I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

Orders to withdraw from the warzone flew from the frontline command post like snowflakes, landing in the hands of officers of all ranks at the front.

A tide of silvery brilliance formed a magnificent canopy across the sky, illuminating the land like the first light of dawn.

One by one, Teleportation Gates appeared throughout the warzone, emitting a muffled roar.

As the six-million-strong Infantry Legion began a forced march toward these Teleportation Gates connecting to the Real Cosmos, the entire military force in the warzone transformed into a war machine operating at full capacity.

Tens of thousands of runners shuttled back and forth through the trenches and among the battalions.

”Make way! Make way! Captain Rokan just received orders from the frontline command post! We are to move toward the Teleportation Gate immediately and pull out of the warzone!”

”Brothers! Support from the Empire is here! Grab your weapons! Prepare to withdraw!”

Three years of bitter fighting on the Eternal Battlefield.

Of the 33rd Infantry Corps’ initial twenty-two million soldiers, less than six million remained. Every survivor was an iron-willed, battle-hardened veteran.

Even without centralized coordination from the frontline command post, they still displayed extraordinary discipline during the withdrawal.

Instead of chaos and infighting as soldiers scrambled to escape, the battle lines in each defensive sector began to contract toward the Teleportation Gates in perfect, unspoken concert.

「Meanwhile, at the frontline command post.」

After all the Ash Guard returned, they fortified their position on Bach’s orders, ensuring the frontline command post could remain operational under the constant assault of the Demon Army.

Nun Superior Eleonor also arranged for her people to be stationed near the frontline command post, never straying far.

In the midst of a full-scale army retreat.

Be it Reinhardt, Red Flame Son Warlord Fedor, or even the frantically busy mortal staff officers—as leaders of the Battle Group and the ones responsible for strategy execution, they would remain here until the very last soldier had withdrawn, ensuring the plan proceeded smoothly.

Fedor dared to delegate command authority to his junior officers because he trusted these life-and-death veterans. But the martial might of the accompanying Red Flame Sons, ready to enforce order, was also a powerful deterrent against a total rout.

The soldiers might ignore a junior officer’s orders, but they wouldn’t dare utter a single word of dissent in front of an Imperial Knight.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Perhaps it was six hours.

Perhaps it was a full day and night.

The battle cries of human soldiers that had once filled the warzone gradually faded, leaving only the terrifying, overlapping shrieks of the demonic tide as the Demon Army crashed against the frontline command post.

Reinhardt, his strength restored to the rank of a Three-star Earth Military Rank, stood at the forefront of the defense.

Watched with awe by the last group of Mortal Soldiers yet to withdraw—those tasked with protecting the command post—he planted one foot on the massive body of an Elite Slaughter Demon and wrenched his blood-drenched War Axe free.

Thinker Bach, the only one of his kind in the entire warzone, resisted the corruption of the Demon Void Realm while simultaneously helping the frontline command disseminate every order to the units on the ground.

Although he hadn’t personally slain a single Demon during the withdrawal, the intense strain of his work made steam rise from his head. Even the dark violet lightning in his eyes flickered erratically, as if short-circuiting.

He was so drained that he needed someone to support him just to keep from collapsing.

The pressure of commanding the retreat of a six-million-strong army was far greater than any ordinary person could imagine.

After sending the orders for the last squadron to withdraw, the staff officers at the command table felt no relief. Instead, they were all so drained they could hardly speak, their faces pale and drawn.

Fedor slammed his fist on the table, suppressing his bitterness and rage. He took a deep breath and issued the final order for the Red Flame Sons and the 33rd Legion on the Eternal Battlefield.

”Bach, if you can reach them, please relay a message for me. Tell them... they can pull back from the warzone.”

To cover the Legion’s retreat, the ten Imperial Knights of the Red Flame Sons’ 19th Squad and the two hundred thousand soldiers of the Infantry Legion responsible for Sector Six had to face the main assault from the Dark Abyss.

They had chosen to hold their ground, to fight to the last man against the Demon Army’s onslaught.

They could have chosen to withdraw, of course.

But any junior officer with a modicum of military sense could see that if they abandoned their position, the Demon Army would tear an irreparable breach in the entire front.

The withdrawal plan would devolve into a catastrophic rout as the Demon Army drove deep into their lines.

「Five hours ago.」

After the Red Flame Sons of the 19th Squad relayed their decision to the frontline command post, their fate was sealed. They would remain here forever.

The Spiritual Lightning in Bach’s eyes flickered. After relaying Fedor’s command, he fell silent for a moment before finally adding, ”Good luck, brother.”

Unfortunately, he received no reply.

The only thing that came through the psionic link was the raw sound of battle—furious roars and agonized screams.

One of his Personal Guard came to Fedor’s side. ”We have to go, my lord,” he said in a low voice.

Fedor glanced back. He and the general staff had drawn up several rescue plans, but the Demon Army—a tide of flesh that could flatten mountains and fill seas, stretching beyond the horizon—had already cut them off completely.

Even the frontline command post was now under immense pressure, its defenses on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

Fedor donned his Full Coverage Helmet and took up the Dragon-Hunting Spear that stood beside him. ”Inform Commander Eliot to contract the lines and prepare for withdrawal.”

He then looked to Nun Superior Eleonor and Bach, who had just been pulled back from the front. ”Your people can fall back now,” he said gravely. ”I and the Red Flame Sons will handle the rear guard.”

The Nun Superior nodded to him.

Her expression cold and relentless, she flicked the blood and gore from her Knight’s Broadsword and led her people into the Teleportation Gate, a mere fifty meters from the command post.

Bach ordered three Ash Guard to remain behind to ensure Reinhardt’s safety.

Then, supported by one of the Battle Brothers, he retreated from the frontline command post along with the mortal staff soldiers.

The moment before he stepped through the Teleportation Gate, he looked back at Reinhardt. The man was still battling Demons, forming a one-man defensive line. Bach’s heart was filled with a swirl of emotions.

Beyond mere awe, he realized that this Vengeful Angel—a product of the Vengeful Angels project, fighting for the Empire from unseen shadows—was destined to rise during this war.

As members of the Ash Guard, Reinhardt’s past was no secret to them.

In that instant.

He didn’t see a Vengeful Angel, born noble and of powerful blood.

He didn’t see the Empire’s Chosen One, blessed by the Emperor to lead them to victory.

He saw a legend rising from humble origins, baptized in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, ascending step by step to the very peak. He saw... a living legend.

Lord Sedon’s life was epic.

And how was this man any different?