Chapter 184: Chapter 149: I Acknowledge Your Strength
The vanguard teams from the major powers arriving at the Kemola Tomb World were all the elite of the elite.
Even though Reinhardt had already advanced to Earth Knight, every Wizard and Knight he encountered was a Hero unit as judged by the system. The scarlet symbols of the Steel of the Heart in his system view were particularly striking.
Even the Tier Two Mage Florant and Robbie Hiling were judged by the system as Epic-level units.
Although the system had never provided an explanation, Reinhardt had gradually figured out the rules for stacking Steel of the Heart. Using 50 layers as the baseline, the upper strength limit of a Hero unit was probably Fear Knight Dortmund, whom he had encountered outside Frostfire Fortress years ago. Dortmund had provided 150 Heart Steel Layers.
The Heart Steel Layers from Epic-level units, meanwhile, began at a base of 500 layers, corresponding to their power. At 1200 Heart Steel Layers, Sedon, from his past battle, was the most powerful enemy he had faced in all these years.
Based on this system, enemies whose combat power was too low compared to his own were classified as ’grunts,’ from whom he could not gain any Heart Steel Layers.
This system of judgment fit the very nature of Steel of the Heart perfectly. ’Real men should fight real men’s battles!’
...
A curtain of rain fell, and thunder boomed overhead.
By now, the area near the entrance to the Saint’s Relics had descended into a chaotic free-for-all among the factions.
The faction led by Grand Lord Kles held firm control over the entrance to the relics, barring any other powers from entering. They were already in a standoff with the four vanguard teams from the Ash Soil Star Zone’s Watch Alliance, led by the Oreno Family.
Now, the war between the Space Dragon Race and the Demon Legion had suddenly spilled over to Kemola.
They were all keenly aware of one thing: their time was running out.
From the Mechanical Order’s perspective, every facility in the Saint’s Relics was worthy of deep research. Even the Kemola Tomb World itself held immense research value.
However, the most valuable thing on the entire Kemola World was the Ancient Black Box.
It contained Witchcraft Technology so complex that it could influence the combat strength of entire armies. Furthermore, for the Knights and Wizards who wielded Mighty Power, the Ancient Black Box itself was a man-made Divine Artifact that embodied the essence of the Wizard Civilization.
Its power was in no way inferior to that of Void Divine Artifacts and Radiant Holy Artifacts.
The Void Divine Artifact wielded by the Traitor Stein allowed him to traverse space at will.
The Formless Divine Monarch’s Thought Invasion Gemstone had bestowed upon Raphael such a vast amount of transcendent knowledge that even Lord Anatol’s treasury of knowledge was but a drop in the ocean before it.
Reinhardt’s Divine Emperor’s Fury could shatter the law of the Void Realm—which dictated that Demons could only be banished, not killed—and forcibly annihilate the souls of Demons and Mages.
This was just a glimpse of the Ancient Black Box’s terrifying power.
However, according to Agate, the Ancient Black Box in the relics was already damaged. Otherwise, the ones arriving at Kemola to vie for it would be far more powerful than just them.
To Sky Knights and Tier Three Mages, powerful beings who were already like gods among men, a damaged Ancient Black Box was not of great value and not worth their personal intervention.
But for Transcendents at the Earth Knight Level, even a single scattered component of the Ancient Black Box was of immense value. It was a perfect vessel for crafting a Knight’s Treasure and for developing and awakening their Earth Ring.
If the external manifestation of Knight Power at the Official Knight stage was a Special Ability that could only affect the user, then the Earth Ring was the advanced, domain-type version of that ability at the Earth Knight stage. Its Extraordinary Power could radiate outward, affecting both reality and the Void Realm.
Of course, even though the Earth Ring had powerful properties, what truly determined an Earth Knight’s strength were the timeless fundamentals: Physique and Spiritual Power.
As an Extraordinary Knight, Reinhardt could craft a Knight’s Treasure to serve as a vessel for a new Earth Ring, but the driving force behind it all remained unchanged.
Physique and Spiritual Power had always been the foundation of Knight Power.
BOOM—!
A jagged bolt of lightning tore through the clouds.
Ship after ship, trailing thick black smoke, plummeted from the sky.
A Seven-star Military Rank Official Knight clad in gray Power Armor, wielding an ornate, dark-gold Knight’s Broadsword formed from an Extraordinary Armament, leaped into the air, attempting to intercept the approaching Reinhardt.
"This is the encampment of the Destructors Battle Group! Unauthorized approach is forbidden!"
Any Knight qualified to join the Kemola vanguard teams was one of the elite. But when this Seven-star Official Knight sensed the attacker’s storm-like Knightly Aura, his tough demeanor vanished in an instant.
"An Earth Knight?! No—! You’re..."
The Extraordinary Armament in the Knight’s hands attempted to pull his body aside, to evade the powerful assault from Reinhardt’s Giant Axe, but it was too late.
Such a crushing difference in absolute power could not be bridged by the Special Ability of an Official Knight.
The instant the Black War Axe crashed into the Knight’s Broadsword, the surface of the dark-gold Extraordinary Armament rippled with energy, attempting to absorb the axe’s terrifying destructive force. But it lasted for only a second.
Then, the descending Black War Axe continued on with irresistible force, shattering his Extraordinary Armament and tearing through his Anti-Magic Steel Armor.
Their two bodies smashed into the muddy, puddle-strewn forest like a cannonball. Ancient trees snapped and muddy water flew as they carved a deep gouge in the earth, only coming to a stop when they slammed into a towering ancient tree that would take ten people to encircle.
This Seven-star Military Rank Knight under Grand Lord Kles, a member of the Destructors Elite Battle Group, spat out a mouthful of blood. His left hand desperately gripped the blade of the Black Cutter. Under the powerful assault of high-frequency oscillations and impact, the Energy Force Field on his gauntlet’s surface vibrated wildly, and his Power Backpack roared to life!
"To be able to withstand a direct assault from the Black Cutter... I acknowledge your strength, Knight."
During the Battle of Verne, while still an Official Knight, Reinhardt had cut down Seven-star Military Rank Knights, but none had ever survived a direct assault from his Black Cutter.
For an Official Knight to withstand one of his axe blows and survive, now that he was at the Earth Knight Military Rank, meant the man’s strength was undeniable.
The sheets of rain slanted down.
The Knight, collapsed on the ground and struggling to hold on, gritted his teeth. He tilted his head up to gaze at this Imperial Knight, whose Extraordinary Armament glowed with a dark purple light and who stood, giant axe in hand, like a God of Slaughter on earth.
It was as if he realized something.
Blood seeped from the seams of his helmet, and his voice was hoarse and low.
"The Emperor’s Vengeful Angels..."
’To die at the hands of that legendary Imperial Knight... it would be a worthy death.’
However, just as he braced for death, the axe blow he expected to split his chest never came. He stared blankly as the Divine Emperor’s Fury ignited with roaring flames.
The man put away his war axe. He stood in the rain, looking down at the fallen Knight, a living blade for the Divine Emperor walking the mortal world.
"Kles is not worthy of your loyalty, Knight."
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