I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

Chapter 193: Chapter 158: That Knight Has a Radiant Holy Artifact! Rob Him

Learning in battle, growing in battle.

This was a rite of passage for every Knight.

The battle with Logan had served as a stark reminder that the protection of Knight Power was not absolute.

In this Dark World, where the Extraordinary System was as vast and complex as a library, there were far too many strange, bizarre, and unexpected special powers.

Demon Poison was one such enormous branch.

Corroding souls, controlling bodies, driving people mad, plunging them into a sea of desire... every type of Demon Poison was extremely dangerous.

According to the intel provided by Raphael, Logan had personally admitted to having carefully studied his fighting style. In other words, Logan’s illusory tentacles must have been laced with a Demon Poison specially concocted to target Extraordinary Armaments... or more specifically, to target him personally.

It was at times like these that the specially made Anti-Magic Steel Armor and Power Armor of the Imperial Knights demonstrated their value.

Even if Logan’s Demon Poison wasn’t necessarily effective against him, this suit of Fortress Level Power Armor, personally forged by a Master of Casting, had certainly saved him a lot of trouble.

This was also why veterans among the Imperial Knights rarely told others—not even their own teammates—the key details about their Knight Power.

The Vengeance Angel Squad had been established for a long time, but its members never discussed or asked about the nature or abilities of each other’s Knight Power.

Because it was extremely dangerous.

Wars on a cosmic scale were certainly grand and spectacular, the stuff of epic tragedies, but beneath all that, the unseen wars waged between the intelligence networks of major powers could be enough to change the course of a great war.

Logan had not only studied his fighting style beforehand, but he also knew exactly when and where he and the Vengeance Angel Squad would appear in Kemola. This had to be the result of a leak from within the Imperial Administrative Region, perhaps even from the high command.

Considering his recent encounter with the Civil Affairs Department, it was hard not to draw a connection.

Reinhardt would not let this matter go so easily. After returning to the Iberian World, Sedon and the Imperial Administrative Region would have to give him an explanation.

「At this moment.」

At the entrance to the lowest level of the tomb complex, the battle for the Ancient Black Box was growing more intense.

Grand Lord Kles’s Vanguard Team wasn’t just Logan and the Tier Two Wizard they had seen. Before them, an elite ten-man Knight squad had already entered and was now grimly holding the entrance to the Saint’s Remains Tomb Chamber.

An expedition team of over thirty Wandering Mages and Free Knights was besieging them, trying to forcibly seize control of the entrance.

The Watch Alliance, led by the Oreno Family, had clashed with Florant’s group of Wizards. The battle between the two sides had razed a large area of small tombs in the entrance hall to the ground.

Robie and the people from the Secret Order were like predators storming a mouse hole. They had no intention of fighting for the Ancient Black Box; instead, they were hunting down any Mages who revealed their identities, killing them on sight.

Besides them, a group of over a hundred Transcendents from various worlds had chosen to watch from the sidelines, seemingly preparing to make their move and snatch the prize after the tomb chamber doors opened.

But with the arrival of the Vengeance Angel Squad, the balance on the once-evenly-matched battlefield suddenly underwent a subtle shift.

Facing the Oreno Family’s fierce assault, Florant’s group, already small in number, was suffering constant defeats. One of their Master Level Tier One Wizards had already fallen into a pool of blood.

When he saw Reinhardt, it was as if he’d grasped a lifeline. He hurriedly shouted, "Reinhardt! Don’t forget our agreement!

Help me kill these idiots! I’ll owe you a huge favor!"

In a lawless place like Kemola, unconstrained by laws or powerful authorities, strength was the ultimate guarantee of everything.

As a Master Level Tier Two Wizard, Florant’s strength was not to be underestimated. But facing the combined might of two Three-star Military Rank Earth Knights and another Master Level Tier Two Wizard, he couldn’t hold on, no matter how powerful he was.

If it weren’t for some old grudges, Florant and the Oreno Family could have easily joined forces to take down Grand Lord Kles’s people. But the man had once looted an Oreno Family merchant ship, stealing a large batch of technological artifacts unearthed from the ruins of the Wizard Civilization.

Even though he had paid a sum of Radiant Gold Coins as compensation under the mediation of Lord Anatol, the hatred and mockery from back then had now returned like a boomerang aimed squarely at his head.

’Agreement?’

Reinhardt didn’t think there was any agreement between him and Florant.

Besides, another of Anatol’s Wizard Vanguard Teams was watching coldly from the outermost perimeter, showing no intention of helping.

As the Think Tank, Raphael was about to advise Reinhardt that they should conserve their strength until the tomb chamber opened, but Technician Soldier Agate preempted him.

This Mechanic Priest, whose blood pressure and oil pressure were both skyrocketing after witnessing the ’miracle’ of the God of All Machines’ blessing, suppressed the shock and disbelief in his heart. He offered his well-intentioned advice in a tone that was no longer as cold as usual, but was now tinged with a certain piety.

And this pious attitude seemed directed less at Reinhardt himself and more at the Power Armor and firearm he carried, which Agate suspected had been blessed by the God of All Machines.

"We have no obligation to help a heretic fight, Lord Reinhardt."

As he spoke, being so close to Reinhardt’s Power Armor and weapon—so close to the blessing of the God of All Machines—Agate’s posture was even somewhat servile.

His complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree change in attitude was so pronounced that it made Raphael and the other two look at him strangely.

Manon’s brow furrowed. He had dealt with plenty of Mechanic Priests. Those cold individuals, aside from being taciturn, were downright arrogant. They wouldn’t even put on a pleasant face for an Archbishop of the National Church; they might even pick an argument.

’What’s gotten into Agate all of a sudden?’

’Was it because Reinhardt saved their lives from Logan? Get real! I’m not buying that bullshit reason.’

Seeing that Reinhardt remained unmoved, the struggling Florant knew that if this continued, he would surely die at the hands of the Oreno Family. So he gritted his teeth and steeled his heart.

He shot a vicious glance at Reinhardt and Raphael.

’If you won’t let me have it easy, then no one gets to stay out of this!’

Under the fierce assault of a Knight’s Broadsword and a Spiritual Storm, Florant’s Protective Energy Force Field flickered incessantly, like a fluorescent tube about to burn out.

Although he possessed the Mighty Power of a Master Level Tier Two Wizard, he was ultimately not one of the supreme experts who stood at the apex. Even within Anatol’s tower, he was just one of many Wizard Lords, his strength ranking in the upper-middle tier.

Among those of the same rank, such as Master Level Tier Two Wizards or Six-star Military Rank Earth Knights, some were decked out with several Secret Treasures, possessed powerful Ancient Knowledge, and had powerful legacies from ancient civilizations integrated into their modified bloodlines. Others, however, merely held the Master Level title in name, using only generic equipment that could be bought on the open market.

This disparity in strength, built up from a constant accumulation of various Extraordinary Creations and knowledge, meant that from the Apprentice Level Second Tier Wizard rank all the way up to Master Level, the gap in actual combat power between a mid-tier expert and a top-tier powerhouse was enormous.

As the Knight’s Broadsword pierced through his Defense Force Field, Florant’s face twitched and cold sweat poured down. He then pointed at Reinhardt and, empowered by his Spiritual Power, used all his strength to roar, "Everyone, listen to me! Don’t just stare at the Ancient Black Box! That Imperial Knight has a Radiant Holy Artifact! I swear it on my soul!

This isn’t an Administrative Region! Don’t be afraid! Get him—!"