novelraw Chapter 191: The strongest lord in the world.
Chapter 191: The strongest lord in the world.
“The strongest lord?”
A few brows rose. The words hovered in the air, heavy and unreal.
“Such a title?” someone echoed, disbelief threading their tone.
The rest exchanged glances, doubt lingering in their expressions.
No one spoke, but their eyes did. Skepticism.
Garron’s lips curled into a knowing smile.
With a calm wave of his hand, he gestured to the side, as if unveiling the final move of a game long played
.
“I have evidence.”
He snapped his fingers once.
“Come in.”
The grand hall, high-roofed and silent, stirred.
A pair of solemn guards flanked the far doorway, each stepping in sync as the large doors groaned open.
Between them walked a woman.
She wore a long, flowing golden dress, sleek and elegant, its fabric catching the overhead glow like it was made of molten sunlight.
Her hair was a platinum shade of deep violet, cascading in thick waves down her back.
Her stride was poised, her steps unhurried, and her face held the kind of smile that seemed to be eerily similar to Aizen's.
“Ohhh?”
“Huh? A weak awakener?"
Murmurs rippled along the length of the table, heads turning, interest piqued.
No one entered this chamber today without reason, the room itself was reserved for the highest authority in the Adventure Guild.
And yet, here was a woman dressed like she’d walked out of some royal ball, calm and clearly comfortable.
But Garron simply turned toward the table again.
“Now... Miss Celestine, if you will.”
She bowed slightly, catching the hem of her gown in a graceful grip, the motion precise and subtle.
“As you command, Senior.”
Then she rose, spine straightening as her eyes slowly swept around the table.
She didn’t rush. She didn’t need to.
“My name is Celestine,” she began, her voice polite, “a lord who currently ranks within the top thousand... among the billions in this world.”
The room froze for a heartbeat.
Then.
“Billions?”
“There are billions of you Lords?”
“What an absurd number! No wonder the prophecy warned us that the future belongs to them."
“Especially after the recent phenomena... the sky's strange glow, the air turning weird, I’ve had a bad feeling since that day...”
The tension rolled in like fog, until Garron raised one hand.
Silence dropped like a curtain.
He nodded once toward Celestine, gesturing for her to proceed.
She dipped her head in acknowledgment.
“Respected Seniors,” she said, her tone slipping into a steady pace, “most lords around the world maintain power roughly equivalent to your average native city lord across the region."
"Many choose to grow quietly for now. The Warp Event keeps them plenty occupied, and for the time being... we do not encroach upon native interests.”
"But, how long will this situation last?"
"Eventually, everyone's greed will grow. A person in position, their current state can never satisfy them, they will always crave for more"
"Strength isn't just a blessing, but also a curse that is accompanied with greed."
"Once the peace was broken, once the true face of this world emerged, then... A never ending war will begin."
"Even as we speak today in this room, the lord of this territory had already started crusading against the nearby settlements, lords, and even villages."
"And the amount of casual cruelty... " She paused, then smiled in a mysterious way, "I suppose everyone here should be aware of it already, no?"
A moment passed.
Silence permeated the room for a brief moment.
After all, they knew what she was hinting at by those words.
Especially over her last few sentences. They knew, that a horrible massacre was currently ongoing outside.
Then she raised her hand, and something shimmered above the table.
"To make it clear, here's a glimpse of how powerful the collective strength of the lords are now"
A translucent screen unfolded mid-air with a quiet hum, drawing startled breaths from those seated around.
It flickered once,then snapped into clarity, revealing a list.
Names.
Hundreds of them, glittering in a deep copper hue, vibrant against the backdrop.
Each had a small tag beside it: [Tier 4]... [Tier 5]... some had odd symbols as well.
Celestine's eyes scanned the reactions across the table, then she continued, voice steady.
“These individuals, those within the top thousand, are considered our ‘geniuses.’"
"Each has a rare profession, something unique, and many command armies with numbers easily reaching the hundreds of thousands.”
She paused just long enough to let the weight of that number settle.
Then...
Her smile was calm. “All Awakeners.”
The words crashed like a wave.
“All Awakeners?!”
That was no small claim.
“And if each lord has that kind of power individually...” Celestine raised an eyebrow, hands lightly folded before her, “then when you combine them, you begin to understand why we don’t talk about numbers lightly.”
The table erupted again, everyone's reaction tightened.
For many of them, this was the first time they were hearing real numbers.
The scale of the lords, they were unimaginable once they finally understood the truth.
Then, no one dared interrupt now. She had the floor.
Then, with a twinkle in her eye, Celestine leaned just slightly forward, as if sharing something sweetly scandalous.
“Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it... ”
She gestured loosely to the hall around them.
“We’re currently inside the strongest territory in the world. The strongest lord, and the gap of strength between him and the rest of us it was an abysmal hole that could never be crossed."
"The lord that saved our world."
Eyes widened again.
The words dropped like stones into a lake.
Across the table, Marla, notorious for her bluntness rested her chin on her palm, brows raised.
She waved her free hand lazily.
“The strongest, huh?” she said, voice half-amused. “Say, say, do you guys actually know how strong this lord is? Like, for real?”
She looked around at the others, eyes behind the mask glinting with curiosity.
“We’ve got vague estimations... more than enough to scare anyone off, sure. But me? I like clarity. I want to know how much more.”
Hearing that, Celestine gave a light nod and smiled softly. “The last battle that took place in this territory... "
"it was a large-scale clash between the Lord’s forces and the horde"
"Based on our estimations, there are likely several hundred true lords in this region alone, and at least six or seven true kings."
"But that’s just what’s on the surface. As for the deeper layers, I’m afraid even I don’t know, Senior.”
Hisss!!
The sharp intake of breath wasn’t just from one or two people, it echoed around the table.
Just one true king was already enough to bring a complete victory in a war.
But hundreds of true lords?
And even more kings than reported?
That was insanity.
And yet, among the stunned faces, one figure narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, Rukhar.
He’d caught something in Celestine’s words that didn’t sit right.
He leaned forward slightly, his brows furrowing. “Say, child... just now, you said this lord saved our world. What did you mean by that?”
“Ah, that…” Celestine turned to face him with a graceful bow, hands clasped in front of her.
"Lord Liam and his partner, her highness Mize, completed the first event, as the only lords in the entire world who managed to do so."
"As a result... the Warp, which was meant to erase this world after our departure, changed the fateful trajectory. The fate of this world has been spared.”
Silence fell like a hammer.
“So the rumors,” Rukhar murmured, “about this world being a testing ground... they were true?”
Celestine nodded. “Indeed.”
The weight of that single word sent a heavy chill through the room.
The true lords gathered around the table felt the color drain from their faces.
Their hands clenched silently on armrests or robes, as realization set in everything they’d ever done, everything they’d built... it was all just a set-up.
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And when the curtain fell, so would they.
But then.
“Originally, If we joined the lord’s territory,” Juna said slowly, a flicker of hope crossing her features, “we could’ve survived, right?”
“Yes,” Celestine replied, “but that was before. Now that the world’s fate has changed, it’s no longer necessary.”
“Then...” Torrent narrowed his eyes, fingers tapping idly against the polished table surface, “why are we joining the cabinet at all? Clearly, the lord has no need for us. With his strength, he could crush this world with or without us.”
Celestine’s expression shifted, amused, yet calm.
She waved her hand, and the floating panel in the center of the room vanished without a trace.
Folding her arms lightly in front of her, she took a single step forward and tilted her head.
“Say,” she began casually, “if I’m a conqueror standing before a city... would I rather have the city open its gates to me willingly, or would I prefer to take it by force, and risk damaging the things I actually want?”
The question hung in the air like drifting smoke. There was no need for elaboration.
Torrent turned his face slightly to the side, lips pressed together, his thoughts turning inward.
The message had been received, loud and clear.
“It’s true,” he muttered. “Someone with that kind of power... there’s no chance he wouldn’t want to claim this world for himself.”
Across the table, Garron gave a low hum, crossing his arms as he leaned back.
His sharp gaze moved from face to face, reading the subtle shifts in expression.
“In that case,” he said plainly, “I’d rather offer myself to the strongest lord now than wait for our factions to be broken and scattered. He gets a functioning force... we get protection, full access to this dungeon, and perhaps, there are unknown benefits waiting for us in the future."
He looked up slightly, brows raised.
“And with his power as a deterrent, I doubt any other lords would have the nerve to mess with us. Who dares to play with fire when it’s already burning?”
“Makes sense...” Juna’s eyes lit up slightly as she leaned forward, fingers tapping the side of her armrest. “We’re not just surrendering, we’re merging. Giving him access to an existing structure that already holds ties across this entire region. That could actually strengthen his position.”
Her words clicked into place like puzzle pieces.
The others glanced around at one another, silent for a moment... then slowly, one by one, nodded.
They didn’t need to say anything more.
The decision was clear.