Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2412 Finding the self

Mid Sector 100—Planet Orgenus.

Bzzzt~

A figure emerged from the Space Gate, possessing a long, drooping nose that resembled an elephant's trunk, while beneath his broad forehead sat three separate eyes, each one with its own distinct eyebrow positioned directly above it.

His body was visibly plump and heavy at first glance, yet the powerful aura continuously emanating from him made it perfectly clear that this seemingly bulky body possessed tremendous physical strength, while his luxurious clothing gave him an unmistakably regal and authoritative appearance, and the confident expression covering his face only reinforced everything his body, aura, and attire already suggested!

Then, only a few moments after his arrival, someone approached calmly from the side with an equally calm expression and gave him a small, polite nod in greeting. "We welcome Centennial Planetary Emperor Vilvol."

"...?" The Emperor immediately shifted his attention toward the person who had come to receive him and slowly looked him up and down from head to toe. "You know who I am, yet you don't bow before me? Do you possess such a high status that you don't need to?"

"Oh." The young human revealed a faint, relaxed smile upon hearing the question, showing no sign that the Emperor's tone had disturbed him. "I don't hold any particularly prestigious position or anything like that within the Empire, and I'm still trying to make my own way, but my name is Donald Burton. I hope you'll remember it, perhaps I'll manage to become someone important one day."

"...." The anger that had begun appearing on the Emperor's face instantly vanished the moment he heard that surname, replaced first by unmistakable astonishment and then by an expression filled with pride as he nodded vigorously in acknowledgment.

They had actually sent someone belonging to the Burton family itself to personally receive him upon his arrival. Regardless of the young man's current position, the meaning behind sending someone from that family was obvious to him; they clearly valued his presence and regarded his arrival with tremendous importance!!

"Please, this way." The young man calmly gestured toward a particular path ahead of them before beginning to lead the way through the palace roads without any unnecessary haste. "The Deputy Marshal is waiting for you at the appointed time."

"The Deputy Marshal?" The Emperor's newly improved mood immediately changed again as he furrowed his brows deeply upon hearing the title. "Marshal Caesar isn't going to meet us personally?!" His ears moved forcefully as his dissatisfaction became increasingly obvious. "Does he no longer consider Mid Sector 100 important enough to deserve his attention, or what?"

Ten years ago, after the tremendous incidents involving Renara and Hedrick and everything that followed them, any further fighting taking place within Mid Sector 100 had effectively become nothing more than child's play and sheer stupidity compared to the scale of what was happening elsewhere.

Caesar's military campaign, which had originally been intended to attack four Millennial Empires and completely eliminate the Seven Thrones Empire, consequently came to a complete halt before fulfilling those original objectives... and what replaced the battles and military advances wasn't peace or inactivity, but a series of extremely fierce negotiations.

Those negotiations were personally led by the famous Foreign Affairs Advisor Glatheon, who appeared in Mid Sector 100 immediately after the incident involving the two galaxies and wasted no time before beginning his work throughout the sector.

The final result of those negotiations was something that would previously have required an enormous amount of warfare to achieve: all five empires surrendered over the course of only three years, and the entire process was completed without a single projectile ever needing to be fired.

Yes... even the Seven Thrones Empire, which had been fighting and resisting for centuries and had accumulated such a long history of conflict, eventually surrendered as well and officially announced its accession to the Cradle Empire!!

After successfully subjugating all of the Millennial Empires and completing the most important part of his task in the sector, Glatheon left Mid Sector 100 and began moving throughout all the territories belonging to His Majesty Robin Burton in order to bring their different positions and viewpoints closer together, leaving Mid Sector 100 itself in Caesar's hands so that the First Marshal could personally continue what remained.

And what remained for Caesar was the continued subjugation of the Centennial Empires, the multi-planetary empires, and even the smaller planetary kingdoms and various trade alliances, while simultaneously interfering with the Syndicate's positions throughout the sector whenever necessary... Or, to describe his objective more accurately and directly, Caesar intended to turn the entirety of Mid Sector 100 into territory completely belonging to him.

And in order to accomplish that objective without wasting unnecessary time moving between countless powers and repeating the same negotiations over and over again, Caesar's call to everyone had been remarkably short, direct, and purposeful: I don't have time to personally make offers to every single one of you individually, so come to me and offer your allegiance, or I'll come to you myself.

It was an unmistakably clear message carrying an equally explicit threat that left very little room for anyone to misunderstand Caesar's intentions, and under the current circumstances surrounding Mid Sector 100, it was more than enough.

After all the Millennial Empires had been successfully subjugated and the Cradle Empires openly revealed an official backer possessing such overwhelming power and influence, there was simply no longer any meaningful room for continued fighting or resistance. Over the following years, the various remaining powers throughout the sector began arriving one after another of their own accord, coming to hear the terms being offered to them and, once those terms were accepted, formally recite the oath of allegiance.

And today, one of those powers had come to Planet Orgenus to do exactly that... but apparently, the Marshal he had expected to meet wasn't even here!

"It's nothing personal," Donald replied calmly, showing no particular reaction to the Emperor's dissatisfaction. "His Excellency the Marshal announced within the inner circles that he was taking an open-ended leave and handed all of his authority and responsibilities over to the Deputy before departing. No one knows where he is right now... except perhaps the Shadow Swords."

"....?" The Emperor furrowed his brows deeply upon hearing those unexpected words, clearly finding the information even stranger than the Marshal's absence itself. "The Marshal handed over all of his authority and ran away? ...Is it really normal or appropriate for you to tell someone like me such information so casually?"

"His Excellency the Marshal is on leave. His Excellency the Marshal has no enemies he needs to run away from, nor does he have any responsibility weighing upon him that he needs to escape from. He's the one who put this Empire back on its feet in the midst of its greatest crises and despite everything that happened to us!" Donald suddenly stopped walking as he finished those words and turned to stare directly into the Emperor's face with a serious expression, causing the Emperor himself to stop where he stood as well.

12:47

Then, after that brief moment of seriousness, Donald revealed a small smile and resumed walking along the palace road as though the matter had already been settled. "In any case, His Excellency Deputy Peon is no lower in status or experience, so you should treat him exactly as you would treat the Marshal himself."

"Peon?" the Emperor repeated quietly to himself as soon as he heard that familiar name.

Of course he knew exactly who that was. Peon was also one of Robin Burton's adopted sons, and more importantly, the supreme commander responsible for all of the Empire's special forces!

Then seriousness gradually returned to the Emperor's face as he continued following Donald. "...His Excellency the Deputy is certainly more than sufficient to receive us, of course, but... don't any of you know when the Marshal is expected to return?"

"No." Donald answered simply as he continued moving forward without slowing his steps. "We don't know when he'll return, but I don't think he has the time to come back specifically for you." Then he cast a brief glance backward toward the Emperor and continued in the same calm tone, "If I were in your position, I wouldn't waste my time waiting for him. I'd swear allegiance before His Excellency Deputy Peon, because the starfield you currently inhabit is our next target."

Gulp

"That's exactly why I'm here!!" The Emperor forcibly swallowed as the meaning behind Donald's words struck him, then quickly continued, "...I've heard a great deal about the Marshal before coming here, and from everything I've heard, he never sounded like the kind of person who would take a vacation at all... Didn't he tell any of you why he suddenly decided to leave? Perhaps he's sick or something like that?"

"...." Donald hesitated for several moments over whether he should answer such a question at all, his expression showing that he was considering the matter carefully before he eventually released a quiet sigh. "He said he wants to find himself."

"Find himself?" The Emperor became utterly bewildered by the answer, clearly having expected almost anything other than that. "The eldest son of Lord Robin himself says something like that? If even someone in his position needs to find himself, then what does that leave for the rest of us?"

"Precisely because he's the eldest son of His Majesty Lord Robin, he always has to be equal to the tremendous responsibility placed upon him and live up to everything that position requires of him." Donald raised his head slightly as he spoke, his tone carrying unmistakable confidence in the person they were discussing. "The Marshal is a role model for all of us, and when he finally returns... I'm certain he'll be completely different."