Mid Sector 101 - Planet Shadhar
"..."
Only a few hours earlier, Hedrick had convened the emperors of the six Millennium Empires, along with a number of powerful emperors from the Centennial Empires, gathering them all on Planet Shadhar.
The purpose of this extraordinary summit was clear and urgent: to discuss a possible thod to stop the advancing forces of the Savage Behemoth!
At the present ti, the advance of the Cursed Behemoth's forces had been partially restrained. This slowdown ca through several combined factors: the arrival of Kaylis and her children, who directly joined the slaughter on the front lines; the Pureheart family, who had begun intense weapons training and even turned entire planets into living weapons; and the tactical support strikes sent by Lord Hedrick himself, launching surprise attacks from the rear before withdrawing swiftly.
Because of all this, Lord Damir now found himself in a difficult position, effectively besieged. His forces were advancing at an extrely slow pace, and the devastating destruction he had hoped to inflict never truly materialized. Progress existed, but it was painfully limited and strategically disappointing. However, on the opposite front, the situation was far worse.
The forces of the Savage Behemoth were simply not sothing that could be stopped.
Hedrick had divided his massive armada into several separate armies, believing this would make them easier to command, coordinate, and control across multiple battlefields. Yet the Savage Behemoth's armada, moving as a single unified entity, showed no such weakness. Their montum did not break. Their formation did not fracture.
Yes, their speed had slowed slightly, without a doubt, but they were still advancing relentlessly, crushing everything in their path, erasing fleets, worlds, and defenses as if they were nothing more than dust in a storm.
Strangely, in the middle of the eting, while opinions were being exchanged and strategies argued, Hegra entered the hall carrying a glowing light disc. Without speaking, she activated it, projecting the Cosmic Elder's speech for everyone to hear and see.
"Alright, I've heard enough," one Millennium Emperor said, waving his hand gently. The recording stopped. "This is the sixth ti it's been replayed already."
"I haven't heard enough!!" another Millennium Emperor snapped, reactivating the projection. "Maybe there's sothing we missed! Maybe one sentence, one hidden aning!"
"Can we focus a little on what we're actually facing?" a third Millennium Emperor said, pointing toward the massive maps spread across the enormous table in the center of the hall. "What was said is undoubtedly important, and yes, it deserves to be analyzed later. Perhaps we'll even extract sothing new from it. But right now, it neither helps us nor harms us in any direct, practical way."
"True" a Centennial Emperor nodded slowly. "I expected the Cosmic Elder to command the Behemoths to stop the wars, but he didn't say a single word about that. Not one order, not one warning. Instead, he made things worse by talking about leaving, or sothing along those lines. From this point forward, our war will only grow more difficult, more chaotic."
Then he turned his gaze toward the head of the table.
"What do you say, Lord Hedrick?"
At that mont, Hedrick was staring at the recording with unfocused eyes. His gaze was empty, distant. It was obvious he neither saw the projections nor heard the voices around him. His mind was sowhere else entirely, lost in deep thought.
My close friend, Robin Burton...
Where had he heard this before?
Yes.
When he first t Robin and ford that simple alliance: protection for Verilion in exchange for Nihari. Back then, Robin had told him that he had t the Cosmic Elder, and that the two of them were very close.
At the ti, Hedrick had brushed it off without hesitation and continued the conversation as if it ant nothing. He was convinced Robin was lying, exaggerating, trying to intimidate him rather than truly deceive him.
After all, among the Behemoths, or even within the Throne Council itself, who could possibly claim to be close to the Cosmic Elder?!
But now...
Only now...
It was becoming clear that he had been telling the truth all along.
"Lord Hedrick?" the Centennial Emperor frowned, his voice sharper this ti. "Is everything alright?"
Then he gestured forward. "Shall we return to what truly matters?"
"Oh..." Hedrick exhaled slowly. "But this does matter, without a doubt."
Then a strange smile appeared on his face, unnatural and unreadable.
"Our friend's na was ntioned in the recording."
"Our friend?" Everyone turned toward Hedrick at once, even those who had been watching the recording for the sixth ti. "Who?!"
"No one was ntioned by na except Lord Robin and Lord Qarun," one of them said, looking around in confusion. "The leader of the Stellar Academies and the leader of the Cosmic Academies. Two of the wealthiest, most influential figures in the entire universe. What possible connection could they have to us?"
"Didn't you ask many tis," Hedrick said quietly, "who the person is that has supported all these years? The one who sends the Note fleets?"
"...?!?"
Everyone's eyes flew wide open, faces frozen in disbelief.
"Is that even possible?!"
"It's Lord Human, my partner, Robin Burton," Hedrick announced with a faint, restrained smile. "I kept his secret, even though it's known to the Cursed, the Sorcerer, and the Savage. I did so simply because I understood that he values calm, privacy, and peace of mind. He prefers silence over noise, distance over attention. But since he has now placed himself in that position, standing openly in the light..."
He paused briefly.
"...I don't think informing you will cause any harm anymore."
".....?!"
The shock was overwhelming.
Eyes wide.
Mouths slightly open.
Silence, followed by a sudden explosion of voices.
"Lord Human is the one who's been supporting us all along?!"
"By the heavens, he's one of the biggest nas in recent history! His innovations are everywhere, in every sector, in every system! Was he the one who invented the legendary Note-4 vessels? No wonder!!"
"Forget the vessels!" another voice shouted. "He was just personally announced as the Commander of the Cosmic Academies and the Protector of the Universe! We've gained enormous legitimacy in our war just from that title alone!!"
"I don't think the Cosmic Academies will support our war just because of the Cosmic Elder's words..." soone muttered cautiously.
"Who cares?!" another one burst out laughing. "We're partners of Lord Robin Burton!! That alone is more than enough!"
"We have to spread this information everywhere!! Across the fleets! Across the sectors! Across every army and every world!!"
"Oh my, this will change everything" a Centennial Emperor said, placing both hands on his head in disbelief. "If we spread this news among the soldiers, their
morale will rise beyond the sky itself."
"...."
Hedrick remained silent.
A faint smile rested on his face.
His eyes were half-lidded, heavy, distant, almost drowsy, as if his mind was
drifting far away from the hall.
As if it were only yesterday that he had compromised and decided to make a
simple deal with Robin, just to benefit from his knowledge of the ancient entity known as the Enlightened One...
And now, within only a few centuries, he found himself standing proudly, openly declaring Robin as his partner before emperors of entire empires.
No...
Could it truly still be said that he was his partner?
Equal to equal?
Head to head?
What, exactly, made him qualified for that status?
Crack.
Hedrick nearly crushed his hands together.
A heavy feeling of humiliation, smallness, and worthlessness washed over him,
sinking deep into his chest.
Then, with a sharp motion, bam, he destroyed the light disc.
Fragnts scattered. Light vanished.
He raised his voice slightly, irritation and tension clearly audible.
"Alright. Please focus with on the plan."
His tone hardened.
"We need to finish quickly."
Then he clenched his teeth.
"...I have things to do after today's eting"
Sector 99 Planet Donara
"... You don't know who Qarun is," Leonid said, his voice low, heavy with unease.
Fear was clear in his expression.
"Hmmm, maybe~" Robin said calmly, staring into the distant horizon. "What I do
know is that he's a greedy figure. He extracts taxes from all the powers of the universe through the academies and hoards them sowhere. He doesn't invest them into anything aningful. He doesn't build armies. He doesn't build cities. He doesn't even pay workers' salaries. He just keeps hoarding, endlessly."
He paused slightly, then continued.
"That's exactly what makes him number one in the universe in terms of wealth.
What he have isn't impossibly strong armies or fortified galaxies, it's just raw, accumulated riches."
"... Maybe Interas and Morpheus accumulated more profit over their lifetis," Robin went on, "but their expenses are massive too. Their projects are enormous. Their ambitions consu their wealth. That's why their riches appear in the form of cities, networks, infrastructures, fleets, and systems. You
can see where their money goes."
He gave a small, amused smile.
"But Qarun? Qarun has pure treasures lying in his lap. Stored, Sealed, Untouched. Mountains of wealth with no purpose. Just treasure for the sake of treasure... That's what I know about him."
Then he smiled again, a little sharper this ti.
"Hehe. That old man doesn't have good judgnt when it cos to people. I honestly wonder where the Cosmic Elder's mind was when he chose soone like that to lead the Supre Council of the Stellar Academies." Leonid shook his head slowly, "The Cosmic Elder didn't choose him."
".....?!"
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