Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2368 The age of speed

Mid Sector 96—The Sand Of Time Galaxy

”...”

Arkail remained with his eyes wide open and an expression of utter disbelief frozen across his face for several uninterrupted minutes without the slightest change. Anyone observing him from a distance might have assumed he slept with his eyes open, or perhaps that he was nothing more than a lifelike statue crafted in his exact image.

Strangely enough, he was not the only one. Saher stood beside the stone throne wearing an almost identical expression, silently staring at the recording before him as though he too had completely forgotten how to react, his eyes remaining fixed upon the frozen image without blinking.

Fshooo...

At that very moment, the recording came to a halt on the image of Renara driving her spear through the head of a Nine-Star soul master, laughing as she carried out the strike without showing the slightest hesitation, the smile on her face remaining perfectly preserved together with the instant of the fatal blow.

That head belonged to one of Zargulʼs greatest children, the very individual who had uprooted Mid Sector 98, contested Arkailʼs control over Mid Sector 97 for countless years, and repeatedly diminished his prestige in front of the other Behemoths, turning what had once been a rivalry into a lingering source of humiliation that had endured for years without either side managing to completely overwhelm the other.

”...”

”...”

”...Should I start the next recording? It just arrived.” Saher swallowed hard before finally breaking the suffocating silence that had settled over the hall, his voice noticeably quieter than usual as though even speaking too loudly would somehow disturb the weight of what they had just witnessed.

”No need.” A trace of movement gradually returned to Arkailʼs expression as he slowly leaned back against his stone throne, finally allowing his rigid posture to relax ever so slightly. ”We wonʼt see anything beyond what weʼve already seen.”

”.....” Saher remained silent for several moments before speaking again, seemingly organizing his thoughts before asking the question that had been lingering in his mind. ”So... was this why he said that Zargul was already dead in his eyes and that he had no interest in the Syndicate armada?”

”What do you think?” Irritation was obvious in Arkailʼs tone even though he never raised his voice, his answer coming almost immediately. ”Why would he care about the Syndicate armada thatʼs supposed to arrive ten years from now to reinforce Zargul if heʼs simply sending Renara to kill Zargul before they even have the chance to arrive?”

He then lowered his gaze and quietly began murmuring with low voice, apparently talking to himself.

”This isnʼt merely a demonstration of military strength—itʼs a direct and unmistakable insult aimed squarely at the Syndicate itself. Everyone knows they dispatched overwhelming reinforcements to support Zargul, yet today heʼs under siege, and it appears that the galaxyʼs fall is now only a matter of time. The exact same thing is happening on the other front, where Hedrick is crushing the galaxy of the Cursed, Darvion, who is also waiting for those very reinforcements... Just what is Lord Robin trying to tell the entire universe through these actions?”

”That heʼs powerful?” Saher asked cautiously.

”That he makes no exceptions for the Syndicate and doesnʼt care in the slightest whom they choose to support or oppose,” Arkail answered. ”Whatʼs happening now isnʼt simply a display of military power or overwhelming force. Itʼs a message directed toward every major power throughout the universe... that a fifth faction has emerged, a faction that no one can afford to provoke or treat lightly.”

”....”

A shiver involuntarily ran through Saherʼs body. It was obvious that his father now regarded the True Beginning Empire as standing on the very same level as the Dreamer Galaxy, the Tyrant Galaxy, the Council of Thrones, and the Syndicate itself.

”What should we do now? Our last meeting with Lord Robin didnʼt exactly end on good terms.” Saher asked hurriedly. ”Itʼs true that we possess an overwhelming army, and our first row scions are filled with exceptional strength, but when facing the kind of power weʼre witnessing right now... Iʼm afraid weʼll finally end up on the losing side.”

”Finally?” Arkail revealed a smile filled with unmistakable self-mockery. ”Thank you for trying to raise our morale, but there wonʼt be any finally if Lord Robinʼs army decides to move against us with its full strength. Theyʼre practically attacking Zargulʼs galaxy with Renara leading fewer than two hundred armadas, while at the very same time attacking the Cursedʼs galaxy with Hedrick accompanied by nothing more than a handful of Rapid Intervention and Shadow phantom vessels... and theyʼre winning.”

Saher took a step to the side until he was fully within his fatherʼs field of vision before speaking once again. ”Then what should we do? Most of our armadas stationed in Mid Sector 97 have already withdrawn toward Mid Sector 96, and the rest of us—the first row scions—returned to the galaxy to wait for their arrival. At this point, there are only five brothers and one hundred armadas remaining in Mid Sector 97, and theyʼre only there to preserve the sectorʼs stability and reaffirm our rightful claim over it in the meantime.”

Saher continued without slowing down. ”You said you would wait until all of our forces returned to Mid Sector 96, and only after that would you decide whether they should remain here in the galaxy or advance toward Mid Sector 95 to confront the Syndicateʼs forces... But with everything happening right now, Iʼm afraid we canʼt afford to simply wait any longer. We still have time to do something before events move completely beyond our reach!”

”....” Arkail remained silent for a brief moment before finally speaking again. ”...Someday, youʼll understand just how valuable that promise truly is... Those were Lord Robinʼs exact words when he commented on his promise to permanently grant me Mid Sector 96—my sector—because Asir had given his life for its sake, While paying a tribute, as he said.”

He continued in a low voice, almost as though he were speaking only to himself while organizing his own thoughts. ”At the time, I believed he was referring to the distant future. I took those words as little more than a subtle warning, a way of letting me know that he might eventually expand into Mid Sector 96, but that he was deliberately restraining himself for the time being... Yet it turns out he had been completely serious all along? And the truth of those words became apparent after only a single month?”

Arkail slowly raised a hand and began rubbing the space between his eyes.

”Because of a chain of events completely beyond our control, we now find ourselves standing before two possible paths.”

”...?” Saher nodded immediately, his attention fully focused on his father as he eagerly waited to hear the explanation.

”First, we have to understand exactly where we stand. Our territory lies almost directly adjacent to the sphere of influence of the True Beginning Empire, and an explosive new power like this will inevitably eliminate every potential threat surrounding it while establishing an enormous sphere of influence of its own, just as the Tyrant, the Dreamer, the Lord of Thrones, and the Archon all did before. We will unquestionably attract their attention sooner or later. Our fate will ultimately be decided by someone else, and judging by everything weʼve witnessed today, that day doesnʼt appear to be very far away.”

”.....”

Saher unconsciously held his breath as he quietly listened.

”Our first option is resistance. We attempt to become the rock that shatters the True Beginning Empire. To do that, we would have to recall every army under our command, gather all of our military strength inside Mid Sector 96, begin strengthening our defenses immediately, then reach an agreement with the Syndicate by allowing them to establish a headquarters within our territory in exchange for assisting in our defense and using us as the new focal point of the conflict instead of Zargul, whose galaxy appears destined to fall today.”

”Our peaceful sector would become the battlefield between two powers of this magnitude...” Saher lowered his gaze, his expression growing increasingly heavy. ”Even if we somehow survived the war itself, the sector would be left devastated beyond recognition. Compared to what would happen here, what happened in Mid Sector 101 wouldnʼt even seem significant.”

He then turned toward his father again, ”Do we really have to fight?”

”Didnʼt you see how Lord Robin treated us? He came here officially under the pretext of offering his condolences, yet he took advantage of the opportunity to dissolve our partnership while treating us like subordinates of a lower standing. He even addressed you as ʼboy,ʼ and he did it deliberately so weʼd understand exactly what kind of relationship he expects us to have with him in the future... Are you truly willing to become that manʼs subordinate?”

”....” Saher lowered his eyes toward the ground, seemingly unable to answer immediately, ”I mean....”