Chapter 127: Chapter 96: Leader of the Wolves, Crusher Stein! The Glory of the Vengeful Angels
The piled corpses were like scars on the landscape.
Rivers of blood flowed unceasingly.
The once-majestic Verne Steel Bridge Corridor, a grand structure of the Empire, now resembled a dying, colossal giant—its body shattered and on the verge of collapse.
"I will deal with him. Plunderers, do not disappoint the Great Lord."
The muffled command from beneath the Full Coverage Helmet was cold, hard, and resonant.
The Knight’s Armor was ornate and imposing. The Mighty Power of a Seven-star Military Rank expert materialized as an intangible aura, spreading to every corner of the bridge.
It was like a colossal stone, weighing down heavily on the hearts of the Defense Army soldiers.
Although they were Mortals and couldn’t perceive the aura of Knight Power, the presence of such a powerful Knight needed no explanation.
The oppressive feeling that washed over them was suffocating.
The Defense Army, the raider knights, and their Auxiliary Army all turned their shocked gazes toward this Seven-star Military Rank Knight who had just descended upon the battlefield, and toward Reinhardt.
Five Six-star Military Rank Knights in equally ornate Armor quickly fanned out across the bridge, cutting off Reinhardt’s routes for escape or for reinforcing the Upper City District.
A deadly silence spread across the bridge, which was piled high with mountains of corpses.
The Seven-star Military Rank Knight drew his Knight’s Broadsword, with its unique Flying Wing Gauntlet, and swung the blade in a perfect arc. His gaze fixed on Reinhardt as his Power Backpack emitted a low growl.
The raider knights and the Auxiliary Army, having received their orders, didn’t dare to disobey this newcomer, even though the latter group’s morale had already been shattered by Reinhardt.
A raider knight once again charged the defensive line on the Verne Bridge.
The Mortal Soldiers of the Auxiliary Army took up their weapons again and silently followed the raider knights, rushing toward the Verne Bridge’s defenses.
This brutally oppressive offensive of flesh and blood parted unconsciously to either side as it passed the standoff between the Seven-star Military Rank Knight and Reinhardt, like a torrent splitting around a massive boulder.
Compared to the sky-shaking battle cries from the Upper City District, the Verne Bridge—which only a minute ago had been a meat grinder of death—was now terrifyingly quiet.
There was only the chaotic sound of footsteps from the marching Plunderers and Auxiliary Army.
The Seven-star Military Rank Knight held his Knight’s Broadsword in one hand, his posture condescending. His voice was cold and emotionless, as if he cared nothing for Reinhardt’s title as the Reinhardt Empire’s Chosen One.
"My Wolf Battle Brothers died at your hands, one after another. How should I repay this blood debt?"
Surrounded and facing a powerful enemy, Reinhardt smiled—a cruel, merciless, and utterly defiant smile.
"Their dying screams still echo in my ears, Plunderer."
The exchange was short and sharp. A battle was about to erupt!
「The next second.」
Reinhardt’s pupils contracted violently. The Seven-star Military Rank Knight who had been confronting him from a distance was now, somehow, right in front of him!
Even his own eyes hadn’t been able to track the movement.
’This guy...’
BOOM—!
Reinhardt didn’t even have a chance to think. A colossal force, like a steel train at full speed, slammed into his chest. The terrifying impact surpassed the limits of what the Morphic Armor could withstand, pierced through his Knight Power, and crashed savagely into his thoracic cavity!
Reinhardt’s body flew backward in a way that seemed to defy the physical laws of the Real Cosmos, then crashed heavily to the ground!
Cracks spiderwebbed crazily out from the point of impact.
The reverberating shockwave compressed his heart and lungs.
Once again, Reinhardt felt death approaching. It was like a sudden, fatal collapse; for a moment, he completely lost the connection between his body and his consciousness.
The Seven-star Military Rank Knight held his Broadsword with its Flying Wing Gauntlet in both hands, his gaze looking down from on high. The light of the dying sun struck his frame as storm clouds swirled overhead, casting a vast shadow that swallowed Reinhardt’s body.
His voice was filled with the arrogant disdain of the powerful, as if there were few Knights in this world worthy of his respect. Killing Reinhardt was merely a task ordered by the Great Lord, as simple as crushing an ant.
"My name is Crusher Stein, Leader of the Wolves. You should be honored to die by my sword, Empire’s Chosen One."
As the Knight’s Broadsword whistled down, Reinhardt regained control of his body. His right arm, covered by the Morphic Armor, shot up to parry the blade. The high-pressure air sacs in his suit fired at full power, sending him sliding at high speed across the ground in an attempt to create distance between them!
But a Six-star Military Rank member of the Wolf Guard seemed to have anticipated Reinhardt’s trajectory. He clenched his left fist, and his intangible Knight Power formed invisible threads that wove into the jet stream blasting from the high-pressure air sacs.
「The next moment.」
Reinhardt’s body lost all momentum and came to a sudden halt.
Under the Knight’s control, the highly compressed air transformed into a blade of High-Frequency Oscillation. It let out a piercing shriek as it shot viciously toward Reinhardt’s throat!
The dark purple living matter instantly exploded, splattering in all directions!
But the Morphic Armor’s resistance had bought him a split second to dodge. The instant he rolled to the side, the blade formed from compressed air slammed into the bridge’s surface, sending stone fragments flying and gouging out a deep, head-sized crater!
However, it wasn’t over yet.
Invisible chains, also formed from compressed air, clamped firmly around his legs and began dragging him violently back toward Stein.
The vibrations from the latter’s high-speed charge thundered heavily.
In a battle that had lasted less than two seconds, Reinhardt had already brushed with death twice. The strength of these reinforcements on the Verne Bridge was worlds apart from the raider knights he had been facing!
But in the exchange, his opponents had also revealed their Special Abilities and methods of attack.
