Infinity, The Arcade Age

Chapter 414 - 414: The Formidable Battle Suit

"Attack!"

With a roar, the soldiers surged forward like a tsunami toward the towering city walls.

Guarding the wall was an elite corps—one of the Evil Duke's ace knights, known as the Twinblade Knight, Sir Balford.

He was also the boss guarding the second stage in Knights of the Round Table.

Arcade games typically had one thing in common: the difficulty gap between Stage One and Stage Two was massive.

Many notorious beginner-slayers were all second-stage bosses.

Like Balford in Knights of the Round Table, Xiahou Yuan in Warriors of Fate, and Xiahou Dun in Dynasty Wars—all of them fit that mold.

Their strength was on a whole different level from the first-stage bosses, almost as if the developers had designed them specifically to drain players' coins.

Famed for his agility, Sir Balford now carried a long and a short sword on his back. He was leading his knight order in a fierce back-and-forth against the advancing enemy.

Staring down at the endless sea of people below—those militia wearing all sorts of mismatched gear yet fighting with astonishing bravery—Balford's expression was grim.

He couldn't understand it. These were the same mud-dwellers who normally didn't even dare look him in the eye. Why were they now fighting so ferociously, without fear of death?

Was it because their clothes and weapons had been blessed? Or was it just confidence swelling from sheer numbers?

No. Neither seemed right.

Balford could clearly sense that these militia weren't just throwing themselves at him—they were charging like a force of true elites.

And unlike the highly trained elites on his side, who had no fear because their families would be taken care of if they died in battle, these militia weren't fighting like they had nothing to lose. They looked like people who had never once doubted they would win.

They were charging onto the battlefield with the firm belief that victory was inevitable!

Because they believed with absolute certainty that they would win, they had no fear of death!

As he watched more militia charging up the ladders with pot lids in hand, launching another wave of close-quarters fighting, and as he saw his soldiers starting to falter, Sir Balford gritted his teeth. He raised his arms and drew both swords, then led his personal guard in a bold stride into the fray.

He was preparing to enter the fight himself to stabilize the defensive line.

And just as Balford and his guard began their move, Qin Ming—watching from the sea of soldiers below as their attacks failed to break through—also sprang into action.

Qin Ming had never been a great leader. He'd never held high office.

But with his overwhelming strength, he was without a doubt a formidable warrior.

The moment he saw the battle grinding to a standstill, his first instinct was to step in and break the stalemate personally.

And it wasn't just him. In the world of Knights of the Round Table, knights shared that same mindset.

In this world, to be a leader, you didn't need to be good at strategy—but you had to be able to fight.

Because if you couldn't fight, you simply couldn't be a knight!

As Qin Ming advanced toward the city wall, King Arthur and his own personal guard were also launching an assault. Both parties had, without coordination, chosen to lead the charge themselves.

With a crash, blood splashed through the air. Several streams of blood spun and pierced through enemy soldiers like spears.

Before the impaled soldiers even hit the ground, their armor burst open. More blood erupted from within, flying out toward nearby enemies.

Kicking off the wall and swiftly landing on top, Qin Ming raised his hand and manipulated the streams of blood to dart back and forth through the crowd.

Following close behind, Kasamoto Eri swept the area with machine-gun fire, while Majol slashed through enemies with her dual claws—widening the breach so more troops could scale the ladders.

Striding across the wall, controlling stream after stream of blood to blast incoming enemies aside, Qin Ming's expression was grave.

And the enemies coming at him now weren't just regular soldiers.

In addition to swordsmen and heavily armored warriors, bull-horned knights and swift knights—types that hovered between elite monsters and mini-bosses—had begun to appear en masse.

Among them were even true mini-bosses.

These wore full heavy plate armor, closed bird-beak helmets, and wielded small steel shields and one-handed axes.

They were the mid-tier knights of the Evil Empire: Heavy Knights.

Name: Heavy Knight

Strength: 30

Constitution: 50

Agility: 20

Spirit: 20

Skills: Heavy Armor (Grade A), Axe Throw (Grade C), Knight Combat Arts (Grade C)

Description: As the cornerstone of the Empire, Heavy Knights are known for their terrifying defense. Just one step from advancing to the Empire's upper ranks and receiving noble titles, they must not be underestimated. In some ways, they're even more fearsome than knights with titles—because they always hunt the strong in groups.

Amidst the grating screech of metal, four silver-clad heavy knights - armored from head to toe - smashed through the crowd with raised shields and axes, charging madly toward Qin Ming.

Seeing their ferocious assault, Qin Ming's pupils contracted. Without hesitation, he swung his arm violently.

Following his hand's motion, the blood swirling around him instantly coalesced into spinning spears that shot forward.

Enhanced by White Flame and Steel Body, these blood projectiles were both offensive and defensive, their sharpness unmatched.

Yet this time, the high-speed blood spears failed to deliver their usual instant kills - instead being forcibly blocked by the enemies.

Lifting their small steel shields, the knights directly intercepted the incoming blood spears. With an ear-piercing screech of metal, the struck heavy knight was sent flying backward - but the blood spear shattered upon impact.

Seizing this opportunity, the remaining three heavy knights closed in on Qin Ming.

Using their sturdy armor to withstand the cutting attacks of smaller blood blades, they raised their shields in unison and slammed toward Qin Ming!

After forcing Qin Ming back, they unleashed a furious coordinated assault - one swinging his shield while another hacked with his axe! A relentless combo attack!

In the Evil Empire, advancement was simple yet brutally difficult - achieved solely through military merit.

Accumulate enough achievements, and you could become a knight, even a noble.

While this sounded straightforward, the higher one climbed, the greater the accomplishments required. For intermediate knights seeking promotion to senior nobility, ordinary kills meant nothing.

Slaughtering an entire village and presenting the heads as trophies still wouldn't earn you nobility.

True advancement required major feats - slaying enemy commanders or capturing standards!

Thus, heavy knights typically operated in small groups, specializing in hunting enemy officers - honing exquisite teamwork in the process!

While one swung his axe, another's shield was already moving to cover.

Before the shield connected, a third knight's axe would chop at the feet.

With such coordination and their absurdly durable full-plate defenses, they could consistently defeat stronger opponents.

Now Qin Ming faced four such metal-clad hunters - his flashy abilities having drawn their attention.

Yet this time, the heavy knights' coordinated assault proved ineffective.

Facing their combo attacks, Qin Ming reacted with astonishing speed, dodging backward to evade every strike.

The four knights wore stunned expressions as their attacks found only air.

While they were shocked, Qin Ming felt exhilarated.

Choosing not to counterattack but simply dodge, his eyes gleamed as streams of data flooded his vision.

NEST Battle Suit - Combat Analysis Activated!

Left knight raising axe - blade angle and trajectory indicates target: left shoulder!

Right knight instinctively lowering stance - preparing shield rush toward chest!

Rear knight winding up axe swing - aiming for knee joints!

One combat datum after another was processed by the NEST suit, even helpfully projecting predicted attack trajectories in Qin Ming's field of view.

Now Qin Ming needed only focus on avoiding these marked paths to evade all incoming attacks.

This was the NEST Battle Suit's autonomous combat protocol!

Technology so advanced it could grant ordinary wearers combat prowess rivaling martial artists!

Qin Ming had never lacked fighting techniques - his real deficiency was practical combat experience.

As a natural tank whose enemies varied drastically between missions, despite possessing A-rank combat skills, he wasn't truly proficient in martial arts.

Facing new worlds and unfamiliar fighting styles, what use was technique without understanding the opponent's approach?

Only after adapting to an enemy's patterns could combat skills shine brightest.

Yet by the time Qin Ming discerned their tactics, he rarely needed finesse - his durability let him simply target weaknesses with brute force.

This shaped Qin Ming's simplistic combat style: endure attacks to learn patterns and flaws, then hammer those vulnerabilities relentlessly.

Rarely did proper exchanges occur - usually it was taking hits first, then dishing them out.

His unique survival approach created this peculiar combat rhythm: possessing master-level skills yet preferring turn-based brawls.

Thus he lacked experience in formal duels, knowing only life-or-death techniques.

Now, the NEST Battle Suit perfectly compensated for this weakness.

With its attack prediction combined with Qin Ming's advanced techniques, the formerly "all-skill-no-experience" Qin Ming had truly become a combat master.

At least against these knights, whose skill levels fell within the suit's simulation parameters!

(End of Chapter)