#549 - With a Deathly Will

The red and blue afterimages that hit the vanguard guard didn't stop. Instead, they bounced off at another angle, hitting another vanguard guard. This continued, rebounding several times among the vanguard guards until finally, the powerful kinetic energy dissipated. A vanguard guard who reacted in time casually swatted it away.

The afterimage, sent flying into the air, revealed its true form: Captain America's iconic weapon—the vibranium shield. The shield tumbled in the air before suddenly stabilizing. After a brief wobble, it flew towards a specific direction on its own accord.

Standing in that spot was a vanguard guard. Seeing that the shield wasn't coming in with overwhelming force, the vanguard guard wanted to emulate its comrade and swat away this inexplicably flying shield. However, it suddenly felt footsteps coming from behind. Turning around, it saw Steve weaving and dodging attacks from other vanguard guards as he ran towards him.

The vanguard guard roared, deciding to deal with Steve first. The shield wasn't a high-level threat, but Captain America was slightly more dangerous. Captain America wielding the shield was a whole other level of threat.

Swinging its pair of right hands, the claws cut through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound. Seeing this, Steve immediately ducked, sliding between the vanguard guard's legs, perfectly meeting the incoming shield.

Raising his right arm, the specialized gauntlet emitted a faint glow, attracting the shield in the air. Like a swallow returning to its nest, it landed on Steve's right arm.

Not daring to linger, Steve, with his right knee as the pivot, spun around. The vanguard guard behind him happened to turn around as well, raising the right hand strapped with the shield to meet the vanguard guard's descending claws.

“Clang!”

The vanguard guard's attack was steadily blocked. For a moment, the two were evenly matched. However, Steve knew that if he wasted any more time, he would be torn to shreds by the surging vanguard guard army.

Activating the button on the right gauntlet, a burst of purple energy erupted from the five-pointed star at the center of the shield, blasting away Steve and the vanguard guards around him who were trying to pounce on him.

“Wakanda's technology is indeed impressive.” Steve glanced at the shield in his hand with satisfaction. This small function, ever since it was installed on the shield, had saved him more than once, and with it, Steve could pull off even more new tricks.

Casually knocking down a few vanguard guards rushing at him with the shield, Steve pressed another button on his gauntlet and threw the shield again. The shield once again transformed into a red and blue afterimage, the five-pointed star at its center constantly flashing, emitting a dangerous aura.

“Natasha!” Steve knocked down an enemy with excellent hand-to-hand combat, then shouted towards Natasha, who was unleashing a hail of gunfire.

“Shoot the shield!”

“Don't ask the impossible, Captain!” Natasha shot through another enemy, one handgun warily watching for enemies that might suddenly attack, while the other obediently aimed at the thrown shield.

Without spending too much time aiming, Natasha decisively pulled the trigger. The energy bullets, flashing with light, left the barrel without making a sound, hitting the shield in mid-air after a brief flight.

“Bang! Boom!”

First came a muffled sound, followed by a deafening explosion. Purple energy burst out from the shield's center in all directions, hitting the surrounding vanguard guards. Some suffered broken arms and legs, while others died on the spot.

Natasha and Steve's cooperation once again cleared a small vacuum, giving Natasha, as a shooter, a chance to breathe. She rolled away, neatly escaping the encirclement, and rejoined her teammates in a safe area.

The four fought and retreated, finally reuniting. Each faced a direction, resisting countless enemies. Natasha looked at the uniquely shaped handgun in her hand, unable to suppress the emotions in her heart.

If it weren't for that plumber named Four Arms throwing this thing to her, ordinary firearms would have run out of ammunition long ago, and she would have been forced into an embarrassing close combat situation.

Although the dual guns in her hands didn't require her to reload ammunition, they would overheat. Natasha had to cool the handguns from time to time. Fortunately, she controlled the rhythm well, always having one handgun ready to fire.

Encouragingly, the four Avengers, through individual abilities and cooperation, actually suppressed the vanguard guard forces for a time, but everyone knew this was only temporary.

Just like before, these vanguard guards were endless. They once relied on Wakanda's shield to resist countless vanguard guard armies, but whenever they thought Thanos had suffered heavy casualties, another endless vanguard guard army would appear before long.

Fortunately, this plumber's base was small, and the vanguard guards could only enter in batches. If they were in an open area, Steve and the others might have been crushed to death by the army.

However, when the Avengers finally ran out of energy, although there were superhumans among them, they were not at Thor's level. They would feel tired. Although they had achieved good results for a time, their death would come when they were exhausted.

“We need to find a way to break through!” Steve said after knocking down who knows how many vanguard guards. The vanguard guard corpses around him were about to pile up into a human wall.

“We all know that!” Natasha raised her voice. The vanguard guard army was becoming more and more fierce, and with the loss of stamina, her firing rhythm would soon be out of control.

“So, if you have a plan, say it! Don't just point out the problem, because I'm thinking about it too!”

Everyone knew that they could only break through if they wanted to survive, but how to break through was indeed a difficult problem. The vanguard guards simply didn't want to give them a chance to breathe. With such a high frequency of attacks, neither brilliant plans nor desperate measures were of any use.

“I have a way.” Steve looked at the shield in his hand. “When I say run! You have to run!”

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“Wait, Captain! You don't mean…” Falcon cut a vanguard guard in half at the waist, then took the time to glance at Steve beside him, discovering that the latter was looking at the shield with a determined expression. He immediately understood what the other party's plan was, and was about to stop him, but was stopped by Steve's gaze.

“This is the only way, soldier!” Steve tightened the shield's straps. “If the battle is over, bury my cenotaph with Carter.”

A cenotaph represents the absence of remains. Everyone could see Steve's determination. Clint and Natasha fell silent. As comrades who had fought alongside Captain America for many years, they naturally knew the latter's personality and couldn't stop him.

“Preserve more of the living force, Sam.” Steve showed a bright smile, just like when he first became Captain America, and then prepared to rush out, getting as far away from his teammates as possible.

But at this moment, Steve only felt his legs weaken and become unresponsive. Gradually, his brain felt dizzy, and then he collapsed weakly to the ground.

Before passing out, Steve only felt that he smelled a strange fragrance.