Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1104 (Second Update)

"Where do you think you're going?" Sparks flew from the damaged thrusters as Tony Stark struggled to maintain his balance in mid-air. He occasionally glanced back and fired particle beams, like carrots hanging in front of a donkey's head, trying to get Hulk's attention. "Hey, cool guy, don't be silent!" He increased the thruster output again, managing to catch up with the heavy motorcycle that had accelerated to 224 km/h. Normally, this speed wouldn't be a big problem for the Iron Man suit, but after a long battle, the suit's energy was running low.

As Tony Stark gets closer and closer to the Hulk, even resorting to long jumps to close the distance between him and the other two, he becomes increasingly anxious.

Tell me your plans, now!

The armored knight turned and fired two shots, the explosive rounds striking the hand Hulk was reaching for Tony Stark's feet. Blood and flesh splattered, and the pain caused Hulk to let out a frustrated roar; they were so close that the roar sounded like thunder crashing beside them. "Do what you have to do," the armored knight said. "I'll take care of Hulk."

The repetitive, circling process continued for five minutes until the soldiers were ready. Fuel, ammunition, a new chain of command, and new missions were distributed to each captain via mission cards.

The M249 machine gun mounted on the Humvee and the M240 general-purpose machine gun mounted on the M2A3 infantry fighting vehicle continuously spewed fire, high-speed bullets pelting Hulk's skin. However, this firepower, capable of tearing through bricks, only added a few grazes to Hulk's skin, causing him constant and extremely annoying pain. Whenever Hulk tried to veer off the road to cause trouble for the infantry fighting vehicle and the Humvee, Tony Stark and the Black Knight in front would turn around and fire a high-energy particle beam or armor-piercing round, inflicting some real damage on Hulk and making him refocus his attention on them.

The Black Knights had been integrated into the combat intelligence gathering system, facilitating the issuance of commands. The soldiers discovered that the Black Knights possessed extremely high authority, which dispelled many of their doubts. Some soldiers even believed that the Black Knights were experts sent by the military high command to deal with Ross and the superhumans; after all, it was unbelievable that someone outside the military command chain could possess the authority of a general.

If you're trying to convince the soldiers that this is a case of a U.S. general colluding with foreign powers to sell intelligence and authority, it's better to make them believe that the Black Knights are a secret Pentagon unit specifically designed to deal with disobedient politicians and social elites. There are many such elusive superhero characters in comics, and the soldiers are quite willing to project themselves onto them, starting to imagine the Black Knights' missions. Some soldiers, grieving the deaths of their comrades, also blamed Ross, because it was Secretary Ross who caused their deaths.

When the armored knights discover that the Hulk has deviated from the planned route, they immediately issue orders. A makeshift command chain breaks down the orders and relays them to different soldiers. BGM-71 TOW missiles mounted on the infantry fighting vehicle and Javelin missiles fired by the anti-tank soldiers are then launched at the Hulk. However, neither the TOW nor the Javelin missiles achieve their initial operational objectives because these missiles do not require supersonic flight speeds. With current technology, it is difficult to continue using solid fuel to make man-portable anti-tank missiles supersonic, which does not align with the future development prospects of man-portable anti-tank missiles.

For a supernatural being like the Hulk, catching a subsonic missile flying towards him is as easy as catching a falling leaf. He snatched a TOW missile, crushed it, and hurled the thruster wreckage and intact warhead at the Black Knight. Tony Stark immediately launched a miniature missile to intercept it, but the TOW's warhead still nearly destroyed the Black Knight's heavy motorcycle—the German road administration must be having a headache today, as the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 14 is already cluttered with vehicle wreckage and burning corpses, posing a constant threat of a chain reaction of explosions. Highway 14 is covered in huge footprints; missiles from who-knows-where have blasted the road and surrounding land to smithereens, leaving charred metal fragments scattered everywhere and embedded in the soil.

Midway through the operation, Falcon, arriving from Harley Airfield, joined the fray. As a scout, he provided aerial reconnaissance and used drones to track targets. Tony Stark connected him to the communications channel, and it seemed they had put aside their past differences and were cooperating again. A second group of infantry fighting vehicles and Humvees also joined the battle at this time. In those brief four minutes, the soldiers of the first combat group, upon receiving orders, fired five Javelin missiles and one TOW missile, and emptied all the machine gun ammunition on the Humvees and infantry fighting vehicles. The second combat group joined at the opportune moment under Sergeant Black's command.

They continued to flank the Hulk, and whenever missiles failed to repel him, the armored knight would accelerate sharply, make a sudden turn, charge at the Hulk, and strike him with his greatsword, ensuring the beast clearly understood who the greatest threat was. Tony Stark was incredibly impressed by the armored knight's motorcycle-riding skills; he could see how familiar the knight was with ancient cavalry duels, and he seemed capable of handling a warhorse with equal ease.

"Almost there, leave the battlefield to me!" the black-armored knight announced over the communication channel. "Soldiers, your mission is complete! The target is about to reach the operational quadrant. Before retreating, fire all remaining Javelin and TOW missiles! Captain Bell, Sergeant Black, thank you for your command. I will remember your professional skills."

Upon receiving the order, Falcon left the battlefield and flew towards the Quinjet circling overhead. After he boarded, the Quinjet took off, followed closely by the Wakanda aircraft. Tony Stark hesitated for a moment before deciding not to give chase, instead continuing his mission—the operational area was the vast farmland east of Grayson, a flat region ideal for highly destructive combat without harming civilians or causing massive losses. The armored knight rode his heavy motorcycle onto Highway S1, which stretched across the fields.

The barrage of explosions fueled the enraged green beast's frenzy. Tony Stark gradually slowed down and used his thrusters to halt Hulk's advance, preventing him from chasing the soldiers. Gaining a moment's respite, the armored knight spun around a narrow path and charged at Hulk as before. This time, however, he pressed a button on his handlebars, unleashing a hail of heavy explosives aimed at Hulk's legs. Like a replay of the airport conflict, the heavy bombs shattered Hulk's flesh and bones, and the green beast howled as it collapsed to the ground.

Hulk instinctively raised his arm to shield himself, but the fission heat released by the continuous explosions still blew his arm apart. The intense pain caused the already frenzied beast to roar again.

"This isn't what we said before!" Tony Stark exclaimed angrily. The heavy motorcycle's weapon system responded and the sound of the empty magazine engaging rang out. The armored knight pressed a button on the handlebars, and the motorcycle engine suddenly roared terrifyingly. The wide wheels allowed the armored knight to remain stable even at high speed, and the sudden increase in acceleration gave the already extremely heavy motorcycle a considerable impact force. The armored knight slammed the front of the motorcycle hard into the chest of the completely immobilized Hulk, and even the heavy Hulk was pushed and rolled on the road by the huge impact.

Then, as if a false world had been shattered, the armored knight, the heavy motorcycle, and the berserk Hulk crashed into a shard of glass that appeared out of nowhere. After that, apart from Tony Stark still standing in place, the bullet casings scattered everywhere, and the huge footprints, nothing could prove that a conflict had taken place.

Tony Stark deactivated his mask and landed on the path. Only now did he realize his identity as the Black Knight; he had been completely fooled. He had expected a major battle, but now he discovered his opponent had a better solution, and he had been completely unaware of the whole thing.

"Sir, your blood pressure..."

"No need to talk about that, Friday. Find the Quinjet's flight path and track it!" Tony Stark said, his face flushed. "I've been played! It was all a trick by our old friend! I was wondering why he wouldn't get involved in something like this, but it turns out he was already among us!"

"Please define 'old friend,' sir."

"Salomon! This mirror trick is his specialty!" Tony Stark suppressed his rage. "Just like that, he makes a living person disappear right before my eyes!"

Where did Hulk go?

"I don't know! I don't know anything! Whether it's some conspiracy Rogers is talking about or this circus!"

"Sir, there's an 80% chance that Captain America Steve Rogers' Quinjet will reach Latvia," Friday said. "Are you really planning to chase after them?"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)