Chapter 384: What ‘Nude Floating’…

The massive elevator slowly ascended to the clattering of gears, carrying Morin and Leonia to the Armored Knight’s chest cockpit, situated over five meters above the ground.

Standing behind Leonia, Morin couldn’t help but notice her explosive body lines, poorly concealed even by her knight’s uniform.

“As a prototype, the environment might be a bit rough… don’t mind it,” Leonia remarked over her shoulder as the elevator stopped before the open cockpit hatch.

“I don’t mind! Not at all!!!”

Morin shook his head vigorously. Kidding… he was about to seriously pilot a giant robot for the first time. He’d climb in no matter how harsh the environment.

When he touched the external armor, Morin even felt as though he had ‘synchronized’ with it like a mysterious pilot.

The “Golden Lion” Grand Master beside him had clearly climbed into this behemoth before. She gripped the outer edge of the entrance and, like an agile large cat, shrank her body and slipped inside.

Morin followed closely.

The moment he leaned in, the complex odor characteristic of heavy, enclosed machinery flooded his nostrils.

Leonia obviously lacked any ‘beautiful maiden scent’; she sweated when necessary, and Morin harbored no strange fetishes. Thus, the smell in this cramped space was somewhat agonizing for him.

“…The smell might be a bit unpleasant…” Leonia suddenly said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

“But once the Armored Knight starts up, the filtration unit will cycle fresh air in.”

“Eh? It has a function like that?”

Morin didn’t notice Leonia’s embarrassment. His focus was entirely on the “filtration unit” she mentioned.

As early as when he first transmigrated to this world, during his discussion with Ludwig on how to destroy Armored Knights before the Battle of Sevilla, Morin had learned that the newer models in this world possessed systems similar to “NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection.”

This was also why Ludwig had said then that crude Molotov cocktails had little effect on Armored Knights.

Now it seemed this “Magical NBC protection” had indeed become standard on new Armored Knights…

This also meant that infantry indeed lacked other “unconventional” methods to attack Armored Knights and had to honestly engage in armor-vs-shell confrontation.

After sitting in the cockpit, Morin also realized that it was indeed as cramped as the old man Staudinger had said—excessively so.

To prevent the “Valkyrie” from becoming a bloated target due to adding a seat, the designers had practically squeezed every inch of internal space while maintaining armor thickness.

Leonia was already seated in the lower-front pilot seat, skillfully adjusting various mechanical devices and valves.

Click.

With the sound of the seatbelt clasping, Morin finally settled into this rather uncomfortable seat.

Although the Weapons Officer’s seat was a head higher than Leonia’s, the horizontal distance was shockingly close.

If Morin extended his legs even slightly, the tips of his military boots could easily kick the perky buttocks of the Grand Master in front of him.

Of course, he certainly didn’t dare kick the “Golden Lion’s” ass.

Although his muscle and bone density, and consequently his weight, had increased significantly due to the modification potion—which was also why he only looked slightly bulkier on the outside.

But Morin knew very well that it was still not enough in front of the “Golden Lion” Leonia.

After all, he was more adept with automatic firearms, while she was obviously a supreme authority in close-quarters combat…

Engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the “Golden Lion” in such a confined space was still tantamount to suicide.

“How does it feel?” Leonia’s voice came from the front, obviously unaware of the bizarre thoughts flashing through Morin’s mind behind her.

“Like returning to a shell scrape in the trenches… no, even more cramped than that.”

Morin quipped, then looked around his seat curiously.

“However, this feeling of being encased in steel provides a great sense of security.”

“I hope you can remain this calm once we start moving, Lieutenant Colonel Morin.”

Leonia chuckled softly, then pressed a button. The heavy armor plate, which opened similarly to an attack helicopter’s cockpit door, slowly descended amidst the hiss of hydraulic struts.

Clang!

The last sliver of outside light was cut off. The cockpit plunged into pitch darkness, leaving only a horizontal observation slit directly in front of Morin’s head and a device resembling a commander’s periscope on the side.

Immediately after, several dim red tactical lights flickered on. The gloomy glow outlined the complex instrument panels within the cabin. While not bright, it was just enough for Morin to clearly see the various mechanical devices and gauges around him.

As the hatch closed, Morin couldn’t suppress the corners of his mouth from rising. This is a man’s romance.

He began to inspect the weapon control systems at hand.

On his left was the twin-linked MG08 heavy machine gun, mounted on a device akin to a laterally rotating turret.

The firing mechanisms for both heavy machine guns were integrated into a grip with a massive trigger. Simply gripping the handle and pulling with two or three fingers would fire the weapons.

At the same time, the base of this trigger was connected to the rotation mechanism of the external twin MG08.

Morin tried pushing the grip.

Squeak.

Heavy.

That was Morin’s first impression.

He didn’t know if there was mechanical assist, but this purely mechanical transmission device still required considerable strength to rotate.

“Left-side firing arc: elevation 180 degrees, horizontal traverse 30 degrees left…”

Morin tested it while watching the numbers change on the “firing arc indicator,” while also complaining to Leonia: “I say, Your Excellency Grand Master, this thing is simply arm training.”

“It’ll be much better once the magitech muscle bundles activate,” Leonia said without turning back.

According to the Grand Master, after the Armored Knight starts up, the activated magitech muscle bundles provide assist, which would also significantly reduce the Weapons Officer’s physical exertion.

As for why they had to pay attention to the Weapons Officer’s physical exertion…

It was primarily because, besides the twin heavy machine guns on the left, the Weapons Officer also had to operate the most important anti-armor weapon on the right: the ‘RAK 15’ 50mm high-muzzle-velocity anti-armor gun.

Morin turned his head, looking at the massive object occupying almost half the space on his right.

It was the breech of a 50mm anti-armor gun, stripped of its gun shield and carriage.

To stuff it into this rotating turret on the right, the Teutonic Knights’ magitech technicians and Krupp’s engineers had clearly racked their brains.

They had eliminated almost every dispensable structure, leaving only the core firing and recoil mechanisms.

“Manual reloading…” Morin looked at the heavy horizontal sliding wedge breechblock, the corner of his mouth twitching.

In this tiny space where even turning around was difficult, the Weapons Officer had to pull that dead-heavy 50mm shell from the ammo box by his left foot—by the way, carrying a reserve of 10 rounds.

Then stuff it into the breech, lock it, aim, and fire…

The spent casing ejected after firing could fall via gravity, luckily exiting the Armored Knight through a chute—but Morin always felt this method might not be very reliable…

Simultaneously, he also realized that the back seat of the ‘Valkyrie’ wasn’t meant for a Weapons Officer at all. This was a f*cking black man… no, a white man automatic loader!

As for the tremendous noise generated when firing, according to Leonia’s explanation, putting on the specially made helmet in a moment would basically block it out… otherwise, the ‘Valkyrie’s’ Weapons Officer would highly likely become a “single-use” consumable.

“Are you ready, Lieutenant Colonel?” Leonia’s voice interrupted Morin’s muttered complaints. “I’m going to wake her up.”

“Standing by, Your Excellency Grand Master.”

Leonia nodded, then made several consecutive operations on the main control panel, finally flipping a mechanical switch.

Boom!!!

The slumbering steel giant shuddered violently.

The radiant crystal internal combustion engine located on the machine’s back let out a low roar. The sound transmitted directly into the cockpit through the armored frame, vibrating so hard that Morin shook in his seat.

Immediately after, a strange fluctuation swept over his entire body.

It was magic.

A massive flow of mana surged through the magitech circuits distributed throughout the machine’s body. The biomimetic magitech muscle bundles hidden beneath the armor plates instantly filled and tensed.

Sizzle.

As a spellcaster becoming increasingly sensitive to magical changes, Morin also felt the magitech muscle bundles exerting force in various places like human muscles after activation. The entire two-seater Armored Knight quivered as if it had come alive.

“Power output normal, magitech circuits stable.”

Leonia stared at the instrument panel in front of her, calmly syncing the information.

“Lieutenant Colonel Morin, put on that helmet next.”

Hearing this, Morin took down the oddly shaped helmet from a hook nearby.

It was a rather bulky-looking soft crash helmet, its surface covered with complex runic contacts.

A thick cable of unknown material trailed from the back of the helmet, plugging into a slot behind the seat.

“This thing has two modes.”

Leonia explained while skillfully calibrating the instrument panel in front of her:

“For an ordinary person without magical affinity, it’s just a crash helmet, so they can only rely on that small observation slit and periscope to see outside.”

“When attacking, the twin heavy machine guns use tracer rounds to indicate the trajectory, while the 50mm gun requires aiming through the optical sight on your right.”

While Leonia gave the introduction, Morin strapped the helmet onto his head. The heavy, oppressive feeling made his neck feel somewhat stiff.

He then tried briefly to lock onto a target through the 50mm gun’s optical sight, quickly realizing that trying to aim in this posture while the ‘Valkyrie’ was maneuvering would be pure torture.

However, despite the many inconveniences in operation, at least these weapons were truly usable.

This world was obviously designing this kind of thing for the first time. Not considering ergonomics was perfectly normal… To be honest, the fact that this thing was successfully cobbled together in a short time was already pretty outrageous to Morin.

Moreover, this prototype would definitely have to undergo a series of tests for adjustments, so being a bit awkward now wasn’t a big problem.

At least if you put an ordinary person with more strength in the back seat, they really could operate it…

“Your Excellency Grand Master, what about the other mode?” Morin adjusted the helmet and asked.

“For those with a talent for magical affinity, you can flip open the safety on the side of the helmet, then channel magic to connect with it.”

Leonia seemed to be adjusting parameters on other equipment, her tone slightly absent-minded.

“This will connect you to the machine’s Sympathetic System, but since it’s our first time cooperating in a ‘Dual Sympathy’, I suggest we first…”

Click.

Morin’s finger had already flipped open the safety switch.

As a man of action, especially one whose head was currently clouded by the “Soul of Steel,” Morin completely ignored the hesitation in the second half of Leonia’s sentence.

Since there’s a more advanced way to play, why use that inconvenient mechanical sight?

He closed his eyes, mobilizing the magic within his body that he had become increasingly proficient at using, extending it along the runic contacts on the helmet.

“…Wait! Lieutenant Colonel Morin! Don’t…”

Leonia seemed to realize something, turning her head sharply to stop him, but it was too late.

The next second, Morin felt his mental energy seep into the ‘Valkyrie’. At the same time, he sensed the presence of another consciousness within.

That was Leonia, who had already entered the “Sympathetic Operation State” upon starting the ‘Valkyrie’.

At this instant, the mental defenses of the two were thrown completely open under the forced matchmaking of the magitech circuits.

Morin felt like he had crashed directly into a blazing fire.

He “saw” Leonia’s emotions at that moment—panic stemming from being completely unprepared.

It was like a naked person suddenly shoved into the spotlight.

“Ah!”

A short gasp exploded in the mental link, echoing simultaneously in the cockpit.

Morin felt as if he had made zero-distance mental contact with Leonia, just like when characters in Gundam suddenly start “nude floating” (Newtype flash) and “understanding each other.”

He could completely sense the other’s thoughts and emotions. And the content expressed by the other’s emotions right now… was a mix of embarrassment, anger, and slight panic.

Of course, if this had been two male pilots, the atmosphere would have been entirely different…

Recovering her wits, Leonia only felt as though her inner self had been completely exposed to Morin.

“Lieutenant Colonel Morin, what’s the rush?!”

Leonia’s voice didn’t travel through the air but exploded directly deep within Morin’s mind, carrying a hint of gnashed teeth.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait… I wasn’t ready and you just connected directly! Is the famous Dresden playboy usually this impatient with girls?!”

“Apologies, Grand Master! I thought it was just a direct connection like a single-seater machine…”

Morin hastily explained in the consciousness network. The transmission of thought was far faster than speech, and far more honest.

“I didn’t know dual sympathy would have this… this effect!”

Leonia was speechless for a moment, then, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, told Morin that the test team for this ‘Valkyrie’ was actually another pair of partners, and this was also her first time performing dual sympathy.

Although she didn’t mind Morin’s mind contacting hers, shouldn’t he have at least given some warning before connecting, so she could be mentally prepared?

The Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights had intended to conduct her first dual sympathy with Morin in a more ritualistic manner. Who knew Morin would just thrust himself in without warning.

But since it had already happened, they could only continue…

Under Leonia’s active guidance, the chaotic feeling of “nude floating in the sea of consciousness” gradually subsided, replaced by an orderly connection.

The consciousnesses of the two began to divide labor.

Leonia was responsible for the main control of the machine’s movement and balance, while also engaging in close-quarters combat using cold weapons and shaped-charge anti-armor weapons.

Morin’s consciousness, meanwhile, was guided towards the weapon systems on the back.

Morin found that in the “Dual Sympathy” state, he could communicate directly with Leonia without speaking, and the efficiency of communication was much faster than talking.

In addition, Morin’s perspective also changed.

Besides the original view inside the cockpit, a translucent external perspective overlaid his vision, seemingly a composite image transmitted by crystals distributed across the Armored Knight.

Although it took a moment to adapt, this indeed instantly gave Morin a widened field of view to observe the external situation.

And right in the center of his vision, two red rings hovered quietly.

The left ring represented the aim of the twin MG08 machine guns; the right ring represented the aim of the 50mm anti-armor gun.

“This is… an integrated fire control system?” Morin couldn’t help marveling inwardly.

“This is a product resulting from the technological trickle-down of the device used on armored airships to predict mages’ flight trajectories.”

Leonia’s voice sounded in Morin’s mind. Though still somewhat stiff, it had steadied significantly.

“Master Staudinger and the others installed magitech sensor crystals on the weapons on both sides. Wherever the weapon’s muzzle points, these two rings will point.”

Hearing Leonia’s explanation, Morin tried rotating the twin heavy machine guns on the left. Just as the Grand Master had said earlier, with the assist of the magitech muscles, it was indeed much easier.

He pointed the muzzle at an empty oil drum in the corner of the warehouse. The red ring slightly to the left of center in his vision rotated synchronously, finally settling steadily onto the oil drum.

Although there was still a certain delay during operation, in Morin’s view, it was completely acceptable.

“Awesome, I’m finally piloting this thing…”

Morin muttered to himself, feeling incredibly satisfied, as if he had completed a “pilgrimage.”

“Don’t celebrate too early, Lieutenant Colonel.” Leonia threw a bucket of cold water. “Aiming is easy, but reloading still relies on your two hands. The magitech muscle bundles can only assist you when adjusting the firing aim; they can’t help you shove a shell into the breech.”

Morin could accept this point. After all, a fully automatic loader was somewhat too demanding for the technology of this era.

Not to mention, he also had [Mage Hand] he could use.

“Master Staudinger, I’m going to start the mobility tests we didn’t finish earlier,” Leonia shouted through the external loudspeaker.

“Go ahead! Just don’t tear down the warehouse!” the old man’s voice came from outside.

The next second, the giant steel behemoth took its first step.

There was none of the imagined clumsiness or sluggishness. In the dual sympathy state, Morin felt as if he were part of this body.

Leonia was responsible for controlling the balance of the legs and torso, while Morin was responsible for vigilance and weapon aiming.

The consciousnesses of the two intertwined in the circuit. A wonderful tacit understanding arose spontaneously; there was no verbal communication, not even eye contact required.

This fluid cooperation not only amazed Morin but also gave Leonia, in the “Sympathetic System,” a scalp-tingling thrill.

The Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights was already a top-tier Armored Knight pilot. Although the height and volume of the current machine had changed, it didn’t prevent her from adapting to the controls at extreme speed.

In Morin’s perception, she piloted this behemoth quickly out of the warehouse and onto an open testing ground on the periphery.

Side slip, sudden stop, turn.

In the mental link, Morin could clearly feel how Leonia fine-tuned the power output of the magitech muscle bundles on each joint structure, and how she utilized the machine’s inertia to perform those seemingly impossible maneuvers.

“Hold on tight, Lieutenant Colonel Morin.”

Leonia’s voice echoed in his mind, carrying the exhilaration of a fish back in water.

The next second, a massive push against his back suddenly hit him.

This steel giant, weighing over thirty tons, exploded with astonishing acceleration the instant it started.

“Holy sh*t, this power…” Morin was somewhat surprised.

Connected to the “Sympathetic Operation,” he could clearly feel every action detail of the machine.

Leonia’s control could simply be described as “silky smooth.”

She didn’t deliberately fight the machine’s inertia. Instead, going with the engine’s roar and the shift in the center of gravity, she made this behemoth dance a series of powerful steps on the rugged ground.

The crisp sound of the machine’s feet crushing gravel, the hum of the magitech muscle bundles contracting and extending, and the rhythmic pulsation of the radiant crystal engine thoroughly satisfied Morin’s “Soul of Steel.”

“Watch the left! Targets appearing!”

Leonia’s warning and Morin’s perception arrived almost simultaneously.

The latter saw several rows of humanoid paper targets suddenly pop up on the left edge of his vision.

“Leave it to me.”

Morin didn’t need extra words. His left hand fiercely gripped the heavy control handle.

With the assist of the magitech muscle bundles, the initially immensely heavy twin MG08 machine gun turret rapidly swept the red ring in his vision toward the targets under Morin’s operation.

“Da-da-da-da-da—!”

Accompanied by a rhythmic burst of machine gun fire, two scorching tongues of fire spewed from the left side of the “Valkyrie.”

Tracer rounds drew two straight red lines in the air. Guided by Morin, they finally swept into the humanoid targets.

Target paper fragments and wood splinters instantly scattered and flew.

This patch of humanoid targets was rapidly cleared under the strafing of the twin heavy machine guns.

“Beautiful!” Leonia praised. Immediately, she also controlled the “Valkyrie’s” massive body to perform an unbelievable side-slip drift while moving at high speed.

The Armored Knight’s metal feet plowed two deep trenches into the ground. While dodging a trench ahead, it also completed the “Valkyrie’s” turn.

“This mobility… is simply unscientific.” Morin clicked his tongue inwardly.

But the movements of his hands didn’t stop.

As the machine rotated, new targets appeared on the right—several simulated armored targets welded from thick steel plates, painted with striking bullseyes.

Morin’s eyes narrowed. His right hand quickly grabbed the ammo box by his feet.

That new 50mm armor-piercing shell, under the strength of his enhanced arm, felt like picking up a bottle of beer.

Clang!

Ram the shell into the chamber.

Clack!

Lock the breech.

This series of actions was smooth and flowing.

Immediately after, Morin controlled the muzzle direction, placing the other red ring in his vision over the bullseye on the steel plate.

“Goodbye.”

Morin pulled the firing trigger hard.

Boom!!!

A muffled, earth-shaking roar exploded on the right side of the cockpit.

Even with the helmet’s noise-reduction effect, the transmission of recoil was obviously unavoidable. Morin still felt the entire machine tilt slightly to the right as it fired.

The blast wave from the muzzle blew away the surrounding dust. A new 50mm armor-piercing shell tore through the air at a speed the naked eye couldn’t catch, instantly crossing a distance of over three hundred meters—this was also the “Valkyrie” engagement distance set by Leonia and the others.

The armored target in the distance trembled violently, like a gong struck by a sledgehammer. Immediately, a clean, bright hole appeared right in the center.

With the firing of this shot, the cooperation between Morin and Leonia entered a wondrous state at this moment, as if losing themselves in the flow.

Perhaps this was what was meant by “synchronization rate” increasing.

No verbal communication was needed, not even a deliberate effort to perceive the other’s thoughts.

When Leonia prepared to turn sharply left, Morin slightly shifted the artillery aim to the right, using the weight of the gun to balance the machine’s center of gravity.

And when Morin prepared to fire, Leonia would subconsciously fine-tune the machine’s posture, creating that momentary firing window for him.

This feeling was addictive.

It was like two souls dancing together in the same shell, blending with each other, indistinguishable from one another.