Chapter 472: Nelom's True Strength, Domain·Overlord Form

Chapter 472: Chapter 415: Nelom’s True Strength, Domain·Overlord Form

Jens coughed up a mouthful of black blood. Even with his Earth Knight physique, how could the wounds inflicted by the Decomposition Blade possibly heal so easily?

His face was contorted in a savage grimace of pain. The Cosmic Element·Cold Frost coalesced into an Ice Blade that shimmered with an azure glow. He gritted his teeth and roared, his half-kneeling body springing up to launch a final desperate attack against Nelom.

Nelom roared in response. Without using his Earth Ring or his Domain Power, he gripped the Knight’s Broadsword and charged to meet Jens’s attack.

Although both men possessed above-average Body Technique Abilities, they were now so severely wounded that their movements were inevitably clumsy and distorted.

As Jens’s Elemental Ice Blade slashed toward him, Nelom tried to block with a two-handed grip on his sword. But the horrific wound on his left shoulder had already severed the tendons controlling his left arm.

This left him unable to block in time, forcing him to stop short and dodge.

But the Ice Blade still struck him. Forged from pure Knight Power, this Elemental Ice Blade possessed destructive force far beyond that of an ordinary Knight’s Broadsword. In a single strike, half of Nelom’s body was instantly frozen solid.

Jens had intended to press his attack, shatter the frozen part of Nelom’s body, and end the battle in one fell swoop.

But the bone-deep wound in his chest severely restricted his movements as well.

Before he could even lift his leg, searing pain shot from his internal organs. A terrifying sense of suffocation, as if his heart and lungs were being torn apart, instantly overwhelmed his tall frame. He staggered forward a step before his knees buckled, and he crashed to the ground in agony.

Even his Knight Power began to flicker, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

The fight between Nelom and Jens was far from spectacular—it was ugly, even. But the four Holy Fire Guards who witnessed it all wore solemn expressions, their brows tightly furrowed.

It was true that Nelom had committed treason twice. But as he himself had said, he was just an Imperial Knight living in a chaotic era of endless war. Often, he had no other choice.

For the sake of a greater victory, he had resolutely chosen to once again bear the brand of a traitor.

Jens may have lacked a clear vision for the world’s future, but he was fulfilling his duty as Claudius’s Guard Captain. One might call him foolish, but never disloyal.

Only Reinhardt watched the battle with cold indifference. Had Nelom made a single suspicious move, he would have shown no mercy.

‘Claudius is a rebel, and his diehard loyalists cannot be allowed to leave the Tania Flagship alive.’

Reinhardt admired Jens’s loyalty to Claudius, but that didn’t mean he would let this remnant of the Imperial Rebel Army go. As the Supreme Commander of the pacification war, he had to eradicate any and all destabilizing factors that could potentially threaten the war effort and stage a comeback.

Jens’s strength was considerable, but compared to Nelom, he was nowhere near powerful enough to win.

Before long, the outcome of their battle was decided.

Empowered by the Ashen Battle Armor, Nelom’s injuries healed at a rate visible to the naked eye. New flesh even began to regenerate on the parts of his body that had been shattered and frozen by the Elemental Power.

He stood before Jens, sword in hand. The Guard Captain, now completely powerless and collapsed on the ground, stared coldly at Nelom. “Do it. Kill me.”

Nelom knew there was no turning back for them, but he still hesitated, unable to bring himself to strike down a man who was once his brother-in-arms.

“Can you really not hear a word I’m saying? The Vengeful Angels and I were never your enemies. Lift your head. Take a look at the state of the Ash Soil Star Zone.

Grand Lord Kles, the Space Dragon Race, the Imperial Rebel Army on the Verne Front Line…

They are the true enemies of the Administrative Region.

The Empire’s glory is long gone. If we can’t unite, our world will only be plunged into another terrible disaster.”

Hearing Nelom’s plea, Jens didn’t argue this time. He just stared wordlessly at the man who had once fought by his side. After a long silence, it seemed he was considering surrender, as if he had finally understood the good intentions behind Nelom’s words.

He let out a ragged breath. “You… you’re right. These Aliens are indeed our greatest enemy. But can you really guarantee that the Lord of Vengeful won’t kill me?”

As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, reaching for Nelom.

But Nelom’s expression didn’t relax at Jens’s apparent surrender. His brows remained knitted together, and he hesitated to take the other man’s outstretched hand.

It was as if he had already foreseen the outcome.

After a dreadful silence, Nelom grasped Jens’s right hand.

“I… promise.”

Hearing this, Jens smiled. He shook his head with a look of resignation, his smile a mixture of mockery and admonishment.

“You’re still such an idealist, Nelom.”

With those words, Jens’s expression hardened. His body shot up from the ground like a coiled spring. An Elemental Ice Blade, having gathered silently in his hand, stabbed ruthlessly toward Nelom’s heart.

But this time, Nelom was prepared.

He squeezed his eyes shut in anguish.

The Ashen Battle Armor stirred of its own accord. Chains of sparking, arcane Runes erupted from it, piercing into his body. Then, the armor melted like lava, fusing completely with his body and soul.

Domain·Overlord Form.

In that instant, the temperature on the bridge skyrocketed. Blood on the floor boiled away, and the numerous corpses rapidly carbonized, filling the air with a foul, scorched stench.

Faced with this terrifying, oppressive heat, even the four powerful Holy Fire Guards wore grave expressions, scrambling to activate their Knight Power to resist the horrifying Domain Power.

Nelom wasn’t even treating them as enemies, yet they could already feel the unstoppable, suffocating terror of his power.

‘If he were to rebel…’

Matthias glanced at Reinhardt, who stood silent and unaffected. He tightened his grip on his sword hilt. Now, he finally understood why the Supreme Commander had been so wary of this surrendered traitor from the very start.

‘Or rather, if Nelom were to turn on them, none of them would survive—except for Lord Reinhardt!’

‘An aura of Mighty Power this strong… It’s terrifying!’

But to Nelom, counterattacking the former brother-in-arms who had just tried to kill him with his strongest form was the greatest respect he could show Jens.

After activating his Domain Power and entering Overlord Form, his Power Armor turned an ashen white. His skin resembled scorching charcoal, its surface covered in fissures that glowed with the dark red of extreme heat.

Everyone thought him a fool, but Nelom knew exactly what he was doing and who his true enemies were.

Whether it was during the boarding action, confronting Sipia, or even rescuing Urus from the subterranean mines, he had never once used his Domain Power.

In Overlord Form, his power swelled to more than ten times its normal level. The price, however, was that he could not fully control it.

Once unleashed, the collateral damage would be immeasurable.

If possible, he didn’t want anyone else to be sacrificed in this meaningless internal conflict.

Ignoring the Ice Blade Jens had plunged into his heart, Nelom shook his head in resignation. “Was it really worth it…”

As his voice faded, Jens had no chance to resist. Like a piece of dry kindling, his body turned to ash, scattering into the superheated air.

Until the last remnants of the hand he was holding also disintegrated into dust…