Chapter Twenty-One: Emergency Rescue!

After resolving S.H.I.E.L.D., Hao Yun took the initiative to leave, entrusting the remaining work to Nick Fury.

Though Nick was nothing special, his abilities were ordinary, and he spent all day doubting everyone and everything, his leadership skills were still rather decent.

At the very least, with Nick Fury around, the Illuminati and the authorities would have a buffer between them, which could help prevent the conflict from growing any further, could it not?

Driving alone back to the Illuminati headquarters, Hao Yun had not even managed to take a sip of water before Jarvis's voice rang out through the base!

"Mr. Potts, Mr. Stark is requesting assistance!"

"Hm? What happened, Jarvis?"

Hao Yun asked in confusion. This time, the force he had sent with Tony and the others was anything but small; even if the Dark Elves came again, they ought to be able to deal with them to some extent. How could they possibly have trouble with a mere Blackheart?

And let us not forget: Tony's team included Captain America, the ever-even match-up specialist; Angel, the newly risen shadow-ranked ninja; and Thor, whose strength had already reached Planetary Level 7!

"Mr. Potts, Blackheart has obtained the Vatican Contract ahead of schedule. With the Wind Demon, Earth Demon, and Water Demon all greatly empowered, Mr. Stark and the others are no match for them."

"Damn it, I knew that bastard was unreliable!"

Hao Yun could not help cursing, though he still had no intention of setting out immediately. Instead, he continued to press, "How was the Vatican Contract lost? Didn't we already have its exact location?"

"Actually, at first Blackheart and his subordinates were no match for Mr. Stark and the others, and were easily overwhelmed. But Mr. Stark was provoked by Blackheart and agreed to fight only after he had recovered to peak condition, and so he handed the contract over to them..."

Jarvis's explanation made Hao Yun even less willing to move.

This guy—did he really think he had been born in the ocean? He was being far too reckless!

There was no need to think twice. With Thor and Angel helping out, the early battle should have been a complete crushing of Blackheart. But Tony, probably with that sharp tongue of his, had been unable to resist the provocation and simply gave the contract to the other side.

And now he had really blown everything up, hadn't he?

As the saying goes: court trouble, and trouble will come for you. When it came to people, it was still better to be steady.

Wasn't he much better off? He always waited until he was certain he could crush the enemy before making a move!

"Forget it, forget it. I'm just a life of toil. Jarvis, locate Tony's position and help me control the armor!"

Hao Yun sighed and walked out to the balcony.

There, parked and waiting, was the transport armor Tony had specially built for long-range flights. In terms of speed alone, it was even faster than Tony's own armor. It was made specifically for emergency support!

"Mr. Potts, please prepare yourself. In ten minutes, we will arrive at the cemetery on the outskirts of Washington. Countdown to takeoff now: three, two, one!"

"Boom!"

The streamlined armor shot into the sky and raced toward Washington!

...

In the cemetery on the outskirts of Washington, Blackheart stood with folded arms, looking contemptuously at the battlefield ahead.

On the field, Angel had transformed into a colossal Buddha, her thousand-odd true hands blotting out the sky as she faced off against an earth golem nearly a hundred meters tall, not yielding a single step. Not far away, Thor thundered continuously, barking and roaring with every strike, yet his lightning was blocked by pure water, unable to cause the slightest harm; he could only hold the Water Demon at bay in mutual stalemate. Farther still, Captain America, Tony, Pepper, and the others worked together against the Wind Demon, relying on the nano armor, vibranium shield, and other gear to barely withstand its ghostlike, impossible attacks.

On the ground, the long-since-sleeping Hulk snored with great contentment. No matter how lively the fighting grew, it could not wake him from his sweet dream...

It could be said that, across the entire battlefield, aside from Angel, who still held a slight advantage, everyone else was simply no match for Blackheart's side at all.

And that was not even counting Blackheart himself, who had not joined the fight and was only standing by to enjoy the spectacle.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that all you've got, and you still dare to block me, Blackheart?"

Blackheart clicked his tongue in ridicule at Tony, clawing back some face for his earlier plea for mercy.

"I am the son of Mephisto, Lord of Hell! Kneel, and I may forgive your offense!"

"The last guy who said that was named Loki, and he's already locked up in Asgard's prison."

Captain America brushed aside the Wind Demon's attack with a shield and said expressionlessly.

Only, that last attack had been too broad, and still left a bloody line across his handsome face.

"Cap, can you help me pin him down?"

Tony gritted his teeth and said fiercely.

"I'll do my best!"

Captain America replied, warding off another strike.

But this time, he silently calculated the distance after the deflection in his mind, twisted his body, and sent his shield flying from his hand!

"Smack!"

The Wind Demon was struck out of invisibility in midair, revealing that eerie upper body and a lower half shaped like a whirling tornado cloud.

Yes, the Wind Demon's appearance was much like the genie from the lamp in Aladdin. Or perhaps, more or less, like the fire elemental from Heroes of Might and Magic?

"Now! Pepper!"

Tony roared. Behind the husband and wife, six energy emitters rose into the air at the same time, and together with their hands they unleashed sixteen laser blasts!

"Boom!"

With Jarvis assisting the calculations, the impact points converged perfectly. All sixteen beams hit the Wind Demon's body at once, blasting its elemental form into powder and scattering it into the air until it vanished completely.

At last, after two rounds of fighting, they had killed the weakest enemy!

"Clap, clap, clap. Not bad, not bad. Impressive, impressive."

Blackheart applauded as he stepped forward.

"I thought the Earth was full of weaklings. I never expected you to actually kill even my weakest subordinate. As your reward, let me, Blackheart, son of Mephisto, personally send you on your way!"

Still applauding, Blackheart's figure blurred. When he appeared again, he was already in front of Captain America... and his fist had driven halfway into the captain's stomach!

Then, with a surge of force, Captain America was sent flying dozens of meters and slammed hard into the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood at once!

"Cap!"

Pepper and Tony cried out at the same time. With that kind of strength, it was practically on par with Thor striking personally!

"Don't panic. You're next."

Blackheart smiled and gestured for them to continue, then sent out his right fist once more, plain and ordinary-looking as ever.

"I'll take him!"

Tony had been prepared this time. He hurried forward to block Pepper's path. As he moved, the nano armor on his body condensed into a tower shield planted in the ground, wedged tightly into the fissure below!

"Boom!"

Fist and shield collided. Tony, along with Pepper and the tower shield, was forced to slide back more than ten meters. On the ground, a gash more than half a meter deep and over ten meters long also appeared!

"Bah. Your strength is only so-so!"

Tony straightened up and withdrew the tower shield, refusing to back down.

Only Captain America and Pepper noticed that behind Tony, his hands were trembling uncontrollably, and blood was even dripping from his palms.

"Is that so?"

Blackheart smiled strangely. His figure vanished abruptly, then appeared just as suddenly in front of Tony.

"Then try this."

His right hand shot out, Blackheart clamped onto Tony's throat, and lifted him high.