Chapter 454 - 401: First Company Commander Matthias and the Holy Fire Guard, Alchemist Kael

Although Reinhardt didn’t know who was piloting the Punisher, he was certain it wasn’t Matthias.

Less than five minutes had passed.

Twenty enemy gunships were either plummeting to the ground with thick smoke trailing from their tails or exploding into pieces in the air.

Nelom saw Reinhardt just standing there, quietly observing the battle in the sky, and he didn’t quite understand. "My lord, what are we doing just standing here?"

"Waiting for reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?"

Nelom was stunned for a moment. He looked up at the... vessel that was slowing down and descending toward them. To be honest, he had never seen such a strange ship. It was neither a gunship for small-scale dogfights nor one used for boarding actions.

In fact, describing its appearance as a micro-cruiser would only be about thirty percent accurate.

When the Punisher landed, its engines blasted a massive spray of water from the ground, and the noise was deafening.

Lu Jia, of course, also recognized the Punisher—it was the same vessel they had taken when they ventured into the Void Storm all those years ago. She slowly lowered the Knight’s Broadsword in her hand and said in disbelief, "Reinforcements arrived this quickly?"

As the Punisher’s ramp fell, a strong figure in full Black Armor landed heavily.

Behind him, three more Imperial Knights, also clad in black Power Armor with bright red capes fixed to their shoulders, leaped out from the hatch one after another.

After landing, the four strode up to Reinhardt, ignoring the pouring rain. The leader was the first to remove his Full Coverage Helmet and kneel before Reinhardt on one knee.

The three behind him also removed their helmets and knelt before Reinhardt on one knee.

"We are late."

Nelom first glanced at the four kneeling on the ground, then looked at Reinhardt. He had originally thought that Koller, Urus, and at most Lu Jia, made up the entirety of the Lord of Vengeful’s core team, but he never expected...

Although he could tell from their Power Armor that these four were the Honor Guard assigned to Reinhardt by the Imperial Administrative Region, getting powerful Imperial Knights like these to willingly accept leadership wasn’t as simple as just issuing a transfer order.

He himself was once a Battle Group Commander in the Justice Temple Legion, so he knew full well that to make these proud and fierce veterans bow their heads in submission, you either had to beat them into submission, or they had to be loyalists you’d cultivated yourself within your own Battle Group.

Through his Knight Perception, he could sense their auras of Mighty Power. Not a single one of them was weak.

The leader’s aura was that of an extremely stable Three-star Military Rank Earth Knight, and the right shoulder of his Power Armor still bore the insignia from his past service in the Ash Guard.

The three accompanying him were also powerhouses at the Three-star Earth Military Rank.

With a lineup like this, forget forming an Honor Guard—if they were sent to any of the major Legions, each one of them had the strength to lead a Battle Group!

Although he was surprised, Nelom didn’t see it as a problem.

In other words, without this kind of prestige and network, even if the Grand Governor appointed Reinhardt as the Lord of Vengeful, he wouldn’t be able to control so many proud and formidable soldiers under his command.

Wasn’t he a prime example himself?

It wasn’t just because of their shared ideals; the main reason was that during the battle on the bridge, he had been thoroughly defeated and won over by Reinhardt.

Otherwise, how could he have switched sides again and taken on a title that even he himself found disgraceful?

Reinhardt, who had been stone-faced the entire time, showed a rare softening of his expression. "Matthias, it’s been a long time."

After the leading Black Armored Knight rose to his feet, his smile was filled with shame and embarrassment. He firmly grasped Reinhardt’s outstretched right hand. "I was debriefing at the Military Affairs Department when I received a message from Stearns. I immediately contacted Agate, borrowed the Punisher, and rushed over.

"My lord, let me make some introductions.

"These three are Knights I met in Golden City while I was helping Lady Catherine eliminate pirates."

As he spoke, Matthias stepped aside.

"This is Skolov, a former mentor of the Emperor Shield First Group. He left the Battle Group for certain reasons. Manon introduced him. His strength is comparable to mine."

After the introduction, Skolov, an Imperial Knight with white hair and an indeterminate age, gave Reinhardt a slight nod.

Matthias then introduced the other two.

"Morphis and Metaron.

"Morphis is a veteran of the Shadow Knight Order and a former comrade from the Seventh Group Army. After the Great Rebellion, he hid his identity and operated in Golden City as a Hired Knight.

"I can vouch for you that Morphis’s strength and Loyalty are beyond question.

"As for Metaron... I had him temporarily transferred from the Ash Guard. Because the situation was urgent, I had the Military Affairs Department approve his transfer orders first. I haven’t reported this matter to the Grand Governor yet."

At this, the Ash Guard named Metaron snorted coldly and said with deliberate sarcasm, "Matthias, I really never thought you’d stoop to poaching talent from your own mother-unit.

"Hmph!

"If it hadn’t been me, were you planning to grab someone from the Invincible Forbidden Army to come with you to Cyrenaica?"

Although Metaron showed Matthias no mercy with his sarcastic remarks, he still gave Reinhardt a slight nod as a sign of respect.

"My lord."

As a member of the Ash Guard, Metaron had heard the stories of Reinhardt, the Master of Vengeful, so many times that his ears were calloused. Ever since the Radiant Angels rescue mission ended, he’d heard no shortage of stories from his brothers who had participated in that battle, describing the situation at the time.

Single-handedly slaying a Fear Knight—a feat like that, in the Ash Guard, would be worth bragging about for three hundred years, and it wouldn’t even be an exaggeration.

Matthias looked slightly awkward. "My lord, there’s one more thing. Because the situation was urgent, before we left, I preemptively added them to the roster of the Lord of Vengeful’s Honor Guard—the Holy Fire Guard—and reported it to the Military Affairs Department.

"So..."

Although Matthias’s actions were a complete overreach of his authority, Reinhardt understood his reasoning. It wasn’t just because the situation was urgent; if they were deploying troops to Cyrenaica, then everyone who boarded the Punisher needed to have a legitimate status to avoid political risks later on.

Reinhardt wouldn’t blame him. In fact, he thought Matthias’s handling of the matter was quite meticulous and perfect.

"We’ll go with the roster you submitted. As for Metaron, I’ll speak to Sedon after the war. You don’t need to worry."

Matthias, of course, understood what Reinhardt meant. He breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but marvel that even after so many years apart, this man’s political acumen was unchanged—he had understood everything he wanted to convey in just a few words.

While the Holy Fire Guard, the Honor Guard, was being introduced, another Imperial Knight in blue and white-painted armor jumped out of the cabin and walked up behind Matthias.

"My lord, this is Alchemist Kael. He’s like me."

Matthias didn’t explain in detail. He just pointed to the back of his own neck, implying that this Alchemist was also a product of the Artificial Angels project. But since they were on the front lines of a war, it wasn’t convenient to go into detail.