Chương 196: Armor of Inspiration, Sword of Dignity and Truth

Over the following period, Li Qinwu hammered out the rest of the plate armor pieces with wind-like speed. Every single component was adorned with ornate, beautiful patterns, causing the entire suit of armor to sparkle and shine brightly. To tell the truth, if it weren't for protecting a prized gem like Kanda and ensuring he could grow without any untoward accidents, Li Qinwu would have wanted to keep this suit of mithril plate armor for himself.

Even more impressive was that after Li Qinwu fully assembled the armor, a remarkably powerful attribute triggered: Inspiration +10. According to the system's descriptor, the wearer of this armor and nearby friendly troops would gain boosted morale, causing a continuous wellspring of mental strength to surge within their hearts! This was the very first time Li Qinwu had crafted an item with this property—a exceptionally good area-of-effect aura.

It further solidified his determination to build a specialized elite force led by Kanda the Hero. With Kanda the Hero as the core, he would assign him an elite infantry regiment, turning Kanda into a razor-sharp weapon! When the time came, Kanda himself would act as the main vanguard spearhead for the regiment, while the other soldiers would help hold the line around him and provide protection when Kanda grew fatigued.

He believed that with a massive regiment serving as his foundation, Kanda the Hero could burst forth with the combat power of a hundred Leons! Li Qinwu named this armor the Armor of Inspiration. A single suit gathered the thickness of six standard suits of mithril plate armor; even paper-thin mithril plate armor could deflect musket fire, and now with six fused into one, the sheer thickness of the mithril had skyrocketed.

Li Qinwu couldn't even imagine what kind of firepower would be required to penetrate the Armor of Inspiration—he doubted even an anti-aircraft cannon could punch through it. With the armor finished, it was time for the weapon. Sweeping the loose pieces of the Armor of Inspiration aside, Li Qinwu scooped out a glowing, red pool of molten iron from the Magical Blast Furnace. Swinging his hammer with the Wind-Beating Hammer Technique, he began shaping the sword blank.

Under Li Qinwu's precise hammering, the sword blank took shape in under a minute. This was a greatsword whose blade length alone exceeded 1. 5 meters, with a width of nearly 12 centimeters. Its general appearance mirrored the greatsword used by Guts—the protagonist of Berserk —before he joined the Band of the Hawk, except this blade was thinner. Furthermore, this sword was far more refined. Li Qinwu didn't hammer too many decorative patterns onto the blade itself, opting instead for a minimalist style.

However, along the short section of the blade just above the hilt, he hammered out the weapon's name in the Goblin language: The Sword of Dignity and Truth. The crude, primitive Goblin script had been designed by Li Qinwu to look extraordinarily striking, appearing almost like mystical runes. Once the blade was fully forged, Li Qinwu turned his attention to the crossguard. Upon it, he hammered out ears of wheat—symbolic of an agrarian society—and gears—symbolic of an industrial society. Stolen novel; please report.

As he worked on these patterns, Li Qinwu asked Seahyde, who was floating nearby: "When we melted those mithril longswords earlier, I noticed many magical characters inscribed on the blades, which seemed to help channel magic power.

"Is there any way for the Alliance to master the technique of inscribing magic runes onto mithril?" Li Qinwu had encountered enemies who could slash out arcs of sword-light many times before. The technique was both practical and immensely cool, and he wanted to possess it too. However, that move required one's magic power to reach a certain threshold, and it also demanded that the weapon used possess magic conductivity. Seahyde put on a face that said 'dream on.'

"Forget it. Inscribing magic characters onto mithril is an extremely advanced art. It's not just a matter of having the technique—you also need a massive amount of specialized equipment.

"Mithril is a magic-insulating material. If you crafted a container out of mithril, managed to drain all the internal magic power inside, and sealed it tight, it would form a magic-null zone.

"Since magic power cannot enter it, it naturally cannot grant any magical buffs. Those guys who use mithril to slash out sword-light put in a certain amount of magic and get out an equivalent amount of sword-light power—unlike an ebony staff, which has an amplifying effect. It's just a flashy, impractical skill." Li Qinwu disagreed with his assessment.

"You can't say it's completely useless. Melee soldiers need a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. If they want a ranged attack option as well, sword-light is pretty great. It's certainly better than dropping a weapon in one hand just to clutch a magic staff, right?" Lacking melee combat experience, Seahyde simply shrugged.

"Regardless, don't even think about inscribing magic characters onto mithril—you won't be able to acquire that technology within the next ten years at least.

"You know under what conditions mithril softens: it requires scouring by massive amounts of high-purity magic power. Yet inscribing magic runes must be carried out under completely calm magic conditions.

"Without high-level magic equipment, you have no way to complete the inscription at all, so stop daydreaming." Li Qinwu understood. Trying to inscribe magic runes onto mithril was essentially like trying to light a fire underwater; without sufficient technology, it was simply impossible. He put the thought out of his mind. Twenty minutes later, Li Qinwu finished forging all the components for the Sword of Dignity and Truth and assembled them together.

He wrapped the hilt in trimmed Horned Crocodile leather, giving it a very comfortable grip that was resistant to slipping. The Sword of Dignity and Truth also unlocked a special attribute: Fortitude +10. Its effect was that as long as the wielder's mind remained resolute, they would gain a slight stamina boost. Li Qinwu himself had fought to the point of utter exhaustion multiple times and knew just how crucial that so-called "slight stamina boost" could be at a critical moment—it was a life-saving ability!

With all the gear prepared, Li Qinwu returned to the Chief's Residence, summoned Kanda, and bestowed all the equipment upon him. Li Qinwu instructed Kanda to report to Gobu-Ying to undergo parachute jump training in preparation for the upcoming counterattack against the Church of the Goddess of Life. Meanwhile, Li Qinwu himself took charge of Iron City's administration—clearing the city's debris, restoring production, reassuring the populace, and preparing for his upcoming personal expedition.

There was only one airship, which could carry a maximum of 800 soldiers. The target they were attacking was the royal capital of the Sazos Kingdom—over 2, 000 kilometers away. How many enemies were there? What kind of enemies would they face? It was completely unknown. Li Qinwu had to lead the team in person, as he wouldn't feel at ease otherwise. Before departing, he couldn't leave behind any hidden risks in his territory; he needed to settle all domestic affairs before leaving.

He himself was now an extraordinary combat unit. Combined with Kanda the Hero, two extraordinary powerhouses looking out for each other would unleash combat power far greater than a simple 1+1—striking together was the only way to maximize their chances of success.