On the far side of the battlefield—
The warriors of Erald Castle had already noticed the sudden shift happening here.
Without hesitation, they charged straight toward it.
But before they could get close—
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A violent energy barrier erupted outward, blasting everyone back before they could even approach.
Ethan's breathing was ragged, chest heaving.
He knew exactly what this ant.
If things kept going like this—
This war would end with Erald Castle completely wiped out.
And then—
A massive shadow suddenly blanketed the sky.
A Sky Fortress had silently drifted into position above the battlefield.
A familiar voice echoed from within.
"Master."
"We've completed a full upgrade of the Powered Combat Armor. One prototype is ready."
After a brief pause, the voice ca again—this ti with absolute certainty.
"You can try it on now."
The next mont—
The Sky Fortress's weapon bay slowly rotated, locking onto Ethan.
A beam of light shot down.
A device shaped like a tallic sarcophagus dropped from the sky, unfolding midair. In the blink of an eye, it latched onto Ethan's body.
Click—
Click—
Click—
A rapid series of crisp chanical sounds rang out.
Layer after layer of tal plating extended across Ethan's body, locking into place and sealing him inside. At the sa ti, his original Powered Combat Armor began to shift—its material lting and reshaping, seamlessly rging into the new structure.
An overwhelming surge of power flooded into Ethan's body.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
Muscles tensed, and with a sudden burst of strength, he hurled Feylora toward the safe zone.
Then—
Ethan slowly turned around.
His eyes locked onto Sevrael, who was closing in fast.
"What the hell do you think you are?"
His voice was low, but seething with fury.
"You think you can run your mouth on Erald Castle's turf?"
"Today—"
"I'll show you what it ans to pay the real price."
BOOM—!!
Power exploded from within Ethan like a detonation.
System data spiked wildly.
Tier 30.
A true Tier 30.
For the first ti, Sevrael's pupils contracted sharply.
He hadn't expected this. That Ethan could force his way into this tier in such a short ti—it was unthinkable.
"Interesting."
Sevrael grinned, eyes blazing with battle lust.
"Then let's see—how long can you last?"
They moved at the sa ti.
Hatred, killing intent, and raw power collided midair.
Weapons ford.
Figures blurred and clashed.
The sound of tal striking tal rang out in a relentless storm, sharp and deafening. Energy shockwaves tore through the sky, shaking the entire battlefield with every impact.
No one knew how much ti had passed.
When the two figures finally broke apart, both were breathing hard, their energy pushed to the absolute limit.
Neither had managed to overpower the other.
But Sevrael understood one thing clearly.
Ethan's Powered Combat Armor was still running smoothly.
Its hidden energy reserves hadn't run dry. The auxiliary weapon systems were still amplifying his output.
anwhile, Sevrael—
Had nothing to gain from dragging this into a war of attrition.
After a brief silence, Sevrael let out a cold snort.
He didn't linger.
Raising a hand, he tore open a spatial rift and swept the remaining Narlost troops into it.
"This isn't over."
With those parting words, the rift snapped shut.
And just like that, the sky returned to its original color.
Ethan didn't give chase.
He knew it would be pointless.
Sevrael's power had already surpassed the level of a conventional "enemy."
Even with the Powered Combat Armor, Ethan's blood had felt like it was boiling—like fire was coursing through his veins during that clash.
It wasn't pain.
It was his body screaming that it was being pushed past its natural limits.
Ethan was certain—
If he'd kept going, even if he managed to take Sevrael down with him, he'd be left crippled, barely able to fight.
That wasn't victory.
"Send the order," he said, voice low and steady.
"All units are to begin imdiate repairs on the outer defense barriers. Initiate maximum alert level."
With the command issued, Ethan didn't waste a second on the battlefield. He turned and flew straight toward the Sky Fortress's inner lab sector.
—Which, by now, had beco a roiling sea of energy.
The massive lab was ablaze with light.
Countless translucent virtual screens floated in the air, packed with rapidly scrolling data streams.
Energy spikes, load curves, armor fusion rates, system stability…
Nearly every screen was displaying real-ti combat data from the battle just monts ago.
The air was thick with a tension so intense it bordered on madness—equal parts pressure and exhilaration.
"We did it…"
Soone whispered under their breath.
Then the voice rose, sharp with disbelief and joy.
"We actually did it! This is a success! A real one!"
The lab erupted.
Cheers burst out like a dam breaking, raw and unfiltered.
The scientists—those who had always been overlooked, dismissed as the ones hiding behind screens—now stood with red-rimd eyes, as if they'd just witnessed a miracle.
Only then did they realize—
Ethan was already standing in the center of the lab.
"Master!"
The crowd parted instantly. An older researcher hurried forward, holding out a still-glowing schematic.
"This is the preliminary model we just compiled."
His voice trembled with excitent.
"The complete version of the Powered Combat Armor."
Ethan's gaze dropped to the blueprint.
It wasn't just a weapons layout anymore.
It was a full dynamic growth model.
"This armor… it doesn't have a fixed power ceiling," the researcher said, taking a deep breath. "It resonates deeply with the wearer's energy system. It rebuilds itself through combat and absorption."
"In other words—"
"It grows."
Ethan's breath hitched for the first ti.
The researcher continued, "During its growth, it'll need to absorb massive energy shocks, along with large quantities of high-grade tals and rare materials. But as long as those conditions are t, its upper limit… theoretically doesn't exist."
This ti, Ethan didn't speak right away.
He reached out and took the blueprint, gripping it tightly.
His knuckles turned white.
Truth be told—
He'd never expected that the scientists he'd stationed in the rear—tasked with maintenance and calculations—would hand him sothing like this today.
This wasn't just an equipnt upgrade.
This was—
A path for power itself to evolve.
If this could truly be realized—
Then the future wouldn't just be about leveling up individuals.
It would be—
Man and armor, evolving together.
And when that happened, Erald Castle's overall combat strength would undergo a true transformation.
Not just enough to stand against the Narlost Empire.
Even the Vorgar Empire, that shadowy force lurking deeper in the dark—
Might no longer be able to stand in their way.
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