The training grounds of Brandelis Manor, after many years, once again saw knights clad in armor appear here.
In the generation of Perfikot's grandfather, the Brandlis Clan was still a typical knight family. The family's offspring became Extraordinary Knights through ancestral training methods, then joined the army to fight for the Lord and the Empire, earning honors and spoils.
Generations lived this way; although they never held a noble title, the family's territory was just a small village.
The so-called ancestral training method for Extraordinary Knights only allowed one to reach the level of a great knight. Before the late Baron Brandelis, the Brandlis Clan hadn't produced a great knight for many generations.
It wasn't until Perfikot's grandfather's time, coinciding with the industrial revolution sparked by the steam engine, that the increase in productivity brought material abundance, enabling the late Baron Brandelis to not only reach the level of a great knight but also become the only one in generations of the Brandlis Clan to break the shackles and become a titled knight.
Because of this, the late Baron Brandelis stood out in the wars of the Empire's contest for world dominance with France, earning the hereditary title of baron and securing considerable lands for the family.
But that was the last glory of the Age of Knights. After the late Baron Brandelis retired from the army, the Empire's military reform began.
Though the army still retained a large number of knights, the primary combat forces were line infantry and artillery. Even the grassroots command officers were gradually being replaced by professionals trained in military academies, rather than knights.
This is understandable, as officers trained in professional military academies specialize in grassroots combat command. There is only so much to learn, without the need, like knights, to spend a lot of time studying etiquette and martial arts.
Less training content naturally means shorter cycles, and combined with the lower threshold compared to knights, the numbers also increased.
As a result, the proportion of traditional knights in the military system became increasingly smaller, causing many knight families to gradually abandon the traditional military route and turn to other fields or switch to the new military system.
The late Baron Brandelis wasn't a feudal old conservative. As someone who personally experienced the era of change brought by steam engines, he was actually a progressive elder who embraced new things.
However, as a representative of knights ennobled through military merits, the late Baron Brandelis was largely regarded as a traditionalist in the military.
Due to this, though the old baron had no obsession with continuing the tradition for the family's offspring, at least for his two sons, he expected them to join the army.
Yes, Perfikot actually had an uncle. Her father was the eldest, and there were two brothers in the family.
However, Perfikot's father did not choose the military school route planned by the old baron; instead, he rebelliously chose to study alchemy.
With two sons in the family, though the old baron was disappointed by Perfikot's father's choice, he didn't force it, as having one son join the military was enough.
So, Perfikot's uncle joined the military after attending his brother's wedding and died on the battlefield, never having met Perfikot.
The old baron was deeply affected by this, falling into despair and losing motivation, leaving the Brandelis family training ground unused from that point on.
Until today, when the old butler Foster broke through the shackles of a great knight to become a titled knight, donning the steam armor made by Perfikot to adapt to the new equipment, the old training ground once again found its purpose.
"This armor is incredibly powerful! Wearing it, my strength has increased at least threefold!" Foster lifted a stone used for strength training on the grounds with one hand, a look of amazement on his face.
The armor he wore wasn't merely for defense; it had an internal mechanical structure that aided movement, making it a special piece of alchemical equipment.
Powered by a custom steam source from behind, this suit of armor could even be called a steam-powered version of power armor.
The exterior armor plates were crafted by Perfikot using a nickel-chromium alloy, combined with a carburizing hardening technique, creating a large-inclined arc surface. All the armor pieces were precisely calculated to maximize defense efficiency.
The internal traditional structure used hydraulic piston-assisted power, effectually amplifying the user's strength by three to five times as Foster experienced.
Two steam cores, originally used on a maid automaton by Perfikot, provided approximately twenty horsepower of output on this power armor.
With an external high-pressure air tank attached, this power armor could operate for ten hours, and sustain six hours of high-intensity combat.
Moreover, the external high-pressure air tanks are replaceable, allowing for high-intensity continuous combat as long as they are pre-charged.
Matched with the chain-saw sword and large-caliber automatic sniper rifle specially crafted by Perfikot, this equipment, in this era, is enough to raise knights from their graves.
Of course, not considering that this entire set was handmade by Perfikot, an alchemy master, the cost was astronomical, even with the support of the Philosopher's Stone.
"Grandpa Fu, this suit of armor is still in the testing stage. I need to adjust it based on your usage feedback." Perfikot watched Foster's excitement with a smile on her face as well.
However, she didn't forget her primary purpose, pointing to the distant woodland and said to Foster, "The drive of the armor seems fine for now; we'll do minor adjustments later. Let's try out the gun first."
"It has a range of eight hundred meters, and the recoil is a bit strong, so I recommend standing firm before firing."
Hearing Perfikot say this, Foster didn't show off but followed her instructions, unlocking the pins on the legs of the armor to anchor himself into the solid ground before lifting the gun with the help of the hydraulic arm mechanisms and aiming at the target in the distant woods.
The alchemy-crafted high-powered optical scope mounted on the rifle made the woods a kilometer away seem within reach, and the specially designed reticle and scale made it easy for Foster to aim.
After confirming he was ready and having Perfikot step back to a safe distance, Foster pulled the trigger.
"Boom!" With a loud bang, a large tree in the distant woods had its trunk blown apart and fell.
Even from nearly a kilometer away, the fallen tree was quite conspicuous.