I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

As he spoke, Koller opened the satchel at his waist and pulled out an old, hardcover blue book. Spiritual Lightning surged in his eyes, the blinding light engulfing his body and face.

This ancient book was no ordinary object, but a Wizard's Secret Treasure that had accompanied him in battle for many years!

A Hundred Refinement Furnace Cast Level Extraordinary Creation, the Devouring Book of Reality!

This Extraordinary Creation possessed no offensive or defensive abilities of its own, but its special ability allowed it to devour all things, turning them into illustrated records on its pages. It could store a vast amount of Ancient Magic and spectacles of destruction.

Koller held the ancient book and flipped open a page, his eyes wide with fury.

In an instant, a phantom blue light coalesced into a Wizard Robe, as magnificent as a royal great cloak, and draped itself over his shoulders.

This was the projection of a fragment from a Wizard's Divine Artifact recorded within the Devouring Book of Reality—the Robe of the Truth of All Things. With the power of this robe, Koller forcibly broke free from the 'Wizard Slayer's' suppression.

He pointed his right hand at the rebels who had already bypassed the secondary command platform and were madly charging toward the bridge's control cabin.

His aged voice, carried on Spiritual Power, was etched with the ancient and traditional cadence of a thousand years ago, utterly enraged.

"By the Emperor's command, by the name of the Vengeful Angels, death and blood shall wash away your betrayal and impurity—!"

The moment his voice fell, the two Official Knights at the front burst into a great mist of blood, like discarded tin cans shoved into a compactor. They were instantly crushed into a pulp by his Spiritual Power!

At the same moment.

A Knight Warlord with the strength of a Four-star Earth Military Rank used his Earth Ring to withstand Koller's Spiritual Pressure and roared, "I'll hold him off! The rest of you, proceed with the mission as planned!"

It was Tulius, one of the Knight Warlords under the command of the great warlord Sipia!

He was clad in custom, dark gold Power Armor with a color scheme and decorations reminiscent of the Radiant Holy City's Forbidden Army. His frame was even taller and more powerful than his superior, Sipia.

His Knight Power, possessing the Guardian Barrier Attribute, displayed extraordinary defensive capability as it resisted Koller's Spiritual Pressure.

Especially his Earth Ring·Arrayed Barrel Formation!

Developed over many years of combat and based on his Guardian Barrier·Iron Mountain, it had no offensive power. However, it held the proud record of allowing him to single-handedly withstand a full minute of all-out assault from a Domain Level Powerhouse.

It was because of that battle, where he delayed the enemy's main force, that Tulius earned the right to be ranked as one of the three kings under the great warlord Sipia!

A single thought from Koller had been enough to incapacitate Anand, another of the three kings, leaving him helpless to await death. Yet Tulius could withstand Koller's Spiritual Pressure!

The ability he displayed caused even Koller to frown.

Empowered by the robe fragment, the intensity of his Spiritual Energy approached that of a Grand Master Level Tier Two Wizard—absolute power comparable to a Six-star or even Seven-star Earth Military Rank!

Meanwhile, Sipia, his scheme succeeding, couldn't suppress a smug smile. His gaze toward Reinhardt was filled with mockery.

His objective for boarding the Avenger Flagship was very clear.

'A fight to the death with the infamous Vengeful Angel, Reinhardt?'

'Tsk. Compared to taking such a huge risk just to pave the way for that fool Claudius, it was far more valuable to use a few tricks, seize the Avenger Flagship, and then go to him to claim credit and rewards.'

So from the very beginning, Sipia had no intention of fighting Reinhardt to the bitter end.

He had obtained reliable intelligence before his arrival: the only Technician Soldier on the Avenger Flagship had died at Savenxis, and the Vengeful Angel had requisitioned three Technician Priests from the Fourth Fleet.

As long as his men killed the defenseless Technician Priests, took control of the Avenger Flagship, and set a course and destination, they could make their escape.

As for how to deal with Reinhardt once they arrived, that would no longer be his problem.

But then Reinhardt took a step forward and abruptly vanished from his sight.

The next instant, he reappeared, his Black War Axe already roaring toward Sipia's face with the force of a thunderbolt.

Sipia, who a second ago had been wearing a mocking expression, ready to toy with Reinhardt, had his face change drastically!

In that instant, the blade of the War Axe was less than thirty centimeters from his face, yet he had been completely unaware!

'How is this possible—?!'

'Could Reinhardt's speed be so fast that even my optic nerves can't track it?'

'No—'

In a flash, Sipia had no more time to think. With a single thought, the black gate hanging high above and behind him trembled slightly.

Just as Reinhardt's Black War Axe was about to strike Sipia's face, a suit of heavy armor forged from pure Knight Power appeared as if from thin air, instantly covering Sipia's entire body!

The two collided.

A direct clash of Knight Power between Domain Powerhouses should have erupted in a violent shockwave of energy. But when the Black War Axe struck Sipia's armor, it was like a leaf falling onto a lake.

The expected violent energy fluctuation became incredibly muffled, as if it had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Even the light around them grew dim, all of it absorbed by the Special Ability of Sipia's Extraordinary Armament.

The moment of impact, the two separated.

Like a startled rabbit, Sipia tumbled backward, finally landing on one knee. He scraped a long gash into the steel-cast floor before crashing into a half-open, damaged gate with a heavy THUD, barely managing to stop.

At this moment.

A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

From what he knew of Reinhardt, his Extraordinary Armament shouldn't possess such a strange ability.

He had heard rumors about Reinhardt's power. Some said he was blessed by Avernus; others claimed his Extraordinary Armament was ever-changing.

The most common version, however, involved that living Dark Purple Battle Armor.

Its speed and defense, in particular—rumors of these two Special Abilities had long circulated among top-tier powerhouses like them.

But from start to finish, he hadn't seen Reinhardt use any Extraordinary Armament, let alone the famous Dark Purple Battle Armor. 'Could it be...'

Even if an Earth Knight's thoughts moved at the speed of lightning, the enemy Sipia faced now was none other than the notoriously infamous 'Emperor's Vengeful Angel'!

When his eyes caught Reinhardt lifting his leg, he realized his opponent was about to press the attack. He decided to avoid a direct confrontation for now.

It was his usual combat style not to engage an enemy rashly until he had figured out their Mighty Power Traits and tactics.

In less than a second, Sipia had already formulated a viable battle plan.

Tulius was keeping Koller busy. All Sipia had to do was feign weakness, deliberately baiting Reinhardt into a chase to lure him off the bridge.

As far as he knew, this Vengeful Angel was an extremely bloodthirsty battle maniac.

If he could just use a few taunts to lure this powerful enemy off the bridge, his men would have a much better chance of seizing control of the ship.

However.

Just as his peripheral vision caught sight of the gate behind him and he prepared to execute his plan—to further provoke Reinhardt and ignite his rage...

He discovered to his horror that although the gate was right behind him, he couldn't get any closer to it, no matter what he did.

It was as if the short one-meter distance had become an impassable barrier between illusion and reality.

At that moment, the incredibly battle-hardened Sipia suddenly realized that this absurd sensation was no trick of his senses!

It was very likely Reinhardt's Extraordinary Power, distorting the flow of time around him.

His mind returned to his initial suspicion.

Sipia watched in utter shock as Reinhardt walked toward him, step by step.

'This is impossible—!'

'An Imperial Knight possessing a Multi Level Extraordinary Armament is an extremely rare existence in the entire Cosmos!'

'This guy...'