Chapter 171: Chapter 136: Are You Threatening Me?
「After his private meeting with Sedon.」
As Reinhardt left the Government Hall, he saw a familiar, aged figure sitting in a corridor of the Civil Affairs Department’s massive office complex.
They hadn’t seen each other in four years, and Ullrich’s hair was even more sparse than before, his face etched with worry.
This Governor of Verne World, a ruler in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Mortals, now looked like a pitiful old man who had been cast out. He was completely devoid of a governor’s dignity, his head hung in dejection.
When Reinhardt walked up to him,
his Power Armor, like some colossal behemoth, cast a shadow that blotted out the light and completely swallowed the old man’s form.
The Governor of Verne’s Stereoscopic City scrambled to his feet, his back hunched. His expression grew utterly servile as he asked cautiously, "Noble Emperor’s Angel, is there something I can do for you? I am the Governor of Verne World..."
Before he could finish, a cold, vaguely familiar voice cut him off.
"Ullrich. It’s me."
Ullrich froze, as if unable to believe the voice he was hearing. After a long moment of hesitation, he finally dared to ask, "You are... Lord Reinhardt?"
Just then, a Governor who appeared young—though his actual age was impossible to tell—approached. He wore a white, Ancient Roman Style Toga Robe fastened with a Golden Oak Leaf clasp and a Floral Crown on his head.
With two assistants in tow, he stopped beside Reinhardt and smiled. "You must be the Vengeful Angel. A pleasure to meet you. I am Sexta, a Governor from the Governance Council."
Although his every action was meticulously polite, the hostility in his eyes—no matter how he tried to hide it—was plain as day to a veteran of countless wars like Reinhardt.
Ordinarily, some token small talk would follow the initial greetings, but Sexta deliberately changed the subject, pointedly ignoring Reinhardt.
He had one of his assistants hand an application form back to Ullrich, his own voice dripping with the arrogance and mockery of someone in the Upper Ranks.
"While Lord Governor Sedon agreed to let Verne World join the Imperial Administrative Region, the Governance Council has not approved your entry into the Dome Grand Council. You are merely the governor of a derelict city. After a discussion, the Governance Council has concluded that you are not yet qualified to join."
As if that wasn’t enough, he walked right up to Ullrich. With a height difference of more than two heads, he loomed over the old man like an insurmountable mountain and warned coldly, "In the Imperial Administrative Region, everyone has their place, Lord Ullrich.
Overstepping it often leads to danger... and death."
Then, Sexta gave Reinhardt a very ’polite’ nod, a clear ’greeting’.
Caught in this terrifying vortex of internal political struggle, Ullrich clutched the application form. Though filled with the humiliation of being bossed around, he kept his head bowed respectfully, not daring to reveal the slightest hint of animosity.
He understood full well that with Verne now a part of the Imperial Administrative Region, his every action represented not only himself, but Reinhardt as well.
’Problems within the administration should be resolved through administrative channels,’ he thought. He didn’t want this to affect Reinhardt’s reputation within the military.
’Compared to them, I’m just a weed beneath a towering tree. With the slightest sign of disrespect, they could crush me with a single thought.’
If one were to judge purely by status and power within the administration, even Reinhardt was far from qualified to speak directly with Sexta.
However, that wasn’t the most important part.
What truly made Ullrich wary was the man standing behind Sexta, and his terrifying sphere of influence.
Cicero. The former World Governor of the Iberian World, master of the Granada Stereoscopic City, a scion from a collateral branch of the Radiant Holy City’s High Table Nobility, a Sky Knight backed by numerous Knight Warlords and local governors—the purest of the upper crust.
He was also Grand Governor Sedon’s greatest political rival within the Administrative Region.
It was rumored he was inextricably linked to the great rout on the front lines. Despite the loss of over twenty worlds and total military and civilian casualties reaching 1.2 billion—with the Emperor’s Shield Knights suffering particularly grievous losses—
—due to a lack of direct evidence, he was still able to maintain his status and power in Granada. In fact, because of the rout, calls from within the Dome Grand Council and among the Knight Warlords for Sedon to step down and be replaced by Cicero as Grand Governor were growing ever louder.
’Other than Cicero, I can’t think of anyone else with the power to stop me from joining the Dome Grand Council who would also dare to so openly defy an order from Grand Governor Sedon,’ Ullrich thought.
’A mere pawn like Sexta, who only has the strength of an Official Knight recruit, would only dare to threaten Lord Reinhardt to his face with Cicero’s secret backing.’
Having said his piece, Sexta shot Reinhardt a glance, sneered, and attempted to stride past him.
But a massive hand, encased in Anti-Magic Steel Armor, brutally grabbed his head from behind. Ignoring his struggles and resistance, it yanked him back.
The Full Coverage Helmet betrayed no emotion, its dark red visor concealing the eyes within.
The only hint of Reinhardt’s emotional state that Sexta could perceive was his deep, brutally cold voice.
"Are you threatening me?"
Reinhardt’s action sent shockwaves through the area.
The Clerks, who had already been casting glances their way, let out a series of shocked gasps.
The passing Masters of Internal Affairs couldn’t believe their eyes. An Imperial Knight daring to use force at the entrance of the Government Hall! To think he’d even taken a Governor from the Governance Council hostage!
Only at moments like this did the Mortals who worked year-round in the Government Hall realize just how high the security level of the Civil Affairs Department truly was.
Alerted by the Think Tank, the nearby Arbitrators and Forbidden Guard swarmed out in full force. Within fifteen seconds, they had completely sealed off Reinhardt’s position.
A Commander of the Imperial Guard with the Earth Knight Military Rank rushed over, moving so fast he was practically flying just above the ground. Every step he took shattered the expensive, ornate tiles of the Government Hall’s corridor.
He raised his Knight’s Broadsword at Reinhardt and roared!
"You have violated the laws of the Administrative Region! Release Governor Sexta at once! First warning! Release the Lord Governor immediately!"
All of Sexta’s earlier arrogance and disdain was gone. His face, now a furious red, was a mask of shock and rage. He glared at Reinhardt’s helmet and roared, "Bastard—! Do you know where you are?! This isn’t over between us!"
He felt emboldened, knowing he was at the Civil Affairs Department, right at the entrance of the Government Hall, with a large number of Forbidden Guard and Arbitrators to back him up.
Held in Reinhardt’s grasp, Sexta felt no fear. In fact, his arrogance swelled. ’I am an Imperial noble, a Governor of the Administrative Region! This mere plebeian...’
"I’m warning you! If I lose so much as a single hair here, I’ll make sure you don’t live to see tomorrow!"
