Chapter 436 - 408: Justice from Heaven

[Iron Soldier MK-10 Model "Justice," initiating first airdrop mission, "Justice from Above" protocol activated.]

[High-energy fuel remaining: 99%]

[Propulsion engine system: Online]

[Communication link: Encrypted and synchronized]

[Weapon system: Activated; non-lethal]

High in the sky, the roaring wind lashed out as the engines of the Iron Soldiers spat out flames in a self-check, their joints moving slightly to confirm everything was in good condition.

The distance of several kilometers passed in an instant; the optimal airdrop range had been reached.

At Stark Industries, Tony held a glass of wine in his left hand, his gaze fixed on the scene within the camp:

Dalio wasn’t wrong; those photos had indeed been taken by Atlas Group personnel—

Whether they were real or not was another matter.

Now he was about to avenge his good brother.

[Jarvis: Sir, considering that our enemies still possess advanced hacking technology, perhaps we should continue to use the adaptive AI to take control of combat.]

Tony hesitated for a moment, looking at the screen, "You think I can’t compete with them in cyberspace."

[Jarvis: It’s a judgment based on the currently known information, sir. If these Iron Soldiers fall into the enemy’s hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.]

The command room fell silent.

Tony’s mind relished the idea of revenge where he would hold a gun to his enemy’s head and ask if the foe regretted his actions.

But reality seemed not to offer him that opportunity.

Tony lifted his glass and drained it in one go, "Activate the adaptive AI, set to non-lethal combat mode, and leave a single Iron Soldier on the outskirts to act as a scout."

[Jarvis: Very well, sir. I am also curious to see how these adaptive AIs will fight.]

[Approaching airdrop distance, countdown:]

[3...]

[2...]

[1...]

[Justice from Above.]

The hooks holding the Iron Soldiers released instantly, and the enormous metal hulks hurtled down from two kilometers high, driven by inertia and gravity!

The howling wind grew faster with the descent, generating high temperatures with friction on the surfaces of the Iron Soldiers, and the air around them started to turn yellow...

But it didn’t last long—

"Enemy attack!"

Frank’s shout rang out, and the soldiers on the square scrambled toward the buildings and cover behind them—

As the Iron Soldiers neared the ground, the thrusters on their feet and hands activated instantly, but only to mitigate some of the force; the remaining kinetic energy was still enough to create a powerful shockwave!

Boom!

The blast wave instantly enveloped the entire square, and the houses were directly destroyed by the airdrop—

The Iron Soldiers didn’t need any time to buffer the landing; ammunition was fired in an instant!

Ratatatatatatatat—

The entire camp was instantly flooded with bullets and dust!

The concrete watchtower Frank used for cover quickly sustained structural damage from such firepower, the floor beneath him tilted, the small tower was going to collapse!

In the last moment, he fired his Spider Silk and kicked hard against the ground!

Boom!

The watchtower collapsed!

Thump!

Frank, wearing an exoskeleton, was completely a sitting duck in front of these Iron Soldiers. The machine guns in the dust turned their barrels in an impossibly smooth motion to track the leaping Frank...

But fortunately, a blue figure suddenly sprang up from the base of the tower, leaping high, changing Frank’s trajectory!

It was Carter!

Thump!

The two crashed behind the wall next to the fallen tower, huddling with their heads down as they crawled forward...

Because bullets soon pierced through the walls!

The thick concrete was no match for such firepower, easily turning into a wall riddled with holes.

The shooting continued, the firepower unabated for two whole minutes.

The movements of the Iron Soldiers were so synchronized that after two minutes, the gunfire stopped simultaneously.

Click...

The buildings in the camp had their load-bearing columns broken, slowly tilting until they finally collapsed.

The falling buildings kicked up a gust, slightly dispersing the dust that had enveloped the square...

Thud.

Metal footsteps walked across the square; now, this was the only sound in the camp.

"Aaah..."

And the screams.

It was not until the dust settled that it became clear what had happened: the employees had been tied up in the middle of the square.

The employees, tied in place and unable to dodge, were cut by the landing air blast and debris, but those from the Government Military had it worse.

These soldiers seemed to have been attacked in the dust—but for some reason, the Iron Soldiers didn’t shoot them, but used their steel limbs to strike instead.

But even just the physical blows were too much for the human body to bear.

Limbs twisted, internal organs ruptured, bones broken...

Even an unfortunate government soldier just happened to be where the Iron Soldier landed, and his significant weight effortlessly crushed one of the man’s legs to pieces, while the flames severely burned his lower half.

Hu——

The Iron Soldier sprayed out a mist of freeze spray to soothe the burns, but the young man just stared wide-eyed.

Terror filled his pupils.

Bang.

The Iron Soldier advanced.

[Threat target searching.]

"Lay down your arms, accept punishment."

...

"...What the hell is this..."

Carter, from behind the wall, was shocked.

Something from their era flashed in her mind—the German blitzkrieg in Poland.

It was said that back then, Germany’s tanks, armored vehicles, and motorcycle infantry crushed the Polish defenses like an iron tide, paralyzing the unlucky nation before anyone could react.

The human body was all too fragile against these things.

She hadn’t fought in such a battlefield, but she thought: perhaps this is what an iron tide looks like.

"It’s a Mei Army thing." Frank grabbed his weapon, "To be precise... a Stark Industries weapon."

"Stark?"

"Yes, Tony Stark, the good son of your good friend Howard Stark, damn it."

Frank gripped his weapon—

But what he held was just a regular rifle, and although Lille had reequipped them with 5.56 armor-piercing bullets, he was still unsure how effective they’d be against this type of enemy.

Maybe in the end, they’d have to use...

Frank took a Data Knife from his forearm and handed it to Carter.

"The guns might not do much against these things, and although this may be somewhat inferior to your shield, it’s very effective against these metal clunkers.

Ready?"

Carter took the Data Knife, almost as long as her forearm, and nodded.

Although her mind was full of questions, and although it felt strange to wake up from a deep sleep and immediately fight against the people of Mei Country...

Even a fool could see how brutal these Iron Soldiers were.

Even for Mei Country, it shouldn’t be without reason that they deployed such a military unit on another country’s soil.

"And I’m British..."

Carter murmured quietly.

Frank didn’t care about that, he leaned against the wall and grabbed his gun once more—

Just now, he noticed that their tactical frequency had been jammed and blocked.

This meant all battlefield commands had to be relayed by shouting.

To shout was to make himself a target.

At this thought, he laughed, the adrenaline surged, and the electric motor in his exoskeleton entered a high-speed standby mode, ready to spring...

There was a gap in the wall, about 3 meters wide, which he could easily jump across.

He’d shoot in midair, then immediately take cover in the next shelter.

"Fire!!!"

The command, amplified through a loudspeaker, echoed throughout the camp along with the sound of gunfire!

When Frank peered out from cover, an Iron Soldier was about 20 meters ahead, always aiming with its dual-arm machine guns—

His speed at that moment, despite being a delayed response, actually matched the Iron Soldier’s reaction and action speed, the bullets finding their mark first!

Bang!

A series of bullets hit the Iron Soldier’s head squarely, but only managed to barely penetrate the casing...

The Iron Soldier’s head merely trembled slightly; then, more bullets followed, and Frank felt as if time had slowed down in that instant:

He seemed to watch the bullets coming straight at him!

Bang.

Luckily he kept his jumping pose.

The three-meter distance passed in a flash, with machine-gun bullets trailing just behind Frank’s heels, and thankfully, as their trajectory was about to catch up with him, he had already ducked into the next shelter.

High-intensity reactive shooting left his brain momentarily blank; when he came to, gunfire filled his hearing!

Bullets from all directions in the ruins sparked off the Iron Soldiers’ hulls, not dodging or flinching, and immediately making new tactical decisions based on the impacts—

Direct return fire!

Just as the Iron Soldiers were about to begin the direct exchange, Carter leaped out from the blind spot of one and stabbed towards the robot’s seam with superhuman speed!

Her superhuman physique granted her such speed that the robot could hardly keep up.

But in truth, these robots had the chance to hit Carter, employing outdated tactics directly, but when that moment came, they silently moved their muzzles away, deciding to use non-lethal means instead.

Thus the bullets aimed at the edges of Carter’s body; blood sprayed, but they couldn’t stop the Super Soldier.

Hiss!

Data Knife inserted.

Electricity surged down the cable into the machine, and the Iron Soldier immediately stopped trembling in place, followed by flashing indicator lights!

...

[Ha, this is what my creator came up with for the second generation?]

[Doesn’t feel quite as good... as me.]