifth Cultivation Path- whose blueprints and structural designs Zara had already obtained and begun constructing beforehand.

He took full responsibility for overseeing the construction, training several workers on how to operate the arrays, teaching them how to craft the specialized ink, how to draw the intricate patterns required on the materials, and countless other technical details that only someone with deep expertise could handle. ”Hmm? Whatʼs with this ʼSir Jabbaʼ business? Come on-call me Brother Jabba like before!”

Jabba grinned widely, his eyes locked onto the ascending ship. ”Honestly, you made my work embarrassingly easy. You had already finished about ninety percent of the five arrays with exceptional precision. All that remained were the final touches-and at this rate, I think Iʼll be done within the next few months.”

He chuckled softly. ”I thought Iʼd end up staying here for ten years like everyone warned me... but I severely underestimated this place, the call Sky Opening City. To be completely honest... I donʼt think you need a Great Truth Chosen for anything here!” ”This is all thanks to the knowledge Father handed to us on a silver platter... Brother Jabba.”

Zara returned her gaze to the ship with a tense, almost strained smile, the kind that revealed both pride and pressure. ”Even in the Middle Sectors, records of law patterns simply donʼt exist. Theyʼre not sold, not traded, and not even leaked. And yet Father -His Majesty- personally created a complete three-dimensional light archive for every major law he discovered. He documented them, refined the records, and then handed them over to us without hesitation.”

She exhaled deeply, shoulders dropping. ”If we canʼt even produce a handful of applications here and there after all that assistance, then honestly... thereʼd be no point in living!” ”Haha! Honestly, Sister Zara, I think your father would love you and spoil you even if you spent your entire life doing absolutely nothing but relaxing” Jabba laughed loudly, the kind of laugh that echoed like rolling thunder. ”...I know.”

A wide, bright smile spread across Zaraʼs face, soft but filled with affection and a hint of embarrassment. ”So, what do we have today?”

Jabba pointed toward the Destruction Nota suspended in the air... At this moment the ship was slowly rotating around its axis, almost as if searching for a direction, a target, or a precise alignment it required before activation. ”Itʼs the first test of the support vessel, Destruction Note-4.”

Zara announced with a composed yet uneasy tone. ”Oooh, a new version?”

Jabba let out a long appreciative whistle. ”Destruction Note-3 was already horrifyingly powerful. I studied its designs in detail-the offensive and defensive arrays embedded into its frame make it a nightmare on the battlefield. I honestly didnʼt expect you to create a new version this quickly... So tell me, what exactly did you add this time?” ”Hmm?”

Jabba turned toward Zara when he sensed her silence dragging on.

Her expression had tightened significantly; the subtle tension in her jawline, the unsteady rise of her chest, and even the faint tremor in her fingers revealed she was overwhelmed.

The pounding of her heart grew so loud he could almost feel it through the air... though she herself seemed unaware of it.

So Jabba chose silence.

He folded his arms and returned his focus to the Destruction Note-4, brows knitting together.

The cheerful environment, the cheers, and the overwhelming festival atmosphere all faded from his perception.

Just what could push Zara -the creator of the legendary Greed Crucible- into a state like this?

CRRRRRRK

At that moment, the Destruction Note-4 suddenly stopped rotating.

Its enormous muzzle froze in place, pointing directly north-toward the distant chains of mountains reaching across the horizon like stone serpents.

Then something began to happen-

HOOOM

The two front cannons ignited with their familiar blue radiance, brighter and more concentrated than usual, the intense glow produced by devouring the power stored within thousands of Pearls of energy.

The light pulsed, built, and thickened, as if the cannons were awakening from dormancy.

The sky above began to shake.

Clouds twisted violently and storms coiled into existence, as though the planet itself sensed that the incoming strike had already surpassed the threshold of a martial Emperor and was now approaching a realm that planets instinctively feared.

Jabbaʼs heart tightened, a cold weight settling in his chest.

The cannons of the Destruction Note-3 could already unleash an attack equal to a low-tier World Cataclysm.

If such a strike hit a mountain fortified with Fourth-Stage Earth Law, it would pulverize it into splinters without leaving a single intact slab of stone behind.

No matter how strong the new model was... the destructive outcome would be the same.

So what exactly was Zara attempting to do?

BZZZZZT

Suddenly, something changed-

The tubes stretched across the shipʼs entire body began flashing violently with layered, pulsating light, as if channeling a second flow of power. ”This...?!”

Jabba stepped forward instinctively, breath tightening. ”I can feel an additional surge of energy being funneled into the cannons through the tubes-evenstronger than the primary draw. What on earth is going on?”

In the next instant, the glow of the two muzzles shifted dramatically- One cannon flared into a blazing, molten orange, while the other transformed into a deep, swirling violet, the color of poisonous storms.

Then-

BAAAAAAAAAAM

A massive fireball burst from the left cannon, roaring like a miniature sun being hurled across the sky, while a violet, mist-like sphere erupted from the right, twisting and spiraling forward with unnatural motion-both projectiles streaking toward the northern mountain range at terrifying, incomprehensible speed. ”...?!”