This was a determination to fight to the death.
It was a Knight's last stand to protect a glorious past, a final struggle against a merciless fate!
The Empire's domain was vast and boundless, its weighty history built from blood and bone. A single speck of dust from a decision made in the Imperial City, falling upon this dead Northern Icefield, was something they had to defend with their very lives.
To defend the supreme glory of the Empire!
To defend the supreme authority of His Majesty the Emperor!
A single, flimsy military order demanded that two thousand garrison soldiers and the Steel Knight Order fight and bleed, day and night!
As the training camp's instructor, this was the final lesson Knight An Jie could teach these young men and women—if you wish to embody a Knight's creed, you must be willing to fight for it! Death is of no consequence!
The Red-robed Knight's mount charged closer at high speed, toxic, sulfurous smoke billowing in its wake!
Its Knightly Aura, tainted by the Abyss, was a searing flame of pain and hatred. A silent roar became a monstrous wave of pressure, smashing violently toward Knight An Jie!
BOOM—!
Knight An Jie's Three-star Military Rank strength wavered precariously under the Fear Knight's crushing pressure.
The dark-gold spear in her hand erupted with furious golden flames. Every swing was heavy and powerful, and the golden wings of light on her back granted her mobility on par with even Reinhardt.
Struggling to block the Fear Knight's advance, An Jie saw the youths behind her were unwilling to leave and roared hoarsely, "Reinhardt! Get them out of here—!"
It was at that moment that the youths gathered at the South Gate witnessed a horrifying scene they would never forget.
A tide of Demons from the Abyss Legion poured into the fortress, a wave of darkness devouring the light. The garrison soldiers who were still desperately resisting were completely overwhelmed in an instant!
Knight An Jie—the training camp instructor they had once revered above all, the role model they all strived to become.
The Fear Knight ripped off her golden wings, grabbed her by the neck, and held her high in his hand!
Beneath the blood-red hood was a face of hatred forged from Abyssal Fire. A fissure suddenly split open on its face, and a terrifying, siphoning power mercilessly ripped at Knight An Jie's soul. Her body struggled, then went still, her once-mighty form now lifeless.
The Red-robed Knight released his right hand, and An Jie's body slid to the ground.
The aura of fear, like an invisible ripple of water, began to spread silently.
Countless Convicted Demons streamed past the Red-robed Knight, trampling An Jie's corpse. They swung their Chain Hammers and let out terrifying howls, a tide of steel crushing down upon them!
The youths gathered at the South Gate, their courage devoured in that instant, turned and fled out of the fortress!
Reinhardt's gaze passed over the flood-like army of Convicted Demons rushing toward him and collided with the Fear Knight's.
The eyes burning with sulfurous fire from under the hood fell upon him. The Fear Knight suddenly grinned, speaking in a Demon Language Reinhardt could not understand.
But as the Fear Knight's words fell, hundreds of Convicted Demons turned in unison to stare at the figure standing on the only bridge leading to the fortress's South Gate!
Then they surged toward him in a frenzy!
Reinhardt took a deep breath. At this moment, even though his face was expressionless and his mind was perfectly clear, an irrepressible rage surged and roared through his veins!
Elias...
An Jie...
All his fond memories of the Steel Knight Order were frozen in this moment, just as the deaths of the two people who had always protected him blurred and scattered in the cold winds of the Northern Lands.
'Weakness is not the original sin.'
'Envy, greed, and arrogance—those are the original sins!'
They had already proven their courage and their absolute Loyalty to the Empire with their lives!
The autumn of 1438, like a nightmare, was deeply seared into Reinhardt's heart at this moment!
'There are some answers you must find for yourself, Reinhardt.'
Knight An Jie's vibrant voice still echoed in his ears.
His heart was bleeding. He swore he would make the mastermind behind this conspiracy pay the price! Pay with blood and death! Make the bastard pulling the strings pay a heavy price they could never bear!
He was no longer an ignorant, naive boy. His eyes, having seen through death, finally saw everything clearly. The one he once thought to be the source of all conflict, the greedy and despicable Vice-Commander Sedon, was actually just a pawn for the real bastard!
He had thought Sedon was a coward, a ridiculous bureaucrat full of schemes and plots.
But facts speak louder than words.
Even though the fortress had fallen, and even though Sedon had shown more than once that he would flee with his Direct Lineage Knights at a critical moment, when the Knight Order truly faced desperation, courage and the glory of a Knight had overcome all schemes and baseness!
This was a Knight's moment of glory!
And a Knight's final swan song.
Knight Power constructed Morphic Armor. An arcane purple light, like a living thing, covered his body. The high-pressure air sacs on his back were like an idling engine, rising and falling in a rhythmic breath.
Reinhardt ripped the bandages and splint from his right arm. Behind him were his friends and comrades from the training camp. Knight An Jie had already given her life to protect them. All he had to do was stall for as long as possible, even if only one person made it out alive.
High above, the fierce wind tore at the dark clouds, making them churn and surge like ocean waves.
As the first Convicted Demon roared and charged him, the high-pressure air sacs went to full power. Propelled by a violent blast of air, Reinhardt vanished. An arc of arcane purple light streaked through the air. His Longsword instantly pierced the Convicted Demon's throat. He stomped on its chest with both feet, then retreated in a single motion.
Such terrifying speed and explosive power left even the Convicted Demons—Tier Two Demons and the main force of the Abyss Legion's third echelon—utterly shocked!
Demons are not foolish, reckless beasts. On the contrary, Abyssal Creatures have always been known for their cunning and ferocity.
During the assault on the walls several days ago, they had already heard rumors of a young Knight. The Convicted Demons who had successfully retreated described him this way.
His speed was like lightning, his fighting style was vicious and brutal, and his Knight Power was indestructible!
Even though there were many Knights stationed on the walls, there was no doubt that the young Knight covered in the arcane purple Extraordinary Armament had left an extremely deep impression on them.
This kind of nigh-invincible, all-purpose Knight Power was something that even a fifty-year veteran among the Convicted Demons had rarely ever seen.
Reinhardt stood alone at the head of the bridge. Before him was a horde of Convicted Demons, a black mass stretching as far as the eye could see.
The Red-robed Knight, standing amidst the Convicted Demons, watched him from afar. Although they could not understand each other's language, Reinhardt could clearly feel the contempt and mockery radiating from the being's face, forged as it was from Abyssal Fire.
It seemed to be mocking him, telling him all his resistance was futile.
It seemed to be saying that from the moment they were stationed at Frostfire Fortress, their fate had already been sealed.