The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Only after reaching adulthood and through much effort did Mattning manage to secure a position in the security regiment, becoming a dog for the landlord masters he hated most.

But he had no choice; it was better to be a house dog than to starve like a stray.

However, his first encounter with the Black Rye Cult made him realize that the years of torment he had endured finally had a chance for release. He not only actively joined the cult and accepted the blessing but also, during the cult's attack on the militia stronghold, acted as an inside agent with a few others, secretly opening a small gate in the stronghold to let the pure-blooded angels in.

Because of this meritorious service, he was given a small team leader position and met his wife, a 'farmer's daughter' who already possessed some angelic features.

After receiving a certain amount of food, the blessings bestowed upon them by the Star Emperor also manifested their power. Their speed increased, their strength grew, and they could easily slaughter those once-swaggering thugs, cutting bloody paths through the strongholds and bunkers of the oppressors with superhuman reaction speeds.

Humanity's clumsy reflexes were unable to respond effectively to this. Before they could aim their homemade rifles, the hybrid assassins with angel blood had already begun the process of cutting flesh.

The collision between bullets and claws almost always favored the latter.

Again and again, Mattning plunged his bayonet into the flesh of the lackeys, embedding his dagger into their eyes, throats, and lungs.

Even when encountering heavily fortified strongholds, they had strategies to deal with them. While the angels unleashed their pent-up savagery in close combat, cult soldiers like Mattning used crude weapons to shoot into the strongholds, using numbers and determination to draw fire for the angels.

In the past, he had been a very fearful member, but now he was fearless, only filled with hatred.

Especially when he was in front of those trembling landlords, devouring their plump relatives alive or putting them in large pots to stew, listening to the miserable cries of the former oppressors, an unprecedented sense of pleasure would fill his entire body.

And all of this came from the Star Emperor's blessing.

His expectations for the future shifted from past revenge to a higher goal: the promised sublimation, a perfect world of great harmony without any pain.

But as that moment approached, some brothers and sisters felt intense unease, and an unconfirmed rumor spread through private whispers.

Some believed that the arrival of the Star Emperor meant the end of all life. Terrified, they went to the church to confess, alleviating their deep-seated fears.

But others scoffed at this, believing that such fear was cowardice, a manifestation of selfishness outweighing the loyalty they should have.

Mattning belonged to the latter. He was not afraid of death. If the Star Emperor wanted him to be the destined sacrifice, he had no reason not to be. Whatever the outcome of the Ascension Day, it was better than the oppressors' whips and shackles.

"The oppressors have been driven away! They have fled under the gaze of the Star Emperor! We have finally achieved the last and final victory! The angels will come to greet us, and all we have to do is open our arms!"

As Mattning listened to the bishop's sermon, he suddenly felt someone tugging at his arm. He turned to see his wife, a gentle and devout woman. The angel genes had formed some unique markings on her forehead, but this did not detract from her beauty.

"Mattning, it seems the commander wants to see you."

Hearing that the commander was calling for him, Mattning nodded and turned to leave the crowd with his wife.

The city was filled with people moving things, building their imagined beautiful home, although most of the useful things had been burned by the oppressors before they left.

Arriving at a relatively well-preserved mansion, Mattning saw his superior. Besides him, there were dozens of other church soldiers, some ordinary soldiers, some officers.

"Now that everyone is here, I'll cut to the chase. The cult has a new mission for you all."

The commander shook open a map with his third hand and pointed to a location.

"At this location, about seventy kilometers from here, is a transport ship that the cult has spent a long time modifying. Pack your clothes and daily necessities and set off with your children. Someone will be there to receive you."

Immediately someone asked:

"Why? Isn't the Ascension ceremony about to begin?"

The commander simply replied coldly:

"This is what the Holy Master requires. You have two hours to go back and prepare. The cars are parked at the entrance of the East Avenue Hospital."

The Holy Master was the absolute authority. Since he had said so, even if they were full of questions, everyone had to disperse immediately and go home to prepare.

Mattning was the same. He and his wife hurried home. He had two newborn children, whose angel blood was purer, and like his wife, they showed subtle signs of blessing.

"It's strange, suddenly going to some transport ship."

As the couple nervously packed the things they needed to take, Mattning couldn't help but mutter. His wife also said helplessly:

"Yes, it's really strange. What is a transport ship? Are we going to sea?"

Just as the two of them spent a few minutes preparing two backpacks and then put the two children into a stroller they found in a wealthy family's home, ready to go out, a sharp sound like a sharp object scraping against glass suddenly echoed in the air—

Screech————

"Ah!"

Both of them subconsciously covered their ears, but then they realized that the sound was not coming from outside. It was echoing on the mental bridge connecting them to the Star Emperor, a noise that drilled directly into their minds.

Soon, this single noise became random and unrestrained, crackling, distorted interference, as if a frantic, invisible being was making incessant noises.

Under such stimulation, not only could the two of them not bear it, but even the two infants in the stroller howled and even screamed.

"What's happening...!"

"I don't know, I...I can't feel the hive's brothers and sisters anymore...No! I can't feel the Star Emperor!"

When the noise finally disappeared, the couple looked at each other with fear in their eyes. The cult's tried-and-true mental channel had fallen silent, replaced by an eerie silence.

Trembling, the two turned to look out the window at the same time, the broken outline of the city appearing and disappearing in bursts of painful red and green flashes.

At the critical moment, Mattning, as the head of the family, was the first to recover. He grabbed his wife's arm.

"Something's wrong! Go! To the place arranged by the Holy Master!"