"How could I die before paying you back for that sneak attack? I'll repay my debt in full today," Li Yue spat with contempt. He had nothing but anger in his heart when he recalled what had happened that night.
"I must regretfully ask you to tone down your overconfidence. I am currently holding the power of a nuclear bomb in my body. I can't do anything if you want to escape, but it's still too early for you to even think about killing me!"
The energy that welled within Shaw's body boosted his confidence. If he released all the power at once, not even himself would be able to withstand the blast.
"Alex, Hank, think of a way to stall Azazel. Darwin, Angel, you guys stall Riptide. Erik, Li Yue, think of a way to remove the helmet on Shaw's head, so I can control his mind," The Professor arranged a plan for everyone.
The Professor then turned to Mystique and the female CIA agent. "Find a place to hide. This is not your battle."
Mystique and the female agent could only nod reluctantly at the Professor's instruction.
"You have to be careful!"
...
"I will ask one last time. Is there any of you who wants to join my great plan? It's still not too late to pick the winning side."
Shaw was definitely an inspiring leader. Even on the brink of war, he was still clear-headed enough to gather more followers.
Nobody said anything from either team, although Angel's eyes flashed with mysterious thoughts.
"Shut up and die, Shaw," Erik broke the silence with contempt. The battle was imminent.
Erik tore the metal hull of the submarine and threw the chunk of metal at Shaw.
Alex activated his ability at the same time. A beam of red energy blasted from the special plate on his chest.
Alex's accuracy had increased tremendously after the week of training. He aimed at Riptide, unsure if he could hit the other two.
Riptide couldn't react to the surprise attack, but Shaw extended out his hand to block Alex's attack and absorbed the red energy into his body.
Shaw used his other hand to shoot an energy blast at the metal panel, melting it.
Azazel disappeared from his place behind Shaw, leaving a lingering red energy akin to a blooming flower.
Azazel reappeared behind Alex, but before he could grab Alex away, Hank slammed on him out of pure instinct, and they all disappeared.
They reappeared up high in the sky together. Azazel let go of Alex, thinking that he could drop Alex to death. However, Beast that followed him stabbed his body with one claw and grabbed Alex with the other.
"If we die, we die together!" Beast shouted as they all fell from the sky.
Of course, Beast didn't actually want to die. He relied on the fact that Azazel probably wouldn't want to die either.
Sure enough, when they were a little over ten meters away from the ground, Azazel teleported them to a warship.
...
The sea around the shore was boiling. Magneto kept throwing more and more metal at Shaw, but Shaw used the immense energy within his body to keep melting them. Shaw hadn't even broken a sweat—he even counterattacked several times with explosive energy bombs.
Li Yue constantly teleported Erik to evade Shaw's energy attack. He had no time to take the helmet off Shaw's head.
The Professor could only watch anxiously from the side.
Riptide succeeded in gathering a tornado around him, blowing sand and rocks everywhere in a massive dust cloud.
Darwin stood in the middle of the chaotic tornado, unmoving despite Riptide unleashing full power. Darwin's legs had turned into roots that reached deep into the ground.
Darwin's skin had also turned into a rock-hard substance, capable of withstanding the sand and pebbles thrown around by the wind.
Angel was flying in the sky, waiting for an opportunity. Riptide shouldn't be able to keep this tornado forever. He would need to rest eventually.
The battle was reaching a critical point.
...
The soldiers on the warships watched the battle on the shore in shock. Explosion and dazzling flames soared to the sky on one side of the beach, while Riptide's tornado rose dozens of meters tall on the other side.
In the sky, a woman with wings like a dragonfly could be seen circling in the air.
The officers did not know what to do. It was unbelievable that humans could have such powerful abilities.
They could only report the situation here truthfully to their superiors and wait for orders.
...
On the warship where Azazel, Alex, and Beast appeared.
Alex shot an energy beam at Azazel—it must be said that it looked a lot like Angela's ultimate ability in Arena of Valor.
However, it did not hit Azazel. It only left a scorched line on the ship's hull.
Azazel was about to escape when he realized that he was not in a good situation, but Beast had unexpectedly pounced on him again. They teleported back to the beach beside the submarine.
Beast threw Azazel at the submarine.
Azazel hurriedly teleported, avoiding the intimate kiss between his frail body and the metal shell of the submarine. He subconsciously teleported behind Beast, wanting to launch a sneak attack.
But Beast must have expected it, or perhaps Beast's instinct was too sensitive. He punched Azazel right on the head.
Azazel's skull shook, and he fell unconscious.
Shaw noticed the situation and anxiously blasted Beast with an energy bomb.
Beast was too panicked to dodge in time. Li Yue teleported in front of him at the last moment and blocked the energy bomb.
"No!" Beast roared in shock, but what he saw next stunned him even further.
Li Yue didn't seem to be harmed when the energy bomb hit him. He instead grinned at Shaw before grabbing Beast and the unconscious Azazel, teleporting away from the beach.
Shaw almost exploded with anger at Li Yue's smile. He was also stunned that his energy blast couldn't even scratch Li Yue's body.
"Is that how others feel when they look at me? Could he has the same ability as me?" Shaw was shocked by his own thoughts.
He remembered that it was the same as last night. He had seen Li Yue getting blasted, yet Li Yue appeared in front of him, still unharmed.
...
Li Yue had no idea how much he had shaken Shaw.
He appeared in front of Mystique, who was watching not far away. He put Azazel down, let go of Beast, and disappeared again without a word.
Li Yue was afraid that Magneto would be in grave peril if he left that man for too long.
Sure enough, without Li Yue to help him dodge, Magneto could only block attacks using metal pieces in front of him. Meanwhile, Shaw mercilessly blasted the helpless Magneto with all his power. Explosions after explosions destroyed the flimsy metal shields that Magneto used, pushing Magneto back.
"Li Yue, can you hear me?" The Professor's voice suddenly appeared in Li Yue's head before he could intervene.
"Professor, didn't you say that you couldn't enter my mind? How..."
"I didn't enter your mind. I'm just using basic telepathy," the Professor explained. He then continued, "Li Yue, we can't go on like this. Shaw has absorbed all the energy in the reactor; his power is near limitless. We will be exhausted before we can put a dent on him."
"Then what should we do? We can't get close to him at all, let alone take off his helmet," Li Yue replied, a little depressed. In the movie, Magneto easily seized the opportunity to take off Shaw's helmet.
Li Yue didn't expect Shaw would be so much harder to deal with. The fully-empowered Black Emperor was such an asshole.