Chapter 2407: The defective son

Mid Sector 115—

"..." Helmor stopped midway between several nearby planets and remained suspended there in the middle of space, his attention completely focused on examining the contents stored inside a recording transmission crystal in his hand, carefully going through what had just been delivered to him.

Then Crush he suddenly closed his fingers around it and shattered the crystal completely, without showing the slightest change in expression on his face, as though the information he had just received meant absolutely nothing to him.

But that simple action, despite how casually he performed it, did not go unnoticed by the people nearby...

"Hahahahaha!!" Not far away, Kiryan suddenly burst into loud laughter the instant he noticed Helmor’s reaction. "Haaaaaaaaahahahaha!"

"You’re laughing as though you were the one who killed Darvion." Helmor spoke sharply and seriously, his voice carrying none of the amusement shown by his opponent. "As though you’ve somehow forgotten the fact that I’ve already reached the final quarter of your galaxy, yet you’re still running away from me like a rat every time I approach."

"Hahahahahahaha!!" Kiryan clutched his stomach with both hands as his laughter intensified instead of stopping, seemingly unable to contain himself after seeing Helmor’s reaction.

"Kiryan!!!" Helmor took a forceful step forward, the anger he had been suppressing finally becoming visible across his face. "As far as I’m concerned, your fate is already sealed. Don’t make what awaits you any worse!"

"Ha... haha..." Kiryan’s laughter finally began to slow down somewhat, though the broad smile remained firmly on his face. "How does it feel knowing that Lord Robin picked the only useful Destra and made him his subordinate?" Then he immediately started laughing again as he continued, "How does it feel, hahaha, now that your own son has become stronger than you? Hahaha!!"

"...." Helmor’s ruby-red glowing eyes visibly flared with anger upon hearing those words, but despite that obvious rage, he made no attempt to chase after Kiryan. He already knew perfectly well how another pursuit would end... That bastard would simply use his abilities as a Ten-Star Royal Soul Master to escape from him toward another inner ring, then begin attacking him using the planets again.

So Helmor forcibly restrained his temper and instead revealed a faint smile, refusing to give Kiryan the reaction he wanted. "Robin Burton merely took one of my defective soldiers, that’s all. Darvion’s death can actually be credited to me if we’re being precise, since I’m the one who trained the boy."

"My friend, you can’t even defeat me, so how can you possibly talk about training someone capable of killing a Behemoth?" Kiryan shook his head while looking at him. "If I were you, I’d run away before my son comes here and beats the hell out of me on a live broadcast. At that point, I’d probably die from shame before I even had the chance to die from the pain."

"Run away?" Helmor raised his head proudly upon hearing the suggestion and began advancing slowly with both hands placed behind his back, his posture showing nothing but absolute confidence. "Clearly, you’re delirious."

Swooo

At that exact moment, something resembling a meteor suddenly came hurtling toward them from the direction of the galaxy’s core. Its entire body was reddish-orange like an enormous ball of flame, moving through space at tremendous speed while carrying an even more tremendous force behind it.

Helmor immediately realized from the power and trajectory of the incoming object that this was no ordinary meteor... In fact, it looked far more like some kind of projectile?

BOOOOOOOOM

The meteor slammed directly into one of Helmor’s sons with tremendous force, forcing him to immediately stop what he was doing and focus on defending himself against the incoming attack.

"...Is that a Supremacy Note Gen-4 attack?" Helmor furrowed his brows slightly as recognition immediately appeared in his eyes.

He had always studied both his enemies and his allies thoroughly, paying close attention to their important methods and weapons, and an invention like the legendary Note vessel series certainly hadn’t escaped his notice!

SwoooSwoooSwooo

Three new shots immediately came flying from the same distant direction, one formed from lightning, another from ice, and the third resembling a cloud of corrosion, with each projectile heading directly toward a different son of Helmor, moving wherever its chosen target moved and accelerating toward wherever that target stopped.

Then they finally emerged from deeper within the galaxy and became clearly visible... dozens of Supremacy Note-4 vessels appeared first, followed behind by a number of Destruction Note-4 and Flood Note-4 vessels, while several Phantom Shadow vessels accompanied the entire formation!

"Reinforcements are here!"

"THE REINFORCEMENTS ARE HEEEEERE!!"

Kiryan’s disciples and the soldiers of his army immediately began raising their voices in loud celebration upon seeing those vessels finally arrive. Every one of them had already heard the news about what had happened with Lady Renara and Lord Hedrick, and every one of them had heard that they had now become allies of Lord Robin... but only now, after seeing the Note fleets actually arrive inside their galaxy to support them, had that information finally been confirmed before their own eyes!

The overwhelming excitement and exhilaration spreading through the soldiers made many of them begin sweating, while tears even started gathering in the eyes of some... After their defensive lines had been pushed all the way back until only the final quarter of the galaxy remained, there was simply no better sight they could possibly have hoped to see at this moment!

But none of them asked the important question...

"How?" Helmor spoke in a serious tone, his expression tightening as he stared toward the approaching vessels. "How did fully equipped and fully supplied Nota armadas suddenly arrive here in perfect condition? It’s impossible that they came all the way from 114 or 116 without us noticing, and there’s absolutely no possibility that forces of this size had been hiding somewhere nearby this entire time. That’s completely impossible!"

"Hahahahaha!!!" Kiryan burst into loud laughter once again, showing no intention whatsoever of answering the question directly as the armadas continued approaching them from deeper within the galaxy.

Helmor nearly raised his voice again and demanded an answer, but then he suddenly seemed to realize something. His expression changed slightly and his brows rose as he recalled a certain phenomenon from earlier. "That state of cosmic rejection I sensed at the heart of the galaxy a short while ago... Spacetime?!" Then he immediately took two steps forward, his eyes narrowing as he stared deeper into the galaxy. "Robin Burton can actually use Spacetime to this extent?!"

"Haha, just wait here and see for yourself when Lord Hedrick and Lady Renara come walking out of the heart of the galaxy too!" Kiryan didn’t deny Helmor’s conclusion in the slightest, but neither did he directly confirm it, merely choosing to paint an even more disturbing image with his words.

An image that pierced directly into Helmor’s mind and forced him to turn his gaze toward the depths of the galaxy for several long seconds, as if he genuinely expected those two figures to emerge from there at any moment.

Then he finally turned away and issued his instructions without wasting any more time. "We’ll retreat to the fortified central ring for now and reorganize our forces and arrangements there."

"Yes!"

"Khahahahahaha!"

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Mid Sector 102 — Half a Day Later

"Hoo~" Hedrick released a long, slow breath with his eyes closed, allowing the air to leave him gradually as he sat there without moving.

Then he opened his eyes with a faint, relaxed smile, raising his gaze toward the sky while sitting atop Darvion the Cursed’s palace, quietly observing everything happening around him...

The remaining armadas belonging to Darvion’s followers had lost whatever hope they still possessed the instant Hedrick personally joined the battle. Some immediately chose to flee while they still had the opportunity, while the rest surrendered without continuing a battle whose outcome had already become obvious. Those who surrendered were escorted toward the nearby planets, everyone aboard their vessels was taken prisoner, and the vessels themselves were seized and added to the spoils of war.

Then came the much larger task of sweeping through the planets of the galaxy one by one, thoroughly searching them, destroying every cursed array they encountered, and freeing all the citizens imprisoned within the countless cells... The fighting might have ended, but there was still an enormous amount of work left to be done. It was finally time to transform this galaxy into a place worthy of them.

Fortunately, the Rapid Support Vessels that had arrived were filled to capacity with Imperial Guards, providing exactly the manpower needed for what came next. This sort of large-scale operation involving searching, securing, dismantling, and taking control would be their game, and Hedrick couldn’t have asked for anyone better suited to handle it.

"How is Behemoth Kiryan doing?" Hedrick suddenly asked while remaining seated. "All our territories and followers from Mid Sector 101 upward are my responsibility, and Kiryan is one of them as well. He must not be allowed to fall."

"Reporting to my Lord Hedrick," the Shadow Sword standing nearby bowed slightly before answering, "the reinforcements have successfully reached him, and the war there has stopped for the first time in several months. The attackers withdrew toward the middle of the galaxy, and a ceasefire has remained in effect up until now."

"Oh?" Hedrick raised his brows slightly upon hearing the report. "...Helmor actually retreated?" Then a faint smile appeared on his face as he considered that unexpected development. "Interesting."

"Would you like me to bring you anything, Lord?" the Shadow Sword asked, remaining nearby as he waited for any further instructions.

"Has the team of Soul Masters who are supposed to help me refine the Planet Soul arrived yet?" Hedrick asked, shifting his attention away from Kiryan’s situation for the moment.

He had refined a Shard before, and that experience alone was enough for him to understand the danger involved. If he attempted to refine another planet on his own, the process would already pose considerable danger to him, so what about attempting to refine an entire galaxy along with everything contained within it? Some assistance throughout the process would undoubtedly be necessary...

That was precisely why two complete teams were supposed to have been assigned specifically to assist Hedrick and Renara throughout the refinement process, supporting the two of them as needed, and those teams would remain by their sides until the refinement succeeded!

"Twenty Royal Soul Masters are waiting for you in the throne hall right now, Lord." The Shadow Sword nodded respectfully, confirming that the preparations had already been completed.

"...." Hedrick nodded after hearing that everything was ready, then rose from his position and flew downward toward the palace below. "Then Helmor can wait."