The death of Mask De Masculine left the other two Sternritter in shock and fear, but Haschwalth's blade still descended as usual.
In the end, the remaining two were also slain by Haschwalth.
"This time, we have lost six Sternritter."
After slaying the three, Haschwalth turned to face the Soldat below and said indifferently:
"Because of their incompetence, the Empire has suffered today's calamity."
"In three days, the Empire will select new Sternritter to fill the vacancies left by these six. All those of the Soldat rank may apply."
"At that time, His Majesty will personally bestow transcendent power upon those who reach the end, and they shall become new Sternritter."
Hearing this, the Soldat below immediately erupted in cheers!
They were all cold and ruthless people who didn't care at all that those three had been slain; they were all simply delighted by the opportunity for advancement.
Standing in the crowd, Beltz also showed a happy expression.
With his current strength, reaching the end shouldn't be a problem, but he wondered if he would be able to obtain a Schrift in the end.
"Soldat, go and prepare for the upcoming selection."
After the cheers died down, Haschwalth added, "Sternritter, stay behind and follow me to see His Majesty!"
The Soldat below retreated from the scene in an orderly fashion, and Beltz walked out among the crowd.
He glanced back at Liltotto, who happened to be looking over at that moment.
Their eyes met.
Beltz asked Liltotto if she was confident, and Liltotto indicated that there was no problem.
Beltz was also relatively relieved.
After all, Liltotto possessed the power of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit. Since the others were unprepared for such a move, even if Liltotto were exposed, she should be able to escape through the Mirror World.
And so, Liltotto followed The Bambies and the other Sternritter to meet Yhwach.
Inside the imperial palace.
Yhwach sat upon his throne with his eyes closed, as if asleep.
Haschwalth led the Sternritter into the grand hall and was the first to kneel.
The Sternritter behind him followed suit, kneeling on the ground.
"Your Majesty."
Haschwalth said softly, "All members of the Sternritter have arrived."
Haschwalth's voice reached Yhwach's ears, and only then did he slowly open his eyes.
Those crimson pupils swept over the kneeling crowd before him.
"The Sternritter has lost six members."
Yhwach's words were cold, devoid of even a hint of warmth, making those below feel an involuntary surge of tension.
Three people had already been slain; was he going to place further blame now?
"Haschwalth, tell them what happened with Loyd and Royd."
"Yes."
Haschwalth stood up, turned to face the crowd, and said, "The enemy this time is aggressive, but they are neither Shinigami nor Hollows; they are a third-party force from an unknown region."
"Faced with this new power, your failure is excusable. However... the Lloyd Brothers were not killed by these mysterious enemies."
"Hmm?"
Those kneeling below couldn't help but be surprised. Driscoll couldn't resist asking, "What do you mean? If they weren't killed, did they just die on their own?"
Haschwalth didn't even look at him, simply continuing, "The death of the Lloyd Brothers represents the worst possible outcome: a traitor has appeared within the Empire."
?!
If they were only slightly surprised before, now they were absolutely shocked!
But truth be told, one could figure this out with just a little thought.
The Lloyd Brothers' ability allowed them to mimic others' memories. The enemy must have feared their power, which is why they targeted them at the very start of the war and took the opportunity to kill them.
Furthermore, the existence of the Wandenreich has always been a secret; it should be impossible for outsiders to know about it, except for the Quincy.
They had been hidden in the shadows of the Seireitei for centuries without being discovered; how could they suddenly be exposed today?
In fact, it would be somewhat understandable if the Shinigami had discovered them.
But those people were not Shinigami.
That left only one possibility.
A traitor had emerged among them, someone who sold out the existence of the Wandenreich to another power and even brought them into the Empire.
"Damn it! Who has left the Empire recently?"
Candice shouted angrily, "Once I find out who it is, I'll definitely have her life!"
Liltotto didn't look at her, simply remaining on her knees, staring straight at the ground.
"None of us show any signs of having left the Empire recently."
There are two ways to leave the Empire.
One is to leave directly using the power of shadows, which would lead straight into the Seireitei.
The second is to use the Gate of the Sun for teleportation. The Gate of the Sun acts as a large-scale transport device that can reach anywhere in the Three Worlds.
But whether by shadow or by Gate of the Sun, there had been no reports of any Sternritter leaving recently.
In essence, the Empire strictly controlled their comings and goings.
Only when necessary would a Quincy be stationed elsewhere, but such occasions were very rare.
"But that cannot be used as proof of everyone's innocence."
Haschwalth's eyes swept over each Sternritter as he asked, "When the war broke out, who was acting alone?"
There were many, as most Sternritter were lone wolves who acted independently.
However, The Bambies was different; they happened to be the only small group within the Sternritter!
"Me, Lily, Candice, Meninas, and Giselle, the five of us were together," Bambi said. "Later, I faced that spider monster, while Candice and the others were dealing with the sandworm..."
"Askin and I observed the situation from the side for a while before joining up with Candice later."
Liltotto added her own whereabouts.
This was also why she had taken the risk of having her mirror clone act with Bambi and the others.
Without the mirror clone, she wouldn't have been able to explain where she had been.
This was different from the others.
Since The Bambies always acted together, if you suddenly weren't involved, there was a high probability that you were up to something.
Although using a mirror clone to blend in carried some risk, it was already the best way to handle it.
Now her movements were completely transparent; she was either with The Bambies or with Askin, and no one could find any fault with that.
After all, no one within the Sternritter had the ability to read minds.
Seeing that everyone could account for their actions, Haschwalth frowned slightly.
He turned slightly and looked up at Yhwach.