"...Is it really normal for him to call you by your na? Is it normal for him to send you a ssage directly?!" Niri frowned slightly, her brows drawing together as unease crept into her expression.
The very first thing that frightened her when she saw the ssage was the Behemoth explicitly ntioning Robin's na-more than that, the terrifying fact that he knew a human was the one controlling the Grave Empire and the Shadow Swords.
And yet, despite possessing information of such gravity, the Behemoth brushed all of it aside and began speaking casually about the conflict against the Millennium Holva Empire instead!
"No, Niri, it's not normal for him to know this information at all. Based on our publicly visible movents, everything related to this should have remained strictly confidential," Robin said, staring down at the ground with tightly furrowed brows. "But at the sa ti... it's not entirely shocking"
"There are two possible ways he could have learned my identity." Robin raised two fingers calmly. "The first is through people who already knew beforehand and they are not few. Even if we put my followers aside, we still have, first, the Twilight Spectrum Empire. There's Althera, and possibly soone else within the Academy. There's Gragnach, the lord of the Eternal Turtle Empire faction, who knows about my relationship with the Grave Empire. And then there's the Soul Society-who know my underwear size." Timari was visibly shocked by those words. "No-no, we would never-" "Save it," Robin waved her off dismissively, then continued without pause. "Those three parties and there are certainly more who know in one way or another- any of them could have leaked the secret. Or perhaps he managed to capture a Shadow Sword and sohow search their soul domain, though that would be extrely difficult and costly to pull off."
He then lowered one finger. "The second way is much simpler: conducting an investigation and spending so money. The truth of my involvent with the Grave Empire is no longer difficult to uncover, especially after the Wings recently joined the Grave Empire." He shook his head slowly. "Tracing the place that once gathered all those forces, then tracing their descendants, and in the end, they would inevitably reach ... and I don't regret that. I was already prepared to make my involvent with the Grave Empire public back then."
He rubbed his short beard lightly, his expression growing more serious. "The real problem is how he learned that I'm human... Is it because of the innovations spread throughout the Grave Empire? The number of people who know that detail is extrely small." His brows tightened sharply. "Unless... one of those who know my true identity has already leaked the information-or sold it."
"What are you going to do now that he knows all this about you?" Niri asked quietly. "What if he sends soone to assassinate you directly?"
Robin waved his hand again, unconcerned. "Hmm... my identity is a sensitive matter, but in this situation I'm not particularly worried about it being exposed. He already knows almost everything about -and maybe that isn't such a bad thing after all." He shrugged lightly. "The only reason I was worthy of receiving such a personal ssage and a prior threat is, first, because I'm Lord Human, and second, because I'm hiding within the Dawn light Stellar Academy. Sending soone to assassinate would be impossible-unless he decides to move personally."
"...From his point of view, he has no choice but to place so real pressure on if he wants to win the struggle for power over mid Sector 99 without suffering catastrophic losses. In his eyes, I am the key to everything-because of my innovations, my influence, and my wealth. At the sa ti, he can't eliminate easily due to the protection of Monarch Althera. That's precisely why I'm still here instead of residing within one of my empires. So, rather than striking directly, he's trying to intimidate and shake my resolve."
He then smiled calmly. "But there's no room for fear here... I chose mid Sector 99, and that decision is final." He turned toward Timari. "Fairy, have there been any major movents by Zarghul over the past fifteen years?"
"Yes, human lord," Timari replied as she snapped her fingers, causing an enormous number of reports to appear in rapid succession. "The Spell Galaxy has begun a large-scale incursion into mid Sector 97 due to a dispute involving a Centennial Empire there. Most factions believe this is rely a convenient pretext used by the Sorcerer Behemoth to justify his intervention in the sector. As a result, the situation there has beco extrely tense and unstable."
"Please look here-I believe this report will be particularly useful to you in your capacity as the Lord of the Shadow Swords," she continued, pointing toward a specific docunt and enlarging it. "Over the past several decades, the presence of the Shadow Swords has accelerated noticeably across multiple sectors, including mid Sector 97. Just twelve years ago, they provided that Centennial Empire with extensive intelligence support and large quantities of equipnt, allowing it to survive multiple major battles and several carefully prepared ambushes. Afterward, that Centennial Empire began forming small armadas and adopting the sa combat doctrine and warfare style once employed by Lord Hedrick."
"...The presence of the Shadow Swords and their direct involvent in that conflict was exposed very quickly. They themselves issued a public statent, declaring that they would stand on the side of justice and support the free local powers, just as they had supported Lord Hedrick against multiple Behemoths in the past. Not only that, but they succeeded in convincing several other small empires to enter the war to defend the sector. It's even rumored that they are currently negotiating with the few Millennium Empires present there, attempting to draw them into coordinated action."
"....." Robin raised his eyebrows in clear astonishnt, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Hahahaha!!!" He turned toward Niri, still laughing. "There you have it another reason for his anger, hahaha!"
"What are you laughing about?!" Niri stomped her foot hard against the ground. "Are you so short on open fronts that you feel the need to interfere in yet another distant sector? Poor Emily is already struggling to compensate for the gaps on those open battlefronts, and you're creating even more of them?!" "Do you really think I have many alternatives?" Robin replied, his brows knitting slightly. "Making things more difficult for Zarghul in mid Sector 97 ans he'll have fewer forces available to interfere in mid Sector 99-your host."
"..." Niri fell silent all of a sudden. When it ca to anything related to her safety and protection, objections ceased to exist.
"I was wondering why he still hasn't officially intervened to protect the Holva Empire under so flimsy pretext," Robin continued thoughtfully. "It turns out Theo has already begun playing heavily over there." His brows tightened slightly. "But Theo wouldn't have acted at this ti unless Zarghul himself had already started intervening personally in mid Sector 97. He grew greedy for the sector, made his move, and in doing so, brought the Shadow Swords' intervention down upon himself."
He then fell silent for a few monts, his expression darkening. "Just what has happened to the Behemoths over the past few years? Have they all lost their minds? Are they truly all convinced that the Cosmic Elder is inevitably dead?!" He raised a single brow slowly. "Perhaps... I should contact that old man after
all."
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