Chapter 453 - 400: A Brief Respite and Reinforcements

The matter of the Wizard’s Divine Artifact was top secret. Even though Sorin Istvan was a Harvester Titan Captain and one of Great Sage Cassio’s most trusted confidants, the information he possessed was still limited.

According to the intelligence Sonam provided.

This Wizard’s Divine Artifact, called the Chaos Mother Box, was once a treasure belonging to the Supreme King of the Ancient Wizards. The reasons for it being left behind on Cyrenaica were unknown, and it was severely damaged.

Great Sage Cassio speculated, based on fragments from ancient texts, that the Wizard’s Divine Artifact was likely damaged during a great war and subsequently stored in an armory on Cyrenaica.

Because he had not seen it with his own eyes, Sonam was also unable to provide a specific description of the artifact’s appearance.

Based on a conversation he once overheard between the Great Sage and Claudius, the Wizard’s Divine Artifact possessed a powerful ability to grant Extraordinary Traits to ordinary objects.

But any more specific information was beyond his Level.

After getting what he wanted, Reinhardt walked up to Sonam, ignored the terrified look in his eyes as he cowered in the corner, drew the Messiah’s Gift fixed to his belt, and without any hesitation, pulled the trigger.

BANG—!

The Explosive Arrow Gun round blew Sonam’s head apart like a watermelon, splattering across the floor.

Nelom frowned. "Aren’t you worried he was lying to us? I think handing him over to Koller to search his memories would have been more reliable."

Reinhardt holstered his Explosive Arrow Gun and replied, "We don’t understand the methods of the Mechanist Cult. No one can guarantee that Cassio isn’t watching us through this traitor’s eyes right now."

The training craft’s engines roared, sending ripples across the large pool of blood on the cabin floor.

The headless corpse’s stiff limbs gradually stretched out, and it finally collapsed to the floor, motionless.

The brief lull after the long battle devolved into an oppressive, dead silence that filled the cabin. Aside from the engine’s roar, not a single voice could be heard.

On the way back,

Nelom sat in his seat, holding his Full Coverage Helmet in his lap. He glanced at Sonam’s headless corpse. "I had a question back when we boarded the ship.

Where was the Vengeful Angels’ Technician Soldier?"

If there had been a Technician Soldier on site, they would not have had to worry about the rebels spying on them through Sonam’s eyes.

Reinhardt sat ramrod straight in the seat opposite Nelom. The face that was once youthful and energetic now showed fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Years of war and slaughter had only made his already scarred, rugged features look all the more menacing.

His towering frame, clad in Power Armor, radiated a terrifying and oppressive aura even while he was just sitting there.

"You mean the traitor? I killed him."

"I see..."

By now, Urus had fallen into a deep coma, his breathing growing ever fainter.

But as his superior and Battle Brother, all Reinhardt could do was watch and urge the pilot, Exeter, to fly faster.

...

「Thirty minutes later.」

「Cyrenaica Mining Site Three.」

Local time: afternoon. A torrential downpour.

The out-of-control Avenger Flagship had crashed headlong into the mountainside, more than a third of its hull, including the bridge, buried in the rock. Torrents of rain washed down the mountain, sending streams of mud and gravel cascading over the ship’s frame.

Lu Jia, stationed outside the mining site, saw the craft appear from behind the clouds and led her troops to welcome them.

As the old training craft braved the storm and slowly landed on the mining site’s landing pad, the hatch lowered, and a familiar figure appeared in Lu Jia’s view.

For this Battle Sister, who had seized control of the bridge at a critical moment, it felt as if a great weight had finally been lifted from her chest.

"Sir."

Reinhardt leaped from the cabin. Sensing that Lu Jia’s Knightly Aura was stronger than before, he gave her a slight nod. "Your Military Rank has increased."

"Yes."

Nelom jumped out of the cabin next. Lu Jia shot him a wary glance, moved closer to Reinhardt, and lowered her voice. "Why is he still here?"

Even with the roar of the downpour filling the air, Nelom still heard her.

He stepped up behind Reinhardt and said coldly, "I have pledged my loyalty to the Lord of Vengeful. Of course I’m still here."

He then lowered his head to stare into Lu Jia’s eyes, his voice a low growl. "Sister."

Faced with such a blatant threat, Battle Sister Caroline, who was standing behind Lu Jia, frowned and retorted, "No one is going to simply trust an Imperial Knight who has defected twice.

You’d better be telling the truth."

A Battle Sister’s strength might be insignificant compared to Nelom’s, but when it came to being hard-headed, ten of him couldn’t match one of them.

Lu Jia herself was the perfect embodiment of this fanatical faith and Loyalty.

Nelom snorted coldly and did not respond.

Reinhardt raised a hand, signaling for them to stop arguing. "Where’s Koller?"

Lu Jia let out a heavy breath, as if wrestling with some internal conflict. After a moment of silence, she replied, "Lord Koller’s soul has been tainted. He needs some time to recover."

’If this were the old me, I would have reported him and demanded Reinhardt execute the faithless Desecrator—an Imperial Think Tank, of all people, for secretly possessing a Wizard’s Divine Artifact.’

’But after everything she had been through, she understood now. For the sake of a greater victory, some sacrifices were necessary.’

’Even if it meant violating the doctrines of the National Church and breaking the laws of the Empire.’

’If Lord Koller hadn’t turned the tide, they would have already lost the battle for the Cyrenaica landing.’

"Take me to him. I need to find a way to stabilize Urus’s injuries."

Lu Jia froze, turning her head to look at the training craft parked behind Reinhardt. When Urus first led his unit to land, there had been five of them. But now, besides Reinhardt and Nelom, there wasn’t a single Silencer in sight.

In other words...

They were all likely dead.

Her heart sank at the realization.

But before she could lead Reinhardt to Koller, a ship shot through the thick, high clouds like a bolt of lightning, speeding directly toward them.

And not only that.

Over twenty rebel gunboats were latched onto its tail.

"Sir."

Reinhardt motioned for Lu Jia not to panic. In his Angel’s Vision, he could see the ship that had just broken through the clouds. It was the very same Punisher the Mechanist Cult had gifted the Vengeful Angels back when they were first founded!

’Looks like our first wave of reinforcements has finally arrived.’

’And they’re much faster than I estimated.’

Then, the Punisher, a ship that had once fought side-by-side with Reinhardt, proceeded to demonstrate its formidable air-to-air combat capabilities.

Whether it was its short-range maneuvering or its onboard high-energy laser cannons, the battle against the twenty blockading enemy gunboats was a complete, one-sided slaughter!