Chapter 312 - 272: I Must Immediately Launch a Holy Boarding

No one could answer her question.

But Reinhardt responded all the same, for battle was upon them.

"Knights never die, the Empire never falls. Sister, take up your weapon."

As he spoke, the Punisher Ship jolted with a violent tremor, a sign that it was about to exit the Net Path. Reinhardt picked up the Knight’s Broadsword leaning against the bulkhead and tossed it to its original owner.

He gave Lu Jia a slight nod, then put on his helmet and walked to the hatch, his gaze passing through the narrow viewport.

A Demon Mother Ship, as massive as an asteroid and resembling a leviathan from the deep, appeared starkly in his vision the moment the Punisher Ship exited the Net Path!

At the same time, two other ships exited the Net Path alongside them, appearing to the left and right of the Punisher.

The ships of the Ash Guard.

「A few hours earlier.」

They had rendezvoused at the Hiniya Orbital Port, but the third ship failed to appear. Raphael used Mind Magic to leave a mark at the port that Bach could recognize. Without waiting any longer, the rescue team headed straight for the source of the Emperor’s Shield distress signal: this very Demon Mother Ship.

After contacting Senior Think Tank Albert, Raphael strode over to Reinhardt’s side. "Sir, it’s confirmed. The Radiant Angels and the others are trapped on this Demon Mother Ship.

Lord Albert has detected a large amount of Knightly Aura from the Imperial Rebel Army. He wants us to make a decision immediately."

At a time like this, there was only one effective decision: Holy Boarding!

"Tell Florian to break through the Demon Mother Ship’s defense network, initiate the Holy Boarding, and prepare to execute the rescue plan."

Lu Jia gripped the Knight’s Broadsword Reinhardt had thrown her. She let out a long breath, the confusion in her eyes long gone. She walked to his side, grabbed the handrail by the hatch, and stared at the Demon Mother Ship outside the viewport—so vast she couldn’t see all of it. Her voice was exceptionally firm.

"I request to join the operation with you, Angel."

After she finished speaking,

a towering giant of a man, over two-point-six meters tall, walked up behind her and said in a deep voice, "Welcome to the rescue mission, Sister."

BANG—!

Manon’s battle-scarred Shield Tower slammed onto the deck.

At the ship’s controls, Agate said coldly, "I will find a relatively concealed position to dock. After the rescue plan is complete, I will Phase Recall you.

Seventy-Six, you’re with me. You’re responsible for the ship’s security."

Although Agate and Seventy-Six were only responsible for the ship’s security, their post was still fraught with danger, because they were landing not on Kemola, but on a Demon Mother Ship.

No one knew how many enemies were inside.

A conservative estimate put the number at at least a million Demons, entrenched in every corner of the mother ship.

Matthias stretched his limbs, feeling the Mighty Melting Furnace implanted in the back of his neck. He found it difficult to describe the sensation accurately, but a Special Ability of Legendary Power was indeed constantly trying to merge with his Knight Power.

Steel Cable Muscles.

Pure Heart.

The former came from the Lord of the Legion of the Emperor’s Shield and could greatly enhance his Physical Strength.

The latter was the last vestige of the Radiant Angels’ Legendary Power—the light of Archangel Tiberius, which had remained in the Mighty Melting Furnace after his own great radiance was extinguished. It helped him resist the interference of Void Power.

According to Agate’s explanation, the Mighty Melting Furnace differed from the traditional method of bestowing Legendary Power in the Imperial Legions. Legendary Power that entered the furnace could not only be infinitely replicated, but it also would not fade with the death of the Legendary individual themselves.

The power within the Mighty Melting Furnace had been extracted by Great Sage Gneus from the corpse of a fallen Radiant Angel, all before Archangel Tiberius himself died.

Perhaps the only drawback was that these infinitely replicated Legendary Powers would grow weaker with each successive iteration.

The one implanted in his body was the first, the original Mighty Melting Furnace.

Matthias, of course, knew about the Artificial Angels project, but he never would have dreamed that he—an Imperial Knight and one of the Emperor’s Angels—would become the project’s first true prototype.

According to Agate’s solemn declaration after the first surgical modification, the entire plan consisted of twenty-one surgeries.

After returning to the Imperial Administrative Region, he would have to undergo the other procedures. Without the maintenance of other Extraordinary Creations and implantable drugs, the day the Mighty Melting Furnace broke down from age would be the day his soul returned to the light of the Divine Emperor.

Raphael walked up to Lu Jia, extended a right hand crackling with white lightning, and said, "Do not resist the implantation of the Mind Mark. Since you have requested to join the rescue mission, you must maintain communication with us on the Spiritual Energy level and accept my command once we are inside the Demon Mother Ship."

In the Old Empire Era, never mind an ordinary Battle Sister like her, even someone of the Nun Superior rank would not have been qualified to have contact with a member of the Vengeful Angels.

Although the Battle Sister had prepared herself, she ultimately had no idea what kind of battle she was about to face, nor what kind of powerful beings these Emperor’s Angels fighting alongside her truly were.

After nodding to Raphael, Lu Jia accepted the power of the Mind Mark.

In that very moment, she heard it: the tactical chatter on the psychic plane, originating from beyond the silent cabin.

’...Lu Jia, I am now appointing you as my Personal Guard for this battle. Protect my safety at all times.

Stearns, you will move with Lord Reinhardt and provide cover.

Please remember, our mission objective is to rescue the Radiant Angels and evacuate them from the Void Storm, not to wipe out the Imperial Rebel Army on the Demon Mother Ship.’

Raphael was, after all, still the same National Church Priest from Caster Monastery who cared for ordinary people. His orders not only showed respect for the Battle Sister but also took her safety into account.

And that last reminder was clearly aimed at a certain Imperial Knight who had a tendency to get carried away while cutting down Demons.

This was Lu Jia’s first time with telepathic communication, and she was clearly not used to it. But accepting and obeying orders was carved into her very bones.

"Understood."

Stearns put on his helmet, and upon receiving his orders, took his position behind Reinhardt.

BOOM—!

As the Punisher Ship broke through the Demon Mother Ship’s web of fire, it relied on its Energy Shield and rammed headfirst into the mother ship’s interior!

The hatch flew open.

Reinhardt took down his Black War Axe and, as if slaughtering livestock, cleaved a pouncing Slaughter Demon in two with a single swing.

Demon’s Blood instantly sprayed everywhere!

Lu Jia, who stood nearby and witnessed this, was utterly horrified!

She knew, of course, that the one standing before her was a powerful Knight of the Earth Military Rank. She also knew from their conversation that this Emperor’s Angel had wiped out the Demon Army on the Ed Castle defensive line.

But no matter how it was described, words could never compare to the intense visual impact of seeing it with her own eyes!

The ship’s engines were deafening, and the breach in the Demon Mother Ship roared as it collapsed!

At that very moment,

Raphael’s clipped voice suddenly rang out in their shared Telepathy.

"The distress signal is three hundred meters directly above us! I’m trying to establish Spiritual Energy contact with their Think Tank! Manon, Matthias! Proceed according to the plan!"

The moment he finished speaking,

two more ships smashed into Lu Jia’s view, tearing through the Demon Mother Ship with a terrifying roar!