Chapter 241 - 206: Craftsmanship Level, Crafting a Knight’s Treasure

’Kles, that son of a bitch...’

The blood feud from the Battle of Verne.

That loyal Clerk on Rebino World, tortured until he was no longer human.

It seemed his shadow loomed behind every conspiracy, every war in the Ash Soil Star Zone.

Reinhardt took a deep breath, his right hand clenching into a fist as he suppressed the rage in his heart.

The Battle of Verne. The Defense Army soldiers who fell in pools of their own blood. The women and children slaughtered in terror and despair... For this blood debt, he would make Kles pay, sooner or later.

At that moment, the system’s faint blue text had yet to conclude.

[You have previously read the top-secret original documents for the Vengeful Angels project, whether it was the Alchemical modifications of the Artificial Angels project or the weapon and equipment upgrades for Imperial Knights in the Son of Vengeance project.

Or the major reforms to the Knight Army’s structure in the Iberia project.

Each project requires a massive investment of resources, time, and money.]

[If the Capet Family collapses in this rebellion, all the plans made by Grand Governor Sedon to save the Human Empire will come to nothing.]

[Base Reward: Third Special Ability for the Mimic Evolution Body.]

[System Reward: Imperial Technology Upgrade Components for the Black Cutter x1.]

[Crude, Fine Craftsmanship, Hundred Refinements, Holy Artifact—every Level of Extraordinary Creation has a different crafting process. Although the Black Cutter is a Hundred Refinement Furnace Cast Level Extraordinary Creation, it is no longer sufficient to face the powerful enemies in this increasingly brutal, grand war.]

[Praise the God of All Machines.]

Lady Catherine stared coldly into Reinhardt’s deep, dark eyes.

This 174-year-old family matriarch showed none of the cheerfulness or levity from her previous interactions with Reinhardt. A fiery Extraordinary Power smoldered in the depths of her eyes.

Her unyielding attitude was that of a true Overlord of a dynasty.

"This isn’t a discussion. You and the Vengeance Angel Squad must help me through this crisis. This isn’t just for me; it’s for the future of the Administrative Region and the Human World.

Once the Capet Family’s commercial dynasty in the Ash Soil Star Zone is devoured by Kles,

it will lead to a future that neither you nor I want to see."

Reinhardt’s expression was iron-willed and cruel. Ignoring the imposing aura emanating from Lady Catherine, he asked in a low voice, "When, where, and who do I kill?"

Although they had crossed paths once before, they were far from friends.

Lady Catherine had been willing to approach Reinhardt with a friendly demeanor partly because she valued his formidable strength, and partly because, before Kemola, she had needed a favor from him.

Unfortunately, despite all her elaborate scheming to obtain the Ancient Black Box, she had ultimately failed.

The matriarch of a commercial dynasty for 174 years was certainly no approachable little lamb. The one hundred thousand Radiant Gold Coins she had given him before were not so easily taken.

This sudden application of pressure mid-conversation was just one of the little tricks she habitually used in negotiations to probe her opponent’s bottom line, gauge their personality from their reaction, and formulate a corresponding strategy.

When experts cross moves, every strike is fatal.

Evidently, her little trick hadn’t worked.

After a moment of silence, Lady Catherine, acting as if nothing had happened, smiled faintly and clinked her glass against Reinhardt’s. "I’ll need some time to prepare for this matter. You and the Vengeance Angel Squad will stay here for now.

I will notify you when the preparations are complete."

After concluding their business, she let out a cryptic laugh and turned to leave the washroom.

At the doorway, she turned and said, "One more thing. That matter you asked me to handle—I’ve taken care of it. However, at the client’s request, I cannot tell you where she is hiding now."

...

「Seven days later.」

The Fearless Expedition.

Training Room.

Reinhardt sat alone on the floor, cross-legged. His Knight Power condensed into the Frost Fist, and frigid pulses of frost echoed continuously throughout the vast, empty, sealed room.

A thick layer of frost condensed around him.

The spacetime distortion, caused by the high-frequency slowing of time’s flow, shimmered like light warped by a heat haze.

At the same time, dense, frost-like threads constructed from Knight Power extended from the Frost Fist, slowly enveloping the Metal Hourglass suspended before him like a silken cocoon.

He had learned the entire process of creating a Knight’s Treasure during the three years he spent with his Emperor’s Shield Tutor, Geoffroy.

Unlike the creation of a Wizard’s Secret Treasure, which involves turning raw materials into an Extraordinary Creation, a Knight’s Treasure is a secondary empowerment of an existing Extraordinary Creation.

During this process, the Secret Treasure continuously merges with the Knight’s own Mighty Power, imbuing the Wizard’s Secret Treasure with a unique property derived from that Knight Power.

Only by using one’s own Knight Power to create a Treasure, and then allowing it to merge over a period of time, can one proceed to the next step: developing and awakening the Earth Ring to unite the two as one.

The Metal Hourglass that Irenia had given him was a Fine Craftsmanship Level Wizard’s Secret Treasure. In the Ash Soil Star Zone, it was a priceless item that couldn’t be bought. Any Tier Two Mage or Earth Knight who obtained a Secret Treasure of this Level would wake up laughing from their dreams.

Even in a Knight Battle Group under the Old Empire’s system, if an Earth Knight Level Battle Group Commander wanted to develop their Earth Ring and chose to apply directly to the Legion—instead of being in an Elite Formation or finding a way themselves—the most they could hope to receive would be a Hundred Refinement Artisan Level Extraordinary Creation.

Reinhardt’s own Avenger Armor, after multiple upgrades, was now a Hundred Refinement Artisan Level Extraordinary Creation. Compared to the Furnace Cast Level Black Cutter, the difference in strength between Imperial Technology and Extraordinary Power was night and day.

Although this Metal Hourglass had no name, and Irenia had given no explanation when she gave it to him, Reinhardt had gradually come to understand the function of this Wizard’s Secret Treasure through a period of exploration and observation.

It could warp the flow of time within a small area.

This warp could be an acceleration, a deceleration, or even a momentary, instantaneous pause.

It might seem unremarkable, but in the hands of a Body Technique Stream Powerhouse, it was an absolute superweapon!

In a battle between Transcendents, any single opening could be fatal. A tool that could warp time could artificially create such openings, thereby deciding life and death in a fight.

As for his concept and development of the third Earth Ring, Reinhardt’s plan was simple and brutal.

He just needed to finish creating the Knight’s Treasure, then completely fuse its Special Ability with the Extraordinary Armament·Frost Fist.

As time passed,

The Mighty Power threads from the Frost Fist completely enveloped the Metal Hourglass. As the Extraordinary Power of the two continued to merge, the spacetime around Reinhardt became increasingly distorted.

The Mighty Power threads from the Frost Fist finally turned to energy embers, dissolving into the air like swirling frost.

The completed Knight’s Treasure hovered before Reinhardt.