The Ten Rings had not made many appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
At least, that had been the case up until Qin Xiao transmigrated. As for the comics, Qin Xiao's knowledge was limited to the Mandarin and ten rings.
But now, it seemed the Ten Rings had a very powerful presence in the Middle East.
At least in the Asian part of the Middle East.
How far was it from the desert camp where they had rescued Tony to Afghanistan?
Along the way, they had not only been pursued by six fully armed off-road vehicles.
Now, they were surrounded by nearly twenty off-road vehicles.
Even with two elite agents and Qin Xiao, a super soldier, in their vehicle.
The enemy's powerful firepower had still immediately pinned them down.
Never mind returning fire. In this situation, they would not get far before the heavy machine guns tore them to pieces.
On their way there, they had loaded two six-barreled Gatling heavy machine guns into their vehicle to deal with emergencies and hold off pursuers.
After the vehicle crossed three dunes in succession.
Qin Xiao shouted for them to stop.
He grabbed a Gatling and jumped out.
Of the two Gatlings, Qin Xiao held one, while Tony set the other up on the ground beside him.
Hawkeye still carried his bow and arrows, while Black Widow and Yinsen each held an automatic rifle.
"Once they get past these dunes, they'll be able to spread out and cut us off from every direction. This is our last chance!"
Qin Xiao also lay down behind the dune and raised his head to glance across as he spoke.
"The terrain here can hold them up for a while, but we can't stop them for long. There are too many of them, and our ammunition won't even last a few minutes."
Hawkeye quickly checked their weapons and ammunition as he spoke.
"A few minutes is enough. As long as we make them stop first, we can handle it."
Qin Xiao stared intently at the opposite dune, waiting for all their vehicles to cross it.
Once they entered the natural basin between the two dunes, that would be the time to pin them in place.
"But..."
Natasha picked up the conversation, but before she could finish, the roar of engines came from the other side.
One off-road vehicle after another leaped over the dune and sped down the slope toward them.
"Get ready!"
Qin Xiao stared fixedly as the vehicles opposite them slowly came into view.
When most of the vehicles had entered the lowest part of the basin.
"Now!"
Qin Xiao opened fire first. Although the others did not know exactly what he had in mind.
They still followed Qin Xiao's plan and opened fire.
Two Gatlings and two automatic rifles.
They wove a deadly curtain of bullets.
Combined with Hawkeye slipping in an arrow or two to take down a few drivers.
The off-road vehicles in the basin all reacted.
Several vehicles lined up sideways, with several more behind them, arrayed in turn.
The terrorists opposite them could only hide behind two vehicles to return fire.
The Gatlings' firepower was simply too powerful. One vehicle was not enough to keep them safe.
"Good! Cease fire!"
Seeing the enemy set up a formation right where they were, Qin Xiao raised a hand to stop everyone from firing.
"Barton, if anyone over there tries to drive, shoot the driver dead. If they don't move, neither do you!"
There were only five of them on this side, hiding behind the dune and occasionally changing positions to peek out.
Whenever someone on the other side moved, Hawkeye immediately sent an arrow their way.
If several people moved at once, or tried to drive.
The guns on their side immediately unleashed overlapping fields of fire.
Sure enough, they pinned the enemy firmly in place.
"This is your plan? We're running low on ammunition. What next?"
Black Widow changed magazines as she spoke.
"Next, watch me work. Leave me some supplies. When they move, give them another volley, then leave immediately!"
Qin Xiao watched the people below and spoke calmly.
"No. What about you? What will you do?"
Tony was the first to object. Qin Xiao had come to save him. Tony could not abandon him alone in the desert.
"He doesn't know, but you two should. If you leave first, I'll have a better chance of surviving alone. We're not far from Afghanistan. If you move fast enough, I can definitely hold out until reinforcements arrive."
Qin Xiao looked at Black Widow and Hawkeye as he spoke.
Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged a glance. This was indeed their best option right now.
If they kept the enemy here, ammunition aside, the crucial issue was that no one knew whose reinforcements would arrive first.
They still had too few people. If more enemies arrived and attacked from another direction.
They would have no choice but to let the enemy surround them.
"No, I'm against it! There has to be another way!"
Seeing that Hawkeye and Black Widow actually seemed somewhat persuaded, Tony hurriedly objected at the top of his voice.
"Tony, listen to me. Look here!"
Qin Xiao crooked a finger at Tony.
Just as Tony looked over, Qin Xiao swung a knife-hand strike, chopping at an angle toward the back of Tony's neck.
"Damn it, what did you hit me for?"
Tony held the side of his face and demanded an answer.
Qin Xiao felt a little awkward. He had been afraid of hitting too hard and hurting Tony, so he had not dared use much force. The result was awkward.
"Well..."
Qin Xiao scratched his head, only for Hawkeye to rise and deliver a knife-hand strike to the back of Tony's neck.
Tony gave a muffled grunt and collapsed.
"What about you? Are you going with them, or do you want me to knock you out?"
Qin Xiao glanced sideways at Yinsen.
"I'll go with them. I'll cooperate!"
Yinsen obligingly raised both hands. He had just watched them chop Tony twice before he passed out. It looked painful. Surely it had swollen up.
Yinsen thought timidly to himself.
Just then, two vehicles on the opposite side happened to try driving off in another direction so they could circle back around.
The two Gatlings spun furiously, forcing the vehicles back to their original positions.
Hawkeye also took the opportunity to kill the driver of one vehicle with a single arrow.
"Now! Get going, hurry!"
Hawkeye said nothing. He bent down and picked up the unconscious Tony.
Black Widow, however, looked at Qin Xiao with some concern.
"That look in your eyes-you're not about to confess your love to me, are you? For God's sake, get going! Bring reinforcements back for me. Hurry!"
Qin Xiao spoke fiercely and gave Black Widow a smack on the backside while he was at it.
This time, Black Widow did not get angry. Instead, she rolled her eyes at Qin Xiao.
"Don't force yourself to hold out if you can't. Use guerrilla tactics against them. We'll find you."
"Yeah!"
Qin Xiao nodded firmly.
The convoy of off-road vehicles that arrived later had come straight through the desert from Iran.
Their leader was a fat man with a full beard.
When they had crossed the dune and suddenly come under attack earlier, he had also been the one to direct the convoy into a makeshift fortress.
Although the enemy's firepower was fierce, the fat man was not worried at all.
Because he had plenty of men, while the enemy could not possibly have brought much ammunition.
This was the desert, their territory. They could wear the enemy down to death.
But as things dragged on too long, the fat man began to feel uncertain, so he wanted two vehicles to try breaking out first.
Yet the vehicles had barely started before Gatling rounds came screaming toward them.
And there were those terrifying arrows, each one capable of taking a life.
"Damn it! This won't work either. If this drags on any longer, the United States military will make its move."
The bearded man slapped the sand on the ground anxiously.
In the end, he sent men out twice to try to circle around, only for them to be forced back by the hail of bullets or shot dead outright by one of Hawkeye's arrows!