"Ah!!!"
Boom... Boom...
Screams of pain and fear, accompanied by the roar of explosions, instantly shattered the community's peace.
The cold wind was biting.
The figures of four Frost Giants, like ghosts, flickered through the community's stairwells. Their hands transformed into sharp ice blades, each swing accompanied by flying frost and snow, and the terrified cries of S.W.O.R.D. Agents.
At this moment, in such a confined environment, the disparity in physical prowess between the Frost Giants and Earthlings was fully apparent.
In the face of the Frost Giants' rampant power, the S.W.O.R.D. Agents were incredibly fragile.
Thick smoke billowed.
The bodies of two Fire Demons burned with raging flames, igniting everything flammable around them.
Amidst the inferno, roars of explosions intermittently sounded. And these explosions further spread the flames, turning half the community into a sea of fire.
Residents on the edge of the community still had a chance to escape.
Residents inside the community and S.W.O.R.D. Agents, however, were swallowed by the sea of fire before they could even react.
The S.W.O.R.D. Agents' combat suits first emitted a scorching smell, then caught fire, burning the Agents inside into charcoal.
The Dark Elf squad leader chuckled. "Ho ho ho, it seems the Fire Demons are indeed superior."
As both Frost Giants and Fire Demons went all out, hunting S.W.O.R.D. Agents, he led the other two Dark Elves in counting for the Frost Giant squad and the Fire Demon squad, acting as referees for the competition.
The S.W.O.R.D. Agents, unfortunately, became the casualties of this game.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
At the S.W.O.R.D. Base, S.W.O.R.D. Director Tyler Hayward was furious.
"Three special operations squads!"
"Just gone like that!"
"Aren't they just a few mere aliens?!"
The Commander at the scene outside the community asked, steeling himself, "Officer, no one dares to go in now. What should we do?"
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
A moment later, Tyler Hayward asked meaningfully, "With such a big fire, the residents who haven't evacuated from the community should all be dead, right?"
The Commander at the scene was silent for a long time, then nodded. "They're all dead."
Tyler Hayward said, "Good, launch the Ex-Wife missiles."
The Commander at the scene asked, "Officer, aren't we going to try to capture the aliens inside alive anymore?"
"Perhaps we can send in Super Soldiers to try?"
"If that really doesn't work, then we can ask the Avengers..."
Tyler Hayward interrupted, "Are you telling me how to do my job, Lieutenant Colonel! Know your place!"
After a while, he explained, "We've already collected several bodies that can be used for research, so the need to capture them alive isn't that great."
"As for our own Super Soldiers, there's no need to put them at risk. The opponent's strength clearly exceeds theirs."
The Commander at the scene just nodded, not expressing the doubts in his heart.
'Besides Super Soldiers, didn't S.W.O.R.D. also incorporate some Super Heroes? Although those Super Heroes are few in number, their combat power shouldn't be worse than the aliens inside, right?'
'Also, he doesn't want to risk his own Super Soldiers, feeling uncertain. Then why not ask Tony's Avengers for help? Why not? Damn politics, to hell with the Super Hero Registration Act.'
After cursing silently, the Commander ordered other Agents to guard the perimeter of the community to prevent anyone from rushing out.
After that, it was just waiting for the missile bombardment.
...
Avengers Tower, inside the laboratory.
Tony and Bruce were still discussing the influence of the soul on Ultron and whether this influence was universal.
Was it effective on other artificial intelligences, or was it just a special case?
Lucas, Gwen, and Erin continued to tour the laboratory.
Ultron acted as the guide.
"Mr. Lucas, Miss Gwen, Miss Erin, this is my brain."
Ultron controlled a mobile robot, pointing to rows of flashing servers and saying, "Important data, after initial processing, will be centralized here for fine processing and storage."
Lucas nodded, seemingly understanding but actually not, secretly glancing at Gwen and Erin.
He found Erin looking confused, like she was impressed but didn't understand.
Good, I'm not the only one who's bad at academics.
And Gwen... why does she seem to understand?
Ultron didn't pay attention to their reactions and continued to introduce, "This is..."
Just then, Ultron seemed to receive some news.
He continued to introduce the laboratory while reporting to Tony.
Performing dual-threaded tasks, completely unaffected.
"Mr. Stark, three 'Ex-Wife' missiles have been detected exploding in the lower district of Rochester."
"Hmm? Rochester? Is it related to the previous abnormal energy fluctuations?"
Tony temporarily put aside the discussion with Bruce about the soul's influence on artificial intelligence and asked Ultron.
Ultron replied, "According to voice information retrieved from S.W.O.R.D.'s database, from the 'Rochester Action Meeting', these three Ex-Wife missiles are related to the previous abnormal energy fluctuations."
Tony frowned. "Elaborate."
Lucas, Gwen, and Erin also cast their gazes of concern.
After organizing its language, Ultron recounted what had happened in Rochester.
Tony asked, "Five factions of aliens fighting? A major community explosion? Is there a live video? Bring it up."
"Yes, Mr. Stark. S.W.O.R.D. satellites captured video."
As Ultron finished speaking, an image was projected onto the screen.
In the image, Sif, The Warriors Three, and the Dark Elf squad, Angel squad, Frost Giant squad, and Fire Demon squad, who participated in the battle, were clearly visible, with details of each person's appearance, clothing, and so on.
"Mr. Stark, this is a high-definition image that I have processed and repaired. If you need it, I can project the original image."
"No need."
Tony frowned, his gaze fixed on Sif and The Warriors Three in the image.
"Why is it them?"
Gwen asked, "Sif and the others seem to be being chased. What's going on? Should we tell Thor and Loki?"
Tony pointed to Sif and The Warriors Three and said, "Ultron, the names of these four people are Sif, Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg."
"From now on, search for their whereabouts, and notify me immediately once found."
"Yes, Mr. Stark."
Tony nodded.
Then he tapped his wristband, calling up Jarvis, "Jarvis, call Thor and Loki."
"Yes, sir."
Beep... Beep...
As Tony waited for Thor and Loki to answer the phone, Gwen asked, "Ultron, what were the casualties of the Rochester community explosion?"
Ultron said, "The data in the S.W.O.R.D. database is 0. But based on other data, I estimate 278 deaths and 34 injuries."
"How many!?"
(End of Chapter)
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