Free Web NovelChapter 112: Chapter 84: The Grand War Begins
The Black War Axe fell to the ground, its blade sinking into the floor.
Reinhardt gripped the Divine Emperor’s Fury with both hands. Dark purple, living matter slowly seeped from his skin, forming an Extraordinary Armament.
The Knight Power of the Morphic Armor had been dormant for far too long. The living matter, fused with his will, issued a silent protest.
A soaring will to fight surged through his veins.
The living air sacs shifted into the form of Aikacia Nozzles, primed and ready.
The four rebels scattered and fled. The one carrying the Radiant Beacon hastily sent a message to headquarters, attempting a reverse-teleportation to escape this terrifying world.
Their mission was to conquer this barren world for Grand Lord Kles with overwhelming force and maximum efficiency, replenishing the troops and resources lost on the front lines.
But they never dreamed this mission would be a massive trap!
At first, they thought Reinhardt was an Imperial Knight stranded here by a Void Storm, so they hadn’t taken his presence seriously.
Not until the terrifying strength of a Six-star Military Rank was laid bare, not until the Anger Fire Longsword, imbued with the Divine Emperor’s Mighty Power, descended before him.
Only then did they realize that something was very wrong.
A Radiant Holy Artifact...
The Ash Soil Star Zone was currently ravaged by war, with Aliens, Void Demons, local factions, rebels, and Imperial remnants locked in constant conflict.
The Knight carrying the beacon had reason to believe.
This Six-star Military Rank Knight’s appearance on Seventeenth had to mean the Empire had secretly obtained clues that a Radiant Holy Artifact, lost by the Divine Emperor, was here.
Regardless of whether his guess was true, he had to report the appearance of a Radiant Holy Artifact to headquarters.
Not far behind him.
The bloodcurdling screams of his dying comrades and the sonic booms of high-speed maneuvering struck terror into his heart.
He sprinted away with all his might, panting as he pulled out the beacon. He prepared to drain all the Radiant Beacon’s energy to use its Star Language Communication and inform Battle Group headquarters of everything that had happened.
"We can’t let the Imperial remnants get the Pseudo-Emperor’s Sacred Artifact! We must destroy it before they... AHHH—!"
Before the Black Armored Knight could finish, a flame-wreathed longsword pierced through his heart from behind. His demon-tainted body let out a piercing, agonized shriek.
The soul, fallen to darkness, was burned to ash in the raging Divine Emperor’s Fury Flame.
Reinhardt withdrew the Divine Emperor’s Fury.
The anxious voice of a comms officer came crackling from the Radiant Beacon where it had fallen on the ground.
"What’s happening on your end?! The Grand Lord requires a more detailed report! Hey?! Say something—!"
Until a deep voice traveled through the Radiant Beacon to the comms officer’s ear.
"He’s dead."
"Who are you?!"
In the Upper City District, towers pierced the clouds. On a terrace outside the Governor’s Mansion, fierce winds howled.
Reinhardt stood beside the rebel’s corpse. He held the palm-sized, totem-like Radiant Beacon and replied, "Imperial Knight, Reinhardt."
After a moment of silence, a resonant, arrogant voice came from the other end of the beacon, a voice accustomed to command.
"The age of the Empire is over, Knight. Swear fealty to me, and I will grant you anything you desire."
Reinhardt’s clothes whipped in the wind, the Divine Emperor’s Fury Flame burning ceaselessly.
Looking down, he saw clouds flowing beneath his feet. Far below, the tens of millions of people in the Desolate Wasteland Ruins scurried like ants, seeking refuge in the streets and elevated bridgeways.
It was a posture of superiority over all living things, reflecting the arrogance of Grand Lord Kles himself.
Reinhardt remained expressionless.
"If you want my loyalty, you’ll have to come and take it yourself."
Grand Lord Kles fell silent. He knew the Empire’s loyalist remnants weren’t so easily fooled; to get the Radiant Holy Artifact, he would have to dispatch an army to take it by force.
’The Empire has already crumbled, and some insignificant Imperial Knight dares to provoke me?’
’Courting death.’
His voice was laced with anger, suppressing his fury at the disrespect. "As you wish, Knight."
The curt reply signaled that the flames of war were already spreading to Seventeenth. In this dark age, no one could remain aloof.
No matter how Reinhardt had answered, war was an unavoidable chasm.
No sacrifice was too great to be made, and no betrayal so small it could be forgiven.
The communication ended.
The Radiant Beacon’s power was completely drained.
Reinhardt crushed the metal beacon in his bare hand. As expected, Grand Lord Kles’s army would soon arrive on this world.
Returning to the Governor’s Mansion, Reinhardt walked over to the only rebel left alive, who was lying on the ground clinging to his last breath. He planted his right foot on the man’s chest and said in a low voice, "Tell me everything you know about this Star Zone, and I’ll consider giving you a quick death."
The Black Armored Knight removed his helmet. A torrent of black blood gushed out, staining his chin and neck. Though his skin and pupils showed signs of demonic mutation, the tough, weathered face of the veteran showed no fear of Reinhardt’s threat.
He stared into Reinhardt’s eyes.
"I fight for Grand Lord Kles! For the slaughter of Avernus! Heh... The Empire is worthless, you brainless fool! My soul will return to the Dark Abyss, my—AH! What did you do?!"
Since he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted, Reinhardt wasted no more time. The Divine Emperor’s Fury pierced the man’s chest, its flames incinerating his impure soul and denying him any chance to return to the Dark Abyss and be reborn as a Demon.
After dealing with the rebels, Reinhardt walked to the terrace. He gazed down at the complex, labyrinthine Stereoscopic City—a metropolis capable of housing tens of millions—then summoned his Morphic Armor and leaped off the edge.
「Forty-eight hours later, Radiant Holy City standard time.」
「One hundred thirty light-years from Seventeenth. Imperial Legion Command Post.」
A man with a cold demeanor and a ramrod-straight posture stood before a war map of the Ash Soil Star Zone. He was puzzled by the actions of his opponent, Grand Lord Kles, who, in the last six hours, had abruptly withdrawn a full Thousand-Man Battle Group and a standard eight-hundred-thousand-strong Infantry Legion from the front.
Krielan Planet was one of the industrial worlds in the Ash Soil Star Zone. There was no reason for a Great Lord, especially one backed by a Merchant Family, to suddenly withdraw his troops—particularly when he was suffering heavy losses. freёwebnovel.com
"Find Julius from the senior Think Tank. I need his ability to foresee the enemy’s strategic intent."
Just then, a young man with a full head of white hair walked into the command post. He wore the uniform of a Judge and looked terminally ill, his voice so faint it sounded as if he might drop dead at any moment.
"Your assessment is correct. It’s not just the Merchant Family behind Kles; Demons are also supporting his rebellion."
Before the cold-faced man could respond, a Clerk rushed into the command post, holding a transcribed copy of a distress call from a Radiant Beacon.
"My lord, this is a distress call from Seventeenth. They say..."
The man’s brow furrowed. He paid little mind to distress calls from impoverished worlds. "Didn’t I say," he began coldly, "that all non-critical distress calls are to be handled by the Think Tank?"
The Clerk broke out in a sweat under the man’s intimidating presence, but he mustered his courage and continued, "But, my lord, the call is from an Imperial Knight who calls himself Reinhardt. He also mentioned the Radiant Angels... and your name."
When the man heard the name Reinhardt, his expression changed. "Give it to me."
