2253 - The New Front
"...And support is what you will receive." Marlik spoke with a strange smile.
Beside him, both Zargul and Darvion exchanged glances for a moment, then returned to scrutinizing that terrifying face once more.
Marlik the Butcher... He is a transformed human with a type of Blood of Giant Sea Snails coursing through his body, yet the effect of that blood only appears in his thick, braided pink hair. Aside from that, he looks like any ordinary man in his thirties.
Thin, wearing loose white trousers and open sandals, and over that, a white and red coat that looks like he picked it up randomly from a battlefield... The coat is open, revealing his body beneath—rough, chiseled abdominal muscles, and scattered injury sites covered with bandages.
Other than that, Marlik was toying with a long sword, another sword hanging from his trousers, and several swords lying at his feet.
He himself was sitting on the throne in a strange posture, one foot touching the ground and the other resting on the throne, one hand leaning on the throne and the other resting on his foot, cradling one of the swords.
But what was truly terrifying was not all those details...
It was that smile on his face.
A small, relaxed smile, accompanied by a drowsy expression from weary eyes—anyone who didn't know him would think he was a bachelor uncle who loved surfing. Anyone who didn't know him would never imagine the atrocities this man had committed.
What Darvion the Accursed had done in his life—sacrificing innocents and children for his power—was child's play compared to the person who ran the criminal underworld of the entire universe!
And that was the terrifying part...
That person seemed so at ease; it was said he slept like a baby every night... That person appeared as if the Mysterious Law of Karma couldn't find its way to him!
Then Marlik continued after a brief pause, running his hand through his smooth hair, "There are 5,000 fleets heading to Sector 98 and the same number heading to Sector 102 to officially join you. Every fleet is filled with soldiers and admirals, and those within them will listen to your orders," then he turned left and right with the same smile, "which will, of course, be plans to fight the Empires of the Cradle and the Grave, without any side missions."
"Ah, of course, of course!!" Zargul leaned forward on his chair until he was nearly sitting on the edge, "But, 5,000 fleets, really? All of them coming to participate in the war?"
Zargul repeated the Butcher's words in the form of a question, still trying to confirm what he had just heard.
Five thousand fleets is the standard number that the Behemoths possess. Some have slightly fewer or slightly more, but the total always hovers around this figure.
This is simply because it is the ideal number required to control an entire sector.
Any less, and the Behemoth would be unable to deploy its subordinate forces across every corner of its star fields. Any more, and the vessels would be useless.
After all, according to the Cosmic Elder's laws, they cannot invade another sector anyway.
So when it's said that reinforcements equivalent to a Behemoth's full strength will be sent... something is wrong!
And also, for each of them? Meaning the reinforcements amount to ten thousand fleets?!?
"Of course, they're all coming to join the war, you fat-headed one." Marlik laughed, "But if I were you, I'd start making plans on how to use them. These fleets were haphazardly gathered from forces that couldn't pay their dues."
"..." Zargul and Darvion fell silent, then nodded.
This meant it was a patchwork army with no unified Arrays and no teamwork. Some of those vessels would be very old, others new... It was still a massive force, but they would have to do a lot of work to utilize it properly.
"With that support, I will be able to easily sweep Mid Sector 101, then Mid Sector 100, and if necessary, Mid Sector 99 as well." Darvion clasped his hands in gratitude.
All his forces had been destroyed in the war; he had only two or three hundred fleets left within his galaxy, which he dared not deploy. That had bound his hands and feet in the war against the Six Greats and Their Fragile Alliance, and his sons were still wreaking havoc there, but their actions would not grant them any real control over the land.
Those fleets had arrived just in time!!
"No!" Zargul slammed his hand on the armrest of his seat. "Mid Sector 99 is mine. I will turn all its inhabitants into materials for my incantations; they will be fuel for my Arrays!" Then he looked in a certain direction with eyes blazing with anger. "We must rid the universe's children of the evil and tyranny of the Cosmic Elder and his followers!"
"Heh~" Marlik let out a small laugh at the hypocrisy of what he had just heard. "With such great support, I expect much from both of you." Then he showed a slightly serious expression. "The Archon… expects much from you both."
"…"
"There is a front gathering and strengthening, a front where the All-Knowing God is its leader, and under him are Robin Burton and Zolan, and under them are Kaylis and Arkail. That front is expanding rapidly and unexpectedly; within a few centuries, their control has stretched across dozens of sectors, where they have touched the Behemoth of Relativity to the east and the Behemoth of Oppression to the west. They would have continued... had the Archon not decided to intervene."
"..." Zargul swallowed his saliva, and Darvion furrowed his brows tightly.
The All-Knowing God is a legendary entity who supported countless geniuses in missions to destroy the universe. The Archon himself was once one of them, but it is said that he escaped his control and decided to live in peace.
Of course, some doubted the phrase that combined the Archon and peace together, but compared to what the All-Knowing God does, the Archon's existence inside his hideout, wherever it may be, is the very definition of peace!
If he came out, he would destroy them all.