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"Ah, this…"
"He's really dead? Those human Invaders actually defeated Salus?"
"Which means, the Impossible City, which hasn't been invaded for thousands of years… has completely fallen today??"
In the hall, exclamations of shock rose and fell.
But soon, some quick-witted Cult leaders had already reacted, approaching Selena with fawning smiles and cautiously asking:
"Uh… Leader Selena, who did you just say we needed to pledge a Blood Oath of loyalty to???"
If Salus hadn't just used forceful means to break through these guys' psychological defenses,
these Cult leaders probably wouldn't have surrendered so easily now.
After all… if there's a first surrender, there's bound to be a second!
Just like that, as Selena's "persuasion to surrender" work with some Cult leaders proceeded smoothly, Frank and the others' mopping-up operation was also nearing its end.
According to post-battle statistics:
In this special operation, aside from the two Death Walkers accompanying Selena who sustained non-fatal injuries of varying degrees during the battle,
the special tactical squadron, composed of a mix of Phase Two Vampire Super Soldiers and Phase Three Werewolf Super Soldiers, suffered no casualties!
And in the series of battles to seize the Impossible City, a total of 699 enemies were eliminated!
Nearly 70% of the elite Vampire warriors were all wiped out by King Kong outside the castle.
Nearly 100 Vampire servants were captured!
Nearly 400 humans of various ages, who had been used as "blood slaves," were rescued from the dungeons!
Thus, this special operation, planned and launched by Karl, targeting the dimension where the Impossible City is located, was officially declared a complete victory!!
However, where there's joy, there's also sorrow…
Compared to the victory achieved by Selena, Frank, and others in the Impossible City,
S.H.I.E.L.D., which was also conducting a special operation, had fallen into an extremely dangerous predicament!
...…
…
Chicago.
The time rewound slightly to fifteen minutes earlier.
Under the cover of darkness, a quinjet, using the pitch-black sky as concealment, swiftly swept towards the nearby street where the "black smoke pillar" was located.
To avoid attracting more Vampires' attention and encirclement, the 6-person "temporary capture team" led by Captain America decisively abandoned the plan of first using fighter jets for a round of artillery bombardment.
Instead, they chose to make a silent, rapid descent, then traverse several blocks on foot to the target location!
The entire process went very smoothly.
Along the way, the scattered Vampires wandering the streets and alleys, upon detecting the movements of the 6 individuals, were silently dealt with by Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Sharon Carter, the three professional Agents skilled in assassination, before they could even let out a roar.
"Tony, it's up to you now to get that guy out of there."
Captain America looked at Blade, who was completely enveloped in a Dark Energy storm, from a distance and said quickly:
"The five of us will do our best to buy you enough time on the perimeter!"
"Leave it to me."
Perhaps having witnessed too many horrific scenes along the way, Tony Stark, uncharacteristically, responded with unusual seriousness, without his usual flirtatious remarks:
"It's time to let this damn darkie… ah no, I mean Vampire, get a good look at the power of human technology!"
"Tony, watch your language." Captain America raised a hand and pointed to the miniature communicator in his ear, "Don't forget Commander Fury can hear you too."
"Oh, sorry, Fury, I really didn't mean you, you're different from that guy!"
Tony Stark said dismissively, then controlled his Iron Man Suit to hover close to the "black smoke pillar."
He began using Jarvis to scan and analyze the Dark Energy enveloping Blade's body.
"Jarvis, quickly find a way for me to interrupt him from continuing to release this energy!"
"Sir, Blade is releasing a mysterious unknown energy." The AI butler immediately gave its reply.
"And the 'black storm' enveloping his body is composed of this pure energy. With the weapon system currently equipped on the Mark 43, it probably cannot successfully penetrate it!"
No, Jarvis, you're so blunt, you're making it hard for me to save face.
Tony Stark now really regretted speaking too boastfully earlier, and couldn't help but complain:
"Damn it, don't these kinds of things have an emergency shutdown button?"
"Yes, unless he walks out of it himself." Jarvis mimicked his Master's usual speaking tone, teasing him in a way unique to an AI.
However.
No sooner had his voice fallen than the Dark Energy continuously surging from Blade's body strangely stopped.
However, the "black smoke pillar" on the outside, having lost its energy supply, did not immediately disappear; it still stood between heaven and earth.
It's just that its intensity will gradually weaken with the passage of time, and it probably cannot be maintained for a long time!
"Hehehe…"
Blade walked out of the energy field with a sinister grin, looking at Tony Stark in his Iron Man Suit opposite him and saying:
"Iron Man, are you here for me?"
Evidently, he had long since discovered the movements of Tony and his group, relying on his powerful perception abilities.
"I say, Jarvis, has your mouth been blessed recently?"
Tony Stark did not hide the purpose of his trip, saying bluntly:
"That's right, we hope to learn from your traitorous mouth what the hell these damn Vampires are going crazy about?"
"Traitor?"
Blade bared his fangs, pointing to his sharp canines with his finger, and retorted: "Don't you think that word is ridiculous when used on a Vampire?"
"I haven't betrayed anyone; I've just… welcomed a higher evolution!"
"However, I can answer your previous question right now."
As he spoke, Blade raised his hand and pointed to the continuously swirling "black smoke pillar" behind him, continuing in a slightly teasing tone:
"Eternal Night is descending, the Blood Hunt is beginning… It won't be long before the control of this World will once again return to the hands of the Blood Clan!"
"Wait a minute, are you saying Vampires are plotting to control the World?"
Tony Stark couldn't help but laugh, "That might be the funniest joke I've heard this year."
"Seriously, buddy, I think you should apply to The Daily Bugle; they love exaggerated guys like you there."
Due to the "humiliating scene" of all his Iron Man Suits being wiped out during the previous battle against the Female MUTO, which was widely circulated online after being broadcast by The Daily Bugle,
for a long time afterward, netizens mocked Tony Stark with the meme "disassembled Iron Man."
He himself was too embarrassed to appear in public for several months, fearing someone would ask about this embarrassing issue!
So Tony Stark naturally had no good feelings for The Daily Bugle.
"Heh heh, exaggerated?"
Blade ignored the other party's taunt and corrected him seriously: "I don't think you've grasped the current situation!"
"The Blood Clan are the true Masters of this World; it has always been you humans who have constantly encroached on our living space."
"Now, my kin simply want to reclaim what originally belonged to us!"
"On the contrary, you humans were originally just the slaves of the Blood Clan… So, to be precise, it is you who betrayed us, your Masters!"
After a slight pause, he extended an invitation to Tony Stark opposite him in a seemingly sincere tone.
"Tony, the reason I'm telling you so much is because you are among the high-value targets. The technology in your head can help us become stronger…"
"Join us, become a member of the great Blood Clan, and conquer this World with us!"
"Imagine, when you will have a long life, spanning century after century."
"In this process, you can fully utilize your talent and mind, shaping this World into the form you like with technology!"
Undoubtedly.
Blade's words were very tempting.
Because as long as one is human, one is destined to be unable to escape the fate of Death!
And the richer and more powerful a person is, the more they fear the arrival of Death.
That's why so many top billionaires invest tens or hundreds of billions annually, without expecting returns, to fund various scientific research teams related to Gene Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences.
They attempt to find ways to slow down aging and escape Death through their research.
However.
Tony Stark chose to refuse without hesitation, "First, thank you for such a high evaluation of me… but our relationship doesn't seem to be close enough for you to call me by my first name."
"Also, I think you're the one who hasn't really grasped the situation."
"No matter what conspiracy you scumbags are plotting, it's destined to fail, because humans are protected by the Avengers… As long as we are here, your foolish plan will never succeed!"
With that, two rows of rapid-fire high-explosive buckshot suddenly rose from the Mark 43 Hunter Armor's shoulder, firing directly at Blade opposite him.
"What a pity, I originally thought we could be friends."
Blade's face showed a hint of regret.
His figure, like a ghost, dodged all the bullets.
Then he slowly drew a silver longsword from his back, mocking as he faced the Iron Man Suit:
"But you should know, you can't beat me with just that pile of scrap metal on you, right?"
Whoosh—
Two huge black bat wings suddenly grew from Blade's back, then his entire body shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, and with one kick, he sent the Mark 43 Hunter Armor flying in mid-air.
After the special transformation by Black Magic, although Blade's body was not possessed by a demon,
he possessed power equivalent to a demon.
So he naturally didn't take the Iron Man Suit seriously.
But what he didn't expect was.
After the previous "battle of shame" where all his Iron Man Suits were completely wiped out,
Tony Stark, learning from his painful experience, spent a great deal of effort improving the Mark 43 Hunter Armor, making significant optimizations and improvements to both its offensive and defensive systems.
"Have you ever seen a pile of scrap metal worth billions of dollars?"
Dozens of miniature anti-tank missiles shot out from the Mark 43 Hunter Armor's elbow, flying towards Blade from different angles.
Seeing this, the latter, in a moment of urgency, could only cover his entire body with his huge bat wings.
Boom boom boom—
Although the power of the miniature anti-tank missiles was not enough to severely wound Blade, they effectively damaged the pair of bat wings, blasting several large holes in them.
For a short time, flying again was almost impossible!
Before Blade could even counterattack, Tony Stark had already used the smoke to obscure his vision, controlling the armor to quickly close in.
Click—
A short sword-like weapon, about 50 centimeters long with sharp, interlocking L-shaped serrations on its edge, automatically popped out from his right fist, and he chopped down towards Blade's shoulder.
Buzz buzz—
The moment the sharp serrations on the Blade's edge were activated by the internal mechanism, they began to vibrate at high frequency within a very small range, back and forth.
Flesh flew!
The Blade met almost no resistance, sawing through Blade's Dark Energy-enhanced muscles and bones, which were as hard as steel plates, as easily as tearing a piece of parchment, completely severing one of his right arms.
"How's that? Do you like this new weapon feature I added?"
Tony Stark, while controlling the armor to continue cutting off the other arm of his opponent, showed off with some pride:
"Originally, this was a small gift specially prepared for the Titan… You know, their skin is harder than steel, and ordinary weapons can't cause substantial damage to them at all."
"So I could only choose a different path… Speaking of which, this chainsaw-style weapon, which uses high-frequency vibration to cut through the enemy's defenses at a molecular level, I actually 'dreamed' about it while sleeping!"
"Ugh… get away from me." Seeing his arms severed in the blink of an eye, Blade let out a shrill roar, then slammed into the Mark 43 Hunter Armor, staggering backward towards the energy force field.
But how could Tony Stark possibly give him a chance to escape?
Whoosh—
A lasso made of superalloy shot out from the Mark 43 Hunter Armor's arm, gliding low to the ground less than 30 centimeters from the surface.
A few seconds later, it accurately hit Blade, binding his legs tightly together.
Under the effect of inertia, Blade, who was running at full speed, crashed forward heavily, rolling several times on the ground before finally coming to a complete stop.
"There, that's better. If you have anything else to say, we can go back and talk slowly!"
Tony Stark flew closer, first knocking Blade unconscious with a few "thump-thump" punches, then lifted him up, reporting in an excited tone through the communicator:
"Captain, mission accomplished, successfully captured one Blade!"
The recent battle was enough to prove that the series of modifications he made to the Mark 43 Hunter Armor were perfect!
So Tony Stark now felt a sense of vindication.
See that? I've risen again!
I told you, I, Tony Stark, will personally reclaim the dignity and honor I lost!!
Captain America's slightly surprised voice immediately came through the communicator, "How are you so fast?"
And in the pause while Captain America was speaking, Tony Stark could even clearly hear the roars coming from the Vampires nearby, as well as the dull thuds of heavy objects colliding.
Clearly, the battle was still ongoing! !