Chapter 475: A Succession of Affairs and a Mysterious Visitor

Chapter 475: Chapter 418: A Succession of Affairs and a Mysterious Visitor

The Bridge.

Koller, who should have been commanding from the control platform, was now at the entrance, awaiting Reinhardt’s triumphant return.

In contrast, Lu Jia stood on the second-level command platform, holding a thick stack of documents from the Military Affairs Department. The pained expression on her face was plain to see, her brow tightly furrowed.

She had thought Koller would leave her be for a while, but she never expected him to hand over duties to her so quickly.

Besides feeling helpless, the role reversal from executor to commander was proving difficult for her to adapt to.

She preferred battling formidable foes on the front lines to dealing with these headache-inducing documents from the Military Affairs Department. At least on the battlefield, she didn’t have to rack her brains like this.

‘I have to carefully parse the information conveyed by these words, and the political intentions behind them.’

The first issue was the feedback from the Military Affairs Department regarding the Lord of Vengeful appointing her as Koller’s Adjutant. For an ordinary Knight Battle Group, such an appointment wouldn’t even need to be reported to the Military Affairs Department.

But the Vengeful Angels were different.

Strictly speaking, the Vengeful Angels’ administrative Level was equivalent to a Legion. The power wielded by the Adjutant, the second-in-command, was far beyond what one would find in a typical Knight Battle Group.

She held no real authority at present, but only because the Vengeful Angels’ structure was not yet fully established. They were critically short on personnel, having barely managed to form two basic companies.

In its feedback, the Military Affairs Department acknowledged her status as Adjutant, but every word dripped with passive-aggressive digs at the Judgment Court.

Battle Sisters were combat personnel subordinate to the Judgment Court. Even though the Blood Flame Order had no formal place within the Judgment Court’s structure, if they used the Vengeful Angels’ power to grow and strengthen, the Judgment Court could recall them with little more than a single document.

Grand ideals were one thing, but soldiers needed provisions and supplies to fight a war.

The Military Affairs Department had no desire to expend vast resources only for the Judgment Court to reap the benefits.

After analyzing the document’s wording, Lu Jia concluded that the Military Affairs Department likely wanted the Lord of Vengeful to take the lead in firmly incorporating the Blood Flame Order into the Vengeful Angels’ structure at the level of Imperial law.

This would resolve any potential future disputes.

She raised a hand to brush aside the long hair falling over her shoulder. A dim, grayish-white light shone on her. Perhaps because it had been too long since she’d tended to it, her growing hair revealed its original pale-gold color at the roots.

Hardness and coldness had submerged the once innocent and lovely lines of her face.

Her thin lips were pale, chapped, and peeling. Her dark eyes were filled with the exhaustion and weariness that followed high-pressure combat.

‘It’s about time Lord Reinhardt returned to the bridge,’ Lu Jia thought, putting down the documents. She looked up toward the distant entrance, but before she could see Reinhardt, her peripheral vision caught sight of Caroline and the old Navy veteran, Kurs, chatting happily.

Even from twenty meters away, she could faintly hear her sister talking animatedly.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered. When she had fallen unconscious, it seemed it was that old veteran who had carried her to safety.

‘Even a rookie Knight would struggle to carry the full weight of my gear. How did a Mortal soldier manage it?’

Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor. Lu Jia quickly grabbed the documents and hurried toward the entrance.

At that moment, everyone on the bridge was busy with their work. Even Battle Sister Caroline, who had been idle enough to chat with Kurs, was now dragging her injured body to lift corpses from the floor, preparing to transfer the remains of the fallen to the rear for the Military Affairs Department to handle.

After greeting Reinhardt at the entrance, Koller fell in step beside him, and the two walked with long, purposeful strides.

“…I’ve reported your decision to negotiate with the rebels to the Military Affairs Department. They will dispatch personnel within forty-eight hours to get involved in the talks.

“This is a massive risk. The fact that the Military Affairs Department is stepping in to assume some of that risk isn’t a bad thing for us.”

Lu Jia approached them just then.

“My Lord.”

Falling in step with the two men, she handed the documents to Reinhardt and said in a low voice, “The Military Affairs Department believes that absorbing us into the Vengeful Angels will present future disputes and risks.

“Therefore, they want you to step in and resolve the issue of the Blood Flame Order’s jurisdiction as soon as possible.”

Even though Reinhardt had returned from a great victory, there was no time for a grand celebration on the war front. Pressure from all sides came one after another.

Reinhardt knew that the problem of the Blood Flame Order would be difficult to resolve quickly, but it wasn’t impossible.

According to law, Battle Sisters could only be the combat arm of the Judgment Court.

Cooperation was a better choice than open confrontation with the immensely powerful Judges.

If he could achieve a strategic partnership with the Judgment Court, it would bring many benefits to the Vengeful Angels, whose primary duties were dealing with Space Aliens, Demon invasions, and suppressing internal rebellions.

In practical terms, this meant the enormous resource consumption required to expand a Battle Sister Monastery. The Vengeful Angels couldn’t be the only ones footing that bill.

Although he had numerous conflicts with the Judgment Court, the Judges in power were not a monolithic entity. The Judgment Court itself was rife with internal struggles; it was not a united front.

That bastard Robie had been secretly helping him, undermining the Rune Faction on Blue Rock Island. This alone was a testament to the severity of their internal strife.

Reinhardt was not surprised that the Military Affairs Department was getting involved in the negotiations. While there were elements of power and politics at play, he was happy to see someone willing to step up and share the risk.

After the group returned to the second-level command platform, Reinhardt told Lu Jia he would give the matter serious consideration. He then listened to Koller’s detailed report on the rebel army’s movements.

“Those local warlords are in disarray and pose no threat to us. What we really need to consider is the Mechanical Order, led by Great Sage Cassio.”

“Although Claudius is dead, the armory buried in Cyrenaica is still in his hands. What’s more, Mechanist Cult transport ships have already begun a large-scale transfer of Ancient Armaments out of the area.

“I’ve urged reinforcements to arrive as soon as possible to blockade Cyrenaica’s low orbit.”

When it came to the internal affairs of the Mechanist Cult, consulting Agate was the best option. But he was the Mechanical Sage of the Aquitaine Forging World—the Master of Hundred Machines.

He was also their and the Grand Governor’s greatest ally.

Out of caution, Koller hadn’t acted rashly. Instead, he chose to have the Lord of Vengeful negotiate with his old subordinate, to see if they could get some internal intelligence from the Mechanist Cult.

Just as Koller was continuing his report, a faint fluctuation of Witchcraft Energy appeared on the bridge without any warning.

Before the horrified eyes of everyone present, a churning pool of dark blue Energy expanded across the bridge floor.

Until.

A mysterious visitor, whose body seemed to be the deep, dark Cosmos itself, with myriad miniature stars orbiting around them, silently floated up from the energy pool and slowly landed on the bridge floor.