Chapter 456 - 403: Past Events, the Runaway Wizard Who Stole the Divine Artifact

Outside the training craft.

Reinhardt looked down at the Mortal Soldier standing before him. According to the laws of the Imperial Administrative Region, rebels were to be executed on the spot, with no room for negotiation.

But this soldier, Exeter, had indeed helped them.

"You’re a rebel under Claudius and should be executed. However, you rendered meritorious service by assisting our combat plan. After Koller recovers, report to him. He’ll arrange a job for you."

Having given his orders, Reinhardt glanced at Lu Jia, who understood at once.

She walked to Exeter’s side and said gravely, "Come with me."

Once the matter of the Mortal Soldier was dealt with, a long silence fell outside the training craft, like a family waiting for news from a difficult surgery.

Rain hung in the wind.

The muddy ground was covered in puddles.

Reinhardt sat on a rock, with Matthias and the three Holy Fire Guards standing silently behind him, inseparable as shadows.

After Lu Jia led her unit away, Nelom was the one who seemed like an outsider, standing awkwardly in place.

Even though he was a complete political idiot, he could still sense the somewhat awkward atmosphere between himself and the Vengeful Angels.

Matthias, however, knew exactly why Reinhardt went to such great lengths to arrange things for a Mortal Soldier. It was clearly a display for the traitor, Nelom.

Even a mere Mortal Soldier was given his proper place within the Vengeful Angels, yet the great Domain Level Powerhouse, the Ash-Burning Tyrant Nelom, remained a defector with no official status.

In other words.

Reinhardt could kill him at any time.

Of course, in Nelom’s eyes, this naked threat and warning was merely a bit of awkwardness in the air; he was completely oblivious to the hidden risk.

Unlike with Mortal Soldiers, no commander in this world would so readily accept a defecting Domain Level Powerhouse.

It was too dangerous.

Claudius understood this principle, as did Reinhardt, but Nelom did not.

Reinhardt snapped a dry twig under his foot, his harsh, cold voice breaking the silence. "What about Manon? I heard the Emperor’s Shield recalled him."

At the mention of Manon, Matthias couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. Not only were they founding members of the Vengeful Angels, but they were also Battle Brothers who had risked their lives together at the Verne Orbital Port.

"Lord Sedon originally intended for him to be the captain of the Holy Fire Guard, but the situation on the Verne Front Line was grim. Four months ago, the Emperor’s Shield Third Group recalled him, and I took on the duties of Honorary Guard Captain as well."

"And Raphael?"

"Raphael..."

Matthias fell silent for a long moment, as if struggling with something difficult to say.

A cold wind swept over his Power Armor, making the gray cloak emblazoned with the Vengeful Angels Battle Group Badge flutter.

In the face of Reinhardt’s question, he ultimately chose to answer truthfully.

"After we rescued that person and delivered him to the Aquitaine Casting World, Lord Sedon granted us a month of leave. But after that, we never received any follow-up missions. Furthermore, the Military Affairs Department issued new transfer orders, so... after you disappeared, the Vengeful Angels existed in name only.

A year ago, on Lady Catherine’s orders, I was escorting a batch of military supplies to Verne. I saw him once there.

Raphael at the time... he seemed like a completely different person.

Perhaps it was because he was the one who gave the order, demanding we abandon the plan to come back and rescue you.

I heard he’s spent all these years engrossed in building up the Caster Battle Group and has had very little contact with anyone."

The operation to rescue the Radiant Angels was arguably the greatest crisis the Vengeful Angels had ever faced since their founding. One can only imagine the pressure Raphael was under, having to defy popular opinion to make a decision at such a critical moment.

Abandoning the rescue of one’s own Battle Group Leader... for any loyal Imperial Knight, a decision like that would be a source of lifelong regret. The immense shadow of that shame would be enough to suffocate them.

Reinhardt himself had once watched his childhood mentor die tragically before his very eyes. He had watched his Battle Group Leader, then just a youth, face relentless persecution and ultimately choose death to prove his conviction.

That soul-deep feeling of powerlessness.

Even now that he had advanced to become a Domain Level Powerhouse, standing among the elites with immense power in his hands.

But that hatred still lingered in the depths of his heart. It was true he was a Transmigrator, but the events of Frostfire Fortress—the care and affection he had received, the betrayal and sacrifice he had endured—had long since become part of his very blood.

’After the war, it will be time to see that old friend of mine in Verne.’

Just then, Agate, who had been staying inside the Punisher, walked out of the cabin. Although they hadn’t seen each other in over a year, his power, with the help of the Ancient Black Box, had soared all the way to a Four-star Earth Military Rank.

And the strength of his Knightly Aura was perhaps only a single step away from the Domain Level of a Five-star Earth Military Rank.

Agate stopped in front of Reinhardt, his synthesized mechanical voice as cold and emotionless as ever. "I have received authorization from Great Sage Zeka. Starting now, I will be taking over control of the Avenger Cruiser.

But before that, I need to obtain the consent of the Lord of Vengeful."

Reinhardt looked up at Agate and said coldly, "And what if I don’t agree?"

A whirring click came from Agate’s Mechanical Eye as it glowed with a faint blue light. "You have no reason to refuse."

Then, the cold-faced Reinhardt smiled. He stood up and extended his right hand to Agate. Their right hands clasped powerfully together. "Welcome back to the Vengeful Angels, brother."

Agate remained expressionless. "We can talk about welcomes later. Taking control of the Avenger Cruiser will take some time."

However, just as Agate took a step, intending to first inspect the damage to the Avenger Cruiser...

A surge of extremely potent Witchcraft Power, like a tidal wave roaring in from the distance, came hurtling toward them from high above!

But that was not the end of it.

Behind this Witchcraft Power was an even more powerful one, in relentless pursuit.

Unlike the spectacle of blue and violet that erupted when Spiritual Power tore through the Real Cosmos...

If the Real Cosmos were compared to a mirror, then these two Witchcraft Powers, one chasing the other across the sky, were colossal boulders shattering that mirror!

Wherever they passed, space twisted and collapsed as if a mirror were shattering, carving black gashes across the sky. Even the overflowing aftershocks were like a pair of great hands reaching into the heavens, churning the thick cloud layer into chaos!

A conversation, carried on waves of Spiritual Power, could be clearly perceived by Reinhardt and the others through their Knight Perception, despite being ten thousand meters away.

"You’re taking something that doesn’t belong to you, friend. Why don’t you name your price? We can sit down and talk this over, how about it?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Reinhardt looked up into the distance, his brow furrowed deeply.

’Destruction... Enok...’

He also quickly realized that the lost Wizard’s Divine Artifact, the Chaos Mother Box, was very likely in the hands of the fleeing Wizard.

Meanwhile, high in the sky.

The Wizard who had stolen the Chaos Mother Box knew perfectly well that a group of Imperial Knights were stationed below. Her entire purpose in luring her enemy here was to use them. She planned to leverage the war between the Imperial Administrative Region and Grand Lord Kles to make them intercept and delay Enok.

But.

When she sensed a familiar Knightly Aura among the Imperial Knights on the ground, she was clearly taken aback for a moment.