Chapter 501: Major Armory Tech Upgrade, Nelom's Path of Justice

But they still sensed something was wrong.

Koller frowned, unsure if he should intervene in their battle. He had been worried that Nelom might be a threat to Reinhardt.

But now?

‘His Excellency is probably just warming up, enjoying the battle itself.’

He had once spoken with Fedor, leader of the Red Flame Son, about the Eternal Battlefield. If Reinhardt truly intended to kill, his fight with Nelom would have been over long ago.

「On the other side.」

Even though Nelom had activated his Domain Power, he was left with only his legs standing in place after facing Reinhardt’s simple, unadorned, heavy punch.

His torso and head had long since exploded into a rain of blood under the immense impact of Humiliate People’s Power.

When Reinhardt was still just an Official Knight, the power of Humiliate People’s Power could shatter the head of an Abyssal Great Demon with one punch. Now he possessed the peak Physique of an Earth Knight, a Domain Powerhouse.

Although Nelom was strong, he was nowhere near powerful enough to withstand such a blow head-on.

However, upon seeing this, it was Reinhardt who frowned. ‘Oh no,’ he thought. ‘Did I hit him too hard?’

He had already witnessed Nelom’s incredible Self-Healing Ability.

Previously, as a test, he had shattered Nelom’s body using twenty percent of the power of Humiliate People’s Power without any Mighty Power enhancement, and Nelom had still healed.

So this time, he used fifty percent power.

In other words, this was his full-power strike with Bloodthirsty Madness and Blood Fury Technology activated at only half strength, and without the support of First Domain·Great Annihilation.

「The next moment.」

Nelom’s shattered body, as if time were reversing, swirled amid the burning embers and rapidly converged above the pair of legs still standing in place.

Once he had recovered, he retreated three steps.

The terror of his near-death experience made his left arm tremble. If he weren’t so strong, if he didn’t possess his Undying Form, he would already be dead.

And now, he was certain. The man before him truly intended to kill him, to resolve the fallout from the Cyrenaica rebellion.

Staring into Reinhardt’s eyes, Nelom felt a tightness in his chest.

More than death or failure, it was the anger of betrayal that he could not accept.

He couldn’t believe it. Reinhardt, the Master of Vengeful—a man whose knightly ideals radiated the sublime glory of a great era—had betrayed his promise!

Then, a sense of resignation washed over Nelom.

Or perhaps, his heart had turned to ash.

‘Having been a traitor twice, what right do I have to accuse others?’

He had dreamed of being cloaked in glory, of dying honorably in battle as a Knight.

Unfortunately, his opponent was not a Void Realm traitor, not a Space Alien, and certainly not a great enemy of the Empire.

His opponent was a Vengeful Angel he respected, an Imperial Knight who had already pardoned his crime of rebellion once.

In such an unjust battle, even if he fought back with all his might and burned away his life, what could he prove?

‘That I’m a coward who doesn’t dare to face his destiny head-on?’

‘Or that I’m a deserter who will do anything to survive?’

Since he chose to defect from the Legion and betray Claudius, he should receive the end a rebel deserves.

This, this was the path of justice he had never betrayed—*The light of my ideals guides my heart; all that I do is for justice.*

Besides, the outcome of this battle had already been decided. Even if he used his last trump card, he would be no match for the Lord of Vengeful.

Nelom let out a heavy breath and looked calmly at Reinhardt. “Vengeful Angel of Verne, some say that in this age of rebellion, you are the Knight closest to the Great Emperor.

“If death can wash away my sins, and if you are the one to deliver it… I will not resist again.”