Chapter 79 A Mass-Produced Iron Legion Attacks—The Retribution Space Carrier!

“All right, boys! It’s time to take back our city!”

“Our mission is to cooperate with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division—uh, that’s S.H.I.E.L.D.—in launching a counteroffensive to reclaim New York.”

“We’ll take the city back from those rioters and mutated creatures. The 1st Infantry Division, 1st Marine Division, Army Rangers, and our own 101st Airborne Division will all participate in today’s operation to secure New York City.”

“Before long, the flag of the United States will fly over Liberty Island once again.”

“Once the landing zone has been cleared, we’ll establish a foothold on Liberty Island. After constructing a forward operating base, we’ll advance into the city.”

“Are you ready to kick those bastards’ asses?”

“Hooah!”

Inside the helicopters, the Marines raised their M16 rifles and erupted into cheers.

It was a relatively large helicopter formation consisting of twenty-four Black Hawks and six CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters.

As the formation flew over Liberty Island, the soldiers stared at the Statue of Liberty passing alongside them and momentarily fell silent.

The officers and NCOs inside the cabins continued delivering morale-boosting speeches.

Suddenly, alarms erupted from the cockpit.

The CH-47 shook violently before spiraling out of control, hurling the soldiers inside from their seats.

“What the hell is happening?!”

“Damn it! We’re under attack! Surface-to-air missile!”

Inside one of the Black Hawks, the pilot desperately maneuvered and deployed flares in an attempt to evade the incoming missile.

Several high-explosive rounds struck the cockpit’s ballistic glass.

Fragments pierced the windshield and tore across the pilot’s helmet.

The pilot screamed and clutched his wounded eyes.

The copilot turned in panic to check on him, failing to notice the out-of-control CH-47 hurtling toward them.

The two aircraft collided in midair.

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Air Formation Twenty-One! We are under attack! Super Six-Four and Super Six-One are going down!”

“Damn it—what the hell are those things?!”

Amid the chaotic radio transmissions, the soldiers aboard the remaining Black Hawks saw several unidentified flying objects approaching at high speed, flames trailing behind them.

One pilot stared in disbelief as a humanoid figure wearing armor resembling Iron Man’s suit stopped directly in front of his helicopter.

The armored figure raised one hand.

A Gatling gun mounted on its mechanical arm unleashed a torrent of fire.

Even the cockpit’s ballistic glass could not withstand such concentrated firepower. It shattered almost instantly.

Amid the terrified cries of Air Formation Twenty-One’s soldiers, more identical armored figures appeared one after another.

“Damn it! We’re being attacked by Stark Industries’ armored suits!”

“There are too many of them!”

The radio filled with screams as helicopters fell from the sky one after another.

Back at the military base, a group of senior American generals watched in furious disbelief as their forces were subjected to a one-sided massacre.

Calls were immediately placed to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries.

At the Foundation’s Paradise Island base, the now-recovered Tony Stark was enjoying a rare afternoon of sunbathing on the beach with Pepper.

Tony had just taken a sip of his martini when Coulson approached under the escort of a Foundation officer.

“Mr. Stark, this is Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. He says he needs to speak with you about an urgent matter.”

Tony had not remained idle during his recovery.

He had helped the Foundation develop several new projects, becoming familiar with most of the personnel at Paradise Island.

Coulson already knew the location of the Foundation base. Finding Ethan was difficult, but arranging a meeting with the comparatively unoccupied Tony was far easier.

Tony’s relaxed smile immediately disappeared when he saw Coulson.

“Agent Coulson? What happened?”

With a solemn expression, Coulson handed Tony a tablet.

“Mr. Stark, armored units using Stark Industries technology recently attacked American military forces and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.”

“We went to considerable lengths to recover these recordings.”

Tony took the tablet and opened the first video.

It showed a mysterious group equipped with armor resembling the Mark II attacking American helicopter formations and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Tony studied the armored figures carefully, replaying the footage frame by frame.

Before long, he noticed several important details.

His brow furrowed.

After a moment, Tony exhaled and returned the tablet to Coulson.

“Stark Industries didn’t build these, although they’re definitely using technology stolen from the Mark II.”

Tony considered the footage before continuing.

“Obadiah obtained the Mark II’s technical data, but without JARVIS, he couldn’t perfectly reproduce its performance.”

“These are downgraded, mass-produced versions of the Mark II.”

He frowned.

“But something about their movements is strange.”

“After examining the footage, I can tell that they only resemble the Mark II externally. Their internal frames are vastly inferior.”

“And judging by those military paint schemes, they were clearly designed as simplified, mass-produced military models.”

Coulson’s expression immediately changed.

“You’re saying these suits were manufactured using stolen Mark II technology?”

“Based on our estimates, there may be nearly a hundred of them.”

“Relax. According to JARVIS’s evaluation, these mass-produced military suits can only achieve approximately fifty percent of the original Mark II’s performance.”

“They’re nothing but crude imitations.”

“Mr. Stark, the proliferation of Iron Man technology has already caused us enormous losses.”

Coulson looked directly at him.

“We need your help.”

Tony fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding.

“You’re right. This is my responsibility.”

“I can’t keep hiding here.”

He turned toward Pepper.

“Sorry, Pepper. There’s something I have to do.”

Pepper looked at him anxiously.

“Tony, are you sure you’re ready?”

Tony forced a reassuring smile.

“I’m fine. With the Foundation’s help, I’ve already completed the Mark IV’s upgrades, and my injuries have healed.”

He looked back at Coulson.

“I’ll go with you. We can’t allow Obadiah to continue doing whatever he wants.”

“Then we should leave immediately.”

Pepper watched worriedly as Tony, Coulson, Agent May, and the others hurried away from Paradise Island.

Everything that had happened was observed by Yukikaze.

“Searching intelligence records.”

“At least sixty-four attacks involving military armor manufactured with Mark II technology have occurred across the United States.”

“Yukikaze has completed a system evaluation.”

“The military armor used in these attacks was highly likely to have received support from the Chaos Insurgency faction aligned with the Twelve Round Table Council.”

“Assessment: Obadiah Stane has begun launching retaliatory attacks against the federal government.”

“Recommended response: place all air-combat formations on standby.”

“Upon receiving authorization from the Commander, they will deploy immediately.”

“Intelligence File 221 will be transmitted to the Commander as soon as communications are restored.”

Yukikaze had already taken control of the Foundation base’s central network, and Ethan had granted her extensive temporary administrative and decision-making authority.

The moment she detected the abnormal incidents, Yukikaze placed the Foundation’s forces on alert.

All she needed to do was wait until communications with Ethan were restored and report the situation.

Meanwhile, on the Moon, Ethan’s group had completely secured the lunar base’s surface living quarters and command center.

However, the underground sections remained overrun by an apparently endless supply of zombies, making it impossible to descend for the time being.

Just as Ethan was wondering whether they should fight their way back to the underground teleporter and return to Earth, the system’s notification sounded.

[Side Mission Complete: Investigate the Lunar Base.]

[Reward obtained: Call of Duty Universe Item—Retribution-Class Space Carrier!]

Author’s Note: I’ve only just recovered from COVID, so updates are still a little slow. I’ll restore the normal update schedule as soon as possible.