Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2080 Aggression ”All of his disciples reached high positions?”

Robin raised an eyebrow slowly, disbelief clear in his expression. ”Didnʼt that era have rivals? Opposing factions? Other powerful figures who could compete with them?” ”That alone shows you the true scale of their superiority, Your Majesty,” Leonid replied with a respectful, shallow bow. ”And there is something else as well. The rest of the Council members were constantly overwhelmed, either by large-scale cosmic crises or by personal problems that kept resurfacing again and again. They were scattered, distracted, and divided. None of them managed to build powerful personal factions or loyal circles of followers strong enough to stand against a unified force like Qarunʼs disciples.” ”I see...”

Robin nodded slowly, several times, absorbing the implications. ”Go on.” ”From that point onward, another incident occurred that claimed the life of one of the Council members,” Leonid continued calmly. ”One of Qarunʼs disciples took his seat. Then another Council member fell. Then another. And another after him. One by one, Qarun began filling the Council with his own followers, until the balance of power shifted completely. His influence grew so overwhelming that his voice alone began to shake the entire institution. Even the Chairman of the Council at that time would avoid direct confrontation with Qarun whenever Council votes or decisions were involved. Conflict with him became something to be feared, not debated.” ”Wasnʼt there a single wise man among them,”

Robin straightened in his seat, his voice rising, ”someone with enough clarity to see that what was happening was unnatural, engineered, and dangerous?!”

Leonid allowed himself a faint, restrained smile. ”Of course there was suspicion. The remaining Council members were not blind. After yet another member died, they deliberately brought in new people who had no ties to Qarun at all to fill the empty seats of their fallen companions, even if those individuals were less competent than Qarunʼs disciples. They preferred loyalty and distance over talent. But even that failed.”

He continued quietly, ”Those replacements began to die as well, in mysterious and untraceable ways. Others were destroyed by sudden scandals that shattered their reputations, ruined their lives, and erased every achievement they had built. Step by step, every obstacle disappeared.” ”...Are you telling me,”

Robin stared directly into Leonidʼs eyes, his voice low and heavy, ”that the current Council of the Academies is ruled entirely by Qarun and his disciples?” ”Yes,”

Leonid nodded firmly, without hesitation. ”The only disappearance we still cannot fully explain is that of the old Chairman of the Council. One day, Qarun appeared before everyone and announced himself as Chairman. On that same day, he held a grand farewell ceremony for the former leader, celebrating his ʼdecision to step downʼ and his ʼchoice of a peaceful, quiet lifeʼ after a long age of service to the universe.”

He continued, his tone growing darker, ”And on that very same day, Qarun reactivated all the old ideas for which he had once been imprisoned and humiliated. He forced every Star Academy to follow his methods. There was no debate. No resistance. No negotiations. The Council was no longer a place of consultation or majority rule. It ceased to be an institution of shared authority. There was only one voice... and around it, nothing but a hollow, useless echo.” ”...Why didnʼt the academies rise against him?”

Robinʼs brows furrowed deeply, his expression heavy with disbelief and tension. ”Your Majesty,” Leonid shook his head slowly, ”I am summarizing events that unfolded over millions of years. This was not a sudden coup. The change was slow, subtle, and almost invisible. Qarun erased suspicions step by step, method by method, until doubt itself disappeared. He reshaped the narrative so thoroughly that the current generation truly believes the present Council masters were appointed by the Cosmic Elder himself.”

He lowered his voice further. ”But that never happened. According to all our intelligence, the Cosmic Elder never even met them.”

Leonid frowned, his expression tightening. ”At first, we believed the Cosmic Elder simply did not care about what happened in the Supreme Council after its formation, that he had withdrawn and no longer paid attention to its affairs. We thought he was unaware of what it had become. But the final part of his announcement today proves the opposite. It shows that he knew. He knew everything, and he knew it well. And the reason he never met them...”

He paused. ”...was not ignorance. It was contempt for what the Council had turned into.”

Robin lowered his gaze in silence, the weight of the revelation pressing heavily on the space around him.

The Cosmic Elder himself stated that after building the Supreme Council and appointing its members, he created copies of himself and began investigating the universe, the ancient relics, and everything that had occurred before 97.8 million years ago. He scattered those copies across existence, letting them observe, record, and analyze the deepest layers of reality, history, and forgotten epochs.

Compared to that scale of purpose and vision, whatever was happening inside the Council must have felt like nothing more than the irritating games of children to him, insignificant noise in the background of a far greater cosmic pursuit. ”There was another reason behind the silence of the academies back then,” Leonid added calmly. ”The decisions of the master of the Supreme Council of the Academies, or as he prefers to call himself, the Master of Thrones, benefited all the academies without exception, directly and indirectly.”

He continued, his voice steady and analytical, ”Even though he imposed crushing taxes, nearly 90% of their annual profits, he also gave them countless methods to exploit surrounding powers and impose massive fees on weaker forces. He taught them how to manipulate systems, how to pressure rivals, and how to extract resources legally and semi-legally. Those enormous sums flowed directly into their pockets and, naturally, benefited the academies themselves, strengthening their influence, armies, and political leverage.” ”Before Qarunʼs rise, there were around nine hundred academies across the universe. Some academies even had to protect two sectors at once due to lack of funding, manpower, and resources.””

He paused briefly, letting the contrast sink in. ”Now there are nearly four thousand academies. Every sector contains multiple Star Academies, each with its own army, massive budgets, raw-material resources, powerful connections, and authority they never possessed under the old Council. Their power structures are stable, their influence is wide, and their reach extends far beyond their original purpose. So why would they be angry at the Lord of Thrones?” ”Are you saying that personal interests played a role in keeping Qarun on his throne?”

Robin slowly stroked his beard, his eyes narrowing slightly in thought. ”Absolutely,” Leonid nodded firmly. ”And personal interests are also the main force behind the current rebellion.”

He gestured with his head toward the distance, as if pointing at unseen forces. ”Those academies that stopped obeying the Council of Thrones took advantage of the rumor of the Cosmic Elderʼs death. They demanded tax reductions, claiming the burden had increased and the risks had grown. They also demanded that the Councilʼs vaults be opened, the vaults that had accumulated those unimaginable fortunes over millions of years of control, taxation, and exploitation.”

He shook his head slowly. ”Those academies do not care whether the Cosmic Elder is alive or dead. That truth means nothing to them. They only want to break their chains. They want freedom from control, a share of the wealth, and a larger piece of the cosmic system. They want a portion of the cake. And they saw the opportunity when the Council of Thrones lost its greatest supporter, the Cosmic Elder, or so they believe. In the end, the legitimacy of the Council of Thrones, the Supreme Council of the Star Academies, comes from the Cosmic Elder himself.” ””

Robin looked toward the horizon in silence, his expression dark and unreadable. ”Not anymore.” ”Doesnʼt all of this worry you, after everything youʼve heard, Your Majesty?”

Leonid stepped forward, his tone more serious now. ”Do you truly believe that Qarun, the Master of Thrones, will remain silent and simply watch you dismantle everything he spent ages building piece by piece?” ”Heh~ The damage is already done.”

Robin let out a small, quiet laugh, placing his hands behind his head in a strangely relaxed posture. ”I guess weʼll find out soon enough, wonʼt we?”

Ba-dum ”Ugh!”

Robin clutched his chest tightly, his body tensing for a brief moment. ”Your Majesty?!”

Leonid panicked, stepping closer in alarm. ”Iʼm fine, Iʼm fine...”

Robin removed his trembling hand from his chest slowly. ”The omen of truth isnʼt random anymore after reaching the first stage of causality. It doesnʼt strike blindly now. It follows laws, threads, and connections...”

He paused slightly. ”...So, the thread between me and him is already connected?”

He looked in a specific direction, his eyes stained with red, sharp and focused, as if seeing something beyond space itself. ”You want me dead that badly, Sevar?”

Then he formed a strange, hostile smile filled with quiet aggression and cold resolve, and muttered, ”This wonʼt be easy!”