Chapter 385 - 347: Four-star Earth Military Rank, There Are No Weaklings

A keen perception for detail was ingrained in Urus’s very blood; letting no valuable intelligence slip by had become instinct.

However.

Clandestine rumors were, after all, just rumors.

No one had ever found definitive proof that the Second Great Power of an Imperial Knight came from the blessings of the Void Realm Four Gods.

No one had ever conducted an in-depth investigation into the source of an Imperial Knight’s Second Great Power.

Imperial law had never stipulated that Imperial Knights were forbidden from possessing a Second Great Power.

Besides, of the thirteen Main Battle Corps of the Old Empire, aside from the three Lords of the Legion—the Imperial Firstborn, the Radiant Angels, and the Dragon Hunter—the remaining ten were all wielders of dual-attribute Mighty Power.

Elementalized and hidden in the shadows, Urus silently gazed at Reinhardt as a crimson Blood Flame rose from his body. ’But...’ he thought, ’this power, so full of slaughter and death, like flowing blood... could it really have no connection to the one in the Dark Abyss?’

Meanwhile.

The Ash-Burning Tyrant, Nelom, had already bypassed Franz. Empowered by his Knight Power, the Broadsword in his hand glowed like charcoal pulled from a forge, its extreme heat distorting the air as he swung it viciously at Reinhardt!

At the same time, Urus’s chilling voice rang out rapidly in Reinhardt’s ear via Spiritual Energy communication.

’Sir, Nelom’s Knight Power has a Special Ability that makes him very difficult to kill outright. His offensive style has always been to trade life for life. Please be extremely careful.’

Having a Master of Intelligence assisting him was crucial to the battle’s outcome.

Even though Reinhardt wielded Domain Power, the three Four-star Earth Knights who had boarded the ship to assassinate him were each absolute powerhouses on the rebel side.

If he encountered some peculiar Special Abilities, the possibility of him being undone by an unexpected trick could not be ruled out.

Reinhardt’s delay in taking the offensive might have seemed like arrogance, but in reality, he was secretly observing the Knight Power traits of the three men.

In the past battle with Kemola, if Agate hadn’t sacrificed his life to provide critical intelligence, Reinhardt couldn’t have guaranteed the final outcome.

And now that he had more or less figured out their Mighty Power Traits, it was about time to make his move.

The Destruction Knight who had attacked him first was the easiest to deal with; Reinhardt had never feared a confrontation on the level of Body Techniques. As for the speed-oriented Elemental Knight, Franz, that moron clearly hadn’t mastered the art of Elementalization.

As for this Extraordinary Knight named Nelom, the intelligence provided by Urus was enough.

A Special Ability that made him hard to kill meant that wounds inflicted by cold weapons, even those empowered by Knight Power, would struggle to seriously injure or kill him.

Moreover, Nelom could seize an opportunity to trade life for life and launch a counterattack.

’If cold weapons can’t inflict fatal injuries, then what about hot ones?’

If Reinhardt remembered correctly, the user manual for Slaughter stated that activating Thermite Mode would allow one shot to take down an Elite Slaughter Demon.

In the corridor.

THUD—!

Knight General Ticky plummeted from the ceiling, slamming face-first into the ground.

Reinhardt faced Nelom’s incoming superheated Broadsword. Based on his understanding of Body Technique Knights, the traitor’s attack had no technique to speak of; it was pure brute force, completely disregarding his own safety.

If he fought Nelom like a fellow Body Technique Knight, he would likely be caught at a disadvantage, just as Urus had said.

But armed with the key intelligence, Reinhardt was already prepared at the moment of engagement.

He activated Imperial Technology·Decomposition Blade.

A faint Decomposition Force Field silently enveloped the Black War Axe. The moment it collided with Nelom’s Knight’s Broadsword, empowered by Imperial Technology, the War Axe tore through it like deadwood, shattering the Mighty Power-infused blade before crashing heavily into Nelom’s Ashen Battle Armor!

In that instant.

It was like clear water being poured into a furnace, kicking up a sky full of ash and dust!

Seeing Reinhardt fall for the bait, Nelom let out a cold laugh, his voice exceptionally frigid as he sneered, "You’re too naive, Reinhardt."

’The Emperor’s Vengeful Angels? So this is all they amount to.’

According to the rumors, Reinhardt’s power was immense; even a Demon Prince who had undergone Demon Ascension had suffered a major defeat at his hands.

But from the looks of it now, this young Imperial Knight was still too green, lacking in combat experience and strategic thought.

He had charged forward like that precisely to let Reinhardt shatter his Knight’s Broadsword, allowing the enemy’s Knight Power-imbued War Axe to strike his Ashen Battle Armor.

This was all to meet the prerequisite for activating his Earth Ring.

Everything was going according to plan!

It was also at this moment.

Nelom’s movements abruptly accelerated. With a mere thought, the sky full of burning ash converged behind Reinhardt like a monstrous sandstorm, carrying heat intense enough to melt steel as it crashed down upon him!

Earth Ring·Burning Ash Sea.

Unlike demonic creations like the Elite Slaughter Demon, which possessed only brute strength, any Four-star Earth Knight was qualified to become an Overlord of a region in the Ash Soil Star Zone. Combined with their superior combat intellect, their power was nothing short of terrifying!

This was especially true for Knights with special abilities; even a newly-ascended Domain Powerhouse might suffer a catastrophic and sudden death against them.

All along, Nelom had cultivated the public image of a reckless brute of a Knight who relied on his powerful regenerative abilities, but no one had ever seen his true strength.

Or rather, no enemy who had witnessed his true power had ever survived.

His Earth Ring·Burning Ash Sea was one of his strongest techniques. Although it required specific prerequisites to activate, its destructive power was far beyond what an ordinary Four-star Earth Military Rank could hope to match!

In the Sea of Burning Ashes constructed from Knight Power, every single particle of ash possessed the terrifying property of constant temperature.

In other words.

Unless he deactivated the power of the Earth Ring, the burning ash would maintain its high temperature eternally, until it had completely burned through the enemy’s Mighty Power defenses, burned through their Power Armor, burned through their flesh and blood, and finally, burned them to death.

Meanwhile, empowered by his Ashen Battle Armor, his own body was practically immortal and indestructible.

Even if he encountered a powerful enemy, as long as a bit of the high-temperature ash stuck to their body, he could simply drag the fight out until they were dead!

Urus, hidden in the shadows, saw this, and his expression changed drastically!

He had never obtained a single scrap of intelligence about the technique Nelom was using—not even a whisper.

If Reinhardt died in this assassination attempt because of faulty intelligence, Urus couldn’t imagine how he would ever face the Grand Governor again.

"Sir—! Look out!"

At this point, he could no longer worry about anything else.

Like a ghost in the wind, he appeared silently behind Nelom, attempting to use his Legendary Power·Assassin to quickly drag Nelom away and create some breathing room for Reinhardt.

But his panic led to a miscalculation.

Urus seemed to have forgotten that the current Ash-Burning Tyrant, Nelom, was once a Battle Group Commander in the Ash Battle Group of the Justice Temple Legion.

He wasn’t the only one who possessed Legendary Power!

The moment Urus appeared, Nelom snorted coldly. His Ashen Battle Armor flared without any wind as he sneered, "I noticed you the moment I arrived, Child of the Night Demon."