Chapter 718: U: The Infinite Event (34)

Spider-Sense blared wildly; Peter instinctively had Red Bee pull him back a distance, dodging Shiler's spell.

Seeing his first strike miss, Shiler turned his gaze directly on Stark; although Stark had no Spider-Sense, JARVIS's motion-capture system could analyze Shiler's wand motion to predict the moment of spellcasting and let him dodge in advance.

To Strange, Shiler's casting motion was already brief—but to an AI trained to track movement, even a fraction of a second was long enough: the moment Shiler swung his wand, the suit instantly carried Stark away.

After collecting enough motion data, whenever Stark's system predicted Shiler was about to cast, he would immediately vacate his position and launch an attack midair, forcing Shiler to interrupt his incantation and dodge.

Even more deadly was the coordination between Stark and Peter: one lured Shiler's attacks, while the other waited to close in; for a wizard like Shiler, once an enemy got within reach, he had almost no defense.

Shiler, gradually falling on the defensive, sneered, raised his wand; Stark assumed he was about to cast another spell and shot upward—but instead, Shiler simply held the wand aloft, its tip firing a streak of light.

The streak pierced the roof of Kamar-Taj's great hall, soared above Mount Ximalaya, then exploded into a brilliant firework.

Strange looked up, his gaze piercing through the hall's roof, watching the blooming firework; he muttered under his breath: "What's this? A flare gun?"

Shiler, clad in his wizard's robe, retracted his wand to his waist, stepped back two paces, and said to Strange: "You're right—you must use magic to defeat magic."

"Are you stealing your dad's lines?"

Suddenly, a voice came from outside Kamar-Taj's great hall; Stark and Peter turned together and saw an ancient, gaunt figure standing at the entrance.

He had short gray hair, wore small round spectacles, a white shirt with a yellow vest, dark blue trousers, and a pair of slightly worn brown leather shoes.

He looked like an elderly version of Shiler, walking in while swinging a pufferfish in his hand; he spoke in a thin, high-pitched voice: "You wanna spar with old man?"

Peter, closest to him, instantly leapt back two steps, afraid he might knock the elderly Shiler over; the elderly Shiler squinted at him and said: "One more thing… young people shouldn't stay up playing video games!"

"Uh, sorry, I won't do it again… no, I haven't been staying up lately!" Peter raised his voice: "I've been busy with real work—I haven't played any games at all…"

"Never doubt old man's words!" The elderly Shiler swung the pufferfish and chanted at Peter: "Demons and ghosts, begone… demons and ghosts, begone…"

Stark shifted from his defensive stance to standing, hands on hips, staring at the old man: "What's going on? Is he here to scam us?"

But at that moment, a blinding flash appeared at the hall's entrance; Stark instinctively shielded his eyes—and when the light faded, another elderly version of Shiler stood outside.

He wore an ornate white robe, had snow-white hair and beard, and held a long staff; Stark studied his appearance and said: "Looks like another wizard…"

He activated his suit and flew toward the white-haired elder, clearly intending to use the same tactic he'd employed against Potion Master Shiler—close-range combat always worked well against ranged attackers.

But as Stark's armor neared the old man, he saw the elderly wizard Shiler simply toss his staff aside, then draw a razor-sharp longsword from his waist, execute a rising slash, step forward, and thrust—*clang! —a hole pierced Stark's armor.

Stark shot backward, shouting in shock: "Wait, aren't you a wizard?!"

"

The white-haired elder picked up his discarded staff and smiled at Stark: "This is the wisdom of the Maiya."

At that moment, Strange also sneered: "You think you're the only one who can call for help? Kao Yi!"

Master Kao Yi!

Someone has invaded Kamar-Taj!

!

Instantly, a golden light descended from above, landing in the center of the hall; Kao Yi had barely touched ground when he scanned the surroundings, then fixed his gaze on the sword held by the white-haired elder Shiler.

The sword was stunning—its entire body gleamed silver-gray, faint white light swirling around it; intricate patterns adorned the hilt and blade, its edge flashing with cold radiance.

Kao Yi narrowed his eyes; as he locked gazes with the white-haired elder Shiler, both knew: today, the first master of close-combat magic would be decided—and with it, life or death.

On the other side, the short-haired old man Shiler was already locked in combat with Spider-Man.

Peter wasn't losing—he just couldn't bring himself to strike hard because Old Man Shiler looked so frail; yet Old Man Shiler kept pulling out bizarre objects, especially a green lizard that made Peter's hair stand on end.

As Kao Yi and the white-haired elder Shiler clashed, Stark moved to assist—but then another figure appeared at the doorway.

He wore a brown-red robe and hood, with black feathers draped over his shoulders; more importantly, he held a strangely shaped staff—thick at the base, tapering to a thin tip, resembling a chicken leg, with a bird like a raven perched atop.

On the chest of his cloak, a diamond-shaped ruby glowed brightly; Stark recognized it as magical energy—clearly, another wizard.

He raised his staff and smiled: "Fancy a drink at Karazan?"

At that moment, Strange's Crimson Bands drifted over; the wizard holding the bird-staff swung his staff—and Strange was instantly flung into the air, floated for two seconds, then *thud! crashed to the ground, lying stunned for a long while.

Stark was about to attack when the opposing Shiler slammed his staff into the ground.

A rune glowed to life; instantly, two puppet monsters appeared in the center of the hall, black ravens circling the array; together, they forced Stark to lift his armor again, avoiding being shot down from above.

On the other side, Kao Yi and the white-haired elder Shiler's battle had reached its peak; Kamar-Taj's great hall was too small—they shattered the roof and soared above Mount Ximalaya, the air ringing with the clang of steel.

Strange and Stark teamed up against Potion Master Shiler and the bird-staff Shiler; meanwhile, Peter and Old Man Shiler were locked in their own fight—Old Man Shiler swung the pufferfish, striking Peter's arm repeatedly while chanting: "Don't talk back to old man! Don't talk back to old man!"

Peter could only cry "Ooh! Ooh!" in pain; he wanted to fight back, but seeing Old Man Shiler's thin arms and legs, he hesitated—and chose to run.

On the other side, in the Spider-Man base, morale was at rock bottom. If fighting the Heir Family was their unavoidable fate—if refusing meant death—then fighting Shiler was pure, pointless loss.

If Shiler had caused real trouble or endangered New York City, at least there'd be justice to justify their fight; but the only thing Shiler had done in New York City was stand on rooftops admiring the view. Their attacks made no sense—and they'd lost badly, leaving them with heavy casualties.

Most Spider-Men weren't naturally combative; without a sense of duty or mission, they avoided conflict—and with such heavy losses, many no longer wanted to fight.

Originally, Captain Universe Spider-Man could have convinced them with "preventing cosmic destruction"; but because Eternal's intel had been wrong, even Captain Universe himself had doubts.

The other Spider-Men trusted this mysterious figure even less; getting them to obey his orders again was nearly impossible.

Just as Captain Universe Spider-Man was about to try reasoning with them again, Spider-Girl returned with news: "Good news! We've contacted a powerful ally—he's on his way and will arrive soon!"

"An ally? Who is he?" Amazing Spider-Man asked, stepping forward.

"He's from a remote universe, but he's incredibly strong—and he can pilot powered armor. I think he can help us fight Solus!" Spider-Girl's tone was ecstatic, clearly having witnessed the other Spider-Man's strength; she added: "I think he's as strong as that Lucky Kid we met before…"

"Really?" The other Spider-Men gathered around; soon, Silk stepped forward, brushing her hair back, and said: "He's confirmed the message—but his armor is too large to enter the base. We'll call him once we reach the battlefield…"

"How's the recovery going?" Zhang Parker asked; from his wrist communicator came Otto's voice: "Don't you dare issue another stupid mission that throws off our rhythm—I don't want to fight meaningless enemies, and I won't waste lives on them…"

Captain Universe Spider-Man rubbed his face—he couldn't argue. Because of the faulty intel, they'd suffered such heavy losses; he bore full responsibility.

Moreover, he himself favored targeting Solus first; cosmic destruction was far off, but if Solus lived, Spider-Men would keep dying every moment.

"If everyone's recovered enough, let's go find Solus—this time, we'll definitely make him…"

Spider-Girl hadn't finished speaking when a thunderous *boom* shook the base's perimeter; the entire structure rocked violently, throwing all Spider-Men off balance.

"Get out of the way!" Amazing Spider-Man shouted; his Spider-Sense screamed wildly; all Spider-Men scattered like startled birds.

"Amazing Spider-Man shouted, his spider-sense screaming wildly as all the Spider-Men scattered like birds and beasts.

A massive figure appeared above the base; Solus sneered, snatched a Spider-Man, and sucked his soul and life force into himself; seeing the fleeing Spider-Men, hunger drove him to swing his arms, grabbing and devouring them.

"Stop him! Don't let him get near the wounded!" Amazing Spider-Man shouted: "The injured can't fight—if he catches them, they're dead!"

"

Spider-Gwen leapt onto Solus's arm and struck him hard; Solus roared in pain, shook his arm—and Spider-Gwen was flung to the ground. She rose and yelled to Amazing Spider-Man:

"We can't fight him here—it'll endanger the wounded! Evacuate the injured first—now!"

"I'll cover you with Captain Universe Spider-Man—you get the wounded out!" Amazing Spider-Man said, then sprinted toward Solus.

Spider-Girl, Spider-Gwen, and Silk wanted to help him—but remembering the critically wounded still resting in the base, they gritted their teeth, stomped their feet, and ran toward the injured.

In the wounded's resting area, the girls realized that despite Spider-Men's superior healing, two days wasn't enough for those with pierced organs to recover; most could barely lie still, unable to move.

Spider-Gwen lifted one Spider-Man and said to Spider-Girl: "Activate the transporter! Get one out at a time!"

"But where do we send them?" Spider-Girl cried anxiously: "Where's safe? They can't take any more!"

*BOOM! Solus's arm ripped through the ceiling; debris rained down, striking the wounded, who screamed in agony.

Solus watched the injured Spider-Men, unable to dodge the falling rubble, and laughed joyfully—as if watching helpless prey.

"No time! Activate the transporter!"

!

In a flash of light, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Girl, and Silk teleported away with several wounded Spider-Men.

The transporter had a log; if no target universe was set, it defaulted to the last destination.

Spider-Gwen and the wounded had barely landed when they saw a pair of purple eyes, cold and emotionless, staring at them.