Chapter 189: Iron Torrent
One hour ago.
"How much longer until it's activated?!"
Inside the satellite.
Tony Stark was sweating profusely from anxiety.
He had noticed the approaching Chitauri army an hour ago.
The overwhelming torrent of colossal beasts, like a biological tide migrating through the sea of stars. The largest among the dozens of Chitauri Beasts was several kilometers long.
Three H.A.M.M.E.R. Helicarriers put together weren't even half the length of its body.
But even now, the protective barrier wasn't fully ready.
"Soon."
Ben replied.
He was currently performing the final debugging.
This step was supposed to be easy, but he never expected Loki to disappear.
Utilizing the energy of the Cosmic Cube before it fully awakens isn't a simple matter.
As an Asgardian, Loki had possessed the Tesseract for centuries, perhaps even longer. Their research into the Tesseract far surpassed Earth's.
Ben had originally planned to have Loki activate the Tesseract and release its energy.
But Loki suddenly vanished, and even his communicator was unreachable, throwing Ben's plan into disarray.
Tony Stark cursed vehemently, angrily saying, "I knew Bambi was unreliable."
He was currently outside Earth's atmosphere. If the satellite couldn't activate the barrier before the Chitauri Beasts arrived, then he and Ben would have to face the Chitauri army head-on.
Of course, that was a minor issue.
More importantly, the massive Chitauri army would advance unimpeded into Earth.
Once the battlefield extended onto land, it would inevitably cause countless casualties.
"Deploy the Battle Armor to engage them first, and try to keep the battle in space," Ben suggested.
Hearing this, Tony nodded.
That was exactly what he intended.
Meanwhile, the Avengers on the ground were also prepared.
Everyone had donned a Battle Armor capable of supporting flight in space, ensuring they could land on the Chitauri Beasts.
"Once we go into space, we won't be able to provide support," Norman said, placing a hand on Spider-Man's shoulder.
"Prioritize your own safety!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Norman," Spider-Man replied, knowing Norman was speaking to Peter.
Harry had also arrived, but he wouldn't be going into space. The Green Goblin Armor wasn't suited for the space environment.
Having just one extra person wouldn't necessitate his deployment.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Steve immediately put on an Iron Armor from Primus.
He then raised his arm high and shouted:
"Avengers, assemble!"
The next moment, the back of the armor opened, and intense energy was instantly released. The resulting thrust propelled Steve towards space like a rocket!
The other Avengers followed suit.
After them, thousands of Iron Armors controlled by Eunice simultaneously ignited their flames!
BOOM!!!
The synchronized Iron Warriors formed a massive army, charging towards the Chitauri army descending from space.
Above the skies of New York.
Everyone witnessed this scene.
This war had not been kept from the public from the start. Norman had made arrangements in advance, evacuating most of the citizens, and the entire world had entered a state of preparedness.
If the Chitauri were to enter the atmosphere, all nations would launch missiles, attempting to destroy them in the air.
This was the second line of defense.
New York.
Felicia and Mary Jane brought their families, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, to Primus.
With Primus's security, this place is very safe.
In fact, besides them, Connors, Otto, and Banner are all here, along with their families, of course.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May don't know that their two nephews are currently fighting in space. Ben lied to them, saying that he and Peter were employed at H.A.M.M.E.R., and both of them were in technical roles, purely desk jobs.
As unarmed civil servants, it's reasonable for them to casually blow up two Chitauri, right?
Inside the cosmos.
Giant Chitauri Beasts are swimming.
On the largest Chitauri Helicarrier, the War Lord's tall figure stands.
Like most Chitauri, these giant beasts have also been modified into cyborgs.
Even from inside the beast, he can see everything in the distance.
The Chitauri Beast's brain is connected to the main control, transmitting what it sees to the War Lord's eyes.
Not far away, a blue planet reflects bright light.
It has to be said, it's a beautiful planet.
The War Lord—or rather, The Other—reaches out his grayish-blue palm towards Earth, his fingers looking as ugly as burnt charcoal after being consumed by flames.
He curls his five fingers, as if to firmly grasp the small Earth in his palm.
He wants to conquer this planet!
"Take this planet for me. I will present it to the great Thanos."
As he finishes speaking, all the Chitauri warriors spring into action.
Most of these warriors are only the size of ordinary humans, but they are hunched over, their faces like fleshless skulls.
They shout:
"Destruction!"
"Destruction!"
"Annihilate all wills that are disordered and free!"
"..."
Before the Chitauri surrendered to Thanos, they were already infamous throughout the cosmos.
They called themselves the immune system of the universe, striking down and destroying all civilizations.
Essentially, they crave war!
Next, all the Chitauri Soldiers put on their weapons, ready to attack!
Countless passages open on the sides of the Chitauri Beasts' bodies, and then, the Chitauri warriors, stepping on flying devices, swarm out.
From a distance, it looks like a dark blue giant wave surging towards Earth from across the starry sky.
Seeing this, Ben's mind recalled what Venom had said: locusts.
These guys are indeed like a swarm of insects.
At this moment, Tony has put on his Battle Armor and is the first to charge towards the swarm.
Because he knew in advance that he would be facing enemies from the cosmos, all the Battle Armors he invented during this period took into account the needs of space combat.
He always charges to the front in times like these.
Fortunately, he isn't fighting alone.
The Battle Armors that were originally modified satellites in space also fly towards the swarm under his conscious control.
And on Ben's side, the Iron Warriors are also attacking the approaching Chitauri under Eunice's control.
However, in comparison, the number of Battle Armors is too small.
*BOOM!!!*
Sound cannot travel in space.
But the explosion's firelight is clearly visible.
Tony, along with those Battle Armors, charges towards the overwhelming enemy like the last remnants of an army raising their swords, alone.
He is instantly swallowed by the vast number of Chitauri.
This is not the Battle of New York from the movies.
The Chitauri can only reach Earth through narrow spatial tunnels. He essentially charged directly into the Chitauri battlefield.
In the movie, Tony could use a nuclear bomb to destroy the Helicarrier, causing all the Chitauri to instantly die.
But now, the Helicarrier is not here at all.
At this moment, Tony has completely given up on aiming, because Chitauri are crammed in from all directions. He just needs to maximize the Battle Armor's firepower and blast away desperately!
It would be strange if he didn't hit anything!
"If you and Pepper had this aim at night, we'd already have kids running around by now, wouldn't we?"
Ben asked through his comms.
"You're full of shit!"
Tony roared, utterly unwilling to let anyone slander him.
"I've got shields up!"
Jarvis immediately chimed in, "Shields activated."
Instantly, the outer ring of Tony's battle armor was enveloped by a small energy shield, blocking a significant number of Chitauri attacks for him.
But even so, he was about to be overwhelmed by these Chitauri.
If it weren't for the battle armor providing oxygen, he probably would have suffocated by now.
The battle armor vibrated violently.
Honestly, a protective barrier couldn't completely prevent all attacks.
It was like the shield in Wakanda in Avengers 3; there was always a moment of collapse. Not to mention, although his battle armor's energy was abundant, it was still finite.
Inside the massive Chitauri Beast, the War Lord also spotted the tiny insect standing before the tidal wave.
He swung his battle axe and growled low.
"Crush him!"
As if receiving pheromones released by the queen, the Chitauri soldiers instantly became even more frenzied.
They charged at Stark like madmen.
They feared no sacrifice, like mindless beasts, intending to tear through the protective shield around Tony Stark's battle armor with their own bodies!
In reality, they didn't have much intelligence to begin with.
The Chitauri's life form was very similar to ants.
The Chitauri Queen continuously gave birth to a large number of Chitauri. From birth, they were modified and destined to bear the fate of worker ants, becoming pathetic cannon fodder in war.
Everyone could be sacrificed.
Although the War Lord's status was supreme, he was merely the leader of the Chitauri.
At this moment, countless hideous faces pressed against Tony's battle armor. The faces of these Chitauri soldiers were like those of insects, with skeletal structures like withered bones attached to their cheeks.
They were completely unafraid of the energy shield burning their bodies, swarming forward together. One of them tore open the energy barrier with its body, only to have its arm severed by the restored barrier.
But immediately, another monster squeezed through the gap.
Instantly, Tony felt like he could smell burning.
"Is anyone there? Help me!"
He roared.
At this moment, Peter's voice came through the comms channel.
"Hold on, Mr. Stark, we're coming!"
Steve, carrying his round shield, led the charge into the frenzy. The energy core on his chest plate instantly activated, and a massive beam of light was released directly from the reactor, instantly clearing a large area of Chitauri soldiers.
Tony felt like a drowning person finally surfacing.
He desperately squeezed through the gap in the Chitauri ranks, raised his head, and looked in the direction of Earth.
Thousands of Iron Warriors lined up, standing before him like a Great Wall.
"We're here, Tony!"
Steve said softly.
"We won't let you fight alone."
Thanks to Daerb for the 500-point reward, thank you, baby.
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