Lord of the Sky City

However, after looking at the design drawings, Orton furrowed his brow and, following that, didn’t say much else. Instead, he called Aniye and Pelaya over to take a look at the designs as well.

Once Aniye and Pelaya had finished reviewing the drawings, expressions similar to Orton’s appeared on their faces.

“How is it! There’s nothing wrong with the Armor I designed, right!”

Seeing that Orton and the others had finished looking at his design drawings, Master Hammerfire couldn’t help but demand an answer in a disgruntled tone, almost as if he was asking the three of them to make a fair judgment.

This time, even Orton was not joking anymore because he too thought that the design of this new Land Combat Special Armor was quite impressive. It not only drastically improved the combat capabilities of the Land Combat Armor but also ameliorated certain flaws to a degree; indeed, it was a rather excellent piece of work. Aniye and Pelaya shared this sentiment, finding no issues with the Armor.

So after that, all four of them turned their eyes to Rocky.

“Rocky, what do you find unsatisfactory about this Armor?”

This time, it was Aniye who spoke. He certainly wasn’t glaring and snorting at Rocky like Hammerfire, but rather asked out of genuine curiosity.

As far as he knew, Rocky was not the kind of City Lord who was ignorant and would make trouble without reason. He had been among them for over half a year and understood many aspects better than the average scholar. If he could express dissatisfaction, there must be a reason, and Aniye was very curious to know what that reason was.

“Exactly, tell us what you’re not satisfied with! If you can’t explain it, I won’t let you off!”

At this point, Hammerfire also nodded repeatedly on the side as if he was determined to get to the bottom of this with Rocky.

“This…”

At Aniye’s question, Rocky glanced at Hammerfire and then at Orton and the other two, scratching his head while he said, “I think… the design concept of this Armor is too conservative…”

“Conservative?”

Hearing this, Orton, Hammerfire, Pelaya, and Aniye were slightly taken aback. They clearly did not expect such an answer, so after exchanging glances with each other, they all looked at Rocky again with very strange expressions on their faces. Enjoy new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Their expressions contained a hint of amusement, a hint of puzzlement, but most of all, curiosity.

“Rocky, share your thoughts, elaborate on them.”

After giving him a look, Aniye continued to inquire.

“This…” Looking at the four of them, Rocky took a deep breath and then began, “Then I’ll speak.”

“Master Hammerfire’s design for this Armor itself is not problematic. The reason why I am not satisfied is not that I am dissatisfied with this new Armor, but rather with all the current Land Combat Special Armors.”

Once Rocky finished this sentence, Orton and the others couldn’t help but widen their eyes, because once again, Rocky’s words had taken them by surprise and intensified the curiosity in their gazes.

At this time, Rocky continued to say, “In my opinion, the design philosophy behind the current Land Combat Special Armors is entirely wrong!”

Saying that, Rocky glanced at Hammerfire, “I remember Master Hammerfire once said that Void Magic Armors are designed in a humanoid shape for two reasons: one is for ease of operation, and the other is because humanoid Armors tend to be balanced in all aspects, allowing the Armor, once manufactured, to possess strength, defense, mobility, and so on.”

“But because land combat armor has a very specific use, it inevitably has to break the balance. In order to fight demons, especially swarms of them, the land combat armor is forced to reinforce its armor time and again while also cramming in as many weapons as possible to ensure both defensive power and firepower. As a result, the armor has to give up mobility.”

“If this design philosophy in itself isn’t wrong, then why must it still maintain a humanoid form after having given up on mobility?”

Having said that, Rocky looked toward Orton and the other three, noticing that their expressions changed upon hearing his statement, their brows furrowing deeply.

“Keep going, say it in more detail. Speak your mind without holding back.”

Seeing that Rocky had paused, Aniye, with his brows still deeply furrowed, nodded at him, encouraging him to voice all his thoughts without any reservations.

Since Aniye had asked, and judging from the reaction of the four, Rocky knew his line of thought was probably right, so he hesitated no more. Right or wrong, he expressed all his ideas.

“I think the reason why land combat armor hasn’t become widespread is largely due to its continued reliance on traditional design philosophy, leading to its deformity. Just imagine, an armor as bulky as a small hill— is it really suitable for fighting demons?”

“Such a cumbersome and giant armor, what can it do in battle other than being an immobile turret? Forget about mobility; if it gets knocked over by demons in combat, it would struggle even to stand up.”

In front of the four masters, Rocky presented an overly simplified example, but though the words were crude, the logic was solid. This straightforward example precisely highlighted the current flaws of the land combat armor.

Research on the land combat armor started as far back as the fourth generation, but even now with the fifth generation being mainstream and the sixth under development, it still hasn’t become widespread. The reason lies in the armor’s poor practicality.

Just like the example Rocky gave, how could such a clumsy and massive armor possibly be practical in real combat when it couldn’t even stand up after falling over?

After giving this example, Rocky continued, “So, I believe the overall design philosophy behind the land combat armor isn’t wrong. Using strong defensive power and firepower to combat demons is not a bad idea, but there’s no need to be fixatin on traditional design paths.”

“Take Master Hammerfire’s design for the new armor, for instance. Even though it has been significantly improved in all aspects compared to the current land combat armor, it ultimately doesn’t address the fundamental flaw. Since such an armor can’t guarantee performance in real combat, it would be better to completely abandon the existing design concept and create a wholly new, specialized armor designed for land combat—one unlike any other.”

In a stream of consciousness, Rocky articulated all his ideas, then eagerly looked at the four, only to find Orton and the others gazing back at him with curious expressions.

For a while, they just stared at each other, no one speaking until Rocky, feeling the atmosphere growing awkward, felt compelled to add,

“I… I’ve finished speaking…”

When he awkwardly indicated that he had finished, Orton and the others burst into laughter.

“Kid, didn’t expect you to actually have some real thoughts in there.”

Orton walked up to Rocky, laughing heartily and clapping him on the shoulder as he turned to address Hammerfire and the others, “See? This is a disciple I’ve taught, all taught by me!”

“You haven’t taught him squat! What’s it got to do with you?”

Giving Orton a disdainful glance, Hammerfire stopped looking fierce and indignant and, instead, climbed onto a stool beside him. He then perched on the table via the stool and turned to Rocky, “City Lord, those points you just made are good, but since you think there’s something fundamentally wrong with the traditional design concept of the land combat armor, what kind of design philosophy do you think should be applied to the new generation of armor?”

“Indeed.” When Hammerfire finished his question, Aniye nodded and looked at Rocky, “Rocky, since you find faults with the traditional armor design, you must have some new ideas, right?”