Volume 4: The Last Day Chapter 13: The War of the End of All Things
"I heard you wanted to see me?"
Mason took off his helmet and walked into the house at the dock, maneuvering the heavy anti-Superman armor.
In this place blocked by monster pirates, Captain Barbossa, who used to be dressed like an upper-class person, is now in a very miserable state.
There was blood on his luxurious robe, and it was unclear whether it was someone else's or his own.
When Mason walked in, he was sitting by the window of the messy house, grabbing a large bottle of rum and drinking it in big gulps, as if trying to numb his fear in this way.
But the effect doesn't seem to be very good.
The wig was thrown to the ground, the scepter was broken, the arms and flags he had carefully designed for his kingdom were torn to pieces, and at the foot of his wooden leg lay a crown covered in dust.
This image is a vivid depiction of the final indulgence of a man whose dreams were shattered. All that is missing is a few girls or a eunuch to serve him before he hangs himself.
"Ha, Mason, the wizard who brings hope, the bastard who predicts doomsday..."
Barbosa raised his head bleary-eyed, and when he saw Mason he burst into laughter and tried to get up, but stumbled and fell back into the chair.
After all, he is old and no longer as brave as he used to be.
"They want me to go to war with them! Those damn monsters, I knew I should have transformed them all back when I got the trident.
But I made a mistake.
My stupidity has brought me the shame of today, my crew has been killed, my ship has been commandeered, hell, Will Turner is going to turn it into another ghost ship.
And he had no idea what he was doing.”
"No, I think he knows. He knows exactly what he is going to do, but you are a little confused."
Mason couldn't squat while wearing the armor, but the standing internal suspension system of this thing allowed Mason to maintain a very comfortable posture and relax his whole body to rest.
He extended his metal-covered gauntlet and picked up the bottle of wine next to Barbossa.
As an engineer, alchemist, and a jeweler apprentice, Mason didn't like this drink that would reduce his self-control. But seeing Barbossa so lost, Mason thought that maybe drinking with him would help the old pirate regain his last dignity...
If he really had that thing.
"Ahem"
Mason tried to take a sip, but the alcohol, which was only enjoyed by old pirates, was a bit strong and made him cough. Barbossa looked at him with contempt.
The latter snatched his good wine from Mason's mechanical arm armor, took a few gulps and then wiped his wine-stained beard.
He panted and stared at Mason, and said like an angry old bull:
"I'm going to die today. Either I'll die at the hands of Will Turner or at the hands of those foreign mad dogs who came here at who knows when. So I won't hide some things.
I am really grateful that you gave me a good dream before the end of the world, Mason, you foreign bastard!
But I also paid you, so there is no debt between us.
I leave my daughter in your hands, and you must take good care of her, just as you helped take care of that bastard Jack and Will Turner's wife and children.
If they can trust you, then I feel like I can too.
Serena is a good child, and I promised my daughter that she would be a princess... Tsk, this damn world has shattered the last dream of an old man full of remorse.
Fuck the apocalypse!
"Don't worry, Barbossa...Hector."
Mason changed his name and said:
"I have taken in so many people, so your daughter won't make a difference. I will arrange a new life for her, letting her get rid of her past and swim in the ocean of knowledge. I think that's what she wants.
Actually, I have a gift for you too."
He took out two bottles of potion from his bag and placed them in front of Barbossa, one red, one blue, and a syringe.
Mason said:
"The red one is a potion I made myself. It has the same properties as the enhancements I gave you before. It can make you powerful in a short period of time, but the price is very painful.
The blue one is poison.
One injection will work immediately and allow you to die painlessly in your dream.
I can't take you away.
Neither Will nor Old Teague would allow it. They believed that as the Pirate King you must abide by the Pirate Code, and there is indeed a clause in the code that all pirates must obey the orders of the Pirate King in times of crisis.
Now that Will Turner is the Pirate King, you all must follow him into battle.
But considering our past pleasant cooperation, I give you these two things so that you can have a decent ending whether you choose to step onto the battlefield or end your life here.
Whichever you choose, I will tell Serena that her father died a hero."
"Tsk, do you think my smart daughter will believe your lies?"
Barbosa curled his lips and said:
"She is the smartest child I have ever met. When she first met you, she persuaded me to maintain my relationship with you. She seemed to have guessed all this long ago.
But thank you all the same, Mason."
The old pirate raised his head and drank the wine in the bottle in gulps. After Mason turned and left, the old pirate's eyes fell on the two bottles of potion on the table.
Hector Barbossa reached out his hand and tremblingly grasped the blue medicine bottle, but he did not drink it. Instead, he put the potion on his belt, picked up the syringe and the red potion, and stood up.
After taking a few breaths, he smashed the bottle in his hand to the ground.
The broken glass and the splashing wine seemed to make up his mind. He grabbed his old hat and put it on his head. He picked up his sword and flintlock and limped to kick the door open.
The rolling sea water in front of him had become a high wall that blocked out the sky and the sun, and was bound by the power of the sea goddess Clepso and surrounded the dock.
This fantastic scene should have attracted attention, but Barbosa didn't even look at it.
He took out the last green apple from his pocket, put it to his mouth and bit it with a crunch. The juice splashed everywhere. Then he yelled at Will Turner and Old Teague who were looking at him:
"I'm already half lying in a coffin, and I still have to fight with you bastards. It's really unlucky! Where's my boat? How can I go to war without a boat?"
——
“Here they come!”
The Cleaners did not make Team K and Poseidon wait too long. Almost five hours after the impact event entered the preparation stage, Mason felt movement in his world gate.
According to Mr. Hunter, the Cleaners' war across worlds also relies on the Star Society's World Gate as a beacon, and the Caribbean world was already the exclusive world of Team K, so the Cleaners have to use Team K's World Gate coordinates to locate themselves in order to enter here.
So the moment they got close, the tattoo on Mason's arm sent out a "warning" like a needle prick.
The only regret is that Mason couldn't stop the landing of the Cleaners by closing the World Gate. At his command, the members of Team K immediately entered combat readiness.
Zack was the first to go out, riding a zombie dragon, holding Grindelwald's Black Tome, holding a coral trident, and wearing a cracked magic cloak.
Just based on this appearance, he is definitely qualified to be called a legendary wizard.
Captain Jack threw away the cigarette butt from the corner of his mouth and rushed into the Batmobile. He knew that his fighting ability was poor so he took the initiative to assume the responsibility behind the battlefield.
He would cruise through the ruined city to ensure that the still-passing teleportation gates would not be disturbed.
Five hours is not enough for all the refugees here to pass through. Although there are only a few survivors left in this world, their number is also around hundreds of thousands.
The cleaners are a bunch of genetically modified biochemical mad dogs.
Once they are thrown into the battlefield, they will not care about humanitarianism. Those who get close to them will definitely be doomed.
Barbara and Ertong jumped into the two cockpits of the Demon Lizard Tank, one on the left and one on the right. The onboard AI Delaman activated the automatic driving, allowing the all-terrain vehicle to start close to the ruins. The optical camouflage module was activated, making the huge war weapon optically invisible.
This is not the first time these two have operated this thing, and they have become very familiar with it.
A few seconds later, the drone nest behind the Demon Lizard tank was activated under Barbara's control, and more than 200 military "Griffin" drones densely surrounded the Demon Lizard.
There is also an oversized Zeta Octant placed on the city dock as a fixed turret.
These two things are not civilian drones like the Pterodactyl.
They are killing machines from the world of 2077.
Although they are not large in appearance, they are equipped with full-power kinetic rapid-fire cannons and lethal electric shock cannons. Their all-terrain intelligent search for enemies and their ruthless shooting accuracy that disregards battlefield ethics make them the commanders' favorite weapons.
Cheap enough and durable enough, Mason also modified them so that they would explode with an EMP shock when destroyed.
Compared to the Cleaners' transformation method of implanting prostheses to enhance combat effectiveness, this attack that directly impacts the prosthetic chip is obviously more effective and more vicious.
However, inside the Demon Lizard Tank, Barbara's control mode made the second barrel next to her feel somewhat terrified.
Because a data cable was popping out of Batgirl's arm, which was no different from that of an ordinary person, and connected to the tank. She was lying in the cockpit with her eyes closed, relying entirely on the data interface to command and operate her drone army.
Apparently, after returning from the Isu Assassin world, she "upgraded" herself without telling Mason and the others.
"You replaced all your hands?"
Ertong sat in the self-driving war vehicle, taking the time to polish his weapon and apply Mason's special battle sword oil, while muttering:
"Grayson will be terrified to death if he sees this. We allowed his crazy girlfriend to turn herself into a robot. It's such a sin."
"Just don't tell him , Jason."
Barbara, who closed her eyes as if asleep, scolded:
"I can hear everything, and the biometrics show your heartbeat is speeding up. What's going on? Can a cold-blooded killer like you feel nervous?"
"nonsense."
Ertong looked at the special cockpit in front of him, which was fully armored but had a 360-degree panoramic view. He whispered:
"I'm going to assassinate a god, and I can't fail. Who wouldn't be nervous about this? The enemies that Team K faces are getting more and more outrageous, and I'm still a mortal.
What the hell. "
"The target appears! In the sky ahead, prepare to hide!"
Mason's warning interrupted all of Ertong's complaints. As soon as he finished speaking, a door like a wormhole suddenly opened above the sky that was already occupied by the reflection of the world.
Then three huge warships that looked like strange black fish swayed into this world covered with dark clouds and storms.
This thing is two circles smaller than the one they killed at Old Spider's place, and is obviously a more flexible assault landing design.
"What is that?"
Zha Kang shouted, and Mason said in a cold tone:
"'Space Locust', the Chitauri's looting ship! I recognized it when Ethelagon destroyed it last time. Be careful, those ships have biological consciousness themselves.
In short, they are alive!"
"Boom"
The blinding lightning mixed with the sudden storm obscured Team K's vision for an instant. It was the attack launched first by the angry sea goddess Clepso.
As the goddess of the sea, she could naturally control storms and thunder. In her anger, this blow tore through the sky like the legendary trident of Poseidon and hit the fish-shaped spaceship in front head-on.
The latter was like a giant beast bathed in lightning. After being struck by the gods, electric sparks and dazzling explosions broke out all over its body.
The Chitauri looting airships mounted on this biological mothership also hurriedly broke away from the mothership like a swarm of bees, carrying those highly modified cleaners and mad dogs, and rushed towards Colepso, who was showing the posture of a giant in the tide.
Lightning flashed, dark clouds gathered, and the female giant holding lightning roared and tore apart the black monster fish. On the sea, a death fleet composed of tattered ghost ships rolled out from under the sea and fired wildly at the sky.
This scene really has the charm of a mythical war.
However, before Mason led Team K to join the battle, he received a message from the hunter.
Perhaps it was because the Cleaner Corps opened the wormhole to make the connection between this world and the outside world clearer, or perhaps it was because Ciri used some magical means. In short, this information was directly reflected in Mason's mind in the form of a mental dialogue.
"Mason, the high-level conquerors of the Cleaner Corps have now been sent to different vassal worlds to carry out missions. There is no need to .
But there will definitely be troublesome people coming in later, so get rid of Kolypso as soon as possible."
Perhaps because Mason had seen through his identity, Mr. Hunter stopped playing the game of disguise and warned him directly in his cold female voice:
"All actions related to divinity will be taken very seriously, so no matter what you plan to do, remember, leave no one alive!"
"Thanks, Ciri."
Mason manipulated the Anti-Superman armor to fully activate the gravity well and rushed towards a Chitauri mothership that was firing at full power in the sky. He asked:
"I've been so busy here that I haven't had time to care about my base world. Is the situation over there okay?"
"I'm not your intelligence agent, Mason!"
The hunter said unhappily:
"If you want to know, go and see for yourself! I'm busy right now. There are 37 endangered worlds waiting for my support. How can I have the time to help you collect intelligence?
However, your base world is a super A grade, so don't worry, it will most likely pass easily as long as the superheroes in your world are determined.
Don't be so fussy."
"Are you determined to destroy a world?"
Mason crashed into a Chitauri raider mothership like a black meteorite, grabbed a huge piece of armor plate with both hands and tore it off, then controlled the two kinetic shotgun shoulder cannons that popped out from the shoulders of the armor to blast the surrounding Mad Dog Cleaners into pieces.
He shook his head with a look of worry and said:
"If they do that, what's the difference between them and the Star Club? This is a shameless ethical trap. Once you step into it, there's no turning back."
"Yes, it's a trap."
Ciri snorted and said:
"But if we don't do this, both worlds will die. Mason, who is smart and kind, can you come up with a perfect way to survive the impact without hurting everyone?"
Mason could only remain silent.
A moment later, as he was manipulating his armor and wielding a large-caliber kinetic hand cannon to charge into the interior of the mothership, the Hunter Lady's faint voice came over:
"Be realistic, Mason. In this dark age, even existence is a luxury. On the bright side, your world will at least survive, but the world beneath you is hopeless.
Although the current situation is bad, it is better for one of them to survive than for both to perish.
That’s an answer, after all.”
"It was a mistake at best, it was never the answer in my mind."
Mason pulled the trigger and engulfed the group of mad dog cleaners rushing towards him in the raging flames.
A strange twisted creature howled and pounced on him from behind, but Mason flicked out the Vibranium Mantis Blade on his arm and chopped it into bloody flesh. Amid the sound of huge shells falling, he whispered:
"I will never accept that I will transform into a beast at the end of the dark stars and fight with a group of people who have no grudges against me for the most primitive existence.
That outcome is so shameful.”
"Then be careful, survive, go further, and find the answers you want in this era that forces everyone to either die or become a monster, so as to prove that everything that's fucked up now is wrong."
Ciri said softly:
"I look forward to the day when you can come up with your own answer."
