When Ye Mo lifted his hand from the recorder, his fingertips were still trembling.
He ignored that, placed his hand on his forehead, and swept his mental energy outwards.
The engines of the Chitauri command ship ahead had only spun halfway when they jammed. Not because they were broken, but because the signal was cut off. The Buzzing Wave had torn a hole in their communication network, so now they couldn't hear commands or issue instructions.
Don't let them recover—now!
This wasn't said aloud; it was directly shoved into the minds of the three people.
Tony was kneeling on one knee, smoke rising from his armored right leg, when he heard this he looked up sharply.
He didn't ask if it would work, nor did he complain that he only had 17% energy left.
With a swipe of the finger, the backup power source is forcibly activated.
"Buzz--"
The engine roared, and I was launched into the air as if I were being ejected, heading straight for the command ship that was trying to escape.
The cannon fired three shots in quick succession, all hitting the observation windows on the bridge. The glass shattered, and the people inside collapsed to the ground.
The command ship came to an abrupt halt, hovering and swaying in mid-air.
On the ground, Thor had already made his move.
He pushed off with his foot, causing all the paving stones on the street to shatter. Using the momentum, he leaped five meters into the air and swung Mjolnir in a wide arc, smashing it down on a group of black-armored warriors who had just climbed out of the transport pod.
The moment the hammer hit the ground, the clouds in the sky suddenly parted.
A bolt of lightning struck, hitting the hammer handle squarely.
"Boom!"
A burst of lightning shot out from the hammer, blasting away all enemies within a ten-meter radius. Some were charred, while others convulsed, unable to get up.
Thor straightened up and shook the dust off his hammer. "This is just the beginning."
On the other side of the platform, Emma Frost's knees buckled, and she almost knelt down.
She braced herself against the ground, her Diamond Form not yet completely faded, her skin still gleaming silver. The amplification field from before had almost drained her, and now even her breathing was trembling.
But she heard Ye Mo's instructions.
They also saw the enemy troops below attempting to regroup.
She gritted her teeth, braced herself with her hands, and forcefully pressed the last bit of energy into the ground.
All three crystal arrays lit up simultaneously.
The Shockwave no longer spreads outwards, but rather pushes outwards in concentric circles like water ripples.
Any enemy hit by the ripples will have their weapon systems malfunction instantly. Gun barrels will twist, cannons will become clogged, and aircraft thrusters will shut down one after another.
An assault vehicle flying at low altitude crashed headfirst down, landing right on top of its own troops.
Ye Mo stood on the wreckage of the billboard, watching the data stream scroll before his eyes.
The Buzzing Wave effect is still ongoing, but its duration is limited. The enemies have begun communicating with gestures, indicating they are attempting to break free from system dependencies.
He glanced down at the Vibranium disc in his hand.
It had turned black and the edges were curled, as if it had been burned.
But he can use it one more time.
He attached the device to the side of the recorder, input the remaining frequency, and then aimed it at the center of the battlefield.
"Snap."
The button is pressed.
Several beams of dark blue light shot out from the front of the device, piercing through the air with the precision of lasers, and hitting five enemy energy nodes respectively.
That was a makeshift power supply tower they erected to power heavy weapons.
When the first beam of light hit, the tower began to smoke.
The second step: the base exploded.
The third tower tilted, triggering a chain reaction that caused the other four towers to explode as well.
The explosions were deafening, and flames shot into the sky.
Tony flipped in mid-air, dodging a flying piece of metal, and glanced back. "Your thing can fire five shots?"
"We can only fire one more shot," Ye Mo said, "And it might not even be accurate."
"Enough," Tony sneered. "I am a rain of missiles."
After he finished speaking, he rushed into the enemy aircraft formation.
The armored left arm unfolds its magazine, and twelve miniature missiles are launched in sequence.
The target wasn't the largest aircraft, but the navigation drones hiding in the rear.
When one aircraft is destroyed, the entire formation's orientation becomes completely disrupted.
Both were destroyed, and the aircraft began to collide with each other.
When the third one exploded, the remaining eight aircraft lost their formation logic. Some spun around in place, some crashed into the wall, and one even turned around and flew away towards the mothership.
Thor wasn't idle either.
He discovered a group of black-armored warriors gathered together, with a shoulder-fired heavy cannon in the middle, its muzzle already charging.
Without saying a word, he grabbed a hammer and charged.
He knocked over three people on the road, electrocuted two, kicked a soldier carrying a rifle away, and charged straight to the artillery position.
The moment the operators looked up, he swung the hammer down.
The hammer didn't hit anyone; it struck the base of the cannon barrel.
With a "crack," the connecting shaft broke.
The cannon barrel tilted, and the charging went out of control.
Three seconds later, it self-destructed.
The shockwave knocked everyone around him off their feet. Thor used the force to jump backward, smashing a still-ringing communicator as he landed.
Emma Frost's lips twitched slightly when she saw this.
But she didn't laugh.
Her vision began to blur, and the light from the crystal array grew weaker and weaker.
She knew she couldn't hold on much longer.
But she still pressed her hand to the ground, squeezing in her last bit of energy.
This time, the Shockwave is no longer just interference.
It transformed into a cutting wave.
With each wave of vibration, the enemy's neural synchronization is forcibly interrupted.
The soldiers, who had been moving in perfect unison, suddenly became uncoordinated. They were a beat slow to raise their hands, a second late to turn around, and their shots went astray.
A small team was charging forward, but halfway through, three men on the left went east, two men on the right went west, and the one in the middle stood still, unsure of who to follow.
Ye Mo seized the opportunity and pressed the Vibranium device again.
The final beam of light shot out, heading straight for the enemy's temporary command post.
It was a mobile base station made up of three armored vehicles, with a high-frequency antenna on top.
The beam of light struck the root of the antenna.
"Bang!"
Sparks flew, the antenna snapped, and alarms blared inside the base station.
Three minutes later, all the screens went black.
Tony circled once in the air to make sure no new flying units were taking off before lowering his altitude.
He hovered ten meters above the ground, his armor damaged in several places, but his weapon systems were still functional.
Thor stood in the center of the square, his hammer tip touching the ground, with scattered arcs of electricity still flickering around him.
Emma Frost knelt on the edge of the platform, her Diamond Form completely gone, her face pale.
Ye Mo stood on the billboard, his left hand supporting his forehead, his right hand still gripping the blackened device.
No one spoke.
But they all knew--
The situation has changed.
We were on the defensive just now, now we're on the offensive.
They were just waiting for an opportunity, but now they've taken control of the game.
Tony opened the communicator. "Hey you down there, are you still alive?"
"Nonsense," Ye Mo replied, "You'll need my signature to get reimbursed for the repair costs."
"You're so poor you can't even afford a power bank, and you still have the nerve to talk about reimbursement?"
"Then you'll fix it and work for me to pay off my debts."
Thor laughed loudly, then looked up at Tony: "Can you two finish fighting before you talk?"
"No." They both said in unison.
Emma Frost finally caught her breath and looked up. "The command ship is still there, but they can't move."
"Then don't let them move," Ye Mo said. " Tony, keep an eye on things up there."
"We've had our eye on it for a while now."
" Thor, clear the area."
"We're waiting."
" Emma Frost, you should rest."
"I don't need it." She struggled to her feet. "I can manage."
Ye Mo glanced at her but didn't try to persuade her further.
He knew she didn't want to be seen as a burden.
He also knew that the counterattack just now wouldn't have been possible without anyone.
Tony controls the skies, Thor crushes the ground, Emma Frost cuts off enemy coordination, and he's in charge of holding the line.
Four people, four points, connected to form a network.
The net has now been closed.
The enemy hasn't collapsed, but their bones have been shattered.
Tony suddenly spoke up, "Hey, you see that tactical genius down there?"
"What do you see?"
"In the northeast corner, behind that armored vehicle, someone is removing a communications board."
Ye Mo scanned the target with his mental energy and immediately locked onto it.
It was a guy wearing standard Chitauri combat gear, but his movements were different from the others. More steady, more skilled.
He was connecting an exposed data cable, the other end of which was connected to an unregistered device.
"He's trying to rebuild communications," Ye Mo said, "Trying to bypass the interference of the Buzzing Wave."
"Should I knock him on the head?" Thor asked.
"No need." Ye Mo raised his hand and aimed the Vibranium device at that spot. "I have one last charge."
He pressed the button.
A beam of deep blue light shot out.
The technician had barely looked up when the beam of light passed right through his shoulder.
He groaned and fell to the ground, his hand still clutching the data cable.
The device emitted black smoke and was completely rendered unusable.
Ye Mo released his grip, and the device fell to the ground with a soft thud.
He leaned against the billboard support and took a deep breath.
"Next," he began, "It's our turn to attack."
Tony adjusted his posture in mid-air, charging his palm cannon.
Thor raised his hammer, and the electricity coiled around him again.
Emma Frost straightened up and slightly raised her fingers.
In the distance, the stationary command ship suddenly flashed a red light.
Ye Mo stared at it.
"They're still trying," he said.
"Let them try," Tony sneered. "Let's see how long they can last."