Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Fire Seed Armor and the Rivet Knight’s Iron Thorn Dance
"What’s going on? The color of the technological barrier has changed." Qi Suian asked his Smart-Brain as he watched the color turn fiery red.
[Detection failed. Preliminary analysis suggests the so-called technology may be a front for something mystical.]
The Smart-Brain had little knowledge of mystical matters. What little it did know was limited to ancient martial arts and cold energy—information Qi Suian himself had provided.
’For some reason, I feel like some intense music should be playing right now...’ Qi Suian quipped. Immediately after, the Tai Sui God made its move without hesitation.
[Special lifeform detected approaching. Executing sneak attack...]
The words were barely out when the Tai Sui God, without hesitation, threw the Evil Dragon out like a bomb and charged forward to engage in close combat.
The target was an Armored Man in special armor that seemed to be formed from crystal, a faint flame flickering on its chest plate.
He carried a weapon resembling a Knight’s Lance. He instantly detected the Tai Sui God’s attack, hoisting the heavy, massive lance and thrusting it at the Tai Sui God with all his might.
"Wait, what the hell is this thing?" Qi Suian’s expression shifted.
Through data analysis and his own judgment, Qi Suian determined that the crystal armor was animate, not some inanimate object.
It was more like a lifeform, but a highly dormant one that appeared to be asleep.
CLANG!
The lance first pierced the Evil Dragon, then, with a cunning maneuver, directly blocked the Tai Sui God’s attack.
"What fine armor. You must be from a Level 3 Sanctuary, or perhaps even a higher-level Level 2 Sanctuary," the person inside the crystal armor spoke.
He was none other than Noelde, the Grand Elder of the Riveting Knight Sanctuary.
"Since we are both descendants of the Victory Clan, if you need anything, the Riveting Knight Sanctuary can help you."
"You shouldn’t have chosen to invade. You must understand, even the most powerful combat armor is nothing but a crude imitation of Fire Seed Armor."
"Even the lowest-grade Level 5 Fire Seed Armor is beyond what combat armor can compare to," Noelde said.
When Qi Suian heard this, he was secretly delighted. ’The protagonist halo must be working. I haven’t even asked anything, and he’s already giving away so much intel.’
But Noelde could say what he wanted; Qi Suian didn’t respond. Instead, the Tai Sui God’s attacks only grew more frenzied.
Seeing that Qi Suian was being so unreasonable, Noelde’s heart sank. He decided to stop holding back. He would, at most, spare the man’s life, which would be enough of a message to send back to his Sanctuary.
"Rivet Knight, awaken!" With Noelde’s furious shout, the flame pattern on his chest instantly began to expand and spread.
Simultaneously, the crystals underwent a grotesque transformation, morphing into a bizarre One-Horned Ferocious Horse.
It charged headlong at the Tai Sui God. If not for a quick dodge, a direct hit would have absolutely shattered its protective Dragon and Tiger Primordial Divine Force.
Now mounted, Noelde’s attacks became more powerful, and his reaction time and speed increased by at least fifty percent.
’A phase-two transformation... this is getting tricky.’ Qi Suian could clearly feel the tide of battle turning.
He had the upper hand at first, but now the gap was slowly closing.
Noelde was also anxious. Using the Fire Seed Armor came at a price.
Otherwise, with such great power, why would he be reluctant to use it?
Because just activating the Fire Seed Armor, without even fighting, consumed one year of his lifespan.
After that, it consumed a month of his life every ten minutes, a cost he could bear.
It was said that the higher the level of the Fire Seed Armor, the more lifespan it consumed.
At first, he had wanted to end the battle within ten minutes, but now that was clearly impossible.
As he redoubled his efforts, so did Qi Suian.
With an injection of Feast Energy to further amplify it, the Tai Sui God’s combat power climbed steadily.
As long as Qi Suian had enough Feast Energy, while it might not grant the Tai Sui God unlimited power, it could certainly boost it enough to achieve victory.
Especially now that the Tai Sui God had the Profound Mysterious True Spirit Jade to amplify its abilities, the effect of Qi Suian’s "Feast" was naturally even stronger.
It allowed the Tai Sui God to reach a power ceiling it previously could not.
"This... Are you from a Level 1 Sanctuary???" Noelde had thought that once he awakened the Rivet Knight, victory would be assured.
But he never expected that as he grew stronger, his enemy would too.
"This isn’t combat armor at all. This is a more advanced bionic armor, which only a Level 1 Sanctuary has the ability to create."
"But you don’t understand. Bionic armor only *approaches* the level of Fire Seed Armor."
"Only Fire Seed Armor can fight Fire Seed Armor."
"Your trump card is so laughable in my eyes!"
This time, a murderous intent sparked within Noelde.
The source of his murderous intent was greed.
He might have claimed bionic armor was inferior to Fire Seed Armor, but he knew the truth: bionic armor didn’t consume one’s lifespan, yet it could still achieve the same level of power.
Not to mention, this mysterious bionic armor before him could actually match the level of an awakened Fire Seed Armor.
The difference between pre-awakening and post-awakening wasn’t just strength; it also unlocked a powerful "Awakening Skill."
However, unleashing an Awakening Skill via Fire Seed Armor had a fatal drawback: it cost anywhere from one to ten years of life.
The exact cost depended on the desired power, cooldown time, and other factors.
The more lifespan consumed, the greater the power and the shorter the cooldown.
Everything was measured in years of life.
"Die, invader!!!"
To ensure he could claim the high-quality ’bionic armor’ from Qi Suian, Noelde unhesitatingly chose to pay the price... one year of his lifespan.
He was old enough to have a granddaughter. Even with genetic potions to extend his life, the effects were limited.
So for him, this battle—including the cost of the Awakening Skill—had so far cost him two years and three months of his life.
That was a huge chunk of his life. To say it didn’t hurt would be a lie.
"Iron Thorn Dance!"
Noelde’s Knight’s Lance whipped up a storm as the Unicorn Crystal Horse let out a piercing shriek.
The attack directly enveloped the Tai Sui God.
Visible crystalline sparks inflicted damage, and the Dragon and Tiger Primordial Divine Force protecting the Tai Sui God began to falter beneath their assault.
’Wait, this power-up... it’s this ridiculous?’ At that moment, Qi Suian finally got a true sense of the power levels in this Wasteland World.
The gap in combat power between the mid-to-low tiers and the high tiers was absolutely massive.
A single piece of so-called Fire Seed Armor could create such a precipitous spike in power.
’Looks like I can’t hold back any longer.’
Qi Suian’s voice was cold as he immediately took direct control of the Tai Sui God.
He wasn’t as skilled in combat as the Smart-Brain, but he had an irreplaceable function: allowing his protagonist halo to take full effect.
"Silk Bind! Heart Rend!! Breath Devour!!!"
The Evil Dragon went into a frenzy. Empowered by the Dragon and Tiger Primordial Divine Force and the "Gluttonous Feast of the Greedy," and further boosted by Qi Suian’s Feast Energy, it roared and attacked.
As the Evil Dragon roared and attacked, it instantly shredded the storm of crystalline sparks from the Iron Thorn Dance.
Even Noelde’s Unicorn Crystal Horse was pulverized into dust by the Evil Dragon Power—it was hard to say if that even counted as ’dying’.
But for Qi Suian, this was only the beginning. The Evil Dragon’s assault didn’t stop, erupting with relentless force as it swallowed Noelde whole.
Visible cracks appeared on his Fire Seed Armor, and even the flame on his chest dimmed as a result.
The sight made Noelde’s eyes practically split with rage.
The Fire Seed Armor is linked to the Sanctuary’s own Fire Seed; if one is damaged, the other is affected.
And now, Qi Suian’s attack hadn’t just damaged the Fire Seed Armor—it had reached the very core.
"You deserve to die!!!" Noelde was furious, but then he discovered that when his Knight’s Lance struck his opponent, it shattered into pieces.
It turned out the lance was already covered in hairline fractures from the previous exchange.
It couldn’t take any more punishment, which is why it shattered during the strike.
He wanted to counterattack, but he was a step too slow.
The Tai Sui God’s iron palm and the ferocious Evil Dragon loomed ever larger in his vision.
There was no pain, only consciousness fading into nothing.
On the spot, the Tai Sui God crushed the helmet of Noelde’s armor, obliterating his entire head along with it.
Qi Suian had considered keeping him alive, but his opponent was too strong; he wasn’t confident he could control such a person.
So the best solution was to kill him.
As Noelde died, the Riveted Knight Armor on his body began to squirm, detaching itself from his corpse.
This was direct confirmation: the so-called Fire Seed Armor was alive.
This made Qi Suian frown. ’This is not good.’
He planted a foot on the squirming Riveted Knight Armor, pinning it down by force.
’I need to find a way to restrain it. And then... I’ll find some people to interrogate.’
He planned to study the so-called Fire Seed and Fire Seed Armor.
Even if he couldn’t use it for himself, it could always be used as fuel.
He could tell from Noelde’s corpse that the Elder’s dual attributes totaled only 6 points; his immense strength came entirely from the Fire Seed Armor.
And immense strength equated to high fuel value.
Not to mention this so-called Riveted Knight Armor was just the lowest Level 5 armor among the Fire Seed Armors.
There were still Levels Four, Three, Two, and One above it. And if things got really crazy, there might even be a "God-Tier" rank.
CRACK~
The pinned Riveted Knight Armor continued to struggle, but the Tai Sui God stomped a huge crack into it, and it finally went still.
’Living things are always so troublesome.’
The Tai Sui God’s module slots couldn’t equip something like this. Living things had to be non-sentient to be installed. This thing was a problem.
Especially since its origins were so mysterious. If Qi Suian wanted a Fire Seed Armor module, he would have to find the manufacturing techniques and raw materials to build one for himself.
He didn’t need combat armor, but he desperately needed Fire Seed Armor.
