Chapter 135: Chapter 100: Desperate Situation? Heart Steel Layers
The first Raider Knight, lost to the Mighty Power of the Ten Thousand Changes Demon Monarch, let out a chilling cackle and lunged at his former comrades.
The mutated abominations of the Auxiliary Army began savagely attacking every living thing in sight, like wild beasts.
This unremarkable war of invasion, which had raged for over ten hours in a forgotten corner of the vast cosmos, initiated by a mere Great Lord, was completely transformed.
The Auxiliary Army and the remaining Raider Knights, who just a minute ago were locked in battle with the Defense Army, furiously abandoned the Great Lord and Battle Group Leader who had betrayed them. They now stood on the same side as the Seventeenth.
Perhaps it was their faith as Divine Emperor’s Angels.
Perhaps it was the last shred of a Knight’s honor.
But most importantly, they knew that once the demon’s minions slaughtered this world’s Defense Army and killed that powerful Imperial Knight, the only choices awaiting them would be to join the traitors or die.
They would rather die a glorious death on this world, their souls returning to the Light, than serve as the demons’ dogs.
But whether it was the transfigured abominations or the Raider Knights who had mastered Demon Power, their strength had skyrocketed.
A single, common abomination could easily kill six or seven soldiers.
The Defense Army’s old Iron Swords couldn’t even sever the creatures’ tentacles, and their ancient, heirloom-quality Leather Armor offered no protection whatsoever.
A once-ordinary Two-star Military Rank Knight now not only possessed the wicked Mighty Power of a Mage, but their Knight Military Rank had also spiked to Four-star or even Five-star!
Under the influence of this corrupting transformation, their Power also developed stronger, more bizarre properties.
The Defense Army, which had once barely held back the invasion through sheer courage and sacrifice, was reduced to mere cannon fodder in the face of the demonic onslaught.
The tide of battle had become completely one-sided.
Even with a small number of Raider Knights fighting alongside them against the demonic abominations, they were powerless to stop the onslaught of hundreds of Four-star and Five-star Military Rank Knights.
In a single, brief engagement, the last of the Raider Knights on Verne Bridge were all but wiped out.
The defensive lines formed by the Mortal Soldiers crumbled at the first charge.
These Fallen Knights unleashed their bloodlust upon the crowd, sparing almost no surviving soldier.
The casualties among the Raider Auxiliary Army were even more catastrophic.
Because the corrupting transformation had occurred from within their own ranks, tens of thousands from the Mortal Auxiliary Army died at the hands of the abominations in an instant.
Now, only Reinhardt and Stein were left in a standoff on Verne Bridge.
The Fallen Knights and corrupted abominations alike ignored the two of them, streaming past to assault the final defensive line in the Upper City District.
More than five million surviving refugees from the Desolate Wasteland Ruins were gathered there, protected by the Defense Army forces scattered throughout the city’s corners.
Stein seemed to know that the Iron Sword in Reinhardt’s hand was a Radiant Holy Artifact. Cunning as he was, there was no way he would fight Reinhardt to the death.
His goal was to slaughter every Mortal on this world and offer their delectable souls to his master.
At the same time, he wanted to make Reinhardt watch it all happen. He wanted to savor the taste of Reinhardt’s powerlessness and admire his face contorted in despair!
He felt the power surging through his body—the immense strength of a Demon Prince, far surpassing that of an Official Knight.
Stein grinned at Reinhardt, his gaze filled with contempt, as if he were looking at an ant.
"I’ll save you for last, Reinhardt. The score between us won’t be settled so easily. I’m going to make you understand the true meaning of despair and pain—!"
Reinhardt’s Sword, the Divine Emperor’s Fury, ignited with blazing flames.
Sensing the Radiant Power within it, Stein’s expression faltered. But this only made him hate Reinhardt even more! ’As a Demon Prince, how could I actually feel fear toward a mere Official Knight?!’
’I can’t accept this!’
’I’m a Demon Prince now! An existence on par with a Great Demon! A puny Official Knight...’
And so, the moment Reinhardt shot forward like an arrow from a bow, slashing at him with the Divine Emperor’s Fury, Stein vanished on the spot, leaving only a resentful threat hanging in the air.
"You just wait..."
Stein consoled himself with the thought. ’My newfound power is still unstable. Even though my strength is now on par with a Six-star Military Rank Earth Knight, fighting that Abyssal Divine Chosen One and his Radiant Holy Artifact directly is too risky. I need to observe from the shadows for a bit.’
Reinhardt knew the bastard was exceptionally cunning, but he hadn’t expected him to be so cowardly as to completely avoid the fight and dodge his attack.
’Damn it.’
’If I’m not mistaken, that traitor and scum of a Knight, Stein, must be heading to the Upper City District to slaughter the civilians and the Defense Army...’
Reinhardt turned, his gaze sweeping over the fallen Verne Bridge.
Countless bodies lay scattered across the wide streets and dense building clusters of the Upper City District. Deep within the blocks at the end of the streets, the last remnants of the Defense Army were locked in a desperate struggle with the invading demons, suffering catastrophic losses.
Far above, a Void Storm that warped the Real Cosmos was slowly spreading toward this world. It swallowed every star in its path, a tide of terrifying beauty, like some magnificent and deadly cosmic phenomenon.
This world, which had once given its all for the Empire, was now in its twilight years, seemingly about to breathe its last.
In less than a minute, the tens of thousands of Defense Army soldiers on Verne Bridge had suffered devastating casualties. They struggled to pull back from the bridge, retreating toward Caster Monastery.
It was the last line of defense for the Desolate Wasteland Ruins.
At this moment, Reinhardt stood alone in the center of the bridge, the Divine Emperor’s Fury burning without end.
The Fallen Knights and mutated monsters that had completely overrun the bridge surged toward him from all sides like a terrifying tide of death.
The overlapping, mindless howls of the abominations were bone-chilling.
More than a hundred Five-star Military Rank Fallen Raider Knights surrounded him with malevolent intent. The dark red icons of Steel of the Heart that lit up above each of them signified that every single one was an elite hero unit.
By now, maintaining Bloodthirsty Madness at full power had consumed too much of Reinhardt’s stamina.
But facing the oncoming tide of enemies, he put away the Divine Emperor’s Fury and drew his Black War Axe. He hewed down the abominations that lunged at him, his merciless gaze sweeping over the traitors.
"Are you coming one by one, or all together?"
Hearing the whispers of the Demon and the promise of a reward for killing Reinhardt, the Fallen unleashed all manner of Knight Power, roaring as they charged him!
Knowing he couldn’t maintain this fight for long, Reinhardt infused the Mighty Power of Bloodthirsty Madness into his Black War Axe. Immediately, blood, like boiling fire, began to blaze upon the weapon.
He looked like an Abyssal Great Demon.
In that same instant, his eyes ignited with the scarlet flames of blood-rage—!
