Chapter 255 - 219: The Irony of Fate

「In the five days that followed.」

Under Lady Catherine’s iron-fisted rule, a massive purge took place. More than a thousand mid-level family leaders were executed, and for five days, the Upper City’s core district was a river of blood.

Every day, over two hundred people were executed by hanging or firing squad.

As twenty-one trembling caravan leaders watched, the bodies of the purged rebels were hauled out of the city, one cartload after another.

With the Vengeance Angel Squad present, they couldn’t even entertain the thought of resisting. Besides, without the support of Grand Lord Kles, any resistance they might offer would crumble instantly before the Overlord, Lady Catherine.

’Did they really expect the Free Knights they’d hired to lay down their lives for them?’

Lady Catherine was wealthy enough to pay ten times their rate to turn them. And it was far from certain that these Free Knights could even survive an encounter with the Overlord.

The power of three Extraordinary Creations—Furnace Cast Holy Artifacts—was far beyond what an ordinary Four-star Earth Military Rank Free Knight could handle.

After Reinhardt’s party departed, a hundred-strong Imperial Knight Battle Group was scheduled to take over the defense of Hurst World, including a ten-man elite formation.

They were former Forbidden Guards of the Iberian World’s Government Hall—Elite Knights of the Ash Guard.

With forces of this caliber stationed there, even if Kles’s people launched another invasion, Hurst could hold on until support from the Administrative Region arrived.

「The Free Port, at the base of the tower.」

The ship for the Vengeful Angels’ return journey was ready.

"You must have heard about the Rebel Legions. When I returned to Hurst, the Verne Front Line was under immense pressure. The Military Affairs Department has calculated that nearly one hundred Imperial Knights are lost on the front lines every day.

I want you to be mentally prepared before you return to Iberia."

As Lady Catherine spoke, she glanced at Raphael, her gaze heavy and somber.

Verne was Raphael’s homeworld.

Everyone present was well aware of this.

But Raphael’s gaze was resolute, and his voice swelled with pride in his Vernian heritage.

"Every warrior who carries the blood of Verne has the courage to face their destiny, Lady Catherine."

Such was the irony of fate, for individuals and societies alike.

A world as prosperous and wealthy as Hurst had become bleak and desolate after just a minor cult rebellion. Throngs of traveling merchants and permanent clients had fled to other worlds the very day the war began.

Even so, once the war was over, Hurst could return to its former prosperity and resume the decadent, debaucherous lifestyle of the Golden Capital.

But for Verne, suffering and death were already deeply branded into the blood of every citizen.

Even under the rule of the Imperial Administrative Region, with a ten-thousand-strong Knight Battle Group permanently stationed in high orbit, it remained the world with the most frequent cult rebellions in the entire Administrative Region.

The reason, ultimately, was its proximity to an exit of the Void Storm.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Little Demons streamed out every day—an inexhaustible tide.

One was the Golden Capital in the rear; the other was the City of Death on the very front line.

Yet when war came, the responses of these two worlds couldn’t have been more different.

Lady Catherine had expected Raphael to be anxious, perhaps even furious. She had never imagined that this young member of the Think Tank, someone she rarely noticed, would possess such resolve and conviction.

After a moment of silence, she gave a slight nod to Raphael.

"I will do everything in my power to resolve the supply and funding issues on the Verne Front Line. May the Emperor protect you."

"May the holy light shine upon you, my Lady."

Only after watching Reinhardt’s party board the ship and depart did Lady Catherine’s expression turn cold. She spoke to the subordinate behind her. "Inform the caravan leaders who remain away from Hurst that they have ten days to consider their options.

After ten days, anyone who has not returned to Hurst will be charged with treason. I will seize the family resources and merchant vessels under their control."

As the one at the helm of the Imperial Administrative Region’s home front, responsible for the funding and supply of tens of millions of infantry and 190,000 Imperial Knights on the front lines, she had no time to play political games with these greedy bastards.

The fires of war were raging across the Administrative Region’s front lines.

She had to do everything in her power to ensure the supply lines remained open, even if that meant resorting to illicit means.

Desperate times called for decisive, forceful measures.

...

「Aboard the ship.」

Gwen, the Oil Girl, found her gaze repeatedly drawn to the corpse of the Trick Witch, Evelyn. It was cryo-stored in a coffin, but it had already begun to stink.

Of course, she wasn’t interested in the human remains. Her interest lay with the Extraordinary Creation inside the corpse.

In the Mechanical Order, a low-level Artificial Creation Officer like her would never get the chance to touch an Extraordinary Creation in her entire life. Getting to spend your days fixing vehicles and tightening bolts in the rear until you died was considered the best career path they could hope for.

After a complex internal struggle, her obsession with Extraordinary Creations won out. She mustered her courage and spoke. "Sir, could I see the Wizard’s Secret Treasure inside her body?

Of course, just to look! I swear I won’t do anything else!"

Even the youngest on the ship, Reinhardt and Raphael, were veterans approaching fifty years of age. But the faces of Transcendents rarely showed their age, so their appearance was deceiving.

Manon was a hardened veteran of over two hundred years, though her personality could be somewhat childish.

Compared to them, nineteen-year-old Gwen the Oil Girl was filled with the brilliant idiocy unique to the young.

Her long, pale-gold hair, unwashed for too long, hung in greasy strands over her shoulders, stained with black oil. If it weren’t for the four slender mechanical limbs connected to the back of her neck for precision work, this young Technician Priest would have been a bright, beautiful, blonde girl, full of life.

Reinhardt, with his helmet off, looked a little more approachable than with it on—but only a little.

If Agate were still with the squad, he wouldn’t have to worry about the task of dissecting Evelyn’s corpse to retrieve the Wizard’s Secret Treasure.

Gazing at Gwen in her red cloak, Reinhardt’s voice was grave. "Have you studied this sort of thing?"

"I’ve studied it a bit, but I’ve never put it into practice. Does that mean you agree, sir?"

Reinhardt was extremely interested in the Phase Transmission Technology Evelyn had used. That was why he’d brought her corpse along, intending to hand it over to the Mechanical Order for disassembly upon their return to Iberia.

Since this young Technician Priest was volunteering, letting her handle the disassembly wasn’t out of the question.

In any case, the smell of a frozen corpse that had been dead for more than ten days was becoming unbearable.

It was at that moment that ethereal blue text from the system appeared in his vision.

[Interlude Event · Part One, Completed.]