Starting from the Planetary Governor-Chapter 823 - 450, Death of the Ashen Dead_2

He seemed to be back in the old days.

In the past, he had more than once sparred with Priest Rizzo in the Warband's Arena.

At that time, he was never a match for Rizzo, who tirelessly corrected his moves over and over.

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Of course, in their interactions, sparring was not the main focus; they spent more time together in the chapel of the Battle Group's flagship, studying scriptures and analyzing the profound teachings of The Emperor.

He was born into a family of State Church Priests on the Warband's Homeworld, and he was expected to follow the path of his forefathers, to become a respected denizen spreading the gospel of The Emperor and representing the Divine Emperor.

However, from a young age, he disliked such responsibilities and preferred heroic legends and stories instead.

Unsurprisingly, on the Phoenix's Mother Planet, no one could rival the renown of the Phoenix. The history of the Battle Group and the valiant names of every warrior flowed through the planet. Every person on the Phoenix's Mother Planet grew up listening to such legends. It was only natural for a young man to yearn for more.

And so, when the Phoenix conducted another recruitment for new warriors, he naturally signed up.

His parents supported his decision.

Shouldn't they? It was only natural for the child of a Divine Emperor's Priest to enroll when the Divine Emperor's Angels were recruiting. If he were rejected, the experience would still aid Anconi Ben in his priestly career later, proving his unwavering loyalty to the Divine Emperor.

But what if he were chosen?

Don't joke, the odds were too slim.

Out of hundreds of thousands carefully selected young people, the Battle Group only recruited fifty—the odds were extremely low.

It was merely a formality.

But this was his parents' viewpoint. The young Anconi dearly wanted to succeed.

To become an Angel of The Emperor, fulfilling his family's longstanding faith in the Divine Emperor, would allow him to escape the dull and tedious religious scriptures and become the hero he had always admired, allowing him to chase the glorious honors he longed for.

And indeed, during the training and selection process, he began to display remarkable talent. Although not among the best, he held at least some hope for success.

However, he ultimately failed to be selected.

In the last and most critical competition, he ranked only in the seventies. This was certainly a high achievement among all the candidates, but compared to the few slots available in the Phoenix, there was a significant gap.

This slight gap was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

His fate then seemed to be shattered dreams, returning home, where his outstanding performance in the Phoenix's selection would lead various powers within the planet to vie for him. After all, even those eliminated from the Phoenix, holding such a ranking, proved to be one of the finest young people on the entire planet.

Yet, no one understood the pain in his heart.

However, in the end, a man wearing a skull helmet saved him.

Priest Rizzo personally selected Anconi as an additional candidate to join the Phoenix.

It was nearly the happiest day of his life.

But after joining the Phoenix, he realized that many things were different from what he had imagined.

Life as an Interstellar Warrior was not always glorious; mundane training was the norm.

Especially for new recruits.

If it were just that, he could have endured it.

But Priest Rizzo, the Priest Leader of the Phoenix Battle Group, did not choose him for his exceptional combat talent. No matter how outstanding he was, it was only relative. If he truly had exceptional talent worth making exceptions for, he wouldn't have ranked only in the seventies previously.

Rizzo needed to expand the number of priests in the Battle Group, and Anconi was his chosen candidate.

Before becoming a Phoenix, he had to bury himself in scriptures, and after becoming a Phoenix, he still had to bury himself in scriptures. Wasn't his becoming a Phoenix in vain then?

Amidst his resentment, the only reward he received was occasionally being able to spar with Priest Rizzo in the arena due to his good performance. At those times, Rizzo would finally shed the stern face of a teacher and join him as a fellow warrior, sweating together.

He thought he could never go back.

Of course, he truly couldn't go back.

Knowing that the Phoenix had been resurrected by the Alliance, that his mentor Rizzo was still alive, and that Zhong Jihua had ordered the team to deal with this newly reborn Phoenix, he had envisioned this scene.

Since he couldn't go back, he would bury it himself.

"Teacher Rizzo, your moves have slowed down!"

Rizzo didn't say a word, just put in a strenuous effort with the Gravity Scepter, taking on every powerful and heavy strike from Anconi.

Each of Anconi's strikes was accompanied by a taunt, and his emotions soared higher and higher, his vision within the helmet already a bloody red. His movements were sharp and precise, each swing of the battle axe carrying a deadly threat.

But Rizzo's gaze remained calm, his movements though slow, were still steady. The Gravity Scepter danced in his hands as if it had its rhythm.

"Teacher, your moves are still so clichéd."

"Haven't you made any progress over the years?"

"Didn't you learn anything from the bogus words of the False Emperor?"