I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

’If this was all a setup, then he and the Silencers were just pawns from the very beginning!’

’The Grand Governor knew everything, yet for the sake of the bigger picture, he still chose to stand by and watch coldly as the Silencers Battle Group sacrificed themselves.’

Or perhaps,

’on the dark front lines of intelligence, the Silencers who fought against the Infiltrator Council were nothing more than bait used by that great man to lure out a bigger fish.’

’Even...’

’the decapitation mission to infiltrate Savenxis World served the same purpose.’

At this thought, Urus clenched his fists. ’Was he enraged? No... As an Imperial Knight, serving the Empire was his honor, but it felt as if a stone was lodged in his chest.’

It was suffocating him, making it hard to breathe.

He had heard about that Grand Governor’s methods back when he was in the Seventh Group Army. He didn’t care at first, but now, the same fate had befallen him and the Silencers.

He could only remain silent.

At this moment, Robie’s expression changed again, as if he was fighting against some other personality. He once again lowered the greatsword resting on his shoulder and stopped his confrontational stance. ”In all the plans, there’s one thing the Infiltrator Council was right about. The Administrative Region’s current state cannot support a large-scale, two-front war.

Therefore,

the Vengeful Angels will be the key to winning this war against the rebellion.

Gentlemen, war is coming.”

At this, Robie’s gaze swept over the four men present, his voice solemn.

”Once the opposition forces use this as a pretext to start a rebellion, the Judgment Court and the Secret Order will immediately intervene, proving that Lima was corrupted long ago and that the accusations against Reinhardt were nothing but malicious slander.

After we reclaim the political narrative and the moral high ground, you must execute the plan to decapitate the rebel lords in the shortest time possible. As long as you can quickly eliminate the ruling class of the rebel worlds,

the Administrative Region can quickly end the civil war and consolidate its resources.

These consolidated resources will then be poured into the grand war on the Verne Front Line, completely blocking the Imperial Rebel Army at the Verne Star System and forcing them back into the Demon Void Realm.”

Then, Robie looked at Reinhardt, took out a scroll of Holy Sheepskin Paper tied with golden thread, and held it up in his right hand.

”A direct order from the Grand Governor.”

At these words,

Koller, Stearns, and Urus were visibly stunned. After Stearns took the lead by dropping to one knee, Koller and Urus followed suit, kneeling before the scroll in a show of reverence.

The only one who remained standing and unmoved was Reinhardt.

”Once the war to quell the rebellion begins, Great Tutor of the Vengeful Angels, Reinhardt, all Imperial Navy and Knight Battle Groups in the Administrative Region participating in the counter-rebellion are subject to your requisition. No one may use any excuse to delay or obstruct you.

You are granted the authority to execute rebel leaders at your discretion, reporting only after the fact.”

After relaying Sedon’s orders, Robie’s eyes seemed to return to his youth at Frostfire Fortress. He walked up to Reinhardt, handed him the Holy Sheepskin Paper, and said in a heavy voice,

”Old friend, from now on, our future—and the future of the Administrative Region—is in your hands.”

After Robie finished reciting the order,

Koller, Stearns, and Urus were deeply shaken!

Although the orders were brief and lacked specific assignments, their implications were staggering!

One could even say that as long as Reinhardt held that Holy Sheepskin Paper, once the war against the rebellion began, he and the Vengeful Angels would have the immense power to command the 130,000 Imperial Knights and hundreds of millions of soldiers in the Infantry Legions of the entire Administrative Region!

’And what did ”act decisively and report after the fact” even mean?’

’It clearly meant that all authority for the decapitation mission against the rebels—from selecting targets and formulating tactics, to requisitioning the Administrative Region’s armies for support—was being handed over entirely to Reinhardt!’

Koller, especially, couldn’t believe his ears. That calculating and ruthless Grand Governor was actually placing this much trust in such a young Imperial Knight!

’In other words,’

’once the war against the rebellion began, with such power in hand, whoever Reinhardt and the Vengeful Angels declared a traitor, was a traitor! No trial would even be necessary!’

If Reinhardt developed ulterior motives and was corrupted by power, the devastation the Vengeful Angels could wreak upon the Imperial Administrative Region with this authority was immeasurable!

Urus was just as shocked as he was.

He had originally thought that Reinhardt and the Vengeful Angels, like the Silencers, were just sacrificial pawns used by the Grand Governor for bait. He never expected that the Grand Governor would delegate such terrifying military authority completely to Reinhardt!

In other words,

the importance of Reinhardt—the Great Tutor of the Vengeful Angels, this incomparably powerful Imperial Knight—in Grand Governor Sedon’s eyes far surpassed all their private doubts and speculation!

At this thought, Urus let out a long breath. He felt a deep sense of shame and mortification for his earlier suspicion and dissatisfaction towards Sedon!

Because he suddenly realized something.

He realized he had grossly underestimated Sedon’s coldness, and his willingness to use any means necessary to achieve his ends.

’Protect his own inner circle, while letting Imperial Knights from other factions be sent to their deaths as sacrificial pawns?’

’No.’

’That great man’s decision was nothing less than an all-or-nothing gamble; he was putting his own skin in the game!’

For the sake of the Imperial Administrative Region, for the sake of ensuring the Human World had a place in this dark era, he was betting that Reinhardt could shoulder this heavy responsibility and would not betray his trust.

Betting that Reinhardt would turn the tide against all odds, save the collapsing state, and rescue the Imperial Administrative Region from the fires of rebellion and schism.

And the Grand Governor himself, fighting a life-or-death struggle against the Imperial Rebel Army and the Demons on the front lines, must have resolved to burn his boats before making this decision, prepared to live or die with the Administrative Region.

War is no dinner party.

Only the victor who carves a path through mountains of corpses and seas of blood is qualified to continue standing in the Ash Soil Star Zone!

Reinhardt remained silent for a long time before reaching out to take the Holy Sheepskin Paper from Robie. He broke the golden thread. On the parchment was a single sentence and the Grand Governor’s seal.

[To behold this order is as if the Grand Governor himself were present.]

From the hatred at Frostfire Fortress to the Holy Duel on the Grillers Northern Grassland...

He and Sedon had witnessed the rise and fall of this vast Empire.

But the one thing that never changed was their Knightly ideal of fighting for the just cause of the Human World.

This order from the Grand Governor was both the great authority to command the Administrative District Legion and an immense burden placed upon his shoulders.

Sedon understood him.

Just as he understood that bastard, Sedon.

After Stearns rose to his feet, having personally witnessed this transfer of power, an indescribable passion surged through his chest. His right hand gripped his sword hilt; he wanted nothing more than to find someone for a good, satisfying fight right now.

As an Imperial Knight from the Death Battle Group, Sedon was more than just a superior to this Second Company Commander; he was his absolute spiritual leader.

’He, along with the Vengeful Angels and Reinhardt, had received such immense regard and trust from Lord Sedon.’

At this moment,

for the sake of victory, he was willing to die.

Koller and Urus exchanged a silent glance, both seeing the shock in the other’s eyes.

Because from this moment on, Reinhardt was no longer just the Great Tutor of the Vengeful Angels; the actual power he held made him, in a very real sense, one of the titans of the Administrative Region!

An extraordinary existence on the same level as the dynastic Overlord, Lady Catherine; the Great Sage of the Mechanical Order; and the Leader of the Secret Sect!

”Before the war begins, the Grand Governor will give the uncorrupted Lords a chance to declare their allegiance.

During that time, there is something else you must do.”

With that, Robie handed Reinhardt a map and a handwritten list.

”The location marked on the map is a secret prison established by the Inquisition on Lundnia World. Over the years, in their efforts to bring down the Grand Governor and you, they have arrested and brutally interrogated many people.

These people can serve as supplementary evidence to help us purge the opposition from within the Judgment Court and the Secret Order.

Once the rebellion begins,

the Shepherd Leader anticipates that certain people within the Judgment Court will catch wind of it. To cover their own crimes, they will secretly execute the innocent people held in that prison.

Before that happens, you and the Vengeful Angels need to get them out.”