Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2410 Confrontation

The reactions to Arkail's actions and his unofficial declaration of allegiance to Lord Robin varied enormously among the countless powers scattered throughout the universe, with attitudes ranging from clear support and equally clear opposition to sheer bewilderment over what exactly had driven him to make such an unexpected decision.

But there was one particular person who had to do considerably more than merely express an opinion or choose which side of the discussion he agreed with... Gravor, the Gravity Behemoth residing in Mid Sector 92.

After all, every one of the Syndicate's reinforcement forces that had fled from Arkail's relentless pursuit had ultimately taken refuge inside his sector.

And Gravor couldn't simply stand aside and claim that the entire matter had nothing whatsoever to do with him. Only three years before their violent clash with Arkail, those very forces had passed through his sector on their way forward, their leaders had personally gone to greet Gravor and had even borrowed supplies and a number of armadas from him... so at this point, claiming that he had absolutely no connection to the matter was no longer a useful or believable option.

Gravor had therefore found himself trapped in an extremely difficult and unpleasant position...

Previously, when he had made those decisions, the Syndicate had clearly been the winning side, with little reason for anyone watching the situation to seriously doubt which side held the advantage.

Why should he interfere deeply in a war between the Syndicate and the newly established Grave Empire when there had been no need for him to personally involve himself any further than necessary?

You want to restrain the Shadow Swords? Fine, that newly established organization has no place in my sector anyway, so there was nothing particularly troublesome about preventing it from establishing itself there.

You want to pass through and support Zargul? Go ahead, and while you're at it, take some token support with you as well, enough for him to show where he stood without requiring him to personally throw himself into the conflict.

Anything simple and relatively effortless he could do to avoid provoking the anger of one of the Four Great Powers was naturally the correct and intelligent choice in his eyes, while anything beyond those reasonable measures was nothing more than nonsense, empty ideals, and grandiose slogans that nobody truly cared about when their own interests were involved.

But after the rapid succession of shocking events that had taken place recently... it gradually became clear that the Syndicate wasn't merely attempting to erase some random new power that had unexpectedly appeared before disappearing just as quickly, but rather a genuine fifth great power capable of contending with the Syndicate itself in status while actively seeking to expand its territory and influence.

Without even realizing what he was doing at the time, or caring enough to consider where those seemingly minor decisions might eventually lead him, Gravor had somehow placed himself directly in the middle of a war between two Great Powers!!

But regardless of whether he regretted those decisions now, what was done was already done, and there was no simple way to erase what had happened...

Arkail remained standing alongside his sons near the buffer zone in Mid Sector 93, firmly guarding what had effectively become the eastern border of Lord Robin's territory and refusing either to budge from his position or to allow the Syndicate's forces or Gravor's forces to return through it, while at the same time assisting the Shadow Swords and Aro's envoys in steadily subjugating the local powers throughout the sector.

This tense situation continued until three complete armadas belonging to Arkail's forces entered Mid Sector 93 from Mid Sector 94, and the moment Gravor learned of their arrival, he immediately realized that these weren't ordinary forces being brought forward merely to provide support and strengthen control over the territory already occupied... This was an offensive force assembled for a clear purpose, an invasion force preparing to continue advancing.

Gravor immediately gathered every force available under his own command, along with all the Syndicate forces that had previously taken refuge with him, and headed straight toward Mid Sector 93 at the head of an enormous army, moving with the clear intention of stopping Arkail exactly where he currently stood before Arkail could advance any farther and come to him instead.

And after all the movements and preparations made by both sides, here they were today, finally standing directly opposite one another...

Before the buffer zone leading directly into Mid Sector 92, the first unmistakable signs of an enormous battle had already begun to emerge as the two massive forces faced one another.

Arkail truly intended to invade and continue pushing forward into the next sector... and Gravor had absolutely no intention of standing aside and allowing that invasion to happen.

"You say those who threatened you with death before me were defeated?" Gravor raised his voice until his words carried clearly toward Arkail. "Wake up from your foolishness, Arkail! Do you seriously think I'm like a handful of ordinary Dominators you can simply deal with the same way? Has old age eaten away at your brain?" Then he raised his hand and pointed directly toward him. "I've always respected you, Arkail. Even when I decided to establish my galaxy here in Mid Sector 92, I came and asked for your permission first out of that respect, but that doesn't mean I'll stand here and let you do whatever you please!!"

"There's nothing personal about what is happening here, Gravor." Arkail furrowed his brows slightly when he noticed the direction the conversation had begun taking, but his answer remained straightforward. "Lord Robin wants to expand, and you're standing in the way of that expansion. That's all."

"....!!" Gravor's eyes widened to their absolute limits as he stared at Arkail, almost unable to believe that the words he had just heard had truly come from his mouth, before he shouted at the top of his lungs, "What happened to you?" He took a step forward as he spoke, then somehow continued in an even louder voice, "You were always the wise one among us, Arkail! You were always mysterious, always impossible to understand, and no one ever knew what you truly wanted or what you were planning. Since when did you become nothing more than a follower so easily?!"

"..." Those words caused Arkail's expression to tremble visibly for a moment despite his attempt to maintain his composure... Gravor's words had struck him exactly where it hurt the most.

Arkail truly had spent all that time concealing his real strength and quietly preparing himself for the day he had foreseen, deliberately refusing to involve himself in conflicts or unnecessary struggles that had nothing to do with his preparations, and that behavior had, in a way, gradually surrounded him with an aura of mystery and caution in the eyes of everyone who knew of him... Yet all of that carefully maintained image had begun collapsing from the moment he started openly serving Lord Robin.

"...I've heard things," Arkail spoke at last, his tone carrying a seriousness that made it obvious he wasn't referring to ordinary rumors or meaningless information. "Things that are almost impossible to believe." His mind began replaying his last meeting with Robin in extraordinary detail, every scene he had witnessed and every word he had heard returning to him one after another. "But later, I believed them when I saw."

"Even while working for someone else, you're still trying to act mysterious and speak in riddles?!" Gravor shouted angrily, clearly losing patience with Arkail's vague response. "You're just—"

Clack

The orange vessel that had been moving nearby suddenly broke away from its simple orbit without any warning and swiftly moved toward Gravor, crossing the short distance in moments before stopping beside him as its doors opened, and from within emerged a figure who calmly walked out with both hands clasped behind his back.

It was immediately obvious from his appearance that he wasn't human. His skin possessed a distinctly yellowish hue and his nose had three separate nostrils, but aside from those unusual features, his oval-shaped face and smoothly flowing hair combined to give him a surprisingly handsome appearance.

That person advanced without hesitation until he stood slightly ahead of Gravor, deliberately giving the Gravity Behemoth his back as he directly faced Arkail, then spoke in a firm tone, "Come to your senses, Temporal. We don't want to report your foolish actions to the Archon just yet, so you still have a chance to reconsider what you're doing."

"...I've already chosen my side, and the matter is settled." Arkail replied with unmistakable confidence, showing no hesitation whatsoever in his answer.

This was the first time Arkail had ever spoken with such firmness and finality to one of the Syndicate's leaders and, more importantly, one of the Butcher's direct followers... That person standing before him was a user of a Fundamental Law derived directly from Causality itself!!

The mere fact that someone of his status and strength had personally appeared here meant that the Syndicate had taken the current situation extremely seriously and wasn't treating Arkail's movements as some minor disturbance that could simply be ignored.

"That's unfortunate." The yellow-skinned man calmly took out a spear with an exceptionally long spearhead, holding it in his hand as his intentions became obvious. "If words are useless and you refuse to listen, then let's try weapons instead." Then he tilted his head slightly while continuing, "In any case, regardless of what you decide, the expansion of the True Beginning Empire stops here."

The atmosphere surrounding the two sides instantly became unbearably heavy as countless breaths were held, and even Arkail and Gravor themselves felt their brows twitch slightly at the sudden escalation.

This battle would undoubtedly be devastating if it truly began. If neither side chose to back down today, then at least half of the enormous forces they had painstakingly accumulated over millions of years could perish in the blink of an eye, and beyond those unimaginable losses, who could possibly know how many first-rank sons would fall from both sides before the fighting finally ended!

Hissss~

Another vessel suddenly moved forward through the tense battlefield, but this time it came from behind Arkail rather than from the opposing forces, and after approaching their position, its doors slowly opened.

A figure then emerged from within the vessel and immediately spoke before either side could make another move, "Gentlemen, this is shameful. How can respected leaders such as yourselves resort to settling a disagreement with fists and weapons?"

That person possessed blue skin, while atop his head rested a crown made of ice that immediately distinguished his unusual appearance.

"Glatheon..." the Gravity Behemoth muttered upon recognizing him, his brows furrowing slightly as his attention shifted toward the newcomer.

"What exactly are you trying to do here, Ice One?" The Syndicate's representative chuckled as he looked toward Glatheon. "Take Arkail with you and leave if you're capable of doing so. Otherwise, go back to your place in the rear and stay out of this."

"I can't do that, but I do have a simple proposal that could resolve this entire situation amicably and rationally without immediately resorting to battle." Glatheon raised his hand and gestured toward Gravor. "Let me sit down with Lord Gravor here and properly explain our point of view to him," then he shifted his gesture toward the Syndicate's representative and continued, "while you sit down with Lord Arkail and take all the time you need to explain your offers, your threats, and your own point of view to him... Afterward we'll simply let the two of them make their own decisions about what happens next."

Then Glatheon smiled slightly as he finished presenting his proposal. "If they still decide on war afterward, then war it is and no one can complain that another path wasn't offered, but if one of them decides to change sides after hearing everything... then this day will end happily for one of the two sides without any losses whatsoever. What do you think? People's lives aren't toys for us to throw away so easily, gentlemen!"

"......"