Melee Mage

Garrett gave Ward a look, and the latter pulled the trigger without hesitation—or rather, at least tried to.

But Agent Ward was startled to find that his trigger had suddenly jammed as though it had been filled with lead. No matter how hard he tried, he could not pull it.

After hearing no gunshot for a while, Garrett shot him a suspicious sidelong glance. "Ward?"

Michael shrugged. "Accidents are unavoidable, aren't they?"

The two experienced Hydra agents reacted quickly. Ward immediately discarded his pistol and stepped forward, thrusting his index and middle fingers at Michael's eyes. Garrett drew his gun with one hand while flashing a dagger with the other. He sidestepped around to Michael's flank, and the blade, trailing a silver gleam, slashed in from an extraordinarily tricky angle.

Grant Ward was a subordinate Garrett had personally brought into Hydra, and Garrett had personally taught him all his skills. Not only were both men first-rate in close combat, but they could complement and support each other. With their seamless coordination, they attacked together like a master with four arms and four legs.

And no matter how brilliant Dr. Angus Norton was, he was ultimately just a researcher. His field belonged in a laboratory, not on a battlefield. Facing two top agents alone, he had no chance whatsoever.

At least, Ward and Garrett were both certain of that.

But to their surprise, Michael merely took a step back and turned sideways, evading their pincer attack. His control of distance was incredibly precise, and his angle of evasion seemed meticulously calculated. Ward's fist barely missed the tip of his nose, while Garrett's blade swept past his waist in a cold flash, lightly grazing the outside of his suit jacket.

It had to be a coincidence.

Neither of them paused, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks. Michael moved effortlessly through their combined assault, counterattacking at will. His techniques were extraordinarily strange, yet bizarrely powerful. Garrett and Ward prided themselves on having seen fighting styles from all over the world, but they had never heard of this peculiar martial art.

Of course they had never seen it, because most of Michael's techniques came from Kamar-Taj. Although he had gone there to learn the mystic arts, the mages there seemed inexplicably more fond of close-quarters brawling.

The Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, had explained the relationship between soul and body to him on his first day at Kamar-Taj. She believed that cultivating the mind and soul could transform the body from within. By channeling the spatial energy drawn upon during spellcasting into the body, one could even enable patients with paralyzed spines to walk normally.

Thus, based on similar principles, magic could naturally enhance a mage's physical abilities and reflexes to a certain extent. It could also allow mages to perform movements impossible for ordinary people with the aid of magic. In terms of results, it was rather similar to certain superpowered enhanced humans.

After Michael leaped into the air in a stylish pose, sent Ward flying with a midair sweeping kick, then planted a front kick squarely into Garrett's nose and knocked him down, the two agents finally had no choice but to accept that they really were no match for this laboratory desk worker.

Garrett knelt on one knee and looked up at Michael in astonishment. "Impressive. What did you do to yourself? Enhancement serum?"

"Nothing like that. I simply trained properly."

"Even after all this time, you still manage to surprise people, Dr. Norton." Garrett rose with a rough breath and smiled, yet he did not seem flustered in the slightest. "Fortunately, this operation had made me feel vaguely uneasy from the start, so I kept something in reserve. Otherwise, I really might have fallen into your hands."

"Oh?"

As soon as Garrett finished speaking, three shadows sprang out from different directions. The three figures wrapped in pitch-black combat uniforms seemed to have fallen from the sky, landing on one knee with heavy, resounding impacts. They formed a triangular formation around Michael.

Michael's gaze slowly swept across the three of them. "Let me guess. Your prized creations—the Death Warriors?"

"You actually know about that project?" Garrett was somewhat surprised.

"Using a half-baked drug like the Centipede Serum to enhance soldiers' bodies, then turning the test subjects into cyborgs and equipping them with a few conventional weapons." Michael's face remained expressionless, but his tone was clearly mocking. "I can imagine how desperately you wanted a substitute for the Super Soldier Serum to come up with such defective products."

"Perhaps. The Centipede Project is indeed not perfect yet, but they have their advantages." Garrett waved a hand. "Kill him."

The three Death Warriors raised their hands at once. Miniature rocket launchers sprang out from the mechanical devices mounted on their wrists. Three rockets shrieked simultaneously, streaking toward Michael from three different directions with blazing tails.

The overlapping explosions shook the sky, and the shockwave forced Garrett and Ward to stagger back several steps. The scorching air churned violently, and the flames became a tornado, like a roaring fire dragon soaring into the heavens. Red-hot shrapnel tore through the curtain of fire and scattered in every direction.

Garrett looked at the flames reddening the sky and could not help sneering. He did not know how his opponent had enhanced his body over the past three years, but in his understanding, even Captain America, the most successful Super Soldier in legend, should have been torn to pieces by an attack like that.

"Goodbye, Doctor," he murmured.

Yet in less than three seconds, his confident smile froze on his face.

He saw the flames gradually disperse with the black smoke, revealing a massive, fiery hemispherical barrier. Countless Magic Circles had formed across its surface, their intricate patterns slowly rotating as magical energy flowed through them. Like half an eggshell, it protected Michael within, as though it had marked out an inviolable domain. Heat and fire licked at the sturdy defense again and again, only to fail each time.

Ward's expression froze. He slowly turned his head, only to find an expression on Garrett's face much like his own.

The lines forming the Magic Circle gradually faded away. Michael raised a hand and made a small half-circle in the air. A new Magic Circle opened at once, but this time it was a portal. Piece after piece of iron-black machinery flew through from the other side, spitting light and flame as they attached themselves to his body. Every component fitted together with precision, soon completely encasing Michael and transforming into a highly technological suit of Black Armor.

The power source activated, the V-shaped visor lit up, and a faint hum of flowing energy ran through the armor. The Black Armor slowly raised its head, and an icy, bone-chilling pressure flooded the area.

"...Did you see that?" Ward asked in a low voice.

"Obviously," Garrett replied grimly. "I'm not blind."

(Thanks to reader April~Fish for the 2,000 Qidian Coins reward, and thanks to reader ~~Arrow Bean Empty~~ for the 100 Qidian Coins reward!)