Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2040 What do you see?

”...Are you insane?” the Cosmic Elder said in astonishment, his tone sharp with disbelief. ”Why would I ever close a stable passage that extends beyond the barrier?”

”.....” Robin glanced past the Cosmic Elder, his gaze drawn to the colossal battle that was violently reshaping the very terrain of the planet. Mountains were breaking, seas were shifting, and the land itself seemed to writhe under the force of impact. ”Do you see something I donʼt?” he asked quietly.

”Yes. Even though I am blind, I see far better than you, who only stares beneath his own feet and never lifts his vision beyond the dust.” The Cosmic Elder shook his head slightly in disappointment, then turned toward Leonid and the others and gestured firmly for them to move away. ”Shoo.”

”...?” Leonid furrowed his brows hard, confusion tightening his features, then looked toward Robin. ”Your Majesty?”

”Leave.” Robin spoke a single word, cold and absolute.

”Yes, sir.” The ten bowed deeply and vanished without a trace.

Robin then turned back to the Cosmic Elder, brows tightly drawn together, his expression heavy with tension. ”Please, explain yourself clearly.”

”One moment.” The Cosmic Elder floated smoothly until he reached the square gate he had entered through and called out in a calm, familiar voice, ”My dear, send two chairs. Yes-two chairs, and two cups of my usual warm drink, the one I always take.”

He returned to stand beside Robin. ”Hey~” He gestured lazily toward the battlefield. ”What do you see, truly?”

”....” At that moment, the number of dead space beasts had doubled again, their massive bodies scattered like ruined monuments. Althera had begun killing them directly instead of merely containing them, moving with ruthless efficiency. Two new rapid-intervention ships had arrived at the scene, raising the number of imperial guards to nearly 2,400. It was only a matter of time before the remaining nascent space beasts would fall under overwhelming force.

And yet...

Althera was clearly exhausted, her movements heavier and slower than before... several hundreds of the imperial guards had fallen between dead and wounded, their armor broken and scattered across the ground... and this section of the planet had had its features violently altered by those plateaus that were supposed to be corpses.

Because of the repeated beast attacks and the relentless assault on them, that area had sunk significantly and filled with water-transforming from a once beautiful shore into a broken patch above the sea, half-land, half-ruin.

”...I see a battle that must end,” Robin said slowly, his voice low and heavy, ”a battle that must never be repeated again.” He sighed deeply.

Paah The Cosmic Elder slapped the back of Robinʼs head. ”Look closer-much closer!!”

”Why are you hitting me, old man?!” Robin shouted in anger, then returned to observing, forcing his eyes back to the scene...

What was there to see?

”Daddy, daddy, daddy!” At that moment, a gentle, childish voice came from behind. Two little girls, who looked about five and six years old, emerged from the gate carrying two wooden chairs above their heads with visible effort. Then a third came holding a tray with two cups of a warm drink, walking with

extreme care so nothing would spill.

”Hehe, thank you, my dears, thank you.” The Cosmic Elder patted their heads affectionately and waved them back toward the gate. Then he sat on a chair and pulled Robin down to sit beside him. ”Well-did you reach anything at all?” ”No!” Robin furrowed his brows intensely, frustration clear on his face. ”I only see a massive mistake. I see that the Die of Judgment has been toying with me, mocking every decision Iʼve made!!”

”Then let me tell you what you should be seeing” The Cosmic Elder leaned over, took a cup and handed it to Robin, then took one for himself. Holding the cup calmly, he pointed toward one of the corpses. ”Those scales-donʼt they hold epic armor within them?”

”Huh?” Robin almost jumped from his seat at the question, shock rippling across his face.

”That blood-donʼt you see affinity elixir in it? Donʼt you see inks? Donʼt you see fuel?” The Cosmic Elder pointed to the oily liquid spreading across the ground. ”How many applications would that blood produce if you sent it to your academy for analysis and refinement?”

”That...” Robin murmured, his voice fading as realization slowly began to form.

”What about the crystals? Every one of those beasts carries a crystal far higher in rank than a Starheart Stabilizer. Every single person who has tried to use one as a stabilizer either became Law Dominant-or was killed before they even had a chance to.” He paused for a moment, then added with a grin, ”You donʼt want to follow the path of those stabilizers? Very well. You can still use them, just not as intended-you can wield them as weapons, or collect them as a treasure, a form of wealth beyond measure.”

”I donʼt understand!” Robin shook his head vigorously, confusion and frustration mixing on his face.

”Then listen carefully,” the Cosmic Elder said with a sly smile, gesturing toward the dead bull lying nearby. ”The flesh of space beasts is unparalleled-the best there is. Nascent space beasts may be less useful than the young and adult ones, but their meat... their meat surpasses even that of the Beast kings. And if you study each one individually, you can extract countless benefits, a hundred other applications and resources hidden in every single body.”

”What is happening here?!” Robin sprang to his feet so suddenly that a few drops of his drink scattered across the tray. ”What are you trying to do exactly?

Are you mocking me? I already admitted my mistake!”

”Sit down and donʼt waste your drink-you wonʼt find anything like it anywhere else in this universe,” the Cosmic Elder said firmly, his voice calm yet authoritative, leaving no room for argument.

”....” Robin sat reluctantly, irritation clear on his face. He lifted the drink and

took a careful sip. Swoof

Immediately, his eyes widened in shock, his pupils dilating, and his cheeks flushed a deep crimson. ”This...?!”

”Your exhaustion vanished in an instant, and you began feeling immense power radiating through your lower half, did you not?” The Cosmic Elder chuckled, the sound light and teasing. ”One of the key ingredients of that drink is marrow fluid from an adult space beast. Hehe... things of immense power, indeed.”

Robin placed the cup back on the tray, then bang slammed his face with both hands in disbelief and began shaking his head violently, like a dog trying to shake off water. He glared at the Cosmic Elder with pure fury. ”I swear, if you donʼt get to the point right now...!!”

Swoof The Cosmic Elder sipped his own cup leisurely, savoring it. He leaned over and set it carefully on the tray, then turned fully to Robin. ”Honestly, Iʼm attempting to tempt you... to make you leave the passage open and take responsibility for it yourself.”

”.....” Robin furrowed his brows, tension tightening his features. ”Leave it open- that part I understand. I could leave right now if I wanted... but...” After a short, tense silence, he continued, voice lowered, ”Take responsibility for it?” The Cosmic Elder pointed deliberately toward the gate. ”As you can see, the gate is stable and powerful. It is bound to draw more nascent space beasts. Perhaps they left when they saw me kill three fully grown adults, but they will inevitably return. Those creatures are not clever-they are like flies, endlessly persistent. Even if you try to shoo them away, they will circle the room and

return, relentless.”

Then he placed his hand on his lone leg and began idly playing with the sparse

hair along it. ”My children are still young, still studying in your academy, and I will not stand in front of the gate to block every wandering nascent space beast from entering the sector. That... will be your task.”

”You wonʼt be here?” Robinʼs brows tightened further, disbelief mixing with irritation. ”You want me to play the role of guardian here while you go off to drink space-beast marrow on your own planet?”

”It seems the era of forming my tribe has ended prematurely.” A wide, knowing

smile spread across the Cosmic Elderʼs face. ”From now on, I will spend most of my time there.” He gestured again toward the gate, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of pride and anticipation. ”I am about to fulfill my final dream, little Robin. My biggest dream.””