2308 - Bad News
Two weeks later — Curse Galaxy
“…Is this news confirmed?” Darvion the Accursed stared at the report with a skeptical expression.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Our spies sent a report, and the Syndicate also sent one.” The person delivering the report bowed toward Darvion, then turned his face back toward Zargul the Sorcerer. “Arkail the Temporal’s forces are withdrawing from the borders of Sector 98 without a doubt, heading toward Middle Sector 96.”
“Hehehe.” Zargul shook his shoulders as he laughed. “It was only a matter of time before he withdrew. Who would hear of the Syndicate’s forces coming and still hold their ground?”
“Perhaps he went to defend Middle Sector 95; he still has time to make that decision.” Darvion cast a sideways glance. “We don’t yet know the depth of his relationship with Lord Robin.”
“No madman would oppose the Syndicate, no matter how tempting the benefits before his eyes.” Zargul waved his hand calmly. “Arkail took a hefty price from that wretched human to attack me, but whatever the price, it’s certainly not enough to oppose the Syndicate. I assure you, he will return like an obedient dog to his galaxy and watch the forces pass right under his nose.”
Then he smiled. "Second, even if he goes mad and tries to intercept them, let him do so gladly... In any case, the army's mission will be accomplished, and the path will be opened for me to strike Middle Sector 99!"
"When will you move?" Darvion asked calmly.
"The moment Arkail the Temporal's forces enter the Buffer Zone between Sectors 97 and 96 Medium." Zargul's eyes gleamed.
"That fast? According to the current timeline, all his forces will leave Middle Sector 97 within two weeks at most!" Darvion exclaimed in surprise. "Won't you wait until the war begins or his return to his galaxy is confirmed?"
"Two weeks is far too long!" Zargul slammed his hand on the armrest of his seat. "This war has dragged on for too long—it has claimed half my army and several of my sons, humiliated me, and dragged my name through the mud... In two weeks, it will all be over. I will personally move with thirty of my sons to strike the stronghold of the Grave Empire and kill whoever stands in our way!"
"..." Darvion turned his gaze forward again and nodded. "Well thought out." Then he seemed to be speaking to himself. "The Syndicate's forces have crossed the devastated territory of Helmor and are now on their way to Mid Sector 105. They will appear there very soon. Once they show up in that cowardly scoundrel's sector, I will personally move to burn the Cradle Empire and everyone in it."
"The Cradle?" Zargul was surprised. "You mean the Bright Galaxy, perhaps."
"No, the Cradle." Darvion corrected with narrowed eyes. "The Bright Galaxy affair ended long ago. The Cradle Empire's continuous support with Pearls and Equipment is what keeps them alive, and what allows those Six Greats to still breathe... and that must stop."
Then he turned to Zargul. "It will also be a decisive blow if we attack the Cradle and the Grave simultaneously. That way, Lord Robin's legitimate representatives will be eliminated in one stroke, and he will become nothing more than a Money Bag with no way to use it. After that... we can search for him and take what is rightfully ours."
Then he stood without waiting for a reply. "I will return to my galaxy to begin preparations. The Syndicate's forces will reach Mid Sector 105 within three to four weeks, and the day after their arrival, you will find me in Mid Sector 100 with my sons."
Zargul stood and shook hands with Darvion. "I will postpone my attack, then. Let us begin together. This will be a move that shakes the entire universe."
*Bang*
"Father!!"
At that moment, a young man entered, his hair covering his right eye.
"The Seventh Brother is dead!!"
"...?!" Darvion jolted.
"...?!" Zargul's expression shifted from enthusiasm to bewilderment in an instant. "Your seventh brother? The brother you sent to erase the True Beginning galaxy in the Accursed Young Belt?!"
"That's him, and he died at the hands of the Crimson Plague!!" The Son rushed forward, carrying a light disk. "Several ships escaped, and they recorded everything. Look!!"
"What nonsense is this?!" Zargul shouted, but he waved his hand, quickly took the disk, and activated it.
*Dooong*
At that moment, a scene that made bodies tremble appeared.
A semi-human youth was using two Wretched World Arrays, each capable of erasing fleets and destroying planets.
But what was happening around him was a terrifying sight—a scene like a nightmare born from hell...
There was a female wearing a crimson armor several meters tall, with two horns and hundreds of long metal braids—braids that lengthened and shortened at will. With those braids, she attacked the two Wretched World Arrays from a distance, while her hands were clasped before her chest, and her body did not even tremble.
On the other side stood a Crimson Giant, over one hundred meters tall, gripping a massive hammer that seemed designed to shatter moons.
That giant rested its hammer on its shoulder and watched without moving, observing the horned female as she ferociously attacked the Two Wretched World Arrays, ready for any unwanted movement.
Beside this epic scene, the Spirit Master had summoned five Spirit Creatures with immense power comparable to World Calamities, and another creature with the strength of the Nexus State, giving them orders to attack the crimson female so he could escape and retreat.
But the scene revealed something even more astonishing...
Dozens of those crimson creatures were tearing the Spirit Creatures apart, not giving them a chance to move left or right.
As for the other dozens, they stood around the Spirit Master himself in a large ring, watching him like a mouse gasping its last breath, waiting patiently.
And the most miserable part of that terrifying scene was that beyond that ring was nothing but a graveyard of spacecraft, the wreckage of thousands of ships, and the limbs and blood of hundreds of thousands of passengers scattered everywhere, as if this was their natural habitat.
The Seventh Son of the Sorcerer Behemoth was the last survivor.
Even if The Braided Female stopped attacking him, and even if that giant didn't land a single blow on him... he wouldn't survive all the Nexus States and World Calamities surrounding him.
And indeed...
The scene didn't last long before one of the braids pierced his heart.