Chapter 68: Chapter 54: Maxim’s Sense of Humor, Meeting Sedon Again
Heinrich, champion of the Imperial Arena and an Earth Knight, had described Sedon as a patriot, but not a good person.
It was only later, during a casual chat with Battle Group Commander Fei Ning, that Reinhardt learned Sedon’s family had once been one of the High Table Great Nobles of the Radiant Holy City.
These weren’t the petty, narrow-minded local nobles of the Radiant Empire.
In fact, within the Radiant Empire, only the High Table Great Nobles could be considered true Imperial nobility.
They were descended from the great forefathers who had followed the Founding Emperor—the first Radiant in human history—to establish this vast Empire.
Although wealth and power had led their descendants astray, making them corrupt and decadent, some families still remained loyal to the Empire, generation after generation.
The interests of the Empire are paramount—this was the highest creed for this group of people.
No one ever knew what had happened to Sedon’s family or why his surname had been stripped from him, but it was just as Heinrich had said.
Sedon was a true patriot.
His actions would never betray the family tradition and honor that flowed through his veins.
He would die for the good of the Empire.
And he would also commit monstrous crimes to return to the Radiant Holy City with the status of the High Table Nobility!
Fei Ning’s mind, not the sharpest but absolutely loyal, couldn’t comprehend Sedon’s thoughts and actions. That’s why he was sitting here with a constipated look on his face, questioning his very existence.
Maxim, on the other hand, didn’t really care. The Empire was already in a civil war. Even if he wanted to go home, the rebels would just sniff him out.
He might as well stick with Reinhardt and beat the hell out of these bastards. Besides, it would give him some new material to brag about.
’He couldn’t even imagine it.’
’If he went back to his hometown now and told his old buddies from the corps training camp about fighting alongside the Radiant Angels, the looks of envy on their faces would be priceless.’
If Maxim went a minute without bragging, it felt like ants were crawling all over his body. But in front of Reinhardt and Dietlinde, he couldn’t bring himself to boast at all.
’Those two were absolute killers!’
’It was more like he should be the one sitting here listening to them brag.’
Maxim would never forget the sight of Reinhardt, surrounded by Scaya Dragonfolk, tearing a Mixed-blood Dragonman Warrior apart with his bare hands.
Nor would he forget Captain Dietlinde, who was usually so flippant, cleaving a Mixed-blood Dragonman Warrior’s head in two with a single sword strike, spraying his face with its scorching blood.
At this thought, he glanced at the even more flippant Battle Group Commander Fei Ning and wondered to himself, ’I really don’t know what’s so charming about this big bald-headed guy that would make Captain Dietlinde serve so devotedly in the Iron Blood Battle Group for over ten years.’
’Oh, and then there’s Reinhardt, who joined later.’
’With their strength, both of them would easily be Captain Level powerhouses in a Main Battle Corps! Instead of making a name for themselves in a main legion, they’re just wasting their days away with us in the Iron Blood Battle Group...’
Maxim watched Fei Ning, the commander of the Iron Blood Battle Group, a dignified Two-star Military Rank Earth Knight, sighing over and over like a troubled teenager.
’You’re the Battle Group Commander! An Earth Knight! Just look at Reinhardt and Dietlinde!’
He couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out.
"Does that even need to be said? When have those bigwigs ever treated us like people? They abandon us just like that, as if we aren’t Knights of the Empire, as if we haven’t proven our Loyalty on the battlefield.
I personally slaughtered more than a dozen Scaya Dragonfolk.
And don’t even mention your damn Lord Sedon. Isn’t he serving in the Death Battle Group? How come we don’t see him coming to save us?
Oh, wait, he probably *is* here. Right now he’s probably fighting against the Lord Radiant Angels."
Fei Ning shook his head, his tone helpless.
"You’ve never met Lord Sedon. You wouldn’t understand what kind of man he is. Without him, I would’ve died long ago in some sunless mine.
Loyal, noble, elegant, with a wisdom we could never hope to match... But how could he..."
Maxim fell completely silent.
He ran a hand through his messy brown curls and glanced at the four survivors of their Battle Group.
’One is the blindly loyal, not-so-bright Battle Group Commander.’
’One is a killing machine whose hatred and rage you can feel with a single glance, more terrifying than an Abyssal Demon.’
’One is the frontline commander who can decapitate a Mixed-blood Dragonfolk with a single swing, but is also a bit of a love-struck fool.’
’Oh, and then there’s him, the king of bullshit.’
’A team of just the four of them... could they really live to see another sunrise? Might as well look at the Radiant Waymark Teleportation Gate in the distant sky. Maybe there are reinforcements inside.’
Even in such a dire predicament, the young Knight’s inner thoughts were not without a sense of humor.
But as he tilted his chin up,
a Dao Mark Teleportation Gate, wreathed in flames, appeared like a meteor in the sky above them!
The sonic boom of its rapid descent and the roar of steam engines instantly thundered through the sky above Baihe Town!
Immediately after,
reflected in the young Knight’s eyes, more Dao Mark Teleportation Gates materialized one after another in the dark night, screaming as they plummeted toward the ground!
"Look! The reinforcements are here!"
However,
Maxim’s joy was short-lived. As Fei Ning stood up and gazed at the sky, his expression changed drastically when the giant black serpent insignia on a Radiant Waymark entered his view. "The black serpent insignia... that’s the mark of the Seventh Group Army!"
Fei Ning had once served in the Death Battle Group. No one knew the internal workings of the Seventh Group better than he did. It was a Main Battle Corps directly under Karloman’s command, the Shadow of the Imperial, and it held far greater influence in the Regent Council than any other Main Battle Corps.
With no time to explain, he grabbed Maxim’s arm and roared, "Notify the Radiant Angels immediately! The enemy’s reinforcements are here!
We’ll stay here and hold them off! Go, now!"
The Seventh Group Army...
The Imperial Main Battle Legion where he had once served in the Steel Knight Order.
As Reinhardt heard the name, he stared at the Radiant Waymark Teleportation Gate about to land, its black serpent insignia looking cold and vicious.
BOOM—!
A nearby Radiant Waymark landed, kicking up a monstrous cloud of dust! The massive impact, mixed with a concussive wave of sound, was deafening!
Maxim reacted instantly. The moment Fei Ning gave the order, he broke into a run. Right now, Baihe Town held only the wounded and the four of them; the Radiant Angels and the Knights of the Dragon Hunter Battle Group had all gone south to intercept the rebel forces.
With the rebels’ Radiant Waymarks now appearing behind them, they would be hopelessly trapped if the encirclement was completed!
Dietlinde tightened her grip on her longsword, standing shoulder to shoulder with Reinhardt in silence.
As the dust and smoke gradually settled,
a Knight clad in pure black Anti-Magic Steel Armor slowly walked into view.
And behind this Knight, more appeared one after another, their pauldrons inlaid with ghastly white skeletal insignias.
When the light from the Waymark dispelled the darkness, its high-frequency strobing illuminated the lead Knight’s face. Reinhardt’s expression darkened, and his right hand, gripping the handle of his axe, tightened so hard that his knuckles creaked.
Fei Ning’s eyes widened. He took a step back, unable to accept the reality before him, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Lord Sedon—?!"
