I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

"I propose we form an alliance and stick to the story that none of us have any money. I refuse to believe Reinhardt would dare kill us all! How long has he even been in the Ash Soil Star Zone?

There are so many Local Lords. Can he really kill every last one of us?"

"I agree with your proposal. I’m in!"

Aside from the Local Lords discussing their options, there was a small group of people whose keen political instincts warned them that this meeting was different from those in the past.

On the surface, the Vengeful Angels asking them for money to fund the Verne Front Line didn’t seem strange.

But when considered alongside the ’Governor System’ that the Grand Governor began implementing in the Administrative Region twenty years ago, the intentions of the region’s higher-ups couldn’t have been more obvious.

They clearly wanted to completely upend the situation where Local Lords and Knight Warlords grew powerful on their respective worlds and then formed alliances to resist the Administrative Region’s rule.

Twenty years of groundwork.

And now, with the Grand Governor turning a blind eye to the matter in Cyrenaica and leaving it entirely in the hands of the Vengeful Angels—that great scourge—it was obvious he intended to make an example of them!

This was especially true for two of the Local Lords who knew the inside story and had some private dealings with Governor Verne, Ullrich. They knew exactly what sort of iron-blooded figure the Lord of Vengeful was.

This man was definitely not some politician who liked to play games of compromise.

Back then, he had dared to kill Grand Lord Kles’s Vanguard Team and raider knights on a whim, to say nothing of them.

This small group gathered on the other side of the conference hall, coldly observing their colleagues who were stubbornly refusing to contribute.

"...This is the grand trend of the Administrative Region’s future development. We can’t fight the tide."

"That fool Claudius really dragged us all down with him this time."

Just then, a relatively young, gaunt Local Lord, blind in his left eye, silently gazed at the conference hall. He had a strong premonition.

’The winds of change are coming to the Administrative Region.’

His body seemed to be afflicted by a serious illness. He coughed, then said in a deep voice, "Although he has dragged us down, isn’t this also an opportunity to take a step forward?

We all know the Grand Governor hasn’t been planning to implement the Governor System for just a day or two.

If we can seize today’s opportunity..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the others understood his meaning.

It meant completely abandoning their original power and status, throwing their lot in entirely with the Imperial Administrative Region, and betting that the war on the Verne Front Line would be won. Betting that the Vengeful Angels could hold the rear and stabilize the home front.

Everyone had their own different views and speculations about the future.

But not everyone had the courage and decisiveness to bet their entire fortune, because if the Verne Front Line were to fall, or if the Administrative Region were to fall into internal turmoil...

...their futures would be even more miserable than that of Claudius!

No matter the time, such topics always felt particularly heavy.

After a moment of silence, the young Local Lord said in a weak tone, "If those people jump out and form an alliance against the Vengeful Angels, I will step forward to break the deadlock."

As he spoke, he scanned the faces of those around him.

Finally, a Knight Warlord with white hair and a weathered expression responded.

"I’m in."

「In a small room next to the conference hall.」

This place was originally the local Governor’s private reception room, but it had now been turned into a temporary command post for the Vengeful Angels.

With Koller presiding, all conversations in the conference hall were under their surveillance. Except for a few powerful Knight Warlords who could sense the Spiritual Power, the vast majority of Local Lords had no idea that all their secret plotting was happening right under the noses of the Vengeful Angels.

Perhaps they knew the Vengeful Angels would be monitoring them, but their limited imaginations could not possibly conceive of the methods available to a powerful Psychic.

At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps, almost at the pace of a full sprint, echoed in the hallway.

Cateline, the head of the Military Affairs Department, and his two assistants were tearing down the hall, each clutching a thick stack of parchment. The three of them couldn’t even carry all the data.

Behind them, Lu Jia and Delanxi also walked quickly, each carrying their own stack of parchment.

Pushing open the door to the small room, a sweat-drenched Cateline placed the piles of parchment on the table. "Sir, the data you requested from the Ministry of Internal Affairs has arrived!"

Koller stood up, walked over, and took the parchments from Cateline’s two adjutants. He then used a Spiritual Energy communication to inform Reinhardt, "The data has arrived. I need an hour to sort through and verify it."

If these were ordinary books, Koller, with his power, could have easily committed their contents to memory.

But that wasn’t possible with these parchments.

As one of the Empire’s methods for combating the Demon Void Realm, they were prefaced with the title ’holy’ precisely because Spiritual Energy techniques were ineffective against them.

The text on them was not at risk of being altered.

「Elsewhere.」

Having received the message, Reinhardt was currently aboard the Punisher, returning to Surt’s Stereoscopic City.

Besides the matter of the Ancient Armament, he had also discussed some other affairs with Great Sage Zeka.

Although bound by confidentiality regulations, according to the information provided by Great Sage Zeka, the modification process for the other Radiant Angels, including Albert, was already in its final stages.

The Alchemist, Kael, who had been assigned to the Vengeful Angels, was a design he had personally overseen. He was also part of the tactical squad composition under the Grand Governor’s reforms for the future, new Holy Scripture.

Aside from their primary duties of treating the wounded and fighting, another important mission for an Alchemist was to recover the Mighty Melting Furnaces implanted within other Artificial Angels after they fell in battle.

This was done not only to minimize military expenditures as much as possible, but also to better maintain the purity of the Artificial Angels and prevent the Mighty Melting Furnaces from falling into the hands of heretics and Demons.

Furthermore, Great Sage Zeka frankly stated that a three-man squad composed entirely of Artificial Angels would be added to the Vengeful Angels’ first company, serving as the first practical application of this grand plan.

Before Reinhardt departed, Zeka also stated that once they obtained the Ancient Armament from Cyrenaica, they would find a way to make it battle-ready as soon as possible, prioritizing it for the Vengeful Angels’ basic-level companies.

After receiving Koller’s Spiritual Energy communication, Agate replied, "The Punisher is on its way back. Estimated time of arrival at Upper Surt Port is forty minutes."

「Forty minutes later.」

The seventy-two-hour deadline was imminent.

Lu Jia was already waiting for Reinhardt at the port. After they met, the group walked briskly toward the conference hall. Speaking rapidly, Lu Jia reported on all the events that had occurred in the eighteen hours since Reinhardt had left the Governor’s Mansion.

"...Based on our surveillance over the past few days, the situation is not optimistic for us. While you were on your way back, a large number of Local Lords and Knight Warlords secretly formed an alliance to resist the upcoming meeting.

Lord Koller has already compiled a list of the stubborn ones."

As she spoke, Lu Jia handed Reinhardt a handwritten list and continued, "But there is also a small faction who, based on an analysis of their discussions, seem to have seen the writing on the wall and are not prepared to continue resisting us.

Among them, a man named Transk is worthy of note. He was the first to propose supporting our position in the meeting, and he has gained the support of a few others."

"What about the data?"

"Lord Koller asked me to inform you that he will personally take charge of that part of the work."

As the hour drew near, the atmosphere in the conference hall grew increasingly restless and agitated.

Then, with a CREAK, the sealed doors slowly opened. A familiar Imperial Knight strode into the venue, walking all the way to the speaker’s platform at the very front of the hall.

At that moment, the noisy conference hall fell dreadfully silent.

Gaze after gaze, each with a different expression, fell upon the man standing on the platform. No matter how riled up they had been before, how they had spouted harsh words and sworn to resist to the end...

...when Reinhardt appeared before them for the second time, terror and unease filled everyone’s eyes. Their mouths were clamped shut, unable to utter a single word.

Reinhardt pulled the War Axe—which had been embedded in the floor here for three days—free. He removed his Full Coverage Helmet, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below as he said coldly, "I have already prepared the list of supplies needed for the Verne Front Line.

Your three days to consider are over.

Gentlemen, it is time to prove your Loyalty to the Great Emperor and the Empire."