Final Stronghold

Flames swept through the forest, and thick smoke billowed. The Black Armor burst unexpectedly from the woods like a bolt of lightning, driving straight into Strucker's secret facility.

The base's automated defenses were swiftly activated. Unmanned turrets rose one after another, firing pitch-black shells amid dazzling muzzle flashes. Dust several meters high erupted like surging waves, and the ground was soon riddled with craters. Metal shells tore through tree trunks as though they were rotten wood, sending towering trees dozens of meters tall crashing down.

Less than a minute had passed since the first shot of the battle, yet the entire area had already been blasted beyond recognition by all manner of devastating modern weapons.

Michael maneuvered his armor sideways through the gap between two stray shells. With Sherry's assistance, he simultaneously locked onto every turret firing at him. Several miniature missiles shot from his shoulder armor with long trails of smoke, and amid a series of deafening explosions, every unmanned turret was reduced to smoking scrap metal.

"Sir, an interception squad is approaching from the southeast," Sherry warned. "Scans indicate two Laser Tanks, along with twelve personnel equipped with powered exoskeletons and energy weapons."

Hydra's energy weapon technology originated in World War II. At the time, Hydra's founder, Red Skull, had briefly possessed the Tesseract. By studying its inexhaustible and extraordinary energy, Hydra scientists developed a series of energy weapons that had once been the Allies' nightmare.

Though the Tesseract had long since left Hydra's possession, the weapon technology derived from it had been preserved. After years of research and refinement by generations of Hydra's elite scientists, it had been further perfected. Melting through steel armor and piercing tanks posed no problem.

Unfortunately, it was not enough to help them defeat this lone invader.

The moment the two sides clashed, the well-equipped Hydra force was shattered by the Sonic Cannon. Even as their formation broke apart, the Hydra soldiers still struggled to surround him. They raised their guns and fired high-energy beams at the armor hovering in the air, but most were deftly evaded through the opponent's superior mobility.

Flames burst from the Thrusters on Michael's back as continuous pulse beams poured from his palms. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the interception squad had been killed or wounded. The two Laser Tanks finally found an opportunity to lock onto him, their laser cannons unleashing a torrent of fire, only for him to block it with a casual wave that drew a circle in the air. The dense laser beams struck the flame-colored magical barrier with all their might, yet managed only to scatter a few sparks.

Michael raised his right arm, and a slender red laser shot from his Gauntlet. He swept his arm sideways, and the beam sliced across like a soundless blade through iron, cutting both Laser Tanks in half along glowing red-hot lines.

Baron Strucker watched the battle outside through the control center screens, his face so grim it seemed ready to drip water.

He had come again—that "Black Knight," Dr. Angus Norton, if their previous speculation was correct. But where had he gotten his intelligence? He had not only located Hydra's top-secret backup sub-base sites, but had now tracked him all the way to the doorstep of Strucker's personally hidden, highly classified stronghold.

Could he predict the future? Had Norton encountered some strange fortune during his three years of disappearance and gained a superpower like mind reading?

Absurd as that sounded, it seemed to be the only reasonable explanation. Norton could read minds, which was why he was always one step ahead of them. No matter where they hid or what plans they made, the other side would uncover them in advance and act first. If that was the case, they truly had no chance of winning.

No, it was not entirely hopeless. Whether he could read minds or not, Norton had undeniably arrived at their base. That also meant this was Strucker's best opportunity. If they could kill Norton here once and for all, they would eliminate the greatest obstacle to Hydra's future resurgence. Then his ambition of rebuilding Hydra and ruling the world might yet be realized.

At that thought, Baron Strucker's spirits stirred again. He loudly asked a communications officer wearing a headset beside him, "How far has he broken through?"

"The first two defensive lines have already been breached!" the communications officer answered, drenched in sweat. "Captain Middleton's troops will make contact with him in thirty seconds!"

Middleton's squad was likewise one of Strucker's most elite forces. They were well-equipped and highly trained. If they handled the engagement properly, they should be able to delay him for several minutes. Strucker calculated silently, then turned to Ivan Vanko behind him. "How long will it take to activate that armor?"

"Ten minutes should be enough," the burly Russian replied.

"Go prepare it immediately," Strucker ordered, turning his gaze back to the screen. "Shut down every other function in the facility. Divert all energy into the shield."

"Sir," the old man in a white lab coat stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "perhaps we should consider deploying the Twins."

"No. They aren't ready yet," Strucker said coldly. "The time has not come. My men can hold out long enough."

***

The technological level of Baron Strucker's facility was indeed far higher than that of Hydra's other bases. Breaking through the outer defenses took Michael slightly more effort than he had expected, but nothing unexpected happened in the end.

The final Hydra unit attempting to intercept him was wiped out beneath the armor's overwhelming firepower. Michael accelerated toward the building hidden at the very back. When he came within less than twenty meters, he raised his hand and fired two pulse beams. Yet the shockwaves slammed violently into an invisible barrier, stirring pale blue ripples across the outside of the building.

Michael changed direction, and his charging form suddenly soared upward. The Thrusters blasted downward, holding him steady in midair.

"Sherry, do you see that?"

"I see it, sir," the AI replied crisply. "An energy shield is protecting the building's exterior. The Pulse Cannon has no effect."

"Like a turtle hiding in its shell, but Strucker can't stay hidden forever." Michael moved around the shield's perimeter. "Scan the shield's energy efficiency and analyze its durability. Tell me how tough it is."

"The shield was designed to automatically redistribute energy and balance the force whenever it is struck. As long as its energy supply has not been exhausted, it will continually repair itself, unless it is subjected to a widespread attack exceeding its tolerance limit." Sherry quickly delivered her analysis. "The armor's conventional weapons may have difficulty breaking through it. However, I can scan particle fluctuations and analyze the source generating the shield. As long as we focus fire on and destroy the generator, the shield will deactivate. Shall I proceed?"

"No, that would take too long," Michael said. "I prefer a quicker and easier approach."

He took a deep breath and crossed his palms. Two dark green Magic Circles immediately emerged from the armor's palms. Hovering in midair, he gently closed his eyes and began chanting in a low voice.

***

"Sir, he has stopped moving," a communications officer in the control room reported. The enlarged image on the screen showed the Black Armor hovering above the shield.

Strucker sneered. "He must have realized the shield cannot be breached easily. He has no chance of cracking it in the remaining few minutes. He must be scanning the energy source generating the shield right now. We can take this opportunity—"

"Sir." Another communications officer seated nearby had gone deathly pale. Like a terrified child, he pointed at his screen. "You may need to look at this."

Baron Strucker looked in the direction he indicated.

At some point, the sunlight filtering through the forest had been obscured. Dark clouds had silently gathered above the base. Lead-gray clouds slowly swirled directly over the building, while an unseen force manipulated the airflow, churning a spiraling black vortex at the bottom of the cloud cover.

From within that vortex, arrow-like rays of light shot forth.

Baron Strucker stood frozen in disbelief.

The clouds parted, and white light descended. Dazzling paths of light intertwined in intricate patterns, their strokes clearly forming an enormous magical barrier. Like a hand blotting out the sky, it covered the entire building protected within its turtle shell, its presence overwhelming.