Chapter 455 - 402: The Influence of the Lord of Vengeful

The Holy Fire Guard served as the Lord of Vengeful’s Honor Guard. Though there were only four of them, including Matthias, their combined combat prowess was enough for even Nelom, a Domain Level Powerhouse, to sense a potential threat.

The Lord of the Esquilino World—and former Battle Group Leader of the Ash Battle Group, once under the Holy Temple of Justice—narrowed his eyes, cautiously sizing up the four men.

By his estimation.

Each of these four men was strong enough to have served as his Adjutant or a member of his Honor Guard in the now-disbanded Ash Battle Group.

’Especially this stranger, Matthias...’

Nelom couldn’t put his finger on what was strange about the man, but the instincts he’d honed over years of battle warned him that, should a conflict arise, this man would be a formidable threat.

’And the last one off the ship... an Alchemist?’

’He couldn’t recall such a position ever existing in the Empire’s Battle Group organization.’

But that wasn’t what shocked Nelom the most. Unless his eyes deceived him, was that a Mechanical Sage standing silently at the edge of the ship’s ramp, watching them?

He wouldn’t have been surprised by any Imperial Knight arriving as reinforcements; that was the kind of prestige the Lord of Vengeful should command within the military.

But he never would have imagined that those greedy grease monkeys would send a high-ranking Mechanical Sage to personally pilot a ship over as support.

The thought stunned Nelom. He had been a Battle Group Commander himself; he knew just how difficult it was to deal with those grease monkeys. Just to requisition a single ship required an incredible amount of clout!

Let alone having a Mechanical Sage show up in person.

’Could Reinhardt’s influence really be so great that it extends into the heart of the Mechanical Order?’

When he first made contact with Reinhardt, he’d naively assumed that, while powerful, the Lord of Vengeful’s time in service was too short. He couldn’t possibly have a deep-seated foundation in the Imperial Administrative Regions.

He believed that by pledging his allegiance, he was certain to be given a position of great importance.

That had been one of the reasons he’d chosen to side with Reinhardt after the battle on the bridge.

But now, he suddenly realized Lord Seth’s assessment of him hadn’t been a deliberate jab at all. He truly had been naive. Naive enough to believe that a New Recruit Knight with no foundation could secure the title of Lord of Vengeful simply by holding an order from the Grand Governor.

Though they were both Domain Level, Five-star Earth Military Rank powerhouses.

But whether it was Koller, Urus, or even the members of this newly arrived Honor Guard, he couldn’t imagine what methods he could possibly use to control such fierce, unruly warriors.

And as for the Mechanical Sage who had just appeared, Nelom knew he could never command one of those Forging World warlords—men who held immense power, money, weapons, technology, and even their own military authority.

In the nearly ten thousand years that the Imperial Legion had been conquering the sea of stars, it wasn’t unheard of for powerful subordinates to usurp their Battle Group Commanders—in fact, it was commonplace.

As embarrassing as it was to admit, he himself was a prime example.

The wind began to rise.

The sea of clouds churned.

And just like that, the downpour ceased.

Reinhardt saw Agate appear on the ship’s ramp. Just as he was when they had first met years ago, Agate remained as silent and taciturn as ever.

They locked eyes from a distance, exchanging slight nods in greeting.

Matthias noticed the shift in Reinhardt’s gaze and glanced back at Agate. "We have Lord Agate to thank for this," he explained. "Without the Punisher and his help, the Holy Fire Guard and I would probably still be making our way through the Net Path."

Perhaps it was because of the vast difference in status between the former teammates, but there was a palpable distance in Matthias’s tone.

Agate’s Mechanical Eye twitched, its focus shifting. His voice was a cold, mechanical drone. "I was merely repaying a debt. No thanks are necessary."

As he spoke, his Mechanical Eye swept over Lu Jia, who stood beside Reinhardt. She immediately straightened her posture, a clear sign of her reverence.

Nelom was unaware of the origins of Matthias and his group, but Lu Jia knew perfectly well.

Both men were founding members of the Vengeful Angels.

’Some respect was necessary.’

After the reinforcements had assembled and introductions were made, Reinhardt turned to Kael the Alchemist. "You, with me."

「Inside the training craft.」

The pilot, Exeter, gazed out the window. Even a fool could see it now. The Imperial Knight who had traveled with him all this way was most likely the legendary Lord of Vengeful himself: Reinhardt.

A cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck as he remembered complaining to the man about Claudius’s betrayal.

’Emperor above, if I hadn’t managed to hold my tongue, if my big mouth had uttered a single bad word about the Lord of Vengeful, what would have happened to me?’

Hearing the heavy footsteps of the Imperial Knight boarding the craft, he scrambled to his feet and snapped to a standard Imperial Army salute. A bead of cold sweat visibly trickled down his temple.

Reinhardt, however, had no time to deal with a turncoat.

After boarding, Alchemist Kael saw the gravely wounded and unconscious Urus. He removed his Full Coverage Helmet, revealing a young, pale face and a head of soft golden hair that looked as if it had never seen a battlefield.

He hurried to Urus’s side and knelt. Three Neural Metal Wires extended from the armor on his wrist, poised to pierce the back of Urus’s neck.

Simultaneously, the back of his other gauntlet flared to life, emitting a high-temperature cutting flame that began to slice through the Power Armor encasing Urus’s body.

But before the Neural Metal Wires could make contact, the supposedly unconscious Urus snapped his eyes open. His left hand shot out, grabbing the Alchemist’s cutting gauntlet. Knight Power silently gathered at his fingertips as he thrust them toward the Alchemist’s neck.

"Urus! He’s one of us!"

Hearing Reinhardt’s rebuke, his eyes, unfocused, scanned the cabin. He stared at the Alchemist kneeling before him, then, with visible reluctance, released the man’s wrist.

Watching this, Nelom thought, ’Even now, this Child of the Night Demon is still playing dead...’

About five minutes later, Alchemist Kael retracted the Neural Metal Wires in his wrist. His other hand never stopped its cutting work as he said grimly, "His internal organs are severely damaged. I need a relatively secure environment to perform the initial surgery.

Lord Matthias, I’ll need you and the others to leave."

Reinhardt didn’t move. He glanced at Matthias, unsure if this new Alchemist could be trusted.

If anything happened to Urus, the result would be unacceptable.

"His Loyalty is beyond question, My Lord," Matthias replied. "Please, step aside."

Once only Urus and Kael remained in the cabin, Urus—who just a moment ago had seemed so weak he might die at any second—spoke in a low voice. "Who sent you?"

Kael’s Power Armor hissed, spraying a dense, milky-white medicinal fog. Simultaneously, a ghostly blue protective Force Field expanded from it, enveloping them both.

He continued to dismantle Urus’s Power Armor, his expression unreadable. "Per my confidentiality agreement, I cannot answer that question," he replied. "But rest assured, I will do everything in my power to treat your injuries."