Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2366 Exploring Power-3

Middle Sector 98—

Bam!

An Eight Star Soul Master clapped his hands together with tremendous force while facing an entire Note Fleet. Slowly spreading his arms apart, he spoke in a calm voice,

”Soul Autumn.”

Hummmmm...

In the next moment, soul power erupted throughout the surrounding space before gradually converging into an enormous vortex.

The vortex continued condensing and refining itself...

Until it ultimately transformed into a gigantic tree bearing countless withered leaves.

Every single leaf was covered in different runic inscriptions and mysterious patterns.

Then...

Something both strange and horrifying occurred.

The treeʼs brown leaves began falling.

Tens of thousands of them descended together, causing the surrounding space itself to seem as though it were collapsing beneath their number.

Then they slowly drifted toward the fleet.

Without haste.

Without urgency.

As though there were absolutely no possibility of failure.

The warships immediately began evasive maneuvers.

Some accelerated sharply toward the sides.

Others halted altogether before retreating.

Many immediately redirected their main cannons toward the approaching leaves.

But...

It was useless.

The leaves effortlessly reached the vessels.

Yet the truly bizarre part was that they destroyed nothing.

Every leaf simply passed through the hulls as though the ships werenʼt even there...

...before attacking the crews inside.

Silence—

Within a single minute...

Strange things began happening.

Grrrr...

One of the Flood Note-4 warships suddenly veered wildly off course before crashing directly into a neighboring vessel.

Baaaaang!

Boom! Boom!

The remaining Flood Note-4 warships also began behaving erratically.

Some opened fire upon one another.

Others collided together without warning.

Within mere seconds...

More than ten vessels had already been destroyed.

At this rate...

The remainder would inevitably follow.

Even so...

The Soul Master did not appear pleased.

”...?”

At that moment, a voice echoed behind him.

”Are you wondering why the commanders of the Supremacy Note-4 warships and Destruction Flood Note-4 warships didnʼt begin behaving strangely after you tampered with their soul domains?”

”Renara!!”

The Soul Master instantly retreated to a safe distance.

Had he heard that name yesterday, he wouldnʼt even have known who she was.

Even if one of his brothers had recognized it...

They would have dismissed it without a second thought.

But today...

Renara had been tearing through the galaxy for hours, and no one had managed to stop her.

Her name had become synonymous with death itself.

The are many of his brothers who tried to kill her but ended up disappearing, even the father threw planets at her but she just destroyed them with ease!!

”There is an explanation.” Renara continued approaching while leisurely spinning her spear between the fingers of one hand as though it were nothing more than a pen during an art lesson. ”Every admiral and every officer commanding one of the Empireʼs major warships is protected by multiple layers of Borrowings from our Soul Masters.”

She continued advancing at the exact same unhurried pace.

”And every one of the top Admirals possesses a single Borrowing from Royal Soul Mistress Morgana herself.”

”One attack is all what it takes to destroy that Borrowing.” The Soul Master revealed a sinister smile.

”Do you honestly believe...” Renara continued walking toward him without slowing in the slightest, ”...that Iʼll give you the opportunity to launch a second?”

She casually twirled the spear once more.

”Attack me.”

Her gaze remained perfectly steady.

”Show me the very best youʼve got.”

”You brought this upon yourself!!” The Soul Master raised both hands high into the air and began controlling the colossal tree, pouring increasingly greater quantities of soul force into its trunk. More and more leaves rapidly sprouted from its branches, each one born amid surging spiritual fluctuations.

Every single leaf...

...was an independent spell.

Spells capable of liquefying blood.

Spells that provoked uncontrollable rage.

Spells that completely robbed their victims of sight.

Spells that induced involuntary urination.

Spells that threw the heart into irregular rhythms.

Spells that opened countless tiny holes throughout the lungs.

...and countless others.

Any one of those spells by itself was enough to become a serious threat to almost anyone unfortunate enough to be struck by it.

So...

What would happen if someone were hit by five?

By ten?

By twenty?

Within mere moments, well over ten thousand leaves had gathered around the massive tree, quietly hovering in the surrounding space like an enormous storm cloud...

...all patiently awaiting their masterʼs command before descending upon Renara.

Once the Soul Master judged that enough had accumulated, he slowly waved one hand toward her.

The countless leaves immediately surged forward.

He laughed loudly.

”Hahaha! Now, Renara...” His grin widened. ”Now I want to see exactly what kind of Borrowings could possibly—”

Fwoooooooom!

What answered him...

...was an overwhelming waterfall of flames.

The gigantic tree surrounding him was reduced to ashes in less than a fraction of a second.

Screeeeech!

The countless leaves were immediately roasted as well.

The runic patterns engraved upon them vanished one after another.

The leaves themselves dissolved back into pure soul power, quietly drifting through the sea of flames as though they had never possessed a form at all.

Puff~

Renara gently blew across the edge of her spearʼs blade, wearing the same innocent little smile she had carried from the beginning.

Ever since she was little...

Ever since the Twilight Specters Empire murdered her father and grandfather before invading her worlds...

Ever since six other Empires had dared attack them...

Ever since her sister had been forced to become one of those with forsaken blood...

Every one of those memories...

Every ounce of helplessness...

Had slowly transformed into an endless thirst for power.

Power...

Power alone could solve every one of those problems.

Power alone could decide who lived...

...and who died.

And now...

Like a desert that had gone thousands upon thousands of years without seeing even a single drop of rain before finally welcoming a storm...

Renara was immersing herself in the very sensation she had pursued throughout her entire life.

The feeling of power.

The feeling that she could kill whomever she wished...

...and protect whatever she wished.

That intoxicating...

Exhilarating...

Beautiful feeling.

”Hehe.”

Renara slowly raised her left hand before her eyes, quietly examining it with obvious satisfaction.

”Just as I expected... I can use the Path of Heat as well. And most likely any Path I learn and spend even a little time practicing Iʼll eventually be able to use too.”

”But...”

After having every limit removed from every law throughout the universe...

Renara no longer required the approval of a particular law before it allowed her to wield it more effectively.

Nor did the remaining laws resist her whenever she attempted to use them.

No...

Everything had become completely open.

Moments ago, she had just wielded one hundred percent of the Major Law of Heat...

The very law she had spent years attempting to break through...

...a law that had never once acknowledged her existence.

Yet now...

She had employed it with a level of mastery...

...that even the Behemoth of Heat himself could never reach.

However...

There remained one small observation.

The Law of Energy Conversion...

The Major Law permanently engraved upon the walls of the Energy Gathering Center...

...and carved into the very foundation of her soul domain...

...was still her greatest affinity.

And... Her easiest.

Using the Path of Heat had felt smooth.

Yet...

It still felt like a naturally right-handed person attempting to perform delicate work with their left hand.

Entirely possible... But subtly unfamiliar.

The closer the Path she chose resembled the Law of Energy Transformation...

...the easier and more instinctive it became.

The farther that similarity diminished...

...the heavier...

...and stranger...

...its manipulation felt.

But then...

Why was she even bothering?

”Hmm...”

Renara smiled before casually twirling the spear between the fingers of one hand once again.

Her fluffy ears twitched excitedly.

”The Law of Energy Conversion is more than enough.”

Her gaze then shifted toward a nearby planet.

That...

...was the true reason she had come.

It was also why the Note Fleet had come.

A tremendous number of defensive arrays had been established upon that planet, preventing their advance toward the next planetary ring.

”Very well, Youʼre next.”

Renara flicked one ear before slowly pointing the tip of her spear toward the planet, calmly preparing to unleash another attack.

Kshhh...

”.....”

The brilliant smile decorating Renaraʼs face gradually faded.

The excited gleam filling her eyes softened ever so slightly.

She quietly drew in a long breath.

Her eyes overflowed with gratitude...

Respect...

And appreciation.

Then she lowered her spear without the slightest complaint and gently nodded.

”Very well. Iʼll leave it to you.”

A heartbeat later...

Her broad smile returned exactly as before.

She lightly shook her fluffy ears toward another direction...

Then instantly shot forward, disappearing from where she stood.

”Next.”