Chapter 466 - 410: Efficient Boarding! Mercy Has a Price

To even stand a chance against these magnificent war machines, one had to be at least a Sky Knight.

The feat of tearing apart steel behemoths dozens, or even hundreds, of kilometers long with their bare hands was something only the Empire’s Lords of the Legion—the Legendary Immortals—had the power to achieve.

Now, as the colossal, sixty-kilometer-long hull of the Tania Flagship appeared in Nelom’s sight—a cosmic beast eclipsing all else—he felt nothing but sheer horror.

’How could they be so fast!’

But he had no time to dwell on it, as the reflection of the Tania Flagship’s hull swelled rapidly in his pupils.

BOOM—!

The terrifying firepower of the Destruction Main Cannon tore a gaping hole in the Tania Flagship’s Energy Shield. The Punisher, now a steel behemoth, plunged headlong into the heavy hull opposite!

The violent impact sent a powerful tremor through the boarding craft, and Reinhardt and the others in the bay struggled to keep their footing.

"The Punisher will be waiting at the designated extraction point. Good luck, Imperial Knights."

Amid the sound of mechanical clanking, the Punisher’s bay door rapidly lowered.

In the damaged section of the Tania Flagship, dim red lights pulsed in time with shrill, blaring alarms.

A squad of soldiers stationed in the hangar reacted immediately. While one reported to their superiors, the rest quickly formed a combat line and advanced on the Punisher.

Before them, the pitch-black interior of the boarding craft radiated an immense and oppressive aura.

As the garrison of the Tania Flagship, these Mortal Soldiers from Tania World were all seasoned veterans. For them, on the vast battlefields of Cyrenaica, there was likely no safer place than Governor Claudius’s flagship.

Even if an enemy attempted a boarding action, they would first have to break through a battlezone of a thousand ships, bypass the blockade of six escort frigates, and then make a final, desperate push just for the slight possibility of getting near the Tania Flagship.

However, they never would have dreamed that, without a single intrusion alert, an enemy vessel would appear so brazenly near the Tania Flagship and ram straight into it, right under the noses of the escort fleet!

At this moment, they preferred to believe it was just a rookie on their own side who had made a terrible mistake.

But...

THUD—!

When the first Imperial Knight, clad in jet-black Power Armor and holding a Power Sword, leaped down from the open bay and landed with a heavy thud.

The squad leader of the Mortal Soldiers felt his chest tighten, as if the air had been punched from his lungs.

His face was a mask of utter horror, his eyes betraying a bone-deep terror he couldn’t conceal.

’Emperor’s Angels—!’

They were veterans, and with that came experience.

And because they were experienced veterans, the hangar garrison knew all too well what fate awaited them—mere Mortals—when facing hostile Emperor’s Angels on the battlefield.

’Dammit.’

The squad leader tried to order a counterattack, but before the words could leave his mouth, a massive left hand clamped over his face. Ignoring the bullets that ricocheted harmlessly off the Power Armor, the Knight lifted him effortlessly into the air.

The squad leader struggled, but the pressure on his head felt like it was about to crack his skull.

Then, a powerful force flung him through the air, and he crashed heavily onto a pile of debris. Excruciating pain lanced through his ribs; he was certain many of them had been broken by the impact.

The soldiers still firing saw their captain’s fate hanging in the balance, and then watched as more Emperor’s Angels leaped from the bay, landing one after another.

Though they possessed courage second to none, at that moment, even the bravest veteran’s legs went weak. Their trigger fingers froze.

The oldest veteran among them looked up in terror at the towering figure standing before him. He swallowed hard and took three steps back.

But the slaughter and death he expected never came. The scarlet lenses of the warrior’s Full Coverage Helmet merely gave him a cold, indifferent glance before he strode past, leading his squad deeper into the hangar bay.

The other Emperor’s Angels followed suit. The wind from their powerful strides washed over the terrified faces of the Mortal Soldiers, leaving them frozen in place.

Cold sweat had already soaked the back of the oldest veteran’s uniform. He stared in disbelief at the back of the Imperial Knight who carried a massive War Axe. The visceral terror of his near-death experience quickly gave way to reason. He swiftly raised a fist and bellowed, "Cease fire—! Cease fire—!"

This was often how it was in the Empire’s civil wars.

The high-ranking nobles and rulers might fight to the death for power, but for the soldiers on the bottom rungs, their combat effectiveness was negligible in comparison. It would be utterly foolhardy to keep shooting at a squad of Emperor’s Angels that had already spared them.

Surviving the encounter was the greatest mercy the Knights could have shown them.

It was only after the squad of Black Armored Knights had disappeared into the corridor beyond the hangar that the soldiers began to come to their senses. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream.

"Hymes! Take two men and go check on the captain, now!"

The veteran didn’t know the origins of these Black Armored Knights, but his years of combat experience told him they were no ordinary Emperor’s Angels.

He could tell just by looking at their equipment and Power Armor.

After all, within Governor Claudius’s own Knight Battle Groups, plenty of Imperial Knights were still equipped with what could only be described as antique Anti-Magic Steel Armor.

For all the protection it offered a Knight, it might as well have been Leather Armor.

One veteran, who had awakened a sliver of Knight Talent over long years of battle, stared with a deathly pale face in the direction the Black Armored Knights had vanished. Still reeling from the overwhelming Knightly Aura, his lips trembled.

"Earth Knights... All of them are Earth Knights, but how is that possible...?"

In the Empire’s military structure, Earth Knights typically serve as Battle Group Commanders or as Adjutants in high command. The very few who don’t hold an official post are Knight Warlords or powerful Local Lords in their own right.

For so many Earth Knights to appear at once...

Forget a small hangar garrison like them, it was a sight that most Imperial Knights had likely never witnessed.

But one soldier thought of a possibility, his voice trembling with lingering shock. "Could it be... the legendary Lord of Vengeful..."

Before he could finish, someone immediately retorted, "Impossible. I heard the Vengeful Angels already agreed to withdraw, and Governor Claudius has reached an agreement with the Grand Governor. I don’t think this war will last much longer."

"But..."

"No buts! What are you thinking? The Tania Flagship is parked in a 130,000-kilometer orbit above Cyrenaica. Even for the Lord of Vengeful, how could he possibly get here so fast?

I bet..."

At this, the soldier lowered his voice and spoke cautiously. "Maybe the Governor agreed to some of the Grand Governor’s terms, and the lesser Lords under him heard the news and want to force Claudius to keep fighting.

Didn’t someone just say they were all Earth Knights?

Have you ever seen a single Battle Group with so many high-ranking officers?"

「In the corridor.」

The four members of the Holy Fire Guard followed close behind Reinhardt. Whatever his decision, as long as Matthias remained silent, the other three would not question it.

Nelom, on the other hand, quickened his pace to walk beside Reinhardt.

"Why didn’t you kill them all? If those soldiers live, they will definitely reveal our movements to Claudius."

Reinhardt said coldly, "The Verne Front Line is short on manpower. After Claudius is executed, these men will still be warriors of the Imperial Administrative Region. Why kill them?"

It was the first time Nelom had considered that war and conflict could be viewed in such a way, and he was clearly taken aback.

After a long silence.

"You’re merciful. Nothing like the cold-blooded, ruthless figure you’re made out to be."

Hearing the footsteps of rebels assembling at the end of the corridor, Reinhardt unslung his War Axe. "Mercy has a price, Nelom," he replied. "If they hadn’t stopped shooting, I would have slaughtered them all myself."

At this answer, a storm of complex emotions washed over Nelom. He now understood. Reinhardt’s mercy wasn’t for the rebels themselves. It was a reward for their disloyalty to Claudius, and in turn, their loyalty to the Imperial Administrative Region.

In other words.

If even one of those soldiers had shouted ’For Governor Claudius,’ or had stubbornly fought to the last, they would all be dead.