Chapter 144: Chapter 109: Angel’s Descent, Profound Background
When the airdropped Radiant Waymark streaked into view, trailing a tail of fire.
The expressions of every surviving soldier in the Desolate Wasteland Ruins changed drastically!
Having just endured a brutal war, they subconsciously assumed this Radiant Waymark belonged to the invaders’ reinforcements. In fact, furious roars even began to rise from the Defense Army’s positions.
"It’s the invaders! The monsters are back!"
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack—!"
Raphael’s pupils contracted sharply. He quickly let go of the arm supporting Reinhardt, about to organize the remaining troops to rebuild the defensive line, but Reinhardt’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Raphael, calm the Defense Army. Tell them that’s not an enemy Airdrop Waymark."
Raphael froze for a moment.
"Not the enemy?"
Reinhardt looked up, gazing at the familiar Airdrop Waymark. The skeletal insignia was the unique crest of the Death Battle Group. Sedon’s support must have arrived.
Earlier, while he was fighting on Verne Bridge, Raphael had used Telepathy to tell him that Ullrich had received a definite response through the Radiant Beacon.
A response from Sedon, the leader of the Death Battle Group.
After everything they had been through.
The hatred between him and Sedon had long since vanished, swept away by their battle on the Northern Grassland and the fall of Grillers World and the Empire.
To be honest, when Ullrich first saw the Airdrop Waymark, he was scared out of his wits.
If that bastard Kles was still determined and recklessly mobilized the Main Battle Corps to assault the Seventeenth Military Port World, they probably wouldn’t have lasted an hour, even with Reinhardt.
Aimo looked up, staring at the style of the Waymark, her brows knitted tightly together.
’The Death Battle Group... What is an Imperial Legion doing here?’
Even the expression of Master Level Tier Two Wizard Florant darkened, growing grim.
The Imperial Administrative Region in the Ash Soil Star Zone, even at its nearest military port, was an extremely distant seventy light-years from the Seventeenth Military Port World. With the interference of Void Storms, it would take at least four hours to arrive, even using an Airdrop Waymark.
But in any case, if the Imperial Administrative Region joined the competition for the Radiant Holy Artifact, it would be extremely disadvantageous for Lord Anatol.
A starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
Even today, the Imperial Administrative Region was still the most powerful faction in the Ash Soil Star Zone, bar none.
It ruled over three hundred worlds and possessed hundreds of Thousand-Man Battle Groups, backed by several Merchant Families and Secret Orders. Furthermore, Grand Governor Sedon himself was not just a Sky Knight.
There were also some very obscure rumors that he was the Formless Divine Monarch’s chosen, an Imperial Meritorious Knight.
His immense strength was far beyond what any ordinary Knight Warlord could hope to match.
It was just that no one had ever seen him fight in person.
The moment Raphael used Telepathy to calm the agitated Defense Army, the Tier Two Wizard Florant and the other Wizards following him all turned their gazes upon him.
The shock, suspicion, and greed in their eyes were barely concealed.
They had originally thought that Reinhardt, who held the Sacred Artifact, was the greatest treasure buried in this abandoned world. They never expected that the unremarkable Combat Priest was also a Mind Mage who wielded the power of a Void Divine Artifact!
For a moment.
Florant even felt the urge to abandon Reinhardt and forcibly abduct Raphael instead.
’A Void Divine Artifact... especially one from the Formless Divine Monarch. The endless, ancient knowledge contained within... No Wizard could refuse it.’
BOOM—!
The Airdrop Waymark smashed into the ruins three hundred meters from Caster Monastery.
The roar of Steam-Powered Backpacks was like thunder as a five-man tactical squad shot across the corpse-strewn battlefield, whistling toward them!
A mixed coat of silver-white and gold. Angel’s Wings forged from steel. The Radiant Silver emblem on their Chest Armor. A Divine Aura woven from arcane Magic and milky-white steam.
When the two Great Lords’ envoys, Aimo and Florant, got a clear look at the squad’s Armor style and finish.
When Provincial Governor Ullrich and Raphael saw the Radiant Silver Badge, one that should only appear in the Monastery’s most ancient texts.
A storm raged in all their hearts!
Because among the Empire’s thirteen Main Battle Corps, the only Legion that could use the Radiant Silver—a badge symbolizing the Emperor’s blessing—was the Radiant Angels!
Second only to the Forbidden Army, they were the Main Battle Corps with the strongest individual combat power and legion strength, bar none!
But the most unexpected, and unforgettable, thing happened when this Radiant Angel squad arrived on the battlefield at Caster Monastery.
They didn’t ask where the enemy was.
Nor did they hover in the air, bathed in divine light, reciting the Divine Emperor’s Gospel and coldly announcing that the Radiant Angel Legion would be taking over the battle.
The Radiant Angel flying at the forefront ignored the envoys representing the two Great Lords and the steel-hulled ships hovering over the Desolate Wasteland Ruins.
He walked straight up to Reinhardt, his brows furrowed as he scrutinized him for a moment. Then, he took off his helmet, revealing the white hair characteristic of a Radiant Angel and a tough, scarred face that broke into a wide smile.
He slammed a fist onto Reinhardt’s shoulder and gave him a huge hug.
"Brother."
Reinhardt, who hadn’t smiled in many years, revealed a rare hint of a grin.
"I thought you were all dead."
Albert laughed heartily, slinging an arm around Reinhardt’s shoulder and turning to introduce him to his four subordinates. "This is the Reinhardt I told you all about."
"Back then, he was the one who saved my life from an Abyssal Great Demon."
Then, he glanced around at the utterly devastated battlefield, the smile gradually fading from his face. After a brief silence, he said, "Why didn’t you contact us all these years? After you disappeared, Lord Sedon and I looked everywhere for you."
"The Battle Group’s advanced Think Tank searched every corner of the Ash Soil Star Zone, but there wasn’t a single trace of you."
"This world has been under the control of a Great Demon. But that’s all in the past now."
Raphael had always believed Reinhardt’s stories, but when he actually witnessed the Radiant Angels—beings who lived only in legends and paintings—descend upon Caster Monastery right before his very eyes, "ecstatic" was not a strong enough word to describe his feelings.
Ullrich also had an expression like he’d seen a ghost. He had always thought Reinhardt was exaggerating when he said he had fought alongside the Radiant Angels.
’Divine Emperor above, those are the Radiant Angels—!’
Forget a minor Provincial Governor like him; even the high and mighty figures of the Radiant Star Realm were not qualified to see these legendary beings.
Because the Radiant Angels only arrived on a battlefield when a world was facing annihilation, when a war had reached an irreversible stage.
In other words, the only people qualified to come into contact with the Radiant Angels, aside from the truly great figures in the Radiant Holy City, were the dead.
’Wait...?!’
’What did he just say?! An Abyssal Great Demon? Saved his life?’
