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

"Brother Jiangning—!"

March 7th seemed to see a savior, exclaimed in surprise, and waved excitedly towards Jiang Ning.

"You've finally arrived... Hurry up and teach that old witch in the sky a lesson! Xing was almost killed by her just now!"

Seele stared wide-eyed at the retreating figure, her eyes filled with not only confusion but also shock.

"Jiang Ning...? Wait...you're saying that guy is Jiang Ning?!"

"Ah?...Oh right! I remember now, Xier, this is the first time you've seen Brother Jiang Ning like this, isn't it!"

"How about it? Super handsome, right? Xing and I were also shocked when we first met him!"

As if finding an outlet, March 7th began to automatically share her feelings about her first encounter with Jiang Ning.

Xing nodded, and seeing that Cocolia had stopped attacking, he pulled out the Flame Spear from the ground and deactivated his defense.

"Brother Jiangning! You've finally arrived!"

Jiang Ning turned around, nodded slightly, and teased with a smile:

"Not bad, Xing, you have a new weapon? It's pretty cool!"

Upon hearing this, Xing placed the Flame Spear beside him with one hand, proudly put his hands on his hips, and puffed out his chest.

"Brother Jiang Ning, I'm super strong now! You have no idea how powerful I am..."

"careful--!"

The peaceful conversation was abruptly interrupted.

A whooshing sound came from behind Jiang Ning's head. Bronya's pupils contracted sharply, and she cried out in surprise.

A massive ice spear, seemingly formed by Cocolia at some unknown time, shot towards Jiang Ning with overwhelming force.

"Don't interrupt their conversation..."

Without turning his head, Jiang Ning raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and swung it forcefully in the direction from which the ice spear had flown.

The once indestructible ice spear shattered into countless ice crystals in the blink of an eye. The scattered crystals reflected Zero-One's crimson compound eyes and Cocolia's face in the air, whose expression was indistinct.

Bronya stared in shock at the scene before her.

To be honest, her experience of getting to know Jiang Ning was not pleasant. Before he arrived on the battlefield, she always thought he was just a logistics personnel who was good at collecting intelligence.

After all, Jiang Ning always wore a plain white lab coat, with a gentle and calm demeanor, making him seem more like a pure researcher or intelligence analyst than a combatant.

Bronya only realized how wrong she had been when she witnessed Jiang Ning casually deflect Cocolia's attack with a single punch.

Ice shards rained down from the sky, and a biting wind swept across the snowfield carrying ice crystal fragments. Cocolia's figure, suspended in mid-air, paused slightly.

She stared at the figure standing firm in the wind and snow below, unmoved, and for the first time, a layer of solemn fear veiled the cold killing intent in her eyes.

That ice spear strike was a deadly move she made by fusing the natural ice of Beloborg with the power of the star core. She was confident that it was enough to instantly injure everyone present.

Even the gray-haired girl who had just received the "protection" blessing would never accept it so easily.

But the person in front of her simply threw a punch, effortlessly neutralizing her attack.

"...Who are you?!"

"Oh, you've hit the nail on the head!"

Jiang Ning gently patted the snow that had accumulated on his shoulders, chuckled softly, and spoke slowly without looking up.

"A Kamen Rider who is just passing by, and also... the one who will end you here."

Alright, Cocolia…

As he spoke, Jiang Ning slowly raised his hand, turned to the side, and pointed his finger at Cocolia in the air.

"Let us enumerate your sins!"

Bronya watched the scene unfold before her in silence. At that moment, all the doubts in the girl's heart vanished completely, leaving only extreme shock and reassurance.

March 7th was already all smiles, hands on her hips, looking smug, as if she were the one displaying her brilliance:

"Hehe! I knew it! Brother Jiang Ning is amazing! Cocolia, your little tricks didn't work!"

"Count my sins? Hah..."

Cocolia laughed loudly, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"You're just a guy who doesn't even dare to look me in the eye... Stop spouting nonsense!"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless chilling ice spikes condensed behind them, completely sealing off everyone's movement space.

Xing's eyes narrowed, and she hurriedly rushed in front of Jiang Ning, raising the Flame Spear. A fiery shield instantly enveloped everyone.

"A futile struggle."

Cocolia slowly raised her hand.

Even if Jiang Ning could block a single ice spear, there would inevitably be casualties when there were so many of them.

Just as she was about to launch her attack, Jiang Ning's voice rang out again.

"It seems you've misunderstood something?"

Let me explain patiently..."

Jiang Ning patted Xing on the shoulder, and under her questioning gaze, stepped out of the shield's defensive range and raised his index finger at Cocolia.

"I don't look up because I don't like looking up at someone weaker than me, and also because..."

You are the challenger!

Almost the instant the words fell, Jiang Ning's figure suddenly blurred, a golden flash of lightning appeared, and a small crater suddenly appeared in the snow where he had been standing.

The next moment, Jiang Ning disappeared.

Cocolia's pupils contracted sharply as a barrage of attacks rained down, chasing after the trail of lightning that shot out.

The attack landed on the snow, stirring up the snow and completely obscuring visibility on the ground.

"Damn it...where did it go..."

Cocolia dared not relax for a moment, anxiously searching for Jiang Ning's figure in the snow and fog.

"This perspective is still the most comfortable."

A lazy voice slowly came from behind.

"Varied…?!"

Cocolia quickly turned her head, and an ice spear instantly materialized in her hand.

Jiang Ning reached out and grabbed her shoulders, placing his feet on the armor on her back.

The next moment, a tremendous force suddenly came from Cocolia's back.

Cocolia's ice armor shattered completely, and her entire body, like a bowstring pulled back, crashed straight into the ground, creating a huge crater.

The strong winds generated by the falling snow dispersed the scattered snowflakes, and everyone hurriedly raised their hands to cover their faces to avoid being cut by the flying pebbles.

The scene before my eyes became clear again only after the smoke and dust cleared.

The permafrost cracked, and the rubble and snow exploded in a ring, tearing apart the swirling snowstorm.

Cocolia was trapped deep in the pit, her icy armor shattering inch by inch, and the dark patterns on her body, resembling a starry sky, churning violently, clearly indicating that she had suffered a severe impact.

The entire room fell silent.

March 7th's mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't speak for a long time. The words of cheer he was about to say were completely stuck in his throat.

Seele's long eyelashes trembled violently as she stared blankly at the huge crater in the ground, her eyes filled with utter astonishment.

She never imagined that Jiang Ning could defeat Cocolia, who had been enhanced by the star core, in such an overwhelming manner.

Bronya's clenched hands were slightly sweaty, and her usually cool eyes were filled with disbelief, her opinion of Jiang Ning was once again refreshed.

That instantaneous movement, that incredibly swift golden lightning bolt, and the heavy blow that knocked Cocolia down...

There was no skill involved; it was purely a crushing defeat in terms of dimensional power.

Such complete suppression made her curious... Did Jiang Ning really use his full strength?

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