Free Web NovelChapter 110: Chapter 82: Enter! Reinhardt
He didn’t get to finish his sentence.
A Black Armored Knight suddenly attacked. A terrifying force shattered the protection of his Mind Force Field as a hand, sheathed in Steel Armor, clamped viciously around Raphael’s face and mouth, slamming him against the wall.
He stared into Lafei’s eyes, his voice low, cold, and merciless.
"The Divine Emperor does not care for the faith of a heretic, Wizard."
As he spoke, the Black Armored Knight drew a Military Dagger and lunged viciously at Raphael’s throat.
Raphael tried to fight back, but the power of his Mind Storm was useless against the protection of the Anti-Magic Steel Armor. In that instant between life and death, a dark purple shadow flashed through Raphael’s vision. It was followed by a terrifying gust of wind, like a gale from the high heavens, that struck him full in the face, stealing his breath.
Hot, stinking blood, imbued with Demon Power, splashed across Raphael’s face. He could only stare blankly as a Giant Axe tore through the Black Armored Knight’s massive frame. The blade, having burst through the Knight’s chest, was still dripping blood.
A familiar, low voice sounded in his ear.
"I may not involve myself in the Battle Group’s affairs, but as its Battle Group Commander, you should have consulted me before deploying these new recruits, Priest."
The blade of the Giant Axe was withdrawn from the Black Armored Knight’s corpse.
Raphael clenched his fists. The shame of his defeat in battle and his catastrophic miscalculation felt like a permanent scar. He dropped to one knee, overwhelmed with self-reproach.
"Arrogance clouded my judgment. I am willing to accept any punishment for this."
He was met with only silence.
Frustrated, Raphael raised his head. A towering, imposing figure stood before him, blocking his view like a mountain.
Even though he wore only simple, coarse linen clothes, his powerful Physique of over two meters and his broad shoulders made him nearly as large as the rebel Knights in their Anti-Magic Steel Armor.
Eleven years.
Reinhardt was no longer the boy he once was. frёeωebɳovel.com
His medium-length black hair was thrown back wildly. His muscles were corded, his expression cold and merciless, and the battle scars faintly visible beneath his clothes were the mark of a veteran of an Imperial Battle Group.
The Knightly Aura of a Six-star Military Rank, like a roaring tempest, transformed into an incomparably terrifying pressure that filled the room in the Governor’s Mansion.
But that was not all. In his left hand, he held a Black Armored Knight whose neck had been snapped at some unknown point. He shouldered his Giant Axe and turned to face the Knights who had betrayed the Empire and thrown themselves into the embrace of Demons.
With just a single gaze, the aura and oppressive presence of a true powerhouse washed over them.
The four remaining Black Armored Knights couldn’t believe their eyes. That an Imperial Knight could exist on Seventeenth, a godforsaken, barren wasteland, was unthinkable!
As experienced in combat as they were, they knew with a single glance that this was no ordinary Imperial Knight!
A Six-star Military Rank...
This was a powerful being they had never encountered before, someone who should only exist in legends!
Elite Formations like the Steel Wings Mobile Combat Team or the Death Battle Group’s Ash Guard were a rarity within the Imperial Legions.
The strength of most mainstream Battle Groups was generally on par with the Steel Knight Order.
A Six-star Military Rank Knight was always the elite of the elite! Their combat prowess was terrifyingly beyond anything these men could imagine.
’Could this guy have been stranded here by a Void Storm?’
The Black Armored Knights’ captain gripped his Longsword, enduring the immense pressure of impending death. Cold sweat streamed down his back as he said in a low voice, "Imperial Knight, you have trespassed on the territory of Grand Lord Kles. You may leave on your own accord before we are forced to remove you."
The reality of the Dark Cosmos.
Aside from the utopia envisioned by the Radiant Divine Emperor and the Knightly vows, in the physical world, strength and backing were the only currency that guaranteed passage through this Cosmos.
The rapid change in the attitude of these Great Lord’s Knights was almost laughable. They had gone from mockery and ruthless cruelty, upon discovering the Caster Battle Group was just a local Combat Gang, to caution, upon realizing Reinhardt might have once belonged to an elite unit of one of the Empire’s Main Battle Corps.
Provincial Governor Ullrich had guessed that Reinhardt had a significant background, but since he wasn’t a Knight, he couldn’t sense the ebb and flow of his Power, only that he was strong.
However, from the attitude of these Black Armored Knights, he deduced that Reinhardt must be a serving Knight from a powerful Imperial Battle Group.
Otherwise, these rebels of the Local Lord would never have been so cautious.
Likewise, the new recruits of the Caster Battle Group, including Raphael, had never left this desolate world. Their understanding of Knight Power was rudimentary at best.
They only knew that Reinhardt’s strength far surpassed their own, but they had no concrete understanding of what that meant.
Otherwise, Raphael would never have made the foolish decision to lead new recruits to their deaths. It was a failing born from an absolute gap in knowledge and experience.
In contrast, these warlord Knights who had betrayed the Empire and fallen into the embrace of Demons knew all too well what a Six-star Military Rank Knight signified.
A powerful backer they couldn’t afford to provoke.
The terrifying Mighty Power of a single individual who could slaughter them all.
Perhaps a candidate from some Imperial championship program, or even a champion of the Imperial Arena from their time as an Official Knight.
If his Battle Group was searching for him and happened to run into them, it would mean total annihilation!
Reinhardt’s expression was cold and merciless. These Official Knights, whose strength peaked at the Three-star Military Rank, weren’t even worthy of being judged as ’hero’ units by his Steel of the Heart.
After being stranded on this isolated world for eleven years, he was completely unaware of the current state of the Empire.
Furthermore, when they had evacuated from Grillers World back then, their Radiant Waymark had been destroyed in a Void Storm, and he, Angel Albert, and the others had been scattered, forced to crash-land in different regions.
And Sedon...
Reinhardt opened his left hand, and the Black Armored Knight’s corpse fell to the floor.
"Raphael, take Alfred and His Excellency the Governor to Caster Church for safety. I’ll take over the fight here."
Raphael froze for a moment.
These Black Armored Knights possessed a level of strength and combat experience he had never encountered before. For Lord Reinhardt to face them alone...
Thinking this, his gaze fell on the rebel corpse on the floor. Raphael suddenly understood. Lord Reinhardt’s true strength was likely far greater than he had ever imagined. The only thing he couldn’t accept was that in the Battle Group’s first encounter with a powerful enemy, two of the four Knights he had poured his heart and soul into training—two of his Battle Brothers—had been sacrificed so meaninglessly here.
’May their souls find peace in the light of the Divine Emperor.’
His heart filled with grief, Raphael took one last, deep look at the rebels who had dealt them their first major defeat. He then shouldered the unconscious Alfred and covered Ullrich as they left the Governor’s Mansion.
He knew now that the Battle Group still had a long, long way to go...
Now, only Reinhardt and the four rebels remained in the room. While Raphael was leaving, one of them had used a Radiant Channel to report the situation to their Battle Group.
They had only dispatched two Knight tactical squads and a hundred-thousand-strong infantry company to conquer Seventeenth.
The plan had been to swiftly eliminate all resistance here before departing for the next world. But the appearance of the Caster Battle Group, a Mind Mage, and now this man had disrupted their plans.
The fires of war were spreading throughout the Star Zone.
The Loyalist Knights had been resisting for years, and the Great Lords’ armies were almost all deployed on the front lines. If not for the strain on personnel and resources, they wouldn’t have been sent to conquer such a desolate world.
However, they knew they wouldn’t be leaving here alive today, not before reinforcements arrived.
A battle was imminent.
Reinhardt stretched his body, which had grown slightly rusty from years of quiet cultivation. The long-lost thrill of battle began to flood his heart. These rebels would be a good test for the control over his Power that he had practiced during his years of seclusion. Besides, he had some questions for them.
Finally, one of the Black Armored Knights could no longer bear the oppressive feeling of facing Reinhardt. With a roar, he unleashed an Attributeless Destruction Force Field, which blew across Reinhardt’s face like a light breeze.
His heavy Steel Boots pounded the ground as he charged fearlessly at Reinhardt, sword in hand.
