Chapter 157: Chapter 122: Battle Group Style, The Terror of the Mind Mage
In terms of sheer civilizational advancement, Rebino World wasn’t even on par with Grillers World, where Reinhardt had been reincarnated.
Tribe Chiefs, Feudal Lords, the slave trade...
When an Imperial Citizen from a civilized world set foot on Rebino, they could clearly experience the primitive beauty of a world divorced from industrial production.
From a military perspective, however.
This incredibly backward planet was the perfect springboard for Grand Lord Kles to amass troops on the border and launch an assault on the Imperial Administrative Region.
Of course, the eight-year war had brought more than just death and disaster to the natives of Rebino World; it had also introduced the Empire’s advanced systems and means of production.
However, the Administrative Region’s rule here lasted less than seven years. In the end, all the military fortresses and frontline factories built during that time fell into the hands of Grand Lord Kles and the local Governor.
The Capet Family’s merchant ship docked at a military port that was still under construction.
Where once there was only overgrown wilderness, a magnificent port now rose from the ground, built by industrial machinery. It stood in stark contrast to the rural village of thatched huts and stone houses just a few hundred meters away.
The commoners living there watched in terror as the warship *Fury* blotted out the sky, descending like a palace of a Divine Spirit from ancient legend.
Even from hundreds of meters away, the terrifying pressure wave still converged into a gale, completely enveloping the village.
The one who came to welcome the merchant ship’s envoys was the local Provincial Governor. He wore a Golden Crown and was clad in Chain Armor, his bright red Great Cloak trailing on the ground.
Accompanying him was a Lord Knight from the Kles Legion.
Though he was just a New Recruit Knight with a One-star Military Rank, on Rebino World, his combat power represented a completely different plane of existence to the local natives.
Upon seeing Captain Nolan.
This Provincial Governor—who in the eyes of the common laborers and soldiers was like a king, his status noble, sacred, and inviolable—bowed his head respectfully before these off-world visitors.
He also switched from the local native tongue to the Ancient Terra Language of the Radiant Holy City.
"Welcome, welcome. I am Alban, Governor of the Rebino World Confederacy."
As Captain Nolan exchanged pleasantries with him, Provincial Governor Alban’s gaze kept drifting, intentionally or not, toward Reinhardt and his retinue.
After all, the fearsome Physique of an Imperial Knight stood out too much among mortals. This was especially true for the Emperor’s Shield Knight, Manon, who towered over two-point-six meters tall, standing like a humanoid iron tower behind the others.
Lord Alban was secretly aghast. ’The Capet Family is this powerful? A single diplomatic envoy travels with so many formidable Emperor’s Angels as an escort.’
This was only his assumption.
The Lord Knight standing behind him—the one who appeared to be an attendant but was actually his monitor—was already drenched in sweat, his hands trembling slightly.
’He had never dealt with a Merchant Family before, but wasn’t this a bit too much?’
Just as he realized that an immensely powerful Extraordinary Power was silently invading his mind and memories, he tried to cry out a warning, but it was too late.
An unknown amount of time passed.
It could have been an instant, or an hour.
A breeze brushed his cheek. The young New Recruit Knight’s right hand was still gripping the hilt of his sword, but his eyes were vacant. ’What was I just doing?’ he wondered.
The others at the scene were also momentarily stunned.
Had they all zoned out for a moment?
But then Provincial Governor Alban’s eyes suddenly rolled back into his head. He clutched his chest, his face contorted in pain, and collapsed to the ground. The port, arranged for a grand welcoming ceremony, instantly plunged into chaos.
"Lord Alban—!"
...
「An hour later.」
In an ordinary town with no garrison from Grand Lord Kles’s army, Raphael followed the plan and rented an abandoned estate, posing as a wealthy merchant.
It was the Vengeance Angel Squad’s first mission, after all, and though they were teammates, they were still strangers to one another.
This was especially true given the mute-like member in their midst.
Seventy-Six, from the Assassin Court, hadn’t spoken a single word the entire time.
Even walking beside him, one could barely sense his heartbeat or breath. They were frighteningly faint, as if he were already a corpse.
Matthias hailed from the Death Battle Group and had spent years on the front lines suppressing rebellious Wizards. Furthermore, having lived through the rebellions of the Seventh Group Army and his own Death Battle Group, he was long accustomed to the heavy, somber atmosphere within a squad.
Couple that with their captain, Reinhardt, who was always a man of few words.
After a long, silent journey, Manon Knight from the Emperor’s Shield—a Battle Group that highly valued brotherhood—finally couldn’t take it anymore. Once they had settled into the estate, he swallowed the pride of a century-long veteran and broke the silence. "Raphael Priest, did you really pay that mortal?"
Raphael’s brow furrowed. "Is there a problem?" he retorted.
Unlike the orthodox Priests of the Imperial State Church—that lofty bunch who cared only for status and faith—Raphael was more concerned with the common Imperial Citizens.
Manon’s voice was muffled, like it was coming from inside a metal drum.
But faced with Raphael’s self-righteous reply, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
Combat Priests, like Imperial Knights, possessed privileges unimaginable to ordinary people. Whenever necessary, they could unconditionally commandeer any resource within the Empire, including the assets of commoners and local nobility.
Whether that meant a ’civilized’ requisition or a crude seizure, well, that depended on the style of the Battle Group.
Take Matthias, for example. As far as Manon knew, the Seventh Group Army’s methods had always been brutal—in fact, calling them ’brutal’ was putting it mildly.
This was especially true of the Death Battle Group.
The entire Battle Group’s style mirrored that of their arrogant, High Table Nobility-born leader. In their view, unconditionally seizing the assets of local civilians for the good of the Empire was an honor bestowed upon them by the Emperor.
Matthias’s face was cold as he cut into the potential argument between the two.
"Don’t let your squabble interfere with the mission’s progress. Lord Reinhardt, if there are no other orders, Seventy-Six and I will head out."
As he spoke, he glanced at the seemingly harmless Raphael, carefully concealing his disdain and the faint stirrings of hostility he now felt.
After all, to the senses of a powerful Knight, the Demon Power within Raphael’s soul was far too obvious.
Now he understood why Lord Sedon had assigned such a new recruit to serve as the Think Tank for the Vengeful Angels.
He had spent nearly his entire life in the Death Battle Group fighting Wizards. He knew some of the old legends about Mind Mages, but this was his first contact with this powerful, ancient bloodline.
If Raphael couldn’t resist the Demon’s temptation and chose to ascend, what would descend upon them would likely be one of the most powerful Demon Princes in human history.
