The talkative raven in the world of American comics

Chapter 197 A Song of Thunder and Fire

Chapter 197 A Song of Thunder and Fire (XIV)

"Sir, we're almost there."

The man named Crossbones leaned back in his seat in the cabin and slowly opened his eyes after hearing his subordinate's report.

He asked, "How are the ground team's preparations?"

"The blockade is complete. This operation will not allow any remaining superheroes to escape."

Crossbones nodded slightly, quite satisfied with his plan.

This operation was specifically ordered by President Red Skull.

Aside from dealing with the few superheroes who are still alive, the primary goal is to retrieve the President's treasure.

According to the president, Hawkeye trained a raven to steal all the loot he had collected.

At first, he thought it was just a joke.

Because he had made great contributions to the President a long time ago, he had once had the opportunity to admire the spoils of war with the President.

That year I was forty, standing like a lackey.

The display case in front of me was piled with superhero costumes and equipment, the bloodstains on which had not even been washed off.

Just by looking at them, you can feel their weight and history, as if they are telling a story from the past.

How could a crow possibly steal so many things?

But after watching the video, he fell silent.

This crow...

Awesome.

He couldn't think of a better adjective to describe the other person.

"Boss, I have a question..." the subordinate suddenly said.

"What?"

"Don't we need to worry about Hulk going crazy and ruining this operation?" the subordinate asked.

Although intelligence indicates that Hulk is currently in human form as Bruce Banner, the extermination operation is no simple matter and will involve combat!

People can die!

Can these super soldiers who have been injected with the super serum really defeat the Hulk?

It seems that they are aware of their own thoughts.

A soft laugh came from behind the sturdy mask of the crossbones, the tone full of confidence.

"Don't worry, child."

"We have hatred."

"No good, Hawkeye! My makeshift radar tells me there are people ahead too!"

Ultron 5's words at that moment chilled Hawkeye to the bone.

Not long after spotting the Sandman, he immediately notified all the residents of the town to flee the area.

He was unaware of the battle situation in the town center.

He knew that these innocent residents in exile must not be affected.

As long as he is alive, he remains a superhero, and therefore has a responsibility to protect these people!

But he overestimated his abilities.

Or rather, no one expected things to escalate so badly!

Apart from the sinister group of six who headed straight for the battlefield, the entire area around Hammerfall was blocked off by a dedicated army, as if they had anticipated that these people would flee, and prohibited passage!

Hawkeye was certain that these people knew he had brought a large group of men, but they did nothing; they simply maintained an encirclement.

It's like the poison gas circle is constantly shrinking, trying to lock our group in the small town!

With a whooshing sound.

Night fell and it started to rain.

The sudden downpour only made Hawkeye feel more depressed.

"They must have come for me!"

Hawkeye turned to Bruce, who also had a grim expression, and said, "You, Toya, and Ultron 5 continue to lead these people. I'm going..."

As he was talking, he suddenly fell silent.

Originally, he wanted to fight his way out for them, so that all their attention would be on him, and only then would they have a chance to escape.

But the reality told him that it was all wishful thinking.

Could he have single-handedly shaken up the entire encirclement and suppression?

Give me a break.

"Clint, if all else fails, just shoot an arrow in my forehead..." Banner suddenly said.

"What?!" Hawkeye exclaimed in shock. "Are you insane?!"

"What other options are there right now?" Bruce sighed. He had never so desperately hoped that Hulk would take control of the body.

After all, Bruce Banner can't do anything right now.

I could only follow behind them like a burden.

To solve this predicament, we must rely on the power of the Hulk.

As for whether he would be willing to take action against these villains after transforming into the Hulk, he didn't know.

All he knew was that if he didn't transform, nothing could be changed.

"This is the only way! I have to try this possibility!" Banner said.

Hawkeye shook his head and muttered frantically, "There must be other ways!"

Rainwater slid down his cheeks and onto the ground.

Hawkeye couldn't help but turn around and glance at the townspeople who were shining their light in their direction.

Their eyes held the resentment of being driven from their homes, and they seemed to place their hopes on Hawkeye himself.

Hawkeye felt a chill run down his spine from the sight.

He gritted his teeth and asked, "What if Hulk refuses to come out even when he's dead?!"

Banner smiled, quite nonchalantly: "Then you've done a service to the people."

As soon as he finished speaking, Banner realized that his emotions were fluctuating.

That's rare...

Banner sneered, inwardly cursing his other personality.

"You piece of trash, a useless person whose head is full of nothing but lewd garbage!"

"No wonder people don't like you!"

"You only cause trouble for this world! You're unwilling to step up when you're needed, but you insist on showing up when you're not!"

"You're such a misfortune for me!"

To his surprise, after listening to the insults, Hulk simply glanced at him, said nothing, and squatted in the corner with his knees drawn up to his chest.

After a while.

Hulk slowly uttered a sentence, extinguishing Banner's hopes.

"...Haoke would rather die than come out."

Banner sighed silently, his thoughts returning to reality. He wondered if his next actions could be considered selfish.

If he can't transform into the Hulk, then he can just die like this, at least whatever happens to the world won't matter to him anymore.

Hawkeye may have to face these challenges alone once again.

Would you call this a betrayal?

"Go ahead, Clint." Banner closed his eyes and silently apologized.

"...I'm sorry, Bruce, this is the only way."

Hawkeye had no idea what Banner was thinking; he could only place his hopes on him for the time being and pray for a miracle.

Two fingers gently pulled the bowstring, producing a faint vibrato.

"I'm going to shoot, Bruce!"

"Shoot!"

When Eagle Eyes closes its eyes, it's time to loosen its fingers!

In the very next second!

A beam of intense white light shone on them!

Even with their eyes closed, they could personally feel this incandescent light.

The fighter jets circling in the sky broadcast a message, drawing the attention of the large crowd below.

"Citizens of Hammerfall, you need not worry about your safety. Our purpose here is simply to arrest these criminals."

"Hawkeye, put down your weapon, stay away from these innocent civilians, and prepare to be brought to justice!"

Hawkeye suddenly felt like the sky was falling.

For him, the reality before him was worse than killing him on the spot!

How could he not understand the purpose of those damned bastards?!

It simply tells every resident of Hammerfall that their hopes for the return of superheroes are over today.

The idea that superheroes are protecting them is a joke.

Citizens need not worry about their safety, because the villains who have reversed identities only want to destroy the spirit of these surviving superheroes!

Their deaths will only further extinguish the hope in these people's hearts.

It was called murder, but it was actually a betrayal of the spirit.

Hawkeye gave a wry smile and simply threw the bow and arrow in his hand onto the ground.

"As long as they survive, that's all that matters, right, Bruce?"

Banner gave a resigned "hmm".

He didn't know what his fate would be. Ten years ago, he couldn't share the hardships with his teammates, but tonight, being able to keep each other company was at least something to be happy about.

Several circling fighter jets opened their cabin doors and fell down along with the rain.

The landing of dozens of soldiers quickly established a cordon, temporarily separating Hawkeye, Banner, and Ultron 5 from the other townspeople.

As soon as Crossbones landed, his gaze fell on Ultron 5.

"Wow, a robot who swore to destroy the world is going to become a superhero? Take off your armor, and I might spare your life."

As an intelligent mechanical life form, Ultron showed no emotion whatsoever to these sarcastic remarks.

But it was saved by Hawkeye, and with the help of the nanomaterials provided by Spider-Man, it can still produce one last ripple.

Ultron 5 whispered, "Hawkeye, I can..."

"No need, Ultron. Take good care of Toya for me," Hawkeye interrupted, waving his hand to signal it to get away from them.

Ultron V stared intently at Hawkeye for a moment, then said, "I will remember your glory, Hawkeye. You are a hero."

Hawkeye smiled simply.

Ultron 5 then removed his Iron Man armor, revealing his previously bulky mechanical body to be extremely slender and frail after the armor was removed.

Crossbones shook his finger, ordering someone to retrieve the Iron Man armor that Ultron 5 had taken off, then looked at Hawkeye.

"What about the other spoils of war?"

Hawkeye feigned ignorance: "I don't understand what you're talking about, spoils of war?"

Crossbones frowned. The torrential rain was making him feel sullen, and he was about to have to put on a show with this damn idiot where he knew what he was talking about, but the other person had to pretend to know nothing!

"Then I take back what I just said."

Crossbones reached for a soldier's gun and casually pointed it at some unlucky guy.

Bang! A shot was fired!

The bullet pierced the man's skull.

The other person died in a daze.

At the same time, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed through the distant night sky.

The sudden gunshots filled the air, and every resident behind them wore a look of lingering fear, completely forgetting why the thunder had roared from their distant homes.

"Damn it!!!" Hawkeye was instantly enraged by Crossbones's behavior!

Bang!

Another shot was fired.

Another innocent resident of the town has died.

"Wrong answer, Clint."

Crossbones deliberately blew a puff of gunpowder smoke from the muzzle. Because of the rain, the smoke dissipated the moment it was emitted. Since he was wearing a mask, his action of blowing the gunpowder was rather unusual.

He looks... like he deserves a beating.

"Stop shooting! You bastard!"

"You think you can just refuse to open it like that? Well then, at least show some sincerity, Clint."

Seeing that the enemy was about to pull the trigger again, Hawkeye shouted, "Toya!!!"

After shouting, he lowered his head and said painfully, "Hand over all their equipment."

Crossbones looked back.

The crowded people suddenly cleared a large space, and in the cleared space, a dark-skinned woman stood with a tense expression, as if suppressing her emotions of collapse.

Her hair, hanging down on both sides, clung tightly to her cheeks, making her look extremely disheveled.

Toya pointed to the sack behind her and said coldly, "Everything is here."

Crossbones slightly turned his head.

Several soldiers nearby immediately went over, and after seeing the contents of the sack, nodded to Crossbones.

As Toya gazed at the two corpses with their eyes wide open in death, a complex expression flashed through her mind.

Is this a stroke of luck amidst misfortune?

The unfortunate souls who died were the thugs who frequented the town.

They take pleasure in playing villains and bullying the staff who play superheroes.

Crossbones shot them dead, almost shouting "Good riddance!"

But the other party's practiced manner suggests that they have done similar things many times before.

However, it can now be said that it was a coincidence of fate that led to their unfortunate deaths.

If it were anyone else, they would have truly died a very unjust death.

After all the spoils of war were packed away.

Crossbones sent men to forcibly kneel Hawkeye and Banner on the ground.

In the rainy night.

He decided to let the citizens witness how he would judge these surviving superheroes.

"It's these damned pests who made your lives like this!"

"Now we've come to save you!"

He pointed the gun at the back of Hawkeye's head, and was about to continue speaking when one of his men rushed over and interrupted him.

"Boss! Something's happened!"

Crossbones turned his head and silently looked at his subordinate.

The subordinate swallowed hard and quickly replied, "A burning tank has broken through our encirclement and is heading towards Hammerfall!"

Crossbones murmured for a moment, then asked, "When did this happen?"

"Just now!"

A burning tank?

Crossbones knew that the city of ghosts was near Hammerfall, where the Ghost Riders, a group of raiders, took pleasure in burning, killing, and looting.

But they dared not do anything to resist the president's army.

Because their territory was given to them by the president.

Just as Crossbones was about to speak again, he was abruptly interrupted by a commotion.

Boom!!!

The thunderous roar echoed throughout the night, illuminating the area around the town as if it were daytime!

My cruciate vertebrae felt something was off.

Why did the thunder and lightning occur twice in the town at the same time?

Could it be that...?

"Someone has lifted Thor's hammer!" Hawkeye suddenly shouted!

He looked at the crowd that had gathered around him, "The miracle we've been praying for day and night has happened!!!"

"Shut up!"

Crossbones slapped the manipulative guy across the face.