CHAPTER 76: ARLEAN TRIBUNAL

"What a sharp tongue. I hope you’re also smart enough to know what you’re getting into," Abner muttered coldly, hearing his own words thrown back at him.

"Thank you for your praise, Lord Abner. It is my duty to serve the Earth and its people!" Nash smiled, undeterred by the threat.

With the Transcendence-tier 1 sniper rifle and the perfect-grade armor he got from Camilla, how could he be intimidated by a few threatening words?

If push came to shove, he could try assassinating a void commander again.

"Hmph! Fine, continue..." Abner snapped, losing his patience.

Although they couldn’t do much about Nash, the Eastdam State was a different story.

With just a few words from the Earth Horizon Alliance, the Eastdam State could go from the most prosperous state to the most desolate one.

Sanctions, trade restrictions, media control, transportation bans—it would be too easy to suppress the Eastdam State into nothing.

The only variable was the Fiero family. With their support, Abner wasn’t sure how far those elite talents could go.

Once they won a place in the Nova Cosmic Competition, they’d only have a few months to mine the rich void crystal mines in the Earth Solar System instead of a few years.

Clenching his fist, Abner couldn’t help but glare at Nash.

Meanwhile, with little to add, Nash sat down, giving the floor to Edward, the Chancellor of the Linton State.

Having done little recently, Edward’s speech was brief. He listed the laws he had changed and improved, and how they benefited the state.

"This guy’s gotten stronger..." While listening, Nash couldn’t help but notice how much Edward’s strength had increased.

Previously, having a 97% void saturation, Edward was hailed as the strongest Earthling before Trish.

Being so close to advancement, yet stagnating for years, Nash assumed that Eward simply lacked the talent or resources to become a void commander.

But looking back at history, he realized that any untamed void commanders who had appeared on Earth were either exiled or exterminated as they threatened Arleanian rule.

Now it seemed those shackles had been broken, just a few months of liberation, Edward advanced to 99% void saturation, just one step away from advancing.

Soon after Edward finished speaking, the other chancellors took turns reporting the improvements in their respective states.

Bored out of his mind, Nash shifted his consciousness into the runic space and started refining the optimization plan for the [Sensing Module System].

---

As hours passed, with each chancellor taking their turn, Nash thought the assembly was finally wrapping up when the door suddenly swung open.

"Arleanians?" Nash frowned as he looked at the visitors.

Their deep red eyes and overwhelming presence made him uneasy.

The man leading them should be a Void General, with a squad of Void Commanders behind him.

An army like that could wipe out the Earth Horizon Alliance in the blink of an eye.

What unsettled him more was that Abner and the other Void Commanders didn’t panic. Instead, they greeted the guests respectfully.

"Are all the Void Warriors on Earth present?" Enoch, the Void General leading the Arlean Tribunal, asked coldly.

"Yes, everyone is here," Abner replied quickly, not wanting to risk angering him.

The Arlean Tribunal was the top elite force of the Arlean Civilization—a whole different level than those low-rank troops that had previously been stationed on Earth.

It was like comparing a police force to an elite army.

If the earlier troops were a private force, the Arlean Tribunal was the sharpest blade of the Arlean Civilization.

What’s worse, because of their special identity, they could ignore most of the rules in the Nova Sector.

At most, if they break a rule, they could pay some compensation to the Nova Government.

Fearing they would directly flip the table, Abner had called everyone together under the guise of an assembly, just to prevent anyone from fleeing once the news spread.

As for those void warriors who just advance and slip through, he didn’t think it was important.

"That’s good. I’ll ask one question, then I’ll leave."

Without wasting time, Enoch scanned the room and pulled out a picture of Elias Fletcher—the talent with the purest Arlean ancestral bloodline that had gone missing.

"Has anyone seen this man, Elias Fletcher? If you have, stand up. I’ll grant you wealth and status beyond imagination," Enoch said, his crimson eyes turning a deep, dark red as they swept the room.

Under those eyes, nothing could be hidden. The slightest reaction, the faintest flicker of emotion—if someone had seen Elias Fletcher, Enoch would know, even if they stayed silent.

Unfortunately, after scanning the room several times, he saw nothing but fear, greed, and other meaningless emotions.

"No one? Tsk. Let’s go."

Without another word, Enoch turned and left with the Arlean Tribunal, heading for their next target.

Watching in silence, everyone in the assembly, whether Void Commanders or Chancellors, didn’t dare breathe heavily until the Arlean battleship finally left the Earth Solar System.

"Huh~" A collective sigh of relief swept through the room as the ship disappeared.

It felt like they had just narrowly escaped death.

Especially Nash. Even while inside the runic space, he had unconsciously held his breath, as if hiding from a pack of beasts.

Especially since the moment he saw the picture of Elias Fletcher, his heart nearly stopped. Wasn’t that the man he killed five years ago?

Knowing he was screwed, Nash could only pray they didn’t know what they were looking for.

Thankfully, the Arlean Tribunal seemed to be grasping at straws.

After flashing the photo, they simply scanned the room, hoping to catch a reaction.

But with his consciousness tucked away in the runic space, his body wouldn’t react to anything without his command.

Just to be sure, Nash even activated the [Autonomous Module System] to display a normal range of emotions, just like everyone else.

Having survived the ordeal, Nash could only be grateful he was already in the runic space when the Tribunal showed up.

Otherwise, his reaction would’ve given him away instantly.

Meanwhile, seeing that the Arlean Tribunal had left, Abner wasted no time ending the pointless meeting.

The whole thing had just been a show to keep the Void Warriors present and to appease the Arlean Tribunal.

Now that their real purpose had been achieved, Abner wasn’t interested in wasting another second.

With one last threatening glare at Nash, Abner dismissed the assembly.