New Armor Acquired

Li Ming was startled by the sudden outburst. Looking at the girl, he saw that her Valkyrie armor was close-fitting, and its equipment was far more tailored than the standard armor worn by Li Ming and the other team members. Aside from simple skintight leather clothes paired with a few pieces of exoskeleton armor, Wang Jing's Valkyrie armor had much more distinct characteristics.

Her crimson leg armor had such a fine texture that it looked incredibly sexy. Jet systems for assisted movement were installed on her feet and back, while her upper body was wrapped in alternating crimson and white armor. She wore a crimson serpent-shaped headband, which was probably as effective as the helmet on Li Ming's head. From Li Ming's observations, this armor should have been a defensive set with an excellent impact system.

But why did the state of that skill look so much like Realm Armor: White Comet?

Someone had actually upgraded White Comet? Could an SSS-rank White Comet really automatically evolve into White Knight: Moonlight?

Li Ming shook his head and threw that absurd thought out of his mind. He had been tricked into joining the game back then. People had said that Dimensional Boundary Break was insanely powerful, that an SSS-rank Dimensional Boundary Break could evolve into the Herrscher of Reason. When he foolishly tried to raise Dimensional Boundary Break's power, Li Ming finally understood what true trash was.

Other than charging energy, it was completely useless!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. As he thought, Li Ming unconsciously put more force into forming his energy sphere. However, the five Inch Strength Extreme: Thunderbolts from earlier had completely drained his SP. Now, he could only form an Inch Punch: Thunderbolt thirty centimeters in diameter.

Still, fueled by anger, he charged it much faster. Then the scene became this: Wang Jing activated Valkyrie Burst, unleashing rampaging streams of energy. Protected by an energy shield around her body, she charged straight in at point-blank range. Her body was as supple as a snake's, and each swing of it carried tremendous force, directly suppressing three Zhu Yan Mechs into overload.

Seeing Wang Jing erupt, the other Valkyries stopped conserving energy as well. Two Valkyries nearby moved to limit the Zhu Yan Mechs' performance. Their method of suppression was rather subtle—for example, using cannon fire to restrict the firing of shells and the release of flames. They launched sneak attacks before the Zhu Yan Mechs could transform. Their support play was truly flawless.

Li Ming, meanwhile, just kept going ora ora ora. The energy shots formed in his hands never stopped. They cost no energy and could charge his SP at the same time. When the two Zhu Yan Mechs approached, three Valkyries—one carrying a heavy cannon and two wielding greatswords—sent the two machines flying back with two swift blows. Although they caused no damage, they still stopped the two Zhu Yan Mechs' advance.

Looking at the three Valkyries nearby, though, they were very different from Wang Jing's resilient yet graceful beauty. These three had clearly developed in the direction of true Valkyries. Their biceps were incredibly well-developed; carrying a heavy cannon as tall as a person was no problem at all, and they could still move with ease.

The two carrying greatswords needed no further mention. They were built like steeds. Although they could not cut through the energy shields, they could force the two Zhu Yan Mechs back. Their energy consumption looked considerable, and their strength was relatively weaker, but they were still terrifying, all right?

At that moment, Li Ming really wanted to ask whether their idol was the true Valkyrie—great Ms. Lewis!

No, seriously, was this really going to shatter his impression of Valkyries?

After Wang Jing blew up another Zhu Yan Mech, her energy was visibly exhausted. She had mainly spent a great deal protecting the team earlier, and Valkyrie Burst itself placed a heavy burden on a Valkyrie. The fact that Wang Jing had held on for a full minute was already remarkable.

Of the original seven Zhu Yan Mechs, only five remained, but all five had entered overload.

Wang Jing caught her breath for a while, looked at Li Ming, and asked, "Five left. Can you help hold one of them back?"

"I'm fine with that, but don't you need to rest? You've been holding out for nearly an hour, and your energy is almost gone, right?" Li Ming waved a hand. In any case, the task the person in charge had assigned him was already complete. No one would say anything no matter what he did now.

"As Changming City's only A-rank Valkyrie, how could I be brought down here?"

Wang Jing used her gun-fu, landing two shots on a weak point in the energy shield that her teammates had struck. Then she leaped into the air and shattered the overloaded Zhu Yan Mech's shield with a whip kick.

(⊙﹏⊙)

That fierce?

Once that Zhu Yan Mech's defenses had been broken, five Valkyries swarmed it and beat it to death.

After Li Ming barely cooperated with one Valkyrie to hold back a Zhu Yan Mech, the remaining three were surrounded and beaten by several Valkyries. So what if they had entered overload? There was still an A-rank Valkyrie here. They just had to obediently take their beating and stop thinking about anything else.

In fact, if Li Ming had not held back the young lady beside him, she probably would have already charged up with her greatsword and given the Zhu Yan Mech in front of them a couple of good whacks.

Hold it in, hold it in. You can't beat it. You're just a Valkyrie who might not even be B-rank. The two of us only need to hold it back.

The moment his inner thoughts called her less than B-rank, Li Ming nearly failed to hold her back.

There was no helping it. Li Ming's armor only had 30 shield points left, practically existing in name only. He had 200 HP left, though his SP was recovering rather quickly. The five Inch Strength Extreme: Thunderbolts earlier had drained his SP completely, but not long after, because Li Ming had continuously released Inch Punch: Thunderbolt, it had filled back up again. He now had 75 points left, enough to casually fire two more Inch Strength Extreme: Thunderbolts and maintain a balance between expenditure and recovery.

One on the left and one on the right, they blew apart both cannon muzzles on that Zhu Yan Mech's arms. Even in overload, the Zhu Yan Mech had been modified from a Titan Mech. As the overload system was the Titan's core system, the Chiyou Organization and HK Organization simply did not have the ability to alter it. As a result, the cannon muzzles became the Zhu Yan Mech's weakest point after overload.

With Li Ming's help, the Valkyrie's fight against the Zhu Yan Mech became easy. But after helping her, Li Ming was completely out of strength and could only lie on the ground, gasping for air.

"Already done for, little brother? I thought you were pretty impressive just now. Your body seemed pretty good."

Wang Jing teased Li Ming, who lay on the ground like a dead dog. The other Valkyries joined in as well. Their words were flirtatious, but after that battle, everyone's stamina had been almost completely drained. Only Wang Jing was in somewhat better shape. Still, the fact that this operation had suffered no casualties was the greatest blessing.

In previous large-scale operations, casualties were practically unavoidable in Schicksal. Only after being transferred to Shenzhou had this unconventional armor design appeared, combining exoskeletons with combat suits. Without that, the team would likely have suffered severe casualties this time.

After resting for a while, Wang Jing and the others prepared to continue providing support. Li Ming, meanwhile, lay down behind a good piece of cover. After all, he was not part of their official unit. The fact that he had helped this much was already rare enough.

As expected, it was only now that the battle between the Titan squad's four Titan Mechs and the Zhu Yan Mechs showed a clear difference. Once the Titan Mechs entered overload, they completely crushed the Zhu Yan Mechs. As soon as they removed the Zhu Yan Mechs' cannon muzzles, the Zhu Yan Mechs essentially became lambs awaiting slaughter. Once the Valkyrie combat unit joined in, taking them out was effortless.

Faced with this, Li Ming could only say that the Zhu Yan Mechs were truly pathetic. He had no idea what the HK Organization had been thinking, modifying perfectly good Titan Mechs into this state.

But Li Ming had forgotten that if they had not encountered opponents like him and Wang Jing, the Zhu Yan Mechs actually had far too many advantages over Titan Mechs.

But now, the victors ruled and the losers perished. The downfall of the two major organizations was already inevitable. Li Ming's main task now was to lie on the ground and collect the spoils.

"Large quantity of materials detected. Collect?"

When that notification appeared in his mind, Li Ming grinned so widely that his mouth would not close. Every time he obtained a new material, he would give a foolish little laugh.

Obtained Primary Equipment Enhancement Crystal ×246

Obtained Primary Learning Chip ×123

Obtained Advanced Learning Chip ×80

Obtained Soul Fragment ×493

Obtained Gemini Soul Fragment ×230

Obtained Phase Shift Mirror ×12

Obtained Micro Reactor ×6

Those were all of Li Ming's gains this time. It was an absolute windfall, far better than his previous haul, though it lacked some high-grade materials.

But Li Ming did not mind. In fact, he was now only Fluid Alloy and Fluid Alloy Blocks away from crafting his own armor.

He had already mastered the formula for Fluid Alloy. As long as he had suitable conditions and materials, the armor would be within reach.

So even though Li Ming was exhausted and aching all over, he lay on the ground grinning foolishly. Even several sudden explosions failed to startle him awake.

"What happened to him?"

"Did he fall and damage his head?"

"Could the shockwaves from those explosions have reached here?"

"Maybe he overexerted himself!"

Just now, when the Chiyou Organization's people had tried to threaten them with the self-destruction of their five Bixi units, the Titan troops, already in overload, had directly coordinated a death charge and smashed those Bixi Mechs to pieces. Oh, right—the Bixi Mechs were those five Spider King Mechs.

After Wang Jing and the others finished cleaning up the battlefield, they simply carried the still-grinning Li Ming toward the battleship.

If they did not get Li Ming examined quickly, they were genuinely afraid that his brain had broken.

However, after he emerged from the treatment room, they learned that Li Ming's condition was an imbalance caused by excessive stimulation and mental exhaustion. A little recuperation would be enough, though the burns on his body were rather serious and needed immediate treatment.

Thus, Li Ming spent the next half month at the Changming branch.

Usually, nothing much happened, except Wang Jing always came to spar with him. Since he was both tough and damaging, she naturally used him for practice, and Li Ming was forced into extra training.

The Elysian Realm was clearly closed, and Hua clearly was not around. Why could he still not escape the fate of extra training?

But thanks to the merit he earned this time, Li Ming obtained enough Fluid Alloy at the branch. He then used twelve Phase Shift Mirrors, six Micro Reactors, Reconstruction Mold: Ability Specialization, and ten Anti-Entropy Imaginary Cores. In truth, much of the design process was not completed at the Changming branch. The main body of the armor was crafted within the system using materials and blueprints.

Some of the finer details, however, were designed at the branch. The armor as a whole resembled a martial arts uniform. The loose silver-white trousers were made from Fluid Alloy and possessed exceptional toughness. Fine scale-like armor covered the sides of the legs and the cuffs. The pockets and belt were interwoven in blue and red, while a holster was designed at the rear of the waist for Li Ming to carry Moon God's Protection.

The upper body was a light-blue short jacket, with grayish-purple ornaments hanging from the shoulders. A large character for "Ming" was emblazoned across the back, which Li Ming had added himself. Four jet ports were installed around the shoulder blades, and together with those on his feet, there were six in total. Li Ming had originally wanted to add a helmet, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. Still, plenty of space had been left in many areas for future improvements.

As for the name of Li Ming's first set of armor, he ultimately decided on: Candlelight Armor: First Light!