Lord of the Truth - Chapter 1906

Chapter 1906: Zarghul the Sorcerer
<“…Restrain your Shadow Dogs from my sector, and withdraw your bull from the neighboring sector. Otherwise, I will deal with them personally— Mr. upcoming Great Truth Chosen. Or should I say… Robin Burton.”>

“Ah!!” Neri instinctively placed a hand over her chest. For reasons she could not fully explain, the mere presence of that man terrified her—no, it was more than presence. His words themselves carried a chilling pressure that seeped into her thoughts and made her breathing falter.

And his mention of the Shadow Dogs… there was no doubt about it. That was certainly the Shadow Swords system.

But the bull? Was he referring to Marshal Aro, or was there someone else operating under that symbol?

Her owner had never seen this person before —never encountered him, never spoken with him— so how did he know his full name so precisely?

There was no mistaking it.

This individual was dangerous.

Dangerous on a truly terrifying level!!

She quickly turned her head toward Robin…

Only moments ago, he had already been drowning in problems. Every single report from his subordinates had struck like a fatal blow to his carefully laid plans, one after another, without pause. And now this?! Another crisis, arriving at the worst possible time?!

Perhaps her owner’s mind would finally snap.

Perhaps he would start shouting in fury.

Perhaps he would—

“You bald bastard…” Robin muttered, his face twisting with undisguised anger. He then raised his middle finger toward the projected image without hesitation. “If you’re a man, go and pull the bull out of the sector yourself!!”

“What?!” Neri froze in shock, her eyes widening at his reaction.

“Lord Human, Lord Human,” Timari gestured urgently several times. “You forgot to press the reply button. Would you like to repeat that gesture so I can officially record it as your response?”

“Have you lost your mind?!” Robin snapped, yanking his finger back instantly and clutching it to his chest as if it had been burned.

He then returned his gaze to the terrifying image before him, a strange smile slowly forming—one that blended rage and provocation in equal measure.

“Let me guess… this is the Sorcerer Behemoth, ruler of the 98th Middle Sector.”

“I can’t answer that,” Timari replied calmly, lifting her shoulders. “He paid to keep his identity and code name concealed, and as long as he doesn’t state his name in the message itself, I’m prohibited from revealing it. Would you like me to request authorization from upper management to respond to your question?”

“Hmph. No one else fits that profile, and no one else would dare to speak like that.” Robin lifted his chin slightly and folded his arms. “He is a Behemoth alright— Zarghul the Sorcerer.” He then let out a short laugh. “Honestly, I don’t even blame him for being angry enough to contact me personally—but he’ll need far more than this if he thinks he can frighten me.”

…Zarghul the Sorcerer was one of the newest Behemoths recognized across the cosmos, having been crowned with the title only after several million years of the War of Abyss of Doom. Despite his relative newness, he was already counted among the richest of their kind.

Zarghul, much like Darvion, was one of the Behemoths who had risen to their lofty status through the path of becoming a Soul Master.

However, unlike Darvion —who had walked the path of curses and refined it into his personal domain— Zarghul had chosen a slightly different route… the path of spells.

It was whispered in hushed tones throughout countless worlds that Zargul the Sorcerer was the primary reason spells of all types had become an almost extinct profession. Today, such arts could only be obtained through the Spell Galaxy within the Soul Society market, or through the countless sales outlets Zarghul himself had established across the universe.

Officially, Zarghul had never declared that this craft belonged exclusively to him.

In practice, however, he had taken every possible step to ensure exactly that outcome.

After constructing the galaxy, seizing the Behemoth title, and brutally subjugating the 98th Middle Sector through a campaign that lasted hundreds of thousands of years… he began the path that ultimately secured his position as one of the wealthiest and most influential beings in existence.

He began drawing all the great spell makers across the universe to his side through grand, tempting promises—whether it was the lure of multiplied wealth, generous funding for research, access to rare resources, political backing, or even direct authority and influence. One promise followed another, each more enticing than the last. He carefully marketed himself as an impregnable fortress and a sacred haven for spells, a paradise where spells would flourish and supposedly change the face of the universe for the better.

However, for those who rejected his offers, the outcome was grim. Anyone who refused him soon found themselves labeled as his enemy, often for the most trivial or fabricated reasons, and before long, they would end up dead. He continued along this ruthless path without hesitation, eliminating opposition one by one, until he monopolized most of the spells production and raised prices several times over, securing absolute control.

Even to this day, any individual who gains even a modest level of fame as a spell seller will inevitably find Zarghul’s galaxy knocking at their door—either with an open hand extended in apparent goodwill, or with a tightly clenched fist carrying an unmistakable threat. Over time, this craft became almost entirely exclusive to him, save for a handful of small-time vendors he considered too insignificant to bother with.

Behind closed doors, everyone refers to him as the Fake Intiras, for he is clearly attempting to walk the same monopolistic path. And in a purely material sense, this strategy succeeded. It granted him an enormous flow of wealth, elevating him into the ranks of the ten richest known figures in the entire universe.

Yet despite all of that wealth, he never reached the same level of authority or reverence.

Unlike Intiras —whose products were utterly indispensable during the era of conquest, to the point that people could not survive without them— most individuals eventually abandoned the overpriced products of Zarghul’s galaxy. As a result, spells slowly became tools reserved only for the wealthy elite, ignored by the poor, the common folk, and ordinary soldiers on the front lines.

Body-enhancement spells, soul-domain protection spells, equipment-strengthening spells, endurance-boosting spells, accelerated self-healing spells, panic-reducing spells, physical speed-enhancement spells, and countless others…

Hundreds upon hundreds of different spells —whether soul, physical, blood-based, or of other origins— nearly vanished entirely from the battlefields because of Zarghul’s actions.

If a talisman appears in a modern battle, it is usually one containing a simple fire-explosion or an deffensive ice spells that are easy to craft, cheap to mass-produce, and require little expertise. As for talismans carrying complex spells such as healing, long-term reinforcement, or weapon enhancement, they are almost always found exclusively in the hands of Behemoth armies.

And beyond the Behemoth armies, such advanced spells have recently appeared with three specific powers as well—the Cradle Empire, the Grave Empire, and the Crumbled Dreams Empire.

Their use was unmistakable in both their movements and their methods of combat, especially certain spells capable of raising the grade of armor and equipment by a full half-tier—an effect far beyond what ordinary forces should have been able to access.

The sheer quantity possessed by those three organizations—organizations whose names have recently been closely associated with the terrifyingly powerful Note Fleets, warships that themselves contain formidable spell arrays—

all of this only intensified the accusations directed at Zarghul, pointing to him as the one secretly supporting them.

In response, a number of centennial and millennial empires within those sectors openly stepped forward, publicly calling for resistance against the three powers affiliated with Zarghul— powers they claimed sought to colonize their territories and plunder their resources without restraint.

There are even persistent rumors claiming that the Savage Behemoth and the Cursed Behemoth personally contacted him, warning him to cease his actions.

They allegedly threatened that if he did not stop, they would intervene directly in his affairs and ensure he deeply regretted his choices—threats that only served to push Zarghul further into obsession and madness.