It took a mere five minutes to complete the assault.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy was thoroughly "annihilated."
Unlike his approach with the Hydra agents, Nolan exercised restraint this time.
He needed the remaining wounded agents to survive and transmit a specific, confusing message. This message was simple yet effective: the attackers were ruthless, highly advanced, and shouted Hydra slogans.
In this way, S.H.I.E.L.D., and critically, the deep-cover Hydra agents hiding within it, would immediately suspect the established enemy target. S.H.I.E.L.D. would suspect Hydra. And Hydra itself would suspect... an unknown, rogue Hydra faction.
But Nolan, like the patient fisherman sitting firmly on his fishing platform, had cast his line and was simply choosing the right moment to reel it in and act again.
Soon after, Nolan, humming a low, tuneless melody, drove the Hunting Lord armor back to the waiting Valkyrie transport.
Accompanied by the immense roar of the vector engines, the armed transport plane slowly lifted off, climbing into the deep, blood-red glow of the setting sun.
Nolan took off his sealed metal helmet, letting the cool internal air hit his face.
He quickly checked on the unconscious Winter Soldier.
He noted that the mechanical arm was seriously damaged, but the rest of the man's body injuries were gradually stabilizing and showed signs of slow recovery. It seemed the super-soldier's exceptional physical fitness was even better than Nolan had anticipated.
Satisfied, he sat back down in his seat and began to close his eyes and meditate.
After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Nolan opened his eyes, remembering a task he had nearly forgotten.
Nolan first glanced back at the cockpit to ensure David was focused, then quickly accessed the simulator and navigated to the Salvage page.
[Salvage countdown: zero]
[Designated Salvage: Powered Armor STC (Standard Construction Template)]
[Salvage Harvest: Mark IV Terminator Armor STC Fragments Corrupted by Chaos (???)] (Please choose carefully)
[Note: This is a standard construction template for manufacturing Terminator Armor and neural connection systems.]
[Note: This STC once belonged to the Martian Forge General Kelbor Hal. After the rebellion ended, it wandered in the void of the universe.]
[Note: This template is suspected to have been corrupted by chaos. Tracing its origin, it may be bait thrown by the warp evil god 'Tzeentch'.]
[Marking: "No matter who it is, take it, this is your destiny, hee hee..."—Destiny Weaver.]
Nolan couldn't help but narrow his cyan wolf eyes.
He scanned the highly alarming labels of the salvaged item repeatedly.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he dragged the entire entry into the designated garbage sorting bin.
Nolan hadn't genuinely expected to receive anything useful from this designated salvage opportunity anyway. What's more, this STC was explicitly corrupted by Chaos. Unless Nolan had truly gone insane, he wouldn't even consider accepting it.
Nolan quickly turned off the simulator and twitched his nose slightly in distaste.
He muttered to himself:
"The Tzeentch in the simulator is just like a toad. It can't bite, but it's utterly disgusting."
The huge metal glove of the Hunting Lord armor rested flat on his knees, and Nolan closed his eyes again. Since he had first received the simulator, he had been exceptionally careful in his choices. For anything related to Chaos, no matter how tempting the potential reward, if it was involved in any way, he would rather waste the resources than obtain it.
"My lord, we are about to enter a thunderstorm cell. The Valkyrie may experience considerable turbulence."
David's clear mechanical voice abruptly interrupted Nolan's thoughts.
"Got it, David."
Nolan quickly stood up.
He lifted the heavy form of the Winter Soldier from the metal floor, placed him flat on a passenger seat, and secured him firmly in place with straps.
Next, Nolan checked the placement of the scientific research equipment, testing the firmness of the straps again to prevent any unnecessary losses from violent collisions.
However, just as Nolan was about to return to his own seat, David's mechanical voice came through again, urgency creeping into the usually flat tone.
"Uh... my lord, the Valkyrie's detection array has just picked up a very huge energy signature brewing within the thunderstorm. We seem to have entered a severe storm system."
Nolan strode into the cockpit.
He stared through the reinforced window at the dark, thick clouds swirling outside, a frown deepening on his face.
"Why did the weather change so fast? What is our current flight location and altitude?"
"We have not yet left New Mexico, flying at an altitude of 1,500 meters," David replied without looking away from the controls.
"David, change your flight route immediately. Fly out of this thunderstorm. Be careful."
Nolan narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the occasional flash of bright blue lightning piercing the thick clouds. He felt a sudden, distinct memory surface.
At that moment, a dazzling burst of lightning flashed nearby.
Deafening thunder suddenly resounded through the thick clouds, a massive sound that completely suppressed the familiar roar of the Valkyrie's vector engines.
Large raindrops pounded against the transparent window of the cockpit, momentarily blocking the view of the world outside.
"My lord, we... are under attack!"
The very next moment, David issued a sharp warning.
The blue light in his eye sockets flashed rapidly as his metal palm shoved the control lever hard.
The flying Valkyrie, despite its bulk, performed an emergency evasion maneuver with surprising flexibility.
Simultaneously, a searing, orange-red beam of light instantly brushed the transport's wing, visibly burning off a strip of the fragile metal surface.
Nolan stood expressionlessly, his back ramrod straight, trying his best to maintain his balance against the sudden lurching.
He stared out the blurred window, slowly baring his fangs.
A few seconds ago, he was certain he saw a vague, fast-moving human figure streak across the dark sky in front of them.
Nolan took a deep breath and opened his eyes wide.
He shouted at David, his voice cutting through the alarms, "David, don't worry about anything else! Speed up and rush out of the weather!"
"Understood, my Lord!"
David skillfully controlled the Valkyrie.
The huge wing tilted violently, and the transport began to climb rapidly toward the clear sky above the thunderstorm.
But at that moment, a second, thicker, and even more scorching beam of light again crossed the gloomy and dark sky.
The target was clearly the climbing Valkyrie.
David pulled the joystick back again, hard.
The roaring Valkyrie instantly made an evasive maneuver that pushed the transport close to its structural limits.
Even though David's operation was perfect, the scorching light still brushed one of the Valkyrie's wings, causing visible structural damage.
This caused a significant and dangerous change in the Valkyrie's flight posture, and the turbulence became increasingly severe.
At the same time, the strident alarm in the cockpit kept ringing, sharply stimulating Nolan's tense fighting nerves.
The next moment, Nolan suddenly took a deep breath.
He twisted his neck, his expression turning grim and decisive.
He said to David in a low, determined tone, "David, turn around! Dive and fly low!"
"Uh... Got it, my Lord."
The blue light in David's eyes flickered slightly, processing the unusual command.
Finally, he responded.
The climbing Valkyrie quickly reversed direction and began a steep swoop downward.
Nolan, with a grim look fixed on his face, turned and strode back into the main cabin.
He put the metal helmet of the Hunting Lord armor back on with a powerful clank.
At the same time, he manually checked and reloaded the huge gauntlets of the armor with high-explosive rounds.
Finally, Nolan twisted his neck one last time, a predator scenting its prey.
His sight, filtered through the helmet's visor, fell upon a terrifying, highly advanced weapon fixed securely to the cabin wall.
It was the salvaged Gauss blaster from the Necrons.
Nolan unclipped the Gauss blaster without hesitation, the weapon feeling cold and heavy in his armored hands.
He ordered David without turning his head, "David... open the hatch!"