[Manhattan Island, Times Square]
Near the "Earthshaker" launch device, Jeff, wearing the "Black Overlord" battle armor, suddenly shouted.
"What the hell!"
He was linked to the "Titan" armor inside the Empire State Building. So when Starlight created a blinding flash in the lobby, even he, far away in Times Square, was affected.
Both eyes turned into a sheet of white.
Jeff immediately cut off the connection with the "Titan" armor. Even so, it still took more than ten seconds before his vision returned to normal.
"So that's it!"
"So that's it!"
No flames burst from his armor. Instead, several energy nodes on the suit lit up with a dim glow.
The space around Jeff twisted slightly. Wearing the black armor, he shot into the sky, flying toward the Empire State Building.
"All those cops running around, and the Secretary of Defense negotiating with me, so they were just a smokescreen!"
"They used that to distract me, then let the superheroes move, trying to take Arnold away while I wasn't looking."
"In your dreams!"
———
Inside the Empire State Building—
The moment the bright light flared up in the lobby, Maeve smashed through a wall and charged in, landing on the exhibition platform. Her boots carved more than ten meters across the floor before she finally stopped.
As the light began to fade, under Jeff's remote control, the custom armor "Savage Gladiator" rushed straight at Maeve.
"Savage Gladiator" had a bulky build. The main color of the armor was bright red, and on each shoulder was a curved horn like a wild bull's.
Right now, the armor lowered its shoulder and slammed one of those horns hard toward Maeve.
If it hit, it would follow through with a lift, hooking her up and tossing her aside.
At the same time, another earth yellow suit of armor moved to Arnold's side. It was the custom armor "Unfallen Fortress."
Its plating was thick and solid, and it held a two meter tall shield. Once it braced that shield forward, it became a solid barricade.
Then, with the help of a mechanical frame, the armor lifted an aircraft cannon.
This was a killing machine normally mounted on an armed helicopter, yet the armor held it in its hands with ease.
The other armors began moving as well.
Jeff reconnected to the "Titan" armor, making Colonel Yuri jump down from the platform and stride toward Starlight.
On the platform, "Savage Gladiator" came in fierce and fast.
Maeve's eyes sharpened, but she did not meet it head on.
With one hand, she grabbed the horn on the armor's shoulder. At the same time, she hooked her leg to trip it, twisted her waist, and swung her arm.
With a low shout.
She flipped "Savage Gladiator" over, sending it crashing into the giant screen behind.
Then she rushed toward Arnold, who was being protected by "Unfallen Fortress." Along the way, several "Wild Chariot" armors opened fire at her. If she could dodge, she dodged. If she could not, she took it head on.
But when "Unfallen Fortress" raised the aircraft cannon and began sweeping fire, Maeve did not dare to tank it.
She did not think the aircraft cannon could kill her, but its bullets were far more powerful than the others. If she was hit, being knocked back was unavoidable.
So Maeve made all kinds of evasive moves. In quick shifts and turns, she reached the front of the armor.
Instead of crashing into the shield, she leaped onto it, stepped on it for leverage, flipped through the air, and landed behind the armor. Face to face with Arnold.
"Unfallen Fortress" immediately turned around, shield in hand, trying to smack Maeve away.
But as the shield came down, Maeve raised her hand and pressed it down.
She shrugged, grabbed the shield, and swung her body like she was on a swing, arcing toward the armor behind it. She bent her knees slightly, gathered force, then kicked out hard.
BANG!
Her feet stamped a ripple across the armor's surface. "Unfallen Fortress" let go of the shield and slid back out of control.
It slid straight off the platform in one go, crashing into two "Chariot" armors.
Maeve set the seized shield on the ground, stepped on it with one foot, and without another word, lifted Arnold and threw him onto it.
Then she stomped hard on the ground with her other foot. Instantly, the two of them rode the shield like a small boat, sliding across the platform and rushing toward the main doors.
Before they could reach the doors, Maeve was suddenly blasted away. She fell off the shield and hit the ground.
Gunfire rang out from the far end of the lobby. A camouflaged "Wilderness Hunter" had just fired a custom sniper rifle at Maeve.
The sniper shot did not kill her, but it made her grit her teeth in pain.
Her strength and durability were second only to Homelander in The Seven, but the gap between her and him was like a firefly compared to the sun.
They were not even on the same level.
Pain was pain, but a single sniper round was not enough to knock her unconscious. Maeve quickly jumped back up, just in time to see three "Wild Chariot" armors speeding toward Arnold.
She lowered her center of gravity, took a sprinting stance, then dashed forward.
She did not have A-Train's speed, but when she ran at full power, even the "Wilderness Hunter" behind her kept missing with its sniper shots.
Before the "Chariot" armors could intercept Arnold, Maeve slammed hard into one of them.
At first, she had been careful not to harm the soldier inside the armor, so she had held back.
But now she could not afford that.
With a full powered impact, the "Chariot" armor was not only sent flying, it crumpled and shattered midair, scattering parts across the floor.
By the time it hit the ground, the suit was sparking and could not get back up.
Maeve rolled, then jumped back onto the shield. The main doors were already in sight.
But at that moment, the wall beside the doors suddenly exploded. A stream of fire shot from behind, blasting into the wall and sweeping toward the entrance.
Maeve quickly grabbed Arnold and rolled to the ground. The line of fire swept over her head. By the time the aircraft cannon behind them, operated by "Unfallen Fortress," stopped firing, the wall beside the doors had been smashed and collapsed, blocking the way.
Looking at the pile of rubble, Maeve knew she could not break through it before the other armors caught up, not while carrying Arnold.
She made a quick decision, hoisted the president of Olga Company over her shoulder, and sprinted toward the floor to ceiling windows in the distance.
She believed that for the sake of that so called "Zero," Mr. Z would not let the armors use lethal force.
So at this moment, Arnold had instead become her shield.
Her judgment was correct. As she ran with Arnold on her shoulder, the other armors only chased and did not open fire recklessly.
Just like that, Maeve smashed into the floor to ceiling window with Arnold and, amid his screams, leaped out into the empty air beyond the Empire State Building.
One armor after another charged out after her without fear, like a flock of sheep following the lead ram off a cliff.
But Maeve had no intention of killing herself. After dropping some distance with Arnold in her arms, she reached out and plunged her hand into the building's outer wall. She tore a crack into it at once, and their falling speed quickly slowed.
———
Meanwhile, inside the lobby—
Seeing the "Titan" armor walking toward her, Starlight's eyes shone brightly. She suddenly thrust both hands forward, releasing a wave of light.
The wave surged out, slammed into the "Titan" armor, and flipped it into the air.
Starlight looked around and saw the other armors all chasing after Maeve. She immediately shouted, "Everyone, go! That way!"
She pointed toward the hole Maeve had smashed through earlier. It connected to the fire escape stairwell.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.