Chapter 192: Armed Doll: Ancient Sword Xuanyuan & Test Driving Hell Knight
"Mei, what's wrong?" Kiana asked, tilting her head in confusion as she stared at the older girl. Mei was leaning slightly, a hand pressed delicately against her lower back.
"It's nothing. I just accidentally strained it during training," Mei replied. A forced, somewhat strained smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "A couple of days of rest will do."
The more smug and dominant she had been a few days prior, the more painful the backlash felt now. A fully recovered Rovel had staged a merciless, complete reversal, thoroughly exhausting both Mei and her Herrscher persona, the Thunder Queen.
"When the boy is strong, the girl leans on the wall. The ancients truly did not deceive me," Himeko joked, taking a sip from her coffee mug with a knowing smirk.
She distinctly remembered Rovel's miserable state just a few days ago, where his legs would practically turn to jelly just at the sight of Mei. Himeko hadn't been able to help him out of that predicament then.
Now, the tables had completely turned. It was Mei's turn to suffer the consequences of a prolonged 'battle'.
"What is Auntie Himeko talking about? I don't understand!" Kiana blinked, completely missing the innuendo. She quickly moved on. "By the way, where is Bronya? I haven't seen her around lately."
"She's been heavily researching a specific technology from the Previous Era lately, so I gave her some leave to focus on it," Himeko replied, setting her mug down. "Looking at her progress reports, she should be just about done."
"Ah! Why won't you approve my leave?!" Kiana immediately puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. "You agreed the second Bronya asked!"
"...You actually have the nerve to say that!" Himeko stepped forward and poked Kiana hard on the forehead, scolding her. "Bronya asked for leave to do actual research. You ask for leave purely to go out and play!"
Before Kiana could retort, Himeko's eyes narrowed dangerously. "By the way, I haven't even punished you for skipping class yesterday! Don't run!!"
Sensing imminent doom, Kiana immediately slipped away and bolted down the hallway. Himeko chased right after her, brandishing a feather duster out of nowhere, giving the Kaslana girl a complete, authentic childhood disciplinary experience.
"Product delivered. Transaction with Rovel complete."
Bronya stood in the laboratory, her deadpan expression betraying a hint of pride as she handed the finished Armed Doll over to Rovel. She had thoughtfully left the construct unactivated, reserving that milestone moment specifically for him.
Rovel carefully accepted the Armed Doll, examining it closely. Its design bore a striking resemblance to the [Water of Serenity] he remembered from his meta-knowledge of the game. However, while [Water of Serenity] featured a chibi version of Cheng Lixue sitting atop her signature blade, the creation resting in his palms was a chibi version of Ji Lin, sitting elegantly upon a miniature Xuanyuan Sword.
Her tiny eyes were tightly shut, her mechanical breathing shallow, clearly still locked in a dormant state.
[Armed Doll: Ancient Sword Xuanyuan: An automated combat doll created using Previous Era Armed Doll technology combined with the Xuanyuan Sword used by Ji Lin. (Unactivated)]
Rovel gently placed his index finger on the chibi Ji Lin's head. The moment their skin made contact, the Ji Lin Stigmata etched onto his own body flared to life, connecting with the doll in a wondrous, pulsing rhythm of golden light.
"The activation button is located..."
Before Bronya could even finish her sentence, the previously sleeping [Ancient Sword Xuanyuan] fluttered her eyelashes. Her crimson eyes snapped open, glowing with a soft, intelligent light.
"Rovel, I will fight for you."
Those were the very first words the Armed Doll spoke, her tiny voice ringing out with absolute conviction.
Bronya tilted her head, her twin-drills swaying slightly as genuine puzzlement washed over her features. She had carefully designed the doll according to the Previous Era's Armed Doll blueprints. The underlying core code was built upon the principles of [Survival] and [Freedom]—she hadn't altered that fundamental logic.
Although her programming included a slight bias toward Rovel to ensure cooperation, it was absolutely not programmed for blind obedience. Logically, the doll should possess her own independent judgment. So... why the immediate, unhesitating oath of loyalty?
"Ji Lin, I look forward to working with you from now on," Rovel said, a warm smile spreading across his face. He held out a single finger.
The tiny Ji Lin reached out and grabbed it with her miniature hands, giving it a firm squeeze to seal their agreement.
"Can you explain this anomaly for Bronya?" Bronya looked up at Rovel, her analytical mind demanding answers.
"During the Chiyou incident, I obtained Ji Lin's Stigmata, and the actual will of Ji Lin's Stigmata exists within it," Rovel explained, gently lifting his hand so the doll could stand on his palm. "It's just that under normal circumstances, lacking a physical medium, it's incredibly hard for her to manifest and help me. So, she hasn't come out."
He gestured to the chibi warrior now adjusting her grip on the miniature Xuanyuan Sword. "Now that there's an Armed Doll to act as a perfect physical vessel for the Stigmata's will, she can finally step into the real world and fight alongside me."
As he spoke, Ji Lin kicked off his palm, hovering through the air before gracefully landing and taking a seat directly on Rovel's shoulder. Despite her tiny, adorable stature, her vermillion eyes carried a distinct hint of ancient nobility and a surprisingly imposing aura.
Rovel couldn't wait to see what she could do. He immediately took Ji Lin down to the Hyperion's simulation training room for a live-fire test.
The results were staggering. He quickly discovered that Ji Lin could perfectly use the abilities of the [Six Domains] to assist him in combat.
Whether it was executing spatial transfers, setting up crushing gravity fields, or conjuring gales, lightning, frost, and fire—she executed them flawlessly. She could not only release these elemental and spatial attacks independently to harass enemies, but she could also perfectly coordinate with Rovel to amplify his own [Six Domains] abilities.
For instance, if Rovel used the [Six Domains: Heaven] ability to teleport fifty meters away, adding Ji Lin's empowerment to the calculation allowed him to instantly bridge a distance of seventy-five meters. It was a flat, unconditional 1.5-times multiplier to his original range and output.
also, Ji Lin's independent combat strength was terrifyingly high. Based on the simulation's initial judgment... this tiny doll was actually more powerful than an average A-rank Valkyrie.
Her small body possessed absurd kinetic force, capable of swinging her miniature Xuanyuan Sword hard enough to send a massive Chariot-class Honkai Beast flying across the arena. In terms of raw, unadulterated power, she could go head-to-head with a heavily armored Temple-class Honkai Beast without giving up a single inch of ground.
Combined with her mastery over the [Six Domains] abilities, she could dance around and dismantle even an Emperor-class Honkai Beast with relative ease.
"So strong..." Bronya muttered, her eyes tracking the tiny warrior's devastating movements across the simulation monitors.
Witnessing Ji Lin's overwhelming performance planted a seed of inspiration in Bronya's mind. It gave her the sudden, burning idea of modifying Project Bunny using similar Previous Era principles.
However, she quickly calculated the roadblocks. She didn't have any Soulium left; she had completely exhausted the entire Soulium sphere Himeko provided just to construct Ji Lin's chassis.
More... Project Bunny was a precious gift from Seele. At least until she could reunite with Seele and get her explicit permission, Bronya absolutely refused to make any drastic, irreversible modifications to her trusted companion.
So, Bronya could only suppress this ambitious idea deep in her heart for the time being.
"Now that my body has fully recovered, shouldn't I also test out the [Godslayer Armor: Hell Knight - Moon Ember]?" Rovel mused, calling up his system interface to glance at his current attributes.
[Name: Fang Ruobai]
[Level: 31]
[Experience: 22,000 / 365,000]
[Race: Taiyi]
[HP: 20,530 / 20,530]
[Honkai Energy Infection Progress: 0%]
[Constitution: 2,063]
[Strength: 1,863]
[Agility: 2,263]
[Intelligence: 2,063]
[Total: 8,252]
[Honkai Energy Resistance: 3,000 HW]
[Free Attribute Points: 0]
[Unallocated Experience Pool: 7.2 Million]
[Stigmata Slot 1: Yae Sakura]
[Stigmata Slot 2: Ji Lin]
[Accessory: Snake]
[Status Bar: Xuanyuan's Blessing (Permanent)]
[Activated Authorities: Water, Wood, Quantum]
[Skills with incomplete proficiency:]
[Basic Kendo (White) · Great Success: 140,000 / 1 Million]
[Basic Combat (White) · Great Success: 170,000 / 1 Million]
[Basic Sniping (White) · Mastery: 1,000 / 10,000]
[Infinite Phantasmagoria (Gold) · Proficient: 500 / 1,000]
The recommended wearing requirements for the Hell Knight armor were steep: Honkai Energy Resistance ≥ 1,800 HW, Constitution ≥ 500, Strength ≥ 500, Agility ≥ 500, and Intelligence ≥ 2,000.
Looking at his current stats, Rovel perfectly met every single threshold. So...
"Fourth-generation armor, Quantum transmission engage—Godslayer Armor: Hell Knight - Moon Ember!"
As soon as Rovel finished speaking the command, the Hell Knight armor, currently stored deep within the Hyperion's armory, slowly vanished into a cascade of digital light.
Then, bit by bit, geometric arrays of crimson and black materialized out of thin air, smoothly locking into place and covering Rovel's body in a high-tech, menacing silhouette.
As the visor snapped shut, Rovel finally, clearly felt the surging, explosive power contained within this set of armor coursing through his veins.
"Morning Star!"
Rovel raised his right hand. A surge of quantum energy coalesced into his grip, rapidly forming into a massive, heavy-duty electromagnetic rail sniper rifle.
This was the designated name of the Hell Knight's primary weapon—Morning Star.
It was a title taken directly from the symbol of the hellish monarch Lucifer in Western mythology, fitting for a weapon designed to bring absolute ruin.
Standing off to the side, Bronya's eyes gradually widened, completely captivated by the sleek, aggressive aesthetic of the armor and the massive rifle.
This... this was just too cool.
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