Chapter 748: Power Armor

This Titan Engine is Lei En's latest research achievement.

It looks like a rectangular backpack, its edges dulled, encased in a shell that protects the internal Titan rune array and mechanical structure; it is currently running, emitting a faint rumble.

A crystal conduit links the engine to the massive machine tool beside it, channeling huge energy to drive the machine's operation.

This machine, which originally required a large rune steam engine to power, is now running at high speed yet balanced.

Lei En simply watches, letting the Titan Engine operate.

High‑purity source crystal rods are inserted inside the engine; under the control of the split‑brain crystal, the Titan rune array triggers a violent reaction that continuously releases energy. This ferocious energy differs from ordinary magical energy, closely resembling the electricity of a past life; once tamed, it is extremely versatile, only one energy level below nuclear power.

The split‑brain crystal has already fused perfectly with the Titan rune array; the crystal is fitted with a hard shell resistant to high temperature, corrosion, and wear, allowing it to absorb energy to sustain itself without being burned.

This time, Lei En no longer needs to press his hand on the engine to control it as before.

Everything is handled by the split‑brain crystal.

He only needs a thought to use the split‑brain crystal to control every operational detail of the engine—boosting power, reducing output, shutting down, standby, and so on—in a completely fool‑proof manner, achieving an unprecedented "artificial intelligence" level.

The machine tool behaves as if it has its own mind, sometimes running at high speed, sometimes throttling down, conducting various tests in response to the Titan Engine's power fluctuations.

It wasn't until after more than four hours, when the source crystal rod was exhausted, that the test concluded.

Lei En opened the scorching engine shell, dispersing steam‑like residual heat, and carefully inspected the internal structure and rune array, finding that after four hours of operation there was virtually no damage, and his face instantly lit up with joy.

"Finally succeeded!"

He clenched his fist; since it could run at high frequency for four hours, further testing and maintenance for forty hours, four hundred hours, or even four months should pose no problem!

Later, only the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers need to perform regular inspections and maintenance; how long the Titan Engine can run depends on the number of source crystal rods.

He reassembled the engine, inserted a heavier source crystal rod, and continued testing.

A Thundercast Celestial Soldier flashed in, taking over the task of inspecting the engine, while Lei En entered the adjacent room and sat down, his expression falling into contemplation.

Successfully creating the Titan Engine is only the first step.

It solved the power‑energy problem; next, how to apply this powerful engine still requires much work.

The top priority, naturally, is to forge a power armor!

The armor currently worn by Extreme Warriors is merely heavy; only because Titan Blue Iron provides strong defense, and even its enchantments are mediocre, hardly different from an iron can.

Only armor equipped with a Titan Engine qualifies as true power armor.

However, an engine alone is insufficient; crafting armor that can unleash various powerful functions is not much easier than building the engine. Fortunately, Lei En need not start from scratch—Ai Lun E Si already possesses something akin to power armor, namely the Mechanic's mechanical armor.

Storm Giants also have similar technology, namely the Thundercast Colossus.

Additionally, the Empire's alchemical masters have developed golems and Arcane puppets, both of which can provide Lei En with references.

For these humanoid constructs, the most crucial component is the power source.

Basic mechanical armor is powered by a rune steam engine, making it bulky, sluggish, and underpowered.

After the Mechanics ascend to Legend, they will create a "Soul‑Power Engine" that uses their own soul energy as fuel to drive combat armor.

Such a soul‑power engine consumes enormously and cannot endure long.

A golem's power comes from internal energy‑storage crystals; some can be recharged, others are single‑use, so golem combat strength varies wildly, with a huge gap between upper and lower limits, depending on the maker's craftsmanship and materials.

Arcane puppets have very stable combat power, numerous functions, and the highest intelligence.

Their energy derives from the Iola Core, virtually inexhaustible, enchanted with various powerful spells, but consequently they can only operate in Fu Kong Cheng; once away from the Iola Core, they become scrap metal.

The Thundercast Colossus follows a different system.

The Colossus has low intelligence, fully reliant on its master's remote control, but without energy concerns its combat power is supreme; its drawback is massive size and prohibitive manufacturing cost, preventing mass production.

Lei En pondered for a long time, and a plan gradually formed in his mind.

The Extreme Warrior's power armor should be based on the Thundercast Colossus, shrinking it to wearable size and reducing material input to cut costs; however, the Colossus's interior is solid, so it must be reengineered, integrating the mechanical armor's human‑control system and applying the Arcane puppet's enchantments.

Ultimately, the power armor combines the three advantages: limitless energy, formidable defense, and ferocious offense!

This is a complex and profound undertaking.

Energy transmission, alloy armor, shock absorption, enchantments, spell resistance, and so on, plus the integration of various functions—such as strength amplification, fire‑control systems, scanning, flight control, navigation—all must be realized through rune technology.

Power armor is more than a set of armor; it is a firepower platform.

A Bolt Gun alone is insufficient; new weapons that match the armor are also required to fully unleash the Titan Engine's might.

When previously researching the Titan Engine, Lei En already formed preliminary ideas for several weapons.

Moreover, the Titan Engine's applications extend beyond power armor.

It is not necessary to produce human‑worn armor; the pilot can be discarded, and like the Thundercast Colossus, remote control is possible, with the split‑brain crystal executing all commands.

Since no human needs to wear it, it need not be limited to humanoid form.

Various forms of Colossi are feasible—tanks, fighter jets, self‑propelled artillery, dense formations; the modern military equipment of a past life can all be experimented with.

Lei En's heart burned with zeal; he acted without hesitation.

He is no longer alone; he immediately issued orders, dispatching twenty Thundercast Celestial Soldiers stationed far away at Black Obsidian Tower to the alchemy chamber on the fourth floor of the high tower, commencing weapon development.

A single Thundercast Celestial Soldier's computing power certainly cannot match Lei En himself.

However, twenty Thundercast Celestial Soldiers combined far exceed Lei En's intellect; each handles a portion of the research while Lei En coordinates, boosting work efficiency by over tenfold!

It took just over half a month, and the first finished product emerged.

Lei En teleported from Jin Gang Fort to Shield Island, arriving in the basement where the teleportation array resides; on the surface a sturdy stone fortress was erected atop the highland summit. The fortress, still rough, serves only as a temporary command center for Gotham City, housing a squad of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, two squads of Extreme Warriors, and a company of gun‑wing knights.

"Boss!"

Extreme Warriors saluted loudly.

Lei En emerged from the basement passage into the fortress's council hall, where he saw Chief Master Mason Bulestein, responsible for the city's construction, standing beside a large table with a Gotham City blueprint spread out.

Hearing the Extreme Warrior's voice, Bulestein, deep in thought, looked up and hurried, "Your Excellency, Count."

The dwarf seemed to have not rested for a long time; his robust body showed slight fatigue, yet his eyes remained bright.

He immediately reported, "Lord, five li of the wall have been built; the remaining fifteen li have had their foundations laid, and progress will accelerate, likely completing within three months. This morning, another batch of five hundred dwarf warriors from the Three‑Hammer Legion arrived at Shield Island, and Lord Kestajin is arranging barracks and assigning tasks."

"Wizard Weizelan has sent me a magical message: a fleet carrying over two thousand residents will arrive at Shield Island the day after tomorrow."

"I've already assigned a batch of dwarf artisans and built temporary housing for them."

Bulestein, in a few minutes, gave a detailed report on Getan's progress.

Lei En listened attentively, nodding from time to time.

In fact, he knew these matters like the back of his hand; through Thundercast Celestial Soldiers and Extreme Warriors, not a single move of Gotham City escaped his control.

He originally intended to send a double, alter his appearance, and disguise as his confidant to coordinate the whole of Gotham City, but Bulestein volunteered for the task, so he was assigned to manage the city‑building project.

After the report ended, Bulestein's expression grew serious.

"What's the matter?" Lei En asked.

"Your Excellency the Count, the situation is a bit off," Bulestein replied in a low voice. "At noon a battle broke out; several hundred undead crossed the East Strait, attempted to land on Shield Island, and were quickly wiped out by dwarf warriors. However, from my observation, this was merely a probe; Aibolaken across the strait may have already amassed an Undead Army, and their target must be the city walls."

Lei En nodded. "I know."

The Heavenly Disaster Corps would never stand by as the walls rise; this cannot be hidden, and a large‑scale battle could erupt at any moment.

He has already informed the teacher and Ouroin Master, and also visited the Storm Temple, contacting Elder Suolim and the ancient red dragon Yuyan on Lone Peak; should the Death Lord appear, or the Holy Soul Lich bearing the death‑knot sigil, several Saint Rank strongmen will rush to Gotham to meet the fight.

Extreme Warriors and the Spearwing Knight Corps have also remained on standby.

As for Aibolaken opposite Shield Island, Lei En had long ago dispatched several Thundercast Celestial Soldiers to scout.

Thundercast Celestial Soldiers are mages who have mastered the Lake of Stars Meditation, rapidly constructing a suite of spell models, including Invisibility, Detection, the Secret Eye, and magical alarms, possessing both great combat power and skill at moving unseen for reconnaissance.

Aibolaken has indeed gathered an Undead Army, but not as severe as Bulestein imagined; although it grows daily, the number is only about thirty thousand.

Thirty thousand undead attempting to storm Shield Island is virtually impossible.

Five thousand dwarves of the Three Hammer Corps are essentially in place, half of the Weizelan Wizards have also stationed in Gotham, along with Extreme Warriors, Thundercast Celestial Soldiers and the Spearwing Knights—four extraordinary corps in total; even without completed walls, they could easily wipe out those tens of thousands of undead.

Gotham City now is mostly wasteland, a hundred ruins awaiting revival; aside from the fortress on the high ground, there are no other significant objectives.

This makes the defensive difficulty seem easy, but in reality it is loose on the outside and tight within.

If the Heavenly Disaster Corps believes they can easily breach Gotham and the Undead Army will swarm out, what awaits them is a direct strike.

Seeing that Lei En was not overly concerned about the enemy's demeanor, Bulestein solemnly warned, "Sir, we should stay alert and not be careless."

"Rest assured," Lei En said with a smile. "I've been waiting for the Undead Army to attack Gotham; I'm only afraid they won't show up."

Bulestein was taken aback, then finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lei En patted a dwarf's shoulder. "Come with me; today we'll add a defense to Gotham."

He stepped out of the fortress hall, looked west, and saw the already‑built section of wall in the distance. At thirty meters tall, the wall could not compare with Albert Bay's massive wall; in height, scale, or construction time, it fell far short of Albert Bay's great wall.

However, Gotham's wall will, in the future, far surpass Albert Bay's in defensive strength.

Lei En surveyed the surroundings; the city now had scattered houses, and the population grew day by day.

Currently dwarves remain the majority, exceeding ten thousand, with humans coming second.

He recruited residents from the Glamorogen Territory and the Augustus Principality, offering favorable terms to settle on Shield Island. Anyone willing received ten Gold Shields as a settlement grant, with future allocation of houses and land, and no taxes for ten years.

Despite such generous terms, few chose to come to Shield Island.

The New Continent gives people the impression of danger; for ordinary folk, it is essentially a life‑prohibited zone.

In nearly two months, only over twenty thousand residents were recruited from the two places, dispatched in batches by fleet from the Old Continent, escorted by Weizelan Wizards, sailing along the western coast, detouring through the southern part of the New Continent, passing the Wind‑Thunder Islands, threading a narrow canal between the New and Southern Continents, then turning north along the eastern coast, finally reaching Shield Island.

The first fleet arrived a few days ago, bringing over three thousand residents who have settled, begun work, and reclaimed the already‑purified land outside Gotham City.

Five more fleets are pending, expected to arrive within a few months.

Lei En opened a portal and stepped through.

Bulestein hurriedly followed, finding himself on the wall; looking west, across a strait over two hundred meters wide, lay Aibolaken.

Nearby dwarf artisans saw the two on the wall, glanced a few times, then returned to their work.

Clack!

A bolt of lightning shot from afar, struck before them, revealing Kestajin's figure.

King of the Hills, patrolling with dwarf warriors, thought something had happened and asked, "Lei En, is something wrong?"

Kestajin has already pledged loyalty to Lei En, but Lei En, to show respect, lets him address him by name without honorifics.

King of the Hills gladly accepted.

"It's nothing," Lei En shook his head, explaining, "I've come to install a weapon on the wall." As he spoke, he drew his invention from the Nebula Ring; with a thunderous boom, a metal construct weighing tens of thousands of pounds slammed onto the wall, leaving the two dwarves stunned.

Bulestein, who had never seen the thing before, exclaimed in surprise, "What weapon is this?"

(End of Chapter)