Chapter 2347

2347 - The Permissible Cheat

"…." Robin furrowed his brows tightly and opened his mouth slightly, completely at a loss for how to respond.

He had come to gather some information about Hedrick's brothers and then use a trick he had tried many times before—the Wake-up Slap trick.

He simply uses the most shameless method possible to make the person in front of him open their eyes to reality, even if it comes at the cost of their relationship. The outcome is one of two: either losing the person forever, or gaining a logical individual who understands the new truth.

For Robin, who evolves at a maddening pace compared to the rest of the world, he needs to use that slap often!

But by the truth… he never expected it would pay off today, not with Hedrick!

Hedrick works as his sword alongside Renara? That's illogical!!

Hedrick already had a name and status when he was in the Nexus State. It took Kaylis and twenty of her sons, exhausted, to surround him and capture him. He had wreaked havoc in Sectors 110 through 101, destroying everything in his path without anyone being able to catch him or harm him… and all of this during his short rebellion, not to mention his Subjugation of Sector 110 almost single-handedly and his founding of the Millennium Empire while feeling bored!!

Hedrick is undoubtedly a key figure. He is everything men wish to be in themselves—the pinnacle of an alpha in terms of personality, intelligence, and strength... Convincing someone like him to take the Oath of Loyalty was never part of the plan!

"Hmm," Robin sighed, "Alright then, let's start with the oath. After that, I'll increase your power as I promised."

Robin said this with pain... He had suffered a severe reaction when he removed the limits from Renara and was exhausted for two weeks. In fact, there was something even worse...

When he opened the Gate to Sector Middle 101, toward Kaylis, he felt that the Gate had drained a greater sacrifice from him than usual, and opening it was noticeably heavier. The same thing happened on subsequent trips—traveling became more difficult.

After finishing the day's trips, he was going to seclude himself to see what had happened... He never thought his tongue and boasting would force him into a second experiment!

"Wait!" Hedrick raised his hand, "I have conditions."

"What are they?" Robin furrowed his brows, but this was expected.

Hedrick lowered his hand slowly, "My response, my agreement, was based on the assumption that everything you say is true—that Zavarus and Kiryān have sworn loyalty to you, and that you can make me stronger than Marlik the Butcher... This makes you qualified to earn my services, makes you qualified to help me achieve my dream quickly." Then he smiled, "But what if that's false?"

"Do you want to read some of my memories or something like that?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

"You could just fake them." Hedrick waved dismissively. "I'm not going to play those games with a Royal Soul Master."

"What do you want, then?" Robin asked, puzzled. "Are you going to take back your word?"

"I'll take the oath after you make me stronger." Hedrick answered firmly.

"Forget it." Robin waved his hand. "True, I examined your body and soul domain and found no soul oath or eternal covenant on your creation code, but that doesn't make you 100% your own master. Even I only learned about the Eternal Covenant a few hours ago." Robin shook his head. "I'm not going to give you that power just for you to use it against me later."

"...Fair enough." Hedrick nodded. "Then I'll add a clause at the end of the oath: everything I said will only be valid if you're right, if you keep your promise. Otherwise, it's void."

"..." Robin nodded.

"Good." Hedrick rested for a moment. "As for the second condition, I want Hadras and Helen by my side, awake and safe." He continued seriously, "Helen was my only sister who kept in touch with me after the Civil War, and I had no relationship with Hadras, but I've heard a lot about him. He's a good kid."

"I told you, they're half-dead." Robin furrowed his brows deeply. "No, worse. They're living dead by now."

"You will make me as strong as the fourth man in the Universe, according to you—would that be too difficult for you?!" Hedrick replied forcefully.

"…" Robin furrowed his brows deeply. "Do you have other conditions?"

"I want full support from the army and resources when the time comes to kill that man." Hedrick declared firmly, then continued in a weaker voice: "…I want respect and a high status. The news that I swore an oath to you must not leak. And I don't want to be a field for experiments and operations—neither me, nor Helen, nor Hadras. That is humiliating."

"…You shall have that." Robin nodded after a silence that lasted nearly a minute. "The Oath will be simple: swear eternal loyalty to me, in case you are right and I make you the strength I promised you… Only with this oath can I grant you those conditions. If you want to ease it, we will negotiate the terms."

"No need." Hedrick stared at Robin's face with expressionless features. "An oath is an oath. The result is the same."

Huumm Robin formed a golden sphere in his hand over the span of three full minutes, then passed it toward Hedrick, and fell silent, placing his hands behind his back.

"Hooo…" Hedrick looked at that sphere. He knew what he had to do, but he hesitated—hesitated greatly. His freedom would be stripped from him in a moment.

But…

Since the death of his wife and daughter at the hands of that man… had he truly been free?

"The solemn quest has hit a dead end..." Hedrick muttered to himself, "If he can truly cheat... then why shouldn't I cheat a little too?"

Then, whoosh, he injected his spiritual sense into the sphere and recited the Oath along with the conditions.

"Ughh...!!" At that same moment, Hedrick began to feel the restriction, but he also felt the shattered key near his heart—the Condition Key that would free him from those restraints if Robin didn't keep his promise.

Huum Robin retrieved the sphere, and it sank back into his glowing body. Then he looked at Hedrick seriously, "...Get ready. It's going to hurt a little."

And then he vanished from the Strange Domain.

"Whoo~" Hedrick looked down, "Going to hurt a little in a domain isolated from my body and my Spiritual Domain? ...I hope he knows what he's doing." Then he sighed, "My greatest pain will be waiting here for over another century until I finish my Breakthrough. After that, I'll see what that method is that's supposed to make me stronger..."

Rumble

"Hmm?" Hedrick slowly turned his head upward.

There was a Golden Sun slowly forming.

Tremor Tremor

"What's happening?" Hedrick stood up. The glowing threads and ropes around him began to act in fear and panic.

"Robin Burton, what have you done?!" Hedrick shouted loudly, "Is he really trying to disrupt my Breakthro—"

Whoosh Whoosh

"What?!" Hedrick spun around toward the threads surging toward him like millions of venomous snakes.

Then they struck his forehead with force—

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!"