The Emperor’s Angel of Death

In the limited hours available, everyone in the Knight Academy busied themselves. Servants rushed to dress the young masters and ladies in their splendid armor, after which they hurried to the arena for assembly.

By this time, over a thousand guards in silver uniforms, plumed helmets, and laser rifles slung over their shoulders had completely surrounded the area.

Banners and flags adorned every flagpole in the arena. Novice knights rapidly entered from various entrances. When the massive figures in ornate silver-gray power armor took their seats in the boxes overlooking the arena, Serre was in a state of utter shock.

This was his first time seeing Space Marines, and it was the most shocking and astonishing scene he had ever witnessed, even more so than when he first saw a Knight Titan.

The sense of enormity, oppression, and power far surpassed even the Knight Titans, even though they were not as large. They brought with them a chilling wind of war, as if a single glance could transport one to a battlefield filled with gunfire.

[Remember this site's domain name Taiwan Novel Network →𝓉𝓌𝓀𝒶𝓃.𝒸ℴ𝓂]

And the one they were escorting in the middle was even more important—

Everything that mortals looked up to, every king and power, seemed as insignificant as ants before him. Even the world's most honored High King could only occupy a secondary seat, only slightly closer than the Space Marines.

He sat on a massive throne like a god-king overlooking the mortal realm. Serre could hear the excited or shocked gasps of those around him; no one was not awestruck by this existence, so grand it was almost a miracle.

As Sorshyan took his seat, the prepared orchestra began to play 'The Great Emperor's Hymn,' a song akin to the Imperial anthem. This anthem was a unique fusion, blending high art with common melodies without creating discord. On one hand, it was solemn enough to be played with the thunderous blare of Titan war horns, and on the other, it was simple enough for unlettered soldiers from primitive worlds to hum along. It was catchy enough and inspiring enough, having bolstered the morale of countless besieged worlds. Hundreds of billions of soldiers had their inner courage ignited by it, charging forward to turn the tide.

Therefore, it was the most common piece of music at any formal Imperial occasion.

Sorshyan was surrounded by applause and praise. The lavish box he occupied was decorated with deep red leather and velvet, with patterns woven from gold thread and platinum wire, paying homage to him in an extravagant manner.

The novice knights wore black uniforms as crisp as dress uniforms, with key areas protected by metal armor. They numbered 611 in total, divided into three grades and 18 classes, lined up in neat rows facing the viewing platform, where, in addition to the Space Marines, were nobles and many upper-class individuals.

The vast majority of these six hundred-plus people were descendants of knightly nobles, with only a few being descendants of the High King's trusted ministers, and the few commoner students in the academy.

As the music ended, Sorshyan stood up, making him appear even larger. When he spoke, his voice echoed throughout the academy without the need for any equipment.

"Fifty years ago, when I first met Duke Olga, he was alone, utterly alone, appearing as a wandering Freeblade on the battlefield of Gageis, surrounded by savage greenskin aliens, teetering on the brink of destruction. Yet, he persisted in fighting, battling the enemy to the death in the most unfavorable circumstances. This made me realize for the first time the resilience and courage of the knights, a quality no less than that of the Space Marines. Fifty years later, I see so many new knights who have grown up hearing his name and stories. I think this might be a real comfort to Duke Olga, but I also hope you will remember that the honor of a knight is earned in battle. Bloodlines can only grant you the qualification. Even an Astartes, after the implantation of gene-seed, does not necessarily mean he can become a qualified warrior. Only combat can prove everything!"

After he finished speaking, the master of ceremonies began to announce the rules of the martial arts contest. Originally, according to knightly custom, such a formal contest often had complex and lengthy ceremonies, but Sorshyan directly deleted all unnecessary ceremonies and simplified the rules.

First, although there were female knight trainees in the academy, only male students in the senior and middle grades were eligible to participate in the competition. This was a manifestation of the Dupontdeling family's greater emphasis on males. The other two different grades were tested separately, and then the Duke Olga's adopted sons had to participate compulsorily. The rest signed up voluntarily. The rules were arbitrary, that is, the students drove training mechs and used lances to compete first. If the outcome was undecided, they switched to melee weapon combat until one side was completely knocked down.

Of course, since Sorshyan made such a request, he would definitely offer corresponding rewards.

The champion of the senior grade would receive a finely crafted plasma pistol, while the champion of the middle grade would receive an antique rapier he obtained from the Maelstrom, said to be from a saint of the Adeptus Ministorum in ancient times.

Being able to show off in front of such a great figure, almost no student would give up. All the middle and senior grade students signed up, so they began to draw lots in pairs to determine their first opponent.

When Sorshyan sat down again, he was not idle. Instead, he summoned Ulan Huda's representative in the Dupontdeling family, a Sage of the Machine.

"Reporting, Lord, the male nobles of the Dupontdeling family have committed many crimes in the past decade, but they have also done some good deeds, such as eliminating beasts that harm farmers, and organizing disaster relief during disasters, etc."

The Sage of the Machine transmitted the information into the communication beads in Sorshyan's ear via wireless communication. This was also Bangura's main task for him: to monitor the Dupontdeling family and collect many secret matters of this family.

Although the noble knights were wary of the Tech-Priests, they couldn't do without these beings. Whether it was Knight Titans or high-tech facilities in the city, they couldn't function without the Tech-Priests. The Guardians of Relics could only take care of some of the nobles' technical needs, and their scale was not large enough to replace the role of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Bangura also secretly dispatched a large number of infiltrators and impersonators to enter the knights' territories. They did nothing but stare at these people every day, and the knights were completely unaware of this. Perhaps Matías knew something, but he chose to remain silent.

Thus, with the help of the dense surveillance network in the city, the Sage of the Machine collected almost all the behaviors of the Dupontdeling nobles, from court conspiracies to adultery and illicit affairs, all were recorded one by one.

As he listened to the Sage of the Machine revealing the concealed crimes one by one, Sorshyan's face showed no expression, because he knew very well that he was also part of the reason—