I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

”When did it happen?”

Reinhardt took off his fully-enclosed helmet, his brows furrowed tightly together.

The dense metal filaments of the Imperial Technology Outfit’s Angel Vision, connected to his cervical nerves, drew bits of blood as they retracted from under his skin and into the helmet.

Legendary Power was a Knight Power bestowed by the Lords of the Legions of the Old Empire’s various Main Battle Corps upon the primary echelon Battle Groups within their legions.

Moreover, this power would manifest different and stronger characteristics as the user’s own strength increased.

For example, every member of the Steel Wings Mobile Combat Team, an Elite Formation of the Radiant Angel Legion, possessed Punishment Vision—an Extraordinary Power derived from Legendary Power that could see into a person’s soul.

As long as the Lord of the Legion lived, the Legendary Power would be eternal.

In other words, if the Legendary Power was extinguished, it meant the Lord of the Legion was truly dead.

The other members of the Vengeance Angel Squad disembarked from the ship one by one; Matthias and Manon were even in the middle of discussing combat techniques.

But when they heard the shocking news, Manon froze for a moment. Then, as if struck by lightning, he stood stock-still, an expression of utter horror on his face, unable to believe what he had just heard.

This was Eternal Knight Archangel Tiberius they were talking about!

The Holy One, the Son of Radiance, the embodiment of kindness and mercy.

A God of the Human World who had once fought alongside the Emperor himself for ten thousand years, the strongest and most virtuous of the Imperial Legion’s lords, who walked among the stars of the cosmos.

The single greatest figure responsible for allowing the Empire to cling to a precarious existence in this dark cosmos for three thousand years after the Radiant Divine Emperor’s disappearance.

And now.

’That great man’s Legendary Power... has actually been extinguished?!’

Even Seventy-Six, who was usually fond of gallows humor, looked up at Sedon and fell into a long silence.

Matthias had never been good at expressing his emotions, but even he was left completely stunned by the earth-shattering news.

The only one not surprised was Raphael. Tiny white bolts of lightning, formed from Mental Power, flickered deep within his eyes as his right hand clutched the Angel Holy Scripture hanging at his waist.

Years ago, when he foresaw the vision of the Vengeful Angels’ rise on Verne, he had also vaguely glimpsed the death of another of the Emperor’s Angels.

But he hadn’t wanted to believe it.

He didn’t dare to believe it.

And he certainly hadn’t dared to make the vision he foresaw public.

Yet now that the vision had come true, now that Grand Governor Sedon had personally delivered the terrible news of the fall of the Radiant Angel Legion’s lord, Raphael’s spirit began to tremble uncontrollably.

The whispers of Demons at his ears madly mocked their laughable resistance.

He had no way of knowing what had happened in the Radiant Star Realm, far across the Void Storm in the heartlands of the Old Empire, but this dreadful news was nothing less than a devastating blow to those who had remained loyal to the Divine Emperor after the Great Rebellion.

It was as if the last flame of hope for the Human World had been utterly extinguished in the storm of rebellion.

Sedon—Leader of the Death Battle Group, Imperial Meritorious Knight, the man of iron will.

Though his posture was still tall and imposing, his right hand, clasped behind his back, trembled slightly.

Not when Grillers World fell during the Great Rebellion, nor when he had to personally destroy one loyal Imperial Knight Battle Group after another.

Not even when his dearest friend, Heinrich, died in front of him to cover their retreat.

Never in his life had he felt such profound unease.

He took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and replied, ”Ten years ago, Albert told me about this. The Legendary Power within his body was weakening every day.”

「Four days ago.」

”I received an encrypted message from the Radiant Angels, transmitted via Radiant Beacon. The Legendary Power within their bodies has been completely extinguished.”

As Sedon’s voice fell, ethereal blue text appeared in Reinhardt’s vision.

[Story Mode is calculating results.]

[The opening Chapter of Act One is complete.]

[Act One - Main Text: With My Broken Body, I Become a Raging Fire.]

[The intelligence war, the Ancient Black Box, even institutional reform—all the efforts you and Sedon have made... or rather, everything the Imperial Loyalist Faction has sacrificed in the Ash Soil Star Zone, was all for the ultimate goal of continuing human civilization and fighting for the Emperor’s as-yet-unsuccessful great cause.]

[The premise for all of this was that the Human World could survive the impact of the Great Rebellion, even if only by clinging to a precarious existence.]

[However, with the news of Archangel Tiberius’s death, all your efforts and sacrifices seem to have been for nothing, shattered in an instant.

Even that Eternal Knight, as powerful as a God of the Human World, the strongest man in the Old Empire, could not lead the Old Empire’s resistance to victory in this Great Rebellion that has engulfed the entire Human World.

You are but a band of defeated soldiers, your strongest unable to even touch the Legendary Threshold. You are like ants in this vast and dark cosmos.

What meaning is there in all the sacrifices and efforts you have made for this cause?]

[Face this magnificent, impending war. And you, Reinhardt, the Emperor’s Vengeful Angel, might truly die.]

[Base Reward: Seed of Legend.]

[System Reward: Weapon and Equipment Upgrade Components x1.]

[Interlude Event Reward: Unknown.]

Lady Catherine spoke up. ”Right now, besides us, only the upper echelons of the Administrative Region know about this...”

Her voice trailed off for a moment. She looked at Reinhardt and continued, ”Since things have progressed to this point, the Lord Governor and I have nothing more to hide from you.

”As early as nine years ago, when Cicero learned that Archangel Tiberius’s Legendary Power was gradually weakening, he began plotting to seize control of the Administrative Region in an attempt to break away from the Empire’s authority.

”Although Cicero himself is loyal to the Emperor—of that there is no doubt—the current situation is no longer under his control.”

She then exchanged a look with Sedon. After he gave her a nod, Lady Catherine took out a dossier of records on parchment and handed it to Reinhardt.

”Do you remember the first mission you carried out? The list. The Lord Governor and I can now confirm that of the three hundred worlds in the Imperial Administrative Region, at least a third have been corrupted by Void Demons.

”Grand Lord Kles began laying his plans long before the Great Rebellion. You and Raphael Priest should have encountered the beings behind him on Verne.

”And that’s not all. They have people in the Judgment Court as well.

”The Ash Soil Star Zone was completely rotten before we even arrived. Besides the Secret Order, no one could be trusted. Not even my own family...”

Sedon raised a hand, signaling her to stop. His grim gaze swept over the battered Vengeance Angel Squad. ”You’ve just withdrawn from the battlefield on Kemola, but there is something I need you to do immediately.

”Assist Lady Catherine. Cleanse...”

Before he could finish, a message came through the Radiant Beacon from the Death Battle Group Knight stationed outside.

”Sir, the Mechanical Order and the Judgment Court are here.”