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

"You actually tried to kill your own daughter?! You're so wicked, old woman!"

March 7 quickly raised his hand and cast an ice crystal shield on everyone, then drew his bow and aimed at Cocolia.

"hehe…"

Cocolia chuckled dismissively, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

On the flat ground atop the mountain, a pebble began to tremble without warning.

Then, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently, as if a mountain had collapsed.

"W-What's going on?! The ground is shaking!"

On March 7th, she screamed in fright and quickly steadied herself to avoid falling.

"This is bad..."

Seele looked down at the ground, gritted her teeth, and looked serious.

Only Cocolia remained calm and graceful as she walked towards the crowd.

"Belberg...the fate of this city has already been sealed, its future...will unfold in our hands!"

Under the tense gaze of everyone, Cocolia closed her eyes and raised her right hand.

The imaginary energy in the air was mobilized and automatically gathered in her hand, condensing into a greatsword of ice crystals.

Cocolia slowly raised her sword, her figure gradually rising in the wind and snow, like a witch in a blizzard.

"Without breaking with the old, there can be no new."

As the Great Guardian, I command you to rise—"Creation Engine!"

As soon as she finished speaking, behind Cocolia, the enormous "Creation Engine" mecha giant pushed aside the thick snow and stretched out its huge arm from the mountain crevice, sweeping it forcefully towards the group.

A shadow that blotted out the sky enveloped everyone, and Bronya's pupils suddenly contracted as she cried out in alarm:

"These are ancient machines used by the city builders, everyone be careful!"

The last character had barely fallen when the "Creation Engine" attack came crashing down.

The wind and snow were whipped up by the blow, and dust and snow instantly obscured everyone's vision.

Everyone narrowly escaped unharmed. After the dust settled, a colossal mechanical giant stood majestically behind Cocolia, imposing and awe-inspiring.

On March 7th, he stared in disbelief at the scene before him, his grip on the bowstring tightening unconsciously.

"This...is a robot even bigger than Schwarzlo?!"

Are we really not dreaming? How are we supposed to fight this?!

Before March 7th could continue complaining, a terrifying laser beam shot out from the top of the "Creation Engine," sweeping towards everyone.

The high temperature melts everything it touches instantly.

While barely managing to dodge, everyone desperately looked for an opportunity to fight back.

Everyone understands the principle of "capture the king first," but attacks aimed at Cocolia are intercepted by the "Creation Engine" midway.

Seele, who wanted to use her speed to close the gap with Cocolia, was almost flattened by the "Creation Engine".

"Damn it... we have to stop this giant's actions!"

Bronya raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her cheeks and shared her opinion.

That being said, normally effective attacks seem to sink without a trace when they hit this metal giant; apart from the sparks that fly up, there isn't even a hint of damage.

"But... how do we solve this problem...?"

...............

On the spaceship, Jiang Ning sat in the pilot's seat and sped off at breakneck speed.

Soon, a pale planet shrouded in ice and snow came into view.

"Have we finally arrived?"

Jiang Ning released the accelerator and decelerated abruptly.

Suddenly, a stream of data flashed in Izzy's eyes as she quietly paved the way for Jiangning, and the Humagear module on her ear flickered with a rapid orange light.

"President Jiang Ning, a strong 'protection' energy fluctuation has been detected on the Yalilo VI ahead."

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning was slightly taken aback, then frowned.

"Iz, connect to Zea's global vision and project the image of the energy source!"

Iz responded softly, raising her hand to gently stroke the Humagear module on her ear.

A blue light screen was projected into the air, and the imposing "Creation Engine" was particularly eye-catching in the image.

"What...it's the 'Creation Engine'? I thought..."

Well... never mind, it's good though, it just means we weren't late.

Iz kept her hand on the Humagear module and asked softly.

"Should we land now, President Jiang Ning?"

No, no rush.

It's not our turn to appear yet... but let's start warming up first~

Jiang Ning got up from his seat, stretched, and looked out the window at the distance.

There, the Star Train was quietly parked on the outer edge of the tracks, while outside the carriages, an Imaginary Railgun was aiming at a landmark on Yalilo VI, slowly gathering energy.

At the summit of the snow-capped mountain, the arduous battle continues.

Faced with the overwhelming onslaught of the "Creation Engine," although no one was injured, their physical strength was severely depleted in order to evade it.

"Damn it... if this keeps dragging on, we'll be worn down by this giant metal lump sooner or later!"

March 7th was panting heavily, his eyes filled with anger and helplessness.

"It's no use, I can't break through at all..."

"Danheng, don't we 'Nameless Guests' have any hidden ultimate weapons like this?"

Xing waved her arm, which was a little numb from pounding, and raised her hand to wipe away a piece of dust the size of a thumb that was stuck to her pretty face.

"The 'Nameless Gang' wasn't a group primarily focused on combat... How could something like that be..."

Before the words were finished, a beam of energy pulsed to its maximum compressed state descended from the sky, piercing the "Creation Engine's" raised arm without missing a beat.

Cocolia's mind was momentarily distracted. Due to the damage to her body, the "Creation Engine" collapsed onto the snow and temporarily lost power.

Seeing the sudden change in the battle situation, a glint flashed in March 7's eyes.

"It's Himeko! Himeko has come to our aid!"

As they spoke, the three pioneers simultaneously received a message from Himeko through their headset communicators.

"Hey, can you hear me?... The signal on this planet is really bad..."

Thankfully, we've finally managed to get in touch with you.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, March 7th could no longer hold back and began to cry uncontrollably.

"Oh dear~ Himeko-nee~ I thought you'd forgotten about me~"

Himeko's helpless voice came from the other end of the communicator.

"What? Mr. Walter and I have been thinking of you all the time while we were on track."

How did this big guy even start moving...? Anyway, we need to stop it first.

The support we can provide is limited, so it's up to you now~

The call ended, and the pressure of the main battlefield was once again handed over to everyone.

Cocolia turned to look at the temporarily paralyzed "Creation Engine" behind her, her expression showing a hint of annoyance.

As she raised her hand again, the authority of "preservation" was activated once more, and the previously dormant "creation engine" began to gradually revive.

Upon seeing this, Bronya immediately shouted a reminder:

"We can't let her restart the machine!"

"Leave it to me!"

With a shout, Xing raised his bat and charged towards Cocolia, who was high up.

The "star core" imprisoned on the towering pillars emitted a ghostly light, and one after another, rift creatures were summoned to try to stop the star's advance.

Bullets flew past behind the star, precisely hitting the heads of each Rift creature.

Bronya maintained her aiming posture and spoke towards the star:

"Go ahead and charge! We'll cover you!"

With everyone providing full cover, no one could stop Xing's advance.

In just a few breaths, Xing had already rushed to the high platform in front of Cocolia.

Facing this powerful guardian who held sway over Belloberg, Xing did not back down in the slightest. He raised his baseball bat high and smashed it down fiercely against the wind and snow.

A crisp collision sound rang out, and a hard ice crystal shield formed out of thin air between the two, firmly catching the attack.

"To put up a stubborn resistance is utterly foolish."

A hint of obsession and madness flashed in Cocolia's eyes. She slowly raised her hand and looked at the star core that was suspended in the sky and was constantly pulsating with a dark, eerie light.

"The 'preservation' upheld by the previous Great Guardian kept Beloberg constantly on the verge of despair. Only the 'Star Core' could grant me the vision of a new world!"

At this moment, Cocolia's last remaining will to "preserve" completely collapsed, and the "destruction" mixed in with the "star core" surged wildly into Cocolia's body, enveloping her entirely.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Xing quickly retreated.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the power of the "Star Core" transformed into ice crystals that enveloped Cocolia, forming a giant ice crystal cocoon.

Subsequently, the surface of the giant cocoon gradually cracked and eventually shattered into countless ice shards.

Looking again, Cocolia had completely lost her normal human appearance, and her skin had turned into a deep, dark black, like the starry sky.

The ice crystals transformed into a majestic suit of armor, enveloping his body and making him appear much taller.

"Is this... the power of the 'Star Core'?"

Bronya's pupils contracted sharply, and her hand gripping the spear trembled involuntarily.

Xing, who was closest to Xing, tried to create a safe distance again, but the ice and snow under her feet seemed to come alive and climbed up her legs, binding her to the spot.

Before she could break free, Cocolia, now the "Mother of Imaginary Numbers," raised her hand and summoned an ice spear, which she launched without hesitation toward the star.

The ice spear pierced through his chest without any resistance, and the residual momentum propelled Xing backward as he fell.

The people on the ground stared in disbelief at the scene before them. They couldn't believe that their comrade who had fought alongside them just moments before had actually been "killed" by the enemy.

…………

In the galaxy above planet Yalilo VI, Jiang Ning's spaceship remains parked on the outer edge of the planet's orbit.

Jiang Ning stared calmly at the scene on the screen, feeling no sadness even though Xing had been pierced.

"Tsk, knowing the plot in advance really makes you feel less emotional... I understand now why spoilers are always doomed."

But after all this time... won't I develop psychological problems...?

Jiang Ning rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

"President Jiang Ning, aren't we leaving yet?"

Iz asked softly.

"No rush, we'll verify it soon... my ultimate goal for this trip!"

Jiang Ning stared intently at the changes on the screen, not wanting to miss a single detail.

The star's body fell from mid-air, gradually approaching the ground.

Just before it was about to fall, a tiny, almost imperceptible spark escaped from Xing's clothes.

Then, as if ignited by something, the flames became uncontrollable and engulfed the entire star.

The pierced chest was filled with flames, leaving it completely unharmed. Xing, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes, and at the same time, a flaming spear, more than half a person's height, appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Xing performed a stylish backflip in mid-air, regained her balance, and finally landed smoothly.

The Flame Spear emanated a strong "protective" energy, but Jiang Ning's focus was not on that.

The image was magnified by Jiang Ning's wave of his hand, and a palm-sized area in Xing's shirt pocket emitted the same light.

As if something alive were breathing, the light shimmered steadily, looking like the brilliant stars in a galaxy.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but smile.

"It seems my guess was right... Will the Star God's glance be automatically absorbed and transformed...?"

…The "preservation" energy bottle is really something to look forward to!

Jiang Ning stood up abruptly from his seat and spoke softly to Iz:

"Izzy, it's your turn to pilot. Get the spaceship as close as possible to the location with the strongest 'protection' energy fluctuations."

It's our turn to step in!

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