Published at 9th of February 2026 7:19 am

Chapter 1983 Annoying genius

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"What?" Silas finally stopped searching for an escape route and looked downward in disbelief. "What do you mean the war is over? What are you-" Before he could finish, his pupils suddenly expanded to their limits.

A message had reached him directly from the planet spirit.

A black vessel had descended upon the surface of the Holfa Empire's capital, landing on the very planet he had painstakingly refined, nurtured, and perfected over millions upon millions of years... and now-hundreds of black wasps were rampaging across the planet's surface, attacking everything without discrimination!!

"How... how is this possible?!" The shock was unmistakably etched across Silas's face, his composure shattering completely.

"Didn't you ever learn not to reveal your planet's gift unless you want it to be found, you dog Silas?" Aro placed his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly, his voice overflowing with delight and vindictive joy.

"You... you possess an Origin-Tracking Array? Impossible..." Silas staggered backward, his breathing growing uneven. "How could you possibly own such a thing?!" His eyes then widened to their absolute limit. "And how did a ship reach that location so quickly?!"

The Origin-Tracking Array was a method used to pinpoint the location of a planet by tracing its manifested gift. It was one of the infamous creations of the Great Truth Lord Azramid himself.

As was widely known across the cosmos, the Great Truth Lord was infamously stingy. Azramid had sold this array to only a handful of buyers, and each transaction demanded an absurd, ruinous price. When the array first appeared, it sent shockwaves through every major power, forcing masters everywhere to fear revealing their planetary gifts.

This fear was especially severe when a planet was in a state of escape-or when an expert had secretly refined an unknown planet and hidden it away so it would not become their greatest weakness. With the Origin-Tracking Array, any enemy could simply wait for that expert to leave, then strike the planet directly and annihilate it. Because of this, most experts kept their refined planets concealed at all costs.

That fear of the Origin-Tracking Array rooted itself deep within the marrow of every expert from that day forward. Even after the Great Truth Lord Azramid ceased selling it, revealing one's gift became the ultimate last resort- particularly when facing major powers, as any one of them might still possess the array.

As far as Silas was concerned, it was absolutely impossible for such an array to be in the hands of Hedrick or Aro. They were far too insignificant in terms of influence and operations to ever acquire one.

What he did not know... was that Lord Human had accepted a mission worth two billion Pearls. One of the major powers had uncovered a sabotaged version of Azramid's Origin-Tracking Array and commissioned Robin to analyze it, repair it, and correct its flaws.

And Robin had succeeded.

Afterward, he transmitted a fully functional copy back to Zara.

"How did we get the array? How did we arrive so quickly?" Aro glanced downward briefly, then shook his head while laughing softly. "You're far too small-and far too dead-to deserve the answers to those questions."

He lifted his head again and pointed directly at Silas. "Lord Hedrick, take care of him."

High above, Hedrick raised a single eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"...Please." For a fleeting instant, the blood in Aro's veins felt as if it had frozen solid.

"Tsk~" With clear irritation, Hedrick shifted his gaze back toward the sky and slowly shaped his hand into a claw aimed at the orange sun.

"No!!" Both Silas and Aro shouted at the same time, their voices overlapping in panic.

"What?" Hedrick paused mid-motion and looked downward once more. "After I destroy the manifestation of the planet's spirit, he'll be critically weakened. Then we can capture him alive. Isn't that better for you than killing him outright?"

"No, no, please!" Aro waved his hands frantically, his voice cracking with urgency and panic. "The capital planet of the Holfa Empire, it's perfect! They built it meticulously. Every structure, every street, every monument, even a single blade of grass is more valuable than you realize. It's a hundred times better than my Apocalypse planet! I cannot allow you to destroy the planet's spirit. If you do, it will remain useless for hundreds of thousands of years until a new spirit can be born."

He glanced sideways at Silas, eyes sharp and calculating. "And secondly... I don't even know how I could benefit from that dog as a prisoner. Just hand it to me as a corpse. I'll negotiate with Marshal Sakaar later for whatever advantage I can get in return."

"Damn it..." Silas ground his teeth, rage surging so intensely that he nearly

broke down. Yet, he stayed silent. Aro, in truth, was doing him a service-albeit

unintentionally.

Destroying the sun, even if extremely difficult, would mean obliterating the planet's soul entirely. The repercussions would be catastrophic-not just spiritually, but in terms of the life force, the very essence of the planet. Yet, as long as the sun remained, Silas still had hope. The sun granted a residual field that could restore strength, provide a fighting chance.

All Silas had to do was pretend to be terrified, feign panic for just a short time- a little while-and he could reclaim enough of his strength to actually escape.

"More demands, more work, more wasted time... Your name is Aro, isn't it?" Hedrick's piercing gaze locked onto Aro, filled with contempt and barely concealed irritation. "I will remember that name. I will not forget it. Every action, every word you speak today, will remain engraved in my memory."

Bam! Aro crashed to his knees, the ground shuddering beneath him. "Please, don't be angry! I am only trying to secure the highest value for the empire-for your partner! When I submit my report to His Majesty, I will sing your praises so loudly it will shake the heavens! I will portray you as a being capable of crushing tyrants with a single touch, drowning them with a spit, toppling empires effortlessly. I wi-"

"Shut up!" Hedrick's voice thundered, cutting him off sharply, the force behind it vibrating through the air.

Since his arrival in Mid Sector 101, and being briefed by the Shadow Swords about the centuries-old plan, Hedrick had been deeply irritated. Acting in this situation was unnatural for him. He had never been one to waste effort on pretense, especially against an exhausted and petty adversary like Silas. Yet, to Hedrick's silent frustration, the plan had worked perfectly. Every powerhouse from The Holva Empire was trapped. Silas was exhausted and surrounded. And in a single, overwhelming assault, the millennial empire's capital and heart had fallen.

Is the old man a genius? Undoubtedly. Is he annoying and thick-skinned?

Absolutely.

Where had Robin Burton even found such an insufferably audacious little

creature?

"He's exploiting you, Lord Hedrick. He's lowering your worth in front of everyone!" Silas tried to seize the last chance. "Come, let's negotiate. Everything can be solved with words. Everythinghas supply and demand. I

could-"

Crash!

In the blink of an eye, Hedrick was in front of Silas, a single step away. His right hand pierced through Silas's chest with terrifying precision. "Ahh... uugh!" Silas's vision blurred as his pupils trembled violently. His soul screamed in agony, trapped in the inescapable grip of Hedrick's overwhelming

force.

"Hssshh..." Hedrick's tone was cold, annoyed, almost mechanical, like crushing

a mere insect beneath his boot. "It is time for silence... enough has been said...

now, sleep."

"No... n-no..." Silas's life flickered like a dying ember. The existence of the

Guardian, the years spent scheming, ruling, indulging in power and pleasure-

all of it passed before him in a single heartbeat, as if he had only lived for a

single fleeting hour.

Craam.

The orange sun above began to fracture violently, pieces of fiery light raining down like molten shards, scorching the battlefield.

Silas's eyes went completely dark, his life extinguished in an instant.

And in that precise moment-

Aro's eyes widened to their fullest, pupils dilating in sheer terror. Every muscle

in his body tensed as if frozen, his breath caught in his throat.

Silence.

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