Chapter 241: Battling the Snake (Part 3)
"Attention everyone, the Target is breaking through towards the East Direction! All defense echelons prepare to intercept!"
Buzzing, Frank hung from the hatch of a helicopter with one hand, staring intently at the Yamata no Orochi crawling and slithering down the mountain.
The Yamata no Orochi's massive body crawled into the burning Aokigahara (Sea of Trees). The towering trees, over ten meters high, were less than a third of the Yamata no Orochi's snake body.
As it crawled, the burning towering trees were crushed down in swathes with a rumble. In the center of the burning Sea of Trees, it forcibly created an Isolation Zone by crushing everything in its path.
Four attack helicopters and dozens of Iron Armors pursued the Yamata no Orochi, attempting to stop it. Unfortunately, neither missile attacks, Vulcan Cannon fire, nor even Tony Stark controlling an Iron Armor's self-detonation could stop this behemoth's determination to head East.
"What's in the East?" Tony Stark asked with some doubt.
Frank even ordered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Intelligence Department to connect with Monarch to inquire about the Yamata no Orochi's Target.
This question wasn't just on Frank and Tony Stark's minds.
"East Direction, eighty kilometers East of the Yamata no Orochi is Tokyo. At its speed, if we can't intercept it, it will enter our country's heartland within two hours!
Gentlemen! If we don't want to see a repeat of the Fall of Tokyo, we must intercept it at all costs!"
At the foot of Mount Fuji, hundreds of Japanese-made Type 10 Tanks formed a Steel Flood, kicking up smoke and dust as they maneuvered towards the East Direction of Mount Fuji.
In the sky, dozens of Apache attack helicopters had already arrived at the designated location ahead of time, forming an aerial defense position.
Twenty kilometers away from Mount Fuji, at the Command Center, the short Japanese Defense Minister looked solemnly at the several Generals of the Japan Self-Defense Forces standing before him, speaking earnest words of encouragement.
Just as the atmosphere was stirred up with some fervor by the Japanese Defense Minister's words, a Middle-aged Man wearing glasses and bearing the shoulder insignia of a Major General hesitantly voiced his concern:
"Mr. Tanaka, the Japan Self-Defense Forces are unilaterally deploying attack helicopters and the Air Force. Shouldn't we seek General Krav's Order? Without the Federation's approval, it seems we don't have the authority to open fire!"
The Major General's words were like a sharp needle pricking a fully inflated balloon. The morale that the Japanese Defense Minister had painstakingly stirred up immediately deflated completely.
Japanese Defense Minister Tanaka Junpei's old face, honed by decades in politics, twitched a few times, almost losing his composure.
"The situation at Mount Fuji has already been reported to the Federation. General Krav has ordered the four Navy Battleships at Okinawa Military Base to blockade Honshu Island to prevent the disaster from escalating!"
Tanaka Junpei did not directly answer the question about the authority to open fire. He implicitly stated that the situation had been reported, the 'dads' already knew, and had sent people to set up a fence nearby.
"Officer, the Target has reached the outer perimeter of the Aerial Interception Position! Requesting permission to attack!"
In the Corner of the Command Center, a Communications Soldier stood up and reported.
"Order! All units engage freely!" Tanaka Junpei commanded the Military Officers, "At all costs, we must stop the Yamata no Orochi!"
"Yes, Officer!" The young Communications Soldier saluted and quickly used the communicator system to relay Tanaka Junpei's Order.
"Gentlemen, the front-line command will be entrusted to you. I wish you all success in battle!"
After watching the several High-level Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces take off in attack helicopters, Tanaka Junpei turned and returned to the temporary Command Center Tent.
"East! Eighty kilometers East is indeed Tokyo. Could it be because of Tokyo's population? This Great Demon wants to eat people!"
In front of the map, Tanaka Junpei's finger moved constantly. He couldn't think of anything in Tokyo besides its dense population that could attract this Giant Beast's attention.
"It's the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant! The leaking Nuclear Reactor there attracted the Yamata no Orochi! Titans feed on atomic energy! It must be the Nuclear Reactor there that attracted it!"
Ishiro Serizawa, who narrowly escaped death from the Japanese Observation Post, contacted the World Security Council's High-level Staff through Monarch's channel. This important intelligence was quickly relayed to the Command Center at the foot of Mount Fuji.
"Nuclear Reactor, how far is it from here?"
Captain America's voice sounded in Tony Stark's communicator.
"Three hundred kilometers! Between Mount Fuji and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, there's a Japanese city. Currently, over two hundred thousand residents haven't been evacuated. We must intercept it before it enters the City!"
"In this situation, I might need a Hulk!" Tony Stark looked at his surrounding 'family members', which were reduced by half, and stated his request to Captain America.
"As you wish!"
A few seconds after Captain America's voice ended, Tony looked up.
A green figure leaped down from a Quinjet, whistling as it crashed down.
"Hulk!"
A roaring voice accompanied the Green Big Guy, echoing in all directions.
Tony recognized who the reinforcements were, and his nervous mood immediately relaxed. After all, with Hulk, a top-tier powerhouse, present, it could at least buy some time for the nearby Japanese residents to evacuate.
"Hulk!"
The Hulk leaped down from high altitude, landing directly in front of the Yamata no Orochi. The Ground was forcibly smashed into a Deep Pit by him.
Climbing out of the Deep Pit's edge with his wide green palm, the Hulk roared at the Yamata no Orochi before him, clenched his fist, ready to teach the Yamata no Orochi a lesson.
"Hiss!"
Several snake heads of the Yamata no Orochi swayed, and the figure of the Green Little Guy was reflected in its cold Snake Eyes.
A black scale snake head suddenly lunged forward, opening its large mouth, and directly snatched the Hulk into its mouth with one bite, swallowing him with a gulp.
"Captain, the Hulk seems, seems to have been eaten by that Giant Snake!"
Seeing this scene, Tony Stark was stunned. He said to Captain America with some uncertainty.
All along, the Hulk had been one of their main powerhouses in the Avengers. Even Thor, the God of Thunder from Asgard, was slightly inferior to the Hulk.
Such a powerful Hulk being swallowed in one bite by this Giant Snake made Tony Stark even doubt if he was seeing things.
Frank watched the Hulk being swallowed by the Yamata no Orochi in one bite, and silently put the ejection knife he had drawn back into his Five Yin Pouch.
Giving up on the idea of close combat, an army green shoulder-fired missile appeared on his shoulder. After aiming, he aimed at the Yamata no Orochi and pulled the trigger.
Meanwhile, after swallowing the Green little bean, the Yamata no Orochi's massive body continued to slither towards the foot of the mountain.
"Target entering Range!"
On an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, the Helicopter Pilot watched the behemoth rushing towards him with a rumble. Its several huge snake heads, each capable of easily opening its mouth and swallowing him along with the entire helicopter.
His hands were sweating nervously. After hearing the firing Order from the communicator, he pressed numerous weapon system firing buttons on the helicopter in one breath.
Six Hellfire anti-tank missiles simultaneously shot towards the Target.
After receiving the Order to fire freely, dozens of attack helicopters hovering in the air to intercept almost immediately fired the most powerful weapons on their helicopters.
Over two hundred Hellfire Missiles bombarded the Yamata no Orochi's body.
Boom boom boom boom! The Giant Snake, as large as a small mountain, was instantly engulfed by the exploding artillery fire.
In the hearts of the Japanese people, the Yamata no Orochi has always been the most powerful Great Demon, its status among Yokai in myths and legends even surpassing Tamamo-no-Mae, Tengu, and Shuten-dōji, the three great Yokai.
With a mythical Yokai suddenly appearing in reality, it was naturally false to say that these Japanese Soldiers weren't having doubts in their hearts.
Seeing the Hellfire Missiles hit the Target, the soldiers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces attack helicopter formation finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The effectiveness of the Hellfire missile had been fully proven on the Iraq battlefield.
Iraq, known as the world's third largest army, had over five hundred tanks destroyed by Hellfire Missiles.
Although this Giant Beast was massive, could it be comparable to a tank?
"Hiss!"
"Hiss!"
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
Before the smoke and dust generated by the Hellfire Missile explosion could dissipate, several huge hissing sounds suddenly rose from the smoke and dust.
Then, several bursts of venom breath shot out from the smoke and dust.
Several attack helicopters that were targeted failed to dodge in time and were directly sprayed by this yellow-green viscous liquid.
The steel body of the attack helicopters was instantly corroded by this highly corrosive venom.
The Helicopter Pilots who were hit by the venom were dissolved into bone by the venom before their helicopters even crashed.
"Attention, evade! Attention, evade!"
Venom and lava fireballs were constantly spat out from the smoke and dust...
In less than two minutes, over a dozen attack helicopters crashed and exploded.
It wasn't until Tony Stark's Iron Armor provided reinforcements and blocked these breaths that the remaining attack helicopters managed to stabilize the situation and withdraw from the battlefield.
"Officer Tanaka, the attack helicopter squadron's blockade failed. Send in the fighter jets and bomber groups!"
In the forward Command Post, a Japan Self-Defense Forces Major General contacted Defense Minister Tanaka Junpei in the rear.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces Air Force is equipped with Federation F-35 Fighter Jets.
It is the Federation's fifth-generation single-seat, single-engine Fighter Jet/Joint Strike Fighter, and also the world's largest single-engine, single-seat carrier-based Fighter Jet.
It possesses a high degree of stealth design, advanced electronic systems, and a certain degree of supersonic cruising ability.
Currently, the Japanese Air Force is equipped with less than eighty of these Fighter Jets.
Perhaps because the Yamata no Orochi had reached a Safety Distance from Mount Fuji's main Volcano Crater, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Air Force even used powerful aerial bombs and air-to-ground missiles against the Yamata no Orochi.
......
In Earth's low-Earth orbit, the Federation's Satellite Platform deployed here slowly activated.
Amidst the dazzling activity of mechanical modules, a silver-gray Tungsten Rod, weighing three tons, was pushed into the launcher.
This massive Satellite Space Station Weapon Platform, like a giant metal umbrella unfurled, micro-adjusted its bearing with the repeated activation of several thrusters.
This space-based weapon, the "Rod of God Weapon System," designed and built for the Federal Department of Defense by an Arms Company under Tang Group, is very special. Once the Tungsten Rod is launched, its impact point cannot be adjusted.
Inside the Federal Department of Defense's Military Base, a group of Research Personnel under the Department of Defense were constantly recalculating the impact point of this Metal Tungsten Rod. The Giant Dragon that had previously intruded upon Earth had proven with its life that the impact force carried by this three-ton Tungsten Rod falling from Outer Space was completely sufficient to penetrate the carapace of any carbon-based life.
What was true for the Giant Dragon was also true for this eight-headed Giant Snake.
They calculated that this Tungsten Rod was sufficient to pierce the Yamata no Orochi entirely, and the remaining kinetic energy would be enough to tear open its body.
......…
"The Department of Defense says it will take about dozens of seconds for the Rod of God to descend from the sky to the Ground. At the Yamata no Orochi's speed, it can dodge it."
At high altitude, over ten miles from the Mount Fuji battlefield, a massive Helicarrier hovered high above, entering invisibility.
The Helicarrier's portholes were constantly projecting the scene of the Yamata no Orochi's rampage.
Dozens of tons of tanks were flung away like toys by its tail.
Attack helicopters were bitten and exploded by it... The Yamata no Orochi, simply by moving its body, crushed hundreds and thousands of Japan Self-Defense Forces Soldiers to death.
Tang Song, who arrived via a space gate, was still wearing his golf attire, resting his chin on his hand, watching the projection on the porthole.
He had learned this teleportation technique from the Ancient One. Unlike the Ancient One, who used dimensional power, Tang Song utilized the power of the Space Gem to cast teleportation gate.
Hill, dressed in a black business suit, stood beside him, reporting the latest developments from the Department of Defense.
"The White House's mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. is to trap it and buy time for the Rod of God's launch."
In the blue translucent projection, the Yamata no Orochi's snake body was over two hundred meters long, and its weight of over thirty thousand tons caused the Ground to shake like an earthquake as it moved.
Containing this Big Guy could only be done by piling up human lives, and it wasn't guaranteed to be effective. The Bureaucrats in the White House and the Federal Department of Defense clearly wouldn't consider the life and death of those below them.
This has never been part of their cost calculation.
Anyway, it was in Japan, not on the Federal Mainland, so there was no need to consider casualties.
Tang Song looked at the Yamata no Orochi on the screen, comparing it to the two King Skull Lizards and the Mingshe he encountered in the Subterranean World.
Although they were all Titans, compared to the Yamata no Orochi, both the King Skull Lizard and the Mingshe seemed incredibly immature in terms of both size and strength.
Was it because of the surface Earth, or because the Yamata no Orochi had lived for a long time?
Just as Tang Song was deep in thought, an incident suddenly occurred on the porthole projection before him.
......
The Yamata no Orochi, which was rampaging through the Japanese tank Steel Flood, suddenly twisted its snake body like it had gone mad.
Clang! One snake head swung up and down, directly smashing a Japanese armored vehicle into a pile of scrap metal.
This snake head let out a painful hissing sound, and a green fist, like a green bean sprout, broke through a hole in its head.
Then a green figure tore open the scalp of this snake head and drilled out.
"Hulk!"
The green figure climbed out of the snake head, covered in viscous liquid, snake blood, and brain matter.
The Hulk was completely naked, angrily swinging his fists, punching the snake head beneath his foot repeatedly.
"Hiss hiss!"
The Yamata no Orochi's angry and painful hissing echoed across the horizon at this moment.
It stopped its slithering snake body, and its several snake heads all bit towards the Hulk.
"I knew it!"
Tony Stark flew in mid-air, watching the scene of the Hulk breaking out of the snake head and roaring at the sky with some excitement.
"Captain! Hulk is okay!"
Tony Stark bombarded and shot at the Yamata no Orochi while relaying the good news to Captain America.
...…
Federal Department of Defense, Rod of God Software Command Center.
"The Target's high-speed movement has stopped!"
A Military Officer said to the Minister of Defense standing before him, "'Rod of God' has locked onto the Target! The Target is outside the estimated Mount Fuji Volcano Crater eruption zone! Can launch!"
"There are over two thousand Japan Self-Defense Forces Soldiers near the Target. Do they need to be evacuated?"
Secretary Ross, with his arms crossed, stared at the satellite observation results before him and the current state of the battlefield at the foot of Mount Fuji:
"Ignore them. The Japanese Government should learn to make a choice between two thousand people and two hundred thousand people. Launch!"
"Bang"
The Military Officer Behind Secretary Ross decisively pressed the Rod of God's launch button.
At the same moment, in Earth's low-Earth orbit, the silver-white giant Space Station Weapon Platform emitted a sound.
The accelerator beneath the Weapon Platform activated, like the firing pin of a handgun pulling the trigger, striking the tail end of the Tungsten Rod, giving it an initial acceleration.
The silver-gray Tungsten Rod also flew out of the Weapon Platform like a bullet rushing out of a muzzle.
Under the effect of Earth's gravity, the Tungsten Metal Rod continuously accelerated. The moment it entered the atmosphere, the rapid friction with the air created a visible sound barrier, but it was broken through in the next second.
......
The Hulk, who was flung away by the Yamata no Orochi's tail, crashed into a tank, crushing a large part of it.
For a behemoth over two hundred meters tall, its terrifying size was the best defense.
The Hulk's fists pounding on its body were like tickling.
The Yamata no Orochi's casual attacks sent the Hulk flying like a bowling ball.
The Hulk staggered to his feet, shaking his dizzy head. Before he could roar out the sound "Hulk", a shadow pressed down from above his head. A massive snake tail directly pinned him and the tank beside him beneath it.
"Hulk!"
The Hulk used all his strength to lift upwards with his hands, but it was useless. The mountain rocks beneath his feet completely cracked, and his entire body was wedged into the Ground like a nail.
"Clang!"
The tank beside him was directly crushed flat like a tin can with a single blow.
"Da da da da da!"
"Swish swish swish swish!"
"Boom boom boom!"
Tony Stark controlled the Iron Armor like a dozen flies buzzing around the Yamata no Orochi, conducting harassing attacks.
"Sir! The Rod of God will reach your location in forty-five seconds. Please take caution and evade!"
Rod of God!? Tony Stark's face changed as he looked at the silver bright light appearing on his faceplate projection.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., take the Hulk and evacuate!"
"Sir! There is insufficient time for rescue work. Please evacuate immediately. Rod of God arrival time is forty seconds, thirty-nine seconds..."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice sounded in Tony Stark's ear.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., Mark 36, decompose and provide protective coverage for the Hulk!" Tony Stark ordered while rapidly flying away from the Rod of God's strike point.
"Yes, Sir!"
A large Battlegear hovering in mid-air, clattered apart into over a dozen parts, rapidly covering the Hulk.
At this moment, the Hulk's hands were gripping the gaps between the Yamata no Orochi's snake tail scales, and he was lifted off the Ground by it.
His back suddenly tightened, and a gold and red Iron Back Armor directly enveloped and covered him, followed by the chest plate, helmet...
Before he could understand what was happening, the whistling Tungsten Rod above the Yamata no Orochi's head had accumulated full kinetic energy. The arrival of the crisis caused the Yamata no Orochi to let out a sharp hiss.
All eight of the Yamata no Orochi's heads lifted simultaneously, and intense fear shone in its sixteen eyes. Under the deadly pressure, an invisible energy erupted from the biological nuclear reactor inside the body.
The eight snake heads roared.
Energy breaths of various colors blasted towards high altitude. The speed of the descending Tungsten Rod was not reduced at all.
"Boom"
The Rod of God fell.
Life and death were but an instant. The Yamata no Orochi was like a wooden target pierced by a sharp arrow. The silver-gray Rod of God slammed into the Earth in the next second.
Although most of the kinetic energy was applied to the Yamata no Orochi, the remaining energy still hit the mountain body beneath its feet.
This area of Ground was as if struck by an invisible fist from the sky, causing the Ground to roll like waves, like a landslide during an earthquake. Countless heavy giant stones rolled down along the mountain body.
Centered around the Yamata no Orochi, an area of three to four kilometers felt like an eight-magnitude earthquake had occurred.
Countless Japan Self-Defense Forces Soldiers were crushed to death by giant stones, or fell into the cracks in the mountain rocks caused by the earthquake and were killed by the fall.
They were directly buried alive by the overturned earth waves.
Under the earthquake of this scale caused by the Rod of God, the Japan Self-Defense Forces' proud Steel Flood once again turned into toys.
They were violently thrown into the air, then smashed onto the Ground.
The Japanese soldiers who luckily survived were scared silly by this bloody scene. The scene was filled with wailing and screams...
In Washington, at The Pentagon's Command Center, Ross hugged his arms tightly, staring intently at the mountainous area shrouded in smoke.
He couldn't hear the sound of the mountain body collapsing, but from the scene on the screen, he could feel the destructive force.
And on the Helicarrier Mothership, over ten miles from Mount Fuji, Tang Song could directly see the pillars of smoke rising from the distant battlefield.
"Is it dead?"
......
On the Helicarrier, Hill, standing beside Boss Tang, looked at Boss Tang with uncertainty and whispered:
"Facing this kind of attack, even an Ancient Titan would definitely..."
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Just as Hill hadn't finished speaking, low, painful hissing sounds echoed from the mountainous Ruins shrouded in smoke and dust and gravel.
Tony Stark, who had rushed back immediately after the Rod of God attack ended, looked down through his Battlegear helmet.
The Yamata no Orochi, which had been blasted into the large crack in the Ground, was actually not dead yet.
Its front and back parts were completely torn open by the Rod of God. From the peeled flesh and blood, one could even see the strange organs that were still beating.
Half of its snake heads and snake tails on its body had been crushed into a pulp.
It was clear that the Yamata no Orochi had suffered terrifying injuries.
But it was still not dead!
(end of chapter)