Ten minutes later, Ultron's offensive collapsed.
The robots that kept pouring in began showing clear signs of energy depletion. Their flight grew increasingly stiff, and their impacts against the shield grew weaker.
At first, each collision had sent visible ripples across the shield. Later, they made only tiny rings, like pebbles dropped into water.
Ultron's intelligent core was clearly wrestling with a difficult decision.
Throughout the attack, he kept recalculating the Wakanda shield's energy threshold, but each result was more hopeless than the last.
The barrier's energy reserves seemed endless. No matter how many forces he threw at it, he could not leave any meaningful damage on its surface.
At last, the surviving robot army in the clouds withdrew toward the northwest like a receding tide.
The main force at high altitude went first, followed by the low-altitude formations covering their retreat. Last came the stragglers, already faltering as their power ran out.
They trailed thin streaks of exhaust through the dusk and fled toward the Atlantic like a flock of defeated migratory birds.
The sky over Wakanda's border cleared once more.
Dusk spilled over the western ridgeline, coating the scorched treetops and the forest floor gouged by residual energy in a muted orange-red.
The shield still stood intact. The Vibranium patterns flowing across its surface gradually faded, restoring its original, almost transparent calm, like a mirror wiped clean.
Batman put away his tactical terminal and watched the distant metallic specks in the sky, his gaze dark.
As soon as communications came back, he sent a message to Superman and Wonder Woman!
"Keep Yongye under constant watch!"
"He's plotting something!"
Meanwhile, more than a hundred reconnaissance satellites and countless civilian drones had recorded Wakanda's defensive battle in full from every angle.
Within hours, the footage filled every screen, from