Chapter 265 - 229: Crisis Head-On: Imperial Rebel Army

On Verne World, where high-altitude dust never settled, even the great sea was shrouded in a hazy, grey mist.

The ocean, which should have been a brilliant blue from space, had long ago turned murky and foul from the pollution of industrial exhaust.

The fires of war burned across the land.

Billowing smoke plumed toward the heavens.

Landing beacons deploying Demons intertwined with the reinforcements of the Imperial Legion. Pillars of light repeatedly flared up in Verne’s sky and across its surface.

Raphael gazed down upon the home planet where he had once lived and fought, for which he had bled. He could even clearly see the towering, cloud-piercing Upper City District and Governor’s Mansion of the stereoscopic city of Verne.

He lifted his head, staring at the Imperial Rebel Army ship that had emerged from the Void Storm and was now flying toward them.

His right hand clenched into a tight fist.

His fury was so intense that he practically spat the short sentence through gritted teeth.

"Imperial Rebel Army..."

Those Imperial Knights, who had once basked in the Divine Emperor’s light, who had fought for the great cause of the Human World and to protect the Empire’s citizens, had now turned traitor, pointing their swords at their own kind.

Scene after scene from the past resurfaced in his memory like a nightmare.

He could almost see the tens of millions of Verne’s people dying in this unjust war; the cries of women and children from years ago still echoed in his ears.

Innumerable corpses of the Defense Army, torn to pieces, piled up at his feet...

Just then, a firm, heavy hand on his shoulder pulled the Combat Priest’s thoughts back from his reminiscences and illusions to reality.

When Raphael came to his senses, he was surprised to find that everyone, including Reinhardt, was standing behind him. The silent atmosphere was exceptionally heavy.

Agate said coldly, "I’ll try to shake these rebels and make a jump to the Orbital Port. Matthias, you’re in charge of contacting the Ash Guard."

This should have been Raphael’s job, but Agate had bypassed him and given it to Matthias, which he couldn’t understand for a moment.

But before he could take out the Radiant Beacon, Matthias let out a heavy breath, patted him on the shoulder, and then took the Radiant Beacon from him to try and contact his former Battle Brothers.

Manon said in a low voice, "Your soul was just caught in a demon-made illusion. It might be the effect of the Void Storm..."

Though the words sounded somewhat comforting, Raphael realized that his mind, clouded by hatred, had fallen into an illusion crafted for him by a Demon.

He raised a hand to signal that he was alright.

He walked off to the side alone and knelt on one knee. He took out the Angel Holy Scripture, gently stroking its old cover before placing it in front of him to pray devoutly.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to him, but each time, he was able to suppress the Divine Artifact’s power and the demonic whispers in the depths of his soul through prayer.

「Meanwhile.」

Matthias successfully contacted the Ash Guard holding the line at the Orbital Port, informing Agate that they could jump into the port’s vicinity.

However, in a warzone, crisis and disaster always strike without warning.

Just as an ethereal blue light once again filled the interior of the Punisher.

In the instant the warp jump concluded near the Orbital Port.

An Imperial Rebel Army ship, billowing thick smoke, gave Agate no time to react. The moment the Punisher appeared, the ship came screaming in, ramming them head-on!

Manon and Reinhardt, standing in the control room, bore the brunt of the impact!

"My lord, look out—!"

The massive prow of the damaged ship tore through the Punisher’s Energy Shield, shattered the Holographic Projection Armor at its fore, and grew rapidly in Manon’s pupils.

The towering Imperial Knight roared, lunging toward Reinhardt in an attempt to push him away.

But Reinhardt’s visual-neural reflex speed was terrifyingly fast.

Almost in the same instant Manon lunged, trying to shield him from the horrific impact with his own body, the Extraordinary Armament·Morphic Armor instantly enveloped his Power Armor!

At the same time, he grabbed Manon’s arm with his right hand and violently flung him backward!

BOOM—!

Even moving at a relatively slow speed, the destructive force of a magnificent, thousand-ton warship was far more than mortal flesh could withstand!

The moment Manon’s body spun out of control in mid-air.

He watched helplessly as the steel prow slammed directly into Reinhardt’s body!

In the moment he lunged, he had been prepared to sacrifice himself. He never imagined that Reinhardt would choose to save his life instead.

BOOM—!!

The terrifying noise of steel warships colliding in space drowned out everything else. The shrieking, depressurizing air within the cabin turned into a violent gale that swept his body outward.

Manon grabbed a handhold, steadying himself as he snapped his head up to look forward. The massive rebel ship had completely pierced the front of the Punisher, its closest part now less than ten meters away from him.

He tried to find Reinhardt’s figure amidst the vast sea of wreckage, but aside from Raphael, who had been caught by one of Agate’s mechanical arms, Seventy-Six hiding at the very back, and Matthias standing beside him, there was no sign of Reinhardt at all.

"My lord?! You bastards—!"

Just as Manon stared at the rebel ship, his eyes wide with fury, a towering figure wrapped in dark purple, living matter flew into the Punisher through a breach in the ceiling.

A familiar voice echoed through the Telepathy link.

’I’m fine.’

Manon turned to glance at Matthias beside him. Though the Full Coverage Helmet obscured the other man’s expression, it seemed he had been the only one worried about Reinhardt’s safety.

Seventy-Six’s voice also came over the Telepathy link.

’The lord you were so worried about was faster than a rabbit just now. Instead of worrying about him, you should be worrying about how we’re going to get to the Orbital Port. Hey, grease monkey, can the Punisher still move?’

If any Technician Priest heard someone dare to address a Mechanical Sage like that, they would absolutely leap up and fight to the death.

Agate’s voice was exceptionally cold.

’When I was repairing and upgrading you, I should have tampered with something to shut that blasphemous mouth of yours, Seventy-Six.’

Seventy-Six shrugged, as if being exposed to cosmic rays and the vacuum of space, exposed to the enemy’s dense cannon fire, meant nothing to him at all.

Agate then said to Reinhardt, ’The ship’s control systems are heavily damaged, and the propulsion system is partially damaged as well. Disengaging from the enemy vessel is also a major problem...’

Before he could finish, a steel plate on the prow of the rebel ship that had crashed into the Punisher suddenly burst open!

Then, a massive right hand—having burst through its Anti-Magic Steel Armor, completely mutated, and resembling the claw of a Convicted Demon—suddenly shot out from within, grabbing the edge of the wreckage as a body pulled itself out.

Close behind, six Imperial Rebel Army soldiers also broke free from the wreckage, pulling themselves out and leaping into the Punisher’s cabin.

The rebel leader stood over three meters tall. His Anti-Magic Steel Armor, utterly corrupted by the power of the Dark Abyss, had been transformed into a blasphemous creation resembling Demon Scale Armor!

Huge bone spikes pierced his Full Coverage Helmet. Curved horns grew from his head, and demonic, fleshy wings sprouted from his back.

Sulfurous flames burned eternal in his pupils.

As this completely fallen Abyss Knight leaped into the cabin, he gripped the massive cleaver in his right hand. His gaze swept over the members of the Vengeance Angel Squad before finally locking onto Reinhardt’s eyes.

A Knightly Aura, saturated with Demon Power, billowed out like a distorted, bloody wind, washing over them with immense pressure.

A wide, bloody maw full of sharp teeth stretched into a grin.

"Hehehe... Fresh meat..."