His armor—God of War Cloth—shone with a silvery white, adorned with blood-red accents. Not a speck of dust or wound tarnished it. A symbol. Cold, majestic, unyielding.
Lance's resilience was at its peak. His body was like an unshakeable steel wall.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da!!
Before Lance could take another step, infantry combat vehicles and heavy fire support began launching a full assault. The booming of artillery mixed with the roar of 25mm machine gun chains—spitting metal and fire in all directions.
The XM809 obstacle-destroying bomb exploded, shaking the foundations of the building. The kinetic bomb—designed to pulverize armored tanks—was fired straight into the center of the hotel.
In less than two minutes, the Steinitz Hotel was reduced to rubble and a massive fiery crater.
Yet amidst the smoke and debris...
Lance stood firm.
Unscathed.
Only Lance's hair fluttered slightly in the blast wind.
Before the AIM soldiers, Lance raised his hand, and a beam of new magic enveloped the air around him—Meseron Magnetism.
As its name suggests, this magic gave him control over magnetic forces, resembling a low-power version of Magneto's abilities. However, even this "weakened" version remained terrifying. Armor-piercing bullets, incendiary grenades, and scattered metal all simply veered away, as if drawn by an invisible force, away from Lance's calm figure standing in the midst of the battlefield.
However, Lance's calmness became a disaster for the surrounding environment. The Steinitz Hotel behind him creaked, its windows shattered one by one, its walls peeled away, and its metal structure twisted due to the tug-of-war of the magnetic field. The grand building slowly transformed into ruins.
With a light motion, like someone swatting away a mosquito, Lance waved his hand. "Now, it's my turn again."
Where Lance treated this battle like a turn-based strategy game—giving his opponents hope, then crushing it mercilessly. Those watching from behind the screens felt a moment of relief before anger and despair hit like a storm.
However, before Lance could move further, a whirring sound from above sliced through the air.
"—Wait a moment!" A dark shadow passed, blocking the evening sunlight.
A Quinjet swooped down from the sky, its belly door opening with a mechanical hum. Two steel cables descended and gripped the rubble around the hotel like spears from the sky.
Two figures slid down together. The first—Barbara, the Mockingbird, wearing her distinctive black-and-white uniform. The second—not Coulson, but Clint Barton, the Hawkeye.
Both landed nimbly in the middle of the battlefield, their bodies standing tall between the barrels of AIM weapons and Lance's sharp gaze.
Lance observed them for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "You want to stop me?"
Clint simply stared at Lance without saying a word. His hawk-like gaze was so sharp, as if trying to read every movement of Lance, searching for a gap, or perhaps just trying to withstand the pressure of the increasingly potent magical aura.
Barbara stepped forward a pace. Her tone was calm but firm. "Mr. Wizard, we think... there may be a misunderstanding here."
Without waiting for a response from Lance, Barbara quickly turned, looking towards the line of tanks. Her expression hardened.
"Colonel Simon! You know who we are!" Barbara shouted loudly. "In the name of SHIELD, I order you to withdraw your forces! You will face a military tribunal for your unlawful actions!"
Lance merely smiled faintly. Not a word escaped his lips, but that expression spoke volumes: It's quite funny if you think they will comply.
Sure enough, the silence stretched for ten seconds, then the previously silent gun barrels began to rotate again.
"Colonel Simon!" Barbara's voice rose, filled with anger. "I order you to retreat! Do you hear me?!"
An explosion interrupted Barbara's command. Two steel bullets shot out with deadly speed.
Clint reacted in a fraction of a second—where Clint grabbed Barbara's arm and pulled her back behind the rubble, almost like a shadow darting away.
Barbara, now taking cover behind the broken wall, cursed harshly. "Damn! Is that guy insane?!"
"What's crazier..." Clint raised his hand, pointing behind the line of tanks. Clint's face went pale.
Barbara followed the direction of Clint's finger—and Clint's breath caught.
A large combat vehicle slowly descended from behind the transport truck. Its shape resembled a tank, but it was larger—twice as wide, three times as threatening.
The main cannon stood out like a predator's beak, flanked by two rotating machine guns on either side, and a pair of heavy Gatling guns on the right and left of the cabin. Its metal plating looked like sheets from another era, rough, thick, and reflecting the orange light of the setting sun with a sense of death.
"Strange model," Barbara murmured, "I've never seen anything like it."
Clint nodded, his voice lower and tense. "Because it's not an ordinary model. It's a prototype. And... very deadly."
"You look like you've seen a ghost. How dangerous is that tank?" Barbara asked.
"More than enough to wipe out a squad in less than two minutes," Clint replied quietly. "Main cannon, Gatling, short-range tracking missiles, and... one small sonic cannon. Effective against infantry, vehicles, even air. SHIELD was once interested in buying it."
Barbara furrowed her brow. "Then why was it canceled?"
Clint clenched his jaw. "Because of a very significant design flaw."
Barbara pressed, "What flaw?"
Clint turned to her. "The tank is powered by a mini nuclear reactor. If it gets destroyed—the reactor will be damaged too. And that... will explode like a dirty bomb."
Barbara fell silent. Then she opened her mouth, only to close it again. A few seconds later, Barbara cursed, "Which stupid arms dealer designed a suicide machine like that?"
Clint answered flatly, "Justin Hammer."
Barbara covered her face with her hands and let out a short, bitter laugh. "Of course. That's so typical of Hammer."
Chi chi chi!!!
The crazy tank finally began to show its fangs. Its cannon fired repeatedly, shaking the air with deafening booms. The Gatling guns unleashed a relentless storm of metal, tearing through asphalt and buildings like paper. From the back of the tank, a hatch opened—a missile launcher rose up, pointing sharply like the horns of a wild beast.
------------------------------
[Announcement: A New Novel Has Been Added!
The Puppet Maker in the World of Naruto
A man who is a scientist, researcher, and expert mechanic in robotics dies in a massive explosion that occurs in his laboratory while developing an advanced robot project. However, instead of experiencing death as he thought, the man awakens in another world—a strange place with vast stretches of desert.
There, the man is surrounded by people who can jump high, calling themselves ninjas. The confusion he initially felt grows as he realizes that this world is not unfamiliar to him. This is the world of Naruto! However, there is one thing that surprises him.
"Isn't this Sunagakure? Why am I not in Konoha? This poorest village... Oh my God, this is serious!"
Now, in the midst of a new life filled with danger and uncertainty, the scientist must find a way to survive in Sunagakure, a harsh place full of limitations. With his robotic knowledge, can the man change his fate in this ninja world, or will he fall along with the village?]
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