I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

Two curved staircases, one on the left and one on the right, led to the second-floor command platform—the very seat of power on the Avenger Flagship.

Reinhardt stood before the railing, gazing into the distance. His sight passed over the main hall on the first floor—which should have been a bustling, tiered command center—and through the panoramic viewport to the magnificent, dark, and profound sea of stars.

”...The Savenxis World is a military fortress of the Pioneer Alliance. Knight Lord Lima and his family have been operating on this world for over seven hundred years. Eliminating this traitor without alerting the garrison at the Savenxis Great Fortress will be extremely difficult.”

Hearing this, Reinhardt released his grip on the railing. He turned to face the holographic command table, where four members of the action team were discussing specific tactics.

The one speaking was Koller, a senior member of the Think Tank. He had once been the Think Tank Director for the Dusk Battle Group, a second-echelon unit within the Old Empire’s First Legion, the ”Emperor’s Firstborn.”

The Lord of the Empire’s disastrous expedition into the Abyss led to the First Legion being lost in the Dark Abyss.

After losing his parent Legion, he took a position in the Seventh Group Army’s think tank. During the Great Rebellion, he was supposed to be returning to the Radiant Holy City with a large, mixed contingent of forces. However, halfway there, the Imperial Knights of the Seventh Group Army suddenly turned on them, slaughtering their former Battle Brothers.

In that desperate moment, Koller fought to the death to seize control of the ship. With the resolve to die, he took a ship full of traitors and plunged headlong into a Void Storm.

After meeting Grand Governor Sedon nineteen years ago, he served as a senior member of the think tank in the Administrative Region.

Even after joining the secret Vengeful Angels Battle Group, he officially retained his post as a senior member of the think tank.

Removing his Full Coverage Helmet, the senior Think Tank member revealed a pale crew cut and the severely disfigured face of a rugged man—a silent testament to his experience and strength.

A thousand-year veteran who had survived since the end of the Great Crusade.

If they were to go by seniority, the ancestors of everyone present had likely not even been born when Koller first began fighting for the Empire.

However, Koller knew a great deal about Reinhardt’s deeds. Furthermore, he had been one of Raphael’s mentors during his advanced studies in the think tank. He had few objections to Reinhardt leading them.

Moreover, his rank within the Vengeful Angels was extremely high. As one of the three Commanders of Vengeful, his authority was second only to Reinhardt.

Strictly speaking, Koller was powerful enough to serve as the Vengeful Angels’ Think Tank Director. But the position required not only immense personal strength but also a deep understanding of the Vengeful Angels’ history and culture.

Clearly, the vacant positions of Think Tank Director and Supreme Priest in the Vengeful Angels were being saved for Raphael.

Koller had no interest in the position of Think Tank Director anyway. To this old soldier who valued tradition, his career as a Think Tank Director had perished along with the First Legion.

Having lost his former Battle Brothers and Battle Group Leader, the history and culture of the old Dusk Battle Group were now nothing more than a memory.

As the future Second Company Commander of the Vengeful Angels, Stearns found it difficult to contribute to a tactical planning session of this level.

Only when the other senior officers fell silent did he have an opportunity to voice his own opinions.

Of course, the reason he was the Second Company Commander was that the position of First Company Commander was held by Matthias.

”Lord Reinhardt, Lord Koller, I once witnessed Seventy-Six in combat at the Verne Orbital Port. Since this is a decapitation strike, perhaps we should seek his professional opinion.”

Seventy-Six was a special case, operating outside the entire Vengeful Angels command structure and answering only to the Great Tutor of Vengeful.

How could Koller not have thought of this top-tier assassin from the Assassin Court, who had undergone extensive prototype-level Alchemical modifications?

However, this was his first assignment within the Vengeful Angels and his first time interacting with Reinhardt. As a Think Tank member who had served for a thousand years, he had seen countless open conflicts, covert struggles, and political purges.

This was especially true during his time in the Administrative Region, where he served for years at Sedon’s side.

Out of caution, he had chosen to selectively ignore Seventy-Six’s presence, lest he appear overzealous in his strategic planning and attract unnecessary trouble or suspicion.

Having Stearns, the Second Company Commander, be the one to bring it up was a development he was happy to see.

Perhaps the Vengeful Angels were now transforming into a pivotal and highly influential special operations Battle Group, but its massive organizational structure and strict hierarchy had erased the relaxed atmosphere of the original six-man squad that once carried out missions.

This was evident from the fact that Seventy-Six had remained silent ever since he appeared.

Back then, even when the founding members didn’t know each other well, that guy’s dark humor never stopped.

Now, face-to-face with Koller, a veteran of the Emperor’s Firstborn Legion, Seventy-Six had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.

The culture of the Emperor’s Sons was notoriously rigid and by the book; they couldn’t tolerate the slightest imperfection.

If he dared to make a joke about the Emperor, this veteran would dare to tear him apart on the spot.

”Seventy-Six.”

Hearing Reinhardt’s voice, Seventy-Six, who had been leaning coolly against the railing with his gun like some lone wolf knight, finally spoke up. ”Assassinating Lima isn’t a problem. Leave it to me.

But our intelligence indicates his secret collusion with Grand Lord Kles isn’t a recent development. I have reason to suspect that this traitor may wield the Power of the Void Realm.

If he foresees my assassination attempt, it could spook our target.

You all know that if word gets out that we’ve made a move against Lima, the other opposition forces will react immediately. That’s not what the Grand Governor wants to see.”

Koller’s brow furrowed as he seriously considered the critical points.

”After infiltrating the Savenxis Great Fortress, I will block all Spiritual Power in the area. No information will get out. The only risk is that we don’t know if Grand Lord Kles has his own people inside the Great Fortress.

If there’s a Baron of Bator...”

The Baron of Bator he mentioned referred to a super-powered individual on the same level as Warlord Nico. If they encountered one inside the Great Fortress, the outcome of the fight would be uncertain, but the scale of the battle would definitely spiral beyond his control and compromise the mission.

As he spoke, Koller looked at Reinhardt.

Reinhardt simply said coldly, ”I’ve dealt with a Baron of Bator before. If we run into one, I don’t mind killing another.”

And when the bizarre, kaleidoscopic space-time of the Net Path outside the Avenger Flagship’s windows shifted into the dark depths of the Real Cosmos, the six people at the command table all turned to the panoramic viewport at the front of the ship. Savenxis, a planetary world with a faintly reddish atmosphere, slammed into their view like a colossal beast.

At that moment, ethereal blue text from the system flashed rapidly across Reinhardt’s vision.

[Interlude Event IV: In the Emperor’s Name.]

[Aside from ’diehards’ like those in the Administrative Region, everyone knows the Empire is finished.

Whether willingly becoming pawns for the Empire’s enemies or puppets of the Void Demons, everyone is looking for a way out.

To them, appeasement and surrender may be the wiser choice in these Dark Ages.

At least, compared to dying on the front lines, being a dog for the Void Realm Four Gods is the greatest honor.]

[Savenxis is only the beginning of the war to quell the rebellion. Vengeful Angels, while the Administrative Region and Sedon are fully engaged with the rebels on the Verne Front Line, you must assist him by stabilizing the rear and suppressing all insurgencies.]

[Event Reward: Armory·Messiah’s Gift.]

[Hidden Event: Unknown, requires clues.]

[Hidden Event Completion Reward: Slaughterer’s Gun Upgrade Components.]