Chapter 346 - 303: Prototype of the Battle Group’s Core

The Avenger Flagship.

This capital ship surpassed even the Punisher in specifications, technological fittings, and Creation Level. It was over four hundred and fifty meters long, equipped with a complete command bridge, a hangar for smaller boarding craft, and an armory capable of outfitting a thousand-strong Defense Army.

Its exterior was armed with pylon-mounted Zeka Cannon Fire, which could level a mountaintop in thirty seconds at full power.

A single Explosive Bomb could effortlessly tear through the flesh of a Slaughter Demon.

...

The bridge.

The upper command deck, which should have been bustling with crew, was now empty. Only a Battle Group banner—a white emblem on a red field—hung from the railing, draped downwards.

In the lounge seating below the steps, only four men were seated sparsely.

Stearns, Second Company Commander of the Death Battle Group, was one of them. He sat ramrod straight, his brow tightly furrowed.

A month ago, while still fighting on the Verne Front Line, he had received an order from Battle Group command to immediately withdraw from the warzone and return to the Iberian Glory.

He had been surprised, to be honest, to be secretly inducted into the Vengeful Angels Battle Group.

However, there was one thing that left him deeply dissatisfied—even resentful—despite it being a direct arrangement by Lord Sedon.

’Even if Lord Reinhardt died on the Demon Mother Ship, the position of Great Tutor of Vengeful shouldn’t just be handed to someone else, right?’

In his view, Lord Raphael, Lord Matthias—any member of the former Vengeance Angel Squad—was more qualified for the position of Great Tutor than this bastard he’d never even heard of.

So he was bottling up a storm of anger.

He planned to give this commanding officer—who had so easily reaped all the glory of the Vengeance Angel Squad—a piece of his mind when they met.

’Want to command me? This Great Tutor had better show some real strength and seniority.’

After all, he and every other former member of the Vengeful Angels had confirmed that Reinhardt had met a heroic end on the Demon Mother Ship.

He still remembered waking up on the Punisher to a grimly silent atmosphere that made his chest tighten.

It wasn’t until they disembarked on the Aquitaine World, received direct orders from Lord Sedon, and were sent to different worlds for their respective missions that they briefly said their goodbyes.

And so, the Vengeful Angels—the squad that had plunged into the Demon Void Realm, boarded the Demon Mother Ship, and fought the Fear Knight to a standstill—was disbanded on the spot.

Even though the squad’s official designation remained, Stearns had seen the look on everyone’s faces—an anger intertwined with regret and self-blame over Reinhardt’s death on the Demon Mother Ship.

Though they were still Vengeful Angels, they had gathered because of Reinhardt, and because of him, they had now gone their separate ways.

As the Second Company Commander of the Death Battle Group, he knew that if he and the other company commanders had been forced to watch Sedon die before their very eyes, their reaction would have been even more extreme than that of the Vengeful Angels.

In the Old Empire Era, the influence and status of a Battle Group Leader were, in the end, incomparable to that of a Battle Group Commander selected from within the system.

A Battle Group Commander could be replaced if they died.

But the death of a Battle Group Leader was nothing short of devastating for a Battle Group.

Besides Stearns, there were three other Imperial Knights of the Earth Military Rank on the bridge.

Clad in Full Coverage Helmets with Vengeful Angels livery, the four men had not spoken to one another. Although they could distinguish roles like Technician Soldier and Think Tank by the model of Power Armor, they remained unaware of each other’s identities.

All they knew was that this was their first top-secret mission since joining the Vengeful Angels, and they were on the Avenger Flagship, awaiting the arrival of their commanding officer.

When the hangar bay doors opened, the vibration from the depressurizing hydraulic valves reached the bridge. They knew that the Great Tutor of Vengeful, whom they had never met, had boarded the ship.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor.

The blast door connecting the corridor to the bridge began to open.

But not one of the four Vengeful Angels, including Stearns, rose to greet him.

Before joining the Vengeful Angels, they had been Battle Group Company Commanders, senior Think Tanks, or even Battle Group Commanders themselves—men who wielded great power and held extraordinary status!

Even though they knew it was the Great Tutor of Vengeful, they had their pride.

Not just anyone was worthy of them standing in welcome.

And just as the Great Tutor of Vengeful entered the bridge, a completely black, humanoid figure shouldering a massive sniper rifle appeared silently in a dark corner of the bridge.

A voice devoid of inflection, like something from a horror game, suddenly broke the dead silence of the bridge.

"Just yesterday I was wondering if I might see your head on the Flayer’s execution rack. It would have reminded me of the fun we had a year ago. I didn’t expect you back so soon."

Anyone else would have been badly startled by a voice suddenly appearing beside them.

To say nothing of these powerful and high-status Imperial Knights!

When Seventy-Six’s sarcastic voice rang out, the expressions on all four Vengeful Angels changed drastically. They reached for their weapons and activated their Knight Power, bracing as if for a formidable enemy!

They had been here for four hours.

And in all that time, not a single one of them—not even the senior Think Tank—had noticed that a fifth person was hidden on the bridge!

How could they not be terrified?!

Stearns, however, froze for a moment upon seeing Seventy-Six. He lowered his Knight’s Broadsword and said in surprise, "Seventy-Six? When did you get here? How did I not..."

Seventy-Six took a step back, melting into the darkness.

He reappeared in front of Stearns, tossed a prepared mission report to the Second Company Commander, and then gave an answer that sent a chill down the spines of the four Knights present.

"I was already here on standby before you arrived."

Then, he appeared before the Great Tutor of Vengeful and clapped a hand on his pauldron. "I thought this place might have sprouted some Demon horns. Heard you even offed that traitor, the Flayer.

Tsk.

Anyway, welcome back, Reinhardt."

’Reinhardt?’

Stearns whipped his head around to look at the man on the upper command deck. When he saw the Black Cutter—that massive, terrifying War Axe, one-of-a-kind in the entire Empire—he let out a cry of disbelief.

"Lord Reinhardt—?!"

The other three didn’t know who this name belonged to, but in their Knight Perception, the sheer power of this Great Tutor of Vengeful made them instinctively retract their earlier arrogance.

Even the senior Think Tank, the most powerful among them, frowned slightly, sensing an immense threat from Reinhardt’s Knightly Aura!

A Five-star Earth Military Rank!

Even as Stearns dropped to one knee, expressing his utmost reverence for Reinhardt, the other three hesitated before merely offering a simple Imperial Army salute.

Reinhardt stood on the upper command deck, looking down at them. In a hoarse, cold voice, he issued his first order as the Great Tutor of Vengeful.

"Power up the ship. Destination: Savenxis. We’ll discuss the mission details en route."