Chapter 273 - 237: This Is Not a One-Man Fight

"ROAR—!"

A terrifying Mighty Power from the Slaughter Death Arena spread madly through the Barge Port with Huffman’s war cry!

In that moment, the Mortal Auxiliary Army was plunged into terrifying illusions, losing all combat capability in an instant.

They clutched their weapons, frozen in terror, or scattered and fled aimlessly.

The Ash Guards could only watch as their Iron Crown faced a brutal death at the hands of the traitor from the Void Realm Combat Gang. Trapped by the enemy, a helpless rage filled their chests with no way to vent it.

But at this moment, Florian was not fighting alone.

Having entered a state of Mind Release, Raphael was like the holy radiance of the Divine Emperor shining upon the Human Empire. His Power Armor and Priest’s Cape erupted in a dazzling white light.

Mental Power was not only for killing enemies.

In critical moments, this power could also become a blessing of Mighty Power, inspiring courage and dispelling fear!

He opened the Angel Holy Scripture hanging at his waist, and as he began to chant, his Mental Power projected the prayers into the ears of every soldier in the Mortal Auxiliary Army.

"I fear not death, I fear not the demon, for the Human Emperor comes to claim me!"

"Fear is nothing, for my faith is absolute!"

"Slay the enemy! Butcher the traitors! For the Human Emperor, kill!"

The role of a Combat Priest on a bloody battlefield was never a pampered, protected position. On the contrary, to be recognized by the National Church and the Imperial Knights, every Combat Priest had to be a battle-hardened veteran who led from the front, utterly unafraid of death!

In fact, as long as a powerful Combat Priest was on the field, the Imperial Army could rally and regain its fighting strength in an incredibly short amount of time, no matter how heavy their losses.

This wasn’t about faith or fighting spirit—things for leaders and commanders to consider. To the soldiers, who held the most fundamental emotions of the Human World, any Combat Priest was a battlefield leader worthy of their trust. If sacrifices were required, the Combat Priest would die before them, not cower in the rear.

Furthermore, the witness and leadership of a Combat Priest meant that every sacrifice they made was under the great watch of the Divine Emperor.

Their deaths would not be in vain.

The Empire and the Divine Emperor would remember their sacrifice.

Even in death, their souls would return to the Divine Emperor’s radiance!

With the intervention of Mental Power, the terrifying Mighty Power from the Slaughter Death Arena vanished in an instant, while the impassioned prayer from the Combat Priest was like the Emperor himself descending upon the battlefield!

Their fighting spirit restored, every soldier of the Mortal Auxiliary Army raised their head to gaze at the distant Raphael, who seemed like a Divine Spirit in both word and deed.

The fear in their eyes transformed into fanatical faith and the will to fight. Crying out for the Divine Emperor, they took up their weapons and threw themselves back into battle.

Even the veterans of the Ash Guard were moved and inspired by Raphael’s prayer!

Huffman, who had been about to kill Florian, whipped his head around to stare at the hovering Raphael, his expression a clear mask of humiliation and rage.

The killing intent and hatred in his eyes were so intense they were almost tangible.

His purpose wasn’t simply to mock Florian or bring terror to the Imperial Knights and Mortals for no reason. The emotion of human fear slowly nourished his power, paving his way to become a champion of the Slaughter Death Arena, receive the blessing of Avernus, and become one of the many powerful Fear Knights in the Dark Abyss!

Death Butcher Dortmund.

Flayer Du Ma.

...

Every Fear Knight possessed a terrifying Mighty Power capable of crushing foes of the same Level. Their very existence was an absolute nightmare for the Human Empire, and even for the Space Aliens.

With his plot to absorb power thwarted, how could he not be consumed by rage and humiliation!

When Raphael not only met its gaze without fear but with open defiance, the provocation instantly ignited Huffman’s fury!

’A mere Tier One Mage... he’s asking to die!’

However, just as he was about to crush Florian and turn to kill that troublesome Combat Priest...

A pitch-black, humanoid figure, as gaunt as a Mortal, appeared silently before him, its sharp dagger emanating a faint Radiant Power.

In fact, by the time Huffman realized it was being ambushed, the dagger was already buried in its throat.

For a being who had accepted the Mighty Power of the Slaughter Death Arena, such an injury was not fatal. Even a spear through the neck would not be a death blow, let alone a mere dagger.

Huffman reached out to swat this fly that had come before it seeking death.

But the arm it had just raised suddenly froze in place, and the sulfurous flames within its eye sockets trembled wildly!

"Radiant Power... you bastard! What did you do... AAAAAH—!"

Although Seventy-Six had a gaunt frame, after extensive Alchemical modifications, his weight was even more immense than that of Warlord Nico. The density of his bones and flesh had reached a terrifying level.

Like an elegant combat dancer, Seventy-Six flipped and accelerated in mid-air. A long, narrow blade extended from his right calf, like an impossibly sharp cleaver, and swung viciously at Huffman’s right arm!

Florian’s body fell to the ground with a thud.

Then, a stream of high-temperature energy flashed across the sky above the Barge Port warzone. Wreathed in the power of a Decomposition Blade, the Black War Axe descended with the overwhelming force of a tidal wave, kicking up a terrifying gale as it swung with savage finality at Huffman’s chest!

At the same time, Seventy-Six’s voice came through the shared Telepathy link.

’I was starting to think you’d fallen asleep in the lower port. I’ve got him. The rest of this fight is on you; I can’t handle this kind of thing.’

’Take him to the Punisher and get him to safety.’

Even though the dagger in Huffman’s neck carried only the faintest trace of Radiant Power, for a fallen creature like it, the sensation was no different from having a red-hot poker shoved into its throat.

The lethality of Radiant Power against Demons was no joke.

Facing the oncoming Black War Axe, Huffman’s expression twisted in agony. It hastily raised its Slaughter Knife to parry, but still unsteady on its feet, it was knocked flying backward like it had been hit by a speeding locomotive!

When the man wielding the War Axe—his Knight’s Mighty Power a raging storm—took Florian’s place against Huffman, Raphael breathed a sigh of relief.

「One minute ago.」

Reinhardt, while fighting eight Flayer Knights—including a traitor with a Three-star Earth Military Rank—had fallen from a port causeway to the level below.

「Forty seconds ago.」

Raphael used Telepathy to get authorization from Reinhardt for Matthias and Manon to act. He also warned him that the Ash Guard’s Iron Crown might not be able to hold out against the leader of the Flayers Warband.

「Fifteen seconds ago.」

Raphael and Seventy-Six had begun planning over an encrypted telepathic channel, figuring out how they would rescue Florian if Reinhardt couldn’t make it back in time.

In a war, everyone has their place and their duty.

Agate, completely absorbed in his repairs, shouldered a burden of responsibility and pressure no less than any of the others.

As Seventy-Six carried Florian’s broken body onto the Punisher, he saw it. Tens of thousands of metallic neuro-transmission wires connected the ship to Agate, turning the compartment into a giant ’spider’s den’. He suddenly understood why Raphael hadn’t asked the powerful Mechanical Sage to help with the rescue.

Instead, the task had fallen to him—an assassin who only knew how to kill, not how to save.

’For the God of All Machines’ sake...’

This wasn’t sarcasm or some gallows humor; Seventy-Six was genuinely worried. ’Processing that much data at once... is that grease monkey’s brain not going to just fry itself?’