Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1266 1266: First Army Gifts-1

”And thereʼs really no need to even mention the Third Army!” Caesar barked with a mixture of exasperation and dark amusement, slamming his palm against his thigh.

”The sheer scale of their advantage is absurd! Just look at Nihari alone—that single planet holds tens of billions of mutants and hybrids. And when you factor in the populations of the other colonized worlds, it becomes clear that almost every planet in the system has some form of hybridized or mutated species living on it. Itʼs like dealing with an unending swarm of ants.”

His tone turned sharper, frustration rising.

”Aro, the commander of the Third Army, currently oversees a population thatʼs approaching a trillion individuals. A trillion! And within that mind-boggling number lies an endless ocean of genetic diversity—hundreds of distinct species, each with unique capabilities, traits, and latent affinities he can exploit when choosing his soldiers.”

He closed his fist and leaned forward, voice low and intense.

”And letʼs not forget the most dangerous part: the man has two racial upgrade devices. Not one, two! Whenever he finds a race he deems valuable—whether due to their strength, speed, adaptability, or resistance—he doesnʼt just train them. No, he elevates them. He drowns them in bloodlines that complement their traits and forcibly evolves them into something monstrous.”

Caesar raised two fingers, slowly and with weight.

”Two generations—thatʼs all it takes. Just two full breeding cycles, and he can produce an elite army perfectly suited for planetary warfare. Offense, defense, intelligence gathering, infiltration, logistics—you name it, he can breed for it. I swear, Father, Iʼm starting to think you made the Third Army too powerful... and worse, I think you were right to give it to Aro. I still donʼt know how he manages to maintain control over such a chaotic, volatile force without it imploding.”

A deep sigh escaped him. He looked away, muttering.

”In contrast... my First Army is just—normal. My soldiers arenʼt disposable monsters like the demons in the Second Army, nor are they evolved mutants with natural affinity to heavenly laws. What natural advantage do I even have?”

He laughed dryly and shook his head.

”Maybe... maybe the only slight benefit I have is the Nihari humans. Theyʼve adapted to high-gravity conditions, so their physiques are naturally tough, dense, durable. But what good is that when theyʼre being vaporized in a blink by firestorms or swept away by oceanic floods?”

He gestured vaguely, tone laced with bitterness.

”Even in terms of gear—equipment, warships, artifact matrices—everything is distributed equally. No priority allocations. No special enhancements. I get the exact same resources the other armies receive.”

Robin blinked slowly, an amused smile playing on his lips.

”Oh? Funny you mention that. I just handed out three merged laws to the Third Army earlier this month. One went directly to Aro, and the other two were embedded within the army.”

”...”

Caesarʼs body went rigid. His mind stalled for half a second before his left eyelid began twitching violently.

”You... You did what?! Tell me youʼve prepared something amazing for me, or I swear this entire throne room is going to end up in flames.”

”Haha, of course I have!” Robin burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. He clutched his side and bent forward slightly, tears nearly welling in his eyes. Of all the people in this vast empire—above the earth or beneath the heavens—only Caesar had the gall and the freedom to speak to him like this. Not even Billy could do so.

Once the laughter settled, Robin raised his head and gave Caesar a warm smile, his voice softening.

”So? What do you want first? Your personal gift... or the gift I prepared for your army?”

”For me?” Caesar blinked, suspicion flaring in his eyes.

”What could you possibly have for me? I already wield the Flame of Death, remember?”

”Iʼll take that as your choice then~” Robin chuckled again, but the humor quickly faded. His expression turned serious.

”Let me just confirm something first... You still intend to keep the Flame of Death, right? Youʼre sure you donʼt want me to overwrite it with something stronger? I could personally extract it and replace it with another powerful force. Something like the Flame of Time, perhaps.”

”Forget it,” Caesar said, waving his hand with a playful but firm gesture.

”Youʼd snatch it away from me right when Iʼm finally getting the hang of it? No chance. Iʼll hold onto the Flame of Death until the bitter end.”

Robin gazed deeply into his sonʼs eyes for a few heavy seconds before reaching into the air and drawing out a large metallic tablet—thick, dark, and emanating a powerful aura. Without saying a word, he handed it to Caesar.

”Hm? Whatʼs this oppressive darkness?” Caesar frowned as he took the object. If he had already refused a core change, then what in the world could his father be handing him now?

But the moment his spiritual sense touched the tablet—activating the transfer of encoded information—his eyes widened in horror.

”The... The Major Law of Death?!”

He yanked his soul sense away instantly, staggering slightly as he tried to regain control of his breath.

”Hah... Hah...”

Robin remained utterly still, his expression cold and unreadable as he watched Caesar struggle to regulate his breathing, to suppress the overwhelming surge of death energy that had flooded his soul. He simply stood there, arms crossed, observing in silence.

Nearly a full minute passed before Caesar exhaled deeply and looked back up, expression thunderstruck.

”Youʼre giving me the actual Major Law of Death? Are you insane?!”

Robin finally blinked, his voice tinged with quiet admiration.

”One minute... Incredible. Your death affinity has grown tremendously. Based on what I just witnessed, Iʼd say you can now endure exposure levels above 12%?”

”I was practically dying in front of you and you call it ʼaffinityʼ? No—what I have is just raw tolerance, nothing more.” Caesar groaned, shaking his head. He then waved the heavy tablet slightly.

”But seriously, what is this? You havenʼt explained anything yet.”

”During my seclusion, I truly exhausted every possible avenue in an attempt to find a cure—or even just a remedy—for the lingering side effects that have been tormenting you,” Robin began, his voice low but filled with unmistakable weight. ”But alas, every solution I discovered ended up being external in nature: specialized equipment, enchanted weapons, intricate support arrays... superficial aids. And thatʼs just not befitting of my Supreme general, my eldest son. You cannot step onto a battlefield shackled to tools. You must command, not depend. It would degrade your image... reduce the awe others feel in your presence.”

He inhaled slowly, a distant look flickering in his eyes.

”So, I considered increasing your resonance with the Law of Death itself, hoping that might harmonize with your body and ease the burden... but that attempt backfired miserably. If I tried to force a deeper connection, you would began to resemble an undead creature—something neither alive nor fully dead.”

Then Robin pointed at Caesar, the motion deliberate.

”In the end, I abandoned all other paths and chose to give you this instead.”

”Youʼre handing me the complete and unabridged major Law of Death?” Caesarʼs tone was incredulous, his brows furrowed.

”What am I supposed to do with it? My current merged law isnʼt built to contain the full, raw major law—it only includes fragments tailored to blend with fire.”

”Thatʼs for you to figure out,” Robin said calmly, lifting his shoulders in a slight shrug.

”Iʼve been in possession of the full Law of Death ever since the cave incident all those years ago. And yet, I never once recorded it—never wrote a single rune. But for your sake, I buried my concerns and pressed forward.”

His eyes glinted with a rare, proud seriousness.

”It took me seven full years to transcribe it all, just to the fourth stage.”

Robin gestured toward the dark metal tablet resting in Caesarʼs hands.

”Now itʼs yours. Take it. Immerse yourself in it. Let it challenge you. Let it devour you if it must—because in return, it might offer glimpses into something greater. Perhaps it will unlock new realms of techniques. Perhaps it will reshape your understanding of death and flame alike. Or maybe... just reading it enough times will allow your soul and body to better endure its pull.”

He let out a quiet sigh.

”I couldnʼt help you in the ways I wished to. So this... this is all I can offer now. Youʼll have to find your own way forward.”

Caesar stood silent for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the tablet. The pressure emanating from it made his soul quiver.

”...Thank you, Father. Iʼll see what I can make of it.”

Robin gave a faint, satisfied nod.

”Good.” He clapped once, breaking the tension. Then, from within his ring, he pulled forth four more metallic tablets, glowing faintly with restrained power.

”And these...” Robin said, placing them carefully before Caesar, ”are for the First Army.”

”Hmm?” Caesar took them with reverence, both hands open. The moment his soul brushed the first slab, his breath caught.

Eyes wide, he gasped.

”This is—?!”

”These four techniques,” Robin said, voice deepening, ”will serve as the core for our armyʼs elite Special Forces. A foundation for a new generation of warriors who can rival the monsters of the second and third armies.”

He pointed toward the first slab.

”The top one is called Gaseous Flame. Itʼs rooted in the Major Law of Fire, enhanced by a minor law from the Path of Wind.”

”...You combined it with a minor wind law?” Caesarʼs brow arched.

”Not even the major Law?”

Robin chuckled softly, then raised one hand, his index finger glowing faintly.

”Let me show you something.”

With a gentle flick, a white flame appeared on his fingertip—small, silent, and yet radiating immense pressure.

”This,” he said, ”is merely the first stage of the Major Fire Law. The weakest of it.”

Then, his expression sharpened.

”Now watch what happens when I merge in just a sliver of that minor wind law.”

Crackle — Pop — The tiny white flame pulsed violently, then—

SHWOOOOM! — it burst into a howling red inferno, a concentrated stream of flaming energy erupting from Robinʼs fingertip like a cannon blast. It tore through the air like a dragonʼs breath, grazing Caesarʼs cheek before slamming into the wall behind him with an earthshaking BOOOOOM.

”WHAT?!” Caesar spun around, stunned.

This chamber wasnʼt ordinary—it had been forged with imperial-grade alloys, fortified by layered formations designed to withstand divine strikes.

And yet... there was a scratch. A visible one.