1835 Bitter Leonel stood on the bow of the flagship, his gaze cold. He had yet to step onto the battlefield, all he had done was direct, and yet he without a doubt had the most blood on his hands.
His commands were incisive, and often outright cruel to his enemies. A tactician who could envision a battlefield that spanned across several galaxies was definitely not one to be trifled with, and that was precisely the kind of commander that Leonel was.
Whether it was on the micro level or the macro level, he took it all into account. He could avoid detrimental battlefields on scales as small as individual cities, and seek out positive battle situations on scales as large as the galaxies themselves with ease.
Usually, commanders would have to delegate tasks, trusting those under them to deal with these small scale matters. But Leonel had taken it all on his shoulders and he didn't seem to be flustered in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to still have time to enjoy the scenery around him as his nigh countless split minds all dealt with individual tasks of their own, sending information across light years.
Rychard sat in his throne room with his hands tightly holding onto his throne's armrests. These days, he seemed to be facing greater and greater issues with maintaining his usual calm.
Before he had met Leonel and Aina, he had always been a calm and calculating individual. It was only after meeting them, and Aina in specific, that he began to lose his temper more and more frequently. And now, as though to rub this in, the moment they appeared in his life once again, it was happening once more.
After a moment, Rychard exhaled a breath. Every few minutes, he received reports of another loss. It was time that he join the battlefield personally. Only like this would he be able to turn things around.
But before he could step foot out of the throne room, he was blocked by a familiar figure.
Rychard met Orinik's gaze.
"You enter and exit my territory with greater ease than even I do. Don't you have a family to manage?" Rychard asked coldly.
Orinik simply shook his head, but it was clear that he wasn't replying to Rychard's question. He was taking a stance on Rychard's previous actions.
"You're asking me to not go and support my family?" Rychard's gaze turned bloodshot.
"Now isn't the time. You'll only be going out there to die. Individual power hardly means anything on a scale like this one unless you can fit all of your assets, family members and allies onto just a single planet. Can you do it?"
"I don't have to do that!" Rychard roared, his voice losing its calmness entirely. "All I have to do is Kill that son of a bitch!"
"While he's protected by a Tier 2 Star Flagship of Shield Cross Stars? Do you like the idea of suicide that much?"
Rychard clenched his jaw. "You said I just had to endure. You said so long as I endured, I wouldn't have to endure any longer very soon. What are your words if not a useless pile of shit?!"
"My words are still the same as they were back just a month ago. Endure. We have miscalculated this matter and Leonel is a stronger opponent than we assumed him to be. Until you realize that the game has changed and some pawns have become Kings, you will lose and continue to lose."
Who would have thought that Leonel was returned now of all times? Not only that he would return, but even manage to steal such a weapon of war? And even worse than that, he would seemingly have returned with strength that was undefeatable within the Sixth Dimension and even have an ability that allowed him to battle against individuals of the Seventh?
Hearing these words, although Rychard's eyes were still bloodshot, he was taking deep breaths.
Indeed, the game had changed.
Their original plans were made taking into account those four families and the pressure they put on Earth. But the moment Leonel had returned, he not only did so with a fierce momentum, but he directly wiped them out, destroying the knife Earth had pointed at their backs.
On top of that, he seemed to now have an information network that placed the happenings of Earth's territory in the very palm of his hand. Almost nothing happened without his knowledge.
"Retreat, Rychard. I've prepared an escape pad for you. Take your closest remaining family members, the most elite of your people, and come with me."
Rychard remained silent for a long time before closing his eyes.
Eyes still closed, he spoke. "This is what you've wanted from the very beginning, right?"
"An ally as strong as you? Of course." Orinik replied lightly.
"We were already allies," Rychard replied. "What I mean is my life line being in the palm of your hands. Everything will be under your control from now on, right?"
"If you want to see things that way, I can't stop you, Rychard. But you should also understand that if you're under my leadership, not only will things run more smoothly, but I guarantee you will get your revenge, very soon, at that. In fact, the "destruction" of your family will only help.
"You cannot say that I did not give you a chance to do things on your own. I have been completely hands off of Earth's territory and have allowed you to form alliances as you please.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
Have I ever tried to direct you or control what you've done?"
Rychard was silent because he knew that the answer was no. At least in this respect, Orinik was sincere.
"You do not have to worry. I have a hatred for Leonel no deeper than yours, and soon, he'll also come to experience what it means to be trapped in a web of schemes he can't extricate himself from. The taste of his own medicine will be especially bitter."
Rychard clenched his fists and his jaw before he relaxed, his calm returned and the crimson fading from his eyes.
"I will follow you."