The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

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Ormonsen glanced at the Hunters' seats, and Vivian immediately looked away.

The vampire's innate keen senses allowed him to perceive a subtle, almost imperceptible, surveillance.

Normally, this viscount would never hesitate to issue a warning. But seeing Sister Heda wearing a brass signet ring and carrying a two-handed greatsword... he ultimately just snorted softly and remained silent.

Just then, a faint female voice came from the silver mirror on the hazy seats of the society.

"Hey... Ormondson, you're afraid too? Or is it just your vampire instinct to be afraid to make a sound when you see a hunter?"

"Noisy."

Ormondson cracked his knuckles, making a few crisp bone-cracking sounds.

"I came at the invitation of my allies in the Moonlit Alliance, simply to avoid trouble. But you, why don't you even dare reveal your true form? Who, you or I, are you afraid of?"

The person in the mirror seemed to want to say something, but as Professor Terence stepped onto the podium, the council chamber quickly fell silent.

"Every seminar features the exact same welcoming remarks; I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing them, so I won't repeat myself." - lin

Terence stood upright on the podium, his dark brown suit making him appear dignified and resolute.

The White Cup deniers, in their later years, often possess a composed and scholarly air, a trait often jokingly referred to by other secret societies as "producing many handsome old men"...

"Upholding the great pioneers' ideals of pursuing and spreading enlightenment, the White Cup Order will first present its academic projects. Of course, this is just a presentation; if you wish to learn more... you will need to pay the corresponding price."

Instead of beginning to present the specific content as a typical speaker would, he turned around and drew back the dark curtain that led to the end of the lecture.

Beneath the metal frame, within the ritual array, something hidden in the shadows gradually revealed its true form.

It was a humanoid mechanical armor.

Its pure white paint, combined with the cold steel power frame, forms its skeleton and muscles. Ritual circuits engraved within the armor constitute its nerves and blood vessels. Six

And the core of the casting furnace hidden deep within... gave it the internal organs to drive the body.

"Peng!"

The sound of the furnace starting up was like the powerful beating of a heart, and the smoke pouring out of the valve was like a breath, surging and howling.

Amidst the surprised or astonished gazes of the attendees, Terence placed his hand on the exoskeleton frame of the mechanical armor and began his explanation methodically.

"It is the first prototype of our 'external armor' project, codenamed 'Truth'."

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soup!

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Code of Life

The seemingly contradictory elements of finely crafted machinery and ancient heavy armor are harmoniously integrated into a single suit of armor, giving it a blend of next-generation mechanical feel and classical aesthetics. Although some rough edges are still visible, its impact remains undiminished.

A faint, flame-like glow could be seen flickering through the gaps in the eye area of ​​the mask, as if a knight from a lost age were casting his gaze upon the assembled crowd.

As the roar of the engine and the furnace pulsed in his ears, Ohausen felt his breathing become inexplicably heavy. Some of the older generation of vampires scoffed at White Cup's mechanical technology, only reluctantly suppressing their contempt due to the oath of Ya Yue.

But he was different! He knew all too well what kind of heat and power lay hidden beneath these cold steel structures.

Attilion, which was at a disadvantage in the War of Raity, gradually reversed its decline precisely because it received the support of the Sunforge Order in the forging of weapons.

In addition, most psychologically healthy adult men probably have some kind of fascination with mecha armor...

Ohausen made no attempt to hide his interest in the forged armor and immediately asked Terence on the podium for its details.

"Professor Terence, is it an artifact? From which site was it unearthed?"

"Hmm...that's a very normal thought. Most professors in the academy thought the same thing when they first saw it." (Wu)

"The heavy industry of that lost era far surpasses our understanding; any reverse engineering of casting artifacts is a waste of time and effort. This is an ironclad rule proven by countless cases."

Terence's tone was calm and measured, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Therefore, the 'Truth' type forged armor was designed and developed entirely independently by the White Cup Order. It is not an unreplicable masterpiece... but a purely industrial creation." — Lu

"So...it can be mass-produced?" Sugi

Ohausen guessed based on his experience. He even had images in his mind of deploying the armored siege weaponry into the army and waging war.

Tyron neither confirmed nor denied this.

"Currently, we only have a few prototypes to verify the theoretical correctness; mass production will require several more technological iterations."

How's the performance?

Sunsmith Durnan was also very interested in this new creation of the White Cup Order. But as an experienced professional, he was clearly more concerned about the practical combat effectiveness of this creation.

“Terrence, I think you know why knights were abandoned by the times... because their heavy armor, which they were so proud of, was no different from paper in front of firearms and machine guns, and charging was tantamount to suicide.”

"If this armor can't withstand bullets, then it's no different from an iron coffin."

Terence remained calm in the face of Durnan's questioning, clearly having been prepared.

The White Cup Order itself is a staunch supporter of the doctrine of firepower superiority, and naturally, it would not overlook the practicality of this doctrine when developing casting machinery.

"That's obvious."

"It uses 'S-813 pseudo-substrate steel' as the material for its homogeneous armor, which is too thick for conventional rifles in circulation to penetrate. However, I will keep the specific parameters a secret for now."

Durnan had intended to ask about the effectiveness of the anti-secret technique, but his attention was drawn to another matter that Terence mentioned.

"You've mastered the mass production of pseudo-ceramic steel?"

"Not long ago."

"Heh, you guys are as gifted as ever when it comes to counterfeiting..."

His tone carried a hint of displeasure.

Pseudo-raw steel was originally a relic with extremely superior physical properties. However, the Suncasting Order later obtained its refining formula from deciphered ancient documents... which enabled its mass production.

Could the White Cup Order really recreate it all by themselves? What a joke…

Just then, Haida slowly spoke.

"How are its maneuverability and range?"

The deafening roar of the casting furnace still lingered in our ears, and the gray-black smoke permeated the council hall.

This overwhelming presence... caused Haida to skip over the issue of concealment, which is usually of utmost concern to hunters, and instead inquire about other aspects of performance.

"As long as the furnace core of the casting machine is still running, all the movement behaviors of the armor wearer will be amplified. 'Clumsy' is just a stereotype of armor. According to our tests, it can effectively reduce the physical burden of movement."

"As for energy endurance..."

"The furnace core of this prototype machine currently only accepts Spirit-infused materials as fuel, and can work continuously for 5 days in a fully charged state."

As he said this, his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

In fact, energy is the biggest weakness of this casting machine armor. Its high mobility and heavy load capacity depend entirely on the driving force of the casting furnace core, and the fuel for that thing is not cheap.

Based on the product testing results conducted by the White Cup Order during the research and development phase, the most perfect fuel for the Forged Armor is the Philosopher's Stone from the Sun Forged Order. Carrying just a few stones will provide enough power for several months.

But that would cause energy costs to skyrocket to astronomical figures in an instant...

However, if conventional fossil fuels are used, an additional large fuel tank would be required. The resulting inconveniences would almost negate all of the product's tactical advantages.

"I see."

Haida nodded, having gained a general understanding of this forged armor.

At the same time, she couldn't help but recall the Grey Knight power armor in Dr. Fran's collection room. The solemn and majestic armor was decorated with books, skulls, and blades, like a meticulously crafted work of art.

Although the two suits of armor share some slight similarities in design philosophy, the vast technological gap between them is glaringly obvious. Haida had personally witnessed the unmanned Grey Knight tear a gash in the materialized form of the Decaying Crown...

At that moment, Fran, who was sitting in the outer seats, pinched the round frame of his silver-rimmed glasses and pushed it up his nose.

"The White Cup Order's tech tree seems to be starting to add points in weird directions..."

"And they did a pretty good job; many of the design concepts are in line with the prototype of power armor."

As a seasoned collector, she has always been passionate about collecting antiques and prototypes. The commemorative significance of the original creations is entirely different from that of the mass-produced products resulting from technological iterations.

If I ever get the chance, I'll have to get one and drive it around in my own little world...

Moreover, the barrier to entry for using this forged armor is not very high. It does not require extensive pre-operative modifications or the addition of black armor to the wearer, making it very accessible.

Hmm... it should have been aimed at mass production from the very beginning.

Fran gently stroked his hand covered in stitches, suppressing the urge to sneak into the White Cup hangar and steal one of the machines.

Terence tapped the table lightly, and Utus, who had been standing beside him, immediately understood and walked up to the podium.

"Next up is a live demonstration."

The armor was opened, and Utus entered it.

"despair."

As the seams at the joint of its shells completely closed, it suddenly moved. Like a sleeping beast abruptly awakened, the pervasive sense of oppression was almost suffocating.

Finally, this complete "empty shell" obtained its only missing thing... a soul.

"The Truth-type armor primarily uses a handheld machine gun in combat, but is also equipped with a chainsaw weapon for close-quarters combat."

A weapon rack hidden in the shadows was revealed to everyone as Terence spoke.

At that very moment, Utus, who was in armor, suddenly took a large-caliber handheld machine gun from the weapon rack and pulled the trigger in front of the attendees.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" His movements were precise and swift, which seemed extremely incongruous with the heavy mechanical armor he wore.

Before anyone could dodge, deafening gunshots rang out throughout the council chamber.

Vivian almost jumped off her seat to find cover, but Sister Haida grabbed her by the neck and forcibly stopped her from escaping.

"An assassination attempt? Does the White Cup Order want to start a war?"

"That's impossible! They wouldn't benefit from doing this..."

Fran, sitting in the outer seats, listened to the chaotic whispers around him, covered his thin lips, and yawned listlessly.

It seems that Baibei really put a lot of thought into this academic conference, even preparing impromptu performances...

Nine. "Are you crazy, Terrence?!"

Siauhausen let out a sharp shout, almost instinctively preparing to use the [Bat Transformation] secret technique, but he held back at the last moment.

Blank round.

Haida offered a reminder, her grey-chestnut eyes showing little change. From the very first shot, she had recognized that Utus was firing a blank.

Furthermore, White Cup had absolutely no reason to attack the messengers of various religious orders using such methods; it would only make him a target of public criticism and would bring him no benefit whatsoever.

Wu: "That's right."

Terence bowed slightly to calm the somewhat agitated attendees. Afterward, he asked everyone for their opinions on what had just happened.

Si: "Gentlemen, may I ask whether the speed of the armored soldier was faster or slower than that of an ordinary soldier? Were his movements more unstable... or more precise?"

The atmosphere became tense for a moment, and even Ohausen, who had been somewhat dissatisfied with him earlier, began to recall Utus's actions.

He leaped forward, drew his gun, and aimed—the three movements were executed in one fluid motion, without any hesitation.

If Q hadn't witnessed the entire process of Utus donning the armor, he might have even thought it was a mechanical creation with independent consciousness.

U "...This thing is indeed much more sensitive than it looks."

Ultimately, Ohausen acknowledged its performance, which was beyond common sense.

The White Cup Church's academic achievements were truly impressive, a resounding success from the outset.

This also led the vast majority of attendees to focus their attention on the armored machine codenamed "Truth".

Ohausen and Durnan even directly requested Professor Terence to have a detailed discussion after the meeting, wanting to discuss product parameters and purchase orders after the seminar.

Prototypes are mostly conceptual products made to verify the correctness of theories, so costs are almost disregarded during the research and development process, and their value is incalculable.

Durnan dared to speak up mainly because the Suncasting Order had a sufficient budget and substantial assets.

The Cult of the Rebirth, to which Ohausen belongs, is allied with the White Cup and can generally obtain discounts in procurement. Furthermore, the vampires control numerous century-old businesses, making them equally wealthy.

The most exciting part is saved for the opening, which means that if the subsequent content isn't exciting enough, it will be difficult to maintain the audience's attention...

This also makes the subsequent topics of mechanics and divination by the Lady of the Mirror seem somewhat dry, although they did provide valuable esoteric knowledge, only those in the field would find it interesting...

Coincidentally, Fran was quite interested in both of these aspects.

Although her mechanical skills surpassed those of the Sunforge by several eras, they possessed an unparalleled advantage in metallurgy. For instance, Sigrid's ability to remelt and reshape adamantite with just a few rituals was truly enviable…