Chapter 2255

2255 - Sleeping in Honey

Mid Sector 99 — Capital of the Millennium Eternal Chaos Empire

The Throne Hall was dimly lit as usual, majestic as usual… but it was gloomy, weighed down by an unusually heavy aura.

"…." The Guardians, Omis and Omira, were silent, watching something.

A three-dimensional hologram was moving within the vast Throne Hall, depicting an enormous number of vehicles—massive ones surrounded by smaller, more numerous ones.

The vehicles were not of a single type; for instance, the Note of Destruction family was at the center of the scene, but it was not alone. Around it were other clusters, each cluster composed of dozens of fleets of the same model and colors.

Normally, this would have caused accidents and a lack of coordination, but the scene before them proved the opposite. The Note swarm moved proudly in the center, and everyone followed it obediently.

During these recorded drills, whenever a virtual target appeared that required engagement, a fleet from the Note swarm would separate, head towards one of the nearby swarms, and enter its center. The Note of Supremacy-4 would remain in the middle, while the ten Note of Destruction-4 vehicles distributed themselves in a highly organized manner within the swarm, forming what appeared to be joints.

As the Note of the Flood spreads everywhere, forming something akin to blood vessels and muscles...

The sole fleet of the Note family enters any other squadron like a soul entering a body and reviving it—a strange spread and an even stranger tactic. But once the recorded practical training begins, something even more bizarre occurs... The efficiency of that squadron rises unnaturally. And when two, three, or even four squadrons fight in the same manner, their coordination is seamless, and the issues of grudges, self-interest, and all those problems vanish.

The problems that destroyed the alliance of the Six Greats in adjacent Sector 101 after they gathered 11,000 fleets, the problems that made them like chaff, disintegrating at the first turn—

Were nowhere to be seen in what they were witnessing now!

"Those squadrons... each one has dozens of Admirals and countless officers and soldiers, and each squadron belongs to a Wing that was once an empire, bearing enmity with everyone else present in that display." Omis furrowed his brows.

Omira added, "...How did they manage to fuse them into a single system like this? Knowing that each Wing retains its own Admirals, Marshals, and soldiers—they didn't just take the vehicles... Did Lord Robin invent something beyond human nature?"

"His Majesty truly did something," a voice came from the side at that moment. "I experienced it myself one day."

"Oh?" The two brothers looked in a certain direction. "Is there really a secret?" Then one of them continued, "What is it? What made those Wings surrender like that?"

"It's a trap."

In that corner, someone sat on a small chair in the darkness as if being punished, his voice harsh as if he had been drinking sand all the time, his skin covered with soft green scales like those of snakes, and his yellow slit eyes were terrifying.

"...It's a honey trap that anyone who deals with His Majesty for the first time falls into."

"What is a honey trap?" Omis raised his eyebrows slightly.

"As the name suggests." The figure in the shadows leaned forward a little, resting on his knees, revealing Servon, the Seventh Prince of the Great Serpent Empire, smiling. "...His Majesty sets before you a huge bowl filled with honey, brimming with benefits, innovations, and wealth, and you, like an obedient fly, will think he's a fool and jump into it of your own free will, only to realize over time that it's a trap, a very cruel trap, and that His Majesty was never stupid or overly generous."

"A trap of what kind? Is he putting something into those technologies?" Omira straightened in his seat.

"Yes, he's putting something extremely insidious." Servon looked down. "He puts into them a power you've never seen, a craft you've never heard of, and horizons you've never dreamed of... Everything he gives you makes you stronger and richer, and makes you see a world you never thought you'd see, and this plants something inside you—it plants an addiction for more, and it plants dependence."

"...It makes you ask yourself: If I'm just a follower and he gave me all this, then what is he saving for himself? If mere joining earned me all this, then what will I get if I please him? If he made me this powerful, then what will happen if I anger him?!"

Then he chuckled weakly. "I occupied myself while in the Young Belt searching for tales of His Majesty's past, tracing his steps to learn from him—how someone born into a trivial family like that could reach what he reached—and this trap was one of the things that amazed me the most."

"...Do you know how many times people have laughed at His Majesty because of him? They said he had been tricked, or that he didn't know how to negotiate, or that he didn't understand the value of what he held, or that he was a fool and should have kept those things for himself—starting from his negotiations with the late Jalan Bradley over the sixth-grade talismans, all the way to his recent negotiations with Lord Ranther and the Wings. Every time,

he lost!"

"But no one noticed... that everyone who

won

against him later became his greatest supporters and closest servants, without a moment's thought of defiance... With the honey trap, the trap of generosity, extravagance, and foolishness, Lord Robin built his boundless empires."

"And you came to warn us about that honey trap?" Omis frowned deeply. "Do you think we need what your master has? And that we will become his servants like you?"

"And are you worthy of being his servant like me?!" Servon raised his voice slightly. "Second, yes, you need what His Majesty possesses; everyone needs it, but he needs no one!"

"Haha, amazing. It seems that working as a servant for years really does drive one mad." Omira laughed, then waved his hand calmly. "Go on then, state your offers again and pour more honey; perhaps we'll catch it."

"No, the honeymoon is over, and it's time to chew salt." Servon chuckled maliciously. "Keeping me here was a bad move. I warned you repeatedly—Supreme General Haros was trying to hush this up. From his perspective, he didn't want to create major problems for His Majesty, but since those maneuvers have begun, it means news of my detention has reached him."

"Oh... news of a servant's detention has reached His Maaajesty?" Omis laughed. "That's terrifying."

"..." Servon looked down again with a fearful expression. "You just don't know... you don't know..."

Images of Robin standing before Helen on coronation day returned to his memory... Yes, terrifying, terrifying when someone tries to trample on his dignity.

"...." The twins frowned heavily.

Knock

Knock

"Your Majesties, Lord Glacion, ruler of the Vast Ice Wing, along with an escort, requests a meeting."