Chapter 304 265: Brief Respite, Conflict Aboard the Ship

The three Ash Guard ships pulverized the Demons blocking their path and sped into the Net Path entrance.

The Punisher Ship gradually lifted off. Raphael gripped the edge of the hatch, his gaze sweeping over the Barge Port, which was as massive as a city.

Abyssal Demons poured out of the Net Path like an endless, crimson tide, densely packed into every inch of the port.

The bodies piled up into mountains, too numerous to be cleared.

Rivers of blood converged into lakes.

The Battle Banner of the Bloodsucker Legion was planted atop a low hill of skulls, while the roars of Commanding Mages and Demons rose and fell in waves.

And beneath his feet.

The last line of defense at Port One had shrunk to less than fifty meters. Only a hundred or so Mortal Soldiers remained. With the help of Reinhardt and Second Company Commander Stearns, they fought to the death, holding back the beasts of the Abyss from reaching the Punisher Ship.

He witnessed soldier after soldier fall to the Demons' slaughtering blades.

Raphael's heart was a roaring, burning inferno of rage. Even his right hand, gripping the edge of the hatch, squeezed so hard that the metal shrieked and buckled.

If this were Verne World.

Even if it meant dying in battle, he would never abandon these soldiers to their fate and live on in shame.

But...

His orders were absolute.

And the Void Storm was nothing mortal flesh and blood could withstand.

Raphael took a deep breath and urged via Telepathy, "Lord Reinhardt! The Ash Guard have already entered the Net Path! We can't wait any longer!"

Georg might have heard Raphael's voice.

He rushed to Reinhardt's side, his entire body smeared with the foul-smelling blood of Demons. Though he and Reinhardt had never spoken, he understood why this Vengeful Angel of the Emperor was so reluctant to retreat.

Wiping the blood from his face, he roared, "Lord Reinhardt! To fight alongside you has been the greatest honor of my life! Leave this place to..."

Before he could finish, in that instant!

The third bombardment from the Demon Mother Ship drowned out his voice as the entire Orbital Port shook violently!

Huge chunks of debris and dust rained down from above.

The orange glow of the explosions seemed to set Georg's resolute face ablaze—a face that looked upon death as a homecoming. He roared, "Sir! Our deaths are insignificant, but you must evacuate immediately—!"

Stearns, Second Company Commander of the Death Battle Group, let out a beastly, unwilling roar at the thought that these brave, fearless soldiers—men willing to sacrifice themselves for them and the Emperor—were about to be turned to ash along with the Orbital Port.

His eyes nearly splitting with rage, he desperately hacked at the swarming Demons, as if trying to turn the tide of battle and save his comrades' lives by his strength alone.

Even though he was already a Two-star Earth Military Rank Knight!

But on this immense battlefield, his all-out struggle was nothing more than the tiny splash of an ant in a raging flood.

Finally.

At that moment, Reinhardt—silent, cold, like a killing machine—spoke his first and only words to the colonel of the Assault Brigade.

"It has been my honor as well, Colonel Georg."

As the fourth round of bombardment struck, the Orbital Port, no longer protected by Albert's Spiritual Power, began to collapse.

Reinhardt grabbed Stearns. Blasting the ground with a stream of high-temperature energy, they launched themselves into the air and flew into the Punisher Ship.

After that.

The ship's hatch began to close, its engines roaring to life.

Amidst the terrifying, earth-shattering bombardment, Reinhardt turned. Through the last sliver of space before the hatch sealed shut, he saw the back of Georg, charging alone, blade in hand, toward a Slaughter Demon.

SLAM—!

The hatch slammed shut. Amidst the deafening roar of the bombardment, the Punisher Ship plunged headlong into the Net Path entrance.

And fifteen seconds after they left.

A Plural Level ship-to-surface shell, making no distinction between friend or foe, smashed through the steel-and-concrete roof of the Orbital Port. An instant after the flash of fire, the Orbital Port, once like a great Suspended City, exploded like a firework in the near-orbit of Verne!

...

The strange scenery outside the Net Path was as dazzling as ever.

But the interference and attacks of the Void Storm caused the entire Punisher Ship to tremble unceasingly. The Energy Shield covering the vessel constantly erupted in bands of multicolored, neon-like light.

Inside the Punisher.

Agate, empowered by the Ancient Black Box, no longer needed the total concentration he once did during the Kemola era to pilot the ship. While guiding the ship through the Void Storm via Neural Metal Wires, he knelt on one knee beside the deeply comatose Matthias, his cold voice like the mechanical, monotone reading of a program.

"According to the agreement between the Mechanical Order and the Grand Governor, all technology related to the Artificial Angels project is in a state of strict secrecy. Illegal use..."

Agate didn't finish his sentence. Or rather, he forcibly cut off the encrypted audio playback from the device the Mechanical Order had implanted in his body.

He lifted his head to look at Second Company Commander Stearns, the only one present who wasn't part of the Vengeful Angels project. His Mechanical Eye, glowing with a faint blue light, shifted slightly, his gaze oppressive.

"Everything you just heard is top-secret information belonging to the Vengeful Angels project. According to regulations, I should execute you immediately to prevent this information from being leaked..."

Stearns removed his Full Coverage Helmet, revealing a hardened, scar-covered face.

His short brown hair was matted with sweat and plastered to one side.

Perhaps his years of service were not as long, far from matching veteran Knights like Agate and Manon, who were practically living fossils.

Perhaps he hadn't endured as many high-pressure battles as Reinhardt.

Among all the powerful brutes aboard the Punisher, his eyes held a rare clarity, much like Raphael's.

Stearns's voice was exceptionally rough. He thumped his chest with his right fist, knelt on one knee before Agate and Reinhardt, and lowered his head. "I swear on my ideals as a Knight to the holy Emperor.

Even if my flesh is burned to ashes, I will guard these secrets to the death."

Seventy-Six, cradling his enormous rifle, leaned cockily against the bulkhead and said meaningfully, "The Death Battle Group has betrayed the Emperor and the Grand Governor before.

Your oath is not reliable, Knight."

Matthias now lay on the floor, his life uncertain, all for the sake of their rescue plan. Even if Seventy-Six's caution was reasonable, Manon was the first one who couldn't stomach such hurtful words.

The veteran, who had been squatting silently beside Matthias, suddenly exploded into motion. He grabbed Seventy-Six by the neck, hauled him up, and ripped off his Full Coverage Helmet. "Seventy-Six!" he warned. "If I hear you utter such blasphemy again, I will personally snap your neck. Understand?!"

Seeing this, Raphael's eyes flashed with white lightning. He roared, "Manon! Are you really going to kill Seventy-Six, a man who has fought shoulder-to-shoulder with us?!

In my capacity as Combat Priest and the squad's Think Tank, I order you to cease your violent act immediately!"

The image Manon had always presented to the members of the Vengeance Angel Squad was that of a good man who valued brotherhood and had a gentle demeanor.

But he was, after all, a two-hundred-year-old, iron-blooded veteran from the Emperor's Shield Elite formation.

When it came to principles and personal lines, Raphael's strength and seniority were not nearly enough to suppress this powerful Knight—a man who could fight a Fear Knight to a standstill in the lower port and walk away intact.

But the Raphael of today was no longer the naive local recruit first leaving Verne.

He knew that the high-pressure battle, its intensity far exceeding expectations, and Matthias's uncertain fate had stretched all their nerves to the breaking point. Everyone was like a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark.

But when he realized his authority as the squad's Think Tank and Priest was being scorned, the rage he already felt for being forced to abandon those soldiers instantly rushed to his head!

His Mental Power surged. "Manon Knight!" he roared in fury. "I am ordering you one last time: cease this violent act!"