Chapter 249 - 213: Kles’s Conspiracy, a Smokeless Intelligence War

The mission on Hurst involved a web of conspiracy and deceit; he had to proceed with the utmost caution.

Raphael understood the gravity of the situation and replied, ’Understood. What about you?’

’Kles’s people are here. I’ll eliminate them.’

To Manon and Matthias, the telepathic conversation between the two was nothing but an incomprehensible enigma.

But the words ’something is watching this world’... made them gradually realize this mission was more than just a simple suppression of the Capet Dynasty’s internal strife.

After issuing a series of commands, Reinhardt’s cold gaze swept over the two opponents from behind his Full Coverage Helmet. The Aikacia Nozzles extended from his back like Angel’s Wings.

After a brief standoff between the two sides, there were no more unnecessary words.

Reinhardt was the first to strike.

The high-temperature energy stream from the Aikacia Nozzles roared as it slammed into the wall. The extreme heat instantly melted a large, lava-dripping hole through the reinforced concrete.

The ground beneath his feet, unable to withstand the initial kinetic energy of his massive frame, suddenly sank and shattered as if struck by an earthquake!

Shattered bits of flooring and dust floated upward, defying gravity.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Reinhardt’s body became a streak of light, flashing across the spacious room of the Governor’s Mansion. His roaring Black War Axe was already upon the Trick Witch, Evelyn.

The Withered Knight, Delany, let out a cold snort. His gaze had been fixed on Reinhardt from the very beginning.

Gripping his sword with both hands, his body propelled by the Destruction Force Field, he blurred through the air, leaving afterimages as he instantly appeared to block the Red-haired Witch.

BOOM—!

The direct clash of Knight Power kicked up a monstrous gale!

The Trick Witch Evelyn’s expression was grim. The fierce winds whipped her long hair about wildly as the energy patterns on her deep-gray Wizard Robe began to glow with a faint blue light.

Right before her eyes, a Black War Axe as large as a door panel crashed into Delany’s Knight’s Broadsword, which was wreathed in his Destruction Force Field.

At the same time, the imposing, powerful figure was reflected in her pupils.

But the Master Level Tier Two Wizard showed not a hint of panic. Her body was engulfed in the purple lightning of a Spiritual Storm and vanished as if teleporting, reappearing an instant later on the scenic balcony outside the Governor’s Mansion.

The high-altitude wind whipped at her Wizard Robe as she seemed to struggle against some unseen force. The overflowing remnants of Spiritual Energy erupted into uncontrolled bolts of lightning, destroying the ground and walls around her.

"A Wizard has blocked the tower’s Spiritual Energy communications! Delany, hold them off."

At the same time, Raphael’s voice rang out through their telepathic link.

’Sir, someone is trying to break the blockade to contact the outside. I can’t hold them for long.’

’Just as I suspected?’

Reinhardt had considered the possibility of foul play even before starting this mission.

’If this were just a family squabble, why would Lady Catherine specifically request both the Vengeance Angel Squad and the Judgment Court to act together?’

’Now, it’s clear this family strife is far more than it appears on the surface.’

However, ’Lady Catherine probably had her reasons for not telling us the whole truth, likely for intelligence purposes.’

’Great undertakings are achieved through secrecy. That’s no mere joke.’

’Besides, before they carried out the Kemola Battle, traitors within the Imperial Administrative Region had already leaked their movements. They had to guard against such internal enemies.’

’If Kles’s people had known in advance that the Vengeful Angels and the Judgment Court were intervening in the Capet Dynasty’s internal conflict, the difficulty of their mission on Hurst would have been far greater.’

In other words, ’the fact that both Dane and Kles’s men showed varying degrees of surprise when they stormed the Governor’s Mansion proves that Lady Catherine and Sedon put a great deal of effort into maintaining secrecy, planning this with extreme care.’

’Even he and Robie were kept in the dark about the true nature of the mission.’

’They had perfectly deceived Kles’s people into thinking Lady Catherine was merely making a simple power grab, not that she had seen through their conspiracy.’

’Furthermore, the entire premise of this top-secret operation rested on their trust in the Vengeance Angel Squad and Judge Robie’s ability to gather and analyze intelligence, as well as their capacity for on-the-spot decision-making.’

’Otherwise, Lady Catherine would never have granted them the authority over life and death on Hurst World before the mission began.’

Intelligence was a war fought without smoke or gunpowder.

Too many absolutely loyal mortals had died in obscure, dark corners for the sake of their victory.

During the mission on Rebino World, Reinhardt had personally witnessed a mortal—someone not even part of the Administrative Region’s intelligence network—endure torture with his flesh and blood that even an Imperial Knight could not have withstood.

All to protect a single list of names.

Having sorted out the full context and strategic objectives of the mission, Reinhardt’s purpose on Hurst became crystal clear.

’Kill these two lackeys of Grand Lord Kles.’

’Lock down all communications within this tower.’

’If I’m not mistaken, this witch named Evelyn must be trying to break through Raphael’s psychic blockade to contact the rebel forces hiding in the Golden Capital, or perhaps the Demon Worship Organization they’ve been keeping on a leash.’

’Once the news gets out...’

’...even if I kill these two demonic lackeys, the situation in the city could still risk collapse.’

’Do everything in your power. You must intercept all outbound Spiritual Energy communications from this tower.’

Although Reinhardt didn’t explain the specific reason, as the Team Think Tank, Raphael clearly understood the gravity of the situation.

「Meanwhile.」

Matthias, stationed at the tower’s ground floor entrance, had a team of family Law Enforcement Officers deployed by Lady Tren behind him. In the crowds on the distant street, he could vaguely make out some furtive figures in hooded cloaks, darting back and forth near the Law Enforcement Officers’ blockade.

’Sir, there’s movement outside. It might be the rebels.’

After his report, Matthias signaled for the family Law Enforcement Officers behind him to take half their men outside. Anyone near the tower acting suspiciously or attempting to conceal their identity was to be killed on sight.

Manon and the men from the Secret Order brought the last pocket of resistance inside the tower under control.

How could the Free Knights hired by Dane possibly be a match for an Emperor’s Shield Veteran, a Seven-star Military Rank Official Knight?

However, their opponents clearly realized there was something unusual about these Imperial Knights. Led by a Five-star Military Rank Official Knight, they wisely chose to disarm and surrender.

They weren’t idiots. It wasn’t worth dying for Dane’s commission.

The group of Wandering Mages from before was a bloody example of what would happen.

When this group had charged in, it was like a lion among sheep; they had slaughtered the Wandering Mages in a single clash.

「In the tower’s middle floors.」

「The grand council of the Capet Family.」

White lightning spilled from Raphael’s eyes. All twenty-three of the merchant leaders present stared in terror at this Imperial Think Tank they had never even heard of.

The aftershocks from the Spiritual Energy clash made the Alchemy Implants in their bodies extremely unstable.

At first, they tried to resist, throwing around their status as merchant leaders to pressure Raphael, but the Think Tank, dressed as a Combat Priest, refused to even speak with them.

The merchant leader lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth and convulsing uncontrollably—tormented to the point of being inhuman by Pain Suppression—served as a warning.

Only a few who weren’t afraid of death dared to whisper amongst themselves in a corner.

"Catherine must be insane! To let the Imperial Administrative Region interfere in family matters..."

"Shh... You might want to die, but I don’t."

"Didn’t you see their gear? By the Divine Emperor, even the Power Armor of the Forbidden Guard from the Administrative Region’s Government Hall isn’t as impressive as what their leader was wearing.

I’d say that Power Armor and his weapon are worth at least two Three-star Level Agricultural Worlds."

Even with a knife to his throat, this merchant leader of the Capet Dynasty couldn’t resist commenting on the specific value of Reinhardt’s Power Armor.

His two colleagues beside him thought the man must have gone mad from chasing profits.

’In a situation like this...’

’How can you still be in the mood to estimate the value of Power Armor?’