Chapter 425: Ch
Chapter 425: Ch
Seeing this happen, both of them sighed in relief before standing up and shaking hands.
"Let us hope and fight for a better future together."
And if one looked carefully, Lord Shadow’s face now appeared visibly more relaxed and calmer than before.
After all, what they had signed was no ordinary agreement.
It was a contract that directly linked two powers together.
While it did not make them official allies, it ensured that neither side could back away from the signed terms without consequence.
If anyone violated the agreement, it would become an act punishable by the very will of the galaxy and even the universe itself.
And that punishment was known to be severe.
This was yet another reason why Lord Shadow and the Dark Lord behind him had been looking forward to this signing so much.
Getting this done was a massive deal for Lord Shadow and even for the Dark Legions themselves.
Almost instantly, a great amount of weight that had long rested upon his shoulders was finally lifted to a large extent, causing him to sigh in relief.
After all, he would no longer have to constantly rack his brain trying to come up with desperate plans to defend against and counterattack the elite legions of the Holy Angel Empire.
And not only that, if things progressed quickly enough, then there was even a high chance they could heavily damage the Holy Angel Empire itself by playing the role of a mouse despite actually being a tiger.
But that was something for later.
For now, he remembered the hint Lord David had previously given him.
Looking toward him with curiosity and anticipation clearly visible on his face, Lord Shadow asked,
"Now that we are done with this, Lord David... can you tell me about that surprise you mentioned earlier?"
"Of course, Lord Shadow." David smiled as he stood up and said, "Come, follow me. Those things are quite big, so I can only show them to you directly."
Saying that, without even looking back toward Shadow, he walked out of the secured chamber and stepped onto a moving platform not long after.
Shadow was slightly confused, but his curiosity was far stronger than that confusion, causing him to follow David without even the slightest hesitation.
Soon, he boarded the same moving platform, which lifted off the ground before rapidly moving forward, disappearing deep into the countless corridors of the vast spaceport on this pirate-ruled planet.
Not long after, they all entered a heavily restricted area filled with a large amount of security personnel.
People dressed in advanced armored suits, along with towering mechs, could be seen stationed around the area, standing ready for any possible situation.
Shadow was surprised as to why they were moving through this zone, but even more surprising to him was the fact that none of the soldiers or mechs stopped them even once.
And if one observed carefully, those soldiers were even behaving respectfully toward David.
That alone caused even greater curiosity to rise within Shadow.
From the information he had gathered, this entire place had supposedly been "rented" by a mysterious group several weeks ago, even before he had first come into contact with David and the Void Human race.
Those soldiers were apparently the private security forces of that mysterious group.
And now, seeing them act respectfully toward David made him extremely curious.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, he finally asked, "Why are we inside this restricted zone, Lord David? And more importantly, why are those mysterious soldiers acting so respectfully toward you?
Do you perhaps have some kind of connection with them... or with their employer?"
Even while asking that, Shadow himself was almost certain that shouldn’t have been possible.
After all, powerful as the Void Humans were, they were still considered a relatively new faction with limited connections across the galaxy.
So knowing the employer behind these soldiers should have been nearly impossible.
Which meant. There was likely only one possible answer.
Thinking about that possibility, Shadow looked toward David while subconsciously holding his breath, waiting for his reply.
"You got it wrong," David said with a shake of his head, acting oblivious to the expression Shadow was currently making.
"They are my subordinates, Lord Shadow, and that is why they are being so respectful toward me."
"Huh... your subordinates...?"
Even though Shadow had already guessed that possibility himself, hearing it directly from David’s mouth was an entirely different matter altogether.
And honestly, it was quite astonishing to him.
But after connecting several things together, Shadow suddenly became serious. After all, these forces had now been confirmed to belong to the Void Human race. Yet that itself was not what truly made him serious. What truly bothered him was their presence here.
These people had apparently been operating within this region for quite a long time, even before he had first met David or before any talks between them had begun.
And now he couldn’t help but wonder...
What exactly had they been doing here for so long? And why were they being so secretive and cautious regarding this heavily protected zone? Was there perhaps something shady hidden here?
But the moment that thought appeared in his mind, Shadow immediately rejected it. After all, they had already signed the contract. There should not be any problems from the Void Humans’ side.
Still, Why had they remained here for so long? What exactly was their purpose?
And most importantly... What were they hiding?
David easily saw through Shadow, as this time he truly wasn’t able to maintain his facade properly.
After all, the surprise waiting ahead was simply too great.
Thinking of that, David calmly explained,
"There is no need to act like that, Lord Shadow. You will soon enough understand what and why we are being so secretive and cautious here, to the point that we have deployed so many people around this place."
Caught off guard by this, Shadow was stunned.
This was the first time someone had seen through him so easily.
He couldn’t help but smile bitterly before nodding his head.
Not long after, they all exited the corridors and entered a vast hangar bay where different kinds of ships and equipment were arranged in orderly formations while numerous mechs and soldiers patrolled the area.
But that wasn’t what caught Shadow’s attention.
What truly drew his eyes were the ships and other equipment present there.
They bore a striking resemblance to the design philosophy of the Dark Legions.
Yet as far as he could remember, there were no ships within the Legions that looked exactly like these, even if the overall philosophy behind them felt extremely familiar.
Not only were these ships noticeably larger based on their respective classes, but the weapon systems he could see mounted upon them were also visibly different.
And more than that...
He could feel a clear threat of death coming from those ships.
And the higher the class of the vessel, the greater the danger he instinctively felt from them.
"How is it, Lord Shadow? Do you like my surprise?"
Seeing Shadow’s stunned and confused state, David asked with both pride and a faint smirk on his face.
Shadow, who still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock, couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly while asking in disbelief.
Even though he already had some guesses and hints regarding the truth, he still wasn’t ready to truly accept it, much less believe it completely.
"Hehe... now, don’t act like that, Lord Shadow." David chuckled lightly. "These are the ships we prepared to deliver to you based on our agreement. And as good partners, we are presenting exactly that to you."
As he spoke, the smile on David’s face only grew wider and wider.
Meanwhile, Shadow felt his face heating up slightly from both shock and irritation after seeing David’s increasingly smug expression.
He was surprised, stunned, and honestly left speechless.
At this point, Shadow clearly understood that from the very beginning, the Void Fleet had already planned everything out and even predicted what the final outcome of their negotiations would be.
Otherwise, there was simply no way these ships could already be prepared and waiting here.
Originally, he had thought that even under the fastest circumstances, it would still take at least one or two weeks, perhaps even a month or two, before the first deliveries could truly begin.
But who could have known...
Who could have possibly imagined that things would develop like this?
And only now did Shadow truly begin to realize that these Void Humans were no simple power at all.
Their methods were far more mysterious and terrifying than he had originally imagined.
To be prepared to this extent even before making contact or finalizing a deal with his faction could not possibly be the result of mere predictions alone.
No...
This level of preparation meant something far deeper and far more frightening.
And for the very first time since meeting David, Shadow began to feel genuine fear
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