Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2498 A Question from the Past

Planet Donara—

”Ooh, my dear, haha!” Robin laughed loudly, his delight obvious as he continued looking through what had been written before him.

Then he set down the cup of black blood and grabbed the book firmly with both hands, his attention now completely focused on its contents. ”Zara is amazing, truly amazing. It looks like the Crucibles of Greed are on their way to receiving an enormous upgrade, haha.”

Robin continued reading through the details, his excitement only increasing as he understood exactly what Zara had accomplished. ”Instead of relying entirely on Life and Reshaping to replicate artifacts and fleets, a complete Nota fleet previously took eleven months to replicate. Zara has also incorporated the Law of Destruction into the formation in an excellent way, allowing the Law to destroy the raw materials into an extremely precise form beforehand, making those materials much easier for the Laws of Reshaping and Life to handle afterward.”

Then he smiled proudly at Billy, unable to hide how satisfied he was with the result. ”With this, a single fourth-generation fleet will take less than a month!” He shook the book slightly in his hand as he emphasized the importance of that improvement. ”With this upgrade, weʼll be able to produce enough fleets to confront the coming danger in time!!”

Then he looked down again, his enthusiasm fading slightly as another problem immediately presented itself. ”...Itʼs unfortunate that the trade network has become useless. Weʼll have to search for the large quantities of rare resources we need ourselves.”

Then he turned toward Billy again and finally noticed his expression. ”Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow in surprise as he looked at the tears running down Billyʼs face. ”Why are you crying?”

”Please...” Billy continued shedding tears, looking increasingly miserable with every secret that came out of Robinʼs mouth. ”Please stop thinking out loud and read silently...”

Robin was exposing every major secret he or the empire possessed without the slightest restraint. Even the secret behind the massive production of Nota fleets, something that had baffled the entire universe and left countless people wondering how the empire could possibly produce them in such quantities, had now been spoken aloud in public as though it were nothing!

In truth, Billy had already tried twice to shut down the broadcast, but every time he sent out his consciousness to turn it off, he found a message from Theo waiting for him, telling him that if he stopped the broadcast now, the consequences would somehow be worse than simply leaving it running as it was...

But what could possibly be worse than this?! What could possibly happen that would make allowing Robin to continue casually exposing secrets like these the better option?!

”Iʼll excuse myself... Iʼll leave you with your gifts.” Billy weakly stood up from his seat while feeling his neck, already thinking about what Robin would do to him once he eventually realized exactly what had happened today and understood just how much of this conversation had reached the outside world.

Billy had no idea that the instant he rose from his seat, shouts erupted throughout every corner of the universe, countless people who had been listening intently crying out almost simultaneously: Sit down, you bastard!

And a number of Behemoths and great emperors stood up as well, already preparing to begin meetings together and decide exactly what they were going to do with the information they had just received, information that was becoming more significant with every passing moment.

But—

”Sit down.” Robin gestured toward Billy with his brows slightly furrowed, clearly finding his sudden attempt to leave strange. ”Sit down and wipe your eyes. No man cries!”

Then he returned to reading Zaraʼs next book with the same relaxed smile, apparently interpreting Billyʼs condition in an entirely different way. ”I know the weight of all that information was heavy on you, Billy. Anyone who heard it would feel the same after learning so much at once... but thereʼs no need to worry while Iʼm here.”

”Aheeeh~” Billy cried even harder after hearing those words, because at this particular moment, the end of the world itself was the least of his concerns.

”Haha!” Robin slapped the book with his hand in obvious excitement as he reached another part that pleased him. ”Zara has devised a plan to develop her energy-gathering center and add Destruction to form her new triple Integrated Law: Living Metamorphosis. At the rate sheʼs progressing in controlling the patterns, you could say sheʼll eventually be able to create the Law and modify it herself rather than merely following what already exists. Thatʼs amazing!”

Then he laughed again, clearly delighted by what that level of progress represented. ”You know? Modifying patterns like this means an extremely high level of understanding of all three Laws involved. If she invests a little in the Law of Death as well, sheʼll reach Master Creation, becoming the second child of mine to use a Master Law after Asir, who excelled in the Master Law of Spacetime!”

”Please... please, thatʼs enough...” Billyʼs tears only increased, flowing more heavily as he remained seated in front of Robin, unable to do anything except watch the situation continue to deteriorate with every passing moment.

Every word being spoken was making matters worse, piling one problem on top of another when Billy had already thought things couldnʼt possibly become any more disastrous.

What the hell was Theo thinking?! What could possibly be going through his mind while he allowed all of this to continue?!

”Hmm?” Robinʼs proud expression immediately froze as his eyes remained fixed on the pages before him, leaving only a faint smile on his face and eyes opened to their widest. ”Why is there an appendix about Zaraʼs experience managing Sky Opening City and selecting personnel?”

Then he raised the book in front of Billy, his movements calm despite the suppressed anger clearly filling his expression. ”Do you have an explanation for this phenomenon? Was there some prior arrangement between you, some kind of agreement beforehand, or something like that?”

”....” Billy looked down silently, avoiding Robinʼs gaze for a moment before answering. ”No... All the gifts arrived individually, and I didnʼt open any of them before coming here.”

”Aha...” Robin nodded several times as though digesting that answer, then placed the book aside, his initial joy at everything he had just read almost completely gone after noticing that strange similarity.

Then he pulled out a small folded piece of cloth from among the gifts, unfolded it, read what was written on it, and laughed:

”Heh~ This is probably from Kristan. At least he didnʼt leave me memoirs too.” Robin returned the small piece of cloth to its place with some relief, then extended his hand toward another book and picked it up.

”Robin...” Billyʼs voice came out again after several seconds of hesitation, his attention no longer on the gifts. ”Can I ask you something?”

”Of course.” Robin nodded casually while flipping through what he was holding and examining its contents. ”Donʼt hesitate whenever you want to do something, Billy. Anywhere around me is a safe zone for you.”

”Thank you...” Billy cried even harder after hearing those reassuring words, desperately hoping that things would remain exactly that way after Robin eventually learned the truth about the broadcast. ”I want to ask... Have you made your decision, then? Is the matter already settled? ...About the truce, I mean...”

”.....” Robin continued reading for a few moments without immediately answering, his eyes moving across the pages until a smile gradually appeared on his face. ”...Shaddad has finished completing the physical training system all the way up to the Nexus State, and he personally tested it himself. The system is still expensive, but itʼs no more expensive than what any trainee would normally spend to purchase good blood or a good stabilizer... The Fifth Training Path now officially exists and is ready for distribution... Amazing. Shaddad truly is amazing. He almost single-handedly created an entire Training Path from beginning to end. Itʼs a source of pride that someone like him calls himself my disciple.”

”....” Then he stopped reading for a moment when he reached the middle of the book, his gaze lingering on what he had just read before he slowly raised his head toward the sky.

A strange smile gradually appeared on his lips as his thoughts seemed to move away from the book in his hands and toward an old memory. ”You know, Billy? Our discussion somehow reminds me of my first long conversation with the Cosmic Elder.”

”....?” Billy looked surprised at the sudden connection, and along with him, countless inhabitants throughout the entire universe who were still following the broadcast wondered where Robin was going with this.

”After weʼd talked for a while that day, he asked me...” Robinʼs gaze became distant, and he looked as though he could see every scene from that old conversation unfolding before his eyes once again. ”He said that if the universe were going to perish and I had the choice to save only myself and my followers, or to die silently defending it so that the universe could live on after me, what would I choose?”

Robin showed a strange smile as he recalled the question and the circumstances under which he had first heard it. ”I thought it was merely a question meant to gauge my personality back then. I never expected that Iʼd actually be placed before those exact same two choices only a few short centuries later... Ironic, isnʼt it?”

Billy swallowed as he continued staring at Robin, his attention now completely focused on him. ”And what did you answer?”