Chapter 243 - 208: The Mission Begins, Secret Keeper

After stopping the conflict between the two men.

Lady Catherine ordered a subordinate to hand a file to each of Reinhardt and Robie. "Hurst World. The Capet Dynasty’s largest trading post in the Ash Soil Star Zone.

All commercial operations for the entire Imperial Administrative Region are conducted on Hurst.

Your mission is to kill the secret envoy sent by Grand Lord Kles, capture the family supervisor Dane, and suppress any potential rebellion among the upper echelons of the Stereoscopic City.

Minimize the impact of this incident as much as possible."

As she spoke, two powerfully built Clan Knights brought a skinny man before Reinhardt. The man’s body had undergone extensive alchemical modification; iron spikes protruded from his bald head, and he had completely lost any human resemblance.

Lady Catherine looked at the prisoner-like man, her gaze turning icy as she said in a cold voice, "He is the Provincial Governor of Hurst World and the City Lord of the Three-dimensional Golden City.

A traitor to the family.

You can ask him for any details regarding Hurst and the mission."

The man’s expression was numb and apathetic. His eyes were lifeless, and he stood frozen in place like a walking corpse.

Robie walked up to the Provincial Governor with great interest. He pinched the man’s face with one hand, then leaned down, treating him like a dead dog. He chuckled, "For something as fun as interrogating a traitor, you actually went to those good-for-nothings from the Witch-Hunting Order? Weren’t you worried those idiots would kill this lucky fellow?"

Lady Catherine said coolly, "Where were you when I caught him a week ago?"

"You mean this?"

As he spoke, a bloody, grotesquely tortured head appeared out of thin air in Robie’s hand. His laughter was pathological. "Someone leaked Reinhardt’s location before the Kemola operation. It took me quite a while to find him."

At this, the expressions of everyone present changed slightly.

Of course, it wasn’t the unremarkable dead head that made these battle-hardened veteran Knights show such an expression.

It was because Robie had used the forbidden Void Power to produce the head.

The stench of a Demon, like rotting flesh that had fermented in a sewer for a hundred years, was especially pungent to their Knight Perception.

But evidently, Lady Catherine was quite familiar with Robie’s career as a Judge. Her brow furrowed tightly. "I’ll say it again. This is the Fearless Expedition, Judge."

Robie released the man with his right hand. "As you wish."

A Judge wasn’t terrifying in and of himself, but even the leader of the Capet Family would feel a sense of apprehension toward a neurotic Judge who seemed mentally unstable.

Lady Catherine was even starting to regret involving Robbie Hiling in this operation.

Although Grand Governor Sedon had once told her that Robie was the only person in the Imperial Administrative Region’s Judgment Court who was beyond suspicion, she felt uneasy just standing next to this pathological madman.

Reinhardt’s brow was also furrowed.

He didn’t know what Robie had gone through after leaving Grillers World to turn him into this shell of a man, neither human nor ghost. His eyes darted about as he spoke, and he kept changing the subject.

His hunched body and pale hair made him look like a man on the verge of death.

’Compared to the Judge Robie is now, I much prefer the mischievous rogue from before—the one who was full of bad ideas but was at least a normal person.’

After laying out the specific details of the mission, Lady Catherine looked at Reinhardt, her tone growing heavy. "I have already planned your route into Hurst World.

Remember, failure is not an option on this mission."

...

「Radiant Calendar 1460, Iberian Time, February.」

In orbit around Hurst World, an unremarkable small merchant ship belonging to the Capet Family exited the Radiant Channel and entered the Orbital Port to undergo inspection and questioning.

Thanks to Lady Catherine’s arrangements made half a month in advance, the merchant ship’s entry into Hurst World’s atmosphere was unobstructed.

Inside the merchant ship.

Raphael’s brow was knitted tightly. Ever since they had boarded two days ago, the Judge sitting opposite him had not taken his eyes off him for a moment.

From time to time, he would even flash a bizarre smile at him.

It reached the point that Raphael felt this Judge, Robbie Hiling, was more terrifying than the demonic whispers in his own head. It was like having needles pressed against his back.

Now that they had successfully entered Hurst World, Raphael could no longer stand it. He got up, walked over to Robie, and said in a low, frowning voice, "Judge, if you have a problem, you can ask me about it now.

If you doubt my faith, you’re free to arrest me, but don’t just sit here staring at me."

Just then, Robie’s gaze shifted to the Angel Holy Scripture in Raphael’s hand. His voice was even weaker than before they boarded, as if he might drop dead at any second.

But, to Raphael’s surprise, the tone of this Judge—whom he had seen on more than one occasion and who seemed pathologically insane—was now so normal it made him uncomfortable.

"Your faith... has been tested, Priest."

After saying this, as if something were fighting him for control of his body, Robie suddenly broke into a grin. His laughter was that of an utter maniac.

"Heh... Heheh. But I will be watching you, Secret Keeper."

’Secret Keeper?’

Raphael’s grip on the Angel Holy Scripture tightened. It was the first time he had been called that. With a slight frown, he gave a small nod to the other four Imperial Knights of the Secret Order as a greeting, then turned and returned to his seat.

Reinhardt held the mission briefing.

The Vengeful Angel Armor was configured with Imperial Technology: Angel Vision.

Right now, it acted like a scanner, perfectly recording every word of the mission briefing and generating images on his optic nerve, like text in a system’s field of view.

The former Provincial Governor, currently on the same ship as them, had been secretly captured a week ago by Lady Catherine under the pretense of granting him an audience.

The description in the mission briefing was very clear.

Upon arriving on Hurst, they were to "dispose of" this Judgment Court prisoner.

As for the means of disposal, the Overlord of the merchant dynasty had thoughtfully made preparations for them in advance: a high-powered incinerator.

During their time on the Fearless Expedition, Lady Catherine had also fulfilled her promise, providing Matthias, Manon, and Raphael each with a custom-fitted, expensive suit of Power Armor.

Unlike last time, however, these were prototype Power Armor suits from the Mechanical Order’s Vengeful Angels project, and they would have to wait a considerable time to receive them.

As for upgrading and updating Reinhardt’s own equipment system, the Mechanical Order’s reply was very intriguing, consisting of only a single short sentence: "Praise the God of All Machines."

Just then, the Technician Priest in charge of piloting the merchant ship... or rather, the "Oil Girl" from the lowest rung of the Mechanical Order, who specialized in tightening screws, walked into the cabin and said, "My Lords, the ship is about to..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the ship was suddenly rocked by a violent tremor.

Immediately after, an extremely powerful Spiritual Storm abruptly enveloped the merchant ship!