(⌒▽⌒)☞☜(⌒▽⌒)
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With a raging fire and waves of heat, chaos engulfing the city, the Mandarin could have concentrated his energy to attack on a single place, but there was no sign of restraint from the man. Instead, he let the flames sweep through the entire busy market.
Amidst his maniacal laughter, the flames surged wildly, and many citizens who had lingered on the streets before were burned to ashes without realizing what had happened.
The crowd fled wildly, cries and sobs mixed with the demands from the U.S. military and local police for Mandarin to surrender, echoed in the air.
"Surrender?" Having accessed the memories of a pilot, the Mandarin could now understand English, and he heard the words of the soldiers.
Disdain, gloom, and indifference were unabashedly reflected on his old face.
"This is my land! You should kneel at my feet, beg for my forgiveness, and maybe I'll show mercy and spare your pathetic lives!" The Mandarin stood arrogantly with hands on his hips, floating in mid-air, as if he were the master of the sky.
Just as the Kandahar police force was about to go up and capture the enemy, they witnessed a surprising scene that left them dumbfounded. The American soldiers, who were like heavenly soldiers in their minds, turned and fled, some even tossing away their weapons as they ran.
These are the most advanced weapons in the world today. If they were found and handed over to the higher-ups under normal circumstances, they would undoubtedly receive promotions. However, now the police had no intention of doing so.
The heavenly soldiers had all run away, and here we were supposed to fight desperately? What a joke!
Utilizing their advantage of being locals and familiar with the terrain, the Kandahar police scattered and fled.
Unfortunately, unlike the U.S. military, they didn't receive the order to lure the enemy early on. Their escape speed was half a beat slower, and looking backward and here and their, their retreat was not as resolute.
Over a dozen locals ran for their lives, but after running for a while, they realized they were not moving forward. Instead, they took a few steps back. When they finally realized something was wrong, they felt as if some unknown force were dragging them back, like they were being pulled back through the clouds.
The slower ones hadn't figured out what was happening and became confused ghosts. The more alert ones pleaded for mercy while watching themselves collide with the lightning summoned by The Mandarin.
Over a dozen Kandahar police officers were forcibly pulled back by the force of gravity, and a few ear-piercing explosions followed, turning them into piles of charcoal beneath the lightning.
Watching the retreating U.S. military, The Mandarin had a sneer and once again took on the role of the hunter to pursue.
Chasing down two streets, The Mandarin frowned slightly, only to see the U.S. military, who had been like defeated dogs, regaining their formation. Unit by unit, they surrounded him.
"Can ants in numbers defeat an elephant?" He showed no fear of being surrounded. Unfortunately, in his continuous victories, he had become too arrogant this time, losing the calmness he should have. A Barrett sniper rifle fired from a concealed position less than thirty meters away.
The initial speed of the bullet reached eight hundred meters per second, faster than The Mandarin's reaction. With the distance being so close, his shield was only halfway up when the bullet was already in front of him, forcing him to quickly dodge.
The bullet left a shallow scar on his face, although the wound quickly healed with his regenerative abilities. However, this sense of humiliation was something he hadn't felt in many years.
"Fire, fire!" In the rear command post, the army general loudly ordered.
Snipers who had been lying in ambush fired, and from both ends of the street came two M1A2 main battle tanks, aiming their firepower at The Mandarin and firing wildly.
The tank's firepower was much greater than the bullets Daisy and the others had used before, and while The Mandarin had seen tanks in the pilot's memories, still underestimated them a bit. He was left in a sorry state after being hit by the tank's main gun.
Knowing The Mandarin's characteristics well, Daisy arranged two Black Hawk helicopters. They flew above The Mandarin, each releasing a batch of concussion grenades before escaping.
Amidst the swirling smoke, The Mandarin was resisting the artillery fire when he suddenly felt a multitude of bright lights around him, accompanied by a deafening noise.
The intense light blurred his vision, and the noise momentarily deprived him of awareness of the outside world.
"Effective! Agent Johnson, your method is excellent!" Two veteran generals in the command center saw the attack taking effect, and they couldn't be happier.
Daisy smiled, accepting these insincere compliments, and internally praised her own cleverness.
Facing such a formidable enemy, using weapons directly against The Mandarin would likely have minimal effect. However, he had vulnerabilities as his body still remained human.
While heavy weapons could be defended against by the ring, many non-lethal and auxiliary weapons could still affect him.
While they celebrated in the command center, The Mandarin found himself in crisis. The high-decibel noise made him feel disoriented, causing lapses in the control of his "chi." The firepower of the surrounding U.S. military once again targeted him.
Hit consecutively for several seconds, his regenerative abilities were far from those of Wolverine. Facing the fully armed U.S. military without retaliating meant certain death, and the situation became extremely severe for a while.
He hastily descended from the air, half-crouching on the ground, chanting incantations. The material reconstruction ring on his right thumb emitted a black light, summoning four towering stone giants from the ground in front, behind, left, and right.
Seeing this supernatural scene, both the people in the command center and the U.S. military on-site were a bit confused. Why does this feel like a movie? Stone giants are actually coming out?
"Continue firing; those are just a bunch of rocks, nothing great!" Unable to give direct orders, Daisy could only remind the old generals.
By the time the old generals conveyed the command to the front lines, The Mandarin had summoned over a dozen stone giants, forming a massive protective barrier around him.
The tanks opened fire again, and the seemingly invincible stone giants, in the eyes of ancient people, couldn't withstand the bombardment of modern artillery, nearly crumbling with each shot.
Unfortunately, in those few seconds of delay, The Mandarin had returned to normal.
Being injured by a group of ants was a great humiliation to him.
Faced with the attacks of hundreds or even thousands of soldiers, The Mandarin finally got serious. He began using the abilities of his right hand.
The rings on the right hand were superior to those on the left. The five rings on the left hand are gravity control for the thumb, flame impact of the index finger, lightning storm of the middle finger, psychic amplifier of the ring finger, and the ice impact of the little finger.
The three rings on the left hand which were partial energy attacks could actually be replaced by high-tech weapons in modern society.
The five rings on the right hand were much stronger. They included material reconstruction on the thumb, shockwaves on the index finger, tornado manipulation on the middle finger, atomic cutting on the ring finger, and a dark force field on the little finger.
After The Mandarin started using his right hand, the casualty numbers began to rapidly climb.
Similar to Daisy's shockwave ability, The Mandarin could also use shockwaves with the rings. Two main battle tanks of the U.S. military were regarded by him as the biggest threat. Two consecutive shockwaves killed the internal operators, turning the main battle tanks into scrap metal immediately.
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