Chapter 454: with translation of chapter title

After the two arrived at the scene, the crowd that had gathered around the square to watch the match had already dispersed, leaving only a few members of the Armored Rider Team and the Baron Team still facing off at the scene.

Although it was called a standoff, in reality the people from both sides were just sitting on the steps, staring at each other.

The short-haired girl propped her chin with her hand, boredly sitting on the steps, but when she wanted to leave, the person they were waiting for finally arrived.

"Ahwu, you finally came." She jumped to her feet and waved at Jiang Xia and Gaosiwu.

At that moment, everyone's gaze focused on the two of them.

"Dance sister, you guys!" Wu Dao Guangshi looked at Jiang Xia and Gaosiwu's current appearance, and his expression changed instantly.

"We were ambushed on the way, so we're a little late." Gaosiwu jumped down from Jiang Xia, looked around puzzled, and said, "Wasn't this supposed to be the Otherworlders Game match? Where did Kouta go?"

"An ambush! Dance sister, are you okay?" Wu Dao Guangshi rushed over anxiously, "Could it be that your leg is hurt? Why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"It's all right, Ahshi; those guys aren't a match for Jiang Xia—he took them all out with just a few moves." Gaosiwu turned to look at Jiang Xia standing nearby, saying with a hint of pride.

Although she hadn't seen the fight in detail, she felt sure that was what happened—Jiang Xia swiftly defeated that impostor.

Jiang Xia could only smile in response; indeed, he had driven them off, no mistake.

"Oh, I see." Wu Dao Guangshi let out a breath of relief, "Kouta-ge and the Baron Team captain disappeared together on the motorcycle given by the Lockseed merchant."

"Disappeared?" Gaosiwu said doubtfully, "How can a motorcycle just vanish?"

They were riding the motorcycle, frantically accelerating while fighting, and then, as they fought, the two of them simultaneously disappeared—how could that be possible? She turned her head to Jiang Xia, hoping for an answer; she didn't know the reason, and when faced with something she didn't understand, her first thought was always him.

"You should be able to watch the match live here, right? Is there a recording?" Jiang Xia looked at Gaosiwu's gaze toward him and stepped forward.

"Yes, each battle in the Otherworlders Game is recorded on video." The short-haired girl said, picking up the pink backpack beside her, opening its zipper, feeling around inside, and pulling out a silver-white tablet. She skillfully opened the recorded video and handed the tablet to Jiang Xia, "Here, this is the fight that just happened."

"Wu." Jiang Xia called out as he took the tablet.

"Here I am." Gaosiwu ran over quickly, sat beside Jiang Xia, tilted her head, and watched the Otherworlders Game video playing on the tablet together with him.

After Quwen Jiedou transformed into Kamen Rider Baron, the two of them simultaneously got on the motorcycle.

Gaosiwu also realized that the motorcycle sound she had heard on the phone was this one, and in the end the two vehicles turned into endlessly spinning fruit and disappeared together on the road.

"They really did disappear, no doubt; it must be because of the motorcycle, and the place they vanished should be the Helheim Forest." Jiang Xia said.

"Helheim Forest? Could it be that woods full of fruit, where Yu was also lost, and now Kouta too..." Gaosiwu exclaimed.

"That motorcycle has the ability to open a rift, but since it can open, there must also be a way to come out, so there's no need to worry about their safety." Jiang Xia gently reassured the girl.

"Look, those two are getting along great—I said Jiang Xia must have come for Ahwu, and Ahwu probably feels the same, hehe." The short-haired girl said excitedly, and eating the gossip up close perfectly satisfied her curiosity.

"That's no surprise, after all Jiang Xia was the first to transform in the Armored Rider Team, and he saved Ahwu's life in a critical moment—it would be abnormal not to like him." Another girl spoke the truth, "If someone likewise, in danger, showed up in cool armor to save me, I'd surely fall for him too—after all, being able to transform is a real plus."

"Transformation, the Sengoku Driver—someday I'll get it too, to protect Dance sister." Hearing his friend's words, Wu Dao Guangshi looked at Gaosiwu sitting beside Jiang Xia and silently thought to himself.

"Hey, Armored Rider Team guys, let's just call this match a draw for now, but next time we won't go easy on you."

The Baron Team members couldn't wait any longer; they had originally wanted to leave, but since the Armored Rider Team was also waiting here, they stayed as well for the sake of victory.

But they now realized that the Armored Rider Team members weren't waiting for the match result at all—they were waiting for another Armored Rider's support, and without belts, it would still be best for them to withdraw now.

"You must be the ones who lost, since the Otherworlders Game isn't over yet—your Baron Team blocked people on the road to challenge them forcibly, and now you want to leave early; aren't you being a bit too arrogant?" Jiang Xia stood up, returned the tablet to the short-haired girl, and looked at the Baron Team wearing black-red clothing.

"What did you say?" The Baron Team member's expression instantly darkened.

"That's right—every time it's you challenging us; now it should be the other way around." Gaosiwu also realized instantly, this time the Baron Team really went too far; obviously they just wanted to hold onto their stage, yet every time it's the Baron Team coming to provoke.

"Besides, last time you used underhanded tactics to try to win; who knows what you'll pull this time." The short-haired girl said.

"If Quwen Jiedou and Ge Ye Kouta disappearing counts as a draw, then we should have another round—you won't think I came here just to hear you spout a few harsh lines and then let you go, will you?" Jiang Xia said slowly.

These problem children need a proper education; they're not really a gang, so why act like might makes right?

"What should we do—really fight?" a Baron Team member whispered to the vice-captain.

"Of course we have to fight; if we retreat without fighting, Jiedou will surely be angry when he comes back." The vice-captain snatched up three Lockseeds, "I don't believe he can take on three by himself."

The three Lockseeds were pressed instantly, and an orange-yellow transparent battle zone was immediately demarcated, like a fighting stage, with thin lines connecting all around.

Three zippers instantly extended from the void, and three weird-looking Otherworlders jumped out; though they were just ordinary Otherworlders this time, their patterns and colors differed—green, blue, and red.

But these were merely grunts.

"Transform!"

Melon Armor descended from the sky, dropping from above the Helheim Forest, wrapping around Jiang Xia's head and quickly deploying.

Jiang Xia drew the long sword strapped to his waist; the shield on his right hand wasn't even used, because he didn't need defense—attack is the best defense, and even if he stood there letting them attack, they probably couldn't break his armor.

As he drew the sword, he leapt onto the stage, swung the blade in a horizontal slash; the sword light extended instantly as it was swung, cutting through the three Otherworlders who hadn't yet managed to attack and the battle stage itself!

Instant kill! They had no strength to fight back at all!

"I suppose you won't be blocking people on the road to challenge them anymore, right? If you still want to settle rankings by force, that's ridiculous." Jiang Xia pointed his sword diagonally at the ground and spoke slowly to these chuunibyou youths.

The Baron Team members' faces turned ashen; just moments ago they had been full of confidence, trying to win with three against one, but the Baron Team vice-captain never imagined the gap in strength would be so huge—he lost in a single move.

At this point there was no chance of a comeback; the only one with a belt, Quwen Jiedou, was still in the Helheim Forest and hadn't returned, and even if everyone else had a Lockseed, they still couldn't win. They could only choose to surrender, and just as the Baron Team was about to bow their heads, a strong light suddenly burst from behind them, and a motorcycle shot out of the light at high speed, very close to them.

All the Baron Team members stared at the growing dark shadow from above, their faces lighting up with wild joy; their recent loss meant nothing, their eyes fixed only on the motorcycle and the Armored Rider aboard it!

Over a bright red bodysuit lay vivid yellow armor; the banana's head and tail formed the two sides of his shoulders, and a pair of yellow horns sprouted from his forehead.

The motorcycle in midair plummeted down, and the yellow knight jumped off, his bright yellow spear in hand serving as a buffer, driven deep into the ground.

The Armored Rider that Quwen Jiedou transformed into emerged from the Helheim Forest just as the Baron Team was about to concede, landing in front of Jiang Xia.

"Jiedou, did you defeat the Armored Rider?" The vice-captain exclaimed, the one who appeared was the Baron Team captain, not the Armored Rider—doesn't that say something? "No, I and the Armored Rider each chose a direction to explore the forest." Quwen Jiedou spoke frankly.

He disdained lying; only the weak try to gain things through deceit, while the strong rely solely on the power in their hands.

"So that's why Kouta didn't come back with him? It looks like Jiang Xia's judgment was correct—the motorcycle can freely travel between these two worlds." Gaosiwu watched the returning Quwen Jiedou thoughtfully.

She didn't doubt that Quwen Jiedou's return could affect the outcome of the Otherworlders Game; from the start she had never doubted Jiang Xia's formidable combat ability—even if Kouta and Quwen Jiedou together might not be able to defeat Jiang Xia alone.

Quwen Jiedou looked around, roughly grasping what was happening—the Armored Rider Team's Cutting Moon had transformed, indicating that in the Armored Rider Game now, seeing the pleased expressions of the teammates, he knew that if he didn't return, this game would most likely be lost.

He looked at the Cutting Moon standing on the stage and said, "It seems my return is perfectly timed; the Armored Rider battle has only just begun."

"That's right—if you had come back a second later, they would have lost the overtime and been declared defeated, so your return is just in time." Jiang Xia smiled.

"Just in time? There's no such thing—there are no coincidences in this world."

Quwen Jiedou and Ge Ye Hongtai are rivals and friends, and Quwen Jiedou is also the only one who transformed from a second Rider into the final boss.

"Then, let the battle continue!" Quwen Jiedou leapt up, waving the long spear in his hand, quickly chopping towards Jiang Xia. With strength being supreme, there's no need to say anything.

The bright yellow spear traced a huge arc in the air, and at the same time a phantom of a banana appeared on Quwen Jiedou's spear; with his fierce aura, he swiftly slashed down from above.

Jiang Xia faced this attack, merely raising his left hand slightly; the melon shield in his hand blocked the strike in midair.

With Quwen Jiedou's full strength plus his downward falling weight, anyone who knows a bit of martial arts would choose to avoid its edge and dodge this blow, but Jiang Xia insisted on blocking it head-on.

"Clang!"

The brilliant cyan light on the melon shield suddenly covered the shield, and the long spear bearing the banana phantom fiercely struck the shield, producing a metallic clash.

Quwen Jiedou felt that his battle with Ge Ye Hongtai was completely different; he felt as if he had chopped a piece of indestructible steel with his knife, and the recoil force almost made his hands go numb.

The expression under Quwen Jiedou's mask suddenly changed; as he launched his attack in midair, he felt a massive power gathering on the shield.

That power made Quwen Jiedou's hairs stand on end; he even thought he was mistaken—how could a shield launch an attack? But it was no illusion; at that moment, Quwen Jiedou discovered that the melon shield before him was glowing, and that white light grew brighter and brighter until it filled the entire shield.

The next second, Quwen Jiedou's vision was completely filled with the blinding white light.

"Boom!"

A huge burst of white light erupted from the shield, blasting Quwen Jiedou into the air and slamming him hard onto the steps.

The banana armor on his body instantly turned into pale yellow particles and dissipated; Quwen Jiedou lay on the ground, the pain making him cry out involuntarily.

His eyes tightly shut, he let out an anguished scream, forming a classic scene of a mouth open, eyes closed.

The shield is not just for defense; anything can be used as a means of attack. Jiang Xia calls this move the Helheim Rebound.

Well, actually if you wanted to call it the Uchiha Rebound, it would be absorbing the incoming Lockseed energy from the attack and then releasing it all at once through the shield.

The members of Baron Team were stunned; they had personally witnessed their captain's entrance like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, and he had even spoken boastfully, saying the time had come, yet in the next second, the one who had just made a move was beaten into that mouth-open, eyes-closed state—how could they accept this?! Where is the bearing of a strong one?

Even the otherworldly beings summoned by Lockseed and their captain transformed into the banana-armored Knight, when fighting against Zanyue, their battles were measured in seconds—whether five or four.

The otherworldly beings were killed by a single slash, while their captain was forced to de-transform by the shield's blow—so in comparison, their captain is no match for the otherworldly beings summoned by Lockseed.

"Victory! How awesome!"

At that moment, the members of the Gaim Team on the other side of the steps finally belatedly cheered; the battle ended too quickly, causing their reactions to lag a bit.

Except for Gao Si Wu, they all thought that Zanyue and Gaim would have to fight Baron Team for a long time, but they didn't expect it to end so quickly.

This time, the third-place Gaim Team defeated the first-place Baron Team, so their ranking will surely rise again.

"This time Baron Team lost; next time I will definitely win back." Quwen Jiedou climbed up from the ground, looking at the unharmed Zanyue and said.

"I'll wait for your next round, but next time you need to be stronger than you are now. Your reliance on strength alone is correct, but you're still too rigid." Jiang Xia took off the melon Lockseed from his waist, looking at the unwilling Quwen Jiedou and said.

"True strength is the power to seize, and power is used to decide who will stand at the top; that is my way of survival." Quwen Jiedou clenched his right fist tightly, stared deeply at Jiang Xia, as if trying to firmly remember his appearance, and finally he limped away without looking back.

"What a problem child; what he said does make some sense, but only the latter part." Jiang Xia withdrew his gaze, turned and joined with Gao Si Wu.

Compared to the excitement and agitation of the Gaim Team, Kamen Rider Gaim Ge Ye Hongtai seemed to have run into trouble.

Helheim Forest.

"What is that, a campsite?" Ge Ye Hongtai hid behind a large tree big enough to cover his body, slowly peeking his head out to look at them.

White sheds were set up in the forest, with people in dark-blue protective suits continuously harvesting the fruit from the trees and sealing them into black boxes.

"There are actually people here?" (End of chapter)