The Tyrant Aberration still needed some final adjustments, but first, it had to undergo functional testing.
Due to its large size, the elevator shafts or corridors leading underground were too small for the Aberration to pass through.
Even if it could use "Blink" to directly reach the underground explosion-proof chamber, the limited space would restrict its movement.
After some consideration, Li Lin decided to test the performance of the Tyrant Aberration in the mountainous area north of Piltover.
The Piltovan Mountains severed the land connection between the twin cities and the inland of Valoran.
It was this mountain range that served as the main barrier, preventing Noxus from annexing Zaun, which had long since separated from the fallen Shuriman Empire, after the Noxian Empire formed over 600 years ago.
However, even without this barrier, Noxus would have had to reconsider its capabilities if it wanted to occupy Zaun at that time.
From 600 years ago to 300 years ago, it was the heyday of the followers of the Wind Goddess, Janna, and it was almost the peak of her power.
It wasn't until the early days of alchemical technology and various precision clockwork techniques began to develop that she gradually lost her followers, becoming weak and almost dissipating...
The average elevation of the Piltovan Mountains was over 2000 meters, mostly composed of granite or basalt, with numerous boulders and very sparse vegetation.
Although this mountain range was not as long and narrow as the "Magnificent Barrier" further north, it was relatively rich in mineral resources and had few threatening creatures.
The major families of Piltover or some of the Chem-Barons from Zaun had mining operations here, most of which were shipped by sea to the cities nearby controlled by Noxus for sale.
Li Lin wore the Infinity Generation Three Armor and switched the Aberration's operating mode to follow mode, then ascended into the sky through the deployed skylight.
In just a few minutes, he arrived at the relatively flat top of the mountain range with the Aberration.
Li Lin surveyed the surroundings and quickly scanned the terrain with drones, recording the map in the database.
The summit of the Piltovan Mountains was extremely desolate, with almost no signs of human activity.
Coupled with the sparse vegetation, there were also very few animals here, occasionally some lazy, non-aggressive small rock-eating beasts could be seen.
Driving away the nearby rock-eating beasts with the drones, Li Lin brought three loose granite stones from elsewhere and placed them in different positions around the Aberration.
The scope of this performance test included melee attack power, long-range firepower, agility, stealth capability, and the degree of artificial intelligence self-evolution.
With a thought, Li Lin gave the Aberration mecha the command to destroy the three granite stones in front of it in melee combat.
The moment it received the command, the Aberration hesitated not at all. The gaps in its mechanical gears were filled with cyan-blue light, and its entire body suddenly disappeared, flashing to the first rock over 30 meters away in less than a heartbeat.
The scorching particle mantis claws generated from its arms vertically cleaved the granite at a speed invisible to the naked eye, instantly melting it into three pieces. The entire attack process took less than 2 seconds.
In the next moment, the Aberration disappeared again, reappearing at the "Blink" limit distance of about 50 meters from this side, vibrating its particle-made light wings and the plasma thruster flames behind it.
In just two breaths, it rushed to the other two adjacent granite stones more than two hundred meters away. Its arms unfolded, and its entire body passed through the gap between the rocks. The ready mantis blades cut them into two pieces each.
This was not the end. As it passed through the rocks by more than a meter, the Aberration immediately used the plasma thrusters in front to stop its forward momentum, rotated its upper body 180 degrees, swung back, and sliced the rocks into dozens of pieces each.
"Dang, if I encounter a Void monster like Cho'Gath now, with just the Tyrant Aberration, I could earn the full reward for killing it..."
Li Lin was very satisfied with the melee capabilities of the Aberration mecha, and then brought it to a valley in the mountains where ordinary people basically couldn't enter.
"Switch mode."
At Li Lin's command, the orange-red mechanical eyes of the Aberration were instantly covered in red light, and all the weapons on its body unfolded.
[Command received.]
[Mode switched to: Full Firepower.]
[Objective: Flatten everything.]
[Executing mission!]
In an instant, the energy index detected by the holographic display of Li Lin's Infinity Armor soared exponentially.
Before he could react, the misty valley in front of him was completely covered by cyan-blue light, and even the mountains on both sides came with thunderous roars, making the ground tremble.
This was only the destructive power caused by plasma energy weapons before compressed missiles were even made.
Li Lin was taken aback, the power of the Aberration mecha exceeded his expectations, so he quickly ordered it to stop its mission.
[Command canceled.]
The armor closed all weapon ports, the Aberration emerged from the cyan-blue light, and returned to Li Lin's side.
After waiting for several seconds, the energy released by the Aberration gradually dissipated.
Li Lin focused his gaze ahead, and within at least a square kilometer, the mountains collapsed and the boulders vanished, turning into a desolate land of gullies, completely different from the scene he had just witnessed.
He couldn't even be sure this was the same valley he had seen moments ago if he didn't know it was caused by the Aberration mecha.
"Whew! Thank goodness I didn't test this at home. Is this power even sane? Are there sea monsters in the depths of the Void as crazy as this?"
Li Lin couldn't help but gasp, but he quickly came to his senses.
The original Aberration mecha didn't have so many fancy functions; all of these were added by himself, especially the plasma weapons, which were much stronger than ordinary energy weapons.
Coupled with the magical energy from the three Hextech cores, having such destructive power didn't seem unreasonable.
After all, the power of just one World Rune fragment was greater than that of a tactical nuclear missile, directly sinking a piece of land in the eastern part of Noxus...
"If I unlock the Rune technology, combine it with the Rune magic principles I learned from the Primordial Crystal, and enchant the mecha with Rune imprints, what level of destruction could be achieved..."
Li Lin felt his heart pounding.
The Tyrant mecha belonged to a parallel universe of pure technology. Even if a mecha twice the size of a celestial warrior was created, it was almost impossible to defeat a demigod.
After all, in that world, even the Tyrant mecha couldn't kill a deep-sea monster; it could only throw it back into the depths of the ocean.
But this wasn't a world that relied solely on technology.
With the support of magic, Li Lin was confident that one day he would be able to pilot the mecha to defeat the Shadow Isles and stand shoulder to shoulder with celestial warriors and demigods.
The giant celestial spirits and cosmic beasts in the sky were out of the question. Each of them was a constellation, and it would take at least the power to casually destroy dozens of galaxies to compete with them.
Not to mention the presence of Bard, accompanied by a group of wood spirits formed by the will of the world, and the single-entity cosmic-level power of the Star Forger, Aurelion Sol.
But it wouldn't be a big problem to mix in the Rune lands for a while...
In the following time, Li Lin focused on testing the agility and stealth capabilities of the Aberration mecha.
He was surprised to find that the radar on his Infinity Armor couldn't even detect the Aberration in its "stealth" state; he could only infer its position based on energy index fluctuations.
It was similar to the guardians of the Void rifts in the underground Valley of Songs Shurima, which could only retreat into secondary dimensions and were undetectable even by Nasus.
One Tyrant Aberration mecha gave Li Lin too many surprises, and he was already looking forward to how far the Tyrant Warrior behind it could go.
After all, this was the mecha he would personally pilot, a mecha used to hunt down others, just like Iron Man's "Hulkbuster" armor.
"Let's stop here for today."
Li Lin recalled the scene of attending the Council meeting, a smile on his face.
"When the Progress Day conference showcases my research results, the members of the other families will definitely be stunned..."
(The end of this chapter)