BAM—!
Nick felt the immense force on his shield abruptly vanish. The massive Abyssal Hound was sent flying, crashing into a wall, its life extinguished.
On closer inspection, one could see that the Abyssal Hound's neck was bent at an unnatural right angle, completely snapped.
Everything had happened too quickly for the soldiers to react. Then, a figure wreathed in a dark purple glow stood before them, its back to them.
It was a massive suit of armor, like a living, writhing thing of dark purple, completely encasing its wearer.
On the armor's back was a row of six peculiar, streamlined objects that seemed to breathe, venting faint streams of air.
Although Nick and the soldiers didn't know who this person was, the unique aura of Knight Power was a silent testament to one fact: their resistance had not been in vain. They were saved.
"A Knight! A Knight from the Order is here to save us!"
"Thank the heavens..."
The lone veteran, however, did not share the rookies' joyous cheers. He had fought wars his whole life, and he knew the reality: no Knight would go out of their way to save them. The pressure on the northern defensive line was immense. Had they not been assigned to battlefield cleanup, no one would have ever known they died here.
But when he heard the somewhat hesitant, youthful voice from beneath the dark purple armor, the veteran froze.
'A young man's voice?'
He couldn't recall any Official Knight in the Order being that young. Even the youngest, Adrian, was over thirty.
"I've cleared out most of the nearby Demons. Get the wounded to the underground bunkers. I'll handle things here."
The veteran froze for a second. Although the voice sounded familiar, he didn't dare to ask. Time was of the essence, and the severely wounded soldiers couldn't wait.
He quickly ordered the rookie beside him to carry the wounded and retreat to the bunkers. Before leaving, he glanced back at the dark purple figure and asked tentatively, "Reinhardt?"
The figure didn't answer, but the simple act of turning his head to look at him was answer enough.
The veteran's eyes widened in utter shock! He couldn't believe it. The boy who had been fighting that young noble, Robbie Hiling, in the barracks just this morning had, through this baptism by fire, become an Official Knight who had awakened his Mighty Power!
Just then, a tall, imposing figure appeared at the end of the alley. He had also heard the veteran's question, and remembering the trail of Abyssal Hound corpses he'd seen on his way here, his first reaction was disbelief.
'Reinhardt? The scrawniest kid in the Knight Training Camp? He really awakened his Knight Power? There have been a few leaner Knights in history, but they were rare.'
A Knight's 'Power' stemmed from two sources: half from their noble Spiritual Energy, and half from a Physique far surpassing that of an ordinary person!
Of course, Sir Holden knew why Vice Commander Erich and Knight An Jie had fought to keep Reinhardt around. Everyone had seen Reinhardt's tenacity and his refusal to ever give up.
There weren't many young men with such noble qualities.
'I'll bet no one in the Knight Order—especially not that insidious bureaucrat, Vice Commander Sedon, and his clique of outsider Knights—ever dreamed that this inconspicuous boy, Reinhardt, would one day awaken his Knight Power!'
Holden was a veteran of the Steel Knight Order. There were things outsiders didn't know, but he was fully aware that Earth Knight Sedon had always wanted to overthrow Vice Commander Erich, seize sole authority within the Knight Order, and pave the way for his own eventual promotion to Commander.
Once Sedon took power, the old guard of the Steel Knight Order, men like himself, would only have two choices: either abandon the glory and traditions of the Steel Knight Order and pledge allegiance to him...
...or be transferred out for various reasons until their faction was completely dismantled. At that point, the Steel Knight Order would exist in name only.
Reinhardt, whom Erich held in high regard, was no prodigy, but he wasn't without talent. Most importantly, once this headstrong boy awakened his Knight Power, he would never bow to the aristocratic and bureaucratic coercion of a man like Sedon.
That was why Sedon had seized the opportunity to try and crush the boy in the bud.
The unjust scandal from that morning, if word of it got out, would be a monumental disgrace that completely violated the traditions of the Knight Order!
「Meanwhile.」
The melodious chime of the Steel of the Heart rang repeatedly in Reinhardt's ears.
CHIME—!
CHIME—!
[Current Heart Steel Layers: 68]
[Your Physique has increased slightly. The destructive power of Colossal Consumption has increased slightly.]
After killing the last Abyssal Hound, Reinhardt brought up his system interface.
[Wielder: Reinhardt, Official Knight · One-star Military Rank.]
['Power' Attribute: Extraordinary Armament.]
['Power' Attribute: Not yet awakened.]
[Morphic Armor: While Knight Power is active, your physical abilities are greatly increased. Grants resistance to physical and Magic attacks.]
[Resistance: Consumes stamina and Spiritual Energy to mitigate incoming damage.]
[Morphic Armor · Trait 1: Extreme Speed. The living air sacs on the back compress and jet high-speed streams of air, greatly increasing the user's movement speed.]
[This is a peculiar life-form from the Void. Only the bravest of warriors can possess it.]
[Advanced Trait: Steel of the Heart · Colossal Consumption.]
[Colossal Consumption: Six seconds after entering combat, your first attack against an enemy increases your Heart Steel Layers based on your base Physique coefficient and increases your attack's power. Current: 68]
[Combat Techniques: Street Fighting, Basic Swordsmanship.]
[Street Fighting: You know some basic fighting techniques, and you don't pull your punches.]
[Basic Swordsmanship: Before you can wield a Longsword, you should first learn not to cut yourself with it.]
The strength of one's 'Power' was not infinite. For the same type of Knight Power, the limits of a Knight's stamina and Spiritual Energy determined their strength.
Reinhardt hadn't possessed his 'Power' for long, and clearing out thirteen Abyssal Hounds in one go had placed an enormous strain on his body and mind.
Although the power of his Morphic Armor blocked every attack from these beasts of the Abyss, each blow still continuously drained Reinhardt's stamina.
After clearing out the Abyssal Hounds near the clock tower, his Physique could no longer sustain the prolonged drain of his Knight Power.
In the narrow alley, the corpses of the Abyssal Hounds were piled high, and streams of Demon's Blood flowed around Reinhardt's feet.
He deactivated the Morphic Armor, his Extraordinary Armament, and dropped to one knee. He was on the verge of collapse, panting heavily, sweat pouring down like rain.
Suddenly hearing footsteps behind him, Reinhardt gritted his teeth and reactivated his Extraordinary Armament. But when he turned, he saw a tall figure standing behind him, grinning as he extended a friendly right hand.
"To be able to kill thirteen Abyssal Hounds all by yourself right after awakening your Knight Power... Erich certainly has a good eye for talent. Welcome to the Steel Knight Order, Knight Reinhardt."