As his ship drifted through the void toward his next destination, he thought of the upcoming "hot zones" and the potential treasures hidden within them. He let out a long, inward sigh.
"Every ti I feel like I’ve finally achieved sothing substantial, every ti I think I can rest and be assured of our safety for a while, I get hit by the bitter reality that I haven’t achieved anything at all," he muttered to the empty bridge. "The more I have, the more there is to lose."
He shook his head, trying to clear the encroaching fatigue. Olana sat in the co-pilot’s chair, watching him in total silence. Internally, however, she was shaken to her core.
The sight of nearly a hundred worlds stepping forward to offer their total allegiance without Hye having to fire a single shot or weave a complex web of lies was sothing she had only ever encountered in the ancient myths of the universe.
In the old tales, back when the legendary "Big Three" races first rose to dominance, it was said that lesser worlds would voluntarily offer themselves up to be part of sothing greater. But those were stories from a different age.
In the modern era, recruitnt was a bloody, expensive, and treacherous affair. Even the top three powerhouse races faced imnse difficulty when trying to attract truly capable and talented vassal races.
Hye was the ultimate anomaly. He had turned down the offers of the giants, antagonised half the universe, and yet, here were the masses, flocking to him as if he were their only hope. Olana realised that what she was witnessing wasn’t just a stroke of luck or a coincidence of timing; it was the gravitational pull of destiny.
"He is indeed going to shake the foundations of the entire universe," she thought, her eyes roaming over the man who seed to grow taller and mightier in her perception every hour. She found herself entertained by the thought of being at his side when the old powers finally realised who—and what—he was.
"Are we going to visit the next hot zone imdiately?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Of course," Hye replied, sounding slightly surprised by the question. "What else should we be doing? In this universe, if you aren’t moving forward, you’re already dead."
He thought she might be bored, perhaps just speaking to break the eerie quiet of the ship, but for Olana, she was only getting started.
"Well... I was thinking perhaps we can visit my family before the month is over," Olana said, her voice trailing off as she noticed the imdiate shift in the atmosphere.
She paused when Hye turned and gave her a stern, uncompromising look that seed to pierce right through her. The air in the command deck of the chariot felt like it had suddenly frozen.
"I... I just want to deepen the ties with my family," she stamred, trying to maintain her composure under that heavy gaze. "They told they are close to finalising a big deal regarding artificial planets and will send these over as soon as the logistics are cleared..."
"What’s the point in visiting your family when we can finalise everything using the system?" Hye’s expression didn’t soften. He didn’t change the look he gave her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He didn’t know what had suddenly crawled into her head, but he had no intention of eting her family—not when he had so little ti left on his hands and an Archlord breathing down his neck.
The first thing that popped into his mind was that this was a trap. A classic, high-tier setup. He tried to recall if he had slipped up sowhere, or if he had accidentally given her the impression that he might let her walk away. He was totally mistaking what she was thinking or what she actually wanted to do.
Olana, however, was operating on a completely different wavelength. She didn’t want to use her family to break free from him; she wanted to bridge the two sides closer together.
She was sure now, more than ever, that Hye was destined to be a legendary figure in the universe. She saw the trajectory he was on, and she felt incredibly lucky to have t him this early in his rise.
She knew that the more she delayed, the faster he would grow, and the lower the chances she would have to secure a permanent place by his side. Right now, he kept her close because of her contributions and her effect on his grand plans. Yet, she knew this advantage would dwindle as he gained more power and more subordinates.
That was why she wanted to strike while the iron was hot. t by his doubtful, almost accusatory gaze, she couldn’t help but raise a finger out of the blue. "Give one minute," she whispered.
"..."
Hye watched her, feeling like she must have been hit on the head or suffered so kind of ntal break to act like this. He inwardly sighed, feeling like he had missed sothing massive that had happened while he was preoccupied with the battle.
Yet, when he looked around, the chariot was intact, Lucas was calm in the corner, and there wasn’t a single clue or evidence of an assault or a psychological attack.
In the middle of his confusion, Olana suddenly raised her head, her eyes gleaming with an intense, calculated light. "My family wants to gift you the first batch of artificial planets as a token of their appreciation... they want to officially recognise our partnership."
"Hold on, just hold on," Hye raised a hand to stop her. He felt a surge of annoyance, convinced she was trying a desperate ploy to regain her freedom. "No matter what they offer, no matter how many planets they promise, I won’t let you go. You’re bound to , Olana. Don’t forget that."
"Who said anything about leaving?!!" She blinked, stunned by his words, before her mind started to catch up to his train of thought. She suddenly realised why he had been acting so defensive and cold for the last few minutes. "Do you think I want to get away from you? Co on!"
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