The sharp clang of metal clashing in the distance still reverberated in the air, like someone smashing a bronze bell with a hammer, the echo grating on one's eardrums.
Ye Mo's pupils contracted, and alarm bells went off in his head.
It's not an illusion—it's the resonance produced by Ronan's scepter and the reinforcements' shoulder cannons as they charge! They're about to merge!
His right hand was still raised, his palm burning hot. The residual energy Lightning Control was stuck in his meridians and hadn't dissipated, but the cooling stripes remained motionless. The thought of forcibly activating the interference had just popped into his head a second ago when the sound extinguished the flame.
You can't dodge, you can't hide, and you can no longer rely on micro-management commands.
The next wave is a general offensive; the firepower will be enough to flatten the entire scorched rock belt three feet flat.
The pile of rubble where Star-Lord was lying had collapsed halfway; Rocket was curled up at the bottom of the pit, clutching his electromagnetic net gun and panting heavily; Groot's roots dangled from the broken rock ridge; Gamora kneeling on one knee, her twin blades stuck into the ground to support her body, a large hole burned into her cloak by purple flames.
All six people were within the shooting range.
"Cover me for three seconds!" Ye Mo roared, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against sheet metal.
The moment he finished speaking, he slammed his left hand against his chest, as if breaking open a floodgate within his body. He felt a chill between his brows, a faint silver mark flashed by, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.
It wasn't a system prompt; he forced it out himself.
The fragment of the " Force Field Construction " ability deep within his consciousness, which he had never understood, now felt like a red-hot iron, making his brain throb. He gritted his teeth and stuffed mental energy into it, while recalling the time in Wakanda —that mutant girl stood at the entrance of the mine, her arms outstretched, a layer of blue light enveloping the entire team of workers, and the shells that hit it only stirred up a ripple.
He hadn't learned how to do it, so he could only imitate what others did.
He suddenly opened his arms wide, palms facing outwards.
A semi-transparent barrier, shimmering with a faint blue glow, suddenly expanded from him, rapidly covering a spherical area within a twenty-meter radius. Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, and Gamora were all enveloped within it.
The first high-energy pulse struck the shield precisely.
"Buzz--"
The air trembled, and ripples spread across the surface of the shield, like a stone thrown into water. The energy wave spread outwards, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the scorched rock beneath their feet.
It's not broken.
The second shot followed immediately, striking directly above the shield. The blue light fluctuated violently, and the edges twisted slightly, but the shield held up.
"Damn... it really worked?" Ye Mo was stunned for a moment.
Before they could even catch their breath, the third and fourth shots came one after another. The reinforcements on both flanks began to fire in unison, Ronan's purple flame shockwave in the air also pressed down, hitting the top of the shield like a heavy hammer smashing onto a pot lid.
Thump!
Ye Mo's ears rang, and blood suddenly seeped from his nose, sliding down the corner of his lips. He didn't wipe it away; his right hand braced himself firmly on the ground, while his left hand remained open, his knuckles turning white.
The shield was shaking, like a tent being whipped by a gale.
"Don't come near me, and don't come out," he gritted his teeth as he transmitted through the mental link. "I am the wall now."
Just as Star-Lord was about to lean out from inside the shield to fire, and before he could even pull the trigger, the Negasonic Teenage Warhead hit the barrier and bounced back with a "ding," nearly hitting his helmet.
"What's going on?" he cursed, shrinking back.
"The shield is impenetrable to attacks." Ye Mo's voice tightened. "You can't break out, and they can't break in from the outside—for now."
"How long is 'temporarily'?" Rocket looked up, his eyes wide open.
"I don't know," Ye Mo said honestly. "Let's see how many hits I can last."
As soon as he finished speaking, a purple flame exploded in the sky, and Ronan's scepter slammed into the ground for the third time, unleashing a circular shockwave that slammed into the side of the shield.
"Bang--!"
The entire barrier shook violently, the blue light almost went out, then suddenly flared up again. Ye Mo felt a sweet taste in his throat and forced himself to swallow the blood back. His right fingertips were torn from the excessive force, and blood dripped down his palm, making small dots on the scorched ground.
"The two on the right flank are reloading," Star-Lord suddenly spoke, peering inside the shield. "The one on the left flank is starting to retreat... the commander in the center has raised his cannon."
Ye Mo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He knew what this meant—the enemy had realized that a direct assault was ineffective and was preparing to concentrate their fire on one point, looking for a weak point to break through.
He cannot allow the shield to deform; if it dents, the stress will be uneven, causing it to collapse even faster.
We need to stay calm.
He channeled his last bit of mental energy into the shield's core. His mind was no longer filled with system prompts or tactical simulations, but with the image he had seen at the entrance to the Wakanda mine: the girl standing there, her hair flying wildly in the wind, but she didn't move, with a whole team of terrified workers behind her.
She's not a superhero, not a warrior, just an ordinary person.
But she held on.
"I can do it too," Ye Mo said softly, as if speaking to someone else, or perhaps to himself.
The edges of the shield began to slowly contract, gradually solidifying from an initial irregular ellipse into a more stable sphere. The frequency of surface fluctuations decreased, and the pressure resistance efficiency visibly improved.
"It worked!" Rocket shouted.
"Don't celebrate," Gamora coldly. "They're here."
Directly ahead, three reinforcements advanced side by side, their shoulder cannons charging in sync, the blue light gathering and brightening at the muzzle. High to the left, Ronan hovered motionless, his scepter raised once more, purple flames swirling around the Hammerhead, poised to fire.
Three-dimensional attack, a three-in-one approach.
The first wave was a ground-based salvo.
Three high-energy pulses struck the front of the shield simultaneously, causing a violent flash of blue light and cracks to spread across the surface, like thin lines crawling on glass. Ye Mo's muscles tensed, his legs went weak, and he only managed to stay upright by supporting himself with his left hand.
The second wave was an aerial dive.
Ronan descended from the sky amidst purple flames, his scepter piercing straight at the top of the shield.
"Boom!!!"
The impact caused the entire barrier to collapse for a moment, but Ye Mo forcibly pulled it back to its original shape. He bent his knees and sank half an inch, his boots carving two shallow grooves in the scorched rock.
" Groot..." he gasped, "Can you still stand?"
Groot stood behind the shield, his body bearing burn marks and some broken roots, but he slowly nodded and whispered, "I am Groot."
"Okay." Ye Mo gave a slight smirk. "Then don't pour it."
The third wave is a long-range amplification.
The commander in the middle completed charging of his shoulder cannon, aimed the muzzle at the thinnest part of the shield, the upper right corner, and unleashed a beam of energy, like a red-hot drill piercing straight in.
"Zzz--!"
The shield trembled violently, the blue light flickered, and the cracks rapidly expanded.
Ye Mo bit his tongue, the taste of blood exploding in his mouth, instantly bringing him to his senses. He poured his last bit of mental energy into the core of the shield, whispering, "Just five more seconds... that'll be enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, the shield's light briefly returned, and the spread of the cracks slowed down.
An eerie silence fell over the battlefield.
Outside, the enemy paused their attack, seemingly assessing how long this suddenly appearing barrier could hold.
Inside, all the Guardians of the Galaxy members held their breath and watched Ye Mo.
He had his back to them, his arms still outstretched, and a large wet patch on the back of his black hooded sweatshirt, whether from sweat or blood, was unclear. Blood dripped from his nose down his chin, forming a small puddle on the ground.
No one spoke.
Star-Lord gripped his dual pistols, his gaze complex. Rocket, clutching his electromagnetic mesh gun, opened and closed his mouth. Gamora, leaning on her twin blades, stared at Ye Mo's retreating figure, for the first time refraining from uttering a sarcastic remark.
Groot stood quietly, its roots trembling slightly, as if sensing the vibrations of the ground.
Time seemed to stretch out.
Five seconds passed, and the shield remained intact.
Ten seconds passed, and the enemy still hadn't made a move.
Ye Mo's breathing grew shallower and shallower, and his legs trembled violently, but he did not lower his hands or take a step back.
He knew that as long as he held on, his teammates would have a chance.
As long as he's still standing, this wall won't fall.
In the distance, the commander slowly lowered his shoulder-mounted cannon, seemingly revising his tactics.
Ronan hovered in mid-air, his scepter hanging down, purple flames slowly swirling around him, as if waiting for the next signal.
Ye Mo remained standing in the same spot, arms outstretched, his shield gleaming with a faint blue light, like the last extinguished lamp in a storm.
His lips moved, his voice so soft only he could hear. "Your turn."