To be honest, this group of people was quite noisy. Even Arthur had to admit it.
Steve was a bit better; he usually kept to himself. Banner might have picked up some chatterbox traits from spending time with the little spider. Tony didn't need to be mentioned; he was the number one chatterbox, right under the little spider... well, the little spider himself was even worse.
Arthur looked at his team and felt that with this group together, they really couldn't accomplish anything significant. Just as he was about to raise his arm and make a move, a flash of light appeared, and Natasha, dressed in black, materialized on the teleportation circle. "Where's the opponent?"
Among so many people, she was the only one who asked the most important question. Compared to that, Steve's question seemed secondary.
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Arthur. He pointed to the villa and said, "He's inside. Let's go take him down."
He didn't even want to mention a fight; if they had gathered such power and still couldn't take the opponent down, it would mean that this Mandarin had ten hands, each wearing ten rings!
...
Under Arthur's lead, the group opened the front door and walked into the villa. Hearing the commotion outside, Mandarin, who had been observing with The Eye of Horus, changed his expression and took a deep breath, his demeanor turning fierce.
Then he spoke: "You really came!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Arthur. He waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and whispered, "How about you all hide first? When this guy comes out, you can jump out together and scare him!"
"Okay!" The little spider immediately shot out a web, quickly reaching the roof. When he landed, he did so silently, crouching there and peeking down.
However, after a couple of glances, he felt something was off and scanned Arthur and the others. He found that aside from him, everyone else was standing calmly next to Arthur, leaving him momentarily confused. "Didn't we say we were going to scare him?"
"..." Tony shook his head helplessly and said to Arthur, "What have you taught this kid? If my long-lost brother were to be born, I'd better raise him myself."
Natasha immediately shot Tony a fierce glare. The scene suddenly became a bit chaotic.
Arthur was at a loss for words; what on earth was going on? Mandarin in the house was also quite dissatisfied: "Why don't you come in?"
"How about you come out instead?" Arthur waved his hand, and everyone stopped their eye contact and gestures.
"Don't think you're the victor!" Mandarin suddenly stood up in anger. "I have never failed!!!"
In just a few steps, he reached the doorway, yanked the door open, and locked eyes with Arthur and his group...
It was hard to describe the look in Mandarin's eyes at that moment. Confusion mixed with doubt, doubt mixed with anger, anger mixed with fear, and fear intermingled with a hint of ferocity.
Then he closed the door and opened it again. All the emotions in his eyes transformed into one— grief and indignation! He was so shocked that he couldn't utter a word, not even a syllable.
As everyone exchanged glances, a spider web suddenly shot out, followed by Tony raising his hand and firing a blast. Before Mandarin could even think of mounting an effective resistance, a massive green arm and a gray arm pulled him directly out of the house.
The two big guys lifted him up from either side, almost tearing him apart in mid-air. In the blink of an eye, he was brought before Steve, who raised his shield, and with a loud thud, Mandarin fainted without making a sound.
"Fall back." Arthur sighed and said regretfully, "Clearly, this time did not serve to train the team."
"Is this guy really strong?" Tony squatted down to take a look and asked, "Where's his arm?"
Arthur had a bloody arm in his hand. "Are we having this for dinner tonight?" Hulk stared wide-eyed at the arm in Arthur's hand, seemingly wanting to taste it.
His body shrank instantly, transforming back into Banner. Banner, with a dark expression, said, "Put that away. What have you been showing the kids?"
Arthur quickly tucked the arm away; otherwise, if Hulk got the idea to taste a couple of people, that would be a serious problem.
At that moment, Steve entered the house and soon came out with a serious face. "He really deserves to die!"
"What was in the room?" Natasha asked.
"Corpses." Steve looked at Arthur. "What are you planning to do with him?"
Arthur squatted down and removed the five rings from Mandarin's remaining hand. "Regular prisons can't hold him. Although from my observations, these rings are the source of his power, his inherent strength is also quite formidable. He has extensive combat experience, so I plan to lock him up in the small base's prison."
"Alright." Steve nodded. "Never let him out again."
The subsequent matters clearly did not concern Arthur and the others; someone needed to inform the authorities about the three deceased individuals in the house. Natasha disguised herself to report the incident, and then the group returned to the small base.
For a moment, everyone went their separate ways. Only Natasha and Arthur remained in the small base, first sending the unconscious Mandarin into the prison.
Then Natasha forcefully insisted that Arthur take off his shirt. "I am a respectable man!" Arthur felt that he should not be humiliated, nor should he be swayed by wealth or power!
However, seeing the usually strong Black Widow with tears welling in her eyes, he sighed helplessly. "Can I just let you take a quick look?"
Natasha stared intently at Arthur, her eyes red. Arthur had no choice but to remove his shirt, exposing his chest.
There was a wound there, accompanied by blackened flesh and a charred smell, looking extremely gruesome. "Sit down." Natasha pressed Arthur into a chair and fetched a medical kit.
"This was an accident; his lightning had a strange penetrating power, and my protective skills couldn't withstand it." Arthur explained. "It's not that I couldn't withstand it; mainly, this guy managed to penetrate my protective skills, which is how I got hurt. It's a minor issue, really, nothing to worry about…"
Natasha remained silent, cleaning Arthur's wound with a serious expression.
(End of this chapter)
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