Robert Killiman didn't expect him to be asked such a question. Logically, he was the one who asked the question – but he was already familiar with the trick.

Politics is the sum of the most terrible communication skills that humans can invent. You don't have to learn everything, you just need to master the worst of them to thrive in politics.

And Robert Killiman has it all.

So he knew — or rather, he thought he knew — that Carlil Lohals was trying to take the initiative.

But he was wrong, and he found out about it after thirteen seconds of silence. In the eyes of the opponent who was taller than him, he saw a rare honesty.

That honesty reminded him of the days when he was still in the presbytery arguing with people from all over for a little order, and he had that look in his eyes back then.

Frankly, he almost got a sting.

"Why?" He asked briefly.

He didn't want more, he didn't prevaricate the issue with the draft he had prepared, and he didn't even try to regain the initiative.

"Your home planet is under threat." Carlil Lohals said slowly. "This threat comes from the invisible, from an imperceptible world. Although I may sound alarmist to you when I say this, I beg you to believe it. ”

He clenched his fists slowly, and Killiman was keenly aware that blood belonging to Van Cleef was spreading along the lines of his skin in the palm of his right hand. Instead of dripping, they left sticky marks on that palm.

Silent, Robert Kiliman remembered again the man who stubbornly raised his hand and took his helmet and slowly put it on.

and a familiar anger.

He smelled it, it was clearly visible, spreading over the tall opponent, as obvious as his silence.

"Okay."

Kiliman bowed his head solemnly. "I believe in you."

He quickly walked behind the heavy marble table and stepped on a mechanism. The mahogany floor cracked, and the machinery worked, and in the middle of the flip, a massive metal countertop emerged in front of the marble table.

Killiman approached it, pressed a few buttons, and a pale blue holographic projection began to appear. From nothing, from 2D to 3D, from the unpredictable abstract lines of what will look like next, to the magnificent overlook of the city.

All of this in less than five seconds.

"How?" With a little pride, Killiman asked. "The scientists at Maculag have created a product that has paid off after four years of huge expenditure."

Carlil, however, didn't answer him, he just walked up to the projection, stared at it fixedly for a moment, and then quickly raised his right hand.

Killiman wanted to tell him how the projection should be used, how to split the exterior of the building to see the inner layer, how to make the underground water and electricity storage system see the light of day without having to send people in.

But the moment Carlil Lohals firmly stretched out his right hand, he knew that his thoughts were all superfluous.

- He knew how to use this thing for a long time?

This doubt emerges, then is extinguished, followed by another, but not a question, but a speculation.

- No, he didn't know how it was supposed to be used, he had just used or seen something like that. His movements were rusty, but that didn't stop him from showing a strange familiarity

This speculation makes more speculations come head-on, like waves on the seaside, one after another, never stopping.

"Look here." Carlil said. "My lord, and here and here, there are nine regions in total. From the power station to the flood control dam built on the mountain, the school, the research institute, the residential area and finally your office, this building. ”

"What's wrong with them?" Killiman asked, looking up at Carlil intently.

"They're dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

Killiman left the table and began pacing around the room.

There wasn't much room left for him, but he was able to show his frustration and pressure his opponent with his pace – and his opponent remained expressionless and silent, just waiting for him to use his next sentence.

Difficult, extremely difficult. He thought so, even with a little annoyance: I didn't want to use these things to communicate with you, but why should you use them on me?

"Is that all, instructor?" Kiriman paused and asked solemnly. "You need to be alone as well as a room, I believe you. You said that Maculag was under threat, and I believed you. ”

"Now, you're saying that these places are dangerous. Well, instructor. Where are the dangers? ”

"Makulag has a well-developed means of air defense, and my regiment also has a good ground protection. I have not seen any intrusion sirens today, nor have I heard any news of disturbances in the city. And this is a happy city, and even the conditions for civil strife are not met. So, where are the dangers you are talking about? ”

After saying this, he began to wait. To be precise, to be patient, meticulous waiting.

Excited like an Orion who had been ambushed in the morning waiting for his prey to fall into a trap, the feeling of meeting an opponent in chess made him excited. His eloquent eloquence began to play out, and he himself did not even realize it at all.

And his opponents.

"That's all I can reveal." Karil Lohals replied softly, his voice as soft as catkins compared to Kiliman's seriousness. "But I can repeat what I have revealed before, Lord Robert Killman."

He changed his stance on his feet.

In a split second – a sense of threat came over you.

"The Invisible Form." He said calmly. "Monsters, supernatural spirits, ancient things that cannot be looked at. Or maybe it's the darkness itself. ”

"You're just trying to play dumb riddles with me! You didn't answer my question! ”

Killiman snarled - he rarely spoke to others in that voice, and it wasn't really angry at the moment, just trying to pressure him to ask for more.

However, no matter how much he tried, how much he pressed with his eyes, his opponent stood still.

Even started smiling.

Smile approvingly.

"You've kept your emotions under control very well, and given what we're up against, I'd call the ability you're showing at this moment a rare talent. You're trained, aren't you? ”

"Yes." Killiman blurted out, only to realize that something was wrong. Karil Lohals changed the subject, and he again gained the initiative. He was chagrined to realize this.

"But it's none of your business."

He raised his chin and spoke in a haughty manner that he hated.

"You just have to tell me the truth of the matter, Instructor Carlil. You promised, on the tarmac, under the gaze of over 10,000 pairs of eyes, that you promised me anything I wanted to know. ”

"I'll answer every question you have." His opponent smiled slowly and gently. "I promised, yes, and I never lie. But I've already said it, Lord Robert Killiman, the formless. ”

He faded his smile to the point of seriousness, and began to repeat the awkward string of High Gothic.

"The Invisible Form." Carlil said. "This is what is threatening your city and even your home planet, an invisible threat."

Kiriman pursed his lips.

Annoyance, the emotion was so evident in his transcendent countenance, his handsomeness was one beyond the limits of mortal imagination, the laurels of green leaves against his blonde hair, and the serious gaze almost reminded Carlil of another person.

If he could, he would use his psionic powers here to ask for his help, but he couldn't. Psionic communication across such a distance is extremely risky, not to mention the fact that something is already spreading in this area.

Carlil lowered his head and began to wait for Robert Killyman's answer. At the same time, he began to think about something.

The Emperor—or Neos—made it clear when he was gone.

He has feelings, but his feelings are father-to-son, and friend-to-friend. He couldn't let these two feelings dictate everything, and he was emperor except for Neos.

Therefore, it is impossible for Carlil Lohals or Conrad Coetz to get some kind of preferential treatment that goes beyond the ordinary.

"Conquest."

The Emperor spoke solemnly to him from the middle of his hall, on the ground as bright as the reflection of the stars.

"It's his mission, and it's his duty. And the task of his nature will be carried out after this. You've got to make him understand it, Karil Lohals. Without conquest, humanity will not be able to escape its gloomy fate. Call it ambition or foolishness, but I just want humanity to become one. ”

"Is there no other way?" Carlil asked.

"Nope." The emperor said. "There is no other way but sacrifice. As my sons, they can't escape that. As my friend, so are you, Karil Lohals. ”

"I'm a friend of Neos."

"I am him." The emperor said majestically. "So conquer, for the sake of humanity."

"I don't want to believe your words."

After a long silence, Robert Killiman spoke in a low voice.

"Whether it's for reasons or the content of Imperial truth, I don't want to believe your claims about the formless. You're trying to convince me that Macurag is about to be attacked by the mythical goblins, Karil Lohals. You're just crazy. ”

He shook his head in exasperation and wiped his sweaty forehead.

"And I'm willing to believe you." He looked up, anger burning deep in his pupils, and beyond that, there was something familiar to Carlil. "For the sake of the people in Makurag, I want to believe you."

Carlil smiled.

He came to the edge of the table and held out his right hand.

"You won't be disappointed." He promised. "I'll kill every monster that dares to invade here."

Killiman smiled too, and the tension dissipated in an instant. He shook hands with him and shook him up and down twice.

"The tone in which you say this sounds like a killer." At the end of the conversation, Kiliman quipped.

Kaven was stuck for a long time, and finally got on the verge of sudden death to write this chapter. After waking up, I continued, about 10,000, only more, not less. Ask for a ticket.

(End of chapter)