More Unexpected

Tessa was exceptionally clever. The moment she saw the hesitant steps of everyone from the Floating Temple, she understood. With a bitter smile, she hurriedly explained, "They may be powerful, but killing Alex and the others will be extremely difficult!" After calming everyone down, Tessa continued, "And their objective is already clear. If we send people out now, their hidden force will immediately appear at the Floating Giant Island. When that happens…"

Tessa did not finish her sentence, but no one present was a fool. They naturally understood. Understanding, however, was one thing; acting on it was another.

Although Tessa said Alex and the others were safe, no one present—especially Crystal—thought so. Besides, it was better to be safe than sorry. If anything really happened to Alex, everyone here would feel guilty for the rest of their lives.

Seeing that Crystal still had no intention of letting go, Tessa felt bitter and said helplessly, "We can send people, but absolutely not too many!" Their hidden force had yet to reveal itself, and Tessa had to retain enough troops in case of an emergency. Compared to Alex and the others’ safety, she cared more about the safety of the Floating Giant Island—or rather, the X-Mansion.

Crystal was not someone who caused trouble without reason. Hearing Tessa relent, she immediately dispersed the earthen hand and lowered Tessa unharmed. Then she impatiently shouted, "Quick, call people! We’re leaving now!"

Tessa really wanted to say, "You can’t go," but seeing Crystal’s impatient expression, she wisely shut her mouth. With Crystal’s temperament, even if Tessa spoke up, she probably would not be able to stop her. She might even get lectured instead.

After selecting more than a dozen elite X-Men, Tessa sent them and Crystal’s group out of the Floating Giant Island. Then she ignored them, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the island’s defenses and no longer paying attention to the images on the holographic control console.

Because of Mandarin’s secret interference, the original one-on-one challenge could naturally no longer continue. Alex led Emma and the others in launching the first charge, but their target was not Mandarin’s group. They charged toward the rear instead.

Their enemies’ scheme had already become clear. Whether Alex and the others won or lost, staying here no longer meant anything. Their most important task now was to leave as quickly as possible and return to the Floating Temple.

Seeing Alex and the others move, Strucker could not help laughing. Ever since he had come into contact with Alex, he had always been the one at a disadvantage. Now that the situation had reversed, he could not help being delighted. With a wave of his hand, he led the people behind him in swift pursuit of Alex.

Strucker was fast enough, but someone was even faster. The moment Strucker started moving, Mandarin and the Black Queen had already shot forward. They were about to catch Alex’s fleeing group.

Alex’s group was large, but few among them could fly. Alex did not dare waste too much energy making energy wings for them, so they could only run with all their might. Unfortunately, running could never match flying. They were about to be caught in an instant.

Seeing the Black Queen and Mandarin about to catch up, Alex made a snap decision and turned to charge at them. "Emma, take them and run!"

Emma’s entire body stiffened, and she abruptly stopped. At the same time, everyone else stopped as well.

"Let’s just fight them!" Before Emma could speak, Remy raised the gentleman’s cane in his hand and said indignantly, "Running before we’ve even fought is way too humiliating!"

Remy’s words won everyone’s agreement. Even the shapeshifter, the weakest among them, refused to fall behind. He pulled a pair of daggers from who knew where, spun them in a flashy flourish, and wore a determined expression.

Emma did not say a word. She was the first to charge at Strucker. Seeing this, everyone else roared and charged back into battle, their faces filled with excitement.

The X-Men who had followed Emma to participate in the challenge had all been carefully selected. Their abilities went without saying, and their overall strength was on Remy’s level—Remy after receiving Alex’s guidance.

The same went for the Black Queen’s side. The Hellfire Club’s foundation was not something a newly risen force like the X-Men could compare with. However, the people Strucker had brought were somewhat weaker. Balancing things out, the two sides fought on even terms.

The truly worrying battle was instead the one between Alex, the Black Queen, and Mandarin. The three of them were among the strongest people present, and even the others found it difficult to intervene.

Yet what surprised everyone was that Alex performed exceptionally fiercely. He seemed even stronger than before, showing no sign of falling behind under the Black Queen and Mandarin’s joint assault. Of course, part of that was because the Black Queen and Mandarin did not coordinate well, but Alex’s increase in combat strength was undeniably real.

Even Alex had not expected himself to become this powerful. Free of his body’s constraints, his pure energy body feared no attack. Whether it was a physical attack or an energy attack, as long as the Consciousness Register remained undamaged, Alex could recover in an instant. And having lost the Replication Ability, Alex was left only with Energy Control. He became purer, and his thoughts became more focused as well.

What delighted Alex even more was that as the battle continued, his mastery of Energy Control advanced by leaps and bounds. In just a short while, it felt more profound than two full days of training in the training room.

Alex’s progress and changes also fell into the eyes of the Black Queen and Mandarin. The two exchanged a glance, and their formerly casual attitudes became serious.

What people feared most was seriousness. Once the Black Queen and Mandarin got serious, they quickly discovered Alex’s weakness. He neither dodged nor avoided any attack, yet he was especially wary of attacks aimed at his head. There was clearly a problem.

At first, Alex did not realize it. He was still immersed in the thrill of his enhanced Energy Control. It was not until one of Mandarin’s Cutting Beams nearly struck the Consciousness Register that Alex barely snapped awake. After a brief thought, he understood the issue and secretly moved the Consciousness Register to another location. On the surface, however, Alex still pretended to care deeply about protecting his head.

While the battle on Alex’s side was in full swing, the Floating Giant Island also welcomed its enemy: the hidden force Strucker had arranged. Robots filled the skies, and inside every robot sat a person.

But that was not the crucial part. The crucial part was that every robot bore Hydra’s emblem!

"Hydra? Why are they here?!" The moment Tessa saw them, her mind froze completely. Only after a long pause did it begin working again, and rare surprise appeared on her iceberg-like face.

Just as she was stunned, a red-headed figure stepped out from the crowd. It was Red Skull!