Chapter 403: Heaven Forge—The Birth of Defensive Forged Arts!

The System didn't explain much about the tribulations ordinarily experienced by A-Rank beings, although Luke understood that he would still have to endure an actual A-Rank tribulation lightning strike.

"Well, if it's single then I would be fine."

He muttered those words without feeling entirely confident, but at least knowing that he would face only one strike allowed him to prepare accordingly.

With that thought, Luke immediately activated the fusion between Nyx and Azrion, transforming into Vorthar.

"Hah."

Within moments, a seventy-foot-tall Titan appeared upon the cliff, his entire body covered from head to toe in the pure-white Nullex Armor.

Even after transforming, Luke remained seated with his legs crossed, preparing to use another ability that he had recently obtained.

"Time to use Heaven Forge again."

This time, he was placing his hopes upon the Anvil Titan's Origin Authority, intending to go beyond merely combining his existing techniques in the conventional manner.

As his power began circulating, a solidified phantom of an anvil appeared behind his back, followed by the manifestation of a blacksmith's hammer, which hovered above it as though waiting for the forging process to begin.

"First, Defensive Forged Arts — Two Components."

Luke muttered those words before raising his hand and beginning to construct the first defensive technique.

"Heavenly Fortress"

"Fortress Wall + Cosmic Construct!"

KLANG! CLANG! KLANG! CLANG!

The phantom hammer immediately began striking the anvil, producing a series of metallic sounds as Luke's energy gathered above it and condensed into a sphere.

With every strike, the energy underwent further changes, gradually merging Bastion's defensive Aether with Caelith's solidified Cosmic Energy.

After several strikes, the forging process finally reached completion, and the newly created energy expanded outward, forming a reinforced protective dome around Luke.

Unlike an ordinary Fortress Wall, the resulting barrier possessed both the defensive properties of Bastion's Aether and the physical solidity of Caelith's cosmic constructs, allowing the two different powers to function as a single defensive structure.

Luke examined the completed dome, which now covered the hill upon which he was seated, and nodded with satisfaction.

He then turned his attention toward his internal energy circulation and replaced both of his hearts with Cosmic Hearts, something he could accomplish because of Titan Harmony.

Moreover, ever since his Eternal Titan Zero reconstruction progress had reached 99.99%, the effects of Titan Harmony had become even more effective, allowing him to make better use of such combinations.

THUMP! THUMP!

Both Cosmic Hearts immediately began pumping, circulating a tremendous amount of energy throughout his Titan body.

The energy he had expended during the previous forging was rapidly replenished, while additional power continued filling his body.

Satisfied with the result, Luke prepared his next defensive creation.

"Next, 2nd Defensive Art."

"Severance Shield"

"Fortress Wall + Physical Severance!"

KLANG! CLANG! KLANG! CLANG!

Once again, Luke's energy surged outward and gathered above the anvil, where the phantom hammer began striking the newly formed sphere while the surrounding power continuously melted and reforged its structure.

After several moments, another defensive barrier materialized above the first dome, its surface now possessing the properties of Physical Severance.

Unlike a conventional shield that merely endured incoming blows, this newly forged barrier could cut into physical attacks that came into contact with it, potentially disrupting them before their full force reached Luke.

Of course, Physical Severance wasn't particularly effective against lightning, especially when compared to the other defensive abilities he possessed.

Nevertheless, Luke decided to create the barrier anyway, since having additional layers of protection was better than facing the tribulation with insufficient defenses.

Besides, he still had enough time to prepare, and the energy provided by his Cosmic Hearts was more than sufficient to sustain the forging process.

"3rd Defensive Art."

"Celestial Gravity Shield"

"Cosmic Lock + Cosmic Construct!"

The same process began again, with another sphere of energy appearing upon the anvil before being repeatedly struck by the phantom hammer.

Soon, a third barrier formed outside the previous defensive domes, although this one possessed an entirely different property.

By combining Cosmic Lock with Cosmic Construct, Luke had created a defensive structure surrounded by a controlled gravitational field, allowing it to pull incoming projectiles away from their intended paths.

Depending on the strength of the approaching attacks, the gravitational field could potentially trap weaker projectiles in orbit around the shield or redirect them toward the ground below.

"Heaven Forge is really something."

Luke couldn't help feeling delighted with his newly acquired Origin Authority, especially since he understood how troublesome using Cosmic Lock normally was.

After all, Cosmic Lock required him to summon his Cosmic System and properly align the celestial bodies before activating the technique, which demanded a considerable amount of preparation and control.

However, Heaven Forge treated that technique as a recorded form and used the energy supplied by Luke to reforge its properties into something new.

As a result, he didn't necessarily need to perform every individual step of Cosmic Lock's original activation when creating the Forged Art, unless he wanted to execute the technique in its complete original form.

This greatly reduced the complications involved in combining his abilities.

"4th Defensive Art."

"Immovable Mountain"

"Mountain's Shell + Earthbound!"

As the two abilities were successfully forged together, Luke's Titan body gradually became enclosed within a layer of rocky armor that possessed the defensive properties of Montarok's Mountain's Shell.

However, the resulting protection wasn't limited to ordinary physical durability, since it also inherited Earthbound's ability to anchor his body to the ground.

This made it exceptionally difficult for outside forces to push, lift, or knock him backward, allowing him to maintain his position even when confronted by powerful physical impacts.

The combination was particularly effective when Luke remained in contact with the ground, where the earth-anchoring properties could provide their greatest benefit.

"With this, even during intense shockwaves I would be fine."

Luke couldn't help feeling impressed by the result, realizing that whenever he had sufficient time and resources to prepare, Heaven Forge allowed him to create techniques that would have been extremely difficult to achieve through ordinary means.

And the barriers surrounding him were already proving that point.

However, he wasn't finished yet.

Since his objective was to survive the coming A-Rank tribulation, Luke continued forging additional defensive Arts, intending to strengthen his protection while retaining the ability to move under the lightning's bombardment.

One after another, new combinations began taking shape.

"Invisible Fortress"

"Null Veil of Nyx + Fortress Wall!"

This time, Luke forged Nyx's stealth Authority into Bastion's defensive barrier, creating a concealed dome that could hide both its structure and the area protected within it.

Unlike an ordinary barrier, the completed Forged Art incorporated Null Veil's concealment properties, making it difficult for outside observers to perceive what lay inside.

Luke was particularly interested in this combination because it involved an Authority rather than ordinary stealth magic, and he hoped that even the tribulation lightning might have difficulty locating his actual body within the concealed barrier.

Whether such a method could truly deceive Valtharion remained uncertain, but he saw no reason not to prepare it. However he let it remain off for now and would on, when he would about to go tribulation.

Afterward, Luke immediately began constructing another defense.

"Closure Barrier"

"Fortress Wall + Seal of Closure!"