"Wait, I have one last thing to say..." Gao Neng had no desire to be crippled. Becoming a lame War God wasn't something he was striving for.
"What?"
"Watch your back!"
"Gao Neng, you think I'd fall for such a cheap trick... Huh?!" Shen Ning'Er stopped mid-sentence, her expression changing in an instant as she pivoted sharply on her right foot.
The Steel Giant Dragon swatted a claw behind it.
CLANG!
It sounded like two giant iron hammers smashing into each other.
Shen Ning'Er stood perfectly still, her long black hair whipping through the air. Behind her, a figure shot backward, having arrived quickly and departed even faster.
"Iron Energy manifestation?! How interesting!" A man in a silvery-white suit, appearing to be in his thirties, landed on the ground. He had to take five quick steps back to steady himself, but a composed smile remained on his lips.
"I never thought I'd see an expert of this caliber in the Forgotten Land. Ah... what a pity. It seems you came alone today, didn't you?" A second man stepped out of the darkness. He had a scruffy beard, and while his hair suggested he was in his mid-thirties, the wrinkles on his face made him look at least fifty.
"The intel's wrong. This psycho chick is no pushover. Are we about to become cannon fodder?" The third person to appear was a woman in her late twenties with wavy hair and professional attire, the very picture of a cool, collected older woman.
"I heard a Major from the Alliance Military Department came down, one who can manifest her Energy. I wonder if that's her? It's just... she doesn't quite look like the photo, does she?" the man in the silvery-white suit continued with a smile.
"She's just one person. Let's just deal with her. Why are you wasting your breath?!" the scruffy man grumbled.
"Hold on, let me make a call and report this," the composed woman said, pulling out her phone and dialing. "We've found a psycho chick, possibly the Military Department Major. Can't confirm her identity yet. We'll need to engage to be sure. Mmm... that's about it. Leave it to us. I'll call you back in ten minutes."
The woman hung up and slipped the phone into her pocket.
"We can begin now," the woman said with a faint smile.
"Your lips say 'begin,' but you're not moving. In that case, I'll go first. If she really is the Major from the Military Department, then I've hit the jackpot!" As he spoke, the man in the silvery-white suit made a gentlemanly gesture toward Shen Ning'Er. "Allow me to introduce myself. Ito Sei, thirty-three, unmarried. And what might a beautiful lady such as yourself be called?"
"You can drop the formalities. The name's Gao. Gao Neng," Shen Ning'Er replied with a ladylike nod.
"???" Gao Neng.
'What the hell?!'
"So, the lovely Miss Gao Neng. A pleasure to meet you, truly. I don't suppose you could tell me where you got that lovely patient gown from the mental asylum..." Ito Sei didn't finish his sentence, launching a sudden attack instead.
SWISH!
A beam of white light shot out.
Shen Ning'Er's expression didn't change, but her Steel Giant Dragon moved, swiping a claw at the white light.
"You fell for it, Miss Gao Neng!" Ito Sei laughed. The white light caught by the Steel Giant Dragon suddenly burst, illuminating the entire factory as if it were broad daylight.
Gao Neng was almost blinded by the flash.
'What was that?!'
Just as he was wondering, a series of metallic clashes rang out. By the time his vision cleared, he saw Shen Ning'Er still standing in her original spot.
Ito Sei, on the other hand, was plastered dramatically against the factory wall. The wall itself had cracked, and his body was completely embedded within it, spread-eagled.
He had clearly been swatted away by Shen Ning'Er's Steel Giant Dragon.
However, Ito Sei's body was covered in a layer of silvery-white metal that had formed into a suit of armor, protecting him from the blow.
'An Energy Warrior!'
'That layer of silvery-white metal is...'
'Magnesium!'
Gao Neng was a top student; he identified it in a single glance.
"If you can't beat her, just call for help. We can pitch in. But please don't just set off flashbangs without warning. At the very least, give your teammates a heads-up, right? You walking lightbulb!" the scruffy old man said.
"Ptui! Ptui! Ptui!" Ito Sei spat out a mouthful of crushed stone. He ignored the scruffy man's taunt, the smile wiped clean from his face and replaced by an ugly scowl. "Incredible strength. But you think you can fight my Magnesium Energy with basic Iron Energy? A little naive, don't you think?"
"It pays to be cautious. This girl isn't using pure iron. It's pig iron with carbon added, and it's even evolving into steel. Underestimating your opponent can be fatal," the composed woman warned.
"No matter how hard it is, iron is still iron! Watch me waste her!" Provoked by his partners, Ito Sei's emotions began to spiral out of control. The Magnesium Energy covering his body instantly transformed into a swarm of fine needles.
"Die!"
The silvery-white needles shot forward!
The Steel Giant Dragon once again moved to shield Shen Ning'Er, its maw gaping wide.
"Burn!" Ito Sei shouted again.
Gao Neng instinctively closed his eyes.
But this time, he didn't see a blinding flash. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Shen Ning'Er and the Steel Giant Dragon were completely engulfed in a raging inferno.
'Magnesium combustion!' Gao Neng, being a top student, identified it instantly once again.
"No matter how hard the iron, it still has a melting point. Let's see you fight me after I melt you down!" Ito Sei laughed with abandon. The Steel Giant Dragon shielding Shen Ning'Er was beginning to glow red-hot.
'It's really melting!'
And to this, all Gao Neng could think was...
'Moron!'
If Shen Ning'Er were using ordinary Iron Energy techniques, Ito Sei's move would have actually worked.
But Shen Ning'Er was using Energy Manifestation!
An Energy Manifestation endowed with its own essence, energy, and spirit was no ordinary hunk of iron!
That thing was practically a living dragon on the verge of true sentience!
Gao Neng had personally seen Shen Ning'Er's manifested Iron Dragon devour wood and turn its own body into a furnace of molten steel. So what if it was melting?
ROAR!
Glowing red-hot, the Steel Giant Dragon burst from the flames and charged straight for Ito Sei like a tiger unleashing a powerful, coiled strike.
"How is this possib— No!" It was too late for Ito Sei to cry for help. The Steel Giant Dragon swallowed him whole.
"..." Gao Neng could even see Ito Sei's body entering the Steel Giant Dragon's stomach, where it combusted and was reduced to ash.
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
An Energy Warrior, defeated in a matter of moments?
The scruffy old man and the composed woman both took an instinctive step backward.
"So, who's next?" Shen Ning'Er asked, turning to them with a nonchalant air. She glanced from the scruffy old man to the composed woman.
"Energy Manifestation... it's even more terrifying than I imagined. It can still attack even while melting. Looks like we're in for a nasty fight," the scruffy old man said, his face grim.
"Stop posturing and let's attack together! It's that or we all die!" the composed woman spat.
"Hmph... I've lived long enough as it is. A man in his thirties living like an old geezer. Today, I'll risk these old bones and test this 'Miss Gao Neng's' Energy Manifestation!"
"Go!"
Without another word, the two of them charged forward.
Gao Neng was speechless.
'Isn't this dialogue a little... cringey?'
But for some reason, he felt a strong sense of unease coming from the scruffy old man. There was an extremely pungent odor as well.
And then, he saw a terrifying scene.
A yellow gas surged out, thick and suffocating, and in an instant, it had completely enveloped Shen Ning'Er.
At the same time, the composed woman made her move. Ribbon-like strands shot out from her body, wrapping around the Steel Giant Dragon that was protecting Shen Ning'Er.
'A non-metal Energy, Sulfur!'
'A metal Energy, Copper!'
As a top student, Gao Neng once again identified them instantly.
But it was completely useless. No matter how much he understood, he was powerless to help.
This battle Shen Ning'Er was fighting made him realize for the first time just how weak he was. In a fight between Energy Warriors, he didn't even have the right to participate.
"Your iron may be able to resist melting, but what can it do once it's been corroded by my sulfur?!" the scruffy old man bellowed, his eyes wide.
"And lucky for us, my copper is more resistant to corrosion than your iron!" the composed woman added with a confident look.
"Yes, you're both right. There's not much I can do right now." Shen Ning'Er nodded. The Steel Giant Dragon in front of her was rapidly corroding, falling to pieces. "However... are you so sure that iron is all I can use?"
(After weathering the storm, a rainbow finally appears. This book has welcomed its first Helmsman, "A Quiet One." I'm so touched! Applause! CLAP CLAP CLAP... It's been half a month since the book launched, and it has nearly 9,000 bookmarks. Yesterday alone, we broke 800 recommendation votes! The performance is pretty good! I hope everyone continues to support the book! The more you vote, the happier Xin Yi is while writing. Thank you all! Finally, please feel free to leave lots of comments in the chapter discussion. Xin Yi reads every single one. Any suggestions, and any memes... if you write them out, it makes it easier for me to 'borrow' them, right?)