Chapter 400 358: Koller's Formidable Strength
A handsome reward will bring forth a brave man.
If Claudius had only ordered them to intercept and seize the Avenger Flagship, these rebellious Knight Warlords might not have responded, not when faced with the legendary Vengeful Angels.
Their defiance of the Administrative Region's rule stemmed from a single, fundamental reason: the Battle Group reforms and the Governor System promoted by Grand Governor Sedon stood in the way of their carving out their own territories.
The Administrative Region governed three hundred worlds, yet it couldn't collect its Tithing. It was forced to rely on commercial taxes from the Capet Dynasty, all because these Knight Warlords stood in the way.
Unlike the ideological conflict between Reinhardt and Nelom, which had plenty of room for debate,
the conflict between the Imperial Administrative Region and the local Knight Warlords of the Ash Soil Star Zone had long since escalated into a life-or-death struggle.
This rebellion instigated by Claudius was less a premeditated plot and more the result of the war on the Verne Front Line, which had pushed the conflict between the two sides to a point of no return.
Faced with the bounty of a Great Lord title and a fiefdom in the Ten Directions World,
the Emperor's Shield Traitor, Anand, had only one thought in his head: storm the bridge, be the first to seize control of the Avenger Flagship, and damn the consequences.
He even chose to ignore Reinhardt, who was standing right next to Nelom.
In his eyes, this unfamiliar Imperial Knight, with a Power Armor paint scheme he'd never seen before, 'probably isn't anyone important, and he certainly can't be the legendary 'Emperor's Vengeful Angel'.
For a 150-year veteran like Anand to make such a misjudgment,
he had the Fire of Vengeful Sect to thank for their tireless propaganda and glorification across the worlds of the Imperial Administrative Region.
Those who had worked with Reinhardt and seen him in person naturally knew what the Vengeful Angel looked like.
But for Anand, who had never met him and whose entire understanding of the Vengeful Angel came from rumors fabricated by the Fire of Vengeful Sect,
in these fabricated tales, the Emperor's Vengeful Angel was a figure over three meters tall with crimson wings like curtains of blood. His Power Armor was decorated with the skulls of powerful enemies, and he was often depicted sitting upon a throne of bones.
Even if he knew the descriptions in the stories were likely exaggerated, he figured the overall appearance wouldn't be too different.
Reinhardt's height and Power Armor style were clearly different from what the tales described.
After his shouting match with Nelom ended, Anand even scanned the bridge warily, observing the environment and personnel, trying to find the legendary Vengeful Angel.
Killing the Vengeful Angel was likely impossible, but Anand was confident that if he acted personally, he could at least tie Reinhardt down for a while.
'Just one minute... no, thirty seconds at most, and my men can kill those two Technician Priests and seize control of the Avenger Flagship.'
Anand was in such a frantic hurry not just because he was blinded by greed; in this battle, his enemies weren't just the Vengeful Angels, but also the other Knight Warlords on his own side.
He had to hurry.
As the two Technician Soldiers behind him, covered by three accompanying Official Knights, sprinted past him and charged across the bridge like tigers pouncing on sheep,
a terrifying wave of Spiritual Power descended like a death storm!
With a BANG!
The three Official Knights leading the charge, all over two meters tall, exploded into a mist of blood where they stood. In an instant, their massive bodies were forcibly compressed by the Spiritual Power into high-density spheres the size of basketballs—a mix of steel and flesh!
They slammed onto the deck with incredible weight!
It was at this very moment.
Koller, who had never before actively displayed his power, was suddenly wreathed in dark purple lightning that radiated a terrifying Spiritual Pressure. Standing on the second-level command platform, his aged voice seethed with monstrous fury.
"Anand! The Battle Group Commander of the Emperor's Shield Third Group personally pleaded with me to let you go back then! I never thought you'd dare show your face before me again—!"
Hearing Koller's voice, Anand's expression shifted. A Destruction Force Field erupted from his body, and the aura of his Mighty Power, that of a Four-star Earth Military Rank, whipped through the bridge like a howling wind.
The battle plan for the campaign he and his troops had participated in all those years ago had been personally drafted by Koller.
After he intentionally lost, he'd heard rumors for a time that the Military Affairs Department wanted to punish him severely. That was when he sensed something was wrong and chose to cut and run.
'How could that menace Koller be serving with the Vengeful Angels?'
Anand knew all too well the terrifying power possessed by this Think Tank Director of Dusk!
But the situation gave him no time to think. Three of his subordinates were now piles of pulped flesh on the floor. The two accompanying Technician Soldiers faced Koller's Spiritual Pressure directly. One collapsed to his knees, blood seeping from the seams of his Power Armor.
The other tried to resist.
But with strength merely at the Official Knight Level, how could he possibly be a match for Koller?
Koller simply raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. The resisting Technician Soldier's Power Armor, flesh, and bone could not withstand the Spiritual Pressure of a Think Tank Director Level. A cringe-inducing symphony of snapping bones and collapsing metal filled the air.
Within three breaths, with another BANG, the Spiritual Power crushed this Technician Soldier into another ball of flesh and steel!
Witnessing this, Nelom's right eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
Because that fleeting display of Spiritual Power made him feel a very real threat of death!
With just a thought, he had effortlessly crushed four Official Knights, each possessing Six-star Military Rank strength...
He had, of course, heard the name Undead Koller, but only in passing.
He had thought Reinhardt's power was already terrifying enough, but he never dreamed that Koller's strength would be so immense!
The memory of his earlier attempt to assassinate the Vengeful Angels' command structure, including Reinhardt, made Nelom cringe with embarrassment.
He realized that, forget assassinating Reinhardt, he wasn't even qualified to challenge Koller's power.
Now, old enemies had met, their eyes blazing with hatred.
Koller had only reluctantly spared the traitor Anand as a favor to the Battle Group Commander of the Emperor's Shield Third Group. He never imagined that his and the commander's mercy would be repaid by Anand leading a boarding party, storming the bridge, and making an enemy of him!
The usually calm and reserved Koller, who never showed his true strength, let out a furious curse. An invisible blast of Spiritual Power slammed into Anand. In an instant, even with the protection of his Knight Power, his Power Armor groaned and buckled under the strain.
In that moment,
under Koller's spiritual oppression, he felt as if he were ten thousand meters beneath the sea, with endless, terrifying pressure crushing him from all directions!
Forget resisting—he couldn't even move a single finger!
Anand's face drained of color. 'This is bad—!'
In a flash,
a Knight's Broadsword, wreathed in a low-temperature frost that could freeze the very soul, whistled through the blast doors.
It grazed Anand's ear, shattered Koller's spiritual oppression, pierced the deck, and finally came to rest, embedded at an angle in the steel floor right in front of Reinhardt!