Chapter 377 - 341: Stance and Principles, Twelve Years Ago

Fedor’s intention was plain to see.

He and the Red Flame Son were willing to submit to the command of the Vengeful Angels, but only because of Reinhardt—not because of any order from the Imperial Administrative Region.

And by stating this in front of so many people on the bridge, he was also making his own stance clear: no matter what happened, the Red Flame Son would stand firmly with Reinhardt.

Although Fedor had not been in the Ash Soil Star Zone for long, the war to suppress the rebellion on Lundnia had made him realize that the internal struggles within the Imperial Administrative Region had likely escalated to a degree beyond his imagination.

A Knight Battle Group openly attacking a secret stronghold of the Judgment Court—such a thing would be utterly unimaginable in the Imperial Holy Territory.

He had experienced the cruelty of the power struggles Within the Empire for a full one hundred and ninety years after becoming a Battle Group Leader.

As outsiders, he and the Red Flame Son could not possibly discern the Administrative Region’s internal power structure in such a short time. But if they didn’t choose a faction to join at a time like this,

once a winner was decided and the time for reckoning came,

their fate would be no different from that of the Judges on Lundnia World.

Compared to the risk of pledging allegiance to an Imperial Administrative Region whose attitude was unknown, allying with Reinhardt was clearly a wiser choice. At least they wouldn’t be inexplicably set up to take the fall for someone else or tricked into being sent to their deaths as cannon fodder.

Besides...

The image of this man, cloaked in the Emperor’s radiance on the Eternal Battlefield as he shattered the Demon Void Realm with a single strike, was still fresh in his memory.

After hearing Fedor’s declaration, Reinhardt was silent for a moment before replying, "You don’t need to worry about the three hundred men being rotated out, either. The Military Affairs Department will be fully responsible for their supplies and provisions, and I will personally supervise it.

Corsica World is the Administrative Region’s vital Military Port connecting to Bator World, and they will bear a heavy responsibility.

As iron-willed veterans who withdrew from the Eternal Battlefield, I am confident they can handle this great responsibility."

Even though the subtext of Fedor’s words was that the Red Flame Son would only listen to his arrangements and command, Reinhardt, as the Great Tutor of Vengeful and one of the de facto leaders of the Imperial Administrative Region, could not let his own attitude and stance waver in front of everyone.

At all times, the interests and security of the Administrative Region were paramount.

Over sixty pairs of eyes on the bridge were watching him. If he accepted Fedor’s declaration without clarifying his own position, it would be tantamount in the eyes of others to admitting he harbored the ambition of becoming a Knight Warlord and usurping power, rather than fighting for the three hundred worlds of the Administrative Region.

Reinhardt was grateful for Fedor’s stance and declaration, but as the Great Tutor of Vengeful, he had to be cautious in his words and actions.

The exchange had been brief.

No one in the command hierarchy on the bridge ever stopped their work to look up at the command platform on the second level, but they had heard every word with perfect clarity.

Koller, standing beside Reinhardt, took a long, deep look at him.

From his initial doubt and mistrust to now, he had time and again witnessed the methods and wisdom Reinhardt displayed when dealing with all kinds of problems and matters.

He was gradually beginning to believe that under the leadership of this young Imperial Knight, the Vengeful Angels had a limitless future.

Because in Reinhardt, he saw all the traits a leader should possess—except, of course, for the huge flaw of enjoying rushing to the front lines himself, a fact that still gave him a massive headache.

He had served in the First Legion for a thousand years, under the command of numerous leaders and Battle Group Commanders.

Reinhardt was the first leader he had ever met who charged at the very front during battle, always choosing the toughest nuts to crack. It gave him the distinct feeling that even if the Glory Guard were present, it would be their lord protecting his Personal Guard, and not the other way around.

At this thought, Koller let out a heavy sigh. ’Let’s hope that thought never comes true...’

As for the Masters of Government Affairs busy at work on the bridge, they realized in that moment that this Great Tutor of Vengeful’s political maneuvering was far beyond anything those Imperial Knights with nothing but battle on their minds could compare to.

Or rather, even when it came to combat, few Imperial Knights could compare to Reinhardt.

It was just one short conversation with Fedor.

But in the first impression of the sixty Masters of Government Affairs on the bridge, Reinhardt had already become a terrifying figure whose political acumen rivaled that of the Grand Governor.

This filled them with ever-increasing awe and fear.

In other words,

when interacting with this lord in the future, they would have to be extremely cautious in their words and actions.

After resolving the issue with the Red Flame Son, Reinhardt glanced at Lu Jia, then turned to stand before the railing of the second-level command platform. The massive Vengeful Angel Battle Banner was at his feet.

"Bring the ship online. Destination: Penance World."

Before dealing with Lelag’s rebellion, it was time to bring the matter of the Holy Rose Order and Eleonor to a close.

It wasn’t just for Lu Jia’s sake.

That Nun Superior who betrayed him had to pay the price.

When he had rescued her and the Holy Rose Order from the Demon Void Realm, Reinhardt had no ulterior motives or demands; he was simply fulfilling his duty as an Imperial Knight.

But that didn’t mean she could escape only to oppose him at every turn.

She had even gone so far as to sacrifice her own subordinate, Lu Jia, in an attempt to bring him down.

As long as a person like that was alive, she was a liability.

At Reinhardt’s command, the once-empty bridge, now occupied by the command hierarchy, began to operate at high speed like a set of turning gears.

Lu Jia walked to his side. Her gaze traveled past the busy first level of the bridge and out toward the distant stars of deep space.

She raised a hand to brush away the pale strands of hair obscuring her vision. Her once vigorous Knightly Physique was now so weak. Beneath her greatcoat, the upright posture and proud figure that had been honed by long years of training had become visibly frail.

Her unhealed wounds throbbed with constant, sharp pain. The poison she had been forced to take over twenty days ago still lingered in her system, tormenting her body and mind.

But none of that mattered.

Knowing what she was about to face, Lu Jia gripped the cold steel railing and said in a low voice, "I can never forget that cold winter twelve years ago.

I hadn’t eaten in six days. I was kneeling outside the gates of the Holy Rose Convent. Hunger was like the Death God whispering in my ear, and the biting wind was a razor slicing through my flesh.

The cold... an endless cold.

It was then that Lady Eleonor, against all objections, took me in—a lowborn nobody.

In the Convent, there was a warm hearth, steaming rations, and soft quilts...

From that day on, I knelt before the Radiant Holy Image every day, grateful for the Emperor’s grace and for Lady Eleonor’s kindness and mercy.

I swore that I would defend the Emperor’s majesty with my life, that I would defend the purity and courage of the Holy Rose Order..."

At this point,

Lu Jia closed her eyes.

Thirty-six days of brutal torture had never made her shed a single tear of weakness.

But now, she was crying.

Like a child who had been cruelly abandoned by her parents yet again.

Simply by standing next to her, Reinhardt could feel the terrifying loneliness and despair deep within Lu Jia’s heart—an anguish potent enough to kill a person’s spirit.

Seeing this, Koller and Stearns quietly led their men away from the second-level command platform.

As the Avenger Flagship entered the Net Path, the roaring of the hull gradually subsided.

After a long silence, Reinhardt replied, "Fate does everything it can to force us to our knees, but we are still standing here, Sister."