2298 - The Obvious
"Y-Your Majesty!!" Aru sprang up from his seat, but suddenly winced in pain. "Ugh..." He slowed down as he stood.
"Your Majesty!!!" Flora placed both hands over her mouth, even forgetting to help her husband.
"Sit down." Robin waved twice at Aru, his expression still annoyed.
Then, with a light gesture, he produced an ordinary chair, sat on it facing Aru, and looked back. "What do you mean by 'calm down'? Didn't you see that technique?"
After finishing his words, Robin waved lightly, and the Golden Door behind Richard and Glacion closed.
"Hello." Richard waved at Aru with a smile, then dragged his body and lay down beside Aru, letting out a relieved sigh.
As for Glacion, he turned to face Robin. "Sir, what I saw was your technique. Why were you that hostile?"
"What do you mean I was hostile?" Robin raised his voice slightly. "Didn't we leave him with his head still on his body? Do you know how much restraint I needed to leave like that?"
"...?" Aru was puzzled by the conversation, so he leaned toward Richard and asked in a low voice: "Who upset His Majesty to this extent?"
"Arkail the Temporal." Richard replied with his eyes closed.
"What—?!" Aru was shocked and began reviewing what had been said again. "Ahhh..."
"Sir, as someone who has witnessed your power before, I know how compassionate and big-hearted you were when you did not impose any punishment on him," Glacion spoke quickly. "But someone who does not know you cannot be burdened with such responsibility. It is only natural for them to have some doubt."
"Oh, so I am the problem. I should have first explained to him the details of my strengths." Robin raised both hands, then looked at Aru. "Say something!"
"Yes!" Aru replied hastily. "Yes, this is not right!!"
"..." Flora reached out and began patting Aru's back slowly, sensing his heartbeat and stress levels rising.
As for Robin, he looked at Glacion. "Did Zolan and Sevar float around to everyone one by one, showing off their powers?"
"No, sir, but they do not need to." Glacion shook his head. "Each of them has publicly demonstrated their power more than once, and each has immense strength backing them—whether it is the Syndicate or the academies."
Robin snapped his fingers. "That is it." Then he continued: "Before Zolan appeared publicly and killed Adult Space Beasts, would any Behemoth have welcomed him warmly and sat down to listen to him talk about his strengths? And before Sevar exposed the Three Behemoths in front of everyone, did anyone take him seriously and respect his master law?"
"...." Glacion shook his head.
"Words are useless, Glacion," Robin waved his hand. "I've shown him glimpses, but he didn't care. Even if I sat here until morning explaining my power in detail, I wouldn't get what I want. The most I'd achieve is that he'd think he's extremely important because I took all this time and effort to convince him I'm strong, and then he'd start trying to negotiate with me head-on, even knowing I'm the stronger one. Why? Because I'm trying to win him over, and then he'd act like he's the last piece of candy in the market and get cocky!"
Then he shouted at Aru: "Am I going to let him get cocky with me?!"
"Hahaha, no one lives to get cocky with His Majesty!!" Aru nearly passed out.
"But this way of thinking is dangerous, Your Majesty." Glacion furrowed his brows. "You are indeed formidable thanks to your relationship with the Cosmic Elder and your leadership of the Cosmic Academy, but those are ultimately external powers—they command respect, not submission... According to your line of thinking, you need a great event that makes everyone know you and fear you because of it."
"And that's exactly what will happen." Robin waved his hand. "Nihari's promotion won't be delayed anyway."
"I don't know what that is, but what about what happens before that?" Glacion spoke quickly. "For example, what will you do about the Syndicate's army if the Behemoth of Time refuses to help?"
"Hmph." Robin frowned deeper. "The Syndicate sent precisely five thousand fleets to force the Behemoth of Time to withdraw all his forces, whether for defense or a full retreat. Either way, he must pull his troops with him, leaving the Sorcerer, his sons, and whatever remains of his army loose in Mid Sector 99—at the expense of my interests."
Then he slapped his thigh. "A dirty trick, and the dirtiest part is that they treat me as if I have nothing but money and connections, as if without Arkail I'd be a fish on a chopping board, and that Sector 99 will slip from my grasp just because they decided to remove Arkail from the picture... What an insult!"
Then he looked away in anger. "I hope Arkail refuses my offer and retreats entirely. I hope this with all my heart, just to show the Syndicate's dogs that he's merely an ornament to complete my prestige, and that even without him, I will do what I want, whenever I want!"
"..." Glacion's frozen heart pounded heavily. Even he, as a Guardian and a two-thousand-year emperor, was not accustomed to this level of arrogance and grand talk. "May I ask what you intend to do in the event the Behemoth of Time withdraws? Perhaps I could offer some advice with my limited experience."
"There is nothing to advise. I will do something clear, and I will do it to send a direct message to everyone who wishes to be my enemy." Robin turned to look ahead with eyes that sparked. "The Syndicate's Squadron will arrive in the operational zone in ten years, its goal being to neutralize Arkail and force me to face Zargul and his sons directly without anyone's help, isn't that right?"
"…." Glacion nodded.
*Thump*
Robin slapped his thighs hard. "Then Zargul will die before the Syndicate's Squadron arrives, and this is a free promise from me, Robin Burton. I want to see what those bastards will do after traveling all that distance for nothing!"
"What—?!" Glacion's eyes widened to their fullest.
"Ughh..!!" Aru clutched his heart, feeling as if he had aged twice his age in an instant.
"Hehe…" Richard laughed while still lying down.