Chapter 462 - 407: Only by Understanding Sacrifice Can One Understand What Courage Is (Part 2)

Thousands upon thousands of casualty reports had passed through his hands.

But only today did he truly realize the cruel reality behind the cold numbers on those parchments.

’To him, a casualty report of less than a hundred people didn’t even qualify to be placed on his desk, but now, dozens of bodies were piled together...’

The faces of the fallen were frozen in the agony and ferocity of their final moments, their unblinking eyes hollow and lifeless, staring straight at him.

The stench of blood constantly filled his nostrils.

For the first time, all of this made him realize that a casualty report was never just a simple number.

It was just as Lord Koller had once warned him: behind every number on a casualty report lay the suffering of countless loyal souls and thousands of shattered families.

If he could not understand the meaning behind these numbers, could not understand what Loyalty and courage were, then his soul would one day fall into the Demon Void Realm.

When that day came, Koller would execute him personally.

Havier was too young.

Before becoming a member of the Imperial Think Tank, he was merely the son of a retired Defense Army soldier from the feudal world of Pannonia.

In the year 1454 of the Radiant Calendar, at the age of twelve, he awakened his Wizard Bloodline. Because his power was stable enough, after two years of training and selection, he joined the Administrative District Think Tank Team at fourteen, becoming a low-level Editor.

Though he was at the bottom of the Think Tank Group, he was still a member of the Imperial Administrative Region Supreme Command Department.

For him, the comfortable material conditions, the high-ranking position, and the Extraordinary Power he wielded were his greatest motivations for working hard.

Even joining the Vengeful Angels was, in his eyes, just a career-building assignment arranged for him by the Grand Governor.

Because that great man had said he had the potential to become a Grand Think Tank.

More than once, he had fantasized about the day he would return home in glory, basking in the admiration of his father and brothers, enjoying the awe of others.

However, as the Avenger Flagship entered the Cyrenaica Star System, all these aspirations were utterly shattered.

If not for the fact that his family was a model of Imperial piety—both parents devout followers of the National Church—Havier might have secretly struck a deal with a Demon after this battle. It would have been an injustice to his ambitions and ideals not to.

Compared to arduous struggle and sacrifice, making a deal with a Demon was the fastest path to power and status.

But from a young age, Havier’s father had taught him to be an upright person, to abide by the doctrines and precepts, and to constantly examine his own heart.

They were both facing punishment and reprimand, so why was Serni’s face flushed red with shame, while his own was ashen, his lips trembling uncontrollably?

Perhaps only he himself knew what had happened after he fell unconscious and his consciousness plunged into the Demon Void Realm.

He had almost...

Seeing Serni kneel before the command console to plead for a chance to atone for his mistakes, he hesitated for a moment, then also knelt on one knee, but he couldn’t force a single word out of his mouth.

Because he lacked Serni’s courage.

The immense shock of the battle on the bridge still left him in a daze. How could he possibly participate in dangerous missions alone, without the leadership of the senior officers?

He didn’t want to become a traitor and bring shame upon his father and family, but he didn’t want to die like this, either.

’I’m only twenty-one. I’m not ready to face any of this...’

To have been sent to the Vengeful Angels by Sedon, Havier’s background must have been mostly sound—he was the model son of a good Imperial family. But compared to a traditional Imperial Knight, Havier’s career had been far too smooth.

He had never even seen blood.

Although he knelt silently with his head bowed, how could his fear and weakness possibly escape the notice of the Imperial Knights on the second-level command platform, men who had each served for a century?

Koller’s expression was especially grim. It was true that Havier’s talent was immense, but he had never expected the young man to be so weak.

Even Havier himself had never expected it.

The wonderful life of constant promotions he had imagined had already come to an end in Koller’s mind.

Standing on the second-level command platform, Koller said coldly, "A dangerous mission means great responsibility. Serni, are you capable of shouldering such a responsibility?"

Serni’s voice was unwavering.

"Sacrifice is my mission."

After receiving the answer, Koller looked to Reinhardt, seeking his opinion.

Reinhardt’s gaze swept down from above, taking in the reactions of the two Think Tank members. His voice was cruel and merciless. "Do not disappoint me."

Hearing Reinhardt’s voice, Serni bowed his head and said in a low, firm tone, "For the Emperor."

As for Havier...

This was the Vengeful Angels, an Imperial Knight Battle Group. No one cared about the thoughts of a coward. To earn the recognition of his Battle Brothers and superiors, the only thing he could do was prove his path with deeds forged in blood and fire.

After revoking Serni’s and Havier’s positions in the Vengeful Think Tank, Reinhardt left the remaining personnel appointments to Koller.

Since they weren’t high-level positions of great importance, the related posts were quickly decided.

Kurs, a retired Navy captain and former commander of the Fourth Fleet’s vessel, the Courage, had performed with great merit. He was to be appointed Civil Affairs Officer of the Avenger Cruiser, with the specific duty of coordinating and leading the daily affairs of the Avenger Flagship’s command system.

He would report directly to Koller.

Excluding higher levels of authority, the actual power he held was no different from that of a ship’s captain.

The two wounded men were retired Navy personnel who had been under Kurs’s command, so they were promoted along with him to serve in the Avenger Flagship’s Civil Affairs Department. One would be in charge of logistics and inventory, the other in charge of disciplinary action.

The two surviving low-level Clerks also received corresponding promotions. The thin young man named Valbeck was appointed Scribe of the Avenger Flagship, managing all clerical records, while the other became his deputy.

After dealing with these matters, Reinhardt deliberately bypassed a certain person. Urus and Koller also chose to ignore him. One went to the engine room at the rear to rest and recover, while the other was kept behind by Reinhardt.

An encrypted Spiritual Energy communication was initiated.

"My lord, what are your plans for Nelom?"

Reinhardt stood at the railing of the second level, looking down over the bridge. Unlike the three Technician Priests, Agate’s body had ejected hundreds of Neural Metal Wires, connecting to the various control systems of the bridge.

The overflowing Witchcraft Energy fluctuated, gentle and slow, rippling through the bridge like waves of faint blue light.

Below, Lu Jia and her two sisters silently watched as the Alchemist Kael treated the wound on Caroline’s severed limb.

Even with a number of people moving about, the vast bridge still felt empty.

"What is your opinion?"

Koller pondered for a moment. "Personally, I believe an Imperial Knight with a record of two betrayals is not worthy of our trust."

Reinhardt turned to look at Nelom, who was sitting alone in a corner of the command platform, looking somewhat dejected. No matter how simple-minded he was, he had realized that there was ultimately no place for him among the Vengeful Angels.

Without a formal position recognized by the command structure, even one as a low-level Company Officer, he would forever be just a defector.

"I’ve spoken with him a bit. His defection from the Holy Temple of Justice wasn’t entirely his fault.

Seth of the Hand of Justice, the Administrative Region’s Fiery Sun Legion Commander, not only absorbed the personnel of the Ash Battle Group but also stripped him of his Battle Group Commander position."

Koller countered, "My lord, if someone were to try to absorb the Death Battle Group and then strip the Grand Governor of his Battle Group Commander position, do you think the Knights of the Death Battle Group would allow it?"

The answer to such a question was obvious.

"Are you trying to say that the decision made by the Hand of Justice was not wrong, and that Nelom is incapable of being a Battle Group Commander?"

Koller glanced at Nelom and replied, "He is an excellent warrior, but he is by no means a qualified leader. We should be thankful he didn’t lose his mind and lead the entire Ash Battle Group to defect to Claudius’s faction."

"I understand. Pull Matthias and Urus into the encrypted communication. I have an important combat mission to announce to you all."