Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1867 Expanding the game

The strange event - the sudden and highly unusual expansion of the armadas of the Behemoth of Curses Galaxy - caused waves of fear, confusion, and rising anger across every corner of the sector.

Everyone felt, deep within their hearts, that something profoundly illogical and out of place was happening. What connection could those distant planets and their innocent inhabitants possibly have with Hedrick?! What justified such reckless escalation?

Immediately, the empires and the smaller Planetary kingdoms that were still faithfully committed to paying their taxes, along with a handful of the Centennial Empires belonging to the Galaxy of Bright, rushed to intervene and uncover the truth behind these disturbing movements. Yet the response they received was even stranger than the situation itself:

”Wait for Lord Orionʼs negotiations in the Mid Sector 102.”

And so this tense atmosphere continued for another full year.

Hedrick remained watching from afar, carefully and silently. He could not advance into that heavily fortified region, which was sealed by layers upon layers of defensive arrays and an overwhelming accumulation of military equipment. Entering such a zone on his own feet would be nothing short of walking into the jaws of death - it would be sealing his own fate with his own hands.

At the end of the thirtieth year, however, a major development shook the balance:

The forces of the Behemoth of Curses Galaxy launched an assault on several planets belonging to a nearby Centennial Empire. When the planetary emperor personally traveled to those disputed planets in order to understand the cause behind the conflict, he and his entourage were ambushed mercilessly. Two of his sons were killed, and he himself escaped into open space only by a miracle and with tremendous difficulty.

This single incident terrified the great powers far more than any previous violation or hostile gesture. It sent a clear message: the Behemoth of Curses forces did not acknowledge anyone, nor did they intend to consider the authority of any power in whatever grand plan they were pursuing. They had declared, through their actions, that they would act freely and without

restraint.

Under immense and mounting pressure from all her subjects, Kaylis The Pure personally issued an official statement demanding a direct explanation for what was unfolding across the sector.

The response from Sharmir, an eight-star Royal soul master and the

commander of the massive armada descending from the Cursed Behemoth Galaxy, was as follows:

”Unfortunately, the criminal lurking in this sector has deceived the citizens and made them support him. He exploits them to gather detailed information about the movements of the forces that oppose him, and he uses the methods of a wandering bandit - striking suddenly and fleeing instantly. We will not allow him to act as he pleases.”

”..We have therefore decided to construct several highly fortified military bases, heavily armed and equipped with advanced defensive arrays, across every starfield. This will allow us to choke the criminal and force him to reveal himself. We ask the local inhabitants to cooperate fully, or the consequences will be severe. Any individual who tries to stop us or raises a weapon against our forces will be treated as an ally of the criminal.”

The entire sector fell into a heavy, suffocating silence...

Several military bases in every starfield?

Not a single resident allowed to defend themselves against an invading force intending to seize their homes and convert them into militarized zones?

The statement was so bizarre, so out of touch with logic, that anger was not even the dominant reaction. Instead came a deep, unsettling silence mixed with confusion and disbelief. Everyone tried to interpret what they heard in their own way, searching desperately for hidden messages or clues - hoping that this was part of some intricate game, a larger scheme being woven against Hedrick to force him into the open.

But Hedrick did not emerge from his position.

And Sharmirʼs declaration did not require any further interpretation or speculation - it was clear and unambiguous.

Almost immediately afterward, the massive army divided into two enormous halves. The second half moved toward the center of a new starfield and began replicating the exact same process as the first. They began establishing a sprawling military base that extended across the territories of a hundred planets, connecting each one with every type of defensive array, surveillance system, and powerful curse imaginable.

This time, however, they did not act in isolation - they directly engaged three Multiple Empires and one Centennial Empire at once!

And by ”engaged,” the term meant complete and total annihilation - leaving nothing standing in their path, wiping out all opposition without mercy or hesitation.

The six planetary emperors of the Millennial realms convened immediately, demanding a full and detailed explanation from Bright Galaxy. The idea that external forces could establish random military bases right in the very heart of their homelands was utterly outrageous - a monstrous act beyond anything previously imagined, shocking in both scale and audacity.

Yet the galaxyʼs response was restrained, cautious, and evasive. They declared that they trusted their allies, and urged the citizens to exercise patience and full cooperation in the construction of the bases. They claimed these installations were necessary to protect the sector from criminals, and assured that once the crisis ended, the galaxy would coordinate with its allies to dismantle the bases and restore order.

With that weak, ambiguous, and deeply unsatisfying announcement, the matter was officially ”settled.”

Everyone washed their hands of any expectation that the Galaxy of Bright would intervene or take action. Almost immediately afterward, a new alliance was formally announced the Big Six - formed by the six Millennial Emperors to create a centralized headquarters capable of issuing declarations in the name of the entire sector.

Indeed, the Bright Galaxy was no longer the official representative of Mid

Sector 101.

The announcement sent shockwaves across the universe, spreading like wildfire through every corner of known space. This dramatic shift would trigger a chain of events in locations that no one could possibly predict.

For the first time since the dawn of history, a Behemoth had established military bases inside a sector already controlled by another Behemoth. And for the first time, a Behemoth Galaxy had lost control of its own sector in such an astonishing and unprecedented manner!

Even more incredible, all of this occurred while the sectorʼs Behemoth made no movement whatsoever, remaining entirely passive and letting the situation

unfold.

As the thirty-first year drew to a close, the alliance of the Six Great issued a formal statement demanding that the forces of the Curses Galaxy cease constructing additional bases, and limit themselves strictly to two bases, so as not to destabilize the sector or upset the delicate balance of power.

In this statement, the Six took a careful, measured position refusing to allow the Curses Galaxy to expand freely into every starfield according to their will. The second base was already being established in a starfield that contained one of the Six Millennial Empires. The remaining members of the alliance did not want any additional base in their own territories.

At the same time, they wanted to avoid direct confrontation at all costs, seeking to maintain a fragile balance between caution and authority. But the response from the Curses Galaxy did not arrive in words. Silence fell

across the sector, tense and suffocating, lingering for an extended period... then the reply arrived in an overwhelming and undeniable manner.

In the following year - Year 32 - after the completion of the second base, more than one thousand fleets of the Curses Galaxy forces mobilized. However, they did not move to a different sector to establish another military base, nor were they searching for Hedrickʼs whereabouts.

Instead, they moved decisively within the same starfield.

They attacked the Millennial Empire located there, directly and without

warning!!

Sharmir explained that he suspected Hedrick and his men were hiding in the capital of that empire, and that the forces had to descend into the city and thoroughly search it in order to guarantee security. He implored the other empires not to resist, emphasizing the necessity of cooperation.

Of course, the Millennial Empire refused to comply with the orders...

And of course, an enormous and devastating battle erupted the moment the accursed Darvion forces reached the borders of the Millennial Empire.

A battle between two sides that had no connection whatsoever to the two men who had initiated the war in the first place - Zaryon and Hedrick!!