Chapter 281 - 244: Support Arrives, The Third Mimetic Evolution Trait

The hulls of the Flesh Ships carrying the Low Tier Demons were nowhere near as strong as the Punisher’s.

Whether it was the slashes from his Black Cutter or the Living Bomb Special Ability provided by his Mimic Evolution Body’s Morphic Armor form, it was nothing but a dream for these traitors to think they could escape from Reinhardt.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

When Reinhardt’s deep, cruel voice echoed through the cabin, these Void Knights of the Flayers Warband scattered like a startled flock of sheep, smashing open the hatch in a mad dash to leap from the ship.

Ten breaths.

No one was left alive.

Faced with Reinhardt’s Mighty Power, death was the only outcome for these traitors, who were merely at the level of Official Knights.

Reinhardt pulled the Divine Emperor’s Fury from the last Void Knight’s chest, kicked the body to the ground, and ignored its agonized wails as his gaze swept across the Barge Port warzone.

Following Huffman’s execution and the subsequent retreat of large numbers of Void Knights, the Demon Legion’s morale shattered. In the upper warzone of Verne Orbital Port, the Ash Guard and the Mortal Auxiliary Army finally began to gain control of the situation, pinning the surging Demons down at the various Net Path exits.

At the same time, their reinforcements arrived in the warzone.

Ten five-man Knight squads from the Death Battle Group.

Six attendant Technician Priests.

One thousand fully armed and well-equipped soldiers of the Death Battle Group’s Auxiliary Army, and even three Glory Tanks of the kind Reinhardt had once seen on the Aquitaine Forging World.

These war behemoths, which had entered large-scale service in the Administrative Region’s Infantry Legions just last year, represented a generational technological leap over traditional cavalry and firearms.

They provided a quantum leap in combat effectiveness for the main Infantry Legions and the Battle Group’s Auxiliary Army.

As the last member of the Old Empire Steel Knights, Reinhardt knew all too well how appallingly high the casualty ratio was when Mortal Soldiers fought Demons with melee weapons.

However, amidst the blood and death of war, an amusing incident occurred upon the reinforcements’ arrival.

The commander of this temporary fifty-man combat formation from the Death Battle Group had originally thought they were making a grand entrance to take control of the warzone.

But just as he leaped from his ship, grabbed a Mortal Soldier, and demanded that the soldier fetch the warzone’s supreme commander, a voice, transmitted directly into his mind by a Think Tank using Spiritual Energy, cut him off.

’Stearns, it’s me.’

While Imperial Knights were few and far between relative to the Empire’s vast territory and population, a powerful being like a Think Tank was far, far rarer.

Not every Battle Group had the privilege of being assigned a Think Tank, not even a novice one with only twenty or thirty years of service.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the Death Battle Group Knight—Stearns, a man holding a Three-star Earth Military Rank—first froze for a moment. Then, the expression beneath his Full Coverage Helmet instantly turned to one of utter shock.

"My lord! How are you..."

Clearly, he was very familiar with that voice.

Just then, Stearns suddenly realized that the Power Armor paint schemes and Battle Group Badges of the Imperial Knights in his line of sight looked vaguely familiar.

’The Ash Guard?’

’Wait—how could they be stationed here?!’

In the Imperial Administrative Region, the Ash Guard’s existence and status were comparable to that of the Forbidden Army in the Old Empire’s Radiant Holy City.

They were an Elite Formation under the absolute control of Grand Governor Sedon. Although the military reforms in the Administrative Region were still in their trial phase, to the Knights of the Death Battle Group, the Ash Guard had long been spun off from the Battle Groups to become an independent army, taking orders only from Lord Sedon himself.

Albert the Visionary.

One of the powerful Think Tanks who had once served in the Death Battle Group, he joined the Ash Guard during the formation of the Imperial Administrative Region and was Stearns’s old superior.

’Listen, Lord Florian is badly wounded. He’s in the damaged ship to your right. Have your men take a medic over there. Then, I’ll establish a Spiritual Energy link for you with the warzone commander. If you have any questions, communicate with him directly.’

The message was brief, but it carried an enormous amount of information.

While other Imperial Battle Groups might not be familiar with the Ash Guard’s roster, Stearns, a forty-year veteran of the Death Battle Group, knew the name Florian all too well.

’Iron Crown!’

’A powerhouse second only to the Battle Group Champion!’

’But...’

Stearns’s brow furrowed. ’Badly wounded... Could there be an enemy in this warzone so powerful that even Iron Crown couldn’t defeat them? And command isn’t with the Ash Guard...’

He couldn’t understand. ’Other than Lord Sedon, who could possibly be qualified to command such a formidable, ever-victorious army?’

As the Spiritual Energy connection was established, he fell silent for a moment. He signaled his subordinates to first deploy their soldiers and Battle Group brothers into the fight, then spoke cautiously into the link. ’This is Stearns, commander of the Death Battle Group’s Second Company. Lord Albert instructed me to maintain contact with you.’

An unfamiliar voice replied.

’Raphael, Combat Priest and acting Think Tank for the Vengeful Angels. Your arrival is a welcome one, Knight.’

’The primary threat has been eliminated. You and your men are to take over the defensive lines at Barge Ports One and Two. Then, detach one Glory Tank and three hundred auxiliaries to fill the gap in the line at Port Five.’

’Lastly, inform your attendant Technician Priests. Have them immediately proceed to the ship on your right and assist with repairs.’

’Vengeful Angels?’

Although Stearns was the commander of the Death Battle Group’s Second Company, his rank was too low; he had never even heard of this unfamiliar unit.

He had, however, heard of the Emperor’s Vengeful Angels. Stories about them were spreading like wildfire on Verne and the Iberian World. Though he had never met one in person, he knew the legend of the Imperial Knight who repelled a Demon Prince with a single sword strike.

Considering the reverence in Lord Albert’s tone when speaking of this unfamiliar unit, Stearns thought for a moment. He chose not to question or challenge the orders from this Think Tank named Raphael, instead beginning to direct his men to their new positions to help defend the warzone.

The only thing that left him puzzled was, ’Since when could a Combat Priest also serve as a Think Tank?’

He quickly got his soldiers and Imperial Knights into position, then gathered the attendant medical personnel and the six Technician Priests. The thought of the legendary Lord Iron Crown Florian being gravely wounded meant he couldn’t afford to waste a single moment. He took his people and hurried toward the Punisher ship.

「Meanwhile.」

After Reinhardt executed the last Void Knight in the port, ethereal blue text scrolled rapidly across his vision.

[Mimic Evolution Body is learning...]

[Analyzing the Extraordinary Traits of the Devourer’s Slaughter Knife...]

’Mimic Evolution Body?’

Reinhardt remembered that the reward for one of the events included a third trait.