Chapter 393 - 353: Intelligence, Ancient Armory

Avenger Flagship.

A piercing hiss came from the airlock as its steam jets depressurized.

Every one of the sixty people bustling about the bridge stopped their work and turned to look at the opening airlock.

They weren’t members of the Think Tank; they didn’t know how the enemy’s boarding action against the Avenger Flagship was progressing, much less whether the person opening the airlock was friend or foe.

It wasn’t until Reinhardt appeared in their line of sight that they breathed a collective sigh of relief and returned to their work.

Lu Jia, who had been on the second-level command platform discussing—or rather, one-sidedly learning—tactics and intelligence analysis with Koller, didn’t even bother with the stairs. She vaulted over the second-floor railing, jumped down, and hurried to greet Reinhardt.

"Sir!"

She then bowed her head slightly to Urus. "Lord Urus, the mission you assigned was carried out smoothly. Lord Koller has already taken charge of the two prisoners."

Although it was a minor matter and Lu Jia was merely giving a routine report, Urus appreciated the respect in her attitude. She showed no arrogance or disdain on account of her personal relationship with Reinhardt.

At the very least, he harbored no ill will toward this Battle Sister, who was, for all intents and purposes, a complete rookie.

This Silencer Warlord, a former Child of the Night Demon, showed uncharacteristic patience, giving Lu Jia a slight nod in response.

Nelom glanced at Lu Jia, lost in thought.

’This woman... Could she be the one Reinhardt mentioned? The Battle Sister who survived a month of torture at the hands of the Judgment Court?’

’As far as he knew, there had never been any trace of Battle Sister activity in the Ash Soil Star Zone, not even among the Imperial Knights who fled or retreated here after the Great Rebellion.’

’Could she have come through the Verne Rift with the rebels?’

’Still, to last a month in the hands of the Judgment Court...’

Even though it was their first meeting, Nelom couldn’t help but take a second look at this rookie, who only held the Four-star Official Knight Military Rank.

Just as Reinhardt had described him, Nelom was indeed a pure soldier, an Imperial Knight. He understood a little about politics, but not completely, and deep down, he had a natural respect for the strong.

Lu Jia’s combat strength might have been average, but in Nelom’s eyes, anyone who could withstand a month at the hands of the Judgment Court was, in terms of Spiritual Power, undeniably one of the strong!

Following Reinhardt’s lead, the group ascended the stairs, striding quickly to the second-level command platform.

Upon seeing them, Koller didn’t report to Reinhardt. Instead, he straightened up, fixed his gaze on Nelom, and said in a deep voice, "I am glad you made the right choice."

Nelom snorted coldly and did not reply.

Of course, he knew Koller—a decorated Undead of the First Legion—but he had no fondness for such rigid old relics.

Besides, he had chosen to join because of Reinhardt; it had absolutely nothing to do with anyone else.

However, Koller didn’t criticize the former Ash Battle Group Commander of the Holy Temple of Justice too harshly, because he understood the deeper meaning behind Reinhardt’s actions.

As a high-ranking member of the Vengeful Angels’ Think Tank, his ability to analyze situations was far more profound than Urus’s.

Reinhardt’s move wasn’t just about helping Nelom personally set things right; it was about uniting all possible allies in this war under the banner of the Vengeful Angels.

With Nelom’s strength, his status and power within Claudius’s faction would not have been low, which meant he was certain to possess a great deal of valuable intelligence.

And this intelligence would be of great help in escaping their current predicament.

The Avenger Flagship was the most advanced ancient vessel the Mechanist Cult had provided them.

Koller’s Spiritual Power, channeled through the unknown Wizard technology within the command console, transformed into a tangible holographic projection, displaying the distribution of all enemy forces across Cyrenaica before them.

"This is a model map of the rebel fleet that I’ve constructed from the memories of the two prisoners, combined with visual observation. What’s certain is that after the Avenger Flagship appeared in Cyrenaica, the rebels closed the entrance to the Net Path. They likely plan to eliminate us before the next wave of counter-insurgency forces arrives."

After hearing Koller’s analysis, and before Reinhardt could respond, Nelom snorted coldly again. "As expected of the Think Tank Director of Dusk. You even figured that out."

Though the words seemed fine at first listen, a closer hearing revealed an undercurrent of defiance, stubbornness, and passive-aggressive sarcasm.

However, facing Reinhardt’s gaze, Nelom knew there was a limit to the passive-aggression. He let out a breath and pointed to Cyrenaica’s Orbital Port on the map. "Claudius deployed a large number of troops here. Originally, it was an ambush for you, but they didn’t expect your ship to exit the Net Path in a high orbit.

The boarding and assassination was a backup plan. There were originally six teams, but as you can see, not even a trace remains of the other three."

Nelom was right. The Avenger Ship was originally scheduled to exit the Net Path at the low-orbit Orbital Port, but the Technician Priest controlling the ship had been borrowed from the Navy.

He was already content that these grease monkeys, who had spent their whole lives tightening screws, could even get this big beast moving.

But unexpectedly, a mistake like that had actually allowed them to escape disaster.

At this point, Nelom looked up, turned, and scanned the bridge layout before continuing, "Actually, there was another backup plan: blow you all up, ship and crew.

But that greedy maggot Claudius has been coveting this ship for more than a day or two. According to him, the Mechanist Cult’s asking price for this vessel was equivalent to the total value of thirty-seven industrial worlds.

More than his fiefdom and all his property combined."

’The total value of thirty-seven industrial worlds?’

Koller frowned. "If that’s the case, then everything makes sense. But this is also our opportunity. Lord Reinhardt, according to the intelligence I retrieved from the two prisoners’ memories...

...there’s an ancient civilization’s ruins buried on Cyrenaica World, and it’s very likely some kind of Spiritual Amplification device..."

Before he could finish, Nelom cut in, "What’s buried beneath Cyrenaica isn’t the ruins of a civilization, but a massive armory. The Mechanical Sage cooperating with Claudius has been secretly excavating here for fourteen years. Otherwise, Claudius wouldn’t have dared to openly rebel against the Administrative Region.

The Spiritual Amplification device you mentioned is a massive ancient beacon. Flavius Sage is using it to block all beacon communications across the entire Cyrenaica World."

Nelom turned his head to look at Reinhardt, his expression growing serious.

"If you can get onto Cyrenaica and shut down the beacon’s spiritual block, you can restore communication with the outside."