Published at 16th of December 2025 8:21 am

Chapter 1836 Reversal of the situation

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After all the fleets of the accursed Darvion and the brutal Zavaros fully entered the sector, Lord Hedrick took decisive action to secure his last stand. He

gathered every single valuable possession onto Planet Shathar-every influential family, all planetary weaponry, strategic resources, and anything of practical use.

He then entrusted his most loyal followers with the full operation of the planetary displacement equipment, giving them the freedom to maneuver the planet as they saw fit. This included even the most extreme measures: random displacements capable of transporting the entire planet into a completely different star field, all meticulously prepared and ready for immediate use. As for Hedrick himself, he summoned his First Marshal, Fargus, and brought together Marshals Tharn and Livia into one unified, massive army, totaling nearly 250 fleets under his personal command. Together, they departed from Planet Shathar. At the head of this colossal armada, Hedrick began traversing the Cosmic Hammer starfield, projecting power and control wherever they moved.

The once-millennium Crumbled Dreams Empire had completely ceased to exist, even the word Empire doesn't fit anymore.

Only Shathar remained.

The other planets had been devastated-half completely obliterated, others stripped of their military bases and gateways-leaving them entirely unclaimed and devoid of governance. In practical terms, Hedrick had become a planetary king, though barely holding the title. Yet, even with such a fragile claim, no one dared underestimate him.

Lord Zaryon and the other remaining three Law Domination level existences were left paralyzed, stunned by the sheer audacity and effectiveness of Hedrick's plan. They no longer had a target to pursue-the empire they could have reached had been annihilated.

Now, Hedrick had become like them, wielding an armada equal in size and strength to theirs and moving through space with the same authority and presence.

If one were to describe the situation metaphorically, the starfield could be likened to an apple. Lord Zaryon's fleets and his followers were like four blue worms, burrowing randomly and destructively, while Hedrick's fleet was a red worm, cutting a deliberate and strategic path of its own.

All of this unfolded within that "apple," each worm following its own trajectory, yet constantly capable of intersecting at unpredictable moments. The inhabitants of the starfield lived in unending terror, yet no one dared raise a voice or intervene.

The situation was dire for all parties, but there was one subtle but decisive advantage for Lord Hedrick. He possessed a fully integrated intelligence and communications system: the interstellar network coupled with Shadow Swords deployed densely throughout the sector. These agents monitored the four armadas, reporting every movement and maneuver with extraordinary precision through the interstellar communication network.

This system had saved Hedrick from falling into traps set between two armadas more than once. It had also allowed him to launch repeated attacks on the four armadas with remarkable efficiency, exploiting every vulnerability and every momentary lapse in their coordination.

Over the past two decades, Hedrick had executed ambushes against the four armadas on seven separate occasions. Each encounter resulted in the destruction of a few fleets from both sides and intense engagements with the Guardians or Monarchs leading the opposing armadas until they managed to escape.

However, the first, unprecedented incident-where he managed to inflict fatal damage on a Monarch or destroy half an armada-never recurred. This was simply because the current armadas were overwhelmingly composed of vessels from the accursed Behemoth and the savage Behemoth fleets, whose power far surpassed that of their predecessors.

These fleets could not be easily destroyed, nor could he isolate their leaders to kill or even seriously wound them. Each confrontation escalated into

large-scale battles, yet invariably concluded with the opposing side withdrawing safely, leaving Hedrick to rebuild and prepare for the next engagement.

Even more challenging, every offensive Hedrick launched came at a significant cost. He often lost numerous ships, sometimes entire fleets, losses that were nearly impossible to replace quickly. These cumulative losses forced him to abandon his ambush strategy for eight years, shifting to a new, more calculated and sustainable approach-

The ten billion Pearls that Lord Hedrick received from the Supreme Sword Theo- funds that he had been meticulously stored to serve as virtually unlimited ammunition for his armada's devastating planetary cannons- were instead employed in a somehow different manner.

Hedrick skillfully leveraged his minor but valuable connections with the other millennium empires scattered throughout the sector, taking full advantage of the widespread rebellion and the prevailing chaos. He positioned himself as a proxy fighter, continuously requesting support from these empires. His argument was simple yet effective: if he were to fall in battle, the responsibility and the inevitable consequences- would fall upon them next. This subtle manipulation ensured that they had a vested interest in keeping him alive and capable.

To make the arrangement even more compelling, Hedrick offered a significant portion of the cost to cover part of the support they provided. In essence, he was financing part of the weapons, fleets, and military resources he desperately needed to maintain his operations, while the empires would supply the remainder.

Given the millennium empires' already hostile stance toward Bright Galaxy - due to their open rebellion and refusal to pay huge sum of Pearls in annual taxes- they readily agreed to provide assistance. Hedrick's proposal presented them with a unique opportunity to act in their own interest while undermining the authority of Bright Galaxy.

Through a single, well-negotiated deal with these empires, Lord Hedrick succeeded in acquiring 250 used fleets, vast quantities of weapons and ammunition capable of sustaining 20 million soldiers, and supplies sufficient to keep both his new and existing fleets operational with fuel and food for at least two centuries. Additionally, he secured 300 pieces of essential planetary artifacts- all for the astonishingly low sum of just seven billion pearls.

These prices were effectively below cost, revealing that the millennium empires were genuinely intent on supporting Hedrick, though carefully ensuring they did not endanger their own stability or resources in the process.

Marshal Fargus defected, bringing with him Marshal Livia and the Royal Soul Master Draise to command the newly formed armada. This move created an entirely new and unexpected threat, once again upending the dynamics of the cosmic battlefield.

Where once five armadas faced a single one-aside from the southern threat- the scenario had dramatically shifted. Now, four armadas faced two, and the southern threat had been completely neutralized, further consolidating Hedrick's advantage.

Of course, the source of these new forces could hardly remain hidden. A deal of such magnitude was inevitably going to leak, and when it did, it exploded like a bomb across the sector: the millennium empires were openly supporting

Lord Hedrick against Bright Galaxy.

Indeed, after the full deployment of foreign forces into the sector and the public declaration of rebellion, the war was now clearly perceived as one between Lord Hedrick and Bright Galaxy. The evidence was soundeniable that even the blind could see it.

The actions of the millennium empires at such a critical moment-supporting Hedrick were effectively equivalent to an indirect declaration of war against Bright Galaxy and all of its allies.

Whether Hedrick intended to produce this political impact and draw the empires into the conflict through his carefully orchestrated deal, or whether he was simply seeking a lifeline for survival, remains uncertain.

What was certain, however, was the outcome: the relationship between the millennium empires and Bright Galaxy had now reached a point of irreversibility, a tipping point that would forever alter the balance of power in

the sector.

The situation escalated to such an extent that even Lord Orion, the eldest son

of Behemoth Kaylis, began preparing Bright Galaxy's army for the first time since the beginning of the war-

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