Chapter 170: Chapter 135: System Reform, Sedon’s Grand Promise, Legendary Power
Sedon’s tone was as arrogant and cold as ever.
The break room was not large. In fact, to increase the capacity of the Government Hall, he had personally ordered the room—originally a recreational lounge for the Governor of Granada Stereoscopic City—to be forcefully partitioned into three separate offices.
What remained was a small room the size of a storage closet, with just enough space for a table and two chairs.
Even so, in all his years as Governor, Sedon had never spent a single second resting here, unless it was for a confidential discussion.
An old proverb was passed down through the Empire’s Star Zones: if you want to understand someone, don’t listen to what they say, but watch what they do.
Heinrich had once described Sedon as a pure patriot.
And Sedon’s every word and deed was a testament to his knightly ideals and principles.
For the revival of the Empire, for the great cause of the Human World, he truly poured his heart and soul into his work; it wasn’t just empty talk.
As the most powerful of the Knight Warlords in the Imperial Administrative Region and the Grand Governor wielding immense authority, if he wanted to be a local emperor in the Ash Soil Star Zone and enjoy the pinnacle of life, Sedon’s current status and power could grant him anything he desired.
But in the eyes of the Clerks in the Civil Affairs Department, the Administrative District Legions, and even the Governors and Lords of the Dome Grand Council, he had always been diligent and dedicated, like an ascetic Cultivator, willing to pay any price for the good of the Empire—even his own life.
If the victory in the Battle of Verne and the rise of Reinhardt had bolstered the morale of the Imperial Administrative Region’s forces after a long string of defeats, then in this time of the Empire’s division, the reason the people of the Civil Affairs Department worked so desperately was not only to defend the Emperor’s majesty, but more so because they were inspired by Sedon.
Even as defeat followed defeat on the front lines, they knew these disastrous losses were not the fault of the Lord Governor, but the result of those damn warlords who feigned compliance while acting in defiance.
Moreover, their Grand Governor, the absolute leader of the Imperial Administrative Region’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, was worthy of their desperate efforts.
Perhaps Sedon had a change of heart, or perhaps that brutal, bare-knuckle brawl with Reinhardt on Grillers World had taught him to respect life.
Although the Sedon of today still had some of the mannerisms of the High Table Nobility, the casualties of Mortal Soldiers—something he once completely disregarded—now appeared on his desk.
He also no longer uttered his once-favorite phrase: "It is your honor to be sacrificed for the Empire."
In summary, while the current Sedon still wore a cold expression that made Reinhardt want to punch him, he had at least gained a bit of humanity and knew enough to care about the safety of the Vengeance Angel Squad.
He poured a cup of the black tea that was never far from his hand.
In the cramped break room, time seemed to rewind to the campaign tents of the Steel Knight Order’s garrison. The cold winds of the Northern Lands and the loyal, departed souls of the Steel Knight Order seemed to echo in his ears.
But now, their power, their status, and even everything around them had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
Sedon took a sip of his black tea, looked at Reinhardt, and spoke coldly.
"I need you and your squad to draw a rough map of the interior of the Saint’s Remains so the Mechanical Order can take over later.
Furthermore, the major powers of the Ash Soil Star Zone will also be sending their own Vanguard Teams to try and enter the ancient ruins where the Saint’s Remains are located. It’s highly likely you will come into conflict with them.
The Vengeful Angels project is at its most critical stage.
I expect to see the Vengeance Angel Squad return in one piece. Do you understand?"
Reinhardt replied, "You brought me here just to state the obvious?"
Sedon took out a stack of classified documents and handed them over, his tone flat and blunt. "The Old Empire’s system can no longer be implemented in the Administrative Region. The local Provincial Governors evade their Tithing, the various Battle Groups feign compliance with my orders, and the Dome Grand Council that governs the Administrative Region is nothing but a giant pigsty."
Reinhardt frowned, taking the thick file and quickly leafing through it.
It was a draft for a reform that had not yet been reviewed. Besides Reinhardt, no one else had seen it.
Sedon was preparing to completely excise the chronic illnesses of the Old Empire’s system. For example, he planned to eliminate the Provincial Governors—who numbered so many across the various worlds they could form an entire Legion—and the damned Governor system. All of it would be streamlined, replaced by a single Planet Governor on each world who would hold sole authority, responsible only to the Dome Grand Council and the Grand Governor.
As for the motley assortment of Knight Warlords, he planned to disband and reorganize all of their Knight Battle Groups.
At the same time, to prevent another great rebellion, he would abolish the old system of Main Battle Corps and Legion Commanders. Everything would be restructured into Thousand-Man Knight Battle Groups. Each Battle Group would be divided into ten companies, and each company would command twenty tactical squads.
These reorganized Knight Battle Groups would only accept commands from the Military Affairs Department, and their commanders would be responsible only to the Dome Grand Council and the Grand Governor.
The great rebellion from twenty years ago, an uprising of legions totaling three hundred thousand, still made Sedon’s scalp tingle when he thought about it.
According to what he later learned, six Legions, totaling 1.7 million rebel Knights, had besieged the Holy City. The Mortal Auxiliary Army accompanying them numbered in the hundreds of millions.
And then there were the Demon Legions continuously pouring out from the Teleportation Gates.
But defending the Holy City were only the Radiant Angels, the smallest of the orders.
As for the other Legions whose leaders remained part of the Loyalist Faction, they were either caught in civil strife meticulously planned by the Imperial Regent or had been dispatched to distant Star Zones to suppress non-existent rebellions.
This was the last news he had received regarding the Radiant Holy City.
That was why Sedon had been preparing for this reform for fifteen years. He had already braced for the worst-case scenario: the Holy City had fallen, and the Empire was no more.
And in these documents, Reinhardt was startled to see his own name.
According to the plan, Sedon would build a true Thousand-Man Battle Group of Vengeful Angels with Reinhardt at its core, starting with the Vengeful Angels project. He had also laid out detailed plans for a series of subgroups.
This included the Caster Sub-group designated for Raphael.
The Angel Guard Subgroup for the Manon Knights.
The Vengeful Fury Subgroup for Matthias.
Beyond that, Reinhardt also saw something in the document he had never known about: Legendary Power.
The Empire’s major Legions were not just armed organizations composed of Knights in the traditional sense. Their Deputy Corps Commanders of Legendary Military Rank could master an Extraordinary Power known as Legendary Power.
This Legendary Power could be condensed into a Seed of Power, allowing the Imperial Knights of a subgroup to possess a sliver of the Mighty Power wielded by these Legendary Military Rank Knights.
Heinrich, whom he had fought before, possessed the Dragon Hunter’s Seed of Legend within him.
An Imperial Knight who possessed a Seed of Legend could more easily advance to Five-star during their time at the Official Knight Military Rank. An Earth Military Rank Knight could also use a Seed of Legend to awaken an Earth Ring with special powers.
And this was the secret to the true strength of the Imperial Main Battle Legions, the reason they could sweep across the Star Zones.
