NOVEL NEXT Chapter 542: Idle Void Prince
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Within the void, the concept of time was lost...well, it would be more accurate to say that it doesn't exist there at all.
The void existed even before the Primordial Chaos did. It is the oldest entity around and an eternal existence. Even if all was lost, the Void will remain; therefore, it doesn't need to conform to the measurements of time since Time itself exerts no influence on it.
While it's been years since the Void Prince invaded the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm and suffered his first defeat to a creature that doesn't conform with the rules of time, it might as well have happened yesterday or a few hours ago.
And to say that the Void Prince felt bitter about that loss would be an understatement. From start to end, he wasn't able to capture the key to his defeat. The only clue he knew was the voice that spoke to him before he was sent back to the void with the entrance to the realm closing up afterwards.
How could he be expected to know more if a sentence was all he got?
What made it worse was the blatant humiliation he received. He strutted in there, heart filled with unwavering confidence and belief that he was unstoppable and that the living creatures were nothing but pests he could trample with his feet, yet somehow, through inexplicable means, he still lost to them.
The Void Prince would accept it if it was the Primordial Chaos itself who made a move because that would validate his existence and threat to it. An entity that revolted against his creator making a move on him? That would be an acknowledgment of his might, prowess, and reputation. The Void Prince wouldn't feel bitter at all; in fact, he would even be happy if that were the case.
But that wasn't what happened. It wasn't the Primordial Chaos who made a move. It wasn't it that defeated him. Instead, it was some random creature that's too cowardly to show their face that did it. The blatant mocking she received as he was being sent away hurts just as much as the realization of his defeat.
Him? The Champion of the Void, the one that is specifically nurtured by the void to carry out its will, defeated by some unknown creature? How could he easily accept this?
His first mission turned out to be a massive failure. And until now, he still doesn't know whether to feel relieved that he hasn't been punished by his creator or scared that it has remained silent till now.
Either way, the Void Prince has been marinating in this sense of defeat for quite some time now.
He had this urge to gather up his troops to try again, but he decided against it in the end. He instinctively realized that getting caught up in his emotions wasn't wise. If he acted out of it, then what separates him from other Void Creatures?
No, he is special. He's still holding on to this belief. So, instead of deciding to invade again, he decided to take some time and do something else.
He instructed his royal guards with a mission. Using his authority as the Champion of the Void, he decided to increase the intelligence capacity of his troops, as well as their potential. Doing this doesn't only allow for smoother communication between his troops; it also promotes their strength dramatically. Additionally, it will also increase their favorability with him, making it easier for him to command them to do what he wants.
Sure, he could think of many ways for this to backfire, but he didn't care too much. The Void Prince is an absolute being within the void; if an audacious fellow were to truly try, then dealing with them is as easy as lifting a finger to him.
The Void Prince had no concept of time, so he wasn't aware that, while he was wallowing in his sense of shame and defeat, his enemies were already marching ahead and making tons of improvements. He wouldn't have imagined it either. He's not a living creature, after all. Besides, despite his defeat, he still held them in contempt.
In order to lessen his shame, he comforted himself by thinking this was just a fluke. They just got lucky this time and that the same trick won't work on him again. The next time he goes there, it will be different. He will crush them with his true might, and there will be no more mistakes.
But before going there again, he had to improve his troops. Alone, he's sufficiently powerful, but the invasion will take longer if he doesn't make use of his subjects.
So while he deals with the aftermath of his defeat, sparing only enough attention to check the improvements of his subjects, he wouldn't recklessly mobilize his troops to attack again.
**
In these past few months, Cedric kept sending and receiving drones to study the depths of the void. Fortunately, his efforts had been proven worth it.
By using the voidling drone to eavesdrop on the conversations of the void creatures, he learned what the Void Prince was up to recently. And even though he only had a few hints here and there, they were enough for him to see the general scene.
'I didn't think that he'd react this way after his loss. Not that I'm complaining, though. In fact, this works for us. The longer he sits there doing absolutely nothing, the better.'
With how many changes have happened since the last time he invaded, the Void Prince will surely be surprised once he returns. Of course, the longer he takes, the more surprises he'll get.
Cedric also discovered that he used his authority to increase the intelligence of his minions. Honestly, it was no big deal. Having a slightly increased wit wouldn't save them from the disintegrating missiles heading their way, so this isn't something that needs to be taken seriously.
Overall, Cedric had been overly paranoid, it seems. He thought that the Void Prince was plotting something big, but in truth, he wasn't. He just confined himself to dealing with the shame of his defeat, not knowing that by doing so, he's giving his enemies sufficient time to not only recuperate but improve as well.
This was also the part where Cedric realized that the Void Prince had no concept of time or urgency. This, coupled with his innate arrogance and hubris, makes him think that everything revolves around him, that if he doesn't move, the rest of the world remains still as well.
Well, who was Cedric to ruin this belief?
Besides, this works well with his arrangements, so why change it? Wouldn't it be better to take advantage of it instead?
After analyzing the behavior of the Void Prince, Cedric informed the rest about it. And to say that they're skeptical would be an understatement. That said, they don't understand the void language as well as Cedric does, and they already knew that he wouldn't lie to them, especially about something like this, so they could only believe them.
Obviously, this doesn't mean that they can relax. It's the opposite, actually. They should even hurry up because times like this are incredibly precious.
Sure, the Void Prince not having any sense of time could mean that he will unknowingly give them a lot of time to develop, but it could also go the opposite way. So while they still can, they should cherish the precious time they could get.
Fortunately, things had been moving in a positive direction since more Ancient Chaos Path experts appeared. And the development will only continue going faster the more people switch lanes, so there's nothing much to worry about.
But to truly have sufficient confidence about their chances, Cedric still thinks that at least one of the Paragons or the Chancellors should switch lanes as well.
Having more Void Refinement Cultivators would be nice and awesome, but they're still weaker than even the weakest Cosmic Level expert. If a Cosmic Level expert switches to the Ancient Chaos Path, then their security will certainly increase sharply.
The problem is, as the pioneer of this path in this era, Cedric was still far away from reaching that point. He hasn't even stepped into the 6th Stage of Void Refinement. Matter of fact, Cedric isn't even sure yet if the 9th Stage was the limit to the Void Refinement Realm. There could possibly be a 10th, 11th, and so on. This wasn't really included in the information he got so far. It's one of the things he had to explore on his own.
It's also the reason why he's neither encouraging nor preventing other cosmic-level experts from trying out his methods so far. He already informed them that his current research and information were insufficient and that accidents might happen.
If they truly wanted to risk it, that's fine under the assumption that Cedric wouldn't be responsible if they failed or died. But if they could wait until Cedric personally gets there himself, then maybe his discoveries could serve as a basis once more, which could prevent any accidents from happening.