Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1830 Fiend in action

”Oh you fiend... you despicable fiend!!” Rantherʼs voice thundered through the chamber as he slammed his hand onto Aroʼs collar with fierce intensity, lifting him slightly off the ground. ”You destroyed it?! Of all the countless heavenly bodies scattered across the sectors, you couldnʼt find a single other target except Draklon?! The planet of the Sylas family, the cradle of their lineage, their legacy! Did it even occur to you what this would mean?!”

Aro pushed Ranther aside with effortless calm, his movements precise and controlled, and readjusted his uniform. ”I wanted to send a message,” he said, his voice low but carrying over the tense silence in the war room. ”Now that message will reach every single corner of Mid Sector 99 before the day ends.” His tone sharpened, becoming more commanding, more final: ”That no one, absolutely no one, dares to interfere with the Grave Double Centennial Empire!! Everyone will know.”

Ranther ground his teeth, rage boiling inside him. What had happened was done; there was no turning back, no amount of regret would fix the destruction. ”...And Sylas?” he spat through clenched teeth. ”What will he do when he finds out about the attack? Has he... already witnessed it?”

”When he finds out? hehe.” Aroʼs lips curled into a sly, almost casual smirk, and he let out a quiet, low chuckle. Then he returned his attention fully to the live feed, watching the chaos that still roiled through the remains of Draklon with cold, calculating eyes.

In truth, Aro had secretly arranged with the Shadow Swords and Wade to insert several elite imperial guards into the battlefield. Their objective was simple: seize every salvageable treasure, every vault, every piece of sensitive documentation from the wreckage before anyone else could intervene. They moved with astonishing speed and precision, securing a sizable portion of resources before detection forced a swift retreat.

Now, Flood Note fighter ships scoured the planetary debris at incredible velocities, dodging massive floating rocks and molten streams, extracting what they could from the shattered planet before it disintegrated into dust and energy. All the while, enemy ships, several Nexus State operatives, and even World Cataclysm events tried desperately to stop them-but it was already too late.

This was no longer a battle in the conventional sense. Supremacy Note and Destruction Note fleets had already withdrawn from the area, leaving only the cleanup operation underway, meticulous and methodical, yet terrifying in its efficiency.

”What... what are you laughing at?” Rantherʼs voice cracked with fury, the urge to physically throttle Aro rising inside him. He turned sharply, shouting to pierce the tense air: ”What is this horned bastard laughing at now?!”

”He laughs at your question regarding Guardian Sylas, my lord,” answered Wing Commander Howard, his face glistening with the thick, translucent sweat of tension. ”He was literally on the planet the moment our strike landed.”

”...On that planet?” Rantherʼs eyes widened, his finger instinctively pointing at the remaining debris of Draklon, fragments of what had once been the crown jewel of the Sylas lineage.

Howard nodded. ”Yes. Though our attack was executed with swift precision, the instant our armada appeared in orbit, the Destruction Note and Flood Note crafts engaged the enemy fleets. They didnʼt stop there-they neutralized Nexus State operatives and even managed skirmishes with World Cataclysm experts. Meanwhile, the Supremacy Note ships focused solely on the planet, firing their cannons relentlessly without any flashy maneuvers or side distractions. The goal was singular and clear from the very start...”

Howardʼs tone shifted, laden with awe and a hint of disbelief. ”... Yet somehow, for reasons beyond comprehension, Guardian Sylas emerged from a space portal at the final possible moment, absorbing the brunt of the attack firsthand.”

He leaned closer, voice dropping almost to a whisper as if the numbers themselves were impossible to grasp: ”Ten crafts-each outfitted with ten primary cannons, totaling one hundred massive cannons. Twenty of them were modified, each discharging devastating attacks enhanced by the Corrosion Law and the Purgatory Fire Law.”

Howardʼs eyes trembled as he continued: ”Each of those twenty modified cannons was supported by twenty-five thousand soldiers-the full force we managed to assemble on such short notice. The eighty regular cannons struck with the intensity of a mid-tier World Cataclysm, while each of the twenty modified cannons delivered a force surpassing the peak of any World Cataclysm ever recorded... A destructive power teetering on the edge of a Nexus State.”

”...” Even Rantherʼs eyes widened, his pupils stretching as if they could absorb every terrifying detail unfolding before him. The devastation, the chaos, the unimaginable scale of destruction-it was almost too much for a single mind to process.

”In that single attack wave alone, more than 35 million Pearls of energy were consumed,” Howard continued, his voice tense, trembling slightly under the weight of the numbers. ”All of it-completely burned out, gone in an instant. Never-never in the entire recorded history of space wars-has there been a single offensive wave capable of consuming this magnitude of energy. And not just energy... this was enough to obliterate a medium-sized planet in the Mid Sector. Never before has a single assault resulted in such catastrophic devastation.”

”...Twenty cannons, each with power approaching a Nexus State, supported by the Laws of Corrosion and Purgatory Fire, and eighty other cannons, all far stronger than the main cannons of ordinary motherships. If this level of force doesnʼt completely annihilate a planet, then what conceivable force could?” Ranther exhaled, the tension pressing down on his chest, as he forced himself to observe the devastation through the projected display.

At that moment, a sharp sting struck his heart. He cast a quick glance at Aro... Would that madman, that calculating genius, have done something like this to him if Ranther hadnʼt chosen to heed Lord Humanʼs words and join them? Nothing-absolutely nothing-was outside the realm of possibility for Aro. His disdain for direct wars was infamous; he preferred negotiation, diplomacy, and manipulation first. But when provoked, when the spark was struck, the results were absolute, and catastrophic.

Then Rantherʼs mind clicked to another concern. ”Ah-what happened with Guardian Sylas?”

”He survived, unfortunately,” the woman with the feathered crown spoke this time-the ruler of the Exile Peacock Wing. Her voice, steady but filled with tension, carried the weight of authority. ”The shots did strike the city where he appeared directly. But the rest were distributed across multiple key regions on the planet. The combined wave had the potential to destroy the entire planet, but it wasnʼt enough to inflict significant damage on him.”

”.....?!” Rantherʼs disbelief froze him in place.

Did he just hear that correctly? A Guardian-someone of immense power, a master of a Seventh-Stage Law-survived... unfortunately? Shouldnʼt it have been impossible for him to survive such overwhelming force? Just how precise, how immense, must the explosion have been to allow such a thing to happen? Yet, thinking deeper, the difference between a Nexus State Expert and a Guardian was significant-but not insurmountable. Ten peak Nexus State fighters could theoretically restrain a low-level Guardian, yes. And those twenty cannons with power nearing a Nexus State-if focused entirely on Sylasʼs body-they would undoubtedly strike with incredible force. They could remove limbs, inflict crippling damage, or even kill him outright. Yet here he

was, still standing.

”...After that, Sylas charged from the remnants of the planet like a tempest unleashed. He attacked our fleets with precision and unparalleled speed, destroying a Supremacy Note Mothership and three Destruction Note support ships before our forces could even coordinate a proper retreat,” another Wing Commander reported, his tone both awed and fearful.

”...” Ranther nodded several times, slowly digesting the information. It was normal. No fleet, no matter its firepower or size, could hope to confront a Guardian head-on.

A Guardian would infiltrate between ships, carve paths of destruction, and strike with precision and velocity. The only viable strategy was retreat- wherever the Guardian appeared, that was the safest choice.

But...

”Where is he now?” Rantherʼs expression darkened, tightening into a scowl.

”He chased our ships in chaotic, unpredictable patterns until they scattered in every direction. Then he turned toward the nearest planet under his control. Two of our fleets were stationed there, enforcing a blockade and bombarding it with secondary cannons,” Aro said, moving the platform to reveal a new, horrifying scene. ”Our forces there withdrew as well after one Destruction Note unit sustained heavy damage and seven Flood Note units collapsed under

his hand. But Sylas did not pursue them further. He saved that planet, then moved on to another”

”Youʼre saying heʼs acting like a mobile defense force?” Ranther asked, incredulously.

If anyone else were in his position, and had seen their homeworld explode in

such a fashion, they would have immediately stormed the heart of the enemy capital and utterly destroyed it in retaliation. The logical path would have ended at Apocalypse Planet, not moving tactically to reduce pressure on his

own citizens.

”Guardian Sylas... he truly is not someone to be underestimated,” Ranther murmured, his voice low, almost a whisper-but filled with heavy respect and

fear.