Chapter 313 Doom
Backward and isolated, this was the impression Latveria gave the world.
After several alien Kaiju landed in Romania, they began wreaking havoc. One Leatherback, after destroying a border city in Romania, charged diagonally towards Latveria.
Although these alien giant beasts only burst onto Earth through wormholes within the last month or two, the World Security Council Combat Command Center had already established a rudimentary power classification for these monsters.
Monsters like the Lobster Monster that first appeared when the wormhole opened, while large, weren't considered too destructive, so they were classified as Level 1 or 2 based on their danger level.
Currently, the most common type emerging from the wormhole is the alien giant beast codenamed Knifehead, classified as Level 3 in terms of danger.
As for this Leatherback, due to its ability to release super-strong Energy Pulse Waves, which are extremely harmful to human technology weapons, its destructive power is astonishing, and it possesses a high level of intelligence.
Therefore, its danger level is classified as Level 4.
The Leatherback resembled a large gorilla, covered in a thick, horny shell. Its slowness was only relative to other Kaiju; its actual movement speed far exceeded the average speed of human cars.
Its massive body size left a trail of devastation wherever it went, turning cities into ruins.
Looking at the forest before it, a hint of suspicion flickered in the Leatherback's eyes, which glowed with blue Energy Shockwaves. Just as it was about to turn around,
Countless hunting hounds, or more accurately, Mechanical Hounds, burst out from the forest.
Their silver metal bodies gleamed with a cold metallic light. As these hounds ran, the grass beneath their feet was trampled into pits, indicating their considerable weight.
The eyes on their metal heads emitted eerie crimson rays.
Hundreds of hounds swarmed out of the forest, surrounding the Leatherback, baring their teeth at the giant creature before them like real hunting dogs.
Rustle, the wind blew through the treetops. On the treetop of a white birch, a Cloaked Figure slightly raised a hand. The hounds surrounding the Leatherback simultaneously opened their mouths.
Blue Plasma Beams shot out from the mouths of these Mechanical Hounds at the same time—
Sizzling—
Hundreds of lasers simultaneously struck the Leatherback's body. The Leatherback's hard bone plate armor was instantly pierced with numerous holes.
Although these holes were insignificant compared to the Leatherback's enormous size, they caused it immense pain. The Leatherback, in agony, roared furiously and lunged at the pack of dogs before it, swinging its fists, intending to smash these small things into flat metal pancakes.
The Mechanical Hounds scattered. From the shoulder area of their front limbs, with a series of clanking mechanical sounds, weapon nests were revealed.
Swish swish swish swish—
Hundreds of dense missiles shot towards the Leatherback. Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—
Amidst a series of violent explosions, the Leatherback was blasted backward, crashing down. The ground shook violently as the Leatherback hit it.
The pack of Mechanical Hounds swarmed forward frantically, pouncing onto the Leatherback's body. Sharp claws extended from beneath their metal bodies, scratching at the Leatherback's surface. At the same time, they opened their large mouths, their Energy Pulse Waves frantically cutting into the Leatherback.
Sparks flew as the Leatherback's sturdy shell was torn with claw marks.
The Leatherback tried to roll over several times but was blasted back down by the missiles fired by the Mechanical Hounds.
Struggling in pain, the Leatherback opened its massive, blood-filled maw. The giant mouth, lined with sharp teeth, actually split open outwards in a three-petal shape.
Revealing a glowing organ of flesh and blood.
The next second, the true "head" inside the Leatherback's mouth glowed intensely, and a super-strong electromagnetic energy impact swept outwards.
The pack of mechanical dogs tearing at the Leatherback were instantly paralyzed. Although their internal emergency systems began restarting immediately,
This time was enough for the Leatherback to stomp the pack of Mechanical Hounds into meatloaf.
In the forest, the Cloaked Figure standing on the white birch treetop watched this scene. A ball of Hellfire rose beneath his feet. Just as he raised his foot to meet the Leatherback,
Suddenly, he stopped his movement and slightly raised his head to look at the horizon.
"Puff"
A black matte armor, holding a Chainsword with both hands, descended from the sky. The tens of tons of Behemoth God Armor, under the acceleration of gravity, with the Chainsword charged with high-pressure electric current in its hand, directly tore a huge wound on the Leatherback's head, running from its head down to its abdomen.
Tear—
An ear-piercing sound of flesh, blood, and bone tearing echoed. Like gutting a wild boar being slaughtered, the terrifyingly destructive Chainsword carved a cutting wound across the Leatherback's body.
Blue fluorescent, foul-smelling blood sprayed out.
The intense pain caused the Leatherback to roar towards the sky. The black armor clenched its fist, buzz buzz buzz buzz, the Chainsword in its hand spun rapidly under high-pressure electricity.
Swish swish!
Blue Energy Flames sprayed from the black armor's feet, allowing the armor to fly nimbly around the Leatherback. The Chainsword in the Behemoth God Armor's hand remained aimed at the Leatherback's head.
With every swing of the sword, accompanied by the buzzing sound of gears, the Leatherback's heart-wrenching screams could be heard.
The Behemoth God Armor was only a little over three meters tall, offering no advantage against the hundred-meter-tall alien giant beast. However, it was precisely its small size and agility, combined with the armor's fierce and nimble movements, and the pilot's extraordinary Combat Skills, that quickly turned the Leatherback's head into a bloody mess under the Chainsword's assault.
Every time the Leatherback swung its fists or tried to bite, the Behemoth God Armor easily dodged.
It felt like an ordinary person, frustrated and unable to bear the heat on a sweltering night, constantly swinging their fists and slapping their hands, trying to swat away a buzzing mosquito by their ear.
The Leatherback, being toyed with, struggled and opened its blood-filled maw, attempting to repeat its trick and release an Electromagnetic Pulse Wave.
"Bang!"
An Armor-Piercing High-Explosive Round hit the Leatherback's Electromagnetic Pulse Emitting Organ directly. The pulsating blue organ was instantly blown into a bloody mess.
The intense pain caused the Leatherback to frantically thrash its head.
"Five kilometers out, a Knifehead giant beast detected heading this way, estimated eighty seconds to reach the battlefield!"
"Twenty kilometers out, a Widow has changed its Movement Trajectory and is heading this way. One Level 3, one Level 4, we need to finish this quickly. I need a sniping opportunity!"
Another Behemoth God Armor, sent as reinforcements by the Federal Department of Defense, calmly ejected the hot shell casing from its heavy sniper rifle while observing the enemy situation from high altitude.
The Night Wanderer Intelligent System was simultaneously connected to the monitoring clearance of multiple satellites, providing the pilot with real-time battlefield information.
"Understood! I'll create a firing opportunity for you!"
The Behemoth God Armor on the ground looked at the Leatherback, whose mouth was blooming and whose head was shaking from side to side in pain.
It directly sprayed blue flames from its feet and moved to the front of its head, provoking it into attacking.
The Leatherback's defense was extremely strong. Even the modified heavy sniper rifle equipped by the Behemoth God Armor would require at least seven to eight shots hitting the same spot to penetrate its hard back armor and skull.
However, if the Leatherback voluntarily opened its mouth, that would be a different story.
As expected, under the Behemoth God Armor's continuous provocation, the Leatherback, unable to bear it any longer, extended its head and bit towards it.
Facing the Leatherback's sharp, foul-smelling, blood-stained mouth, the Behemoth God Armor directly extended its right arm. Its right arm mechanically retracted and transformed with a series of clanking sounds. An egg-sized firing port appeared in its palm. Chi! A dazzling white high-energy laser shot directly towards the Leatherback's large mouth!
At the same time, the Behemoth God Armor in the sky had already locked onto the target using the Night Wanderer Intelligent System.
"Bang!"
Before the Leatherback could bite the Behemoth God Armor in front of it, its massive body crashed to the ground like collapsing gold and jade.
A high-explosive incendiary round, following the wound pierced by the high-energy laser, penetrated its skull. The high explosive detonated inside its brain, directly ending the life of this alien giant beast.
"Clap"
The Behemoth God Armor from high altitude landed on the ground. It looked at the Leatherback's corpse, still covered in gunsmoke, then looked at the scattered Mechanical Hounds around, feeling somewhat puzzled: "What's the deal with these Mechanical Hounds?"
"Perhaps they're a new type of weapon from Romania. Ever since the Chitauri invasion, governments around the world have been researching these new types of weapons. But it looks like these hounds are more for show than for use!"
"There are still four alien giant beasts. Let's take care of the Level 3 one first, then deal with the Widow!" The two Behemoth God Armors were discussing their Combat Strategy over the Communication Channel. Suddenly, a voice interrupted their channel: "You two handle the Knifehead, I'll take care of the Widow!"
The two pilots of the Behemoth God Armors were startled at first, but soon the system inside the armor automatically sounded a prompt, identifying the person who had accessed the Communication System.
"High-Level Clearance - Frank Castle accessing Communication Channel!"
"Boss Frank! You came in person!"
As one of the few Leaders within Tang Group comparable to their direct superior Leader, Kane, the two pilots had naturally met Frank.
"The Romanian government sent a distress signal to the World Security Council. I happened to be nearby. The two alien giant beasts within Rome have already been dealt with. Currently, along the Black Sea Coastline, only these two are left, the Knifehead and the Widow. How about you two take the Knifehead, and leave the Widow to me!?"
"That guy Kane hasn't stopped bragging to me about the Behemoth God Armors you two pilot. Let's see who can kill their Rival first! Let's see if this armor is as formidable as Kane and Ivan say!"
"Boss Frank, the Knifehead is just a Level 3 giant beast, but the Widow is Level 4. Hehe, and there are two of us!"
In the Communication Channel, one of the Behemoth God Armor pilots teased.
On the Quinjet in mid-air, Frank stretched his limbs and laughed into his headset, "From the sound of you two, you're planning on a guaranteed win! If you really beat me, I'll get you two a chance for Genetic Adjustment!"
"Really, Boss Frank!"
"Boss Frank, you have to keep your word!"
The two pilots of the Behemoth God Armors came from the East African Training Camp and were considered part of Kane's directly subordinate Armed Forces. However, within Tang Group, Gene Modification required a certain amount of Contribution Points.
Since joining Tang Security, the Contribution Points they had accumulated had only allowed them one Gene Sequencing session. But even so, their physique, nerve reactions, Strength, and Speed had all broken through human limits.
Upon hearing that they could get a chance for Gene Modification if they won the bet against Frank, their voices in the Communication Channel suddenly became excited.
"You two little guys, I always keep my word, but the premise is that you have to win!"
Frank raised his wrist and looked at his watch: "I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you thirty seconds! You two make the first move!"
The ground shook. At this moment, the Knifehead, attracted by the Leatherback's screams, had appeared before the two Behemoth God Armors.
Facing the opportunity for a Gene Modification, the two pilots could be said to have used all their skill. As soon as the giant beast appeared in their field of vision, one armor kaka kaka, underwent a transformation. The form of the entire armor changed; the upper part of the armor transformed into the appearance of a Tank Barrel.
As the Arc Reactor and Engine inside the armor operated at full power, a laser as thick as a goose egg shot directly at the Knifehead giant beast.
The giant beast only felt a pain in its head and hadn't even figured out what was happening when.
"Bang!"
A sniper rifle shot rang out. An Armor-Piercing High-Explosive Round, following the wound pierced by the laser, directly penetrated the Knifehead's skull with a single shot.
The high-explosive incendiary round detonated inside the Knifehead's head.
The Knifehead's body crashed to the ground with a rumble.
"Boss Frank, twenty-seven seconds!"
Looking at the fallen giant beast, the two Behemoth God Armor pilots boasted smugly in the Communication Channel to Frank.
At this moment, the Quinjet arrived above the Level 4 Kaiju, the Widow.
To be classified as Danger Level 4 by the World Security Council,
The Widow was enormous, with a head resembling a hammerhead shark.
While its hide wasn't as hard as the Leatherback's, it was very thick and extremely elastic. Ordinary physical attacks hitting it felt like hitting cotton.
The Widow's Combat Strength was very powerful. Its three tails could easily pierce the Steel Ship Hull of a Battleship.
Furthermore, according to the information compiled by the World Security Council, the Widow could command giant beasts weaker than itself and possessed high Command capabilities.
"Mr. Frank, let me go!"
Looking at the giant beast below, Kitty subconsciously picked up her Battlegear and was about to put it on, grabbing high explosive, intending to give this alien monster a 'center bloom' attack.
Frank turned his head and smiled at her, patting her head. He directly opened the Hatch and leaped out amidst Kitty's exclamation.
In mid-air, Frank reached into his Five Yin Pouch, and a Black Gold Staff appeared in his hand.
True Essence circulated throughout Frank's Entire Body. God-Demon Transformation. His entire body's Crimson Ape Blood boiled. His body size directly surged. By the time he was about to reach the top of the Widow's head, his body size had completely transformed into a Crimson Ape over ten meters tall, covered in burning scarlet monkey fur that resembled Flames!
Crimson Ape - Ferocious Beast - Master of Blades! The Crimson Ape grabbed the thick Black Gold Staff, as thick as a water vat, with both hands and swung it fiercely at the Widow's Forehead.
"Boom"
No matter how intelligent the Widow was, it had never seen a Staff Technique descend from the sky like this. It was directly smashed in the skull by Frank's single blow.
Before the Widow could even wail, Frank, transformed into Crimson Ape, swung another staff blow diagonally. This blow directly shattered half of the Widow's head. Blue fluorescent blood sprayed from the Widow's shattered, hideous skull. The extremely Corrosive Liquid splattered onto the ground, raising plumes of White Smoke.
Frank watched the Widow's blood and oxygen evaporate, and the White Smoke and Toxic Qi spreading outwards. He simply took out the Five Yin Pouch from his hand. Accompanied by a Black Wind, the several-thousand-ton Widow was directly swept into the Five Yin Pouch by the Black Wind.
After dealing with the Widow, Frank returned to his human form and looked at the timer on his watch: "Nine seconds, not bad!"
Just then, Frank suddenly felt a scrutinizing Gaze. He turned his head, and a Cloaked Figure appeared behind him!
"You are very powerful, Mr. Castle!"
The Cloaked Figure took the initiative to greet Frank.
Frank looked at the Cloaked Figure, who was hiding his face, and frowned, sizing him up.
This Cloaked Figure had an energy factor attached to him that actually blocked his Spiritual Sense Perception.
"Who are you? I don't like people who hide their faces!" Frank leaned on the Black Gold Staff, which had shrunk to the thickness of a bowl. As he struck the ground with his staff, the entire ground shook as if there was an Earthquake.
The Cloaked Figure voluntarily removed his Hood: "I forgot to introduce myself. Victor von Doom. Mr. Castle can call me Victor. Latveria is my homeland. I have no Malice, I merely wish to express my gratitude to you for helping Latveria repel these alien giant beasts!"
Frank looked at the person who called himself Victor, at his silver-grey face that looked like he was wearing a Metal Mask, and said calmly yet officially, "As the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., this is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s responsibility!"
Doom smiled and nodded slightly at Frank: "Regardless, I must thank you. Please give my regards to Boss Tang!" Doom put his Hood back on and walked away into the distance.
"You know our Boss?" Frank asked, looking at Doom's retreating back.
Doom replied without turning his head: "I've only heard of Boss Tang. I heard he is a very formidable person!"
Frank shook his head, thinking Doom had heard of Boss Tang's reputation in the underworld.
Doom had his back to Frank, red light flickering in his eyes. The reason he had heard the name Tang Song was from his mother.
His mother was a Gypsy witch who later had her Soul taken by the Hell-Lord Mephisto while seeking Magical Power.
From a young age, Doom was determined to free his mother's Soul from Mephisto's grasp.
For this, he studied desperately. Not only did he master various high-tech fields such as Physics, Robotics, Cybernetics, Genetics, Weapon Technology, and Biochemistry, but he also read various Magic Ancient Books from Europe and taught himself to become a Black Mage.
However, even so, the gap in Strength between him and Mephisto, the Hell-Lord, was still like a chasm.
Later, he learned of Mephisto's death from a Hell Demon, which gave him the opportunity to sneak into Hell and rescue his mother's Soul.
Strictly speaking, Tang Song could be considered his benefactor. Doom investigated him through his own Channels.
That's why Doom knew Frank. Not just Frank, but also Lane, Kane, and several High-level Staff of Tang Group; Doom had detailed Data on all of them.
"It's not Technology, nor is it Dark Magic. It's a completely different Power System! Interesting!"
Doom's figure disappeared into the forest along the Latverian border. Hundreds of Mechanical Hounds that had successfully restarted followed him.
(end of chapter)