Published at 25th of May 2026 6:56 am

Chapter 2169 The solution?

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"Let us set aside, for the moment, the issue of dispersing the First and Third Armies," one of the attendees, a senior military advisor, raised his hand slightly and made a deliberate gesture as he spoke, his tone measured yet carrying a clear underlying frustration, "this entire problem only emerged because of the repeated and overlapping interventions of the marshals. Every time we manage to gather even a modest number of fleets or elite units, they are immediately redirected toward the Mid sectors. We are left rebuilding from fragments over and over again."

He paused briefly, scanning the faces around him before continuing, his voice gaining a bit more weight, "At the very least, we still retain the Second Army, the Demon Army, at its full strength," he extended his hand toward one of the attendees, indicating the second representative of the Demons, who also happened to be the strongest individual present in the hall, "and we are in dire need of their power. Frankly, it is a blessing that Marshal Sakaar does not repeatedly demand the withdrawal of this army every few years, unlike Marshals Caesar and Aro."

"We are ready for anything the Lord commands." The demon spoke in a deep, rough voice that seemed to vibrate through the room before he returned to complete silence, his expression unmoving. Amon had given him clear instructions: speak only these words, and nothing more.

"Are you suggesting that the Demon Army supports deploying independently to engage in battles across the neighboring sectors?!" one of the military experts leaned forward, speaking quickly, unable to hide the urgency in his voice as he tried to confirm what he had just heard.

"We are ready for anything the Lord commands."

"...?" A brief wave of astonishment spread across the room. The sheer decisiveness in the demon's response, combined with the implicit confidence behind it, left many momentarily speechless.

They exchanged glances, subtle nods passing between them as silent conclusions began to form, "Then it seems the matter has been decided."

"What exactly has been decided?" the head of military intelligence suddenly spoke, his voice cutting through the air with restrained irritation, "The Second Army is the only defensive wall we have against the constant harassment coming from the Syndicate and their affiliated forces. Do I really need to remind all of you of something so fundamental?"

"..." Silence fell once more, heavier than before.

The pressure exerted by that Syndicate had not been limited to the Mid Belt. Their influence had spread outward, tightening like an unseen net, until they had nearly encircled the empire even within the Young Belt itself.

The Third Armies had already crushed several empires across Sectors 99 and 100, wiping them from existence with overwhelming force. One of those conflicts had ended in a massive trade agreement that ultimately benefited their supreme Lord.

However, the rest had not been so fortunate. Every empire that had once participated in the grand coalition against the True Beginning Empire, and had neither entered into trade agreements nor submitted to strict allegiance, had been utterly annihilated.

Not a single millennial empire remained standing within those two Young sectors. Every centennial empire had either been erased or rendered incapable of meaningful resistance.

This reality was one of the primary reasons behind the dismantling of the First and Third Armies into scattered operational units and the shift toward simultaneous planetary assaults across hundreds of worlds. It served multiple purposes: first, as a method to rapidly train emerging commanders under real combat conditions; second, as a necessity driven by the severe shortage of resources; and third, because there were simply no longer enemies worthy of confronting a unified army in direct engagement.

Yet something had changed.

An incident within the Mid Belt had triggered a direct, though indirect in execution, conflict with that Syndicate. For reasons that remained unclear, the Syndicate had shifted its stance entirely. They no longer sought balance or containment… they sought destruction.

But instead of attacking openly, they moved from the shadows.

They began funneling vast amounts of resources into the remaining centennial and multi-system empires. They reached out to isolated civilizations that had long remained neutral, offering them weapons, technology, and incentives. Slowly but steadily, they began linking these disparate forces together, weaving them into a single, growing alliance.

The powers of Mid Sector 99… once fragmented and disconnected, were now being unified with a single purpose.

To stand against the True Beginning Empire.

This time, the alliance that was forming did not aim to negotiate, nor to reclaim lost autonomy, nor even to gain political leverage.

It had only one objective.

Total eradication.

They intended to erase the True Beginning Empire completely, leaving behind nothing but absence.

Fortunately, the Shadow Swords had uncovered these developments before they could fully mature. And perhaps even more fortunately… the Demon Army had long grown restless, its warriors eager for conflict after a prolonged period of relative inactivity.

The Demon Army had already swept through multiple empires, annihilating them with overwhelming force, and it continued to advance relentlessly, crushing resistance wherever it emerged, its momentum showing no signs of slowing.

"Their reaction was violent and completely unexpected, escalating far beyond any prior projections. It reached a point where several masked figures at the level of World Cataclysm and even in the Nexus State emerged from the shadows and stepped directly into the ranks of the growing alliance, standing as guardians to shield them and deter the attackers clad in full crimson armor.

For a brief moment, it seemed as though the balance might tilt.

But that illusion did not last.

They were cut down without mercy. No hesitation, no negotiation, no retreat. Even those masked figures, beings who had stood at the peak of power, could not comprehend what they were facing. They could not understand why the members of the Crimson Army possessed such overwhelming strength… such savage, unrestrained brutality that ignored all conventional limits.

Yet instead of instilling fear… those incidents ignited something far more dangerous.

They provoked a reaction.

More masked figures began to appear, drawn into the conflict as if answering an unspoken call. At the same time, an alarming increase in planetary displacement gear surfaced among enemy forces, allowing them to evacuate and preserve their core planets at the first sign of danger. Entire worlds began vanishing at critical moments, slipping away before they could be fully subjugated.

And alongside this… fleets.

Fleets that had never existed before began to emerge in large numbers, as if conjured out of nothing, reinforcing the growing resistance with unprecedented speed.

The Syndicate had fully committed.

It was pouring unimaginable amounts of resources, technology, and influence into the hands of the locals, strengthening them beyond their natural limits, all for a singular purpose: to crush the True Beginning Empire, to shatter the barrier surrounding the fortified region, and to uncover whatever secret lay hidden within… to tear out the true roots of Lord Robin.

"The Demon Army is our first and last line of defense against the Syndicate and its forces," the military advisor raised his voice sharply, his words carrying urgency that could no longer be concealed, "without them, we are completely exposed. Our defenses will collapse, and our throats will be laid bare for the strike!"

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze hardening as he continued, "If you are to grant permission for their deployment, then several Kings must remain behind as a permanent defensive force. And more importantly, you must prohibit the other marshals from withdrawing even a single soldier or a single piece of equipment from the First and Third Armies starting from this very moment!"

"Deploy them where exactly?!" another advisor responded instantly, his voice rising as tension built, "We are already pushing them to their limits in the war here. Now you want to scatter them across seven entire sectors instead of two? What happens if their identity is exposed in any way?!"

His tone sharpened further, unable to hold back, "Even the new generation among our people has no knowledge that they are the Crimson Plague. The older generations have had that truth buried deep within them through years of conditioning. We have spent vast amounts of Pearls and conducted extensive research just to ensure that this secret remains confined to a select elite… and now you intend to throw them into a war of this magnitude?!"

"...." Emily lowered her gaze, her fingers resting lightly against the surface of the table as silence settled around her. For a few moments, she said nothing, as if weighing every word that had been spoken. Then slowly, she lifted her head and turned toward the demon clad in full armor, her voice carrying a trace of hesitation, "What is your opinion on what has been said?"

"We are ready for anything the Lord commands."

"..."

"Fuu~" Emily exhaled deeply, the sound cutting through the stillness.

The demon was right.

From a rational standpoint, His Majesty's decision appeared rushed, perhaps even reckless, lacking the gradual preparation such an undertaking would normally require. Yet none of them could claim to see further than he did. He understood what he wanted. He understood what kind of empire he intended to shape.

In the end, everything belonged to him.

Whether the outcome was triumph or collapse, whether it brought prosperity or devastation… it would all return to him alone.

And among everyone present, the demon's stance was perhaps the clearest.

What His Majesty desired… did not require endless debate.

But still… the weight of the decision pressed heavily on the room.

"Let's do it."

Kristan's voice suddenly cut through the silence like a sharpened blade, decisive and unwavering.

"Mobilizing the Second Army is the most rational course of action at this point."

"And what about the siege tightening day by day in Mid Sector 99?" one of the advisors pressed immediately, unwilling to let the matter pass, "The Syndicate is pouring enormous amounts of resources and power into that sector every single day. It is only a matter of time before they establish fully developed millennial empires right under our noses!"

"....Ugh," Kristan Burton rubbed his forehead, irritation flashing across his expression for a brief moment before it faded into focus, "leave that to me."

He straightened slightly, his tone turning firm, leaving no room for doubt, "I want an open budget, along with unrestricted access to space portals. That is all I need."

He waved his hand as if dismissing the complexity of the situation, "The First and Third Armies will continue hunting for valuable planets as they have been doing. The Second Army will leave a number of Kings behind as a final defensive measure before moving out… the rest is simple."

"What do you mean simple?!" one of the advisors nearly snapped, barely restraining himself from crossing the line.

"Simple means simple." Kristan rose to his feet without hesitation, his decision already finalized, his presence carrying an unspoken authority that silenced further objections.

He then pointed directly toward the representative of the Shadow Swords and the representative of the star scout fleets, his gaze sharp and focused, "You, and you… come with me."

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