Chapter 72: Chapter 56: The Man Who Fought a Death Knight Encounters a Formidable Foe
BOOM—!
The Ice Crystal Shield Tower instantly exploded! The terrifying aftershock, carrying sharp ice shards, shot out in all directions like a rain of death!
Matthias seized the opportunity to break free from the Giant Axe’s control, turning into a current of electricity to return to Sedon’s side.
He knelt on the ground, all his previous arrogance and haughtiness gone. Silent, he knew he should have died in this battle.
Only then...
...would the honor of the Death Battle Group and the Ash Guard not be desecrated by his arrogance and weakness.
He remained silent, his body trembling uncontrollably. In his heart, he pleaded for Sedon to punish his failure and flight with the harshest discipline.
But no reprimand or insult came.
When he looked up...
...his superior merely gave him an indifferent glance.
"Six months ago, Reinhardt fought Death Butcher Dortmund and survived. Matthias, return to your squad. Someone is coming."
When Sedon spoke of events from the past, it wasn’t just Matthias; every Black Armored Knight standing behind him was profoundly shaken!
Death Butcher Dortmund!
It was a name straight out of a nightmare.
Too many powerful Imperial Knights from the Radiant Empire’s thirteen Main Battle Corps had died at the hands of that traitor and Fallen.
A former Imperial Arena champion, a candidate for the Holy Capital Guard, an Empire’s Chosen One, the Demon Butcher.
He grew strong through slaughter.
And through slaughter, he had fallen.
They could hardly imagine how this young Knight, with only a Four-star Military Rank, had managed to survive an encounter with such a fiend!
Even for an elite tactical squad leader from the Radiant Angel Legion with a Seven-star Military Rank...
...the chances of surviving an encounter with Death Butcher Dortmund—that vile traitor to the Human Empire—were incredibly slim.
Matthias couldn’t believe his ears!
When he looked at Reinhardt again, his eyes were filled with nothing but boundless horror!
「Meanwhile.」
Sedon looked up and gazed toward the distant grasslands. As Heinrich, bathed in dark gold light, and the Dark Gold Blood Knights, who had turned back to intercept the rebel army, appeared in his vision.
"The last time we met was four years ago, old friend."
Heinrich’s brow furrowed tightly. He pulled his reins taut, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the battlefield before finally landing on Sedon’s face.
"It’s been so many years, and you’re still the same bastard you were when we were young. You swore eternal Loyalty before the Radiant Holy Image! Why have you betrayed the Empire?!"
Sedon remained expressionless, offering no response.
He had been in the Land of Stars, suppressing the Wizard Conquerors who were invading the Empire, but he had heard the news of the Lord of the Empire’s return.
He didn’t care whether Heinrich and his Knight Order had truly betrayed the Empire.
The orders of the Regent Council were absolute.
The moment he received the order to suppress the rebellion, he had commanded a portion of his Battle Group to deploy a Dao Mark Teleportation Gate and descend upon Grillers World.
No one could stay out of this foreseeable imperial civil war.
Sedon pulled off the black leather glove from his mechanical prosthesis. His cold gaze remained fixed on Heinrich. A battle was about to erupt!
「On the other side.」
Reinhardt faced the alternating attacks of five Six-star Military Rank Knights alone. Their impenetrable web of weapons and Special Abilities left him no room to breathe!
These five Knights were completely different from any enemy he had ever faced.
Their intense discipline and coordination made them a seamless unit, utterly unlike any ordinary foe.
’There’s no such thing as fairness on the battlefield.’
’Winning, and then living—that is the greatest fairness of all!’
Even under such immense pressure, Reinhardt’s mind remained as calm as ever. Relying on the superior mobility of his Morphic Armor, he maintained a safe position, preventing them from surrounding him.
In fact...
...he kept the consumption and activity of his Second Knight’s Power, Destructive Field·Bloodthirsty Madness, at a minimum.
When he had fought Dortmund, that seasoned battlefield killer had taught him a vivid lesson in what it meant to "kite."
The moment he used the maximum boost of his Bloodthirsty Madness...
...his five opponents could rely on the Knight with the ice and frost Special Ability to kite him to death!
After a brief exchange...
...Reinhardt had already gotten a rough idea of the five Knights’ specific attributes and Special Abilities.
One Elemental Domain.
Two Destruction Force Fields.
Two Extraordinary Armaments.
’It seems the Death Battle Group never recruits Knights with the Guardian Barrier Attribute.’
For now, he only knew that of the Destruction Force Field users, one could briefly hover and his Broadsword strikes were incredibly heavy. The Knight with the Elemental Domain seemed weak in Body Techniques and always kept his distance, but Reinhardt didn’t rule out the possibility that it was a deliberate opening to bait him into a trap.
As for the other three, Reinhardt knew nothing about their Special Abilities.
’This is the biggest difference from fighting an Alien Race.’
Even though Reinhardt was incredibly fast, he didn’t dare launch a reckless assault while facing five opponents.
These were battlefield veterans, powerful Knights of Six-star Military Rank. Even if they couldn’t match his speed, their eyes could certainly track his movements.
A Knight’s combat intelligence, battle experience, and their endless array of Special Abilities made them far more troublesome than an inferior hybrid species like the Mixed-blood Dragonman Warriors.
While Reinhardt was on guard against them...
...the five Knights were also holding back. Aside from the one who could briefly hover and was skilled in Body Techniques, the others deliberately kept their distance.
Having witnessed his fight with Matthias, they were extremely wary of Reinhardt’s terrifyingly destructive Iron Fist.
Especially since their orders were to capture him alive.
Perhaps the probing phase was over.
Perhaps he had seen the Dark Gold Blood Knights returning to provide support.
One of the Black Armored Knights, unwilling to waste any more time, suddenly sprouted a pair of dark wings similar in appearance to Knight An Jie’s. A dark energy flowed over his Broadsword.
He shot after Reinhardt, abruptly accelerating!
At the same time, another Black Armored Knight at the edge of Reinhardt’s vision suddenly vanished.
The two Knights’ coordination was flawless!
After the frontal assault drew some of Reinhardt’s attention, the vanished Knight reappeared behind him, his Broadsword held like a Giant Spear!
He thrust viciously at Reinhardt’s back!
Despite being mentally prepared for a sudden attack, Reinhardt was still caught off guard by its incredible speed!
’Damn it.’
The thrusters on Reinhardt’s back flared at full power. He forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, narrowly avoiding both the frontal slash and the sneak attack from behind by a hair’s breadth.
But it wasn’t over.
The last Knight with the Destruction Force Field attribute, the one who hadn’t yet revealed his Special Ability...
...the ground beneath his feet suddenly caved in, and then he launched himself like a cannonball straight at Reinhardt!
At that moment...
...having already used his mid-air twist, Reinhardt had no time to dodge. The Black Armored Knight, like a great steel war machine, came roaring in and smashed into him!
Reinhardt had intended to rely on his Morphic Armor’s high physical resistance to use the momentum to pull away again, but when he came into contact with the charging Knight’s Destruction Force Field...
...a viscous, swamp-like power seized his body, holding him fast!
Then...
...a massive wall of Ice Crystal suddenly rose up in the path they were sent flying.
There was no violent collision as expected.
In fact...
...Reinhardt’s stamina wasn’t depleted in the slightest from his Morphic Armor resisting the physical impact!
The solid wall of Ice Crystal rapidly softened upon contact with the Black Armored Knight’s Destruction Force Field, turning into a gel-like substance!
As Reinhardt’s body was carried by inertia into the gel-like Ice Crystal wall, the Black Armored Knight holding him suddenly let go. Then, the Ice Crystal began to solidify.
It was all as if part of a capture plan they had devised long ago.
Imprisoning Reinhardt securely within!
