At this moment, the audience in front of their TVs were all stunned.
They first saw someone suddenly burst into the live stream and send a Rocket, only for it to be rejected on the spot by another person who actually used a Frying Pan to block the missile.
But soon, sharp-eyed viewers recognized Darian.
"Wait, that's the Iron Glider!"
"Is the Iron Glider here to save his mount, Iron Man?"
"The 'Steel Men' ship is so real it's killing me!"
"Awesome!"
During the Battle of New York, many people had witnessed Darian's shadow, so they naturally recognized the man in the live broadcast as the superhero who rode Iron Man, the Iron Glider.
Some niche fans even specially came up with a CP name for the two of them.
Since both superheroes' titles contained 'Iron', why not call them the 'Steel Men'!
Meanwhile, on an armed helicopter in the sky, the Crew-cut Man sitting in the co-pilot's seat stared so hard his eyes almost popped out.
A Frying Pan blocking a missile, is that freaking scientific?
"Officer, should we continue?"
A hesitant inquiry from a subordinate came over the communicator.
The Crew-cut Man suddenly snapped out of it, a hint of ruthlessness flashing across his face as he roared, "Continue! Fire all the missiles! I don't believe he can catch them all!"
Following his command, three armed helicopters immediately appeared high in the sky.
Darian was speechless at the sight.
How is America even more open than the Middle East? These Terrorists could actually get their hands on so many armed helicopters.
The next moment, the three armed helicopters opened fire on the seaside Villa simultaneously, several missiles whistling towards them, trailing long plumes of white smoke!
Seeing the other party send three more Rockets, Darian didn't panic at all. An Energy Gun appeared out of thin air in his hand, and he casually raised the barrel and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Zzt! Zzt! Zzt! Zzt!
Several eerie blue energy bolts shot out, tracing dazzling trajectories in the air as if they had built-in navigation systems, accurately intercepting every incoming missile.
Boom!!
Deafening explosions rang out one after another.
Several massive fireballs bloomed in the sky, and the scorching airwaves caused the sea surface to fluctuate violently, kicking up waves.
"Having received so many Rockets, I'd feel bad if I didn't return the favor. I'll contribute some 'bullet chat' then."
Darian grinned, the Energy Gun in his hand humming as he aimed at the leading armed helicopter and pulled the trigger.
A blinding blue beam erupted instantly, piercing straight through the armed helicopter and melting a large hole in the fuselage.
With the ear-piercing sound of tearing metal, the armed helicopter immediately lost balance, spiraling down towards the sea and sinking rapidly after kicking up a massive splash.
"Damn it! Open fire! Kill this guy!"
The Crew-cut Man let out an angry roar.
The pilots of the other two armed helicopters dared not delay and immediately pressed the fire buttons on their control sticks. Two heavy machine guns spat fire simultaneously, and a dense hail of bullets poured down like a rainstorm, instantly covering Darian's position.
However, Darian, at the center of the bullet rain, didn't even bother to move. He directly activated his Protection Spell, and an energy shield instantly enveloped his body, blocking all the bullets.
Since learning the Protection Spell, Darian was too lazy to even dodge such mediocre damage.
As long as his mana wasn't exhausted and the intensity of the opponent's attack didn't exceed the shield's defense limit, it was basically impossible to harm him in the slightest.
Zzt! Zzt!
Braving the hail of bullets, Darian moved the muzzle and fired two more energy blasts at the other two armed helicopters.
The pilots of the two armed helicopters were scared out of their wits, instinctively pulling their control sticks in a sharp turn to try and evade.
However, they had already been locked on by Darian's Dead Eye.
As the armed helicopters moved, the trajectories of the two energy blasts moved with them, tracing two exaggerated arcs in the air that defied physical common sense, penetrating the observation windows in front of the cockpits and piercing straight into the heads of the two pilots.
Losing the control of their pilots, the rotors of the two armed helicopters spun in vain, the fuselages wobbling and spinning in the air before finally crashing into the sea.
Maya, standing behind the Villa's floor-to-ceiling window, saw the entire process clearly and was completely dumbfounded.
Did Tony hire a bodyguard or a Terminator? This is simply too powerful!
Darian easily dealt with the three armed helicopters, but he didn't receive any system notification.
Just then, a sudden movement came from behind him. Without thinking, he immediately sidestepped.
The moment Darian jumped away, a torrent of flames roared and engulfed the spot where he had just been standing, scorching the ground pitch black.
Darian stood firm and looked, finding himself surrounded by four or five people.
Their pupils were a fiery crimson, and their skin was an unnaturally flushed red. Looking closely, one could vaguely see what looked like magma flowing within them, fluctuating slightly with their breathing and emitting a suffocating heatwave.
Darian checked their information and found that these people were all soldiers injected with the Extremis virus, known as Extremis Soldiers.
Facing the surrounding Extremis Soldiers, Darian said calmly, "Me fighting several of you... this is very disadvantageous for you."
This was truly arrogant.
When the Extremis Soldiers heard this, their anger flared up instantly.
Well, literally. The temperature of several of them rose significantly, the red light under their skin intensified, and the surrounding air became distorted and blurred by the high heat.
The bald burly man closest to Darian let out a roar, his entire right arm looking like a red-hot branding iron as it emitted a suffocating heatwave, throwing a punch straight at Darian's face!
Feeling the terrifying heat hitting his face, Darian chose not to take it head-on.
He took a half-step back with his right foot and tilted his body, the scorching fist whistling past his ear.
Muay Thai Warning!
Darian's waist suddenly exerted force, his body releasing like a tightened spring as his right elbow slammed heavily into the bald man's face!
Bang! Crack!
A dull thud was followed by the teeth-aching sound of bone cracking.
The bald man's face suddenly caved in, and he was sent flying, landing on the ground in an arc and plowing through an acre of land outside Tony's house with his body before finally coming to a stop, kicking up a large cloud of dust and rubble.
However, the bald man soon stood up again, a brilliant red light glowing on his face as his injuries healed rapidly, returning to normal within a few breaths.
This self-healing speed was not at all weaker than Dracula's.
Darian's eyes lit up at the sight.
Isn't this the perfect soldier in his mind?
With rapid self-healing ability and being impossible to kill no matter how they were hit, they were simply the best candidates for cannon fodder!
Just then, seven or eight more soaking wet figures emerged.
They were the crew members from the armed helicopters who had also been injected with Extremis. Thus, the crash hadn't killed them, and they had managed to swim ashore from the sea relying on their superhuman constitutions.
This group joined the fray as soon as they landed, surrounding Darian in the middle.
The leading Crew-cut Man wiped the seawater from his face and shouted fiercely, "Deal with this guy first! Then go kill Tony Stark!"
At his shout, the other Extremis Soldiers immediately responded.
An unnatural red light glowed on them, the magma-like flow under their skin becoming more apparent. Over a dozen pairs of glowing red eyes stared intently at Darian, the temperature in the air rising sharply, heatwaves rolling, and even the ground becoming scorching hot.
"Global warming definitely has a part of your responsibility," Darian couldn't help but complain.
The next moment, the battle erupted!
The Extremis Soldier directly in front struck first, throwing a flaming punch at Darian.
His speed was significantly faster than an ordinary person's, but in Darian's eyes, it was almost like slow motion. He easily dodged the fist, and an exquisitely crafted longsword appeared out of thin air in his hand.
The Extremis Soldier caught a glimpse of the longsword in Darian's hand, and a hint of disdain even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The high temperature on their bodies could melt even steel instantly, let alone a cold weapon. Even bullets would melt when approaching the high-temperature field around them, causing no damage at all.
However, Darian gave him no time to think.
No charging up, no fancy starting stance, just a simple horizontal slash.
Swish!
The Extremis Soldier was instantly baffled as he fell to the ground, completely devoid of life.
"So they die if they lose their heads. It seems this Extremis virus doesn't grant immunity to fatal damage."
Darian's tone carried a hint of disappointment.
He had thought the Extremis virus could make people immortal like Dracula, or at least like Logan, where a mere fatal wound was nothing to worry about, but he hadn't expected it could be solved with just one sword strike.
As for the high temperature on the opponent, Darian didn't care at all. This sword of his was Sif's personal weapon; how could it possibly care about this bit of heat?
Seeing their companion killed instantly, the other Extremis Soldiers' hearts skipped a beat, but at this point, they were committed and couldn't stop, so they could only steel themselves and continue the attack.
Instead of retreating, Darian took a step toward the crowd, the longsword in his hand swinging rapidly, tracing several silver trajectories in the air.
The movements of the two Extremis Soldiers in the lead suddenly stiffened, a thin bloodline appearing on their necks. They stared with wide, disbelieving eyes before falling straight forward.
Just then, another female Extremis Soldier saw an opportunity and suddenly lunged from the side. This woman opened her arms, her whole body emitting a scorching heat, wanting to give Darian a warm embrace.
If she really caught him, let alone flesh and blood, even a piece of steel would instantly melt into molten iron.
Darian caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye—she was plain-looking—so he kicked her away without mercy, sending her flying over a dozen meters. He didn't show any of the weakness he had when being attacked by Wanda.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Sword light flashed repeatedly, and several more Extremis Soldiers fell to the ground.
Now they could never get on the highway, because there's no turning back once you've lost your head.
As an excellent mage, among the eighteen types of weapons, Darian was best at swordplay. Dealing with these unarmed Extremis Soldiers was no different from slaughtering chickens.
Oh no, it was much easier than slaughtering chickens. After all, in some games, killing chickens is a very dangerous thing.
The Extremis Soldiers were also suffering.
It wasn't that they didn't want to use weapons, but they simply couldn't.
Once their bodies overheated, any firearms or blades would melt instantly. Otherwise, why would these American veterans give up their best American-style Quick-draw and choose hand-to-hand combat?
But it was strange; the high temperature in their bodies could even melt steel, yet it somehow wouldn't burn off their clothes, which was quite magical.
Seeing Darian effortlessly deal with nearly half of them, the remaining Extremis Soldiers finally realized the gravity of the situation.
This man in front of them was simply too strong to be human!
"Burn him to death!"
The Crew-cut Man roared, and the surviving Extremis Soldiers immediately retreated while an even more intense red light glowed on them.
The next moment, they all opened their mouths, and several thick pillars of fire erupted from different directions like fire dragons, pouncing towards Darian!
Pfft!
Accompanied by a jetting sound, Darian's figure moved rapidly, leaving an afterimage in place.
Several pillars of fire collided violently at the spot where he had just been standing, erupting in a blinding firelight that made the surrounding rocks crackle from the heat.
"Fire Style still thinks it can burn someone to death?"
Darian grinned, and under the continuous thrust of his Rocket Backpack, he transformed into an assault role.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind an Extremis Soldier, the blade quickly passing across the back of the opponent's neck.
The Extremis Soldier didn't even have time to react before becoming a headless warrior, his body swaying before falling heavily.
Pfft!
Darian didn't stop. The Rocket Backpack spat out another jet of air, carrying him rapidly to the front of another Extremis Soldier.
A flash of sword light, and another person fell.
This time, the remaining Extremis Soldiers completely lost their cool and their formation fell into chaos.
Like startled Beasts, they desperately opened their mouths, spitting pillar after pillar of fire toward Darian's position.
But Darian's speed was too fast. Every time, just before a pillar of fire was about to engulf him, he would use a flexible short-distance dash with his Rocket Backpack to easily evade the attack.
They spat until their mouths were dry and their throats were practically smoking, but they couldn't even graze the corner of Darian's clothes.
What kind of monster is this!
The Extremis Soldiers were in despair, but they had no choice but to be ruthlessly harvested one by one by Darian.
In just a dozen seconds, only the Crew-cut Man remained standing on the field.
He looked around at the headless corpses littering the ground, unable to believe his eyes.
They were super soldiers injected with Extremis!
With physical qualities exceeding ordinary people, self-healing speeds that were practically immortal, and the ability to control fire, how could they be so vulnerable?
"This... this must be a joke..."
The Crew-cut Man murmured blankly, his voice filled with bewilderment and breakdown, completely unable to accept this outcome.
Darian's hearing was extraordinary. Hearing the Crew-cut Man's words, he was suddenly amused.
"Even if it's a joke, they have to have a 'head' for it."
Crew-cut Man: "#%#%#$#%^^##..."
His eyes instantly turned blood-red, and a look of despair and madness appeared on his face.
"In that case, let's all die together!"
The Crew-cut Man roared, his entire body suddenly erupting with an unprecedented blinding red light. The magma veins under his skin swelled violently, and cracks began to appear all over his skin, emitting a terrifying light as if he were about to explode the next second.
But how could Darian give him that chance?
Just as the Crew-cut Man was about to detonate himself, Darian appeared in front of him. Using the thrust and inertia of the Rocket Backpack, he delivered a Nine Heavens Thunder Double-Foot Kick heavily into the Crew-cut Man's chest!
Bang!!
Under the impact of the terrifying force, the Crew-cut Man screamed and flew out like a broken kite, falling directly into the sea.
Darian curled his lip. "If you're going to self-destruct, just do it. Calling it out like that, did you really think you had invincibility frames and couldn't be interrupted?"