Free Web NovelChapter 99: Chapter 75: An Awe-Inspiring, Heavy Past
However.
No one could condemn them for their weakness.
Nor did anyone have the right to condemn them for their faltering faith.
Not even the Imperial Knights or the National Church Judges had that right.
Reinhardt had spent four years recuperating in Caster Monastery. He was a silent observer, witnessing these Mortals struggle bitterly under the weight of war and Demons.
Just as he himself had once struggled in Grillers World, in Frostfire Fortress.
The rebels’ offensive grew fiercer, and city after city fell to the flames of war.
The power of Demons warped the city’s citizens, twisted their beliefs, and shattered their hopes.
But these Mortals still did everything they could. Even the insatiably greedy Wasteland City Lord was desperately holding on, hoping for salvation from the Divine Emperor’s Angels.
Courage was never a quality exclusive to the Imperial Knights.
Mortals could be just as brave, like Raphael, a believer in the Divine Emperor who disregarded life and death.
Reinhardt had hidden his true identity simply because his power had severely waned. Even if he explained, no one would believe him.
Furthermore, revealing his identity would only attract the attention of the rebels and Cultists, bringing a catastrophic disaster upon the city and the Monastery.
His only worry was the Thousand-Change Monarch, hidden in the darkness and chaos of the Lower City District, secretly manipulating everything.
But the result was obvious.
The Thousand-Change Monarch had turned a blind eye to his existence, its attitude one of extreme disgust.
Reinhardt suspected it wasn’t because of his identity as an Imperial Knight.
’It must be the curse of Avernus, still lingering in my body. Perhaps in the eyes of a Demon, I am someone cursed by the supreme being of the Dark Abyss. An ordinary Demon wouldn’t dare overstep its bounds—especially this one calling itself the Thousand-Change Monarch, which isn’t from the Dark Abyss and is deeply wary of Avernus’s power.’
「At this moment.」
Reinhardt’s powerful, over-two-meter-tall frame stood on the street outside Caster Monastery. He seemed so out of place among the Cultivators, the residents, and this dilapidated city.
He faced the calm yet deeply despairing gaze of the High Tier Cultivator, Hayden.
He faced the panic of Caster Monastery.
He faced the strange looks from the city’s residents.
He faced... Raphael’s angry and confused stare, directed at his teacher and colleagues.
Reinhardt’s coarse linen clothes fluttered gently in the breeze. An aura of decay and ruin permeated every corner of this world.
He looked up. The statue of the Divine Emperor, though stained with Demon’s Blood and having weathered a thousand years, still stood tall.
Raphael was still arguing with his mentor.
He felt it was an injustice to Reinhardt. Why had his mentor, who had once taught him, become so faltering in his faith, unable to tell right from wrong?
But the young, zealous Priest didn’t understand.
No one’s faith was unbreakable in this dark world.
His mentor had already done everything in his power, like a martyr, trying his utmost to save this world on the brink of collapse.
When Reinhardt’s steady voice rang out on the street outside the gates of Caster Monastery, Raphael stopped his impassioned speech and recriminations.
He and the other Cultivators looked toward the tall young man standing amidst the street and the crowd, gazing up at the statue of the Divine Emperor.
"Cultivator Raphael, I still remember your lament as you prayed before the Radiant Holy Image. You hoped this world could receive the Divine Emperor’s grace.
That an Angel would come to save this desperate world."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what Reinhardt was trying to say.
The rusty guardrail on the street was broken, swaying in the wind and letting out a sharp CREAK.
The Imperial flags posted on the doors of shops and homes had long since faded and decayed.
The colorless banners hanging over the street silently spoke of this world’s former prosperity and glory.
Reinhardt’s gaze fell upon Raphael.
"In the name of the Divine Emperor and the Empire, I have witnessed the steadfast faith of Caster Monastery. Thank you for every meal and every potion you have provided me these past four years.
Please forgive my lies.
For I am not a knight’s attendant who fought alongside the army.
I come from Grillers World. I served in the Steel Knight Order of the Seventh Group Army, once acted as the captain of the second tactical squad, and joined the Iron Blood Battle Group after retiring."
When Reinhardt revealed his true identity to the crowd, the Monastery’s Cultivators were first stunned. Then, they all wondered if Reinhardt had gone mad.
They had long ago brought in a veteran to check, and there was no trace of Knight Power on him.
An apprentice, who had long been annoyed with Reinhardt for mooching off the Monastery for four years, pointed at his nose and rebuked him loudly.
"You destroyed the Desecrator’s Void Divine Artifact, ruining the Monastery’s painstakingly managed salvation plan! And now you want to impersonate an Imperial Knight! The Monastery does not welcome people like you! Please leave at once!"
The residents of the district who had not yet evacuated also cast doubtful gazes his way. frёeωebɳovel.com
The flying spittle was enough to drown a man.
If he really was an Imperial Knight, an Angel of the Divine Emperor, why hide his identity? Why hide in the Monastery and avoid the war?!
"Lies—!"
"You’re not an Imperial Knight at all!"
"Coward—!"
But Reinhardt was completely unmoved.
Not even a Great Demon could shake his will, let alone these ordinary people.
He simply stated the facts with indifference. Standing under the gaze of the Divine Emperor’s statue, his iron-willed aura—forged from slaughtering countless enemies and standing amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood—began to emerge. Combined with his towering, steel-like body, covered in scars and the marks of battle, it transformed into an invisible pressure that silenced all voices of doubt.
Even the well-traveled nobles of the Desolate Wasteland Ruins were awed into silence by Reinhardt’s terrifying aura, not daring to make a sound.
Raphael looked on in shock, as if he were seeing his like-minded old friend for the very first time.
As they heard the stories of his past, one by one, from Reinhardt’s own lips, an unbelievable shock and reverence began to dispel the doubts and disbelief of everyone present, from the Monastery’s Cultivators to the angry residents of the wasteland city. The brutal truth was more powerful than any lie.
For in their eyes, Reinhardt’s back was framed by the solemn and sacred statue of the Divine Emperor atop Caster Monastery, standing under its watchful gaze. freewёbnoνel.com
And every word of his account reeked of bloodshed and death.
That was not a terrifying war that a mere Mortal or a follower was qualified to experience!
"The Iron Blood Battle Group I served, along with the reinforcing Dragon Hunters, Radiant Angels, and the Death Battle Group, fought a bitter battle for a day and a night in Lanshi Province of Grillers World.
A traitor from the Death Battle Group betrayed us.
The Iron Blood Battle Group was wiped out.
The Radiant Angels were almost completely annihilated.
My Battle Group Commander died to cover my escape.
The Dragon Spear Knight, Lord Heinrich, champion of the Imperial Arena, led the Knights of the Dragon Hunters to block the Great Demon. To buy time for the retreat, their entire force was annihilated..."
