Chapter 167: Godslayer Armor: Hell Knight - Moon Ember
"It's about time to head back to St. Freya Academy..." Rovel muttered, stretching his arms overhead as he looked out over the horizon.
The timeline of the past week played through his mind. It had taken half a day just to travel to Shenzhou, followed by three grueling days of searching. The Chiyou's Descent World Instance had consumed nearly another full day. After drawing upon Kalpas's terrifying power and suffering the agonizing backlash of the [Ash Extinction] debuff, Rovel had been forced to rest in bed for three straight days. He spent the last two simply wandering around, letting his battered muscles recover.
Now, with only a handful of days remaining before the Shenzhou New Year holiday officially concluded, his return to St. Freya was imminent.
Faction 1 had emerged victorious in the World Instance. As a reward, every player operating within the Shenzhou territory received a month-long regional buff: [Xuanyuan's Blessing].
For Rovel, however, the rules bent slightly. Because he was literally carrying Ji Lin on his back, the system recognized his unique status. [Xuanyuan's Blessing] bypassed the time limit entirely, cementing itself as a permanent passive in his status window.
So, even though his physical body still required a full month to completely purge the lingering effects of the debuff, his actual progression wouldn't stagnate. He already held a massive temporal advantage. Back when the servers had crashed and locked everyone else out, he had accumulated nearly three weeks of uninterrupted progression.
Taking a month to recuperate now was simply the universe balancing the scales.
Currently, across the entire player base, Rovel hadn't heard a single whisper of another Descender successfully enrolling in a Special Training Academy.
Wait, no, that isn't entirely accurate, he corrected himself.
Yuki had successfully infiltrated World Serpent. In terms of resources and raw power, that shadowy organization certainly wasn't inferior to St. Freya Academy.
Her terrifying performance during the Chiyou instance was proof enough. Having pushed her Basic Sniping skill to the Minor Accomplishment rank, her precision had reached an unnatural level. Almost every single bullet that left her rifle triggered a [Weak Point Attack].
A [Weak Point Attack] didn't just add a flat bonus; it outright tripled the base damage.
Because of this, Yuki's damage output easily shattered the one-thousand mark per shot. Among the millions of Descenders currently logged into the world, finding anyone other than Rovel who could rival her lethal efficiency was practically impossible.
Browsing the forums, the landscape of the player base was clear. Not a single post mentioned anyone successfully joining Schicksal Headquarters or breaching the inner echelons of Anti-Entropy.
Rovel wasn't entirely certain of Anti-Entropy's current recruitment stance, but Schicksal's attitude was crystal clear. Otto Apocalypse had always maintained a strict, exclusionary policy toward Descenders.
Entering Schicksal Headquarters was a pipe dream for players. Even gaining access to a regional Schicksal Branch was highly unrealistic. The vast majority of Descenders were relegated to Schicksal's minor, subsidiary academies if they wanted to pursue further study.
Rovel leaned back, tapping his chin. He still couldn't quite figure out what Otto was plotting. Ever since the blonde Bishop's last gesture of goodwill, the two hadn't interacted at all.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sharp slide of paper across a wooden desk.
"By the way, Rovel, fill out this form." Himeko tapped a manicured fingernail against the document she had just placed in front of him.
He glanced down. The bold header at the top of the page read: [Schicksal Knight Armor Application Form].
"Hmm? I can apply for this already?" Rovel blinked, looking up at the red-haired major in surprise.
Himeko crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "You cleared out an entire quarantine zone of Death Soldiers and Honkai Beasts. You resolved the Pseudo-Herrscher incident in Nagazora City. You assisted me in executing Vishnu right as it was on the verge of mutating into an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. Oh, and let's not forget you almost single-handedly slaughtered the Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Chiyou..."
She leaned forward, her gaze piercing. "If you can't apply, then no one in this entire organization can."
Himeko honestly doubted if Rovel comprehended just how terrifying his accumulated military merits were. That final achievement alone—slaying a Judgment-class threat—was more than enough to fast-track an application for an S-rank Schicksal Knight position.
All Rovel needed to do now was complete the mandatory theoretical courses. If everything proceeded smoothly, he would easily secure a promotion to an A-rank Schicksal Knight before the year ended.
As for S-rank... that was a different beast entirely. To achieve that title, one had to travel to Schicksal Headquarters and be personally knighted by the Lord Bishop himself, Otto Apocalypse.
The perks, however, were massive. An S-rank Knight reported directly to Otto, completely bypassing the jurisdiction and red tape of any local branch.
Rovel picked up a pen and quickly filled out the required fields. When he handed it back, Himeko scanned the document. Her eyes widened, and she fell into a stunned silence.
"Why..." She looked up, utterly baffled. "...did you choose the [High Firepower Suppression Combat Armor]?"
Himeko couldn't process it. Wasn't Rovel a pure, close-quarters warrior? Weren't his absolute specialties high-speed swordsmanship and brutal hand-to-hand combat?
Logically, he should have selected the [High Mobility Specialized Armor] or the [Speed Augmentation Armor]. Even a balanced loadout like the [All-Domain Versatile Armor] would have made sense.
But a heavy artillery suit? It contradicted his entire fighting style.
Valkyrie and Knight armors served two primary purposes. First, they provided vital protection, preventing the user from being easily maimed by Death Soldiers and Honkai Beasts. Second, they amplified the user's specific combat characteristics.
For a brawler, the [High Mobility Specialized Armor] was ideal. It helped rapid gap-closing, balanced heavy protection with offensive output, and significantly enhanced physical bodily functions.
For a bladed-weapon specialist, the [Speed Augmentation Armor] was the gold standard. It leaned heavily toward weapon enhancement. While the plating was lightweight and offered less defense, it came equipped with advanced tactical modules, allowing the user to glide or even achieve brief periods of true flight.
Either of those would have turned Rovel into an absolute monster on the battlefield. Yet, he bypassed them for the firepower suppression model.
Did he have some sort of phobia regarding insufficient firepower?
The [High Firepower Suppression Combat Armor] focused on heavy shielding and was loaded with a massive array of automated artillery systems. It was designed specifically for operatives with brilliant tactical minds but relatively weak physical bodies.
Bronya, for instance, was the textbook candidate for that exact type of armor.
Rovel chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "It's like this... although those two agile armors can augment physical stats, the actual increase they provide would be pretty negligible for my current body."
He leaned forward, his expression turning slightly more serious. "What I desperately need right now is the ability to launch large-scale, devastating attacks that can sweep through a vast area in an instant. Raw, widespread destruction. That is what I lack the most."
He had noticed a trend. The system driving this world seemed to absolutely love massive faction confrontations. If he ever found himself in a situation like Nagazora City again, staring down a horde of millions...
Sure, he wasn't afraid of dying to them, but his hands would literally cramp up from swinging a sword that many times.
Back in Nagazora, the heavy fire support Gray Serpent had provided from the shadows had allowed Rovel to wipe out at least two million Descenders with minimal physical effort. Ever since that day, the desire for personal heavy artillery had taken root in his mind.
Himeko sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "...Fine. But you need to understand that this specific class of combat armor consumes a massive amount of mental energy. It requires the user's brain to simultaneously integrate and calculate trajectories for various weapon modules. It puts a terrifying burden on the nervous system. Are you absolutely sure you can handle that?"
She didn't try to force him to change his mind, but the warning was necessary.
"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Rovel patted his chest with a confident grin.
Manufacturing custom armor of this grade usually took around two months. It was a long waiting cycle, but Rovel was more than willing to be patient.
Miles away, within the pristine, gold-trimmed office of Schicksal Headquarters.
"Fang Ruobai... he actually chose the [High Firepower Suppression Combat Armor]? How fascinating. This man truly is interesting."
Otto Apocalypse stared at the holographic projection of the submitted application form, a genuine smile of amusement curving his handsome features.
He had already reviewed the classified combat footage recovered from the ruins of Nanwu City.
Fang Ruobai had provided him with far too many surprises lately. That life-burning, apocalyptic strike the boy had unleashed against Chiyou... for a brief second, Otto had genuinely thought the Descender was wielding the Judgment of Shamash.
But the data proved otherwise. He hadn't relied on any Divine Key. He had generated that catastrophic output using his own innate power.
Even Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Durandal, would have had to expend considerable effort to put down a beast like Chiyou.
However... Otto was a man who respected the choices of others. If the boy wanted a walking fortress of artillery, Otto would ensure it was tailor-made to perfection.
More than anything, Otto wanted to see exactly where the absolute limits of these so-called 'Descenders' lay.
He tapped a finger against his desk, the sound echoing sharply in the quiet room.
"Amber," Otto called out, his voice smooth and commanding. "Initiate the [Jaeger Project]. I want you to pull the prototype unit designated HDA-001, [Knight: Moon Sky], and completely convert it into a [High Firepower Suppression Combat Armor]."
A sleek, cybernetic woman stepped out from the shadows, bowing her head respectfully. "Understood, Lord Bishop. Do you wish to formally rename this armor upon its conversion?"
Otto steepled his fingers, his green eyes glinting with quiet anticipation.
"Let's call it... [Godslayer Armor: Hell Knight - Moon Ember]."
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