Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2342 Weapon

”...There were no Second Row Scions back then.” Hedrick shook his head slowly, his tone carrying complete certainty, as though he had already considered this possibility countless times before. ”When I helped him subjugate Mid Sector 110, I didnʼt have any other brothers by my side, nor did I ever hear of anyone who could be called my equal. He only started focusing on producing more after things had begun to settle down and the situation was no longer demanding his full attention.”

He then furrowed his brows, carefully recalling every familiar face that had ever entered his field of vision. ”But from what Iʼve seen, all of his promising sons either fell during that civil war before they had the chance to truly mature, or theyʼre the other four who are already known throughout the universe.” Then he turned back toward Robin, his eyes filled with unmistakable skepticism. ”To say that the Second Row Scions, who are famous among all the Behemoths for being failures whose greatest achievements revolve around administration rather than combat, all possess strength comparable to mine... youʼll have to forgive me, but thatʼs simply impossible to believe.”

”Thatʼs what I was told.” Robin replied with a meaningful smile that revealed neither agreement nor disagreement, as though he were merely repeating information while quietly observing Hedrickʼs reaction.

”Then whoever told you was lying.” Hedrick waved his hand dismissively without the slightest hesitation. ”Is talent sold on the side of the road? Just because he gave birth to me, does that somehow mean he can casually produce more people exactly like me and quietly build a secret army out of them without anyone noticing?” He then shook his head once more before looking directly at Robin. ”Did your father manage to produce any more Chosen of Truth after you?”

”Hehe, he wished he could.” Robin chuckled before tilting his head slightly, the amusement in his expression remaining unchanged. ”The difference is that the entire universe saw your brothers occupying nine sectors and fighting against my Behemoth Galaxy. Those battles werenʼt hidden from anyone, and the names of those participants spread across countless forces. Are they all lying too?”

”...?” Hedrickʼs brows knitted together tightly, his expression gradually becoming more complicated as he silently reconsidered what he had always taken for granted.

”By the way,” Robin began walking while deliberately keeping a safe distance from Hedrick, neither too close to provoke unnecessary caution nor too far to make casual conversation impossible, ”what do you remember from your earliest years?”

”You mean my first training?” Hedrick asked in confusion, unable to understand where the conversation was heading. ”My battles?”

”No, no, a little before that.” Robin shook his head patiently. ”I mean when you were playing in the dirt, breaking plates, running around without understanding anything, back when you were simply a child.”

”...?” Hedrick stared at Robin in utter bewilderment after such a bizarre request, unable to connect such ordinary childhood memories with the discussion they had been having only moments earlier.

But once again, Robin Burton certainly wouldnʼt bother coming to a place like this, under circumstances like these, merely to exchange a few nostalgic words about the past or waste time reminiscing over meaningless childhood stories.

Hedrick lowered his gaze slightly as he searched through memories that had remained untouched for countless years. ”...Iʼve lived for far too long. Entire eras have passed before my eyes, and all I remember are wars and killing, one battlefield after another until they all blurred together.”

”Precisely because youʼve lived for so long, and because youʼre so powerful, your memory should be excellent.” Robin nodded as he continued walking at the same leisurely pace. ”Even I have memories from when I was two years old, although theyʼre incomplete and fragmented... Come on, donʼt be lazy. Dig deeper. If theyʼre still there, someone like you should eventually be able to reach them.”

”...?” Hedrick looked at Robin in annoyance, but he still closed his eyes and lowered his head, forcing his mind deeper and deeper as though attempting to push aside countless layers of accumulated memories before slowly shaking it. ”The deepest memory I can reach is that man telling me to jump toward an army...” Then, as that irritating memory resurfaced with surprising clarity, he suddenly shouted at Robin in frustration, ”What does any of this have to do with anything?!”

”Hmm.” Robin paused for a moment, appearing to organize his thoughts before speaking again. ”To be honest, I think youʼre a weapon created for nothing but killing and intimidation, and the fact that you have no memories only reinforces that theory instead of weakening it.” He continued without changing his calm tone. ”Most likely, Helmor was impressed by the results you produced after raising you that way. But you were far too stubborn, possessed far too much individuality, and eventually developed ambitions that conflicted with his own plans, so he deliberately created a conflict with you, pushed you away from his side, and then repeated the experiment with new versions that possessed no will of their own, no unnecessary independence, and absolute obedience—the Second Row Scions.”

”...What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” A smile slowly spread across Hedrickʼs irritated face despite himself, somewhere between amusement and disbelief. ”Have you had far too much free time lately to come up with stories like this?”

”A man powerful enough to conquer an entire sector and terrify the major powers with his strength, then all of a sudden itʼs revealed that he has more than fifty brothers, every single one of them possessing strength comparable to his, every single one of them obedient, tight-lipped, without opinions of their own, and not a single one has ever been heard mocking anyone, questioning orders, or showing even the slightest hint of provocation despite possessing overwhelming power. On top of all that, you donʼt have a single memory of your childhood beyond being sent to fight. What exactly am I supposed to believe?”

”The first thing that came to your mind was that Iʼm nothing more than a weapon?!” Hedrick raised his voice, his expression filled with disbelief as though Robinʼs conclusion was more outrageous than anything else they had discussed so far. ”Couldnʼt I say the same about you, you anomaly who surpassed every great Chosen of Truth before you and accomplished feats none of them ever managed to achieve? Just because someone is exceptional, because their growth exceeds common sense, doesnʼt mean theyʼre automatically a weapon or part of some elaborate conspiracy!”

”First of all... thank you for the compliment.” Robin flashed a broad grin, seemingly far more interested in that part of Hedrickʼs statement than the accusation itself. ”Second, I donʼt have fifty copies of myself, and I still have my memories from beginning to end.” Then he casually gestured at the surroundings as though the answer were obvious to anyone paying attention. ”Third, Iʼm not molesting the Heavenly Laws the way you are right now.”

”What are you talking about?” Hedrickʼs brows drew together tightly as he instinctively glanced toward the surrounding phenomenon. ”...This is the method of breaking through into the Law Dominator Realm. The same thing happened when I broke through for the first time, and no one ever told me there was anything abnormal about it.”

”Tsk, tsk~” Robin slowly shook his head with a faint smile. ”I read quite a lot about it after buying volumes worth billions of Pearls, something you could never get because youʼre poor. I also witnessed the breakthrough process with my own eyes during Renaraʼs breakthrough, observed every stage personally, and nothing remotely similar to this ever happened.”

He then pointed toward the torn threads drifting through the surrounding space. ”Those threads are supposed to remain intact. They merely touch you to grant you a blessing, support, or whatever you want to call it, nourish your breakthrough for a brief moment, and then quietly withdraw without leaving behind the slightest trace.” Robin then chuckled quietly. ”But youʼve got something that cuts them apart the instant they approach and forcibly pulls a portion of them away as though itʼs feeding on them.”

Robin then pointed toward the shortest thread. ”Take that one, for example. The missing piece you absorbed grants you a 67% affinity toward a Minor Wind Law. Why would a Mid Monarch walking the Path of Destruction possess something like that? Even if you deliberately tried to cultivate it, there would be no logical reason for such an affinity to suddenly appear.”

”Thatʼs because of my talent!” Hedrick raised his voice immediately, refusing to entertain any other explanation.

”....” A look of pity and sympathy appeared on Robinʼs face before he gave a helpless shrug. ”If thatʼs what you want to believe, then suit yourself.” He then continued in the same calm tone, ”I accepted you as a partner once, not because I feared you, nor because I needed your strength or influence, but because I appreciated your intelligence. You figured out that I was a candidate for the Seer, and you deliberately tried to get close to me so you could become a player and uncover the real world—or, more accurately, take advantage of me, though in a way I actually respected. After all, I enjoy relationships where both sides benefit instead of wasting each otherʼs time.”

He then raised his head slightly as he looked directly into Hedrickʼs eyes. ”Use that brain of yours. Put to work the wisdom that once made you worthy of becoming my partner, the judgment that allowed you to notice things others overlooked... connect the dots, then tell me what conclusion you reach.”

He then pointed at him with a slow, deliberate motion. ”Why are there copies of you with different faces? Why are your childhood memories missing? And why is your breakthrough into the Law Dominator Realm different from everything ever recorded in the archives, despite countless cultivators having reached this realm before you?”

”....” Hedrick furrowed his brows deeply as conflicting thoughts flashed across his face. ”What exactly do you want me to say? That Iʼm a living weapon the universe has never seen before? That my father invented me? That he created copies of me? Do you want me to admit Iʼm a fraud when I donʼt even know how? This pointless discussion has gone on for far too long without accomplishing anything... and so has your visit.”

”....” Robin nodded several times as though acknowledging that argument before a smile slowly appeared on his face. ”Youʼre right.”

He then placed one hand behind his back with an unusually relaxed posture. ”Thereʼs something else thatʼs gone on far longer than it should have—our partnership. A partnership from which I gained absolutely nothing despite giving it more than enough time to prove its worth, so I wonʼt feel the slightest regret ending it here.” His artificial smile widened even further. ”You can enjoy whatever remains of your breakthrough!”