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*****
With a light clatter, the Vibranium shield flew back, slicing through the air like a sharp blade and embedding itself in the ground not far from Steve.
Steve's eyes lit up. He rushed toward his shield, rolling across the ground to dodge an exploding shockwave before gripping the weapon.
Instantly, a feeling as if they were connected by blood welled up from his heart.
Steve's determined gaze swept across the battlefield. He sent the shield spinning outward, knocking an enemy back before catching it on the rebound. After a quick two-step sprint, he raised the shield to block a plume of fire and successfully regrouped with Natasha and the others.
By now, Natasha's team had also secured their weapons, and with gear in hand, their combat prowess skyrocketed.
Especially Barton.
As a master marksman, his threat was self-evident. With infallible archery combined with specialized arrowheads, he achieved a magnificent record of one kill and one injury with just two shots.
However, this also drew more enemy attention toward them.
In an instant, the attacks they faced intensified.
Lightning, fire, eerie vines, enhanced physical strength...
The enemies possessed a diverse array of abilities.
Because they were handpicked elites, these super-powered soldiers and Inhuman Special Ops members—possessing both combat experience and raw power—proved to be an immense headache for the superheroes.
"Watch out!"
Falcon barked. He descended from the sky, spreading his steel wings like a shield.
With a loud bang, a sphere of invisible shockwave erupted, blasting Falcon backward.
"Sam!"
Steve growled. Sensing something, he raised his own shield.
Boom! Boom!
After two consecutive blasts, Steve was knocked backward by the invisible shock bombs.
"Get down!"
Steve shouted, using the momentum to fall back into a half-crouch, keeping the shield braced in front of him.
The next moment, invisible shock bombs rained down relentlessly.
Boom! Boom!
The air vibrated as the group scrambled to dodge the barrage.
They were being suppressed in terms of firepower.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, several beams of ghostly green laser light sliced toward them, leaving scorched trails on the ground as they swept forward like razor-sharp blades.
"Barton! Take them out!"
Steve roared and charged out valiantly.
Seeing this, Falcon gave a low shout and flew alongside the Captain.
The two of them needed to distract these two enemies to create an opening for Barton.
"Something's here!"
Natasha whispered, stepping behind Barton to cover his back.
A second later, an invisible fist slammed into Natasha's face.
"Thud!"
Natasha's head snapped back as two streaks of blood trickled from her nose.
Grunting, she forced back the involuntary tears. Following her intuition from the impact, she swung her fist, the Widow's Bite on her wrist crackling with electricity.
The enemy retreated a step, dodging Natasha's attack, and vanished back into silence.
"Natasha!"
Barton called out low.
"I'm fine, focus on your target!"
Natasha replied coldly. She wiped the blood from under her nose with her thumb and let out a soft huff.
Invisibility, she...
"HULK!"
With a furious roar, a giant green figure suddenly appeared beside Natasha. His massive, powerful palms slammed together with immense force.
It was as if a bomb had detonated in Hulk's palms; a violent shockwave accompanied by a gale-force wind swept through the space in front of him.
"F*ck!"
With a cursed shout, a rapidly manifesting figure was sent flying by the blast.
A cold light flashed in Natasha's eyes. An electrified bullet shot out from her Widow's Bite, hitting the man and knocking him unconscious with the surge.
Seeing this, Natasha flicked her long hair.
"Sss-ha!"
Hulk turned and gave Natasha a somewhat wicked grin.
Just as Natasha was about to say something...
"Your opponent is me!"
With a roar, a red giant lunged forward, slamming into the unsuspecting Hulk and sending him flying.
Natasha froze for a moment, while Barton let out a soft sigh of relief.
With Hulk at his back, he really did feel a bit of a chill down his spine.
He never knew when the short-tempered, ticking time-bomb that was Hulk might find him annoying and give him a "casual" tap.
If he took one punch from Hulk...
He'd be an Archer-pancake.
Barton muttered to himself. The killing intent in his eyes surged as his arms blurred, releasing two arrows almost simultaneously.
They were like invitations from the Grim Reaper.
One arrow pierced the neck of the enemy firing lasers from their fingers, while the other was intercepted by an enemy's shock bomb just before impact.
However, the moment the arrow exploded, dozens of tiny arrowheads continued to fly toward the target.
"F*ck..."
The Inhuman cursed under his breath before being instantly swallowed by the explosion.
"Nice!"
Falcon cheered, and Steve allowed himself a small smile.
Barton was a man who could be relied upon, especially in critical moments like this.
"Damn it!"
Lincoln cursed. Seeing his ranks thin by two in an instant, his expression turned ugly, and he immediately ordered more people to charge.
These few humans were supposed to be the easiest to deal with.
Just then, the air rippled as the giant dog, Lockjaw, reappeared on the battlefield, arriving beside Queen Medusa.
Medusa placed Kia—whose limbs had been crushed—onto Lockjaw's back.
Space distorted, and Lockjaw vanished with Kia. Queen Medusa, her eyes filled with murderous intent, joined the fray along with two Inhuman warriors guarding her.
Immediately, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, who were already struggling, felt the pressure mount.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Suddenly, accompanied by two streaks of fire, a series of attacks rained down.
Boom! Boom!
Amidst the fierce explosions, several enemies were consumed by the blasts.
Tony and War Machine appeared beside the Captain, their raised hands glowing with brilliant light.
"How's that? Am I on time?"
Tony quipped, raising an eyebrow, though his eyes remained fixed on the enemies swallowed by the flames.
A second later, he couldn't help but curse.
An energy shield had manifested within the fire, and the enemies they had targeted emerged completely unscathed.
"How many people here have shield abilities?"
Rhodes complained.
Behind the mobile energy shield, the enemy group led by Queen Medusa appeared before them.
"Treating a lady this way is hardly gentlemanly behavior."
Medusa spoke calmly, her killing intent beginning to thicken.
"Medusa!"
Accompanied by Black Bolt's low grunt, terrifying energy manifested, sweeping outward like an invisible tidal wave.
Boom! Boom!
With a dull thud, The Thing, Ben, blocked the attack, but his feet carved two deep trenches into the ground.
As the crimson mist dissipated, Wanda grit her teeth. After blocking Black Bolt's attack, she took a quiet breath.
On the other side, Mr. Fantastic, Reed, was sent flying. If Susan, the Invisible Woman, hadn't used her force field to catch him, he would have been seriously injured.
The Human Torch caught Reed and landed among the Avengers.
"You okay?"
He asked with concern. The members of the Fantastic Four were like family.
"I'm fine!"
Reed pressed his chest, grimacing. He couldn't help but say, "The place I belong most is the lab, not the battlefield! Why am I always fighting lately?"
"Because you're the Fantastic Four!"
The Human Torch laughed. Looking at Black Bolt in the distance, his brow furrowed.
Currently, Black Bolt was fighting Ben, Vision, and Wanda simultaneously.
Even against three opponents, Black Bolt seemed to handle it with ease. If it weren't for Susan providing support with her force fields from time to time, the three might have been injured by now.
The Avengers naturally noticed this situation as well.
"Captain, Black Bolt's power is too terrifying."
A slightly disheveled Natasha whispered, her eyes flashing with anxiety.
The battlefield was now basically divided into three sections:
The brawl between Hulk and Red Hulk; the battle between Black Bolt and the trio of Wanda, Ben, and Vision; and the fight between the other superheroes and the Inhuman Special Ops/government super-soldiers.
Whichever side won first would shatter the current stalemate and end the battle.
Steve pondered for a moment, scanning the battlefield. He glanced at Bucky, who was fighting the werewolf; seeing that Bucky wasn't hurt and was actually dominating the fight, Steve felt relieved. A cold light flashed in his eyes as he said, "Ignore Black Bolt and Hulk for now. Let's concentrate our strength to crush the others first, then deal with Black Bolt together!"
Perhaps overhearing Steve, Medusa smiled faintly. "Crush us? Who gave you that delusion?"
She turned her head, and seeing that their numbers had dwindled quite a bit, she let out a soft laugh.
"Is it because you managed to take out a few of our people?"
"However..."
She smiled faintly and called out softly, "Lockjaw!"
At her call, Lockjaw disappeared. When he reappeared, a dozen more Inhumans stood on the battlefield.
"I can call for reinforcements at any time."
Medusa lightly flicked her hair, giving the superheroes a mocking smile.
Everyone: (╯°Д°)╯
What the hell!
More people?
This is getting a bit unfair!
Tony couldn't help but ask: "Captain! Where are our people?"
Hearing this, everyone's hearts stirred.
Did they have reinforcements too?
Right!
The Captain said he went to find Mike Kent beforehand!
If Mike Kent showed up, this situation wouldn't be a problem at all!
Everyone looked at Steve with burning eyes.
Steve's expression became subtle, and he said with some embarrassment: "Mike said he isn't a superhero. He'll show up 'depending on the situation'."
The group went speechless.
Depending on the situation?
What does that even mean?
"Watch out, they're attacking!"
Tony shouted, leading the charge.
The battle instantly became intense once again.
Meanwhile, far away from the battlefield, Mike's family was watching the fight inside the UN headquarters through Mike's virtual screen.
Mike, Raven, Clark, Charles, Eric, Gwen, and little Lamb.
The whole family was gathered together, watching with great interest—all they were missing were sunflower seeds and cola.
"They're calling for backup!"
Gwen exclaimed, feeling indignant. "That's so unfair!"
"Unfair?"
Charles chuckled. He swiped his hand, rotating the camera to look outside the battlefield. He pointed at the island flying above the UN headquarters and rolled his eyes. "That thing is what's truly 'unfair', right?"
"Indeed, it is quite excessive. They actually brought the whole island!"
Eric nodded in agreement. Looking at the island of Attilan high in the sky, his eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but say, "In that case, destroying it would be quite satisfying!"
The moment the words left his mouth, everyone looked at him in disbelief.
"How could you have such a terrifying thought?"
Mike couldn't help but ask.
Eric froze, then gave a dry laugh. "I was just saying. I wouldn't actually do it."
"You shouldn't even have the thought!" Mike said sternly. "What if it falls and hits a child? Even if it doesn't hit a child, hitting the flowers or grass is bad too!"
"Exactly!" Clark rubbed his chin and added, "Just toss it into outer space."
Charles took a sharp breath and couldn't help but say, "The older ginger is truly spicier!" (Old age brings wisdom)
Clark's mouth twitched. "Who are you calling 'ginger'?"
"And who are you calling 'old'?"
Mike looked at Charles coldly. Charles's expression froze.
"Pfft!"
Raven couldn't help but laugh.
When this father and his sons sat together, it was always this entertaining.
Charles tapped his forehead, looking innocent.
Eric said indifferently, "Serves you right. You tried to suck up and ended up getting kicked."
"Wait! Who are you calling a horse?" (Pun on the Chinese idiom for sucking up)
A red light flashed in Clark's eyes.
Mike narrowed his eyes, a faint red light flickering as well. "And who are you calling a 'butt'?"
Little Lamb looked between his father and brothers. His eyes darted around before he suddenly slammed the table and shouted, "Yeah! Who's the butt!"
"Hmm?"
Raven looked sideways at little Lamb.
"Pfft! Hahahaha!"
Gwen laughed as she poked little Lamb's forehead. "Bullying by association—serves you right!"
"Hehe!" Little Lamb lowered his head shyly.
Being seen through was truly embarrassing.
"Haha!"
The group burst into laughter.
"That energy barrier..." Eric pondered. "Is it being powered by Attilan?"
"Most likely."
Charles shrugged. "The entire island of Attilan is protected by an energy shield; extending it to cover the battlefield below is no trouble at all."
Compared to the entirety of Attilan, the battlefield below seemed quite miniature.
"Look! It's collapsing!"
Suddenly, Raven exclaimed, her eyes filled with shock.
That was the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Headquarters!
Countless important meetings had been held in that hall, and now it was being destroyed just like that?
As Raven spoke, the battered General Assembly Hall finally collapsed under the strain of the superheroes' battle.
Seismic waves, sonic blasts, bombs, flames, energy bolts...
There wasn't a building in this world that could withstand such devastation.
Clark watched the battlefield, his brow furrowing slightly. "Dad, it looks like Tony and the others won't be able to force out Maximus's backup plans."
"Should we start moving?"
Charles's expression turned solemn.
Eric was itching for action, his eyes drifting toward Attilan floating in the sky.
"Don't move just yet. I'll go take a look."
Mike stretched and stood up, smiling at the group. "If I go, I should be able to force something out."
(End of Chapter)