Chapter 79: When Paths Cross, the Brave Win
The others in the vehicle were badly injured with head trauma, but Mason was fine—only a few scratches on his face. The vehicle they were in was specially reinforced, and even after the violent impact, it was only slightly deformed.
However, now that the vehicle was overturned, it was obviously undrivable.
"I've already called for extraction—the aircraft should be here soon," Ana said, wiping the blood from her forehead with a grim expression.
Mason handed the alloy case to Storm Shadow. "Protect the warhead, and watch out for your brother." He kicked open the car door, already donning his metal gauntlets mid-air, and landed with a roll.
He looked up. From the point of the nanotech warhead's detonation, green nanomite clouds rapidly expanded outward. Buildings and vehicles corrupted by the nanomites collapsed with thunderous roars, and several blocks descended into chaos. Countless people surged in panic, the sounds of screaming and stampeding filling the air.
Two motorcycles suddenly emerged from the side streets—Snake Eyes and Scarlett. Behind Mason, a tactical van also blocked their path, and the team surrounded Mason and his companions.
"Hand over the warheads!"
"Mason, what's wrong with you? Open your eyes and look! This is Paris!" Scarlett shouted, pointing to the devastated streets behind her.
"No need to waste words with this traitor!"
Remembering Breaker's instructions, Ripcord kicked a nearby lamppost, its base spinning loose. With a sudden burst of powered strength, he grabbed the nearly ten-meter-long lamppost and swung it at Mason!
His action instantly shattered the standoff. Snake Eyes drew his blade and lunged at Storm Shadow, while Ana raised her pulse rifle and aimed at Scarlett.
The battle erupted!
Clang! Clang!
Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's blades clashed, sparks flying. The two fought with lightning speed, exchanging dozens of strikes in just seconds. Storm Shadow, carrying the nanotech warhead case in one hand and parrying Snake Eyes' attacks with the other, quickly found himself on the defensive.
Ana's electromagnetic pulse rifle, though powerful, had an extremely long cooldown. Scarlett quickly found an opening and closed the distance. The two were evenly matched, trading blows in a fierce stalemate.
Just then, Mason, having dodged Ripcord's sweeping attack, looked up to see a crew-cut operative leap from the van behind him, firing at him.
"I'm just delivering a package—is all this really necessary?" Mason grabbed a detached van door to block the attack, then charged into the fight between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes.
"Don't you dare interfere in our duel!" Storm Shadow's expression turned cold. His pride wouldn't allow him to team up with Mason against Snake Eyes—he wanted to defeat Snake Eyes honorably with his own skill.
"Just protect my warhead, and don't forget our agreement!" Mason casually deflected Snake Eyes' blade and said to Storm Shadow.
Storm Shadow pivoted and threw several shuriken in quick succession. One forced back the crew-cut operative near the van, and the rest flew straight toward Ripcord's faceplate.
Storm Shadow was agile, and although he wasn't as strong as Mason, he didn't have to worry about losing the warhead case if he stayed cautious against Ripcord.
In the gaps between his engagement with Snake Eyes, Mason noticed that Duke's damaged armor in the nearby ruins was gradually glowing—as if he might regain mobility at any moment.
"Looks like I need to finish this quickly!"
Mason took a deep breath and gradually increased the force of his strikes. He closed in, not giving Snake Eyes any room to maneuver. Several heavy blows landed on the most vulnerable parts of the blade. Snake Eyes' strength was already much weaker than Mason's, and under Mason's relentless assault, he instantly lost his rhythm.
Under Mason's devastating onslaught, Snake Eyes' swordwork faltered slightly, and Mason's punch sent his katana flying. Mason was about to seize the opportunity to finish Snake Eyes when he noticed that Snake Eyes, though seemingly off-balance, wasn't actually vulnerable.
Instead, Snake Eyes used his backward momentum to spin and re-grasp his thrown sword. Then, he rotated like a cyclone, using his core strength to power the attack, wielding the blade with both hands and unleashing a devastating slash at Mason's head!
"That's the Storm Shadow technique!"
In a flash, Mason suddenly recalled his previous encounter with Storm Shadow. They were from the same clan—although their styles differed slightly, the fundamentals were identical.
In this life-or-death moment, Mason didn't retreat but advanced, shooting forward like a missile, seemingly oblivious to the deadly blade descending toward him, crashing headlong into Snake Eyes with unstoppable momentum!
Thud, thud, thud!
Three dull impacts followed by a series of cracking sounds. Snake Eyes' katana stopped about three inches above Mason's head, then flew high into the air.
Snake Eyes himself was sent flying by Mason's terrifying charge and heavy strikes, crashing through the shop window behind him.
Mason's gambit, while not spectacular, was definitely high-risk. If he had hesitated even for a fraction of a second when launching the attack, he would be dead now.
When warriors meet on a narrow path, the bold prevail!
Mason felt his muscles trembling. Although his body's strength limit was locked at his base world state, Mason sensed that his physical attributes would definitely increase significantly after his return.
"Indeed, only real combat is the best training!" In just over ten seconds, Mason and Snake Eyes had determined a victor. He retracted the blades from his fingertips, leaped forward, and lunged at Ripcord. With Snake Eyes defeated, victory was only a matter of time.
Just then, a roar came from the sky, and an aircraft slowly descended into a hover, its ladder extending downward.
"Leave him to me—take the warhead and board the aircraft!" Mason ordered Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow didn't linger, breaking away from combat and sprinting toward the aircraft.
"Ripcord, stop him!" Breaker's voice crackled over the communication channel.
Ripcord swung the damaged lamppost in his hand at Mason, then accelerated like a charging vehicle, chasing after Storm Shadow at maximum speed.
Although his agility was limited, combined with his powered armor, the impact force Ripcord generated once he built momentum was equivalent to a speeding car.
Just as he was about to catch Storm Shadow, an electromagnetic pulse swept in from the side, sending the unsuspecting Ripcord flying, his body tumbling into another street.
Mason aimed the pulse rifle that Ana had dropped at Scarlett. "For the sake of our friendship, I don't want to turn you into a casualty." He glanced at Ana beside him. "Get on the aircraft—we're leaving!"
Ana spat out blood. She'd just gained the upper hand—given a little more time, she was certain she could take down that redhead.
"Damn Mason!" she cursed under her breath, but could only run toward the aircraft reluctantly.
"Mason, why? You clearly left me a warning, but why did you just watch them fire the warhead?!" Scarlett wiped the blood from her face, asking in confusion.
"I left a warning?" Mason blinked, completely confused.
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