MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 887: Meeting Ending

With that, the scheduled galaxy-wide meeting officially came to an end. One after another, various powerhouses shot into the cosmic sky, their figures streaking across the vast expanse as each returned to their respective planets. There were countless things to do, arrangements to be made, and most importantly, injuries to heal.

A war was approaching, looming closer with every passing moment, and none of them could afford to take their time. They needed to be prepared, fully and completely, before the storm finally arrived.

“Are you coming back with us?” Mitchelle floated toward Anthony as she asked. Since everyone was already heading back, she wanted to know whether her son would return with them or remain behind with his friends.

She wasn’t worried about Anthony’s safety in the slightest. To her, encountering someone stronger than her son would be strange, almost absurd. Yes, she knew that beings more powerful than Anthony existed somewhere within the boundless cosmos, but the probability of him running into such existences was astronomically low, unless he was deliberately targeted.

Anthony’s eyes shifted toward Vega and Kingsley. He could decide for himself without hesitation, but he couldn’t speak on their behalf. The two of them simply shook their heads in response. They had nothing pressing to attend to. Returning to Military Base Alpha-9 would only mean sitting around doing nothing, so they might as well stay here and spend that time with this new group of friends.

If they went back to the base, there were no planetary-level missions awaiting them anyway. They weren’t Supreme Monarchs, nor did they hold any real responsibilities at the moment. Their presence or absence wouldn’t change anything.

“It seems we’ll be staying, Mom. We’ll return later… maybe after our battle for team captain,” Anthony said with a calm, relaxed smile.

Mitchelle nodded gently. “I wish I could be there to see it,” she replied honestly. She truly wanted to witness her son in action again, to see how far he had grown.

“If you’re ever in trouble, you know where to find me,” Michael’s voice came from the side.

Anthony turned his gaze toward his father. For a brief moment, he was tempted to retort with something along the lines of, “But I’m already stronger than you, how would I even need your help?”

However, he held himself back. He couldn’t say something like that in front of his friends, nor in front of the older generation. Those were words he could only speak within the privacy of family.

So instead, he simply smiled and nodded. “I will, Dad.”

Michael smiled back, then nodded in response. Turning toward the others from the Blue Planet, he gave a small nod, signaling that it was time for them to leave together.

“I will be joining you all later on,” the First Supreme Monarch spoke calmly.

Michael, Collins, Mitchelle, and the Third Supreme Monarch glanced at him briefly before nodding. The next instant, they vanished from their positions, their figures dissolving into the cosmic void.

They could already guess what the First Supreme Monarch intended to do. He was likely planning to align himself with an organization of even higher power. None of them particularly cared. This was simply how reality worked. Seeking strength, influence, and advancement was the natural course of existence. Almost everyone did it.

It wasn’t as if the military would collapse just because the First Supreme Monarch left. Besides, the Null family alone was more than enough to uphold the military’s might.

As those of his generation disappeared one by one, the First Supreme Monarch’s golden-ringed eyes turned toward Anthony and his group. Everyone noticed his gaze and instinctively looked back, wondering why he was staring in their direction.

Anthony didn’t need more than a second to understand why. His divine intelligence wasn’t for nothing. The others could have reached the same conclusion as well, if they were familiar enough with the First Supreme Monarch.

Taking a deep breath, the First Supreme Monarch floated forward. Although he would never openly admit it, he took great pride in his existence, his race, his talent, his accomplishments, everything that defined him. Yet at the same time, he knew pride alone was meaningless. Pride could not grant power. Pride could not push one forward along the path of existence.

Stopping before Aaaninja, he paused briefly before speaking. “Can I have a bit of your time?” he asked. The usual authoritative weight in his tone was absent. There was a time to be overbearing, and there was a time to lower oneself.

Aaaninja stared at the Dragon before him for a moment. His gaze then shifted toward Anthony, who was already familiar with the First Supreme Monarch. Anthony met Aaaninja’s eyes but didn’t nod or give any sort of signal. He simply stared back, leaving the decision entirely to him.

Without saying a word, Aaaninja shot upward with a booming sound, tearing through the cosmic air as he broke past the sound and wind barriers. The First Supreme Monarch followed immediately, not missing a beat. In moments, the two arrived near a nearby moon, where they settled upon its barren surface.

Aaaninja turned to face the First Supreme Monarch, his gaze signaling for him to speak.

For the first time in his existence, the First Supreme Monarch didn’t quite know where to begin. This was the first time he had ever asked someone for something. He was a Dragon, a member of a race that was wealthy beyond measure and rarely, if ever, needed to ask anyone for help.

He was talented, powerful, and accustomed to standing above others. Now, as he prepared to truly request something, he felt an unfamiliar sense of awkwardness, a strange discomfort settling within him.

Still, he knew that he had to start somewhere, no matter how uncomfortable it felt.

“Sorry to take your time,” he began. “My name is… or rather, on the Blue Planet I’m known as the First Supreme Monarch. I am—”

Before he could finish, Aaaninja cut him off.

“Can we skip straight to the purpose of you meeting me?” Aaaninja asked. His tone wasn’t condescending, nor was it arrogant. He simply had no interest in listening to a long introduction or a list of achievements when he already knew that this meeting would end with the Dragon asking for something. It was better to get straight to the point.

The First Supreme Monarch paused, realizing that he had indeed been about to introduce himself as though he were an ordinary office worker handing over his curriculum vitae.

A change passed through his expression. He nodded slowly. At the very least, this saved him from listing his accomplishments, though he doubted it would have mattered in influencing Aaaninja’s decision anyway.