Roger sneered dismissively.
“Oh? You’re really here to rescue Tony Stark? Or are you actually here to get your hands on Stark’s weapons technology so you can perfect your unmanned mechanical army?”
Hearing this, Erik’s eyes widened instantly.
In that split second, countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
Who betrayed me?
Who leaked my plan?
But when the sandstorm settled, Killmonger Erik’s mouth dropped open even wider.
“Y-You… y-you… you’re a superpowered fighter?!”
Roger held a Desert Eagle in each hand.
Behind him floated four Uzi submachine guns and six AK-47s, every barrel trained on the stunned Erik.
His entire body hovered several dozen centimeters above the ground, making him look like a thousand-armed Arhat—imposing, awe-inspiring, and overflowing with presence.
The next instant—
Muzzle flashes erupted!
Without another word, Roger opened fire.
Bullets swept across the battlefield.
Killmonger rolled and tumbled with both hands and feet, barely dodging the barrage.
With a flick of his arm, he kicked up a wall of sand to block Roger’s line of sight.
Roger had expected this.
He didn’t bother playing games.
With a burst of telekinesis, four RPG rockets shot forward in succession, streaking straight into the swirling dust cloud.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed across the desert.
Flames soared into the sky as thick black smoke billowed upward.
Watching the smoke spread, Roger—already retreating—hovered high in the air behind a riot shield.
Logically speaking, even someone like Killmonger should have been blasted into scraps under that terrifying level of firepower.
But Roger still didn’t feel safe enough.
After a moment’s thought, he took out several high-explosive grenades, pulled the pins, and casually tossed them into the center of the smoke.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The instant the grenades left his hand, Roger climbed several hundred meters into the air and quietly waited for the smoke to clear.
A few minutes later, the black smoke from the explosions finally dispersed.
Amid the scorched earth, a patch of ground suddenly shifted.
It was pushed aside, revealing a pit nearly a meter in diameter.
Killmonger Erik crawled out of it with blood streaming from every orifice.
His skin was charred black as he coughed violently, struggling to climb out.
Hovering high above, Roger frowned.
Something was wrong.
It had completely blocked Roger’s relentless bombardment.
The more Roger thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
Without hesitation, he pulled out another RPG and was just about to pull the trigger—
A blinding flash exploded right in front of him.
Temporarily blinded, Roger’s heart skipped a beat.
He immediately dropped diagonally backward and crashed headfirst into the sand.
He quickly summoned two riot shields, positioning them on either side of himself so they closed together like a giant pineapple shell.
Dozens of seconds later, his vision gradually returned.
No enemies had rushed him.
As his eyesight cleared, he saw Killmonger in the far distance.
Supported by someone else, Erik was stumbling toward a glowing portal.
Roger’s expression changed instantly.
He has an accomplice!
He’s getting away!
The grudge had already been forged.
If Erik escaped now and came back for revenge later…
Would he have to live the rest of his life looking over his shoulder?
Roger burst forward at full speed, charging straight toward Erik.
He drew his composite bow.
With the 10% strength boost from Bully Maguire, he activated the Bully Force and pulled the bowstring into a perfect full draw.
A high-explosive grenade was tied to the arrow.
Thrum!
The released string snapped against his fingers hard enough to leave bloody welts.
Carrying Roger’s killing intent, the arrow streaked through the sky like a blazing meteor.
Sensing impending death, Erik immediately shoved his companion aside and raised the shield in front of himself.
Clang—BOOM!!
The massive explosion instantly engulfed the entire portal.
Roger drew both Desert Eagles and emptied magazine after magazine into the blast.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Yet when the smoke and dust finally dispersed…
Only blackened earth remained.
Killmonger and the mysterious sorcerer had both vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, Roger finally let out a long breath.
He began gasping heavily as his heart rate—having soared to 120 beats per minute—gradually slowed back to normal.
The heat radiating from his body evaporated the sweat covering his skin into drifting steam.
Under the blazing sun…
Everything returned to silence.
Roger looked up once more and shot into the sky.
He only hoped Tony hadn’t been too unlucky.
Over the past year, Roger had done everything he could to help him.
Hopefully, all those specially fortified goji berries had strengthened Tony’s kidneys enough to get him through the hardest period of his life.
Flying over the convoy’s battlefield, Roger spotted the Ten Rings militants retreating in the distance.
He immediately understood.
They were heading toward that cave.
Roger quietly concealed himself at an altitude of nearly a thousand meters and tailed the Ten Rings convoy all the way there.
…
The scorching sun warped the air with heat.
Hidden in a low valley was a secret cave.
Outside the entrance lay all kinds of weapons manufactured by Stark Industries.
Seeing the scene below, Roger silenced the call coming from Happy and switched his phone to silent mode.
He then wrapped himself in a tan-colored blanket and quietly floated close to the ground as he approached the valley.
After reaching the back of a tent, Roger focused his attention on a man with roughly the same build as himself.
He extended his left hand, raised two fingers of his right hand to his forehead, and spoke in a low voice.
“Hello (optimized).”
The unlucky man immediately became glassy-eyed.
He slowly turned toward Roger before stiffly walking toward Roger’s hiding place.
Among all the abilities Roger had acquired, the White Queen’s telepathy was undoubtedly one of his favorites.
As one of the five greatest telepaths in the X-Men universe, even at only 10% of her full power, the White Queen’s telepathy was extraordinarily potent.
Using it to hypnotize and control an ordinary person was effortless.
Under Roger’s series of mental suggestions, the unfortunate man obediently handed over all his clothes.
He then wrapped himself in the yellow cloth and hid away.
Roger temporarily disguised himself as a member of the Ten Rings and infiltrated the enemy’s base.
Here, the White Queen deserved another round of praise.
Her telepathy included a branch ability called Intuitive Multilingualism, allowing her to instinctively translate and understand any language.
Even at only 10% effectiveness, Roger could still grasp the general meaning and tone of the bandits talking around him.
Everything was ready.
With a mixture of calm confidence and nervous anticipation, Roger quietly stepped into the cave.
The Ten Rings were terrorists despised across the world.
Like rats that excelled at digging burrows, they had countless hideouts.
The cave twisted and branched in every direction, far more complicated than what had been shown in the movie.
Just as Roger was wondering whether to take the left or right tunnel, he spotted a bald man appearing at the end of the passage.
It’s him!
The nameless bald newbie boss!
The one Tony Stark farmed for experience!
Roger secretly rejoiced.
Quietly slipping to the back of the group, he followed them deeper into the cave.
Before long, Roger arrived with them at the innermost prison chamber.