Chapter 144: The Direction of Black Armor Development

Only then did Rehanna realize just how ambiguous her position with the lord had become.

She was sprawled across Nolan’s body, their legs tangled together after losing balance from the collision. Her hands braced themselves on either side of him as she lowered her head, fiery red hair cascading down until it nearly brushed against Nolan’s face.

Meanwhile, Nolan instinctively held her by the waist to keep her from falling again.

If not for the cold, heavy black armor covering her body, the scene would have looked almost exactly like a couple about to kiss.

Her cheeks instantly flushed scarlet, burning hot as she hurriedly tried to climb off him.

“I…”

But the armor was simply too heavy. Her arm gave out, her body tilted sideways, and she crashed straight back into Nolan’s chest.

“Ugh!”

The impact forced a muffled groan out of Nolan.

Watching the entire scene unfold, Hank finally gave up, pressed one hand to his forehead, and let out a long sigh.

With the frantic assistance of two blacksmiths, the pair finally managed to separate.

Nolan cleared his throat. In an attempt to cover the awkwardness, he immediately dragged the conversation back to business. “All right, next test item. Little Donnie, defense performance test.”

Wearing an identical set of black armor, Little Donnie trudged over with heavy steps and a miserable expression. “Boss, seriously? Why do Captain Hank and Miss Rehanna get to test functionality, but when it’s my turn, I suddenly become a target dummy?”

Seeing him look like the sky was collapsing, Nolan burst out laughing. “What, regretting it now? Weren’t you the one proudly volunteering yesterday, saying you wanted to contribute to the territory’s military development? I asked you three separate times to make sure.”

Before he even finished speaking, Leus had already dragged over a massive padded mat. Walking up beside Little Donnie, he slapped him hard on the shoulder, producing dull metallic thumps. “It’s fine. Young people are sturdy. Sleep it off and you’ll be good as new.” He adjusted his glasses, eerie reflections flashing across the lenses. “Besides, Lady Ailindel will be personally handling the test. What exactly are you afraid of?”

Little Donnie’s expression grew even more miserable. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of! What if this terrifying expert accidentally skewers me clean through with one thrust?!”

Before he could finish complaining, Ailindel had already approached soundlessly.

She still wore her sacred white armor, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding black plate armor. Soul energy gathered around her as the crystalline lance, Breeze, condensed into existence within her hand.

“Don’t worry.”

Her voice was crisp and beautiful.

“I’ll do my best to keep the power around Silver rank.”

Rather than reassuring him, those words made Little Donnie look even closer to tears. “Do my best…? Boss, if I die gloriously today, please scatter my ashes along the country roads of Veli Province, so the free winds can tell the people there that a young man named Donnie gave his life for a radiant and noble ideal…”

Pfft.

Rehanna and Anna both burst out laughing. Even the usually stern Hank’s lips twitched slightly.

Nolan rolled his eyes dramatically and kicked him in the backside. “Quit fooling around and get ready for the impact! Have some confidence in my designs, will you? Ailin, begin when ready.”

Ailindel’s gaze had remained fixed on Nolan the entire time. Only after hearing him speak did she gently nod before turning toward Little Donnie, who had already taken position in front of the padded mat.

With a clank, Little Donnie lowered his helmet visor. His final words came muffled from inside the helmet. “Sister Ailin, please don’t hit my face!”

Sister Ailin?

How many years had it been since Ailindel last heard someone call her that?

Smiling helplessly, she no longer hesitated and thrust her lance forward through the air. It was the simplest and most direct thrust imaginable.

Nolan recognized the move instantly. It was the same attack she had used against them inside the sealing chamber before: swift and razor-sharp.

The strike seemed to cross space itself, arriving in an instant.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, Little Donnie looked as though he had been rammed by an invisible bull. He grunted and staggered backward two full steps before tripping over the waist-high padded mat behind him and landing heavily on his rear.

“Little Donnie, how are you?”

Nolan and Hank rushed over immediately.

Little Donnie shoved up his visor, coughed violently twice, then suddenly sat upright and waved his arms wildly. “I-I’m alive! I’m alive! Hahaha!”

Hank ignored his theatrics completely. Carefully inspecting the armor over Little Donnie’s chest, he discovered only a shallow dent at the lance’s point of impact.

Standing up, he casually grabbed a wooden practice stick nearby and smacked Little Donnie’s helmet with it.

Clang!

“Quit acting and report the results already.”

After getting smacked, Little Donnie instantly became serious. Rubbing his chest, he carefully recalled the sensation from moments ago. “Let me think… Sister Ailin’s attack was fully concentrated at a single point. It’s exactly the kind of focused armor-piercing strike best suited for breaking heavy plate armor like ours. But it still couldn’t penetrate the breastplate.”

He rose to his feet and stretched his body.

“The armor’s internal structure is designed extremely well. The impact got distributed throughout the whole suit. I’d say this thing can absolutely withstand the full-force armor-piercing hammer strike of a mid-level Silver warrior.”

That conclusion immediately excited everyone present.

Silver rank warriors were considered the backbone of military forces in any nation. Most middle-ranking officers fell within that level. If the armor could withstand a full-force armor-piercing attack from a mid-level Silver warrior, then it had undoubtedly delivered a highly satisfying result.

Ailindel dispersed the lance in her hand and spoke calmly. “Actually, I already used power roughly equivalent to peak Silver rank.”

What?

Everyone stared at her in shock.

Didn’t that mean the armor’s defensive capability had far exceeded all expectations?

Touching the shallow dent on his chestplate, Little Donnie laughed awkwardly. “Sister Ailin, I didn’t realize you’d hit that hard… Weren’t you worried I might actually die gloriously?”

With a wave of her hand, Ailindel allowed the lance to dissolve into motes of light. “I knew what I was doing.” She glanced at the black armor. “I’ve seen many suits of armor before. I inspected its structure and materials carefully just now. I trusted it could withstand a strike like that.”

Looking at Ailindel, Nolan could not help feeling impressed. As a hero who had survived ancient wars, her experience with military equipment was immense. With nothing more than a brief inspection, she had accurately judged the armor’s quality. Having her around would massively improve their overall tactics and military development.

It was simply too valuable.

As Nolan was thinking this, he suddenly sensed someone’s gaze.

He looked up just in time to meet Ailindel’s eyes.

She seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and smiled brightly at him. The smile was like snow melting beneath spring sunlight, like moonlight flowing across water.

That breathtaking expression from the beautiful elven woman made Nolan’s heartbeat skip for half a second. He quickly lowered his head and pretended to focus on the notes in his hands while hurriedly beginning his summary. “Ahem… anyway… looks like the test results are pretty clear. The defensive capability is completely satisfactory. Honestly, it exceeded expectations.”

“But,” he continued, changing tone, “the Hurricane Enchantment still hasn’t fully solved the handling and endurance problems caused by the armor’s weight.”

Nolan’s expression grew serious.

“The blacksmiths have already reached their limit. This five-millimeter-thick black armor weighs nearly forty-five kilograms even empty, and there’s no realistic way to make it lighter. Without the Hurricane Enchantment, an ordinary Bronze-rank warrior would struggle just walking around in it. The Black Armored Legion’s future role will often involve frontal breakthroughs and prolonged high-intensity combat. Sacrificing defense for mobility would be completely counterproductive. That means we’ll need to find other ways to reduce weight and optimize the structure.”

Nolan raised his head and looked around at everyone present.

“Any ideas?”

Hank and Rehanna both frowned.

It was an impossible dilemma. To gain defense, one had to accept the weight. To gain mobility, one had to sacrifice protection. This was the physical limit of forging itself, something extremely difficult to overcome.

The room gradually fell silent as everyone sank into thought.

Could they only rely on magic now?