Ultron was supposed to be nothing more than an artificial intelligence.
How had he become this powerful?
It was already far beyond Iron Man's original expectations.
"He really is stronger than I thought…"
Iron Man's punch hadn't injured him in the slightest!
Eric O'Grady couldn't help feeling worried as well.
They still didn't know exactly what was happening on Karl's side.
If someone here ended up getting seriously injured too, things would become much harder.
"What are you doing?"
"Why are you still standing there?"
"Hurry up and search!"
Iron Man saw Eric staring anxiously at the fight.
He understood Eric's concern, but they couldn't afford to let anything unexpected interfere with the mission.
"Hold him off!"
"I'll come help you as soon as I'm done!"
Iron Man and Ultron had effectively become two masses of metal colliding against each other.
Ultron rolled his neck.
A harsh metallic grinding sound immediately rang out.
Every one of his movements radiated confidence.
It was as though he believed everything was already under his control!
"Look at you, you poor little thing."
"You'll understand how powerful I am soon enough."
"You really think staying behind here makes you some kind of hero?"
"You'll regret it."
Since Iron Man had chosen to remain here, he naturally understood what he was about to face.
For the sake of protecting Earth, even if this battle required considerable effort, he would endure it.
Eric no longer hesitated.
Karl and Iron Man had created this opportunity for him.
He absolutely could not waste it!
Iron Man and Ultron immediately clashed again.
Meanwhile, Karl was still fighting Tothwanwell.
The newly repaired sections of the base had once again been reduced to rubble.
Almost everything they had just rebuilt had already been destroyed by Karl!
There was nothing they could do.
Karl's Phoenix Force was simply too powerful!
Not a single one of them could stop him.
Karl casually stretched his arms.
Looking at the ruins scattered across the ground, he seemed extremely satisfied.
Tothwanwell, meanwhile, was grinding his teeth in fury.
Even the cloak around his body had several holes torn through it and was now in miserable condition.
"You should have known this day would come from the moment you came up with that ultimate objective!"
"Earth isn't something you can conquer just because you feel like it."
"So what if you copied all those superheroes?"
"They're nothing but useless imitations!"
That was an enormous humiliation for the Skrulls.
Those copied superheroes truly hadn't performed anywhere near the level expected of them during this battle.
Even Tothwanwell was furious enough to stamp his feet.
Dotilt, standing nearby, felt equally helpless!
If even her god couldn't deal with Karl, then for now they could only find another way to trap him.
Suddenly, Dotilt seemed to remember something.
She immediately turned around and slammed the red button behind the throne!
A cage suddenly descended from above!
Karl was about to escape when countless transparent, almost invisible restraints appeared around him.
They locked him firmly inside an area of only about three square meters!
He couldn't move freely at all!
Tothwanwell turned toward Dotilt.
The ultimate containment switch had finally been activated.
A triumphant smile appeared on his face.
Everything leading up to this had merely been part of their setup.
"You really thought you were the only one with tricks like these?"
"You thought I didn't have any?"
"Ridiculous!"
"You really think you're that powerful?"
"In the end, you still walked straight into my trap."
"Just look at how helpless you are now."
"I almost don't know where to begin with you…"
Karl reached out and touched the cage.
His expression immediately changed.
This really was astonishing.
The cage appeared to be made from an extraordinarily rare and durable metal.
Obtaining even a single gram of this material would normally be incredibly difficult.
Yet here, inside the Skrull base, they had somehow gathered enough of it to construct an entire cage enclosing roughly three square meters!
Even Karl was impressed.
He couldn't help applauding.
The Skrulls had clearly spared no expense in preparing something specifically to capture him.
Still, Karl had already delayed them for a considerable amount of time.
"Do you really think this thing can keep me trapped?"
Now that Karl had been captured, Tothwanwell no longer intended to waste time arguing with him.
"Take your elite troops and surround the entire rear section!"
"If I'm not mistaken, his companions are probably back there right now looking for those so-called safes!"
Karl's eyes sharpened.
Tothwanwell, however, seemed delighted to watch him struggle like a trapped animal.
"Seeing you like this finally puts my mind at ease."
"You reduced my base to this state and caused me this much trouble!"
"You really thought I would forgive you so easily?"
"Or did you believe you had enough power to keep everything under your control?"
"Stop dreaming!"
"Now that you've fallen into my hands, I'm not going to let you die quickly."
"Looking at you now is almost pitiful."
"I genuinely thought you had some incredible trump card…"
"But apparently, this is all you amount to."
"What a disappointment."
Karl unleashed the Phoenix Force at full strength, trying to smash through the cage.
To his surprise, the cage remained completely undamaged!
Seeing this, Tothwanwell slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.
He hovered above the cage with the smug expression of someone who believed victory was already his.
"You should feel honored!"
"Do you have any idea how much effort I put into capturing you?"
"I wouldn't go to this much trouble for just anyone!"
"So now that you've fallen into my hands, stop thinking about escaping."
"Take your time and enjoy the confinement this cage has prepared for you."
The cage could restrain Karl, at least temporarily.
After all, the metal used to construct it was extraordinarily rare.
Tothwanwell watched as though he were enjoying a performance.
Again and again, Karl blasted the cage with the Phoenix Force.
Every attack struck the bars without producing so much as a crack.
Tothwanwell was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Sorcerer Supreme?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you're nothing but useless trash!"
"You really think you're something special?"
"The only reason you people believe you're impressive is because you keep praising each other!"
"To me, you're worth less than scrap metal!"
Karl turned and examined the cage carefully.
Forty-nine incredibly sturdy steel bars surrounded him.
For the first time, even Karl found the situation somewhat troublesome.
Tothwanwell remained there watching him.
Dotilt, meanwhile, had already led her forces toward the rear of the base.
At the same time, Iron Man was still fighting Ultron.
His armor had also undergone another upgrade.
The suit had already turned golden.
Iron Man was now using one of his most advanced powered armor configurations.
Yet even compared against Ultron, it was unable to inflict any meaningful damage!
The armor was supposed to grant Iron Man tremendous physical strength.
It also allowed him to fly and rapidly reposition himself across the battlefield.
But even with all those advantages, he still couldn't force Ultron back.
"Stop wasting your strength!"
"I'd heard plenty about Iron Man before."
"But I didn't expect you to hold back this much once the fighting actually started."
"I thought you were really going to hit me hard enough to make me regret standing here!"
Ultron stood there confidently, completely unafraid.
(End of Chapter)
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