Chapter 74: Chapter 57: Avernus’s Blessing! The Special Ability’s First Evolution

A furious flame, like that of an old father, burned in his eyes!

"Dietlinde—! Damn it—! I’m going to slaughter you bastards!"

Maxim had yet to return, his fate unknown.

Reinhardt was captured alive by the rebels.

Dietlinde was in a desperate plight.

As Battle Group Commander, Fei Ning was responsible for the safety of every team member, but right now, all he could do was watch in a rage as these events unfolded, one by one, before his very eyes!

He had once been a member of the Death Battle Group. He had even served in Sedon’s Personal Guard for three months during a period of brutal wartime casualties. But his original post had been with an ordinary, subordinate Knight Order.

The Knights Sedon brought this time were all from the Death Battle Group’s most elite unit: the Ash Guard.

A specialized tactical unit for hunting and suppressing Wizards, its members were famous for their extreme mobility and machine-like combat discipline.

Even with the power of an Earth Knight, it would be difficult for him to break out of the encirclement of these elite Knights.

Just then, an invisible wave of Witchcraft Power, like a ripple in water, suddenly spread across the battlefield. All the Ash Guard who came into contact with this Witchcraft Power, no matter what they were doing, stopped instantly and began to withdraw.

Even the Ash Knight whose sharp dagger had already pierced the skin of Dietlinde’s neck stopped what he was doing. From behind his Full Coverage Helmet, his eyes looked down, cold and emotionless, at the kneeling Dietlinde.

He pulled the broadsword from Dietlinde’s shoulder, and blood gushed out like a fountain. Propelled by his Destruction Force Field, he transformed into a blur, rushing to regroup before the Dao Mark Teleportation Gate they had arrived through.

Heinrich raised his hand, stopping his Knights from giving chase.

His gaze fell on the Ice Crystal imprisoning Reinhardt, his brow furrowed. ’They went to such great lengths to capture Reinhardt...’

The instant he began to question Sedon’s motives, a Radiant Angel shot past overhead with the tremendous roar of a steam engine! Immediately after, four more Radiant Angels streaked across the sky, and all five charged straight for the Ice Crystal that held Reinhardt!

Sedon’s expression darkened.

He raised a finger on his left hand. Dense Magma Tentacles, as fast as lightning, shot up from the ground and tightly bound the five Radiant Angels who had suddenly attacked.

But before he could turn to leave, one of the Radiant Angels let out a hysterical, furious roar. The burning rage in its voice even drowned out the roar of its steam engine!

"Lord Heinrich! This is a massive conspiracy! Karloman is capturing Reinhardt to curry favor with the Abyssal Lord!

I saw the blessing of the god of rage and slaughter on that boy!

Stop them—!"

This furious, hoarse cry completely shattered the grim silence that had enveloped the battlefield!

At that moment, every Knight who heard the cry was plunged into immense shock and fury!

They were shocked that the boy who had shattered Heinrich’s teeth with a single punch actually possessed an Abyssal Blessing from Avernus! That was an honor only someone on par with an Empire’s Chosen Knight could receive!

They were furious that a Knight who had received an Abyssal Blessing had not yet fallen, yet a traitor to the Empire still wanted to drag him to the Abyss to claim a reward?!

What’s more, that traitor was none other than a former Imperial Regent and Lord of the Empire!

This immense sense of shame and betrayal ruthlessly trampled upon the Knights’ Loyalty and honor, challenging their very last principles!

When Matthias, who had been defeated by Reinhardt, heard the Radiant Angel’s voice, his chest tightened, and he couldn’t breathe.

He stared at Sedon in disbelief.

He wasn’t the only one. The faces of the other Ash Guard paled slightly as they all turned to look at the leader of the Death Battle Group—the founder of the Ash Guard himself!

They could accept being drawn into an internal power struggle within the Empire, because power struggles had run through the entire grand, thousand-year history of the Radiant Empire.

But they would never accept becoming the lapdogs of Demons!

Betraying the knightly vows they had once sworn!

Sedon’s brow furrowed. From his perspective, with the return of the former Lord of the Empire, the power structure within the Empire was extremely unclear.

The Radiant Angels were Ludwig’s most loyal Imperial Legion.

But although Sedon was the leader of the Death Battle Group, he was not a key player in this great rebellion. All he knew was what was written on the military order in his hand.

Because this was all a grand conspiracy that Karloman, under the corruption of Avernus, had been plotting for over a hundred years!

「Six hours earlier.」

The Regent Council secretly executed a large number of Loyalist Faction National Church Priests and Imperial officials, declared the Dragon Hunter Battle Group traitors to the Empire, and issued a series of orders to quell their rebellion.

「Four hours earlier.」

The former Lord of the Empire, Ludwig, arrived in the Radiant Holy City. The Second Legion, the Radiant Angels, detected someone opening an Abyssal Teleportation Gate within the Empire.

The Steel Wings Mobile Combat Team was ordered to break through the impenetrable deathly siege of the Holy City and travel via Radiant Waymark to Grillers World.

But because the operation was hasty, they were not informed of their mission objective.

One hour ago, an order from the Lord of the Empire, issued via the Regent Council, traveled through the Radiant Channel and arrived in Sedon’s hands. It demanded that he bring Reinhardt back to the Imperial City alive.

And after that Radiant Angel discovered the Abyssal Blessing from Avernus on Reinhardt, the tactical objective of their arrival in Grillers World immediately became clear.

Once that young Knight with the Abyssal Blessing from Avernus fell into the Abyss, he would inevitably be eroded by the Abyss’s irresistible power and transform into another Venerable Great Demon under Avernus’s command!