Schadenfreude

With S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources this time, the unmanned robots designed by Ivan Vanko were far more advanced than the ones he had designed for Hammer Industries, and their combat power had risen by an entire level.

Of course, Ivan Vanko had only ever had one goal: to make Tony pay the price. His current work for S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared to be a compromise, but Hydra had secretly contacted him long ago.

Ivan Vanko had long since become one of Hydra’s men.

Only the arrogant Nick Fury believed that his personal charisma had made Ivan Vanko abandon his hatred and work for S.H.I.E.L.D. with peace of mind.

Just as Hawkeye was about to give out, a huge mass of figures rapidly flew in from the distant sky—the robot legion controlled by computers.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s secret weapon of the moment.

"Oh? Reinforcements?"

Loki naturally noticed the robot legion arriving in support, but he did not take them seriously. In his eyes, the robots built by S.H.I.E.L.D. posed no threat at all.

In truth, that was indeed the case when facing the Destroyer.

Although the robots were highly advanced and no longer needed space for pilots, allowing them to carry more ammunition, ordinary weapons still lacked the power to breach the Destroyer armor.

As dozens, then over a hundred robots joined the battle, the scene grew even more spectacular. All kinds of weapons and shells bombarded the ground, kicking up even more dust.

"Director, can these robots really do it?"

"Don’t worry. These robots are all extremely powerful. Their firepower is no weaker than China’s Kirin Armor! Under such concentrated fire, they’ll definitely make it pay the price!"

Nick Fury displayed an inexplicable confidence in the robots his people had built as he continued.

"Besides, these robots are made of titanium-gold alloy, the same material as Iron Man Tony Stark’s armor. Their defensive capabilities are astonishing. That alien robot definitely won’t be able to damage their shells!"

"But…"

Watching the dust grow thicker and thicker, Coulson did not know why, but he could not shake the unease in his heart.

He did not know about the law that smoke meant no damage, but he had the same concern. A bad premonition rose within him.

Sure enough, just as Coulson had feared, when the smoke dispersed, the Destroyer emerged without a scratch.

"…"

Were you a jinx or something?

Nick Fury glared speechlessly at Coulson, his teeth itching with irritation.

"Heh, they’re nothing but a pile of scrap-metal toys."

Loki sneered coldly and controlled the Destroyer. A streak of fire swept across the field, slicing several robots cleanly in half.

So this was the same material as Iron Man’s armor? Incredibly hard? Indestructible?

Coulson cast a resentful glance at his Director. Sure enough, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s secret weapon, this robot legion, did not seem capable of threatening anyone at all.

"Keep attacking! I refuse to believe it!"

Having been slapped in the face, Nick Fury was in an especially foul mood. Seeing the enemy remain completely unharmed under the legion’s assault made his fury burn even hotter.

Why? Why could Tony unleash unimaginable power just by wearing armor?

Why could the Chinese giant easily defeat enemies just by putting on armor?

And why was it that S.H.I.E.L.D., using the same materials and the same Arc Reactor, could only produce suits that were nothing but piles of scrap metal?

I can’t accept this!

Nick Fury did not know that the Kirin Armor’s strength did not lie in its materials. Even its power source was an upgraded Arc Reactor, far stronger than the knockoff made by Ivan Vanko. More importantly, the Kirin Armor’s greatest strength now was that it had integrated the power of magic!

Though they looked like technological creations, many magic arrays and spell circuits had been inscribed inside the Kirin Armor, allowing it to unleash all kinds of powerful magic!

Portals and storage space—those two alone could greatly enhance the armor’s strength!

And now that Chen Mu had returned from Asgard, he had mastered even more magic. Once he fully grasped it, he could greatly improve the armor’s capabilities again!

How could Ivan Vanko’s robots possibly compare with the Kirin Armor?

As for why Tony was stronger than these robots whenever he wore armor?

Come on, he was the protagonist. He had protagonist plot armor. What was so surprising about him being unexpectedly powerful?

It was completely understandable!

Upon receiving Nick Fury’s order, all the robots attacked even more frantically, but it was still useless.

"A bunch of annoying flies!"

Having played enough, Loki prepared to eliminate all these annoying flies in one go. He was still busy tricking the Frost Giant King Laufey into coming to Asgard, catching him like a turtle in a jar, killing Laufey, and then using the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim.

It had to be said that Loki was exceptionally ruthless.

Laufey was his biological father, yet Loki was ready to kill him without the slightest hesitation.

"Then the game ends here!"

Loki sneered coldly and directly controlled the Destroyer to unleash its ultimate move.

Every joint on the Destroyer lit up with a scorching red glow. Countless streaks of fire suddenly shot out in all directions from around it. As the Destroyer moved, those countless firelines swept across the battlefield, directly destroying all of the more than one hundred robots in the sky.

Coulson and Nick Fury did not know whether it was dumb luck or something else, but they had somehow survived that attack and remained alive. Hawkeye, meanwhile, was originally a sniper and had already fled far away to find favorable terrain, so he was not hurt by the attack either.

But wasn’t this robot legion far too useless?

One skill, and they had been wiped out like a group of cannon fodder?

Could they at least have been a little useful?

This time, even Nick Fury felt utterly humiliated. His secret weapon legion had been annihilated the moment it appeared. It was an absolute slap in the face!

Meanwhile, after receiving Nick Fury’s call, Chen Mu heard his irritating tone and hung up without a second thought.

Who did this guy think he was?

Heh.

"Looks like something happened in America again?"

Xu Jia pursed her lips in a smile, looking rather pleased by their misfortune.

"Xu Jia, how many times have I told you? We’re a great power. We can’t take pleasure in another country’s misfortune!"

Chen Mu gave a light cough and spoke with righteous solemnity.

"Oh, give it a rest!" Xu Jia rolled her eyes.

Perhaps others did not know, but after spending several months with him, how could Xu Jia not know what kind of person Chen Mu was?

When it came to being devious, no one beat him.

I’m taking pleasure in their misfortune? You might even be thinking about throwing a party to celebrate right now!

"By the way, tomorrow is my birthday. Let’s all go get a late-night meal later. My treat!"

Fine, see? Just as expected!

P.S.

Thanks to the former leader of the Heaven-Exploding Gang, Xiaotian, for the second Grandmaster verification!! (??ω?? "∠)