Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1926 The rationality of the Syndicate?

Somewhere in the Mid Sector 101-

Here, beneath the gentle, soothing sunlight of a day veiled in thin, drifting clouds, during the calm hours of daylight on one side of the road-specifically at a café open directly to the street, with no walls enclosing it, no protective measures in place, and no arrays of any kind.

Just a simple café that placed its chairs along the roadside and served warm, comforting drinks to passersby...

There was a man with crimson-red skin, dressed in garments of an even deeper red, resting both hands upon his stomach while lifting his face toward the sky, his eyes fully closed as if savoring the warmth above. Sitting beside him was a young man with long black hair, flowing freely, and eyes darker than black itself -so deep they seemed to swallow light.

Step step

”Welcome again our dear guests!” The café boy approached, carrying two cups of steaming hot drinks along with a cup of water. He carefully set them on the table, then quietly turned and left without lingering.

”...I ask you to reconsider.” Theo spoke in his usual composed manner, his low, dreamy voice calm and measured, yet his tightly clenched hands-curled firmly into fists were the furthest thing from calm. ”These words, quite simply, have absolutely no connection to logic!”

”Logic?” The red-skinned man displayed a faint, amused smile. ”Since when has the Syndicate ever dealt in logic?”

”You should deal with me logically.” Theo knitted his brows slightly, his tone remaining controlled. ”I am not some random individual from the street, nor am I an ordinary client. Our relationship, extending across several centuries, is deep and established enough to deserve at least a measure of respect.” ”Several centuries? Hehehe!” The red-skinned man let out a mocking chuckle.

”Do you truly see that as a short period?” Theo gestured upward lightly. ”Then what about the information-exchange deals and the purchase of slaves worth tens of billions of Pearls? Not to mention the taxes collected from us across three different sectors, which themselves reached the billions, as well as the information we deliver to you freely on a silver platter-information you either exploit for your own benefit or sell onward. Doesnʼt all of this grant us some level of priority?”

”...Hmm, the Shadow Swords have certainly become reliable partners in recent times, without a doubt,” the red-skinned man said as he opened his eyes and finally turned toward Theo. ”Everything you said is true, and it is precisely why you were granted a pleasant meeting with me after the crime you committed. Shouldnʼt that be sufficient?”

”It is not sufficient!” Theo shook his head firmly. ”First, we committed no crime whatsoever. Second, your judgment is entirely illogical-it is nothing more than a sequence of irrational decisions stacked one on top of another.”

”Heh?” The red-skinned man burst into laughter. ”No crime? Your followers killed one Nexus State, twenty World Cataclysms, and seventy others at the level of a Martial Emperor or lower-this is aside from the complete destruction of the spacecraft itself. Do you have any idea when the last time we suffered losses of this magnitude was?”

”...When?” Theo asked, fully aware of the answer, yet knowing that the manʼs pride would only ignite further if he did not play along.

”Never!” The red-skinned man straightened his posture as he spoke. ”From the very founding of the Syndicate until this very day, no one has ever dared to launch an attack against us.”

”We did not attack you, and we would never dare to do so. We are barely an infant information Syndicate-what business could we possibly have with clashes of this scale? How could it even be conceivable that we would dare to attack you, when none of the Behemoths ever thought of doing such a thing?” Theo replied rapidly, his words flowing one after another. ”Your followers entered a restricted zone and dealt with people they did not recognize-people who knew nothing at all about the Syndicate. I possess recordings from the ships that you can personally review, recordings in which my general explicitly states that he does not know who the Syndicate is and orders a withdrawal until the Shadow Swords are confirmed. This entire incident is nothing more than a grave misunderstanding.”

”Hmmm,” the red-skinned man raised his head upward once more, his posture relaxed. ”So your entire defense is centered around Iʼm sorry I wiped out an entire unit of yours because my followers are ignorant? You will need to do far better than that if you intend to escape this predicament, little sword.”

Crack

Theo clenched his hands tightly. ”We will find a solution together-we will not fall into conflict. Just mediate for me with the Mid Sector 99 branch and tell them to stop immediately!!”

After Theo received the report detailing the catastrophe that had occurred- the death of a Nexus State, the loss of several World Cataclysms, and their corpses being fed to the specters-he moved at once, acting swiftly in an attempt to suppress this news by any means necessary, regardless of the cost. But time did not grant him that mercy. A second report soon arrived from the Shadow Swords in Mid Sector 99, reporting suspicious movements within the Syndicateʼs headquarters there... they had already begun mobilizing their forces.

And this mobilization included a Guardian and several Nexus States, with the buildup still continuing without pause!

Naturally, Theo understood immediately that this accumulation of power was aimed directly at the Nihari Galaxy.

It was not strange at all for the vessel to contain a tracking array or a state-transfer array, and perhaps one of the expedition members had contacted them in some manner. Even setting all of that aside, as long as they were the ones who had dispatched the expedition and knew its destination from the beginning, it was only natural for them to head to the same location in order to search for it.

Without delay, Theo contacted the official responsible for the Syndicateʼs operations in Mid Sector 101-the same individual he had dealt with for centuries up to this day-and requested a meeting... it was this very red-skinned man, a low-ranking Monarch.

”Hmmm, if they truly wanted to descend, they would have already done so. Use your head a little, little sword,” the red-skinned man said, lifting one shoulder in a casual shrug. ”They are waiting to see your reaction, and since you already informed them that you were coming to me, there is no need to worry.” ”...” Theo released a long, heavy breath. ”Very well. I am here and prepared for any rational discussion-anything except what you said at the very beginning” ”You are wasting both my time and yours.” The red-skinned man extended his hand, slowly lifted the cup, and took a measured sip. ”You said earlier that the men guarding that safe zone did not know who we were, Fine-this time we will go, and they will know. If I were in your place, I would clear the area of any guards, otherwise the inspection will not proceed peacefully.”

”That is precisely what I say is illogical!” Theo struck the table, causing several droplets of his drink to scatter. ”You knew from the outset that it was a sealed area, so why send anyone to expose it in the first place? The incident has already happened and ended-I will compensate you, without question. But why are you insisting on imposing a fait accompli by sending another group now?!”

”It is not permitted for a restricted area to exist that we know nothing about. This is a directive from the High Command, a law we cannot simply overlook.” The red-skinned man shook his head slowly. ”What problem do you have if we merely take a look? We are not occupying territory nor attacking an established power-we will take a look, and then we will leave.”