Chapter 369 333: Love Under Power, Tactical Deployment

Two hours and twenty-eight minutes, by Holy City standard time, had passed since the Vengeful Angels launched their attack on the Lundnia World.

After handing over the letter, Stearns cautiously raised his head to take a look.

He, of course, recognized the wax seal on the letter as Lady Catherine's personal one.

For the Overlord who controlled the financial lifeblood of the Imperial Administrative Region to send a handwritten letter at a time like this...

Even though Stearns was a battle-hardened Imperial Knight with over fifty years of service, his love for gossip had not been extinguished by the endless bloody battles.

He had reason to believe there was something romantic going on between Lady Catherine and Reinhardt.

Of course, this was the kind of gossip he would keep to himself, never daring to spread it.

However, when Stearns glimpsed Reinhardt's slightly furrowed brow, he thought to himself, 'Could I have been wrong?'

Reinhardt folded the letter and casually tucked it into a utility pouch on his belt.

If he weren't the Great Tutor of the Vengeful Angels and Lady Catherine weren't an Overlord, his heart would have surely been moved upon receiving this handwritten letter expressing her longing.

But alas, this world had no 'what ifs'.

He knew Lady Catherine.

He wouldn't deny that the letter contained a strong sense of longing. After all, during the year he had been lost in the Demon Void Realm, the common consensus was that he had died during the high-risk mission to rescue the Radiant Angels.

And Lady Catherine had hinted at her affection for him more than once.

But for people like them, who held high positions, constantly weighed their interests, and were beholden to their power, something like simple love was a luxury.

To put it another way, he had spent three months aboard the Seventh Fleet without receiving a single handwritten letter from Lady Catherine. Yet, less than a day after he assumed the position of Great Tutor of Vengeful, this letter had crossed seventy light-years to reach his hands.

The intention behind it was not hard to guess.

Reinhardt didn't believe for a second that the well-connected and powerful Overlord had only learned today that he was alive. The opening line about being 'busy with many matters' was just a convenient excuse.

Lady Catherine's purpose in sending this letter was, firstly, to declare her position as his ally; secondly, to lay the groundwork for what was to come; and only lastly, to express her longing.

As expected, the Golden Capital had surely run into some serious trouble, and she needed a favor from him.

With this in mind, Reinhardt looked up at the fifty 'new recruits' of the Vengeful Angels Second Company. He offered no speech or instructions. His expression grim, he turned and walked toward the temporary command table where a map was laid out.

Seeing this, Stearns signaled for the Second Company to stand by and hurried to follow.

At the operations table, Reinhardt placed both hands on the table, his eyes fixed on the battle map. "We've already wasted two hours of rescue time at Kosai Port," he said grimly.

At this, he looked up, his gaze sweeping over the three men across the table.

"Stearns, Urus, Fedor."

Realizing Reinhardt was about to lay out the tactical plan, the three men stood at attention, awaiting their orders.

"Stearns, you and the Second Company will act as the Vanguard Army and launch a feint attack against the Holy Judgment Cathedral's defensive line in the Holy Judgment Arc. The Third Fleet will provide you with long-range naval gunfire support.

"After you begin your attack, the six hundred thousand men of the Ninth Infantry Corps will simultaneously attack the three defensive lines at Eagle Bone Canyon, the Edel Highlands, and West Wind City from your flank, three kilometers away.

"Fedor, you and the Red Flame Son will execute an airdrop landing. Insert yourselves behind the Holy Judgment Cathedral, create chaos, and tie up the deployment of the Holy Judgment Arc's defenders.

"You must take the Holy Judgment Cathedral within three hours.

"Urus, you will be responsible for infiltrating the Confessor's Secret Prison with me. We will rescue the innocents imprisoned there before the Judgment Court gets desperate and does something reckless.

"While I am away, all command authority is transferred to the Commander of Vengeful, Koller."

Stearns stood ramrod straight, his voice gruff.

"Understood."

Fedor glanced at the enemy's numbers and deployment, then said coldly, "Three hours is too long. The Red Flame Son and I can take the cathedral within one."

Stearns shot a glance at Fedor, clearly unconvinced.

"Then we'll just have to see who breaks into the cathedral first, Sir Fedor."

The Holy Judgment Cathedral was the core of the Holy Judgment Arc's defensive line and a military fortress stubbornly held by the rebels. Although its defenses were formidable, it wouldn't be a problem for the combined forces of the Second Company and the Red Flame Son to crack this tough nut that the Infantry Legion would struggle with.

After listening to the tactical deployment, Urus said gravely, "A direct assault on the Holy Judgment Arc... You plan to trap them and wipe them out?"

As the Silencer Warlord, a master of infiltration and small-unit tactics, he could of course see the true intent behind Reinhardt's deployments.

Once the Holy Judgment Cathedral fell, the rebel commanders would face a dilemma: retreat or fight to the bitter end.

But no matter what choice they made, their fate would not change.

On the other hand, infiltrating the Confessor's Secret Prison would inevitably alert the enemy, as their mission was to rescue the prisoners, not to eliminate the rebels.

After all, the Confessor's Secret Prison was not just a simple prison. It was a secret base established in the Ash Soil Star Zone by the Blue Rock Island's Rune Faction of the Inquisition.

Although not as large as a Stereoscopic City, it was still a massive mountain city capable of holding a million people.

It was only a short hundred kilometers from the Holy Judgment Fortress.

Control Kosai Port, capture the Holy Judgment Cathedral, and then, once the rescue mission was complete and their hands were free, they would break out from inside the secret prison and complete the encirclement. The traitors fleeing the prison wouldn't stand a chance of escape.

This was all happening at a time when the Secret Order and other factions of the Judgment Court had already declared Reinhardt innocent and designated the diehards entrenched in the Lundnia World as rebels.

These cornered beasts would surely go completely mad, trying to clutch at the last, non-existent straw by interrogating the prisoners in the secret prison—hoping for something that could let them turn the tables.

Unlike the Knight Warlords who had turned traitor, the power struggles within the Judgment Court were mostly fought within the bounds of the law.

Just like the methods the Grand Governor used to topple his opponents, it required legal evidence.

If the Judge Faction on Lundnia had truly betrayed the Emperor and the Judgment Court, rather than just being embroiled in a power struggle for the Administrative Region, the Judgment Court itself would have already taken action against them, long before the Administrative Region's Rebel Suppression Army could arrive.

Reinhardt's expression was solemn.

"Gentlemen, this rescue mission is vital to the alliance between the Secret Order and the Administrative Region. Let's move out."