Chapter 145: Chapter 110: Convergence of Fates
At that moment, as the representatives of the two Great Lords witnessed one of the Divine Emperor’s Radiant Angels call Reinhardt a Battle Brother, their expressions shifted from arrogance and condescension to shock and uncertainty.
Their trembling pupils betrayed a profound, indescribable horror.
Even today, thirteen years after the Great Rebellion, the Radiant Silver Badge had lost none of its power.
A symbol of the Emperor’s authority.
The emblem of the Battle Group of Archangel Tiberius, an Immortal Knight and one of the Empire’s seventeen supreme powers; its prestige had never faded.
Local warlords and Wizard Lords might scorn the Divine Emperor’s authority, embrace heresy, and commit blasphemous acts in secret, but they would never dare provoke the Radiant Angels.
For the Divine Emperor was far too distant, while the Radiant Angel Legion would truly descend upon their doorsteps to purge all heretics in the Emperor’s name.
To be called Battle Brothers by a Radiant Angel... they couldn’t begin to imagine what secrets lay hidden in Reinhardt’s past.
Even though Reinhardt had defeated Crusher Stein with a single sword strike after his Demon Ascension, they had never taken a lone-wolf Knight with no background or status seriously.
But now, Florant, the Tier Two Mage, was suddenly grateful he had listened to his mentor’s advice and not resorted to force.
Killing one of the Radiant Angel’s Battle Brothers was no trivial matter.
Lady Aimo took a deep breath and retreated three steps. The look of arrogance on her face vanished, replaced by one of humility and piety.
When Albert’s gaze swept past her, the representative of the Oreno Family lowered her head slightly in a show of reverence.
Strictly speaking, the Oreno Family was still a Merchant Nobility loyal to the Empire. But in the absence of direct orders from the Regent Council, no one in the administrative hierarchy of the Ash Soil Star Zone had the authority to command them.
Showing reverence to a Radiant Angel was also a declaration that the Oreno Family had not betrayed its faith in the Divine Emperor.
The Radiant Angels were unique among the Legions. In their view, a person could betray the Empire, even become its enemy.
But they would never tolerate anyone betraying the Divine Emperor.
After introducing Reinhardt to his subordinate, Albert’s gaze fell upon Raphael. His brow furrowed, and his right hand was already gripping the hilt of his Knight’s Broadsword.
However, Reinhardt stopped him from drawing his sword.
"This is Raphael, a Priest from Caster Monastery. My Battle Brother."
"A Priest?"
Hearing this, Albert’s brow furrowed even more deeply.
For in the sight of his Eye of Punishment, Raphael—a National Church Priest—not only possessed the power of a Void Divine Artifact in his soul, but was also a Wizard of impure bloodline.
’What blasphemy!’
In his eyes, Raphael’s very existence was tantamount to a Void Demon brazenly desecrating the Divine Emperor’s majesty!
If Reinhardt hadn’t stopped him, he would have struck down this irreverent heretic right then and there!
The Knight’s killing intent was no mere threat. The aura of Albert, now an Earth Knight, crashed into Raphael with the force of an avalanche.
The pressure turned his face pale and made him tremble, drenching him in cold sweat.
For a zealot like Raphael, witnessing the arrival of a Radiant Angel was tantamount to seeing a Miracle of Radiance. But the angel wanted to kill him on sight. Compared to fending off a demon invasion, Albert’s fury was clearly far more terrifying.
Raphael tried to explain, but in the face of the Radiant Angel’s wrath, the impassioned defiance he had shown when facing the Great Demon vanished. He was like a guilty child, stammering, unable to utter a single coherent sentence.
For deep in his heart, the Priest knew full well that his soul and bloodline had lost their purity.
All that remained was his unwavering faith.
Just then, following Albert’s initial arrival, the rest of the reinforcements appeared. Arriving via Airdrop Waymarks, they fell like a rain of death, breaking through the barrier between the Void and reality to materialize high above the Desolate Wasteland Ruins.
Albert glanced up at the sky. He knew he and the reinforcements had arrived late, but he was genuinely happy to see Reinhardt again.
Even so, he didn’t loosen the grip of his right hand on his sword hilt. He stood beside Reinhardt, ever-watchful for any sign of a Demon Ascension Ceremony from Raphael. "On my way here," he said, "Lord Sedon ordered me to bring you back, even if it was just your corpse."
"But now, it seems we were too late."
Even though Albert had once witnessed Reinhardt shatter half an Abyssal Great Demon’s body with a single punch, he was still filled with emotion.
He had fought for the Battle Group for many years; he didn’t need anyone to explain the conditions on the Seventeenth.
His gaze swept over the battlefield, a scene of carnage strewn with corpses and flowing with rivers of blood. He saw the Defense Army soldiers, protected only by tattered leather armor and armed only with old-model Standard Longswords the Empire had decommissioned over a thousand years ago.
He could almost feel the sacrifice and death required to win this battle.
Albert couldn’t imagine what kind of Imperial Knight could lead such a tattered army and single-handedly achieve victory in this maelstrom of death.
But Reinhardt had done it.
As Ullrich, the elderly Provincial Governor, watched the continuous stream of Imperial reinforcements arriving at the Desolate Wasteland Ruins, he could no longer support his body. His legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.
The envoys of the two Great Lords fell completely silent on the matters of the Radiant Holy Artifact and of recruiting Reinhardt.
The only person still silently observing Reinhardt was the mixed-blood Witch in the crimson wizard robe, Eliza Hearn.
It was as if this were still Frostfire Fortress, she still the daughter of Lord Hearn, and Reinhardt still that exceptionally talented young follower worthy of her notice.
Time had passed.
The Great Rebellion and the destruction of Grillers World had changed everything.
If her father hadn’t paid a terrible price to send her away from her home back then, she would have long since died, swallowed by the endless Demon Army that had swarmed across the landscape.
Now, a mere Tier One Wizard Researcher, she was worlds apart from Reinhardt in both status and power.
A Radiant Waymark, its design vastly different from those used by the Death Battle Group, came screaming down from the sky and smashed into the ruins outside Caster Monastery.
As the billowing smoke and dust began to settle, a trio of figures slowly emerged into view.
Unlike the Imperial Knights clad in Anti-Magic Steel Armor, these three wore similar black uniforms. Their scarlet-edged overcoats were tattered and old, and the scuffs on their leather boots spoke of countless battles.
Various miniaturized weapons hung from their uniforms. They wore matching black leather gloves, and a belt at their waist secured an old, mysterious book with frayed edges.
The man in the lead had long, messy, pale hair and a gaunt frame; he looked as though a gust of wind could knock him over. One of the pauldrons securing his dark red cloak was cracked.
He slowly walked up to Reinhardt and studied him intently. A morbid smile touched his lips, and his voice was faint and listless.
"So good to see you, old friend."
