Barton Raised His Bow and Stared in Dumbfounded Silence

"You can't do this, Andrew!"

Having seen through his intentions, Coulson raised his gun and fired.

But the angle of his shots was utterly off. Even Barton could only stare with a face full of exasperation and silently shake his head.

No one knew what Andrew was thinking, but he cooperatively waved a hand, sending the bullets whizzing back.

Coulson was battle-hardened. He dodged the bullets with a tactical roll, then straightened up and fired again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Andrew played along perfectly. For a moment, the two exchanged blows back and forth in an intensely fierce battle.

Behind them, Hawkeye Clint Barton stood with his bow raised, staring in stunned silence.

In his long career as an agent, he had never seen such a bizarre fight.

Coulson fired his gun, but the angle was so far off the target it might as well have been on another continent.

Though the shots clearly could not hit him, Andrew unusually cooperated by controlling the bullets and reflecting them back one by one.

The two went back and forth, working together with the practiced coordination of a staged match.

Click, click.

The military vehicles had finally arrived late to the party.

An Apache attack helicopter rapidly lifted off from the military position and flew over, opening fire in their direction.

A flicker of irritation passed through Andrew's eyes.

The missile speeding toward him abruptly curved through the air and, amid the pilot's disbelieving expression, slammed into the attack helicopter with a boom.

But that was not all.

The exploding helicopter, now a massive fireball, had its direction temporarily altered by Andrew and was hurled back toward the military position.

Another violent explosion followed, leaving the military with heavy casualties.

Twang!

One of the bridge's cables snapped, and the bridge deck lurched violently.

The crowd that had yet to leave erupted into screams, cries, and panicked wails.

Some drivers were so frightened that they abandoned their cars altogether, scrambling out and running for their lives into the distance.

Barton finally found his chance. He leaped high into the air, arched his body, and fired an arrow upward.

Protected by a psychic shield, Andrew confidently made no move to block it. Only when the arrow struck the shield and burst into a net did he realize that this arrow was anything but ordinary.

Just as he was about to tear the net away, two more arrows struck his shield almost simultaneously and exploded violently.

The force of the blast swept him up and smashed him down from the air.

Boom!

The psychic shield around him blocked the explosive impact, but the reaction force from the ground still injured his internal organs.

The psychic shield shattered completely. The Killing Stone surged with even more power, infecting Andrew's body. His pupils grew increasingly crimson as he lifted his right foot and stepped forward.

"Coulson—!!"

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and Andrew's head burst like a watermelon.

As if it were some kind of joke, he died.

The blasted-away Killing Stone Fragment whizzed into the river beneath the bridge and vanished without a trace.

Coulson crouched behind cover and looked toward the source of the gunshot.

"Barton!"

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Gripping his bow, Barton sprang forward several times in quick succession, racing into the distance.

Fifteen minutes earlier.

On the rooftop of a high-rise building eight hundred meters from the Brooklyn Bridge, Killer Bee Cammy White held a Barrett sniper rifle and aimed at Andrew's position.

"Killer Bee, take him out quickly. We need to leave New York for a while."

A deep voice came through the earpiece in her left ear.

"Understood."

"The Killing Stone Fragment is on that Andrew. If possible, recover it. Shadaloo still hasn't fully figured out what that thing is."

"That may be difficult. I saw S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Coulson on the bridge, along with a mysterious person carrying a bow.

And on the other end, the military has already begun setting up a position."

Cammy White's tone was cold and flat, without much inflection.

"Then there's nothing we can do."

The voice in her earpiece continued.

"Anyway, if you don't want Lord M. Bison to scold you, hurry up and take care of Andrew.

Once it's done, don't hesitate. I'll cover your escape."

"Understood."

Cammy White expressionlessly ended the transmission and waited in silence.

She watched Andrew's clash with S.H.I.E.L.D., then watched as the military launched its missile strike.

Only after Andrew was caught in a suddenly deployed net and blasted onto the bridge by the explosions of two arrows did Cammy White finally spot an opening.

Her gaze narrowed slightly. Her index finger tightened around the trigger as her lips rapidly ran through the calculations.

"Target: Andrew.

Height: 1.77 meters. Weight: 69 kilograms. Superpowered experimental subject from the Ninth Laboratory."

"Calculating target distance: 834 meters.

Wind speed: 24 kilometers per hour.

Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius.

Humidity: 68%."

Click.

Bang—!

The instant she pulled the trigger, the Barrett round tore through the air with terrifying kinetic force.

Before Andrew, whose telekinetic shield had shattered, could react, a bullet pierced straight through his head.

"Mission accomplished."

Casting a regretful glance at the Killing Stone Fragment falling into the sea, Cammy White immediately rose to her feet and swiftly packed up her rifle, preparing to leave.

On the bridge, Barton fixed his gaze on the source of the gunshot. His exceptional vision caught sight of a blonde woman?

After quickly leaving the high-rise, carrying a violin case as she twisted through filthy, cluttered alleys, changing outfits several times in succession, Cammy White let out a breath and was about to depart.

"Found you."

Along with those words, an arrow shot toward her at high speed, pinning the hat Cammy White had used as a disguise to the wall.

"Oh, a beautiful young lady.

But miss, could you tell me your true identity?"

Barton leaped down from the rooftop, confidently aiming his bow at Cammy White. He believed that at this distance, none of her movements could evade his shot.

"In this age filled with firearms, seeing someone still insist on using a bow and arrows, I inferred that your abilities must be far from ordinary."

Cammy White spoke matter-of-factly, her tone utterly flat.

Barton could not detect even a trace of panic on her face, and instead felt a growing unease.

"Based on the distance between my position and Andrew's, you would need to cover at least 1,400 meters to catch up to me, yet you still pursued me without hesitation."

She paused and tilted her head slightly.

"Your courage is indeed admirable, but why are you so certain this isn't a trap?"

A trap?

Oh no!!

Hawkeye Barton sensed that something was wrong. Just as he turned to look back, a pair of thick arms lunged from behind and wrapped around his waist, lifting him high into the air.

Barton struggled to resist, but the attacker was incredibly strong.

The man seemed highly skilled at wrestling. He leaned backward and executed a belly-to-belly suplex.

Barton's head struck the ground, and the violent impact left him dizzy.

But it was not over. One of his arms was seized, and a fierce fireman's carry slammed Barton brutally into the ground.

Barton spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire frame ached terribly. He did not dare let the fight continue at this pace, rolling to his feet and quickly pulling away.

Only then did he finally see what his attacker looked like.

The man stood 2.2 meters tall, with vicious features, a shaved head, and an enormous build.

His muscles bulged high, a deep scar ran across his chest, and both the bandages wrapped around his arms and his stance exuded the style of Muay Thai.

"Who are you?"

"Heh heh."

Grinning, the man eagerly assumed his stance and looked at him with naked provocation.

"Defeat me, and I'll tell you my name!"