The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Dong, dong, dong——

The drums sounded, and Sai Lei gripped his lance tightly. The brainwave connection wasn't as sensitive as a neural connection, but he could still feel the weight of the lance in his hand.

With the rapid pumping of his leg joints, he drove his steel steed towards his opponent, who was also approaching rapidly.

At that moment, as the two knights approached each other, Sai Lei made a subtle adjustment, lowering the tip of his lance and increasing the angle of his shield.

With a clang, the opponent's lance struck heavily against his shield, the immense force almost knocking him off balance, but Sai Lei's lance accurately pierced the gap between the opponent's shield and arm, hitting the lower part of the cockpit, enough to secure victory——

"Hmm?"

Both lances were broken, and Sai Lei saw sparks of electricity, but the opponent didn't stop.

Then, Gonsalvo's mech, using the momentum, rammed into him. The loud crash of metal caused the audience to exclaim and stand up.

Solzhenitsyn narrowed his eyes and glanced at Matthias, the High King, who was also frowning.

Sai Lei struggled to control his mech. The impact had almost knocked him over, but fortunately, he took a step back at the last moment, barely withstanding the opponent. However, one of his arms was restricted.

Suddenly, the two cockpits were almost touching. Sai Lei could see Gonsalvo staring at him fiercely, his face filled with murderous intent, his lips moving as if cursing or swearing.

Then, with a click, a short sword extended from the right arm of Gonsalvo's mech, directly hacking towards Sai Lei's cockpit.

Sai Lei didn't panic. He abruptly raised his left arm and slammed his shield hard against the side of the opponent's mech, causing the short sword to only scrape a string of sparks on his mech's outer shell. Then, a short sword also popped out of his right arm, and he slashed towards the opponent at an extremely fast speed.

Gonsalvo immediately tried to block with his shield, but Sai Lei used his short sword to strike at the joint of the opponent's arm, instantly severing the hydraulic pipe.

In the splashing black liquid, Gonsalvo's mech staggered backward like a wounded drunkard. Sai Lei chased after him, slamming his shield forcefully against the opponent's cockpit. Gonsalvo tried to swing his sword in retaliation, but his mech was now like a loose toy, unable to exert any strength. Sai Lei casually chopped off his sword-wielding right arm and then knocked him over with his shoulder.

As Sai Lei raised his sword, O'Fallon on the seat stood up abruptly.

"Stop!"

However, his voice was drowned out by the shouts of the crowd. Sai Lei's sword directly pierced Gonsalvo's cockpit, the tip of the sword penetrating the glass that had been cracked by the shield.

The crowd screamed, and Matthias also stood up.

"What's the rush?"

Solzhenitsyn's slow voice interrupted what the High King was about to say. Matthias turned around, and Solzhenitsyn propped his head with his fist, watching the arena with interest.

"He's not dead yet."

When Sai Lei slowly withdrew his sword, everyone saw that there was no blood on the tip.

"The winner is decided!"

The referee raised the colored flag, and the crowd cheered. Sai Lei walked to the viewing platform to pay his respects to Solzhenitsyn, while many attendants rushed to the mech that had fallen to the ground and frantically opened the cockpit, carrying out the unconscious Gonsalvo.

"The winner is——"

The referee was about to announce when a voice interrupted him.

"Attacking a downed opponent is a violation of the knight's rules! The violator cannot be the victor, this match can only be considered a draw!"

The speaker was O'Fallon, who was visibly very angry, the veins on his neck bulging.

Barris, sitting on the other side, frowned. His wife immediately tugged at his sleeve, but he still didn't stand up to speak.

"High King."

O'Fallon turned to look at Matthias, but first saw Solzhenitsyn sitting up straight, looking at him, so he softened his tone.

"According to the rules."

"O'Fallon."

Solzhenitsyn spoke slowly, and many people carefully turned their heads, cautiously watching the development of the situation.

"Your son's current state is not suitable for being a knight. How about this, considering the relationship between me and the DuPont family, your son will go to the White Chapel Chapter to train for a period of time. After about ten years, once it is determined that he is qualified to be a knight, he can return to the family and hold the ceremony of suitability."

Many people opened their mouths in surprise, including O'Fallon.

"Lord, training is——"

"Let him stay away from his family and servants, and be a battle-brother servant for a while. Don't worry, we won't let him go to the lower decks, just to temper his character. You can trust the Astartes Chapter, it's the best whetstone."

"Ah!?"

O'Fallon was shocked, and even Matthias's expression became a little stunned.

After a few seconds, O'Fallon reacted and quickly said in a very urgent voice:

"Lord, my son is still young, can we."

"It's decided."

Solzhenitsyn's words were light, but there was not a trace of room for rebuttal. O'Fallon looked at Matthias for help, but the latter closed his eyes.

At this moment, he finally understood that no matter what "status" they once had, it was nothing in front of this person. Everything they now possessed could be completely taken away by the other party with a single sentence, without any excuses or explanations. All this authority did not come from the so-called past favors or pleas.

The other party's authority came from the fact that they were the Emperor's Angels of Death, from the powerful fleet in orbit that could instantly destroy this world, from the nearly a thousand Astartes who could descend upon this world at any time with fiery rain, from the power that they only needed a few breaths to kill everyone present.

This was something more persuasive than any language.

"Continue."

As O'Fallon sat back in his chair, dejected, the competition continued.

In the subsequent competitions, Sai Lei performed bravely, eliminating all opponents round after round. Finally, in the final, he had to face the High King's second son, Andrea's younger brother, Fitzpatrick.

And Solzhenitsyn noticed that before the start of the competition, Barris quietly left his seat.

"Father? Why are you here?"

Sai Lei, who was about to leave the preparation room, was very surprised to see his father standing at the exit.

"How did you——"

Barris's expression was somewhat complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward and patted his son's shoulder.

"Are you hurt?"

"What are you talking about, Father? If I'm hurt, there are medical officers to take care of it."

"Ah, yes, yes."

"Father, do you have something to say to me?"

"I——"

Barris opened his mouth, but when he saw the bolt pistol pendant hanging on Sai Lei's waist, his expression suddenly became somewhat ashamed and self-loathing.

After a moment, he asked in a low voice:

"Son, is this championship important to you?"

Faced with his father's almost bizarre question, Sai Lei replied without thinking:

"It's very important. No knight doesn't yearn for glory, and I hope to bring my glory to my parents."

Barris was stunned for a moment, then nodded and stepped aside.

"Go ahead, son, go and take your glory. I am proud of you."

Sai Lei really couldn't figure out what was suddenly wrong with his father, but the trumpets outside were urging the contestants to take their places, and he ran straight out of the exit quickly.

".Father, I am a son who brings you shame."

Suddenly, Sai Lei, who seemed to have heard something, turned his head and vaguely saw his father leaning against the wall, covering his face with his hands.