Chapter 460 - 406: The Gambit of Power and Appointments (Part 2)

Clear rewards and punishments were the most basic of methods.

He needed these political maneuvers to establish his authority within the Vengeful Angels and set precedents, because this unit would one day consist of more than just the members before him now.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, Reinhardt considered for a moment before gravely presenting his opinion.

"First is the matter of the third commander. We cannot allow such an important position to remain vacant just because the Military Affairs Department hasn’t issued an appointment."

The moment Reinhardt mentioned the high position of commander, the atmosphere around the command table grew heavy.

Everyone looked to Reinhardt, silently awaiting his next words.

Reinhardt turned to Lu Jia. "Our sister, Lu Jia, has demonstrated her leadership abilities in this war. Therefore, I propose that until the war in Cyrenaica is over, Lu Jia will serve as the acting third commander.

Once the rebellion in Cyrenaica is suppressed, we will reconvene to discuss the official candidate internally."

Upon hearing this appointment, Urus frowned. Even the members of the Honor Guard standing behind Matthias furrowed their brows, clearly disapproving of the order.

Although Lu Jia possessed some leadership talent, her years of service were too few, she lacked experience in large-scale warfare, and her strength at the Official Knight Level was far too weak. She simply couldn’t bear the standard of a commander, much less shoulder such a heavy responsibility.

However, everyone present knew full well that Lu Jia was one of the Lord of Vengeful’s absolute confidants. A decision like this looked less like a recognition of leadership ability and more like an attempt to promote one of his own.

If not that, then it was a deliberate attempt to temper her, in hopes that Lu Jia could take on greater responsibilities in the future.

Thus, even though Matthias and Urus disagreed, they were deterred by Reinhardt’s authority and could only remain silent.

But Koller, who hailed from the First Legion, cared little for such concerns. He acknowledged Lu Jia’s combat prowess, but he also believed this young sister utterly lacked the ability to become a Commander of Vengeful.

No foundation.

Inferior strength.

Severely lacking in experience.

Making someone like her a Commander of Vengeful would be nothing short of a disaster!

As for Lu Jia, she was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Reinhardt, but did nothing more. She made no statement, and even the expression on her face remained unchanged.

In contrast to her, the three Battle Sisters behind her were truly the ones who looked utterly shocked.

Delanxi’s mouth fell slightly agape as she stared at Lu Jia’s back in disbelief. ’I never would have dreamed that the youngest sister from the Holy Rose Order would ascend to such heights within the Vengeful Angels in a single leap! To wield the authority of a commander!

’If you were to compare actual power, I’m afraid even Lady Eleonor’s authority wouldn’t measure up.’

After Reinhardt proposed Lu Jia’s appointment,

Koller immediately slammed his hand on the table and was the first to speak out in opposition. "My lord! I firmly object to your appointment of Sister Lu Jia! I admit she displayed exceptional leadership during the defense of the bridge, turning the tide at a critical moment and thwarting the enemy’s plot to seize it.

But her strength and her qualifications are nowhere near enough for such a great responsibility.

No matter what, an appointment like this will not pass with me!"

Urus glanced at the righteously indignant Koller, who was arguing his case on its merits, and thought to himself, ’On this bridge, perhaps only this Eldest Son of the Emperor would dare to speak to Reinhardt like that.

’I know full well that he isn’t the only one who objects. But looking at the others, myself included, who else would dare to proactively provoke the authority of the Lord of Vengeful at a time like this?

’At least in this moment, as a fellow commander, I’m filled with admiration for what Koller is doing.’

’At a critical juncture for our internal affairs, it had to be him who stepped forward.’

’Otherwise, the rest of us combined would likely have little chance of changing Reinhardt’s decision.’

But how could Reinhardt, for the sake of his own selfish desires, choose to ignore the very issues that Koller and the others were aware of and force Lu Jia’s promotion?

He was well aware of the consequences of doing so. Not only would it completely alienate Lu Jia from the others, but it would also greatly damage his own authority.

A certain philosopher once said that if you want others to agree to open a window in the roof, you can’t just talk about opening a window. If you only mention opening a window, most people will probably disagree.

But if you say you want to tear down a wall, then the matter of opening a window suddenly has a lot more room for negotiation.

After raising his objection, Koller had prepared himself to oppose Reinhardt to the very end. He could not stand by and watch the Lord of Vengeful, for the sake of power and promoting his own people, place the entire Battle Group and the Rebel Suppression Army in a dangerous position.

Even if it meant creating a huge rift with Reinhardt, he was willing to pay the price.

They were Imperial Knights, not the shameless politicians of Iberia. Grand victory and the truth of the Empire were the supreme ideals they pursued; power was merely an accessory on the path to that victory.

It wasn’t just him; everyone, including Matthias, believed that this matter would not be resolved amicably. A conflict was inevitable.

But they never would have expected that in the face of Koller’s harsh opposition, Reinhardt would only give him a cold glance before looking to the others. "And you? Do you also object?"

When no one spoke,

Reinhardt pretended to be deep in thought, his brow furrowed as if he were truly weighing the pros and cons.

In the silence, the atmosphere around the command table became increasingly oppressive.

Not all Imperial Knights could ignore the immense temptation of power, but in the midst of such a blatant internal struggle, how could any of them remain uninvolved?

Reinhardt’s gaze swept over each person, and the sheer presence of the Lord of Vengeful was so overwhelming that for a moment, none of them could breathe.

After a long while.

"The Vengeful Angels don’t belong to me alone. I have just given your opinions full consideration. Koller, I find your point reasonable.

While Lu Jia rendered great service in the defense of the bridge, her strength is not yet sufficient to bear the heavy responsibility of a commander.

Since you were the one to raise the objection, how about this: I will change the appointment from acting commander to appointing Lu Jia as your Adjutant. What is your opinion on that?"

Except for a certain hot-tempered Domain Level Powerhouse with a complete lack of political acumen,

Everyone else qualified to attend the meeting on the secondary command platform quickly realized they had been tricked.

Strictly speaking, Lu Jia was far from qualified in terms of strength and experience, not only for the position of Commander of Vengeful—a high-ranking post with real power that politicians in the Iberian World would scramble to death for—but even for the powerless position of Adjutant.

Reinhardt knew very well that if he had proposed this directly, Koller, that stubborn Eldest Son of the Emperor, would have objected a hundred times over and never agreed.

But now,

Whether he agreed or not was no longer up to him.

Matthias had worked with Reinhardt the longest. He, of course, knew that this Lord of Vengeful, who was always so decisive in killing and swift in action, was not without his memorable moments of private humor.

Even if it was black humor.

Clearly, everyone, including Koller, had been played.

The three members of the Holy Fire Guard standing behind him, witnessing Reinhardt’s political maneuvering for the first time, all felt their hearts sink.

Especially Metaron of the Ash Guard.

Indeed, how could an Imperial Knight who Lord Sedon himself would privately call a Battle Brother and entrust with great responsibility possibly be the arbitrary, brainless rookie they had imagined?

In his thousand years of service, Koller had witnessed countless conspiracies, schemes, and political backstabbing.

But he had never thought, never anticipated, that this young leader, who in his eyes acted recklessly and needed someone to assist and correct him, would turn around and use that very perception against him.

As a political veteran, he knew that even with his many valid reasons, he could not, in front of everyone, harshly reject Reinhardt’s decision a second time.

Doing so would have an extremely profound and negative impact on the unity of the Vengeful Angels.

It wasn’t just a matter of trust between him and Reinhardt. He knew very well that Sister Lu Jia would not remain an Official Knight, would not remain a rookie, forever.

Besides, an Adjutant held no real power and would be under his control.

Reinhardt’s arrangement, rather than being a forceful promotion of a confidant, was likely just a way to use his own hand to temper Sister Lu Jia, but having anticipated his refusal, he had engineered this deliberately.

Furthermore, he had come to recognize Lu Jia’s courage and ability during the battle for the bridge.

In this game of personnel appointments, Koller had to admit: Reinhardt had won.