Chapter 2526

2526 - The Police

Middle Sector 118—

One of the Space Gates on the planet's surface activated at this moment, and two people emerged from it.

It was Blokan, the Cosmic Academies' official in charge of armies and commander appointments, accompanied by a person wearing a tight blue robe with a sword hanging from his waist.

Only after taking a few steps away from the Gate area and the bowing guards did Blokan spread his arms wide with a big smile, "Here we are, what do you think?"

The person beside Blokan slowed his step, then stopped and began looking around, "I don't know about this..."

They were not in a desert or a war zone—they were in the middle of an academy.

And a well-known one at that.

This was the stronghold of a famous Stellar Academy. The head of this academy was one of the two hundred who had gone to war in Middle Sector 90 and returned here after breaking the Buffer Zones, though of course his stay did not last.

After Lord Hedrick advanced toward Middle Sector 110 and cleansed it under Lady Renara's watch and presence, the region from Sector 90 to 117 was unified under the Breaker's full official rule, and they began expanding further west.

The Behemoth Zavarus, the Behemoth Kiryān, and with them the Behemoth Kaylis, united their armies and set out toward Sector 118 with a terrifying force that no one was prepared to face, so everyone simply surrendered.

The owner of this Stellar Academy fled immediately, leaving it behind, certain that they would show him no mercy.

As for the owners of the other Stellar Academies in the Sector, they had been expelled anyway... this happened here and throughout the entire region under the rule of The Breaker.

The Stellar Academies have no place in his lands.

All of them were converted by direct orders from Lady Morgana into strongholds for the Cosmic Academies to fill the void.

"What is it you don't know, my new friend?" Blokan took two steps toward the person beside him and patted his shoulder. "Does being given leadership of a Cosmic Academy diminish you in any way?"

"Not necessarily diminish me, but..." his companion sighed, "I'm somewhat important in my empire."

"I understand, of course. You are the brother of the emperor of the largest Millennium Empire in Middle Sector 118, and the only other one who possesses the power of a Guardian. Of course your responsibilities are great, and your brother relies on you heavily," Blokan sighed. "But if you take charge of this Academy and contribute to it seriously, your family's empire will have a prestigious standing within His Majesty's territories. At the very least, if a problem arises with them, you can intervene on their behalf—isn't that more beneficial to them than you staying in the rear and helping them with invasions or internal administration?"

Then Blokan resumed walking and gently pulled his companion along when he found him hesitant. "Everything changes—borders, goals, enemies... even the Cosmic Academies themselves are changing."

"Changing? How?" The young man in the tight robe stopped.

"Oh, there's a major fundamental change." Blokan stopped with a broad smile. "The Stellar Academies, and after them the Cosmic Academies, were a mechanism for dealing with Space Beasts and The Plague, and in return they took from you a delicately worded tax called tuition fees—but there was no actual study, just more expenses."

"This made the powers pay enormous sums to protect themselves every stellar year, and pay them to someone like Qarun, who became the richest person in the universe. Yet the Plague and the Space Beasts spread regardless, and their children learned nothing of value."

"And that has changed?" The young man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Of course." Blokan answered quickly. "We are no longer a private organization with personal goals, treating the surrounding powers as sources of donations and taxes. We are an entity operating under the command of Lord Robin himself, in his land, and for the sake of his subjects."

Then he continued, "For example... the taxes that the Cosmic Academies collect from the surrounding powers have been completely abolished. So how could we work to protect His Majesty's property while simultaneously imposing taxes on his subjects?"

"We no longer have to pay taxes?!" The young man raised his voice with enthusiasm, still asking in his capacity as the emperor's brother.

"You will pay only one tax, and it goes directly to the treasury of the True Beginning Empire. We, as Cosmic Academies, will take what we want from it, as will the Shadow Swords, the armies, the fleets, and the rest of the public institutions." Blokan answered, "Our role in the coming period will not be discovering Plague Foci or hunting down the remaining Space Beasts, but rather acting as a police and educational force."

"...?" The young man's enthusiasm calmed somewhat when he remembered the exorbitant taxes that had been imposed on them.

But thinking about it... they weren't much higher than what they had been paying to the Stellar Academies.

And if he added to that what they paid to the Syndicate as tribute, what they paid to the Tyrant Galaxy as fees, and the losses they suffered from fighting pirates and the continuous funding of the army for the wars they were constantly waging... the tax began to seem very small indeed.

Then he heard Blokan speaking: "At first, our responsibility as Cosmic Academies was limited to protection against Anti-Life Beings, in accordance with a request from the Cosmic Elder. But now we must also act as police centers to monitor the Sectors and settle disputes between the subordinate powers of His Majesty. His Majesty's friend, Lord Billy, has been sharing his expertise with us during this period in working with the Light Swords, and the experience will be rolled out to all the academies..." Then he winked at him, "That means additional authority for you."

Then he continued: "The Fifth Training Path will also be added to the Academy, along with the enhanced Second Path, both devised by His Majesty's two disciples. Your presence here and your performance of a duty to contribute to the Academy could guarantee your empire a place among the first to benefit from them!"

"..." The young man kept his silence for a while, then nodded firmly, "All right, when do I start working?"

"Haha," Blokan patted the shoulder of the new head of the Academy firmly, "How about today?"