As Lin Lan took the wisdom cube handed to him by Akashi, he quickly noticed that the white light particles inside the cube began to rotate at an increasingly faster pace.
These wisdom cubes only showed such activation—accelerating their rotation—when held by him.
No other shipgirl experienced this phenomenon.
However, Lin Lan had already experimented before, even sleeping with two wisdom cubes as his pillow.
Aside from the increased rotation speed of the light particles within the cubes, nothing else had happened.
As the wisdom cube in his hand gradually activated, Lin Lan suddenly felt the weight of his armor lighten significantly.
"Is this... an enchantment that reduces armor weight?"
Lin Lan understood that this unexpected change was due to the enchantments on his armor being activated.
Soon, he also felt his strength increasing, his thoughts becoming clearer than before.
Moreover, even his vision through the helmet became sharper, akin to a nearsighted person putting on glasses with the perfect prescription.
"Yaho! Commander, the patterns on your armor are glowing!"
Brünhilde shouted excitedly from the side, confirming that all these enhancements were due to the enchantments on his armor.
Returning the wisdom cube to Akashi, Lin Lan asked the little merchant,
"Akashi, you should have the manual for this armor, right? Read it to me."
Akashi retrieved a small booklet from her rigging and began reading:
"Let me see, nya..."
"Equipment Name: Standard Armor of the Apprentice Guardian Order, nya."
"Origin: Official trade product from the Holy Teaching Nation, nya."
"Usage: Powered by magic source crystals; without them, it functions as standard light steel armor, nya."
"Enchantment List: Tier 1 Magic Weight Reduction, Tier 1 Magic Clear Vision, Tier 1 Magic Strength Enhancement, Tier 1 Magic Mental Focus, nya."
"Professional Evaluation: D-grade resistance to mental attacks, B-grade resistance to physical strikes, C-grade resistance to elemental attacks, nya."
After listening to Akashi's detailed explanation, Lin Lan couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
The official products that the Holy Teaching Nation sold to the Orland Federation were indeed different from the goods smuggled through the black market.
They even came with proper numerical evaluations.
This armor was standard equipment for apprentice knights, and once activated, its physical defense rating reached B-grade—probably not too low.
"Hipper, I'm ready."
Lin Lan now felt that his armor no longer restricted his movements at all. With the weight reduction enchantment in effect, it felt as light as wearing a thin shirt.
He walked up to Hipper, who had a reluctant look on her face, and declared his readiness.
"Tch, why do I have to be the bad guy here?"
Prinz Eugen and the others tactfully stepped back to give them space.
Hipper grumbled in frustration while summoning a slender, gray mechanical baton into her hand.
This was the melee weapon integrated into her rigging.
Although it looked like an elegant and harmless command rod,
Once she ran out of ammunition, its melee power was strong enough to pierce even the thick exterior armor of Siren warships.
"Idiot, just so you know—if you get hurt, I'm not taking responsibility."
Lin Lan condensed a radiant sword of light in his hand and smiled slightly at Hipper's words.
That was a classic tsundere line.
If he really got hurt, she would probably cry on the spot and refuse to leave his side until he was fully recovered.
"Hipper, make sure to control your strength,"
Ulrich, acting as the sparring overseer, sternly reminded Hipper.
Hipper twirled her baton in one hand and responded with an annoyed grunt.
"Go, Commander!"
"Commander, don't lose too badly~"
"You got this, Commander! I believe in you!"
Hipper's three younger sisters cheered for Lin Lan, though he could tell they were just here for the fun of it.
He himself was well aware—there was no way he could actually beat Hipper.
"Alright, sparring countdown—three, two, one… Start!"
As Hood's voice rang out with solemn authority, Lin Lan immediately bent his knees and kept his eyes locked on Hipper with full vigilance.
But to his surprise, Hipper made no move to attack. She simply stood there nonchalantly, watching him.
"Hah? Are you seriously waiting for me to attack first? Come on, show some guts and bring it on!"
Hearing Hipper's arrogant taunt, Lin Lan stopped hesitating.
His skill list as a hero from Liao Continent included many abilities he had never used before.
Aside from a variety of elemental attack techniques, maxing out his weapon mastery had granted him numerous advanced sword techniques.
Combined with various passive skills that boosted his physical abilities, this was why Lin Lan had the confidence to spar with his own shipgirl.
"In that case, I won't hold back."
With that declaration, Lin Lan began casting a series of buffs on himself to enhance his combat abilities.
Since it was a bright afternoon and light elements were abundant,
He first activated Light Element Affinity, Photosynthetic Battle Shield, and Radiant Blessing.
The first one amplified all his light-element skills. The second created a blindingly bright light shield around him.
The last one increased all his combat attributes under sunlight.
After that, he used Sword Focus, Heightened Perception, and Weakness Detection, further boosting his combat potential.
All these enhancements caused his aura to surge dramatically.
At this moment, Lin Lan exuded the presence of a master swordsman from Liao Continent—one who had honed his blade through countless battles.
Even Hipper was momentarily stunned, and Hood stared at her commander in shock.
This was the power that Liao Continent had bestowed upon their hero to fight against the Demon King's army.
The more Demon King forces he defeated, the more skill points he could gain, unlocking even stronger abilities.
But Lin Lan was an anomaly—a hero who had never been in real combat, yet had unlocked every skill slot through wisdom cubes alone.
It was something beyond the imagination of those from Liao Continent.
But Lin Lan had no time for further thought.
Since this was a real spar, he had to treat Hipper as a true enemy.
After finishing his self-enhancements, Lin Lan gripped his radiant sword with both hands and activated Phantom Step, an unpredictable movement technique, to rapidly circle Hipper.
Before becoming a hero, he had been a port commander.
No one understood his own shipgirls' combat strength better than he did.
Even with all these buffs, he couldn't detect a single opening in the blonde Iron Blood heavy cruiser's stance.
This only made him more cautious.
After two swift laps around Hipper with no success, Lin Lan realized that probing for weaknesses was useless.
So, he abruptly halted his movement and activated an offensive skill—Radiant Wing Strike.
This was a light-element sword thrust technique designed for direct assaults, and Lin Lan had high confidence in its power.
Until now, he had never fully unleashed the strength of a hero due to always being under his shipgirls' protection.
But now, clad in enchanted armor, he was finally able to let loose.
His body became a streaking afterimage of light, with his sword aimed straight ahead.
Shrouded in an overwhelming surge of light energy, he seemed to transform into a brilliant white spear, tearing through the air toward Hipper!
"Idiot… Not bad, actually."
However, just as Lin Lan was about to land his attack,
A sharp, glass-like shattering sound suddenly rang in his ears.
Before he could react, an unyielding force gripped his throat like an iron vice.
A crushing strength lifted him off the ground and slammed him hard into the earth.
THUD!
The impact echoed across the training field, signaling the abrupt end of the sparring match.
Only after landing did Lin Lan realize—Hipper had single-handedly grabbed him by the throat and pinned him down.
The golden-haired, flat-chested heavy cruiser sat atop him, pressing one knee firmly against his chest plate while holding his arms in an unbreakable grip.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't get up.
Thankfully, with his hero skills and enchanted armor, he hadn't sustained any real injuries.
Even after such a forceful throw, he barely felt any pain.
Looking into Hipper's emerald-green eyes, Lin Lan saw a hint of worry on her usually proud face.
With a helpless sigh, he let go of his radiant sword.
So this… is the power of my own shipgirl?
This is just ridiculous…
In mere moments, the duel between the commander and his shipgirl had been decisively settled.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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