The monster attack had also caught them completely off guard. The monsters had never made a move like this before; suddenly striking out of nowhere, and if Tony hadn't had his own Iron Legion, plus the recent inspiration he'd gained from studying Zod's weapons, he really might have died under the siege of three Demon-level monsters.
Even so, Tony broke out in a cold sweat.
Afterward, he complained that S.W.O.R.D.'s response was way too slow. If something had actually gone wrong, he would've been dead long before S.W.O.R.D. even showed up.
"What about Zod Hess? Why didn't he come?"
Tony was puzzled; he'd been hoping to show Zod what he'd accomplished.
"The fact is, he hasn't shown his face in a long time."
Nick Fury's expression was grim.
He felt like these geniuses were each more worryingly unreliable than the last.
…
On Emperor Star, Zod had just finished watching the whole process of Tony fighting the three Demon-level monsters. He hadn't expected Tony to actually replicate his fusion lance and electromagnetic weapon series. Sure enough, people only grew when pushed. Without being pushed, Tony Stark would never have produced so many powerful weapons.
He figured that when Thanos eventually showed up, Tony might actually become a main fighting force.
In truth, Zod had always felt that the technology tree in the Marvel world was a little twisted. All kinds of immensely powerful lifeforms looked like they could destroy heaven and earth, but in reality, none of them seemed able to withstand technological weapons.
Take Thanos, for example: an Eternal Titan, thick-skinned and tough, not even afraid of a full-force blow from Mjolnir.
But… what about a gravity collapse weapon?
High-frequency blades?
A positron cannon?
An atomic cannon?
Of course, to Zod, none of these weapons were a big deal. By now, he estimated he could probably even ignore a dual-vector foil. Still, he seriously doubted whether Thanos could take a single hit from one.
Then again, considering this was the Marvel world, maybe Thanos would just go "I reckon I can take it," and then actually block it.
"The Monster Association actually had some brains, knowing to target Tony Stark—the weakest link. But wouldn't sending a Dragon-level monster like Bean Sprout have been way better? Could've ended the fight in an instant. Instead, they sent three Demon-level monsters that were just tough hides. Even a speedster like Cockroach would've worked."
Zod griped that Gyoro Gyoro's tactical arrangement was seriously flawed. Then again, at this point, he was just treating it like watching a live-action movie. Once the superheroes finished dealing with the Monster Association, the Chitauri would probably arrive.
So before that, he could still enjoy watching S.W.O.R.D. and the Monster Association battle wits.
On the other side, the Burning Legion had clashed with the Kree Empire. Well, calling it a war wasn't quite right—the Burning Legion simply wanted to exploit the chaos to snatch the Kree Empire's scientists and force them into their service.
That in itself wasn't unusual; the Burning Legion wasn't the only one doing it. Plenty of factions took advantage of the war between the Kree and the Skrull Empires to scavenge and pick up bargains.
However, most of those opportunists were wiped out. Then it was the Burning Legion's turn, and the Kree Empire suddenly discovered that the Burning Legion's strength far exceeded anything they'd imagined!
The army sent to eliminate the Burning Legion was completely annihilated. Seizing the opportunity, the Burning Legion then raided and captured quite a number of Kree scientists for their own use. These scientists had no choice—when under someone else's roof, you had to bow your head. But they still hoped the Kree Empire would come and rescue them.
Yet as the fighting dragged on and escalated, there was absolutely no word of the Kree Empire defeating the Burning Legion. Instead, the Burning Legion kept driving them back step by step, to the point that the Kree Empire's war with the Skrull Empire was also affected by this stab in the back. The Skrulls counterattacked and retook a great deal of territory.
The Kree giant battleship adjusted its hull slightly. The missile launch ports on its underside all opened up, densely packed, numbering over a hundred. Fully charged beam cannons extended outward, and in an instant, all of them concentrated their fire, dropping a magnificent curtain of ordnance.
The smaller ships swarming like locusts around it also opened up with everything they had, sprinkling green points of light across the whole sky…
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Yet a single figure shot skyward against the barrage, crashing straight through the giant battleship with her body alone. In the blink of an eye, she blotted out the heavens, and the whole world was dyed blue.
The battleship's shields rippled, shockwave after shockwave sweeping outward like a world-ending hurricane, scouring the entire battlefield in an instant.
The giant battleship's shields barely held on, but the smaller ships around it fared far worse. Explosions dotted the field like countless stars, and before long, they were all reduced to fireballs, plummeting from the sky toward the ground.
Esdeath touched down on tiptoe, instantly arriving in front of the battleship. With every step she took, her presence surged a notch higher. Her icy glare was transmitted by the sensors to the ship's control room, filling everyone there with despair, to the point where they couldn't even breathe.
A monster of the Burning Legion!
Possessing such terrifying power!
Her body seemed completely indestructible. No matter what method of attack the Kree used, they couldn't harm Esdeath in the slightest!
And warriors this powerful—the Burning Legion had two more, plus their unfathomable master, Zod Hess!
In the clouds, ominous black masses converged. Intense energy radiation disrupted the magnetic field, causing ripples to stir across space.
"General, a powerful energy reaction detected…"
In the command room, as soon as the words fell, a chain of explosions sent everyone tumbling head over heels. The battleship's shield screen reached its critical point, and with a sharp crack, it shattered and dispersed.
Esdeath tore through the external defensive armor, bored into the ship's interior, and began wrecking its structure without restraint.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A Kryptonian vaulted into the ship, carrying out explosive destruction. To the battleship, this was an unimaginable disaster.
Deafening explosions rang out continuously within the ship, triggering an irreversible chain reaction. Clusters of demonic flame blossoms bloomed, and rolling black clouds billowed into the air.
The searing shockwaves caused secondary destruction. Massive components broke away from the ship's main body and rained down.
Thick, sky-choking smoke rose from the battleship. Its entire hull tilted, plummeting toward the ground. Even activating the isolation zones couldn't halt Esdeath's relentless advance.
A clash of titans—rampaging energy shockwaves tore through the void, sending out spreading ripples.
The planet's atmosphere, caught in the energy's wake, stirred up endless hurricanes. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled below. The once clear, azure sky became shrouded in black clouds, like a dark curtain blotting out the heavens, so thick that not even sunlight could pierce through.
Soon, the clouds were ripped apart. Hurricanes descended upon the land, whipping dust straight up into the sky…
The onlookers in the vicinity were all stunned speechless. The Burning Legion was just way too powerful, wasn't it? When the Kree fleet had arrived earlier, everyone thought the Burning Legion was doomed. In the blink of an eye, it was the Kree fleet that was doomed?
In the end, Esdeath pushed into outer space and destroyed all eight battleships.
The footage ended there, finally freezing on an enlarged close-up of Esdeath's features, her cold, piercing eyes radiating a chilling intensity.
Alien high-tech; the image was so sharp you could count every single eyelash.
/-\
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