I Aggressively Stack Steel of the Heart in the Knight Order

Reinhardt held his axe in one hand. In response to Sipia’s earlier questions and provocations, his voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke coldly, ”The Empire’s Holy Territory must be defended with blood.

The Empire’s government must be managed with intellect.

The Empire’s prosperity must be built by those with business acumen and fueled by the sweat of its laborers.

I have never demanded others live up to my Knightly ideals, nor have I presumed to second-guess or doubt them. In this world, everyone has their place and their purpose.

But you, Sipia—a traitor to the Empire, a rebel from Cyrenaica, and a deserter from the First Legion.

You have neither the strength nor the standing to lecture me about my ideals as a Knight.”

Sipia had thought his words would be enough to shake Reinhardt’s resolve to win the war against the rebellion. But not only did he fail to sway Reinhardt, he found his own composure shattering under the weight of his opponent’s rebuttal, his anger flaring.

Especially the accusation of being a deserter from the First Legion.

He was a genius Knight who had risen through the ranks of the First Legion’s Auxiliary Army. Yet instead of serving in the Legion proper, he had accepted a title from the Regent Council and come to the Ash Soil Star Zone, an Imperial Border region, to carve out his own kingdom.

Although Sipia knew exactly what he wanted, the old story of his betrayal of the First Legion—of fleeing the battlefield for the Ash Soil Star Zone—would forever be a stain on his life’s story.

Even under the gaze of the Great Desire Heaven, Sipia had not fallen completely to the Void Demons. No matter what he desired, no matter how greedy he was, deep in his bones, he was still an Imperial Knight.

Reinhardt’s words had not only reopened old wounds but had utterly trampled his dignity and pride underfoot!

”What do you know? You don’t know anything—!”

Sipia’s face twisted into a ferocious snarl, like a wounded, dying lion. His breathing was heavy, ragged with fury. He pointed a finger at Reinhardt’s face and shot back, ”When I was young, I gave everything for this Empire! My family, my lover—my everything! And all I wanted in return was a comfortable life after retirement!

Is that so wrong?

You’re not a Legion commissar, nor are you a National Church Priest! You want to preach to me? You don’t have the right! Rookie—!”

Sipia’s chest heaved, his voice growing more intense. ”Reinhardt, do you really think that fighting on the front lines, bathing in blood and killing the enemy, is the true meaning of dedication and Loyalty?

Let me tell you! This world is nothing like your ideals! The age of nobility is long gone! It’s the law of the jungle, a world of vicious power struggles, where countless Imperial Citizens struggle every day on the brink of death.

If you don’t grasp power for yourself, you will become its victim.

There has never been any fairness or justice in this Empire! Everything I have now, I earned with my own life! It’s not for you to pass judgment on me!”

The Blood Flame in Reinhardt’s eyes burned fiercely as the intensity of his Knightly Aura swelled.

An overwhelming Destructive Suppression, like a tidal wave, crashed down upon the Avenger Flagship.

He stared into Sipia’s eyes and said in a low voice, ”You should be making those excuses to the Heroic Spirits who sacrificed themselves on the Verne Front Line, not to me—or to yourself, traitor—hiding in the rear.

If not for their sacrifice and their resistance, do you really think you’d have the strength to stand here and argue with me?”

By now, the fighting on the bridge had ended. The atmosphere was oppressive and deathly silent, with everyone holding their tongues.

The dull thud of the ship’s cannons striking the Zeka Energy Shield sounded as if it were coming from across a deep sea.

Three low-ranking record-keepers, the lucky survivors, silently moved bodies and cleaned up bloodstains so the others could continue their work.

And under the shroud of Koller’s Spiritual Power Spectacle, Reinhardt and Sipia’s conversation fell clearly upon every ear.

Perhaps in this moment, the title of Great Tutor of Vengeful was no longer just an empty position of power, but the mark of a true supreme leader—one who could guide them out of their predicament and lead them to victory through the fires of blood and death.

The three Battle Sisters—who had reluctantly accepted Lu Jia’s invitation just to survive and still harbored great hostility towards the Vengeful Angels—had now personally heard the dialogue between Reinhardt and Sipia... No, after witnessing this battle over the very meaning of being a Knight...

They finally understood why Lu Jia would willingly accept Reinhardt’s leadership.

And they finally saw what, in her eyes, the Vengeful Angels were truly fighting for.

Lu Jia took a deep breath. She couldn’t see the corridor beyond the blast door, but she knew with absolute certainty what was happening. ’This unseen clash of ideals, this battle over the path of a Knight, is far more perilous than any clash of weapons!’

’As the Great Tutor of Vengeful, if Reinhardt were to lose this confrontation, a collapse in morale on the bridge would be the least of their worries. The more serious consequence is that the very foundation of the Vengeful Angels Battle Group could be severely damaged!’

’If the leader of the Battle Group doesn’t even know what they’re fighting for, what are the men below supposed to do?’

’In fact, if Sipia’s rebellion weren’t already an ironclad fact—reducing his arguments to mere self-serving excuses—it would be hard to say who might have won this clash of ideals.’

But now, Lu Jia knew. Reinhardt had won.

Koller, who had been observing the debate from the shadows, let out a quiet sigh of relief as he realized the contest was decided. With his political acumen, he was well aware that any slip in Reinhardt’s response would have been disastrous.

As the Commander of Vengeful, it was his duty to help Reinhardt maintain the authority of the Great Tutor of Vengeful and stabilize the precarious situation.

It was why he had tried to intervene in the argument more than once.

It seemed his help was no longer needed.

Reinhardt’s response had been textbook-perfect, flawless. He had even anticipated Sipia’s next line of argument, shutting him down with that self-deprecating comment about hiding in the rear.

’Great Tutor of Vengeful...’

In that moment, Koller not only acknowledged Reinhardt’s leadership in terms of strength, but also, in his heart, truly recognized the Great Tutor’s political authority.

And Koller was not the only one who felt this way.

Nelom stood at the other end of the corridor, a witness to this clash of Knightly ideals. He took a long, deep look at Reinhardt.

While he wouldn’t go so far as to call it admiration, he clearly recognized that this Imperial Knight, with less than thirty years of service, possessed a stunningly clear path and an unshakable will.

He was nothing like Nelom himself, who had been left utterly lost and confused after the great rebellion.

At this thought, Nelom wondered internally, ’If I were to follow him in the future...’

’If I hadn’t taken part in this rebellion,’ Sipia thought, ’I could have righteously refuted Reinhardt, called him an unrealistic, out-of-touch fool living in a dream world.’

Unfortunately, there were no second chances in this life.

But he had no intention of admitting defeat just like that. His path as a Knight would not be trampled on so easily by another!

Faced with Reinhardt’s soul-searching question and left with no real answer, Sipia’s extreme anger turned into a mocking laugh. ”Like you, I admire the warriors fighting the rebels on the front lines,” he sneered.

”They have proven their Loyalty to the Emperor with their deaths.

But what makes you think the Administrative Region is the legitimate successor to the Empire? Heh, is it because of the noble bloodline of Sedon, the Eternal Lord?

Heh, when it comes down to it, you’re all just a bunch of Knight Warlords who betrayed the Empire and holed up in the Ash Soil Star Zone.

And since my strength is no match for yours, what’s right and what’s wrong is, of course, for you to decide.”

Such sophistry didn’t even require a rebuttal from Reinhardt. A voice suddenly rang out from the darkness without any warning as Urus, like a Wind Demon, slowly emerged from the shadows.

His gaze was filled with killing intent, his voice cold and merciless.

”Our Loyalty is not for you to judge, Sipia. You talk a big game about power struggles, about how there’s no fairness or justice in the world, how the Imperial Citizens are suffering.

But all you ever talk about are your own personal ambitions.

Of the Three Hundred Worlds, fewer than one-sixth are paying their taxes. Yet the local Governors and warlords are using Tithing as an excuse to line their own pockets, even assassinating tax collectors from the Administrative Region and hiring Interstellar Pirates to plunder the tax ships.

Why don’t you mention any of that?

So where is *your* fairness and justice?

Should I go to the Ostia World and drag a commoner here for you? We could ask him if life under your rule is as wonderful as you claim.”