Chapter 296: The Final Battle (Part 1)
"Listen, instead of useless self-reproach, you'd be better off doing something practical. Use your power to help those people!" Clint Barton said, turning to Wanda after taking down an enemy.
"But..." Wanda's despair deepened as she felt the entire town continue its ascent.
"I don't care what's going on in that head of yours. I don't have time to coddle a kid on a battlefield," Clint finished, no longer paying her any mind as he leaped out the window to re-engage the enemy.
As soon as Clint hit the ground, he encountered a sentry. Without a word, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and jammed it directly into the robot's head.
Crack!
Suddenly, Clint heard movement behind him. Before he could react, the robot behind him was lifted into the air by an invisible force and crushed into a ball of scrap metal.
Clint looked up and saw Wanda standing by the window.
"I am not a kid," Wanda said defiantly.
Clint offered a small smile; at least his words hadn't been wasted.
On the Bridge
Steve Rogers was straining, holding onto a car that was about to slide off the edge.
"Nngh!" Steve gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging. He was at his limit.
Suddenly, the weight vanished. He looked up to see Thor hovering beside him, safely depositing the car onto solid ground.
"Blargh!" The person inside scrambled out the moment the car touched down and immediately began to vomit.
At that moment, a dozen robots dived toward them. Thor and Steve shared a quick grin. Steve dropped to one knee and raised his shield; Thor slammed Mjolnir onto the vibranium surface with all his might.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave rippled outward, disintegrating every robot in its path and leaving nothing but a trail of scattered parts.
"Stark needs us," Thor said.
Steve reached out, and Thor grabbed his hand. With a swing of the hammer, Thor took flight, carrying the Captain toward Stark's position.
Elsewhere
"Hah!" Natasha Romanoff grunted as she dismantled four or five robots. Fighting these machines was a grueling task for her.
"Aaaaarrgh!" Nearby, Bruce Banner was firing a heavy machine gun at the approaching enemies.
Natasha looked at him, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "Why haven't you turned into the Hulk yet?"
"I..." Bruce stopped firing, looking hesitant. He was terrified that the Hulk would cause more collateral damage to the civilians.
Natasha understood his fear. She walked up to him. "We need you..."
Then, she leaned in and kissed him. Bruce's eyes widened, and his heart rate spiked—but it wasn't quite enough to trigger the transformation. Anticipating this, Natasha shoved him backward, sending him tumbling into a deep hole in the ground.
"We need the other guy," Natasha muttered, feeling a bit conflicted. At this moment, she needed the beast more than the man.
"ROAR!" A feral howl erupted from below, followed by a massive green figure leaping out of the pit.
"Hey there," Natasha said cautiously.
"Hmph!" Hulk exhaled a heavy breath through his nostrils.
"Come on, we need you," Natasha said, reaching out. Hulk scooped her up, placed her on his back, and began a thundering charge toward Stark. Beside him, a blur passed by—Pietro, carrying Wanda.
In that moment, the team was finally assembled.
"Haha!" Thor shouted with joy as the Avengers gathered. "Is this all you've got, Ultron?"
Ultron rose into the air and waved his hand. A massive swarm of robots converged, blocking out the sun and surrounding them completely. Because of Silas's Shadow Knight Corps, Ultron had created ten times more robots than he originally intended.
"Could you maybe talk a little less?" Steve said, feeling a wave of exhaustion.
"We have quite a few of us," Ultron sneered, gesturing to his mechanical legion.
"Are you sure that's it?!" A voice echoed in their ears just as they prepared for the uphill battle.
Silas stepped through a Shadow Portal, with Peter Parker following close behind.
"Are you guys planning a party here?" Peter couldn't help but joke.
"You again!" Ultron's eyes flared with irritation at the sight of Silas. "You are officially the person I hate most—even more than Stark!"
"Wow. It looks like the son doesn't hate his daddy anymore," Tony quipped.
The group shared a brief laugh. Silas smiled and shook his head before waving his hand. "You want to compare numbers?"
Instantly, the Shadow Ninja Corps—including the armored Shadow Knights—emerged from the ground. Silas refrained from calling the other tribes to keep the Shadow Generals' existence a secret.
"Hmph!" Both Ultron and Silas signaled at the same time, and the clash began.
Hulk tore robots apart with raw violence; Wanda unleashed massive waves of Chaos Magic; Clint provided precision cover fire. Tony and Thor provided heavy aerial suppression, Steve led the charge at the front, and Peter zipped through the chaos, webbing up enemies. Pietro used his speed to hold the perimeter, ensuring no enemy breached their defensive line.
Silas went straight for Ultron. It wasn't so much a fight as it was Silas dominating the machine.
Bang!
Silas used telekinesis to slam Ultron into the ground and pinned him down with a foot on his chest. "Give me back the Scepter!"
"Hahahaha!" Ultron laughed. "Isn't it obvious who has the Scepter?"
"Is it really?" Silas smiled playfully.
Seeing that look, the realization hit Ultron. "I see," he muttered. "What do you need it for? To rule the world?"
"I'm not that bored," Silas replied truthfully.
"Is that so?" Ultron clearly didn't believe him; to him, humans were all liars. "Do you fear death?" Silas asked, increasing the pressure. Ultron's chassis began to creak and buckle under the weight.
"Do you really think you can kill me?" Ultron asked without fear. He could just hop into another body.
"You..." Silas started to speak, but the light in the Ultron beneath his foot faded.
At that moment, his Spider-Sense screamed. Silas ducked instinctively as a pulse blast whizzed over his head.
BOOM!
A building behind him collapsed into rubble, sending a plume of dust a hundred meters into the air. Silas turned to see another Ultron, identical to the first.
"To deal with you lot, I built a few extra bodies," Ultron said confidently. He had prepared ten identical prime bodies for exactly this scenario.
"Ten or a hundred, it won't matter!" Silas lunged toward him.
Boom!
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