"Followers?"

Contrary to every expectation, no anger erupted among the audience — instead, faint smiles spread across several faces, and a few even chuckled in disbelief.

"You want us as followers?"

"Of course, of course!" one of them sneered mockingly, bowing his head with exaggerated politeness. "Shall I warm your feet for you, my lord? Hehe!"

Another joined in, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Hehe, hey sir, shall I brew you a cup of coffee while you command the universe?"

"..."

The five emperors — the true figures of authority seated in the center — did not laugh. They focused their gazes on Robin with visible confusion and growing intrigue.

Words like these... were not something an ordinary man, let alone a sane one, would utter in such a place.

"Alright, alright~" Robin finally waved his hand a few times, smiling faintly as he gestured for silence.

"I'll tell you what I have to say, and then you can decide for yourselves."

His tone was calm but carried the weight of confidence that silenced even the whispers.

"As I mentioned when you all entered this hall, I will not force any of you to do anything."

Without waiting for permission or question, he continued, his voice turning slightly colder:

"The truth is, I only mentioned those enormous prices earlier to drive you away—hoping one or two of you might break the deal and spread the technology around. That way, I'd get to see who had the courage to defy the agreement and have my reason to collect some planetary artifact, like I will do to the Eternal Turtle Empire."

He leaned slightly forward.

"But since one of you actually did it, and since the rest of you are still sitting here with no intention of leaving... I suppose it's time I speak directly."

Robin's expression hardened, his brows narrowing sharply.

"There's something massive approaching... something that will soon strike the heart of Sector 99 Mid. Something that will shake the entire sector to its core. Something whose flames will, without a doubt, reach every one of you."

The words made the room colder. A few exchanged glances.

"What do you mean?" asked the man with the green skin, his tone cautious. "Nothing could possibly affect all of us... except for a cosmic war."

"You said it." Robin lifted his shoulders in a light shrug, his tone almost casual.

The man with gazelle-like horns slammed his palm on the armrest. "Wait—are you saying that a cosmic war will break out soon in Sector 99 Mid?!"

"In short... yes." Robin nodded with slow emphasis.

"And it's closer than you could ever imagine." His gaze swept across the hall, meeting each emperor's eyes in turn.

"Frankly speaking, once that war begins, the entire sector will change forever — no matter who wins, no matter who loses."

"Where did you get this information?!" the woman wearing a crown of radiant feathers demanded. Her tone was sharp, almost panicked.

"There are no signs of anything like that! No movement of fleets, no mobilization of legions, nothing!"

Her concern was justified.

Cosmic wars were not sudden; they were storms that brewed over ages.

They usually required centuries — even millennia — of secret preparation.

The war of Sector 101 Mid, for example, had been "cooking" for nearly two thousand years since the first discovery of Verilion.

Its eruption, when it came, shocked no one. But this? This came out of nowhere.

Robin rubbed the back of his head and gave a faint sigh.

What could he possibly tell her?

That he himself would be the one to ignite that war?

"Unfortunately..." Robin exhaled slowly, placing both hands over his abdomen with a calm, almost leisurely posture, "...that information remains classified for now."

He tilted his head, his voice lowering to a tone that carried both temptation and threat.

"But I want you to think about one simple thing — the sheer speed at which the Grave Empire has expanded.

How much investment, how much power, how much wealth has been poured into it — in just two short centuries.

And then, I want you to ask yourselves… why?"

"..."

The hall fell into utter silence once more.

They did not need Robin's reminder.

Every single one of them — indeed, every major power in the entire sector — had asked themselves the same haunting question:

Where was the Grave Empire getting its limitless funding from?

And why was its growth beyond anything recorded?

"Are you saying..." the man of the Black Leopard lineage spoke slowly, his eyes narrowing to slits, "...that you're preparing it to take part in the coming cosmic war?"

"No."

Robin's answer came swift and absolute.

He slammed his palm onto the table in front of him, the sound echoing like thunder.

"I've prepared it... to win the coming cosmic war!"

Gasps filled the chamber. A few instinctively straightened their backs, others clenched their fists, their auras flickering like unstable flames.

Robin's gaze swept across them once again — calm, cold, unshakable.

"There's a game being played, gentlemen and ladies," he said softly, each word deliberate and slow.

"A game whose pieces are being moved by hands far greater than yours or mine — a game that cannot end except with a cosmic war."

He leaned slightly forward, voice dropping to a dark whisper that carried across the hall:

"A war that will drag Sector 99 into utter chaos...

A war that will not spare a single force — great or small — without crushing it... or bringing it to its knees."

Gulp.

The students swallowed hard, their throats working as if the air itself had thickened.

The rest of the hall fixed their gazes on Robin in stunned silence, "...." Even Shaddad, Jabba, and Morgana — figures not easily rattled — sat forward, eyes locked on him with a tense, eager anticipation.

"So, according to you, you intend to begin assembling a team for that cosmic war?" asked the man whose hair hung like viscous gel, his voice sharp with incredulity. "Am I hearing you correctly?"

"Precisely." Robin met each of them with a steady look. "What is wrong with that?" he said bluntly. "You may not be aware, but alliances are already being formed in secret while we sit and talk. The universe is sliding into a dangerous phase, and those who lack sufficient strength will be crushed like cockroaches beneath the boot of history!"

"And this alliance you propose will naturally be led by the Centennial Grave Empire, right?" The green-skinned man curled a sardonic smile. "Even among our ranks alone, the Centennial Grave Empire isn't in the top four when it comes to number of planets!"

"How long did your family take to gather those worlds, and how long did the Centennial Grave Empire take to gather theirs?" Robin's voice rose with fierce clarity. "In the last million years, how many planets did you amass? And in the last hundred years, how many did the Grave Empire claim? That comparison is absurdly unfair!" He leaned forward, intensity sharpening his words. "By the day of the event, the Grave Empire will, beyond doubt, outnumber you in planets — and I'm offering that as an easy promise. No — even without a promise, every one of you understands that this will happen inevitably within a handful of centuries!"

"And don't let us even start on the difference in military strength, the Note fleets, or the number of seasoned experts." Robin's gaze swept the table, cool and unblinking. "Not to mention the presence of the black wasps — some you've seen, others you can't even imagine." He struck the table with force, punctuating the statement. "Who among you dares to open his mouth now and claim he can subdue the Grave Empire or surpass them in any measure? Who dares to say he is fit to head the alliance while the Grave Empire still stands?"

"....."

"Professor Robin," the brown-skinned elder said in a measured tone, "don't you see you're sketching a future pulled from thin air and presenting it to us as an unavoidable reality? None of us has heard of any immediate, great threat on the horizon, yet you're talking about a cosmic war and already making direct comparisons. You're racing events far too quickly."

"When would you prefer to have this conversation then? After the sky collapses over your heads?" Robin's reply came curt and edged with impatience. "That war is coming without fail. If I fail to secure your backing, I will secure the backing of others — and then you will have no place at my side."

"Are you threatening us?!" The elder tightened his brows, voice hardening.

"In cosmic wars, no one knows when an arrow will be loosed or whom it will strike." Robin waved his hand in exasperation, impatience flaring. "If you are not with us, you are against us — are these not the fundamental rules?"

"...This is extremely serious." The man with the little horns stood slowly, the motion deliberate. "I will need to withdraw and investigate this matter on my own."

Choosing sides in cosmic wars is not a trivial matter — assuming there is any unity at all. If he digs into delays and finds real signs that something is about to occur, he would be wise to secure himself an ancient empire alliance that guarantees survival.

"Take your time," Robin said, waving him off with a casual, dangerous calm. "But if a single word leaks about the likelihood of a cosmic war commencing soon, I will annihilate your empire before you can comprehend what has happened." His eyes swept the remaining faces. "This warning applies to every one of you: whether you stand with me or against me, keep your mouths shut by your own will — or I will be forced to close them forever."

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