"Looking at you now, I guess this is all you've got!"
Those words were startling enough, and everyone nearby was even more shocked, unsure how they were supposed to deal with the situation.
At this point, Eric O'Grady had already found Captain America's shield.
He used all his strength and smashed a huge dent into the safe, only to discover that it still refused to open. There wasn't even a keypad or any kind of combination lock nearby.
Left with no other choice, he simply hoisted the entire safe onto his back.
Just as he was about to leave, Dotilt charged in with a group of Skrulls.
It looked like getting out of here wasn't going to be so easy.
"Why do I keep getting cornered in places like this? It's like these guys planned it beforehand. They really have it out for me!"
Even Eric hadn't expected the safe to be impossible to open, much less that he would run straight into Dotilt.
Without the slightest hesitation, Eric strapped the safe securely to his body.
Determination flashed through his eyes.
Everyone else had fought to carve open a path for him. He absolutely couldn't waste the opportunity they had created.
"Small world, isn't it? Last time, I got to watch Ultron beat you senseless. I have to admit, that really made my day!"
"What happened? You recovered that quickly? You only got beaten up a couple of days ago, and you still haven't learned your lesson?"
Last time, Eric had personally witnessed how Ultron tormented Dotilt.
A spark of fury immediately rose in Dotilt's heart.
She already believed that someone at Ultron's level had no right to beat her into such a miserable state. Worse still, Eric had witnessed the whole thing, making it even more humiliating for the Skrulls.
"Shut your mouth right now! Do you hear me?"
Seeing her fly into a rage from sheer embarrassment, Eric only found it amusing and couldn't resist teasing her some more.
The more he provoked her, the more seriously she took it.
Watching her become increasingly furious was simply too entertaining.
There was no way Eric could resist pushing her buttons a little longer.
"Well, look at you. You're still here and you still haven't learned your lesson. You have no idea what's coming for you next, do you?"
"Are you still waiting for Karl to come save you?"
"I can give you the answer right now. Karl is trapped inside a cage we prepared for him—a cage barely three square meters in size."
"He has enough trouble dealing with his own situation. You'd be better off thinking about how you can suffer a little less once we capture you."
"Get down on your knees and beg for mercy. If I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll hit you a couple fewer times!"
The Skrulls instantly spread out and surrounded Eric in a circle.
Every one of them was carrying a laser weapon.
Eric knew perfectly well just how dangerous those weapons were.
Even if one of those beams merely grazed him, the heat could instantly sear through his flesh.
Although he was protected by armor, there was no guarantee that he could withstand their weapons head-on.
Dotilt caught the brief trace of surprise that flashed across Eric's face.
"Only now you're getting scared?"
"Too late!"
"The real show is only beginning. You'd better start praying there's enough of your body left to bury!"
She gave the Skrulls a look.
They immediately began advancing step by step, tightening the circle around Eric.
The moment their laser blades ignited, Eric reacted.
He activated his suit and instantly shrank himself along with the safe strapped to his body.
In the blink of an eye, he darted away and reappeared elsewhere.
Dotilt could only stomp her foot furiously.
"Forget everything else! I want Eric O'Grady captured alive!"
There were numerous safes throughout this area, so the Skrulls had been extremely careful when attacking.
Hearing Dotilt's order, however, some of them hesitated.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you moving?"
"Do my orders mean nothing?"
"I'll take responsibility for anything that happens! What are you afraid of?"
Her face twisted with rage, and the ferocity blazing in her eyes was almost impossible to describe.
"Move!"
With Dotilt giving the order personally, her subordinates had no choice but to obey.
They were still worried that anything going wrong here might ultimately be blamed on them, but none of them dared disobey her.
Eric raced around the area with the safe strapped to him.
The Skrulls could only chase after whatever traces he left behind.
"High Priestess! We can't track his position at all!"
"Why don't I have the men block the doorway instead?"
"If he wants to get out of here, he'll have to pass through the entrance sooner or later."
Dotilt immediately shook her head.
"Send only two people outside."
"Everyone else stays here and concentrates on surrounding him!"
"Stay sharp! I want him captured alive!"
While Eric continued maneuvering around the Skrulls, the battle between Iron Man and Ultron was far from over.
Iron Man's armor could completely seal him off from the outside environment and even shield him from extremely powerful radiation.
When his systems detected the commotion coming from Eric's direction, Tony immediately realized that Eric wouldn't be able to hold off the Skrulls for much longer.
"What's wrong? Worried about your partner?"
Ultron sneered.
"He certainly knows how to make trouble. Having deadweight like that dragging you down must be exhausting."
"I'm almost starting to feel sorry for you."
"Why don't you consider joining my side?"
Ultron had fought Iron Man several times by now and had developed considerable respect for his abilities.
Iron Man, however, reacted as though he had just heard the greatest joke in the world.
"Join your side?"
"What side would that be?"
"If I'm not mistaken, even you've forgotten which side you're supposed to be on!"
"You're colluding with the Skrulls. You should worry about what's going to happen to you first."
"Don't waste your time worrying about me."
A deep smile appeared on Tony's face.
There was something about that smile that brought an almost tangible sense of pressure with it.
The oppressive atmosphere was suffocating.
As that sense of impending death gradually drew closer, even Ultron began to feel uncomfortable.
"Good."
"Very good."
"Since that's how you want it, I'll show you what I'm really capable of."
Ultron launched himself forward.
The malice erupting from his eyes was impossible to conceal.
A moment earlier, he had believed that he was already using more than enough power.
Yet Iron Man had still managed to withstand everything he threw at him.
Ultron believed he had spent more than enough time upgrading himself.
What he hadn't expected was that the internal systems in Tony's helmet could directly analyze his movements and report them in real time.
Right now, Tony simply had to be careful about how he used each of his weapons.
Iron Man took flight again.
At maximum speed, he swept around Ultron and appeared directly behind him.
A focused energy blast erupted from his armor.
The weapon drew in the surrounding energy as Tony closed the distance in an instant.
Because he had fired from such short range, the energy hadn't had enough time to build to its maximum output.
Even so, it was more than enough to give Ultron a serious shock.
Ultron didn't even have time to react.
The blast struck him head-on and sent him hurtling upward.
A trace of disbelief appeared in his eyes.
"How is that possible?!"
Iron Man's energy blast had hit him hard.
More than the damage itself, what stunned Ultron was that Tony had managed to turn the situation around so quickly.
"I already told you."
"If you want to come after me, you'd better learn your limits first…"
Neither of them could conceal the ferocity in their eyes.
The naked hostility between the two collided as the battle continued.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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