Chapter 128: Returning Fully Loaded

The person Nolan had pulled into his arms was Vivi. 

The warm touch against her cheek lasted only an instant before separating again, yet Vivi felt as though her heart were about to leap straight out of her chest. Her mind went completely blank, and with a sharp swish, her beast ears folded flat backward into nervous, embarrassed airplane ears.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

Snapping back to her senses, Vivi’s cheeks flushed scarlet as she shoved Nolan away with all her strength.

Nolan staggered back from the push, but the ecstatic grin on his face did not diminish in the slightest. Looking at the half-beast girl blushing furiously and practically puffing up like an angry cat, he finally realized what idiotic thing he had just done in his excitement.

“Sorry, sorry!” he said quickly, waving both hands. His smile was full of apology, but even more full of irrepressible joy. “I was just too happy! Really, way too happy!”

Seeing the man grinning like a fool, Vivi could no longer bring herself to blame him at all.

After all, he had believed himself trapped for three years, convinced he had missed everything and failed everyone. The overwhelming shock of stepping out of absolute despair and suddenly discovering that everything could still be saved would make anyone lose control.

Renee and Little Donnie exchanged glances before both breaking into understanding smiles.

This was more than a simple emotional outburst. It was like waking from the worst nightmare imaginable and realizing you were still safe in your bed, sunlight pouring in through the window. That kind of relief was enough to drive even the strongest person mad.

Nolan’s turbulent emotions took a long time to settle, though what filled him more than anything else was the exhilaration of surviving disaster. He rubbed his face hard, forcing himself to calm down.

“Alright, we need to hurry and head back immediately!”

After quickly pulling himself together, he turned and started running toward the top of the altar. But after only two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back toward Ailindel.

“Um… Lady Ailindel…”

His gaze fell upon the gentle white light that had reformed at the top of the altar.

Of course, Ailindel knew exactly what he wanted.

A trace of relief appeared on her face, the expression of someone finally laying down a burden carried for ten thousand years.

“It has gathered dust here for far too long. Now that Qroshu’s evil has been purified, the holy relic no longer needs to suppress him. It should find a suitable owner.”

The female knight looked toward Nolan with sincere approval in her eyes.

“You are the hero who ended Qroshu. You have earned that right.”

Nolan nodded heavily, the final weight pressing on his heart finally lifting.

Without another moment of hesitation, he spun around and sprinted up the sloping altar, returning to the platform above. Soft white radiance spread from the center of the altar, outlining his figure in glowing silhouette and making it difficult for the others below to see him clearly.

At last, he saw the holy relic that had appeared in his dreams countless times.

Immovable Bulwark.

It was a complete suit of knight armor, including a fully enclosed helmet. The entire set was pitch-black, yet its surface shimmered with a strange metallic texture.

Intricate and elegant engraved runes covered every inch of the armor, identical in style to Ailindel’s pure white battle armor and filled with the elegance and mystery of the mythological age. It floated silently in midair, and from this close, even Nolan could clearly sense the magical force supporting it.

With the solemn reverence of a pilgrim, he slowly reached out and pressed his hand against the cold breastplate.

Perhaps because Qroshu had already perished and no longer required its suppression, or perhaps because it sensed the will within Nolan, the will that had finally ended a prison lasting ten thousand years, Immovable Bulwark trembled faintly and drifted toward him of its own accord.

On the Vaughn Continent, donning armor was normally an extremely troublesome process. It was difficult for one person to manage alone.

Excluding lightly equipped cavalrymen, most knights of the Elfin Kingdom had two or three squires and even more servants, one of whose primary duties was helping their lord put on armor. Especially with heavy full-body plate like this, it often took trained attendants several minutes just to equip properly.

But now, a miracle unfolded.

Click.

With a crisp mechanical sound, the entire suit of Immovable Bulwark began to disassemble automatically.

The breastplate and backplate separated and attached themselves directly onto Nolan’s torso. The arm guards, pauldrons, greaves, boots, and every other piece detached one after another, precisely covering his limbs.

The sound of metal components locking together rang out repeatedly, crisp and rhythmic.

Nolan could clearly feel each individual plate fitting perfectly against the contours of his body, as though custom-made for him alone. Finally came the breastplate, locking firmly into place over his core with one last metallic click.

Before being worn, the holy water flowing within the armor, the vessel of the Fountain of Potential, had already stopped circulating. Nolan had expected the inside to feel damp once he put it on, but instead it was astonishingly dry and comfortable.

Water without source truly was miraculous.

At last, the imposing helmet slowly descended onto his head. The visor snapped shut with a sharp clack, completely concealing his face.

The equipping process was complete.

The magic that had kept the relic suspended fulfilled its final purpose and slowly faded away. In that moment, the full weight of the armor settled entirely onto Nolan’s body.

It was heavy, yet instead of suffocating him, the weight brought him an unprecedented sense of security. It felt like the trust and legacy of ancient predecessors passed down across ten thousand years of history, and the heaviness itself felt reassuringly familiar.

After all, he had once stood at the very pinnacle of all players as a Level 140 legendary heavy warrior.

Finally.

Nolan let out a long breath.

At this point in time, Immovable Bulwark was unquestionably the strongest armor that could possibly be obtained.

Despite possessing the terrifying defensive power of heavy plate, it was surprisingly unburdensome. Nolan experimentally moved his arms, legs, and fingers.

Clack. Clack.

The reassuring sounds of metal friction came from the joints, yet his movements remained astonishingly fluid, completely lacking the sluggishness of ordinary heavy armor. Whether swinging a sword or bending down, nothing hindered his motions in the slightest. At the same time, every gap between the armor plates had been flawlessly sealed with smaller overlapping scales.

As expected of craftsmanship from the mythological age, Nolan thought sincerely.

At that moment, the Fountain of Potential that had once been integrated into Immovable Bulwark separated from the armor and transformed into a colorless, shapeless sphere floating before him.

Nolan reached out and touched it.

The sensation was strange. It was not wet at all, existing in some mysterious state between physical matter and illusion. This was also Nolan’s first time encountering the Fountain of Potential in this form, or rather, the true form of the Source-less Water.

Held gently, it felt soft like a sphere of water. But if he squeezed harder, his fingers passed right through it like air.

Amazing, but now was not the time to study it.

Carefully cradling the spherical Fountain of Potential in one hand, Nolan noticed the altar platform’s white radiance rapidly dimming now that both the relic and holy water were gone.

There was no time left.

“We’ve got everything! Move! We’re retreating!”

Holding the sphere in one hand, Nolan jogged down the altar while shouting to his companions. His voice sounded muffled through the helmet, but the joy radiating from him was impossible to hide.

It was the unique happiness known only to players returning home with overflowing rewards. This time, they had surpassed every expectation.

“Right!”

Little Donnie, Renee, and the others immediately nodded and turned to run. With her night vision, Romina took the lead, guiding everyone toward the darkening tunnel they had originally entered through.

Following behind them, Vivi stared at the broad figure clad in black heavy armor. He looked even taller and more dependable now than before, and uncontrollably, her thoughts drifted back to that sudden kiss.

Her heart immediately started pounding wildly again.

Everyone was running.

Only Ailindel remained standing where she was.

Watching the group’s retreating figures, a trace of confusion appeared in her eyes. The mission she had guarded for ten thousand years had finally ended, and Qroshu had vanished completely. Faced with this familiar yet unfamiliar world, where was she supposed to go now?

Just as hesitation filled her mind, a black-armored figure suddenly rushed past her.

“Lady Ailindel, come with us too!” Nolan’s voice rang out from inside the helmet.

He did not even give the female knight time to react. Without another word, he grabbed her slender arm.

Caught off guard by the immense force, Ailindel nearly stumbled before being involuntarily dragged into running alongside him.

For the first time, genuine astonishment appeared on her face.

This man truly was… unreasonable.