Lord of Cinder in American Comics

The new driving mode can currently only be operated by the developer, Stark.

The seemingly carefree Stark became the turning point of the whole affair, and now he was the only one who could take Ashe to the island.

At this moment, Pepper also gave up the idea of ​​stopping Stark. After all, saving lives was of utmost urgency, and once a boy makes up his mind, he will go all the way.

Furthermore, given the coverage area of ​​the poison gas bomb, there's no point in escaping anywhere now; perhaps there's still a glimmer of hope on the island where it was launched.

Pepper rushed to Stark's side and hugged him tightly, so tightly that Tony gasped softly.

"Don't worry, I won't give you a chance to find another job."

Pulling one hand away from Pepper's tight embrace, Stark gently stroked Pepper's blonde hair. At this moment, Stark felt only peace.

Releasing Pepper, Stark looked at Ash, wanting a promise from her, and said, "Ash, you have a way to protect them at your shrine, right?"

"In my name, Ash Solar, they will be safe as long as they remain within the shrine grounds. I guarantee it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ash pulled out a lance, which was decorated with a banner made of red velvet and embroidered with two golden dragons.

Ash planted the lance in the ground and channeled her inner power. A dying ember ignited the banner, and embers continued to emerge from it, sputtering sparks that covered the area around the sacrificial site.

"If there is any danger from the outside world, shake this lance, and the Pillar of Knights will come. Even if we fail, the Firelink Shrine can protect everyone from harm."

Once again, as Ash magically produced various items, Stark didn't delve into the mystery this time. He simply hugged her and said goodbye to Pepper.

Ash also told the Fire Keeper that if things went wrong, they could abandon everything at the Firelink Shrine and lead everyone to the Dark Souls world.

After all, with New York destroyed, it wouldn't matter if other secrets were discovered.

The brief, tender moment ended, and the three said goodbye to their loved ones. Cassell took the car keys handed to him by Beckett and gave his goddess one last hug.

"Alright, guys, it's time for us to get going."

## Chapter 56: A Terrible Start

Beckett's police car is now driven by Kassel. Having followed Beckett for so long, Kassel has also learned how to use the various equipment on the police car.

A police car with its siren blaring and flashing lights on sped out of the fire-lighting ritual site, flying close to the ground.

Inside the car, Ash and Stark silently tightened their grips on the overhead ceiling handles, neither wanting to remind Cassel of his dangerous driving.

At this moment, all that's missing in Kassel is a helmet to be an F1 driver. He flew from Firelink Shrine to the east side of Long Island, a distance of more than 20 kilometers, in less than ten minutes.

Kassel easily found the temporary harbor where Stark's yacht was docked, and with a violent fishtail, the vehicle turned around and came to a stop.

But now, even this private port is densely packed with Forborough agents, with all sorts of people coming and going, keeping the place very busy.

As Ash got out of the car, he could clearly see that Stark's legs were shaking. Stark was holding onto the passenger door and leaning against it, looking like he had just escaped a terrible ordeal.

Upon seeing a police car pull up, a young man wearing a Fulbora-style jacket and maintaining order, who was standing on the perimeter, walked over.

"Gentlemen, the NYPD has been ordered to cease all related operations. Please leave immediately."

The young man acted as if it were business, and other people could be seen approaching from the side, slowly surrounding the police car.

Ash pulled out his identification, which he had prepared in the car, and showed it to the surrounding Agents of Forborough. He said, "Who is the military's special person in charge of this operation? Who is the on-site commander? Where is he now? And where is the Delta Force that is coming from?"

Upon seeing Ash's identification, the surrounding agents saluted him. The one closest to him said, "The field commander is Jim Womack, who is currently in the command post. Delta Force is resting in the equipment room."

Ash headed straight for the only tent on site, which was undoubtedly the so-called command post. That's how the unprofessional Faber was; he always ended up revealing the most important target.

The Delta Force team was resting in the equipment room. According to military standards, no ammunition depots are allowed within 500 yards of the command post. They were probably on a military train some distance away.

After letting Ash in, the others prepared to stop Cassell and Stark. Seeing this, Ash said, "These are the arms consultant and danger assessment expert I invited. Let them in."

Ash led Cassell and Stark straight into the command post. Lifting the tent flap, Ash found a commander who was clearly from Delta Force arguing with another person.

"Our orders are to await the arrival of a new commander, not to cooperate with your so-called infiltration plan. Do you understand, Son of the Beach?"

The Delta Commander, with his hands on the table, was hurling insults at another person standing opposite him, his spittle spurting and wetting the map on the table.

Ash walked over and tugged at the buckle on the Delta Commander's back, saying, "Sandman, don't get too excited. I'll take care of things from here on out."

The man Ash called Sandman turned around, bowed, and said happily, "It's a pleasure to see you again, sir."

Sandman, a member of Delta Force, a sergeant first class, codenamed Sandman or Metal 01, is the commander of Alloy Squad and has cooperated with Ash in various operations at Phoenix Firepower Base.

Now that he could see Ash here, Sandman felt that the entire operation was in the bag. Anyone who had served at Phoenix Firepower Base knew that following Ash guaranteed that everyone would come back alive.

Ash pulled a chair from behind Sandman, placed it in front of the table, sat down, and asked in a calm tone, "Tell me, what happened?"

Sandman took a step back, standing behind Ash in a straddle stance, and said, "This son of the beach wants us to first protect a so-called weapons expert to infiltrate and neutralize those gas bombs."

Ash looked at the old agent across the table and noticed that the guy looked a bit like an older version of James Bond. But he didn't have Bond's thick hair.

"What's your name?"

“Jim Womack, Director of the Bureau of Investigation, is in charge of this operation.” The old man was somewhat displeased to see Ash, after all, there was suddenly someone else coming to share his authority.

Ash leaned back in his chair, his tone also becoming somewhat raised: "What, you're not satisfied with the strategy jointly devised by Forborough and the military?"

Ash understood what the old man in front of him was planning. As long as he sent people in, whether or not they could neutralize those dangerous missiles was another matter. As long as people got in, he could write a big fuss about it in his report.

He didn't care whether those who went in could complete the mission. If the mission was accomplished, everyone was happy, and he was the biggest contributor because of his skillful command.

It's not a pity if the mission fails, after all, everyone knows that the enemy this time is an elite Marine Corps, not to mention that they have a general as their commander, which greatly boosts their combat effectiveness.

Jim pointed to the marked location on the map and said, "Once they get in, my weapons experts can disarm those missiles."

Hearing the old man's confidence, Stark, who was hiding in the back, couldn't hold back any longer. Who could be a better arms expert than him?

"Ahem, I think I'm the best 'arms expert' here."

Stark deliberately emphasized the words "arms expert," making the whole sentence sound like a sarcastic jab at the old man present.

Sure enough, before anyone could find out who had said it, the old man impatiently exclaimed, "Who is it? Who dares to make such a boast!"

"Of course it's me, Tony Stark. I don't think there are many arms experts on this planet who can compare to me."

The flamboyant Stark, mimicking Ashe, dragged over a chair and sat down next to Ashe, both looking at the old man Jim with equally displeased expressions.

Unable to refute Stark's words, old Jim stood there in silence, looking like a student being lectured by both teacher and parent compared to Ash and Stark across the table.

“Daverin, your subordinates are a bit disobedient.”

Ash didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately called Chief of Staff Davelin in Foborough, telling him about Jim's unauthorized actions.

"Ash, hold on, don't worry about that old man, he's done for. I'll be there in five minutes."

Dave Lin’s urgent voice came through the speakerphone, accompanied by the loud whirring of a propeller.

With each word Devlin spoke, old Jim's face paled a little more. Old Jim knew he was doomed this time.

Unauthorized operations aren't a big problem for intelligence organizations; if they're discovered after the operation, there's still room for negotiation. But if they're discovered before the operation, they're definitely in trouble.

Old Jim just wanted to buy himself some time to make his report look better, but he ran into Ash with the arrival of Earth's most powerful arms dealer.

Chapter 57: Arrival on the Island

Less than five minutes later, the faint sound of a helicopter could be heard outside. Everyone else in the command post went out to greet the arriving director, and Ash followed.

As soon as we left the command post, we saw a UH-1N twin Huey helicopter skimming the sea surface towards the camp. The water spray kicked up by the helicopter's rotor blades was enough to splash onto the helicopter's fuselage.

While the helicopter was still hovering at the landing site, a man in a suit jumped out of the helicopter.

All the senior officers present rushed forward to greet him, and the man in the suit pushed aside the others and walked towards the command post.

Defferlin, the man in the suit, said to the pale-faced Jim, "Jim Womack, you are relieved of all your duties. The Department of Internal Affairs will investigate your unauthorized actions. Now hand over your identification and report to the Department of Internal Affairs."

After saying that, Devlin ignored the unfortunate old Jim and extended his right hand to Ash, shaking hands and saying, "Ash, I'm sorry to have this guy ruin the operation."

"It's alright. By the way, why are you here now, you busy person?"

"General Ross and General Sheffield sent me a joint note, and you called me. I have a feeling there are some idiots on the scene who might do something wrong."

At this point, Davelin glanced at Jim, who was standing on the far side, and continued, "Time was of the essence, and I couldn't coordinate with the military to get a special pass code, so I found a guy in the New Jersey base who dared to fly at extremely low altitudes within radar coverage and sent me here."

Davelin spoke somewhat casually, but anyone with even a little military knowledge understood that so-called ultra-low-altitude flight, at the speed of a helicopter, could easily result in a crash and loss of life if one was not careful.

The splash of water when the helicopter arrived also proved this point; if the pilot had deviated the control stick even slightly, Davelin would have been swallowed by the fish.

Once inside the command post, Davelin dismissed everyone and pulled Ash aside to whisper, "Ash, tell me, are you confident that we can win? If all else fails, we'll just blow up the island. Don't worry, no one will know about this."

Upon hearing this, Cassell, who was standing next to Ash, grimaced slightly, but he knew he couldn't cause Ash any trouble at this moment.

Kassel tensed his body, trying not to reveal any weakness in front of Davelin.

But Davelyn noticed the awkwardness and tension in Kassel's body and said to Ash, "Your friend seems a little... nervous?"

Ash shrugged and said with feigned helplessness, "Let him go. This is the first time I've dragged him into such a tough situation. But I still have an ace up my sleeve. See that guy over there? It's Tony Stark, the arms expert I brought in."

Shifting Davelin's attention to Stark, the famous playboy and weapons designer, one of the world's largest arms dealers, is far more noteworthy than the tense, insignificant figures.

After confirming that it was indeed Stark, Davelyn was somewhat incredulous that Ash could have gotten Stark to come to such a dangerous environment.

Deaverin was somewhat relieved and said admiringly to Ash, "I really believe you're capable; you've managed to bring Stark's pillar of strength to the table."

Without explaining the reason, Ash used her information gap compared to the others to gloat over the matter.

By this time, Sandman had also finished preparing his squad and was waiting outside the command post.

After finishing his business with Davelin, Ash, along with Cassell, Stark, and the Alloy Team, boarded the yacht that had been seized by Forborough.

On the yacht, Ash and Cassell followed Stark into the wheelhouse, while the rest of the Alloy Team dispersed around the yacht as a lookout in case of an enemy attack.

Once inside the driver's seat, Cassel finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been putting on a very difficult act all this time, and now he no longer had to pretend.

He handed Kassel a can of onion liqueur to soothe his restless heart.

Once Ash got to the driver's seat, he saw Stark's so-called "direction ball technique," which looked like a black basketball floating on the dashboard in front of the driver's seat.

"This is the new technology?"

Stark always speaks with confidence when it comes to technology, proudly telling Ash, "The directional ball can be applied to future spacecraft and deep-sea probes, which require three-dimensional movement in space, making them more flexible and precise."

Stark maneuvered the yacht precisely, and the boat barely undulated on the turbulent sea.

Ash, watching Stark's actions, said, "Looks simple!"

“Easy? That’s easy for Stark. If an ordinary person wanted to learn this driving style, it would take at least five years from beginner to master.”

Stark quickly refuted Ash's supposedly simplistic description, arguing that it was a disregard for his technical abilities.

He looked at Ash provocatively and said, "If we're talking about some clergy who aren't very good at science and technology, it might take him ten years, or even longer."