Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

Surrounded by a group of lower-class refugees, Bronya's face was gloomy, her expression more solemn and serious than ever before.

A middle-aged man, dressed in rags and weathered, stepped forward, his hoarse voice, filled with blatant sarcasm and anger, breaking the deathly silence:

"Is she a young lady from the upper-class area?"

What, you high and mighty VIPs, do you have time to set foot on our filthy, muddy ground today?

Are they here to inspect whether we lowly people are behaving ourselves?

The surrounding refugees immediately burst into laughter, but there was no mockery in their laughter, only long-suppressed resentment and sarcasm.

Bronya's gaze turned slightly cold, her tone calm yet carrying an unyielding sharpness.

"The High Guardian works so hard to maintain order in the upper and lower districts, and dedicates himself to protecting the peace of Beloborg. Why are you, a bunch of refugees, so ungrateful?"

"Protecting? Gratitude?"

The man laughed out loud as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and took another half step forward, his spittle almost flying onto Bronya.

"That sounds nice! You upper-class people only ever say pretty platitudes!"

For so many years, the cold wave has trapped Belleburg, and you've been protecting the prosperity and stability of the upper districts, protecting the bright lights of the administrative districts! What about us in the lower districts?

What right does that Cocolia have to be the Great Guardian?

Her protection was simply to isolate the upper and lower levels, cut off supplies, and leave the people in the lower levels to fend for themselves?!

He raised his hand and pointed to the dilapidated and crowded shacks behind him, the cracked and peeling walls, then swept his gaze across the sallow, emaciated faces with numb eyes. His voice suddenly rose, filled with grief, indignation, and resentment:

"We are living in a world of rotting air, depleted supplies, and houses that could collapse at any moment!"

We endure a life with no hope of ever getting ahead! The invasion of the rift, the cold wave, the scarcity of resources—all the suffering, all the sacrifices, are always borne by us, the lower classes!

You upper-class people live in luxury, and then you think you can erase all injustices with a mere phrase like "protecting order"?

The impassioned declaration immediately stirred up the emotions of the refugees. Many of them grabbed shovels from the nearest available spot, and some even picked up muskets from behind them, aggressively approaching Bronya.

"Why waste your breath on her! She doesn't look like she's genuinely remorseful!"

"Exactly! So arrogant! Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

One of the refugees shouted, raising his musket and aiming the dark muzzle mercilessly at Bronya.

Bronya's pupils contracted sharply, and she quickly drew her sidearm from behind her back, attempting to retaliate.

But it was clear that the refugees' offensive was much faster.

The trigger was pulled, a flash of light erupted, and the cold brass bullet flew straight toward Bronya.

The bullet magnified rapidly in her field of vision, and her survival instinct made her instinctively retreat. Even so, the bullet hit her only half a second too late.

A chilling sense of death swept over Bronya, but the next moment, a flash of silver sword light shattered the bullet that was almost in front of her.

"Hey, isn't it disgusting to see a group of people bullying a little girl?"

Jiang Ning had somehow broken through the crowd's blockade and was now standing quietly in front of Bronya, toying with the briefcase sword in his hand.

Bronya, who had survived the ordeal, came to her senses and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Jiang Ning, dressed in a white lab coat, standing in front of her with one hand in his pocket.

In the dark lower levels, Jiang Ning looked out of place with everything around him, especially with the strangely shaped weapon in his hand.

The briefcase, which was clearly green, somehow extended into a sharp blade. To be honest, Bronya had never seen such a strange design before, whether in the upper or lower sections.

"Where did you come from? Why are you helping people from the upper echelons?!"

The leader looked Jiang Ning up and down, then pointed at Jiang Ning and spoke as if he had suddenly realized something.

"You're from the upper district too?"

"Damn it, the upper echelons completely disregard us... You want to get shot too, ***?" (Lower echelons slang).

"Oh?"

Jiang Ning slowly raised the briefcase sword in his hand, the silver blade gleaming coldly.

Faced with this group of vulgar and unruly refugees, Jiang Ning remained unmoved, and the casual smile on his face faded slightly.

"I don't like fighting and killing, really."

But you guys just won't listen to reason, so I guess I'll have to swallow my pride and talk to you about physics~

He twirled his fingertips, and the briefcase sword drew a cold arc in the air, the sharp sound of it cutting through the air sending chills down one's spine.

"Damn it... Don't be afraid, everyone! No matter how advanced his weapons are, he's only one person! Even if we ordinary people gang up on him, we might not be able to defeat him!"

One of the displaced people spoke first, pushing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously timid refugees suddenly became excited.

"That's right! When we ordinary people get angry, there's nothing we can't overcome!"

"I can already see that pretty boy getting stabbed! Let's all go and take care of these two bastards from the upper echelons!"

Hearing the commotion in the crowd, Jiang Ning was completely speechless.

What do you mean by "having already seen yourself being stabbed"? Even "Zea" couldn't predict it, but you predicted it?

real or fake?

"Tsk, what a hassle..."

Jiang Ning flicked his wrist, raised his briefcase sword, and charged into the crowd.

In the moment of crisis, a purple quantum butterfly flashed to the center of the two sides.

The next moment, the butterfly transformed into a girl with long, dark blue hair. A giant scythe swept across, forcing both sides back several steps.

The girl calmly surveyed both sides, then raised her scythe behind her and coldly addressed the rioting crowd of refugees.

"Dare to make a move on 'Earthfire's' territory... do you want to exchange a few blows with me?"

The group of refugees were initially indignant because of the frequent disturbances, but after seeing the girl's appearance, even the most arrogant refugee wilted like a straw and quickly retreated.

"Oh no! It's Seele from 'Earthfire'! Run!"

The refugees came and went in a hurry, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Seele glanced indifferently in the direction the refugees had fled, and clicked her tongue in disdain.

"Tch... a cowardly bully."

Then, Seele put away her scythe and turned to face Jiang Ning and the stunned Bronya.

A cold yet curious gaze swept over the two of them, finally settling on Bronya.

"I heard a Silvermane Iron soldier ran down to the lower levels... was that you?"

Although the situation was somewhat chaotic, Bronya's excellent training in the upper zone allowed her to remain calm and composed.

"What are your intentions in kidnapping me and bringing me to the lower district?"

Upon hearing this, Seele sneered, her disgust evident on her face.

"Heh... What are you up to?"... Do you still think you're some high-class young lady from the upper class?

The actions of those refugees were indeed shameful, but they were right about one thing.

"...It's comfortable staying on the ground, isn't it? Do you know what the underground has become? Have you considered the lives of the people in the lower classes?"

Seele didn't hold back, venting all the pent-up resentment she had accumulated over the years.

"I…"

Bronya was about to retort, but Seele ignored her completely, giving her no chance to refute, and turned to look at the silent Jiang Ning.

"You're the company president Nata mentioned who came from 'outside the world,' right?"

It's unclear what Natasha instilled in the people of "Earthfire," or what image she portrayed Jiang Ning in.

Although Jiang Ning wasn't from the upper district, Xi'er didn't give him a friendly look at all.

"Whatever your intentions, I must warn you, don't even think about disrupting the peace of the lower districts."

------