Giant Beast VS Avengers (Part 1)
"Woo, woo, woo"
In Japan, the piercing, low alarm sound echoed incessantly.
As the air raid sirens blared, Shizuoka Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture, the closest to Mount Fuji in Japan, began urgent evacuation work. The order was issued by the Prime Minister, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces were responsible for the evacuation.
The streets were packed with people, and the roads leading out of the city were lined with long queues.
In this era of advanced information technology, news simply couldn't be blocked.
In fact, as soon as Yamata no Orochi poked its head out of Mount Fuji, videos taken by tourists exploded across the network.
Frankly, the Japanese government's response wasn't slow, but by the time official forces intervened, several prefectures around Mount Fuji, and even cities further away, had already fallen into widespread panic.
After all, the thick smoke and volcanic ash rising into the sky were visible to anyone who wasn't a Blind Person.
Federation People were no strangers to the character of Superman from the Comic Book Company. Even Captain America, who had been in slumber for over seventy years, had read Superman comics.
He had read plenty of Superman comics when he was in school. Before receiving the super serum injection, he had always wished he could have a body as strong as Superman's to protect his family and friends.
In his impression, the Superman in the comics possessed immense strength, super speed, and flight. His eyes could emit optic blasts.
He was somewhat like a combination of Dr. Banner's Hulk transformation and Cyclops among the Mutants, plus flight. He'd be even more similar if he wore his underwear on the outside.
Just thinking about facing an enemy with the combined abilities of these few people gave him a headache.
"May I interrupt, Mr. Stark? When you say Tang's strength can rival Superman's, which era of Superman are you referring to? Silver Age, or Golden?"
Looking at the somewhat silent crowd, Dr. Banner adjusted his glasses, raising his hand like a primary school student. Under Stark's look of doubt, he asked.
"Superman has different eras?" Captain America turned his head to look at Dr. Banner.
His heart skipped a beat when he heard Dr. Banner say Superman had different eras.
"Captain, the Superman you read about should be from the Golden Age, the original version from the Comic Book Company. After you went into slumber, Superman underwent several revisions. The Silver Age Superman was similar in ability to the original version, but the comic editors enhanced his powers!
Take durability, for example. In the original Superman, he might be injured by things like artillery shells, but in the second revision, the Silver Age Superman, he wouldn't be harmed even if he flew into the Core of the Sun!"
When talking about Superman, Dr. Banner, who gave off the image of a science and engineering geek, immediately became animated. He enthusiastically gave Captain America a science lesson.
Every boy has his own Superhero dream in his heart. Although, in a sense, Dr. Banner had already realized his dream.
But when he was in junior high, his bed was also piled high with comic books.
"In the Silver Age Superman's setting, his super breath could even extinguish a Star!" Dr. Banner, speaking excitedly, gesticulated wildly. Completely engrossed in his talk, he didn't notice the look on the faces of the people around him, which had all turned grim.
Extinguish a Star? If they really had to face such an enemy, what were they doing here? They might as well go home and sleep.
"Alright! Doctor, that's just a metaphor. If Tang really had the strength of Silver Age Superman, then we wouldn't do anything, we'd just surrender!"
Finally, Tony Stark interrupted Dr. Banner's science lesson: "After all, there's no Kryptonite on Earth to restrain Superman!"
He shrugged, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.
"Silver Age Superman is not afraid of Kryptonite in his setting! And that doesn't conform to scientific logic!" Doctor Reed Richards interjected seriously.
"Cough cough!" Tony Stark, who had just eased the tension among the crowd, glared annoyingly at Doctor Reed Richards who had interrupted. He raised his hand and snapped his finger.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., pour Dr. Banner and Doctor Reed Richards another glass of whiskey!"
J.A.R.V.I.S. quickly used his mechanical arm to bring two glasses of whiskey to Dr. Banner and Doctor Reed Richards, effectively shutting up the two science and engineering geeks.
"Tony, that's it for now. Phil and I will go investigate Tang Song's Company. Once Barton finds Agent Natasha and clarifies the truth, we'll plan the specific action!"
Captain America stood up and greeted Tony Stark, preparing to leave the Villa with Phil.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz—"
Just then, a mobile phone vibration sound rang out, followed by J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice in the Room.
"It's Hill!"
"Mr. Stark! It's Ms. Hill's phone number!"
Phil Coulson's voice and J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice sounded almost simultaneously. It was Maria Hill, the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., contacting both him and Tony Stark at the same time!
"Open the virtual projection!"
Tony Stark directly instructed J.A.R.V.I.S., and soon Hill's life-sized virtual projection appeared before the crowd.
Hill was still wearing her blue-gray combat uniform, sitting at her office desk, her expression seemingly a bit tired.
She didn't seem surprised that the few of them were together. After glancing around at everyone present, she got straight to the point.
"Mr. Stark, Captain, I just received an urgent notification from the World Security Council. A dangerous supernatural event involving supernatural power(s) has occurred at Mount Fuji in Japan. I need the Avengers to deploy!"
"Supernatural event? Didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. just form a Special Operations Team to deal with supernatural crime?"
"What kind of supernatural crime?"
Tony Stark and Captain America spoke up simultaneously, but their focus was slightly different.
Tony Stark was concerned about why Hill was contacting them instead of sending out her capable Special Operations Soldiers, while Captain America was more concerned about the crime itself.
Hill's complexion was serious as she turned her computer screen towards them and played a video.
"This is a video sent by the World Security Council. Agent Barton and Agent May broke into a Monarch Observation Post, and that Observation Post subsequently exploded. Now, a localized volcanic eruption is occurring at Mount Fuji.
What's worse, a Titan Giant Beast in slumber has been awakened.
The World Security Council wants the Avengers to provide an explanation and take responsibility for this matter. I've managed to suppress the information for now, but you need to handle the aftermath properly!"
The video was likely a high-altitude aerial view from a helicopter, showing thick volcanic ash obscuring the sky.
Red lava was erupting from the mountain wall. The huge monster with eight heads and eight tails was faintly visible in the volcanic ash. The Aokigahara Forest and Aokigahara at the foot of Mount Fuji were now ignited by the volcanic lava, becoming a sea of fire, with thick black smoke rising into the sky.
"Hill, where are Barton and May? How are they doing?"
Looking at the scene of the volcanic eruption in the video, which resembled the end of the world, Phil Coulson quickly asked about Barton and May's whereabouts.
Hill shook her head: "It's still unclear at the moment. That's why I hope you can get there quickly. On one hand, to find Barton and their whereabouts, and on the other hand, to stop this Giant Beast. You absolutely must not let it cause a large-scale volcanic eruption!"
The ten-minute video showed glimpses of a thick black snake tail, thicker than a normal residential building, swirling in the Lava Sea, amidst the faint red lava.
The black scales gave a chilling feeling just by looking at them.
"Ah!"
Pepper Potts was startled by the snake tail in the video. Tony quickly put his arm around her.
Women are naturally afraid of things like snakes and little bugs.
"How big is this snake? Two hundred meters? Why aren't they using heavy weapons to attack it? Can't they just use space-based weapons? I remember when the Convergence of the Nine Realms happened, didn't the Federal Department of Defense use space-based weapons to take down a giant dragon?"
Inside the Office of the Helicarrier's command bridge, facing Tony Stark's doubt, Agent Hill crossed her arms with a blank expression.
"Currently, this Giant Beast is on the Mountainside of Mount Fuji. The Japanese Government is worried that activating space-based weapons would cause an unprecedented massive eruption of Mount Fuji, and the resulting damage would be far more severe than this Giant Beast!
The Federal Department of Defense wants to bypass the Japanese Government and directly deploy the space-based weapon 'Rod of God', but the eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan could affect Chinese Waters. The Department of Defense doesn't need to consider the Japanese Government's opinion, but they have to consider China's attitude towards this matter."
"Currently, residents near Mount Fuji are being evacuated. The best method is to lure that monster out and then use space-based weapons for a single fatal attack."
Speaking of this matter, a hint of contempt flashed across Hill's face, and she said mockingly: "The Japan Self-Defense Forces Army and the Federation troops stationed in Japan are retreating step by step against that Titan Giant Beast. The military's conventional firepower simply cannot harm it!
They can't even lure it out!"
"So, it's your turn to enter the scene, Avengers! I've arranged for two Quinjets to pick you up!"
After the Avengers departed, Director Hill picked up the communicator beside her and said to the person waiting on the other end:
"The Avengers have departed. They will guide Yamata no Orochi into the wilderness. Your space-based weapon 'Rod of God' is to immediately enter the launcher program!"
"Tell the Japanese Government they have another hour and a half for evacuation."
The thick black smoke from the burning forest, accompanied by the volcanic ash rising into the sky, completely obscured the sky.
Mount Fuji was filled with large pits and cracks everywhere. Lava was constantly erupting from the cracks.
"biological detection!" Tony Stark, piloting his Iron Suit, was the first to arrive over Mount Fuji.
In the thick black smoke, he immediately activated the biological detection system, searching for the Giant Beast's traces.
The Iron Suit's biological scan quickly selected the largest one among a dense cluster of red dots.
Click, click!
Tony Stark was about to launch a missile attack.
"Biological detection complete... Target life form signature, black bear match 98%."
J.A.R.V.I.S. reported the result in a calm tone, causing Tony to snap back to attention, surprised.
"Black bear? Not that Titan Giant Beast? Where is that big guy?"
A hundred-meter Giant Beast, when coiled up, was like a skyscraper. How could a monster of this size possibly hide?
Tony Stark's mind raced. He circled in the air, searching for Yamata no Orochi's traces.
Perhaps due to the low visibility, Tony Stark's Iron Armor began to descend slowly in height.
Just as he was flying around Mount Fuji, from the rock wall of Mount Fuji, amidst rustling sounds, a Mountain Peak that looked like a huge giant stone suddenly opened a pair of cold Snake Eyes, staring intently at Tony moving at high speed in the air.
The smell of food! Tony Stark hadn't thoroughly understood the Titan Giant Beast species. They fed on atomic energy. Human society's Nuclear Reactors and nuclear bombs were like delicious desserts to them.
Originally, Tony Stark's size was like mosquitoes flying around an Ordinary Person to Yamata no Orochi. Unless bitten, no one would chase after little bugs for fun.
But the Arc Reactor carried on Tony Stark's Iron Suit was like a table full of delicacies to a long-hungry gourmet like Yamata no Orochi. It instantly made Yamata no Orochi target him.
"How is that possible? Could it be hiding Underground?"
Tony Stark looked at the traces left by the giant snake climbing below.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., lock onto these traces and find the giant snake's traces!"
"Sir! Based on its crawling trajectory, it seems to be behind you!"
Hearing J.A.R.V.I.S.'s trace analysis, Tony Stark turned sharply. The giant stone behind him also suddenly released its mimicry at this moment, transforming into a huge black scale snake head, swallowing towards Tony Stark.
The shadow of the huge snake head enveloped Tony Stark like dark clouds.
"Shit!" Tony Stark's complexion changed drastically. After cursing, he rushed forward rapidly.
Bang! The rock in front of Tony Stark suddenly exploded like a geyser. A black scale snake head identical to the one behind him burst out from Underground, blocking Tony Stark's flight path. Its cold Snake Eyes stared fixedly at Tony Stark, its snake head wide open, spraying a rain of venom towards him.
Tony maneuvered the Battlegear nimbly, avoiding the venom spraying towards him and the snake head swallowing from above.
"Bang"
A snake tail suddenly appeared, swatting Tony Stark like a fly, bombing his body.
Amidst the sparks flying from the friction of metal,
With a loud boom, the world spun around, and Tony Stark was violently slammed against the scattered giant stones behind him, smashing the stones into shattered pieces.
Fortunately, the material of this Battlegear of Tony Stark's was Vibranium, and the shock absorption inside was quite good. This prevented the famous Iron Man from being flattened into a meat patty.
"Boom"
Tony Stark flipped over and activated the thrusters on his foot. Simultaneously, several missiles were launched from the launcher on his shoulder, shooting into the air.
"One, two, three, four... How many heads does this monster have?"
Several black scale snake heads surrounded Tony Stark, looking like thick black pillars, or like the erected piers of a large bridge.
"Sir! Yamata no Orochi is a Monster from Japanese mythology, possessing eight heads and eight tails!" J.A.R.V.I.S. answered Tony Stark's question meticulously.
"Japanese mythology? This monster looks much harder to deal with than Thor, that God of Thunder!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom. The smoke and dust and firelight from the missile explosions dissipated. Looking at the giant snake, which was completely unharmed, Tony Stark complained while trying to slip through the gaps between the snake heads.
Several snake heads simultaneously opened their mouths wide and swallowed towards him.
Yamata no Orochi's several snake heads displayed a speed completely inconsistent with their size. They moved later but arrived first. Their short-distance burst speed even exceeded that of Tony Stark's Iron Armor.
As Tony Stark flew at high speed, he brought his hands together in front of him.
Utilizing laser technology from the Chitauri, with the Arc Reactor providing ample energy, Tony quickly completed the lock-on aiming.
"Boom"
A burning light beam shot out from the top of the Iron Armor's arm, blasting towards the snake head blocking his way.
The thick laser beam shot directly into the wide-open mouth of the black scale snake head. After a few seconds, the radiance dissipated.
Tony Stark took advantage of Yamata no Orochi's painful head shake to escape the encirclement of the snake heads and quickly ascended into the sky.
At a high altitude of several hundred meters, Tony Stark, piloting his flashy red and gold Battlegear, hovered in the air. Only then could he clearly see the full image of the eight-headed, eight-tailed monster on the Mountainside.
"Sir! The target's size exceeds two hundred meters, and its weight is over thirty thousand tons."
"With such a size and weight, it can be initially inferred that its internal biological density is terrifyingly high, and the thickness of its external snake scales is very likely to reach five to six meters. This level of protection is theoretically immune to all conventional firearms attacks."
"Is that so? Let me try!"
"Boom"
Facing Yamata no Orochi below, Iron Man's shoulder launcher popped out, and over a dozen high-explosive shells whistled out. The fierce artillery fire covered several of Yamata no Orochi's heads in a storm of flames.
But the next second, the unharmed Yamata no Orochi hissed and tore through the flames.
Its eight snake heads, sixteen cold Snake Eyes, stared fixedly at Tony Stark in the air.
"What a pain! But luckily this guy can't fly!"
Tony Stark hadn't finished speaking when one of Yamata no Orochi's snake heads opened its mouth and sprayed a stream of yellowish-green viscous fluid at him! Tony maneuvered the Battlegear, quickly avoiding Yamata no Orochi's attack, and shot into the higher sky.
This stream of fluid from Yamata no Orochi landed on the mountain rock beneath Tony Stark's foot, instantly corroding a large pit over ten meters wide and three to four meters deep in the rock.
Seeing this scene, Tony Stark flew up another few hundred meters.
The gold and red Battlegear hovered there. Launchers popped out from multiple points on the Battlegear, and sharp black missiles were ready to fire.
"Sir! Recommend using the latest armor-piercing shells!"
J.A.R.V.I.S. offered his suggestion, and Tony immediately adopted it.
In the launchers on both sides of the Battlegear's abdomen, the black missiles were quickly replaced with silver weapons. These were generally conical in shape, with a fearsome metal triangular spikes at the tip.
"Swish, swish"
Four missiles were launched the next moment, forming a constantly rotating cover formation in the air.
"Boom"
Yamata no Orochi swung its tail, directly swatting the incoming missiles and causing them to explode.
"Tony, can you hear me? Hold on! We'll be at Mount Fuji in twenty more minutes!"
Captain America's voice came from the Iron Suit's communicator.
"I'm fine! But this monster is very difficult to deal with. Ordinary attacks have no effect on it at all!" Tony Stark tried several other attack methods.
But except for the energy laser beam, none could penetrate Yamata no Orochi's snake scales.
This thing's snake scales protective layer alone was five to six meters thick, practically invincible durability. This made Tony, who relied on high-technology methods for combat, feel like he was facing a turtle, completely unable to take action.
"We need to buy an hour and a half to give the nearby residents time to evacuate. Otherwise, with its weight and strength, it could easily flatten the entire City!"
"An hour and a half? No problem!"
"Eighteen more minutes, and we'll be there!"
"Captain, I think you should first go coordinate with the Japanese Government to evacuate the nearby residents. Let Hulk come help me. This big guy should keep him busy for a while!"
(end of chapter)