Under the pressure of the sonic cannons, Hulk roared in agony and dropped the metal shields he had been using.
Seeing Hulk clutching his head in pain, General Ross couldn't help but smile. At least this weapon was doing something. Unlike grenade launchers and other firearms that hadn't even made him flinch before, this time, they were finally seeing some reaction.
Betty, watching Bruce Banner—now the Hulk—writhing in pain, rushed toward Ross and grabbed his uniform.
"Please stop! I'm begging you—stop!"
But Ross had no intention of listening. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He immediately turned to the soldiers beside him and ordered:
"Get her out of here!"
Two soldiers moved in and dragged Betty away from the general.
"You're going to kill him!" she screamed.
"Let go! Let me go! Bruce!"
Meanwhile, the Hulk, collapsed on the ground, caught a glimpse of Betty's heartbroken face.
As Bruce Banner's alternate personality, Hulk had inherited Bruce's feelings—especially his love for Betty.
In that moment, his rage peaked. He grabbed the two discarded shields from the ground and raised one to shield himself from the sonic blast.
Even Ross was stunned. He actually blocked it?
Using one hand to block the sonic waves, Hulk hurled the other shield like a discus.
BOOM!
The shield punched straight through the sonic cannon truck, igniting a massive explosion.
The two soldiers on board had already jumped out in panic the moment Hulk moved—saving their lives. But the ones inside the truck weren't so lucky.
Another sonic cannon was still firing. Hulk leapt through the attack, shield raised, and smashed the cannon with one violent blow.
Seeing this, Ross barked into his radio:
"Where's the gunship?!"
"Hit him with missiles!"
"All units, fall back!"
The soldiers began retreating, dragging Betty with them. Even Blonsky didn't dare intervene now.
Hulk didn't pursue. He stood still, clutching his last remaining shield, eyes scanning the retreating soldiers as he paced like a caged animal.
That's when an armed helicopter appeared overhead. Locking on with radar, the pilot pressed the launch button.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two AGM-179 air-to-ground missiles streaked toward Hulk.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The twin explosions erupted into giant fireballs. The shockwave sent nearby soldiers tumbling to the ground.
"Bruuuuce!" Betty cried, face-down in the dirt, voice trembling with sorrow.
"ROOOOAR!!"
A furious roar erupted from the flames. Hulk burst out of the inferno, launching himself into the air to the helicopter's height, fist swinging.
WHAM!
The impact sent the chopper spiraling out of control. Hulk landed on its door, pummeling the fuselage with both fists.
The helicopter tilted and crashed downward.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed Hulk. His hulking figure was even more terrifying within the blast.
Clearly, those two missiles had caused real pain, and his anger now made him completely lose control.
His eyes locked onto the soldiers nearby with pure murderous rage.
At that moment, Tony Stark finally arrived—just in time to witness Hulk destroy the chopper. Seeing Hulk turn toward the soldiers, Tony launched his assault.
"Hey, big guy—look over here."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
Shoulder-mounted mini-missiles fired in rapid succession from Tony's suit.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of explosions rocked Hulk's position, engulfing him in fire once more.
ROOOOAR!
Hulk howled in fury as the blasts hit.
Ross, watching Tony swoop in, frowned.
"Why the hell is he here?"
Clearly, Ross didn't want anyone else interfering in this operation. Even when he'd brought in Smith Dole previously, it was after serious deliberation.
But he quickly shook his head. Tony is fine. Just not those damn S.H.I.E.L.D. guys.
Meanwhile, Betty was still being restrained by two soldiers under strict orders from Ross—they wouldn't let go no matter how much she struggled.
Blonsky ran over and asked,
"General, what are your orders?"
Ross looked at Iron Man battling Hulk and said,
"Let's see if our Iron Man can hold him."
Then he picked up his radio and ordered:
"Bring in the tanks. More gunships too. And have fighter jets ready to engage on my signal."
At that moment, Betty's current boyfriend—the psychiatrist—finally arrived. He was the one who had tipped off Ross about Bruce's location.
Tony, now going all-out, fired palm repulsors continuously. His back-mounted weapons were also fully deployed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"These were originally meant for Smith Dole."
Tony wasn't wearing his latest compact armor. Instead, he was using the Anti-Smith 0.5 Armor—designed specifically to counter Smith Dole.
Why version 0.5?
Because Tony was still unsatisfied with the suit's material composition. But firepower? That had been upgraded heavily.
Even so, Hulk made no attempt to dodge. He tanked every blast, the grass beneath his feet scorched to dirt by the bombardment.
"ROOOAR!"
Fueled by rage, Hulk's strength grew again. He lunged at Tony in one massive leap, aiming to swat this pesky fly from the sky.
Tony didn't retreat.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., full charge to chest-mounted energy cannon."
"Fire!"
Tony braced his arms back as a beam of blinding white light shot from the chest reactor, blasting Hulk square in the chest.
BOOOOOOM!
The beam knocked Hulk out of the air and held him down for several seconds in a sustained barrage.
"Sir, energy reserve down by 30%," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported.
This was Tony's trump card—refined through several iterations to boost both duration and impact.
While it couldn't melt through steel anymore, it did leave visible burn marks on Hulk's skin.
Ross, watching Iron Man go full force, was not impressed.
Ever since Tony developed his armor, he had refused to sell it—opting instead to play superhero himself.
But seeing how Tony successfully pinned Hulk, Ross realized something—the suit's real power was likely very close to that rumored "1.3x power index."
Although there was no official measurement for combat strength, Ross had developed his own rough conversion formula.
Clearly, Tony's firepower today surpassed Blonsky's combat level of 52 by a wide margin.
…
(End of Chapter)
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