Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ethan kept firing, not caring about his accuracy.
His original purpose was only to attract the terrorists' attention and relieve some pressure for Tony.
Ethan achieved his goal; with an extra person suddenly appearing on the battlefield and firing a gun, it was impossible not to attract attention.
Several terrorists immediately turned their guns and sprayed bullets at Ethan.
"Be careful, hide quickly!"
Tony Stark was filled with shock and anger, but it was too late; he could only watch everything unfold.
But at that moment, Tony felt his vision blur for a second, and then a blue vortex appeared in front of Ethan.
"What is that?"
The vortex spun, swallowing a large number of bullets.
This strange sight instantly attracted everyone's attention on the battlefield, making them forget to fire entirely. The battlefield fell silent.
"Rimuru?"
Ethan, who had just narrowly escaped death, looked at Rimuru, who was blocking him, in utter shock.
What did he just see?
Rimuru's hand had actually turned into a blue vortex that swallowed all the bullets.
Earlier, Rimuru's sudden appearance in the enclosed cave had already given Tony and Ethan plenty to think about.
Both of them had assumed Rimuru's mutant ability might be related to hiding or stealth.
They never expected Rimuru could even swallow bullets; this was simply miraculous!
Rimuru ignored Ethan and instead charged directly toward the vantage point where a heavy machine gun was set up.
As long as the heavy machine gun was taken out, ordinary firepower would be like a tickle against the Mark I.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Quick, kill that monster!"
Rimuru's purpose was obvious, and everyone understood it clearly.
A big iron can was already difficult to deal with, and now there was a monster too.
If they lost the heavy machine gun as well, everyone here was finished.
The terrorists frantically fired, pouring bullets at Rimuru as if they were free.
But what stunned everyone was that Rimuru dodged all the bullets one by one.
Not only that, but his way of dodging was incredibly cool and stylish.
Dodging bullets while showing off—did he think he was the protagonist of a movie?!
But reality was sometimes even more absurd than movies. Everyone's jaws dropped, feeling their worldview crumble.
"She's coming over!"
"Fire!"
"Hurry and fire!"
Everyone roared, especially the machine gunner, who unleashed everything he had.
But the next second, the machine gunner stared blankly at his empty hands, which were still frozen in the firing position.
Where was his gun?
The machine gunner looked up in terror—and met Rimuru's eyes, glowing like blood-red agates.
There was no emotion in those eyes, like the God of Death harvesting souls.
Before he could even speak, he fell into endless darkness.
"She's coming! She's rushing toward us!"
"Rocket launchers! Quickly, use rocket launchers!"
"Bullets and fire are useless against her—she's a devil!"
"Don't kill me! Spare me!"
The battlefield descended into chaos. In just a short time, these desperate fighters were terrified into complete panic by Rimuru.
Ethan, who had witnessed everything, was dumbfounded. How was this even possible?
As for Tony, he was even more amazed.
From the moment Rimuru made her move until everything ended, the entire process had taken less than a minute.
Saving Ethan, dodging bullets, destroying the machine gun, taking out the terrorists—every action was smooth and efficient, without any wasted movement.
Throughout the entire display, Rimuru's objective was clear; every movement and every strike was precise beyond compare, better than even the most elite special forces.
It was like watching art.
Just who exactly was Rimuru?
Tony felt endless curiosity, but no matter what, they had won.
After disabling the automatic combat mode, the three regrouped.
Ethan looked at Rimuru with complicated emotions. "I'm sorry. I was too presumptuous earlier when I told you not to dirty your hands."
Judging from Rimuru's performance, he was clearly battle-hardened—not some sheltered greenhouse flower.
Rimuru shook his head. "Ethan, you were absolutely right. Those desperate individuals aren't worthy of dirtying my hands. Up until now, I haven't killed anyone."
Hearing Rimuru's words, both Tony and Ethan couldn't help rolling their eyes.
Judging from your skill earlier, who would believe that?
However, now wasn't the time to discuss it.
"Ethan, Rimuru, you two head out of the valley first. I'm going to destroy all the weapons in this valley."
Seeing the weapons bearing the Stark Industries trademark everywhere made Tony's expression darken.
As America's largest arms dealer, he had always been questioned and criticized, with many calling him the "Merchant of Death," but Tony had never taken it seriously.
As his father always said, "If you don't want to be bullied, your stick must be thicker than theirs."
As an arms dealer, Tony's motto was "exchanging weapons for peace."
The best weapon only needs to be fired once to earn the enemy's fear and respect.
If a lie is repeated a thousand times, it becomes truth, even when it's not.
And people always believe what they want to believe.
Tony truly believed that the weapons he created could bring peace to the world.
But this kidnapping, this cruel reality, completely woke him up.
Especially when the bearded kidnapper called him the most famous murderer in the world—that had pierced right into his heart.
These weapons absolutely must never fall into terrorist hands again.
Soon after Rimuru and Ethan left the valley, the entire place was engulfed in flames.
Just like in the movie, Tony detonated everything, then escaped using the Mark I's short-term flight capability.
The vast desert, dry and scorching, was like walking on a furnace.
Soon, Tony and Ethan were severely dehydrated and even showing signs of heatstroke.
But Rimuru was completely fine, as if walking in a cool breeze, which both Tony and Ethan found baffling and unfair.
Seriously, who exactly was Rimuru?
She was like a mystery; the more they learned, the more mysterious and unbelievable she became.
But now wasn't the time to think about it; escaping the desert was the priority.
About an hour later—
The sound of helicopter rotors came from above, and Tony excitedly waved his arms.
After successfully attracting attention, Tony even knelt on the ground in excitement, making a childish peace sign.
It was a U.S. military helicopter—in other words, his nightmare was finally over!
Soon, a dark-skinned officer rushed out of the helicopter. Who else could it be but Tony's good friend Rhodes?
"Was the jeep ride comfortable?"
Hearing this, Tony laughed awkwardly.
"Next time, ride in the same car with me, okay?"
Hearing Rhodes' words, Tony was overwhelmed with emotion and hugged him tightly.
Rimuru couldn't help but sigh. When it came to competing for Tony's affection, Pepper's biggest rivals were first the Mark-series armors, and second Rhodes!
As for the magazine cover girls? Trash. Not even competition.
"Who are they?"
Rhodes looked curiously at Rimuru and Ethan.
Ethan was fine—he just looked like an ordinary white man.
But Rimuru's appearance was far too striking, especially his blue hair and golden eyes, making him look like he was walking under a spotlight wherever he went.
Tony was helpless; Rhodes was great in every way, except he tended to be too serious.
Plus, Rimuru's origins were mysterious and his abilities impressive. Tony didn't want the military targeting him.
"They're both my saviors, and they can be trusted completely. Rhodes, you're not planning to interrogate us three in the middle of a desert, right?"
"Sorry!"
Rhodes realized he had lost his composure. He still had a basket of questions to ask, but now was clearly not the time.
Once they returned to civilization, Rimuru and Ethan immediately experienced Tony's terrifying level of influence.
Soon after, a luxurious private jet landed at the U.S. base, and the three of them began their journey to New York.