Chapter 300 - 261: Imperial Truth, Manifest Destiny

Although Stearns was commander of the Death Battle Group’s Second Company, wielding real authority and considerable prestige within the Battle Group, all of that meant little when it came to personal strength, status in the Administrative Region, or reputation among the major Battle Groups.

Or even the magnificent achievements he had accomplished.

In his eyes, Reinhardt—the Empire’s Vengeful Angel, the incarnation of Verne’s fury, the Empire’s Chosen Knight.

He was one of the titans of the Administrative Region, standing high above the clouds of the Iberian World shoulder-to-shoulder with Lord Sedon—a transcendent being whose true form Stearns was only worthy of glimpsing by craning his neck to look up.

If he hadn’t been ordered by Kagaroos, vice-commander of the Death Battle Group, to lead his men into the Orbital Port and reinforce the defenders, he would never in his life have been qualified to even meet such a heroic figure.

He couldn’t understand why Reinhardt was wasting his time with these Low Tier Slaughter Demons, but to receive an invitation to fight from such a powerful Knight...

Stearns felt a rush of blood to his head, and his will to fight soared.

He dual-wielded Knight’s Broadswords, letting the sticky Demon’s Blood drip from his Full Coverage Helmet as he replied in a gruff voice, "It is my honor to fight alongside you, Lord Reinhardt."

「Meanwhile.」

Seventy-Six pulled his bloody dagger from the back of a Void Knight’s skull. He covered Manon and Matthias as they transferred to an elevator heading straight for the top-level port. Ignoring another Void Knight charging him from behind, he made a short-range teleport and vanished on the spot.

Inside the industrial elevator—mottled with rust, its steel mesh caked with coagulated gore.

The wound on Matthias’s left side, where his ribs were broken, was exposed to the air. In the dim light, one could even see his heart and lungs slowly pulsing. His face was deathly pale, and he was drenched in sweat.

And his injuries didn’t end there.

The Clay Steel on the left side of his Power Armor’s chest was completely caved in and shattered. His heart and left lung had suffered catastrophic damage. Worst of all, his internal organs were submerged in blood.

If he didn’t receive immediate medical attention, even with the injection of a Blood Burning Needle, he wouldn’t live for more than three hours.

And this was only because he possessed the Physique of a Seven-star Military Rank Official Knight. A Mortal would have died ten times over.

The Fear Knight, Carlos.

In all his years of service as an Imperial Knight, Matthias had never encountered such a terrifyingly powerful enemy.

Even when he and Manon teamed up, a two-on-one fight, they were still almost killed. The battle at the lower-level port could hardly be called a victory; they had only managed a temporary escape from the monstrously powerful traitor’s pursuit.

Manon, the normally optimistic and heroic Emperor’s Shield Knight, simply supported Matthias’s body to keep him from collapsing and fell into a long silence.

Seventy-Six cradled his firearm, one leg braced against the wall behind him as he leaned back. He glanced at the critically wounded, near-death Matthias and said coldly, "I must remind you, the elevator shaft’s exit on the top level has fallen.

If you don’t want to die here... Matthias, you’d better hold on until after we break through before you pass out."

Matthias just looked up at Seventy-Six, his lips moving, too weak to form words.

At that moment, Raphael’s voice came through their shared Mind Mark.

’Lord Reinhardt and Sir Sterns will provide support near the elevator exit. Prepare for battle...’

Before Raphael could finish, a hoarse, cold voice interrupted.

’Matthias, it’s me.’

Hearing this familiar voice, Matthias’s expression stirred slightly. He responded, ’My lord.’

’Stearns and I have already cleared a position near the elevator exit. Hold on.’

Seeing Matthias coughing up blood nonstop, Manon hurriedly held him up and took over the reply, ’We’ll reach the top-level port in about a minute... Matthias!’

At that moment, the former Ash Guard could no longer hold on.

His arm, which had been resting on Manon’s shoulder, slid off. He dropped to his knees, vomiting great mouthfuls of blood.

His blurring consciousness began to fade.

In that brief instant, scenes from his past flashed through his memory like a revolving lantern.

He remembered the lover waiting for his return in his hometown.

He remembered his original reason for joining the Death Battle Group’s Knight Training Camp. As a youth, he had only wanted to burnish his reputation there, to gain the status of an Imperial Knight. He wanted to use it to help him compete with his three older brothers for the Anhalt Family’s inheritance and control.

He remembered the first time he saw the high-spirited Lord Sedon, how he had been completely won over by the High Table Noble’s bearing and strength, captivated by his grand strategy and vision. From then on, he joined the Death Battle Group and never returned to his family.

He remembered the brutal selection process for joining the Ash Guard.

He remembered the battle on Grillers World, the one that had utterly shattered his pride.

Reinhardt...

The filthy words he’d used to mock the man as a mere local, Third-class Knight still echoed in his ears. But after joining the Vengeful Angels project, he had, at some unknown point, grown accustomed to addressing him respectfully as ’Lord’.

His gradually blurring memories finally settled on the Angel Holy Scripture, personally written by Raphael.

He remembered with perfect clarity the first sentence in that Holy Scripture: If you wish to realize your ideals, you must fight for them!

The roars of Demons and the cries of battle rose in his ears, growing clearer as if he were surfacing from underwater.

Manon’s furious voice echoed in his ears.

Matthias took a sharp breath, his unfocused pupils snatching their focus back from the hands of the Death God. The Knight’s creed that had sustained him to this day reignited like a blazing fire in his failing heart.

The Imperial truth he believed in—humanity’s manifest destiny to become the Overlord of the Cosmos—had not yet been fulfilled.

How could he die so easily in this dark corner?

Even if his body must be sacrificed like a torch, he would die fulfilling the destiny of a Knight’s ideal! He would charge into the Void Storm and slaughter these foul, corrupted abominations with his own hands!

He raised his arm and grabbed Manon’s right hand. With the roars and battle cries right in his ears, he slowly rose to his feet. He flung out his right arm, the Ejected Sword Blade shot out, and he turned to face the elevator doors.

As the rusty iron doors slid open, the reek of blood assaulted them. A battlefield piled high with a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood lay before them.

A familiar figure was on the battlefield outside the elevator, freely slaughtering the swarming Demons.

The moment before he stepped out of the elevator, he turned his head to Manon beside him and said coldly, "I’m honored to fight alongside you, brother."

Manon tried to stop Matthias from charging out, but it was too late.

"Matthias!"

In the next moment, Matthias’s broken body shot out like a bolt of lightning, crashing into a Slaughter Demon that was trying to attack Reinhardt. He lopped off its head with a single strike, then landed heavily, taking his stand beside Reinhardt.

There was no need for meaningless conversation between Imperial Knights.

Reinhardt kicked a Slaughter Demon out of his path and took the lead, charging toward the defensive line of Port Three.