The platform's tilting momentum hadn't completely stopped, and gravel was still rolling down the slope.
Ye Mo felt a burning pain in his shoulder, but he didn't let up. Although his metallic skin blocked most of the impact, the vibration in his bones was still clear. He had just regained his footing and hadn't even had time to catch his breath when the previously deathly still air around him suddenly changed.
It wasn't the sound of wind, nor the smell of gunpowder.
It was a uniform, menacing sound of footsteps.
The mercenaries were just trying to reorganize their firing positions, their guns raised, preparing for a second round of suppression against Ye Mo and T'Challa. At that very moment, several dark figures suddenly darted out from the shadows of the seemingly abandoned stone pillars around the plaza.
There were no shouts, no warnings.
A flash of cold light.
A mercenary who was about to pull the trigger suddenly froze. A black spear accurately deflected his rifle, piercing his shoulder in the process. Before he could even scream, a tremendous force threw him to the ground, where he could never get up again.
Immediately afterwards, a series of dense whooshing sounds erupted from three other directions simultaneously.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Three Vibranium daggers traced perfect arcs through the air, instantly piercing the knee joints of two other armed mercenaries. Screams of agony rose and fell, and the previously tight firepower network completely collapsed at that moment.
Ye Mo paused for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
Emerging from the shadows was a group of women clad in black, form-fitting suits. They wore masks, revealing only pairs of chillingly calm eyes. Each held a Vibranium weapon unique to Wakanda, their movements as fluid as a precise dance.
Okoye walked in front.
The spear in her hand was still pointed at the ground, but her aura was so overwhelming that it seemed to freeze the surrounding air. She didn't even glance at the fallen mercenaries; her gaze was fixed on T'Challa, who stood in the center of the ruins, before turning to Ye Mo.
"His Majesty."
Okoye's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the chaotic battlefield. She nodded slightly to T'Challa as a greeting, then turned to the remaining mercenaries, her tone cold and hard. "Clean up the scene. Keep any survivors for questioning; kill any who resist."
This was said crisply and directly, without any hesitation.
The female guards did not stop at their commander's orders; they scattered like wolves entering a sheepfold. The mercenaries who had been so arrogant just moments before appeared utterly vulnerable in the face of such a vast difference in strength. The female guards' teamwork was impeccable; one held the line while the other launched a surprise attack. In less than ten seconds, the enemy, who had initially held a numerical advantage, was reduced to nothing but howls of agony.
T'Challa watched this scene, his tense shoulders finally relaxing. He dusted himself off, and his eyes filled with gratitude as he looked at Ye Mo. If Ye Mo hadn't withstood that wave of sound, he might already be seriously injured and lying on the ground, without even having time to react.
"Well done," T'Challa said in a low voice, a hint of relief tinged with exhaustion.
Ye Mo didn't speak, but simply adjusted his breathing. The strain from his Steel Bone State was slowly subsiding, replaced by a deep, bone-chilling pain. He glanced at the still-trembling platform ruins not far away, and a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Klaue is still there.
The Vibranium dealer was huddled behind a tilted metal plate, his face ashen. He gripped the spare controller tightly in his hand, his knuckles white from the force. The female guards around him didn't rush to arrest him immediately, but instead formed a semi-circular encirclement, blocking all escape routes.
This silence is more suffocating than any threat.
Klaue looked up at T'Challa, who was approaching step by step, then at Ye Mo, who stood upright in the distance despite his disheveled appearance, and finally his gaze fell on Okoye. His eyes were filled with fear and resentment, like Beast trapped in a cage, ready to make a final struggle at any moment.
"You... you can't do this to me!"
Klaue's voice trembled slightly as he tried to mask his panic with words, "I'm the former vice president of Stark Industries! I have the right..."
"Shut up."
Okoye interrupted him, his tone as flat as if he were discussing something trivial, "Here, your identity means nothing. There is only obedience, or death."
She took a step forward, the spear lightly tapping the ground with a crisp sound.
This step completely shattered Klaue's psychological defenses.
He knew he had lost. Not only had he lost to T'Challa's power as Black Panther, but he had also lost to this meticulously planned hunt. Those hidden sentry posts, those seemingly random deployments, were all traps set for him. He had no chance of escape from the very beginning.
Ye Mo leaned against the broken wall, watching this scene, feeling little joy of victory. He just felt exhausted. The feeling of his soul being emptied made him unsteady on his feet, but he forced himself to stay upright.
Emma Frost emerged from behind cover, her face still pale, but her eyes had regained their clarity. She walked to Ye Mo's side and asked in a low voice, "Are you alright?"
"It's alright." Ye Mo shrugged, trying to sound relaxed. "My bones are just a little sore."
Emma Frost glanced at him, then said nothing more, silently extending her mental energy to continue monitoring Klaue's every move. She knew this villain wouldn't give up so easily.
Sure enough, just as the atmosphere was about to reach a stalemate, Klaue's hand suddenly moved.
He neither ran away nor begged for mercy, but instead abruptly pressed the backup controller in his hand to a specific frequency.
"Buzz--"
A deep, mechanical hum came from beneath the floor beneath Klaue's feet.
Ye Mo's pupils contracted slightly, and alarm bells rang in his mind. He felt the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble slightly, and a familiar energy fluctuation was rapidly gathering.
"Not good!"
Ye Mo shouted, trying to rush over to stop him, but his body couldn't keep up with his mind.
T'Challa also sensed the anomaly. His Vibranium Suit instantly covered his entire body as he lunged at Klaue, attempting to seize the controller.
However, it was all too late.
A twisted smile appeared on Klaue's face, a kind of madness born of despair.
"If I can't have it, no one else can either!"
As the last button was pressed, the floor beneath Klaue's feet suddenly cracked open, and a powerful gust of air erupted, lifting him up. A hidden single-person aircraft rose from the ground and quickly enveloped his body.
Engines roared, sparks flew.
As Klaue took off, he glanced back at Ye Mo and T'Challa, his eyes filled with resentment.
We will meet again.
These words, accompanied by the sound of the aircraft accelerating, dissipated into the air.
Ye Mo reached out, his fingertips just centimeters from Klaue's aircraft, but he couldn't grasp it no matter what he did. The wind pressure made his hoodie flutter wildly, but he could only watch helplessly as the figure broke through the clouds and disappeared into the distance.
The square returned to silence.
Only the sounds of the female guards sheathing their swords and the occasional chirping of birds in the distance remained.
Okoye walked to T'Challa's side and knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty, shall we pursue them?"
T'Challa a deep breath, the anger in his eyes gradually subsiding, replaced by a profound calm. He shook his head. "We can't catch up. That's the latest stealth aircraft; our conventional methods can't lock onto it."
He turned around and looked at Ye Mo and Emma Frost.
"However, this time we owe it all to them." T'Challa pointed at Ye Mo, "Especially you, Ye Mo. If you hadn't blocked that attack, the situation might have been completely different."
Ye Mo waved his hand, feigning nonchalance, and said with a smile, "It was nothing, don't worry about it. Anyway, I have nowhere else to go, and I can't just stand by and watch my friend get bullied."
It sounded a bit slick, but T'Challa understood the implication. He nodded, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, "You're right. Let's go, it's not safe here, let's go back to base."
Okoye stood up and directed the female guards to begin clearing the battlefield.
Ye Mo rubbed his aching shoulders, feeling the lingering effects of the Steel Bone completely fade, replaced by a bone-chilling exhaustion. He glanced at the sky; Klaue's shadow was no longer there, only endless blue.
The battle is over.
But Ye Mo knew this was just the beginning. Klaue wouldn't give up easily, just like himself. In this world full of superpowers and conspiracies, living a peaceful life was harder than climbing to heaven.
"Let's go," Emma Frost said softly as she walked to his side, "We'll go back and treat your wound."
Ye Mo nodded and followed T'Challa and Okoye out of the square.
The sunlight shone on them, casting long shadows.
The road ahead is long, but at least for this moment, they are safe.