Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 477 - 476: White Knight Armor

There are many issues to resolve, with crises large and small unfurling one after another—some stemming from evil cult followers, some from within Anzu, some from neighboring countries, and some from the wastelands. And others... to this day still hidden within the layered historical fog, even the sea demons can’t tell when or in what form they will emerge.

But problems must be solved one by one, from near to far, from small to large.

The most important task at present is still to establish a firm foundation and clear out the instability within the Cecil Principality.

The first batch of brochures meant for "promoting the new Holy Light doctrine and correcting past misconceptions" has been printed; the samples were sent to Gawain’s desk. In the pleasant afternoon sunlight, Gawain leaned back in his large comfortable chair, looking at the brochures in his hand and enjoying the rare, slightly leisurely moment.

Besides him, the only other figure in the room was Amber, sleeping as if the world had ended—the half-elf lady had moved a chair beside the window and initially was just basking in the sun, but in just a matter of minutes, she fell asleep with a soft snore, her head resting on the window sill, like a well-fed cat dozing in the sunlight, a trickle of drool pooling down the sill.

A master of shadows, yet she loves basking in the sun, and once in the sun, she becomes sleepy, and once sleepy she has no sense of vigilance—does the Goddess of Shadows, whom she claims to devoutly believe in, know that her follower is so shameful?

Gawain shook his head, shifting his gaze away from Amber, continuing to look at the sample materials in his hand.

This was not a profound religious classic, nor lengthy preachy teachings; it’s a booklet written by Wright based on his evangelizing experience, using the simplest and most straightforward language. A few sheets of paper conveyed in straightforward, understandable words the basic operations of the Northern Church, the truth about indulgence money and heretic trials, the fact that priests hold power over the interpretation of scriptures, thereby controlling the followers’ thoughts, while also mentioning the establishment and basic concepts of the Southern New Church.

This was publicity material at its simplest and most direct, filled with plain language. To ensure even those with lower literacy could understand, the vocabulary used did not exceed the "Eight Hundred Common Words" list. It appeared as though an old farmer, seated opposite you, was recounting what he had seen and heard in his own simple tongue. Such material might be dismissed and even scorned by professional clergymen and scholars, but this was precisely what Gawain asked for.

He wanted this kind of straightforward and heart-connecting material, this kind of narration as if from a firsthand experience.

Gawain set down the booklet, knowing that soon thousands of pieces of material would be packaged and dispatched from the printing factory, sent to every corner of the southern borders, with a significant portion reaching the vicinity of Lu’an City, infiltrating the city itself. To the Holy Light entrenched within, it would be a weapon more dangerous than guns, and this era’s clergymen... have no experience in countering such a weapon.

Just then, a loud buzzing suddenly came from the Magic Web Communicator beside the desk, interrupting Gawain’s thoughts.

The noise woke Amber from her deep slumber at the window sill. The embarrassed half-elf let out a cry of "Oh my gosh," and darted out the window, followed by a loud crash and a chorus of exclamations from outside.

Gawain got up casually, locked the window from the inside, and then opened the Magic Web Communicator.

Rebecca’s figure appeared floating above the communicator: "Ancestor! The sample of the White Knight Armor is completed!"

Gawain was slightly surprised: "Already?"

"There’s the experience with the magic-conducting armor, plus Nicholas Egg helped," Rebecca chuckled foolishly in the holographic projection, scratching her head as she spoke, "It was just an added Inversion Matrix Converter, not complicated."

Gawain smiled in satisfaction: "Very good, I’ll be right over. Wait for me at the Research Institute."

Then he stepped forward to turn off the communicator, and simultaneously a loud crash precisely came from the window—he turned to look and saw Amber stuck on the window, sliding down.

Before she completely slid down, Gawain opened the window, grabbed Amber by the collar, pulling her inside without any explanation, heading out the door: "Come with me to the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute."

Amber, like a cat caught by its weak spot, flailed in Gawain’s grasp, loudly protesting: "Where have you seen such a thing! Don’t you know I meant to come back! And why did you lock the window! I absolutely don’t want to go to any research—ugh, let me down, I can walk by myself, is that not good enough!"

Gawain walked Amber along the way, and the attendants and guards were quite accustomed to this scene, greeting the leader and the head of intelligence with calmness: the leader and his personal guard frequently went out together, sometimes leading, sometimes carrying, it was pretty much the same...

Soon, Gawain saw the results of Rebecca and others’ many days of hard work.

In the No. 2 laboratory of the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, a rather imposing and heavy full-body armor was quietly standing on a circular platform in the center of the room. Rebecca, Kamel, Wright, and Nicholas Egg were waiting around the platform, while several technical personnel were checking the status of the armor and the runes around the platform. Upon seeing Gawain appear, they put down their work temporarily and turned to greet him respectfully.

After responding, Gawain focused his attention on the striking armor: "Is this the armor prepared for the White Knight?"

It was indeed a rather beautiful suit of armor—much like magic-conducting armor, it was entirely different from any full-body armor commonly seen in this era.

The armor was predominantly silver-white, with a design even bulkier than that of magic armor, perhaps to accommodate more Holy Light Rune Baseplates and Inversion Matrix Units. Its torso had clearly been specially designed: on its back was a detachable combat field pack, with a faint light of magical energy flowing at the seams between the pack and the armor. On the front chest, the steel plates bulged prominently, and faint light flickered between the pieced-together plates, while a fist-sized recessed area could be seen on the chest and abdomen, embedded with a translucent crystal whose purpose remained unknown.

Toward the heart on the left chest of the armor, a piece of pale-yellow parchment written with the doctrines of the Church of the Holy Light was securely riveted there. This hanging parchment slightly softened the cold and futuristic texture of the sturdy steel armor, reminding onlookers of the connection between this armor and the Holy Light.

Moreover, the most eye-catching feature of this armor was its matching full-covered helmet—the helmet boasted an eye-catching design, with streamlined thick steel plates directly embossed with script from the Holy Light Scriptures. The tactical scope made of crystals seamlessly melded with the entire helmet, while a set of golden wing-like decorations extended from the rear of the helmet. Though it was clearly machine-stamped mass-produced goods, it added an additional layer of holy religious significance amid the stark steel aura of the helmet—

The parchment filled with classic doctrines, along with the helmet embossed with sacred runes and decorated with wing-like motifs, evidently defined the typical marks of the White Knight.

Gawain was quite satisfied with this armor’s design, which perfectly embodied the power of Cecil and underscored the significance of the Holy Light as a component of the Cecil system. Nevertheless, he still needed to ask Rebecca whether it worked well.

Yet, the first to impatiently raise a question wasn’t Gawain; it was Amber, who had been loudly exclaiming upon leaving but was now so inquisitive that she seemed to want to crawl into that set of armor. The half-elf lady circled the platform twice before grabbing Rebecca and asking: "Does this thing allow an average person to use the Holy Light?"

Rebecca looked quite pleased: "After the last test, we conducted a series of supplementary experiments to ensure safety. Now this set of armor is a practical, finished product..."

She pointed at the armor’s structure and began to introduce it to Gawain: "We optimized the previous generation’s combat field pack, reduced the number of Charged Crystals, and improved the pack’s energy output efficiency, thereby allowing it to provide more energy to the armor. With ample energy, we’ve integrated a large number of Holy Light spells directly into the armor, including the most basic Holy Light spell, healing spell, and blessing-related spells—all can be cast using this specialized vambrace."

As Gawain listened, he nodded at intervals: these were the most basic Holy Light spells and the first batch to be analyzed and transformed. From a practical perspective, the first generation of White Knights didn’t need to master those powerful yet difficult-to-mass-produce high-level Divine Arts; if they could carry out the duties of battlefield priests, they would significantly enhance the strength of Cecil’s Army and undermine the beliefs of traditional churches.

After Rebecca finished speaking, Nicholas Egg floated over, and a metallic resonance echoed from his body: "Based on the design experience of magic-conducting armor, we’ve added a more effective cushioning liner inside the White Knight’s armor to better protect the wearer’s safety. On the battlefield, professions with healing powers must be properly protected. Additionally, due to the backpack’s improved output power, we’ve added more Weight-Reduction Runes to the liner, thus alleviating the burden of the armor on the White Knight, and allowing them to carry more supplies and equipment..."

"As a supplement for protection, we also added a shield crystal on the chest of the White Knight armor," Kamel added, pointing to that prominent crystal on the chest of the armor, "this crystal is powered by an independent Inversion Matrix Unit, capable of generating a Holy Light Shield, with strength even exceeding the Forcefield Shields currently used by Cecil soldiers. In emergencies, its generated shield can cover several meters around the White Knight, which, although it lasts only a few minutes, is enough to protect nearby teammates during fierce battles, providing opportunities for healing or retreating."

Gawain nodded repeatedly again: just as with his impression of battlefield priests, the most trusted of the White Knights would be their healing and protection abilities. On the battlefield, a large group capable of releasing area-wide shields and instantly casting various healing spells and blessing spells would greatly enhance soldiers’ survival abilities and significantly boost the morale and resilience of the entire army during combat. Although Cecil’s combat priests wear armor heavier than that of heavy cavalry, which differs from the artistic style of priests elsewhere, their battlefield positioning is clearly quite similar...

Gawain’s thought persisted until Rebecca hauled out a giant long-handled warhammer.

"Speaking of protection, now let’s talk about the weapons of the White Knight!" The deer-girl’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she swayed the long-handled warhammer on her shoulder with proud enthusiasm (how does she have such strength being a Mage?!), "Mr. Rhett suggested that not only should great priests have the heart to protect the innocent, but also the power to strike down evil, hence the White Knight also has substantial combat capability. Take a look at this warhammer; it firstly has a mechanical impact structure, a concept inspired by the Power Cudgel..."

(Holy Mackerel!)