Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2250 The status of creatures

”...The Executionerʼs crystal will be the engine of the Sovereignty Note vessel.” Robin spoke with an icy calm, his voice devoid of nearly all emotion, as though the blood flowing through his veins had frozen solid and every trace of warmth had been stripped away by the memory of that battle.

”Wha...” Zara placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening uncontrollably as the implications of those words rapidly assembled themselves in her mind.

An Executioner crystal? The crystal of the monster that once devastated the universe and left countless worlds in ruins? The one capable of killing Law Dominators as though they were flies swatted aside without effort? That crystal would be installed inside a spacecraft and turned into the source of its power?!

If they succeeded in constructing a Destruction Note-5 vessel powered by a young crystal alongside forty Nascent crystals, it would already become the greatest vessel the universe had ever known, surpassing countless legendary creations that had ruled battlefields throughout history. By itself, it could dominate battlefields, suppress enemy fleets, and lead wars against a millennia-old empire while maintaining overwhelming superiority.

Not to mention a Supremacy Note-5 vessel which, theoretically, would possess a level of power that had never belonged to anyone except high-level Law Dominators who stood near the very peak of existence and commanded forces capable of altering the fate of entire sectors.

But the Sovereignty Note...

Zara sighed deeply. Once again, every preliminary design she had painstakingly assembled, every estimate, projection, and calculation she had developed over recent months would have to be thrown into the trash and rebuilt from the beginning because the scale of Robinʼs ambitions had once again exceeded every reasonable expectation.

”Wait, Father.” Theo stepped forward from among the crowd. While shock and disbelief appeared on every face around him and many were still struggling to process what they had just heard, Theo was the only one who seemed somewhat awakened to the situation and capable of following the implications beyond the initial surprise. ”Arenʼt you forgetting something here?”

Then he continued, frowning as he organized his thoughts. ”Werenʼt you planning to distribute all those crystals as World Cataclysm stabilizers? You even said you were creating an array for me and my siblings so we could use Adult Space Beast crystals as stabilizers and increase our chances of successfully advancing through future catastrophes.”

”...!?” Caesar and Pion opened their eyes as wide as possible. There was something like that? They had heard many of Robinʼs plans before, but this was the first time either of them had learned that such preparations were already being considered.

Theo continued, ”And while explaining the power of the Note family to Zara, I said to myself that you might gather even more crystals in the future, or abandon the idea entirely depending on circumstances, which is your right.” Then he asked in confusion, unable to reconcile the two directions of thought. ”But why would you give up the only Space Beast Ancestor crystal you possess? Shouldnʼt you keep it for yourself instead of installing it inside a vessel?”

His father had never explicitly stated that he intended to use it as a stabilizer, but that much was obvious. Nothing else made sense considering its value and the opportunities it could provide.

Only his father deserved such a stabilizer. Only he would be capable of using it properly and drawing out its full potential without wasting even a fraction of its value.

”...” Robinʼs cold expression transformed into anger, then into embarrassment, then into something that seemed trapped somewhere between wounded pride and frustration.

Then he replied with a twisted expression, ”...Just a soldier if she worked for the Court. Just a servant if she worked for the Pantheon... Those were the words I heard from that entity personally. Blokan heard them. Althera heard them. Morgana heard them. Even the late Asir heard them with his own ears and understood exactly what they meant.”

”...That damned woman who nearly killed me, pushed me to the brink of death, and slaughtered one of my subordinates before my eyes is merely a soldier. A servant. Just a paid worker wandering the Void between universes performing assigned tasks while treating life and death as routine business. She is nothing.” He ground his teeth together until his jaw visibly tightened. ”And that nothing repeatedly said that the Transcendents created her. Created her!!”

Then he looked at Theo with a mixture of anger and embarrassment that made it obvious this issue had been bothering him for a long time. ”How in the hell am I supposed to stand against that group while using something they created as the stabilizer of my power? A stabilizer that would remain inside my body even after I become a Law Dominator and continue affecting my path for countless years. How am I supposed to face them with my head held high when my strength depends on something they built to serve as a servant?”

Bang.

In the end, Robin found enough strength to strike his own thigh, as though the mere thought of such a possibility irritated him to an unreasonable degree.

”...”

The blow was weak and lacked any real force, yet it echoed through the hearts of everyone present far more heavily than a mountain-shattering attack. Their hearts trembled, and they found themselves staring at the ground as though they had committed some terrible mistake or unknowingly touched upon something deeply important to Robinʼs sense of pride.

”....” Robin felt that he had reacted more strongly than necessary and that his emotions had momentarily escaped his control. He looked forward again, forced himself to calm down, and released a long breath before speaking in a steadier tone. ”In any case, the idea of using Reapers and Executioners crystals has been erased from my mind. Neither I nor my children will use anything that limits our advancement, nor anything regarded with contempt by any other creature. We will walk our own paths and rely upon our own foundations no matter how difficult that may be... As long as my enemies are creatures too, no one should stand above me, and no one deserves to look down on me with contempt!”

”Yeeeees...!!” Rufina raised both hands and shouted enthusiastically, unable to suppress the excitement surging through her chest after hearing those words, but slowly lowered them again and fell silent when she noticed the silence surrounding her and realized that everyone else was still processing the conversation far more seriously than she was.

”.....!!” Robinʼs children and grandchildren raised their heads once more. Their hearts, which only a moment ago had been trembling with fear, humiliation, uncertainty, and the uncomfortable realization that there might exist beings who viewed even the greatest powers of the universe as insignificant, began trembling again, but this time from excitement, glory, pride, and an overwhelming sense of power that spread through their bodies like fire.

What incredible words!

What overwhelming confidence and stubborn pride!

If he told them to march against the Behemoth Interas right now, to charge directly into its territory and challenge it without preparation, they would not hesitate for even a single second before following him!!

”Hoo~” Theo released a long breath while rubbing his forehead lightly. Every time he thought he had finally grown accustomed to his fatherʼs grand declarations, impossible ambitions, and absurd standards, he found himself forced to reconsider everything all over again. ”Then what will you use instead? Planetary and stellar cores? ...They arenʼt bad either. In fact, most forces would consider them priceless treasures.”

”And they arenʼt good enough.” Caesar frowned immediately, almost offended by the suggestion. ”I give those away as gifts to competent officers and obedient Wing Commanders who perform well enough to deserve rewards!”

”....!” Theo turned toward Caesar with a strained smile and wide eyes, like a mother silently begging her troublesome child to stop talking before making things worse and accidentally reigniting the discussion they had just barely escaped.

Of course, he knew perfectly well that stellar cores were not the kind of stabilizers they truly aspired to obtain, even if they represented the pinnacle of conventional stabilizers throughout the universe and were treasures that countless cultivators would spend their entire lives pursuing. However, considering their fatherʼs current state of mind after everything that had happened and after hearing the explanation behind his refusal, the wisest course of action was to remain silent and wait. Perhaps after a few months, or even a few years, he might calm down enough to reconsider the matter himself and approach it more rationally.

”Leave this issue for now. We still have more than ninety years before the promotion...” Robin ground his teeth together as though he were forcing himself not to dwell on the problem. ”Iʼll think of something... Iʼll think of something...” Then he appeared to be comforting himself as much as anyone else while trying to convince himself that the situation was not entirely hopeless. ”At least those arrays designed for using crystals as stabilizers will still be used in the spacecrafts and wonʼt go to waste, haha... heh...”

Then he turned to the side again, his expression becoming serious almost instantly as he abruptly changed the subject and locked his gaze onto a certain individual. ”And you, you unfilial thing.”

”...?” Caesar pointed at himself, looking around briefly as though searching for another possible target.

”Who else here is unfilial?!” Robin raised his voice slightly while staring directly at him. ”The Grave Empire destroyed one Millennium empire, subjugated another, and is currently dealing with a third while continuously expanding its influence and territory. Yet youʼre still fighting only one. Arenʼt there four others in your sector? That sector isnʼt adjacent to the Sorcerer Behemoth, so its influence shouldnʼt be a factor slowing things down, and Kaylis doesnʼt care about outside influences because sheʼs already under their effect to begin with. Thatʼs exactly why so many powers emerged throughout Mid Sector 100 and why competition there has become fiercer with every passing year. How much longer are you planning to drag this mission out?”

”Hey, hey, hey, thatʼs not fair. Donʼt compare me to the Grave Empire!” Caesar stepped forward immediately, clearly unwilling to accept the criticism without defending himself. ”At the beginning of the Sector Conquest Era, I was always the one leading the charge, advancing the fastest, and putting pressure on everyone else. I kept receiving reports that he was pulling his hair out every day because of me and rushing from one problem to another trying to keep up. Heʼs not better than me at all. If anything, I was the one setting the pace for a very long time!”

”Did I say that?” Robinʼs frown deepened as he looked at Caesar without the slightest sympathy. ”Whether your leadership abilities are better or worse than Aroʼs is not my concern, nor do I particularly care who was ahead ten years ago, fifty years ago, or a hundred years ago. You became complacent the moment you learned that Nihari would be advancing within Mid Sector 99, and ever since then youʼve been moving far more slowly than before. Look at the gap that has appeared between the Cradle and the Grave after all these years!”