Chapter 463 - 408: A Complex Situation

Radiant Calendar, Year 1464.

Cyrenaica Rebel Fleet, Tania Flagship.

The planet’s immense shadow gradually slid aside, allowing the starlight behind it to pierce through the thick glass. The dazzling glare created a brief, prismatic flare that flashed across Claudius’s vision.

On the magnificent, palatial bridge, warm yellow lights reflected the classical Iberian columns off the mirror-like obsidian floor.

Beneath his feet.

The atmosphere of Cyrenaica churned below. Within it, a tiny, unremarkable black dot caused his brow, already furrowed, to tighten further.

As things stood, the situation in Cyrenaica had spiraled far beyond his control.

The Shadow Temple had ignored his deal with Grand Lord Kles and interfered. Even now, those heretics were still besieging Quarry Four, trying to seize a cache of Ancient Creations from the Supreme King’s Armory.

Just five minutes ago, Great Sage Cassio had been demanding to know why he had struck a deal with the Imperial Administrative Region and allowed the Vengeful Angels and the Avenger Cruiser to leave.

Even Silencer Enok, his most reliable and powerful warrior, was now tied up, unable to break away from some Wandering Mage who had appeared out of nowhere.

The loss of the Divine Artifact affected more than just the outcome of this rebellion. Enok couldn’t even answer to Grand Lord Kles for the failure, let alone find the time to stop Reinhardt or suppress the Shadow Temple’s revolt.

Standing alone on the grand staircase.

Claudius’s once proud, erect posture suddenly seemed tinged with a hint of desolation.

To seize power, he had laid low on Tania World, painstakingly scheming for years. He had exhausted himself negotiating with various factions, mediating their disputes, balancing interests, and secretly amassing his own strength.

And he had done it all just to stand at the pinnacle of power in the Administrative Region.

But his intuition, honed by years of holding power, told him a cruel truth.

Fate was not on his side.

All these sudden crises, piling up one after another, were the last straw.

Claudius stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the vast fleet and the infantry legions numbering in the tens of millions, all under his sole command.

He held immense power and commanded a formidable army, yet the oppressive feeling that the tide had turned against him lingered in his heart like an unshakable shadow.

Reinhardt.

At the thought of that name, Claudius’s right hand clenched into a tight fist, and his teeth ground together audibly.

It was safe to say he had stopped at nothing to eliminate Reinhardt.

Yet, from his perspective, Reinhardt’s resilience was like that of an unkillable cockroach. Time and again, he had snatched victory from the jaws of death, always rising to his feet, undefeated.

No...

’I won’t let this rebellion end so simply. Even if Reinhardt leads his men to storm the Tania and cuts off my head with a single stroke, I will make the Imperial Administrative Region pay the price!’

’If I can’t have it, no one will!’

Claudius was no fool. After Reinhardt’s public declaration, he had already guessed the Vengeful Angels were likely planning a feint—a surprise assault on the Tania Flagship to carry out a decapitation strike against him and end the war prematurely.

But the price of doing so...

’Reinhardt, are you truly prepared to face the consequences?’

He had risen from an ordinary Knight Warlord to the position of Administrative District Governor, masterfully forging alliances and pulling together a massive army to launch this rebellion.

If it weren’t for Sedon and Reinhardt.

Claudius would have undoubtedly become a formidable figure in the Ash Soil Star Zone.

His only miscalculation was in viewing the grand scheme through an outdated lens, believing the Empire was still the mighty power it once was.

He chose to make an enemy of the Imperial Administrative Region and of Reinhardt, blind to the fact that the great enemies from the Void Realm and the Space Aliens were already massing on the borders.

Just then, a subordinate trotted up behind Claudius.

"Governor, sir. Great Sage Cassio has unilaterally issued a notification. If you do not give the order to intercept the Avenger Cruiser, he considers your cooperation terminated. All previously signed ordnance supply agreements will also be void."

Normally, Claudius would have flown into a rage. But now, he simply took the parchment from his subordinate and replied coldly, "Tell Cassio I’ve been informed."

The subordinate, sensing something was amiss, cautiously glanced up at Claudius. Daring not to speak out of turn, he hastily exited the bridge.

「Meanwhile.」

Verne Front Line, aboard the Iberian Glory.

Sedon lowered the parchment. It was a message from Reinhardt, relayed via Koller, confirming that the Vengeful Angels were departing and preparing to withdraw from Cyrenaica.

But he had personally witnessed Reinhardt grow from a mere boy into the Vengeful Angel he was today, forged in the crucible of war.

He knew Reinhardt well enough to be certain he wouldn’t just tuck his tail between his legs and flee Cyrenaica. If Sedon’s guess was correct, Reinhardt was using the withdrawal as a pretext to launch a decapitation strike against Claudius.

Then again, perhaps Reinhardt’s objective had been out in the open all along: a clear message to Claudius that he intended to board his flagship and execute him personally.

But until Reinhardt actually launched his plan, this was all just speculation.

’Claudius is certainly wary of me pulling my troops from the Verne Front Line and making a beeline for Cyrenaica,’ he thought. ’But the real reason he’s afraid is that the traitor probably has no one left under his command who can handle Reinhardt.’

Sedon could already foresee it: once the Vengeful Angels made their move, Claudius, like a cornered beast, would do something desperate—lashing out to take a bite out of them before he died.

But delay was the one thing to be avoided when suppressing a rebellion. The Administrative Region might pay a heavy price, but that traitor Claudius had to die!

After a moment’s consideration, he decided to tacitly approve Reinhardt’s plan.

"My lord, the Space Dragon Race has been harassing the Administrative Region’s border worlds with increasing frequency. I’ve just received a report that a raiding party plundered Conira II and Conira III. The local citizens and garrisons suffered heavy casualties."

The pressure of fighting a two-front war—against the internal rebellion and the Imperial Rebel Army pouring from the Verne Rift—had brought the Administrative Region to the brink of systemic collapse.

And now, the Space Dragon Race in the Kemola Region was also beginning to stir.

Seeing that Sedon remained silent, the staffer from the Think Tank prompted, "Should we dispatch a company of Imperial Knights?"

After weighing his options, Sedon’s brow furrowed. "These Aliens are trying to provoke an incident as a pretext to declare war."

"You will personally notify the border garrisons to abandon Conira II and III. Tell them to exercise restraint and avoid any large-scale conflict with the Space Dragon Race."

"But, my lord!"

"No buts," Sedon snapped. "We’ve already lost the strategic depth provided by the Imperial Holy Territory. Do you think we’re in any position to fight a three-front war? And don’t forget, Grand Lord Kles still hasn’t made his move."