Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2434 Sudden move

”...Marlik has arrived?” At last, the unmistakable look of superiority that had been present in Renaraʼs eyes since the beginning of the conversation gradually changed, replaced by a much sharper look of anticipation as she finally began giving the situation her full attention.

Marlik the Butcher and his famous three swords were considered nothing short of a legend among all the great icons standing at the summit of the universe, and his reputation had long since become something that practically everyone at that level knew.

Few had ever personally tested the true strength of the Cosmic Elder or the Archon, and naturally, even fewer had ever experienced the strength possessed by the ancient Athena... But those who had tested Marlikʼs strength were numerous by comparison, because that man had personally trampled over the heads of a vast number of Behemoths and Academy Directors in order to firmly establish the Syndicateʼs footing during its earliest days.

If the Archon was considered the mind and the image behind the Syndicate, then Marlik the Butcher was unquestionably its hand and its fangs, the one who directly imposed its will through overwhelming force whenever that became necessary. His very existence and everything he had accomplished over the years were what helped shape the terrifying image of Sevar as someone who simply couldnʼt be defeated.

After all, anyone who personally tested Marlikʼs strength and experienced just how terrifying that vicious man truly was would inevitably find themselves asking about the strength of the person standing above him, the person capable of giving orders to and maintaining control over such a vicious dog.

Renara had personally watched recordings of the battles between Helmor and Hedrick in Mid Sector 113, carefully witnessing the level of power displayed during those confrontations, and ever since then, she had found herself yearning intensely for an opportunity to experience a battle at that same level herself... Perhaps, after waiting for so long, the time had finally come.

Some might say that Marlik was stronger than Helmor, but Helmor himself had already displayed strength far beyond what any ordinary Mid Behemoth should possess, a level of power so extraordinary that even Arkail had opened his eyes wide while watching the recordings of his battles. From what they had witnessed, it was already obvious that Helmor wasnʼt restricted in the same manner as the other Behemoths.

As for exactly how Helmorʼs strength compared to Marlikʼs, and which one of those two terrifying figures truly stood higher than the other, that was something that could only be properly judged during an actual battle.

”Lady Renara... Lady Renara...” Aro began gently waving toward her when he noticed the obvious change in her expression, though a somewhat worried smile had already appeared on his face as if he understood exactly what was passing through her mind. ”Please wipe that look off your face. There wonʼt be a battle between the two of you that quickly.”

”...?!” Renara immediately furrowed both brows upon hearing those words, the anticipation that had just appeared in her eyes turning into obvious confusion. ”Why? Have you somehow found a way to stop the war?”

”...Not exactly.” Aro hesitated slightly before giving his response, clearly having something else in mind rather than an actual method of preventing the approaching conflict.

”Just tell her directly!” Gravor suddenly shouted at Aro, apparently having no patience left for the way he was slowly approaching the subject.

”.....” Aro released a long breath after casting a quick glance toward Gravor, then turned back toward Renara and gave her a small smile before finally explaining, ”Actually, I have two proposals regarding what we should do next. The first is that we simply attack. This war is inevitable anyway, and unlike before, continuing to wait is no longer in our favor, especially when everyone already knows the current state of our supply lines... So rather than continuing this cold war, letʼs advance, seize a foothold somewhere inside Mid Sector 89, and then defend it.”

Renara looked somewhat puzzled after hearing the proposal, immediately considering the obvious difficulty involved in carrying it out. ”That would be difficult... With the Major Space Gates shut off to us and no other means available for launching a preemptive strike, theyʼll know that weʼre coming three full years before we can actually arrive. Theyʼll have enough time to calculate exactly where weʼll emerge and prepare an ambush for us there... Three years of preparation is far too much time to give an alliance of that size.”

”See!” Gravor immediately pointed toward Renara as though her response had proven exactly what he had been saying all along. ”Even the lady here understands!”

”Whatʼs wrong with you?” Renara instantly turned her entire body toward Gravor, staring directly at him with obvious displeasure. ”Ever since I arrived here, Iʼve noticed that arrogant attitude of yours. Do you want me to redraw the features of your face so I can fix the way you speak to me?!”

”....” Gravor immediately looked away with a resentful expression on his face, yet despite his obvious dissatisfaction, he didnʼt dare give her any answer.

It had truly been a black day when he listened to that bastard Glatheon and allowed himself to take an oath to join them in the first place... An absolutely black day!!

”Lady Renara,” Arkailʼs voice finally came out for the first time since she had arrived at the meeting, his tone remaining calm and composed despite the increasingly tense atmosphere around the table, ”Brother Gravor is hot-blooded by nature and canʼt always fully control his emotions when he becomes agitated. Please overlook anything he says or does today that happens to displease you.”

”...Hmph.” Renara gave a dissatisfied snort but didnʼt pursue the matter any further, instead turning her attention back toward Aro. ”Itʼs obvious that all of you already discussed this plan before I arrived here.”

”A little.” Aro replied with a smile, clearly pleased by what had just happened between Renara and Gravor. ”Lord Gravor raised some legitimate concerns about what might happen to us if we rushed into Mid Sector 89 in such a sudden manner.” Then he pointed toward himself as he continued with unmistakable confidence, ”But personally, Iʼm confident that I can arrange an appropriate formation and devise a military plan that would limit our losses to ten percent of our total forces at most before we manage to seize an entire solar system, establish ourselves firmly there, and then begin defending that territory while gradually expanding it.”

”Ten percent? Do you think our forces and our sons simply grow on trees whenever we need more of them?” Gravor immediately started shouting again upon hearing that number. ”You couldʼve spoken with that arrogant tone back during the days of prosperity and wealth, when you could easily request replacements for whatever forces you destroyed and theyʼd immediately be sent to you without anyone needing to think twice about the cost, but now youʼd better speak according to the poverty that all of you are actually experiencing!”

Aro finally frowned after hearing Gravor repeatedly speak to him that way, then replied with a colder tone, ”The treasuries of the True Beginning Empire can still buy several Behemoths with everything theyʼve accumulated throughout their entire lives.”

”You!!”

”Enough.” Renara immediately turned toward Gravor and cut him off before the argument could continue any further. ”Donʼt test my patience any further than you already have.” Then she waved toward Aro, signaling for him to continue instead. ”If you have a second plan, then tell us what it is. This first one carries far too much risk. Iʼve heard plenty about your abilities when it comes to military planning, but the people standing on the other side werenʼt all born yesterday either, and they wonʼt simply wait there while we do whatever we want.”

”Itʼs either that or we remain here and focus entirely on defending.” Aro shook his head as he presented the other possibility. ”Marlik the Butcher has only just arrived on the other side, and we still donʼt know exactly what theyʼre planning to do. Right now, we still have an opportunity to catch them off guard and force them to shift their attention toward defense, which means that if weʼre going to attack, we need to move immediately... If we allow this opportunity to pass, then weʼll have no choice but to remain here, continue increasing our defenses, and simply wait for whatever they decide to do.”

”Ugh...” Gravor clearly wanted to say something after hearing Aroʼs second proposal, but remembering Renaraʼs warning from only moments ago, he bit his lip and forcibly restrained himself from speaking.

”That wouldnʼt be right either...” Arkail finally spoke again in a heavy voice, immediately pointing out the problem with simply remaining where they were. ”Weʼre forbidden from freely using the Major Space Gates, but they can still use them without the same restriction... They could completely ignore us while weʼre gathered here and simply use their Dominators to attack our galaxies directly, or they could head toward Mid Sectors 99 and 100 and attempt to destroy Lord Robinʼs foundations there.” Then he cast a meaningful glance toward Aro before continuing, ”Thatʼs precisely why Brother Gravor and I left a number of our sons behind in our respective galaxies instead of withdrawing every last one of them and bringing them here.”

Then Arkail turned his attention toward Renara and continued in the same heavy tone, ”And we canʼt simply rely on returning to our galaxies whenever they need our help either, because the Major Space Gates could easily be closed to us the moment we attempted to go back. The only reason the Tyrant is still allowing us to use those gates in a limited capacity for now is so that we donʼt forget about them entirely and so that the possibility of using them continues to remain in our minds... But sooner or later, heʼll undoubtedly use those same gates to give us a painful sting when the opportunity presents itself.”

”What exactly does that mean?” Renaraʼs expression finally became confused as she began considering the implications of what Arkail had just explained. ”The Major Space Gates have crippled all of our movements both offensively and defensively? Weʼre sitting here in Mid Sector 90 with all these forces gathered around us, but an attack could suddenly strike Mid Sector 99 while weʼre forced to remain here and simply watch?!”

”Actually, I personally hope they decide to attack Mid Sector 99, where His Majesty is...” Aro muttered quietly, seemingly finding that particular possibility considerably less troubling than the alternatives. ”But they probably wonʼt do something like that... Tsk, tsk.”

Whoosh

At that exact moment, a Shadow Sword suddenly rushed into the tent with such speed that his arrival resembled a violent gust of wind, then immediately shouted toward the four figures gathered around the enormous table, ”The unified army in Mid Sector 89 has entered the buffer zone under urgent orders and without arranging any formations. Every last one of them is already on their way here!!”

”...”