Chapter 423 - 375: Reactions from All Sides, the Great War is Imminent

Meanwhile, aboard a Fourth Fleet troop transport, Fedor, leader of the Red Flame Sons, was also gradually realizing that something wasn’t right.

For more than two hours, the heavy cruiser he was on, the *Endurance*, had not received any direct orders from either Reinhardt or Koller.

It was as if after they issued the order to garrison at Cyrenaica, everyone aboard the *Avenger* flagship had vanished into the Demon Void Realm.

He had urged the captain of the *Endurance*, but the six messages they sent in succession had all gone unanswered.

The bridge of the *Endurance*.

Fedor stared at the deep blue projection of the star chart, his brow furrowed. Separated from his own Battle Group, he had to rely on the Imperial Navy even for interstellar travel, which made it difficult for him to take any effective action.

But he knew he had to do something.

He was silent for a moment before looking up. "Captain Jesaul, in my capacity as the leader of the Red Flame Sons Battle Group, I order you to send a message to the naval and local armed forces in the regions surrounding Cyrenaica."

"Regardless of their current mission, they must detach personnel and send them to Cyrenaica."

"I don’t need them to go deep. Providing specific information on the situation in the Cyrenaica system is sufficient..."

Before Captain Jesaul could reply, Fedor continued, "Also, please inform them that if the personnel they dispatch to Cyrenaica disappear without a trace, they are not to take matters into their own hands.

"I now suspect the intelligence the Military Affairs Department provided—that the rebel forces are massing in Lelag—might be flawed.

"Look at this. If you were the rebel commander, where would you set an ambush?"

Captain Jesaul was a sturdy man with a face full of scars and a missing left ear—a hardened veteran through and through. His crisp Imperial Navy uniform and peaked cap only accentuated his extraordinary presence. His narrow, sharp eyes were intimidating even when he wasn’t angry.

As a Vice Admiral of the Administrative Region Navy and the Supreme Commander of the Fourth Fleet, he didn’t even need to look at the star chart. He answered instantly, "Cyrenaica is the only springboard to the Lelag World.

"Your concerns are not unfounded.

"But Cyrenaica is less than eighteen light-years from the Iberian World. It would be impossible for the rebels to set an ambush there without the Star Language Court noticing.

"And the Military Affairs Department hasn’t received any such intelligence to date."

Jesaul was certainly an excellent commander, but when it came to combat experience—especially against armies led by Transcendents—Fedor, with over three hundred years of service, clearly had more authority on the subject.

"What if they’ve found a way to block Spiritual Perception across the entire star system?"

’Dragon Hunters frequently deal with the Space Dragon Race. He alone knew of at least five methods to block Spiritual Energy detection.’

’If Claudius’s rebel army truly has the backing of Grand Lord Kles, and they used some method to block off the entire Cyrenaica Star System...’

’Then everything would make sense.’

If these words had come from an ordinary soldier or a rookie Imperial Knight spouting wild theories, Jesaul wouldn’t have wasted a single breath. He would have simply ordered his guards to lock the tactically-ignorant fool in the brig for three days to cool his head.

But the one speaking now was an Emperor’s Angel with a Five-star Earth Military Rank and ten times his own combat experience!

Jesaul racked his brain but couldn’t imagine what kind of powerful artifact could block Spiritual Perception across an entire Star Zone. It simply defied logic.

He fell silent for a moment. ’Lord Reinhardt and the *Avenger* flagship are completely out of contact, and my fleet is still at least twenty hours away from Cyrenaica.’

"I understand."

「Meanwhile.」

「Iberian World.」

An hour ago, Matthias, having just returned to the Military Affairs Department from the Golden Capital, accepted a sheet of Holy Sheepskin Paper from a Master of Internal Affairs who had run up to him, breathless.

He only needed to glance at its contents.

The relaxed mood from his rare twelve-hour leave instantly evaporated, and his expression turned terrifyingly grim.

Seeing the Emperor’s Angel’s expression suddenly turn so foul, the Master of Internal Affairs standing before him knew—even though not a word was spoken—that something terrible had happened.

Matthias’s Power Armor was riddled with battle scars. He knew he was in the Military Affairs Department, and with tens of thousands of eyes on him, he couldn’t afford any rash movements. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Take me to a Star Speaker. I need to speak with Agate, the Master of Hundred Machines, personally."

...

「Skies above Cyrenaica.」

"We’re about to pass over the Mechanical Order’s secret excavation site. Urus, get ready."

The mission to seize the Wizard’s Divine Artifact and buy time could only be handled by Urus and the Silencers from the entire crew of the *Avenger* flagship.

Right now, more than twelve interceptor assault boats were hot on the *Avenger* flagship’s tail, and ground-based weapon systems had already locked onto their position long ago.

Under these circumstances, never mind landing—even just docking was out of the question.

Jumping from an altitude of 100,000 meters, an ordinary Imperial Knight—or even an Earth Knight—would end up as nothing but a smear of meat paste on the ground, regardless of their power, unless they had some special means of survival.

Before committing to this plan, Koller had specifically asked for Urus’s opinion. Urus hadn’t specified what methods the Silencers would use to force a landing by jumping from the ship under these conditions.

He only told him that this sort of thing—a combat drop from the upper atmosphere—was something they did regularly.

In other words, this was one of the reasons the Silencers Battle Group could bypass surveillance and infiltrate planets undetected.

Just as Urus was taking his men to leave the bridge and jump from Hangar Bay One on the lowest deck, the steadily-cruising *Avenger* flagship was suddenly rocked by a violent tremor!

The deep blue Zeka Energy Shield rippled as if struck by an attack invisible to the naked eye. Surging waves of energy washed over the surface of the shield!

Simultaneously, Pavlo, the Technician Priest controlling the ship’s flight, violently spat out a mouthful of blood. A Neural Metal Wire connecting him to the control system was instantly fried!

Koller, who had been covertly protecting the Technician Priest, reacted instantly.

A dark purple Spiritual Storm erupted from his eyes. He whipped his head around to look at Pavlo, who had collapsed to his knees and was trembling violently as if electrocuted, blood pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Koller roared at the three Battle Sisters stationed nearby, "Hold his head steady! Now—!"

The instant Koller spoke, the three Battle Sisters immediately turned to the collapsed form of Pavlo.

The Technician Priest, who was burning through his own life force to pilot the ship, had his head twisting uncontrollably to one side. Even from two meters away, they could hear the sickening CRUNCH of his neck vertebrae straining under immense pressure!

"Dammit."

"Delanxi! Help me grab his chin! This guy...!"

One of the Battle Sisters slid behind Pavlo, wrapping her arms around his body from behind and locking his head in a tight embrace.

But to her shock, the mortal’s strength was so immense that she could barely restrain him!

’Even though I’m just a Four-star Official Knight, a Knight’s Physique is far beyond what any mortal should be able to contest!’

Koller didn’t have time to explain that the ship’s control systems were rejecting and trying to kill the "Illegal Controller." He could only command, "Watch him!"

After seeing the attack on the Zeka Energy Shield, Nelom’s brow furrowed. He said gravely, "This isn’t conventional Spiritual Power. This is... a Cosmic Mage?"

The moment he finished speaking.

A crisp sound, like shattering glass.

A tiny spatial rift suddenly burst open on the bridge!

The spreading Wizard’s Power descended upon them like a storm from the heavens. Then, a crow flew out of the rift, beat its wings, and landed on the railing of the upper command deck.

Its crimson eyes stared at Reinhardt, who stood before it.

Then,

a gentle voice issued from the crow, echoing through the deathly silent bridge.

"We meet again, Reinhardt."