The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 47

"One hour left."

Sitting in his chair, Beryl stared at his pocket watch, his expression serious. This was an abandoned platform outside Old Dunlin, but over the past few days, it had been transformed into a temporary base.

According to the plan, Beryl would take the train to a small town called End. Based on Lancelot's intelligence, the mysterious Sacred Coffin was kept there. No matter what awaited him, he had to capture it—or at least hold out until Lancelot arrived to retrieve the Sacred Coffin.

To avoid alerting the enemy, the operation was divided into two phases. Beryl, along with a heavily armed force, was to wait here in advance, while the Glorious Train would arrive in an hour.

Initially, Beryl planned to head straight to End, but with Galahad down and no knight commander, their chances seemed shaky. For this reason, the Perpetual Pump had provided them with a secret weapon, which the Glorious Train was now transporting.

"Are you ready?"

Beryl looked beside him. In the darkness, a massive machine loomed, its menacing steel outline gleaming in the sparse light. It was a heavy crane, and behind it lay reinforced armored carriages. According to the plan, the Glorious Train, carrying the weapon from the Burhans Armory, would stop here. The crane would then swap out carriages, allowing passengers to continue their journey while the weapon-laden carriages connected here would head straight to the mysterious town of End.

Slowly, Beryl stood up. His injuries, though not fully healed, needed to be ignored due to the urgency. He tried walking a few steps; it felt alright, though a bit noisy. His lower body was covered in a mechanical exoskeleton, with power rods linked to his leg joints, and copper tubes extending to a small steam pack at his waist. Periodically, a faint mist would be released from it.

This was a masterpiece from the Perpetual Pump, called an exoskeleton armor. Though not viable for actual combat due to technical issues, it was enough to make a man with walking difficulties run.

Beryl gazed at the gleaming metal, the intricate gears beneath turning and meshing with precision beyond imagination. He had only a basic understanding of mechanics, but even he could see the device's sophistication. He couldn't fathom its power source—if not for the occasional steam puff from the tubes on his thighs, he might have believed in perpetual motion.

Sometimes, he wished to dissect the minds of those mad scientists to understand their thinking.

"How are we doing?"

Beryl asked as Sapphire walked in from the other side.

"We're fully equipped and the soldiers are ready. Once we join up with the Red Hawk, our firepower could win a small war."

Sapphire wore a black bodysuit with a round iron helmet, which had an attached lamp that was off due to being indoors. She also had a cloak that looked light but was lined with a high-strength, lightweight metal mesh, providing protection against severe impacts.

"That's typical of those at the Institute of Mechanics. The Perpetual Pump pursues forbidden technologies, while they chase deadly firepower. Each mission ends up as a weapons test for these two research institutions."

This fact irked Beryl. His weapons were often prototypes, making him unsure if they'd kill the enemy or explode in his hand first, like that cursed Old World Armor.

"So what did they send over this time?"

"Not sure, but it must be special since it's coming directly from the Burhans Armory."

Sapphire had been there once. The mere mention of its name made her feel warm.

Burhans Armory, the largest military industrial center in Inverweg. During the Glorious War, mountains of metal were melted there daily, and hundreds of trains carried lethal weapons from it. Its steam furnaces were second in scale only to the Institute of Mechanics, making it the industrial heart of Inverweg.