In a region of the Light Expanse near the border it shared with the Dark Expanse, Aldrich reappeared with the brilliance of light as hundreds of thousands of figures were teleported at the same location thereafter
This being at the Nebula Realm had carried out a mass teleportation of hundreds of thousands of beings to bring them countless miles away from the Verittas Fortress, the spatial movement bringing them into a region in the Light Expanse as the many Celestials looked towards the Founder with reverence!
They had just faced a colossal loss where 90% of their Star Forging Commanders were destroyed, where only a single one remained alive as it was only because the Founder had arrived in time to save him.
The masses of Celestials that had just participated in the battle at the Verittas Fortress felt a sense of shame and helplessness as they thought back to the past events, their eyes not being able to lock with the powerful being that saved them as they waited for his commands!
Aldrich was looking at all these beings he had teleported as his gaze landed on the remaining Star Forging Celestial of this force, thinking back at how when the abomination who could bend universal laws killed other beings of this level, he actually absorbed hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines every time.
This was such a ridiculous and unfair concept that would quickly create a monster capable of mastering a universal law in a short period of time!
But it was something that Aldrich knew was only happening because his enemy was behind it, this whole event serving as another reminder to him that in order to win against an enemy no being would dare face, he had to think outside the box and be prepared to do things that very few beings could even begin to imagine.
Using his vast experience and Authority in the law of fate, and the knowledge he had just uncovered- he was able to come to the conclusion that the anomaly that was the 9th Infernal Lord would actually just continue growing stronger and amassing more Fate Lines the more Celestials he faced, the more that this war carried on!
As he came to this conclusion…the answer he faced was to simply…end it!
This was the shocking conclusion he had arrived at the moment he saw the creature that could rapidly absorb hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines, knowing that any Celestial that fell in his hands would put him all that closer to completely comprehending a universal law, and then this creature would be used to oppose him from ever achieving his goals.
Thus, Aldrich moved quickly as he relayed his commands to the many Celestial Commanders still spread out across the Dark Expanse and even those still moving within their Realm Dreadnaughts or Prime Warships to actually begin retreating!
It was a shocking and abrupt move, but one of extreme precision as it identified the biggest problem the Founder faced at this moment, and he moved to instantly cut off the source of this problem as the fuel that was being fed to the 9th Infernal Lord- the Celestials that were spread out across the Dark Expanse…were all being called back.
At the same time, Aldrich knew that the less than 100,000 Fate Lines that he required before completely comprehending a universal law would be rising up much slower, so he released another command to recoup his losses and even increase his progress further. But the command he relayed was an extremely cold one that even sent shivers to the commanders that received it.
“The conquered planets you are retreating from, the strongholds you have taken over…destroy them all. Decimate everything.”
RUMBLE!
Waves of gold erupted out at this command that would affect the lives of hundreds of billions, yet Aldrich gave it without so much as a second thought as he was currently being driven into a corner!
He ignored the masses of celestials around him as he closed his eyes and thought,
‘Do not blame me for being cruel. I had simply forgotten just how unfair of an enemy I faced, and I needed this reminder to be more resolute.’
He spoke to no one as his thoughts moved, but he relayed terrible commands to his forces that he telling to retreat, passing down the command for them to destroy the stars they had captured as the original plan of taking over the Dark Expanse and slowly collecting Fate Lines over time was thrown away, Aldrich simply choosing to scoop whatever benefits remained by directly destroying the fates of the billions that his forces had taken over!
It would not be as fruitful as the steering of fate over time, but at this juncture where he only needed less than a hundred thousand Fate Lines to begin going towards his goal, it would be enough!
WAAA!
His command shook the hearts of the commanders that heard it, but they began carrying it out without any hesitation as cruelty never before enacted on innocent civilians and conquered forces that were not fighting anymore began taking place.
At this moment, Aldrich opened his eyes to see hundreds of Fate Lines shimmering down towards him as this cruelty began on multiple conquered fonts of the Dark Expanse, his gaze then turning to the Celestials he had teleported away from the Verittas Fortress.
“Founder…”
The remaining Star Forging Celestial he had saved was bowing down shamefully as his shoulders shook, showing reverence to Aldrich as he also could not look up as he was ashamed at their performance and the loss of so many forces in this battle.
Aldrich looked at this Celestial and the hundreds of thousands more around him as his thoughts focused on these beings once more.
This force of beings that he raised was actually being used against him by his enemy in order to create an abomination to match him, and he could not even deploy them to do their jobs anymore! Deploying any more Celestials meant that a being such as the 9th Infernal Lord would only continue to amass more Fate Lines and grow stronger, so the force he worked hard to create and raise over centuries was actually rendered useless!
‘Haha! I see why Fritz became disillusioned and left me, you truly are a terrifying enemy!’
The light of madness swam in Aldrich’s apathetic eyes that now landed on the hundreds of thousands of beings he could not even use anymore. On the beings that he now considered useless, he spoke but a single command as they looked towards him with reverence and hope.
“Die.”
RUMBLE!
