Chapter 337 - 294: This Sword Strike Shatters the Darkness

Before the eyes of Fedor, more than twenty staff officers, and Ash Guard Thinker Bach, who had been strategizing alongside them.

Reinhardt, clutching the Radiant Holy Artifact, visibly froze on the spot.

Though it was only for an instant, it was unmistakable.

Bach’s brow furrowed. He instinctively assumed this was due to the influence of the Demon Void Realm, that the residual Demon Power in Reinhardt’s Spiritual World was affecting the man’s judgment.

"Sir?"

Fedor’s heart sank as well.

While he wasn’t a fanatic like Nun Superior Eleonor, he was keenly aware of the horrific consequences that would follow if Demon Power corrupted an Imperial Knight.

In fact, in that instant, his right hand had already moved subtly to the hilt of his Knight’s Broadsword, and his right leg had shifted slightly back.

Reinhardt was silent. He took a deep breath, looked up at the blood-red sky of the Eternal Battlefield—a twisted reflection of the Demon Void Realm—and replied, "I’m... fine."

’Of course, I know the Emperor vanished from the Real Cosmos thousands of years ago,’ he thought.

’I only fabricated a white lie to unite all possible allies at this critical moment.’

’Even if Nun Superior Eleonor’s attitude is deplorable, she is ultimately fighting for the Emperor and the Human Empire.’

’It is the duty of the Imperial Knights to shoulder the burden of the main front.’

’And is it not their duty to purge internal traitors and unstable elements that could bring about disaster?’

’This is the Demon Void Realm—the Eternal Battlefield. Endless Demons swarm the lines every second, and countless soldiers give their lives on the front. No one can afford the terrifying consequences of a powerful Imperial Knight turning traitor in the rear.’

But what Reinhardt could never have imagined was that the legendary man, the first Knight of the Human World, the supreme Emperor, would actually speak to him.

And the whisper that had emerged in his mind, with its commanding voice, sounded less like the inviolable, noble Divine Spirit recorded in the annals of the National Church Court and more like a battle-hardened, flesh-and-blood Imperial Knight.

Guiding him from afar, urging him to lead these human soldiers out of the bloody quagmire of the Eternal Battlefield.

Reinhardt tightened his grip on the hilt, the Power Armor covering his fingers groaning with the sound of stressed metal.

He would follow the guidance from his heart.

He thought about the nature of the Demon Void Realm—an illusory world where nothing was real.

’Even if countless Demons die on the Eternal Battlefield, it isn’t true death. It’s a cycle.’

’The goal of the Eternal Battlefield has never been victory for either side, but an eternal, ceaseless war of slaughter. Only then can the Four Gods reap endless power from it.’

At this thought, Reinhardt exhaled slowly.

’Since this is an illusory world...’

As Fedor and the others watched, he took three steps back. He brought Divine Emperor’s Fury before him, gripping the hilt with both hands. Then, under the heat of the Eternal Flame, the sacred Runes of the Illusion Breaker began to glow a deep, smoldering red, like superheated steel.

The aura of Radiant Power began to swell uncontrollably, erupting from his body and spreading in all directions!

Reinhardt knew this was the power of the Emperor.

Like light banishing darkness, a soft silver radiance, like ripples spreading across the surface of the sea, pulsed continuously from the flames of Divine Emperor’s Fury.

It reached every corner of the defensive line built by the Mortal Soldiers!

Bathed in the silver light, which felt like a miracle made manifest, Fedor and the Mortal staff officers who witnessed it were struck with profound shock!

For this power felt as if the Emperor himself had descended upon the battlefield!

Countless soldiers and Imperial Knights looked up as the silver radiance swept over their heads, dispelling all darkness and malice.

Countless Low Tier Demons burst into Eternal Flame, collapsing to the ground, wailing ceaselessly.

In that same instant, powerful, malicious wills from deep within the Demon Void Realm turned their attention to Reinhardt.

But in the face of the Emperor’s Mighty Power, these malicious entities could only linger outside the silver radiance, not daring to take a single step past the boundary!

A devout staff officer dropped to one knee.

"Praise the Divine Emperor..."

Fedor and Bach looked up at the sky, then to Reinhardt, who wielded Divine Emperor’s Fury. The absolute awe in their eyes was as if they were gazing upon the Lord of the Legion himself.

Watching from a distance, Nun Superior Eleonor shot to her feet, her pupils trembling uncontrollably. ’This silver radiance... the Divine Emperor’s Mighty Power!’

At that moment, Reinhardt, wielder of Divine Emperor’s Fury, became the very incarnation of the Emperor’s pure will on the Eternal Battlefield!

The next moment, Reinhardt dropped to one knee, gripping his sword with both hands. Empowered by the Illusion Breaker, Divine Emperor’s Fury tore through the space-time of the Eternal Battlefield and plunged into the ground, piercing the earth as easily as a hot knife through butter.

This one strike shattered the darkness.

A web of cracks glowing with silver light spread out from Reinhardt’s feet, expanding continuously until it covered the entire human defensive line!

Countless soldiers stared in shock at the Low Tier Demons that had died gruesomely before them.

They looked down in horror at the fissures beneath their feet, which resembled cracks from an earthquake.

Then, a pillar of silver light erupted from the ground, tearing through the twisted space-time of the Demon Void Realm and opening a spherical rift before them—a gateway of pure silver light connected to the Real Cosmos!

Similar rifts then began appearing one after another across the battlefield.

One after another, they numbered in the hundreds!

When a rift to the Real Cosmos appeared in the forward command post right before Reinhardt, Fedor was stunned for only a second before he snatched up a Radiant Beacon and began transmitting the evacuation order to every subordinate he could reach.

"This is Battle Group Commander Fedor! I am ordering all officers who receive this message to lead your units and proceed immediately to the Teleportation Gates that have appeared in your sectors.

I am authorizing you to make all tactical decisions regarding the withdrawal!"

The other staff officers snapped into action, grabbing the Radiant Beacons they used to contact their respective sectors and relaying the order to retreat.

There was no time to draw up a detailed evacuation plan, nor was there even a confirmed destination.

At a time like this, maintaining a tight chain of command was secondary; getting as many soldiers out alive as possible was the only thing that mattered!

Meanwhile, Fedor and Bach began relaying orders to the Imperial Knights under their command.

"To the Red Flame Sons in every sector: provide cover for the main force’s withdrawal. If necessary, I authorize you to act on your own discretion."

Deep purple Spiritual Lightning crackled in Bach’s eyes as he used his powers to issue a command to the Ash Guard defending the nearby sectors.

’Upon receiving this order, cease all combat and return to the forward command post immediately.’

Once the orders were sent, Bach looked toward Reinhardt, who was now getting up, and gave him a slight nod of profound respect.