Chapter 380 - 343: War to Suppress the Rebellion, Part 1

The next moment.

A blast of ship-to-ship cannon fire screamed in, slamming against the Avenger Flagship’s Zeka Shield. It erupted into a towering inferno, and the bridge was completely engulfed in a crimson glow!

Immediately after.

Several small ships, like gnats swarming a face, charged head-on toward them as the stunned command staff watched.

However, everyone qualified to be a member of the Avenger Flagship’s command staff was a hardened Mortal who had stared death in the face and seen it all.

The shock lasted only a second.

Then, the entire command system on the bridge kicked into high gear, roaring to life like a maxed-out engine.

Before the command console on the first level.

A one-eyed Navy veteran stared at the approaching enemy ships, his composure absolute as he barked out a series of orders. "Those six ships are enemy boarding parties. Initiate Emergency Protocol Three. Prepare for contact.

Rhodes, push the Zeka Shield’s power to seventy percent. Activate starboard cannons. Once they’re in range, try to take a few of them down."

After issuing these orders, he spoke gravely into the command’s Spiritual Energy comms, "Sirs, we may have fallen into an enemy trap. I suspect there’s a mole among the personnel who fed intelligence to the Military Affairs Department."

At that moment.

Urus, who had been sitting silently in a corner of the second-level command deck like a shadow, rose with a frown. "This level of Spiritual Power... Lord Reinhardt, I believe someone is attempting to activate an ancient Witchcraft Device on Cyrenaica."

Just as Urus finished speaking,

an enemy ship that had slipped past the cannon fire screamed in and smashed head-first into the Avenger Flagship’s hangar bay!

In an instant,

the Avenger Flagship shuddered violently, as if caught in an earthquake.

The bridge crew was thrown about, stumbling and staggering, forced to grab onto anything nearby just to stay on their feet.

When Reinhardt unslung the ridiculously oversized Black War Axe he always carried on his back, every eye on the bridge instantly fixed on him.

"Koller, I’m giving you full command of the bridge and its security. Try to contact any nearby friendly forces and figure out what’s going on. As soon as Second Company and the Red Flame Son arrive, establish contact with them immediately."

Koller nodded slightly, then gave an order to two of his subordinate Think Tanks.

"Friend or foe, I need you to establish a usable Spiritual Energy comms link, whatever it takes. We..."

His voice trailed off.

The Think Tank’s voice stopped abruptly. Light from the viewport illuminated his old, rugged face, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

It wasn’t just him.

As the Avenger Flagship streaked through the high orbit of Cyrenaica, the planetary horizon shifted, revealing a vast fleet arrayed in the low orbit of the Cyrenaica World. Like a dense swarm of bees pouring from a suddenly opened hive, the ships appeared as a terrifying mass that filled the viewscreen of every crew member on the bridge!

At this point,

even a fool could see what had happened.

The rebels hadn’t massed at Lelag World at all! They were here, at Cyrenaica, the only Military Port that could serve as a springboard for an attack on Lelag World!

In other words, the enemy had laid this trap long ago, just waiting for them and the Rebel Suppression Army to walk right into it!

"Emperor preserve us..."

The young Think Tank Havier witnessed the visually overwhelming scene. He felt his heart stop, his pupils constricted, and a single drop of cold sweat slowly trickled down his forehead.

Even with his short military career, he could still estimate the scale of this rebel force. The Cyrenaica World was occupied by at least a hundred-million-strong Infantry Legion, along with tens of thousands of Imperial Knights!

With such a terrifying military force, forget the Avenger Flagship and the Rebel Suppression Army that was still on its way.

Even the defensive forces of Iberia, the capital of the Administrative Region, couldn’t hold out for more than three days against an attack of this magnitude!

Urus’s expression darkened as well. The Silencers had never reported anything to him about rebels before this. And the thought that this was, once again, the Infiltrator Council operating in the shadows...

Defeated, again and again.

Urus slammed his fist on the command console, his voice filled with incandescent rage.

"Those bastards... They actually managed to bypass the Silencers’ intelligence network! Koller, how long until the rebel suppression forces reach Cyrenaica?"

Koller’s brow furrowed. "According to the arranged schedule, the first to arrive, the Red Flame Son, will need at least seven hours. The Fourth Fleet and the Infantry Legion could take over twenty hours.

We... have been ambushed."

The light of a distant star shone with a piercing glare across the deep Cosmos.

It passed over the rebels’ massive fleet, casting a shadow that seemed poised to swallow the Avenger Flagship whole!

Reinhardt had been about to personally deal with the enemy boarding parties, but now, with the enemy armada bearing down on them, the atmosphere on the bridge plunged to a freezing point.

Fear.

Anxiety.

Horror.

All these negative emotions spread wildly across the bridge.

They had arrived at Cyrenaica only one step ahead, and now they were caught in a Spiritual Energy blockade, unable to send any message out.

And then there were the hordes of rebels.

If the enemy launched a full-scale assault, the Avenger Flagship—a lone ship in a vast ocean—would have virtually no chance of survival.

Death was only a matter of time.

Even the Navy veteran, so calm and collected before, had gone pale, falling into a long, grim silence.

For they had all seen the future: their own deaths.

Until Reinhardt’s harsh voice shattered the dead silence on the bridge.

He knew that as the Great Tutor of Vengeful, it was his duty to step forward at this moment and say something.

His majestic body, clad in Power Armor, faced the enemy fleet as he stood tall before the railings of the command platform.

His right hand gripped his Black War Axe, his expression one of grim, iron-willed resolve. There was not a hint of hesitation or fear in his eyes, despite the enemy’s power and numbers.

"Today... is your first war as Vengeful Angels. It may also be your last."

As he spoke,

everyone looked up at Reinhardt.

The three Battle Sisters, along with Lu Jia, raised their heads to look at the Great Tutor of Vengeful as he delivered his pre-battle address.

"I know some of you are afraid. Some of you are terrified. But remember this: fearing death has never been our weakness. Only by understanding the terror of death, by facing the fear in our hearts, can we truly comprehend the sublime meaning of sacrifice."

As he spoke, Reinhardt turned and picked up the Vengeful Angel Battle Banner that rested in a corner of the command platform.

"The enemy has betrayed the sacred cause of the Human World. They seek to trample our ideals underfoot. But we... we never yield.

For we are the Vengeful Angels. We are the embodiment of the Emperor’s wrath.

With my broken body, I become a raging fire, to burn away all enemies in this world."

From beginning to end, there was no rousing passion in Reinhardt’s tone, nothing meant to inspire. There was only the grim, iron resolve of impending death, a repressed silence that spread through every corner of the bridge with his pre-battle speech.

He slowly raised the Battle Banner, his voice low.

"For the Vengeful Angels. For the Administrative Region. For... the Emperor."

At that moment,

Reinhardt’s speech felt less like a pre-battle address and more like a eulogy for the Vengeful Angels before their final, noble sacrifice. He wedged the Battle Banner at an angle into the railing, leaped down from the command platform, and, War Axe in hand, strode purposefully toward the blast doors.

As he passed Lu Jia,

the Battle Sister drew her Knight’s Broadsword. Her cold gaze swept across the faces of her three sisters, and then she resolutely fell in step behind Reinhardt, marching toward the enemy’s position within the ship.

The remaining three looked at each other.

Perhaps they had made up their minds. Perhaps they were moved by Reinhardt’s speech. Or perhaps it was because they simply had no other choice.

One after another, they drew their weapons and hurried after Lu Jia.

Koller initially wanted to stop them, but considering the enemies who had boarded the flagship were unlikely to be too powerful, and that this was no time for arguments, he took a deep breath and chose to look the other way.

Then, standing before the railing, his gaze swept over the crew members who were still frozen in place. His voice was grave. "Everyone, get back to work."