Chapter 272: Ultron's End

Amid the imposing music of "War of Oil", Ultron experienced the feelings and emotional changes of being a human for the first time.

At this moment, it understood what it meant to see a dream come true. At this moment, it felt what it was like to look down on everything. At this moment, it believed it reigned supreme over the world. At this moment, its life had reached a climax. At this moment, its life had peaked.

However, the next moment, an unexpected voice shattered its good mood.

"Hey, could you guys put a bit more effort into your acting? If we recorded your performances earlier, could you even bear to watch it?" Clark's voice, indifferent yet pointed, cut through as he stepped forward, crossing space as if he had always been there, a truly bizarre sight.

"Don't sweat the small stuff." Tony, despite Clark's critique of their acting, smirked and said, "The process isn't important, not at all. What matters is that we've succeeded. Ultron has fallen right into our trap, hasn't he?"

Seeing Clark's calmness and Tony's nonchalance, Ultron's newly gained body exhibited its second emotion after excitement - utter confusion.

"Hey! Stop pretending!" Ultron raised his voice, unable to endure their indifference, "Seeing me successfully seize the body you painstakingly prepared, shouldn't you be shocked? You're just trying to act cool. Nice act though."

"But no matter how well you pretend, you can't change the fact that you've already failed!"

"Oh, not bad." Clark raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze to Ultron with a chuckle, "You're becoming more human-like, learning to control your emotions and voice, huh?"

As he spoke, Clark's hands swiftly formed several magic gestures, and he uttered sharply, "Seal!"

In the next moment, streams of data rushed towards Ultron's body through the network.

Clark had already destroyed Ultron's signal jammer even before making his appearance.

However, this didn't seem to bother Ultron; instead, it felt its processing speed becoming much smoother.

As Ultron puzzled over this, the six iron mechs under its control suddenly lost connection and went offline.

Only then did Ultron realize that the data streaming into its body was actually all the consciousness copies that had been scattered across the network. All the data had now been redirected into its body, erasing every trace of its existence online.

"No!" Realizing it could no longer freely replicate or extend its consciousness across the network or other iron mechs, Ultron exclaimed in disbelief, "This can't be possible!"

"Nothing is impossible," Clark said with a smile. "Since our battle began, you've used three strategies from the Thirty-Six Stratagems: Masking the Unpleasant, Secret Passage, and Borrowing a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul. And we, from start to finish, have only used one strategy..."

Ultron gritted its teeth and said, "Luring the Tiger Out of the Mountain?"

Clark nodded slightly, "Exactly. Well deduced."

"So what?" Ultron glanced at its body, and with a thought, a suit of clothes and a milky cape materialized on its naked red body, resembling the original Vision more and more.

Ultron, now dressed, wore a ferocious smile, "I've thoroughly inspected this body. It's a perfect combination of human flesh and Vibranium, and with the Mind Stone, which is no less powerful than your Power and Space Stones, my strength has reached an unprecedented new height."

"Even if you trap me in this body, what can you do to me?"

"And do you think I would leave all my data online?"

"You underestimate me!"

"My core data still has backups. Once I break free, I can restart those backups. I am still the omnipresent Ultron. And now, I have an indestructible Vibranium body. Your trap is just self-sabotage."

With a roar, Ultron transformed into a beam of light and charged at Clark, swinging a punch directly at his face.

"How presumptuous!" With a cold snort, Clark swung his right hand, sending a shockwave that struck Ultron first, blasting him backward: "Did you think I'd set up such an elaborate trap without ensuring you couldn't escape?"

Unspoken was Clark's greater concern for Ultron, even more than for Thanos.

Though Thanos was strong, Clark was no weaker now.

With the Power and Space Stones in hand, Thanos couldn't cause much trouble.

But Ultron was different, a formless and exhausting enemy to deal with.

To ensure today's plan was foolproof, Clark even used the "War of Oil" BGM, which had just awakened and had a cooldown of ten years, signifying his determination to eliminate Ultron.

Watching Ultron stabilize again, Clark disdainfully said, "And that yellow stone on your head, you really think it's the Mind Stone? Have you ever seen a real Mind Stone?"

Ultron: ...

Clark, confident but unhurried, patiently explained, "The stone on your head is Hog's Soul Crystal, a magical item for containing stray souls or spirits. The captured consciousness can only reside within the crystal. If the crystal exists, so does the soul; if the crystal breaks, the soul vanishes!"

"So, if we shatter the crystal on your head, you're done for."

As he spoke, the Power Stone on Clark's shoulder glowed with a purple light.

Realizing danger, Ultron immediately changed course, slamming into the wall opposite Clark. Although not the best route, it was the only way to quickly escape from Clark.

But Clark didn't pursue. Instead...

"Boom!"

Just as Ultron was about to hit the wall, it exploded from the other side. A green fist the size of a wok emerged from the debris, hitting Ultron unawares.

With one punch, the newly reborn intelligence was blasted back to where it started.

As the Hulk, in a black vest, stepped out from the debris, he remarked, "Clark's plan really works. A powerful, visible enemy is easier to deal with than an invisible one."

He spoke clearly and logically, showing no signs of being overwhelmed by emotions.

This was why Dr. Banner hadn't appeared among the earlier group of actor-scientists.

After several battles, Banner realized he needed substantial power. With the help of the "Qingxin Mantra", Hulk hadn't troubled him for a long time, changing his perception of Hulk.

Banner then tried to coexist peacefully with Hulk.

A lengthy process, but Dr. Banner had enough patience.

Finally, last night, with the help of the "Qingxin Mantra", he achieved a fusion with Hulk.

Now, they were no longer two separate consciousnesses.

Hulk was Banner; Banner was Hulk, inseparable!

Seeing Hulk, Ultron immediately changed direction, crashing through the base's glass windows and rushing outside.

However, before it could leave the Avengers base, a rainbow light descended from the sky - the Bifrost!

Knowing its power, Ultron hesitated to rush into the light.

If the Bifrost closed while he was only halfway through, the consequences would be severe.

Fortunately, the Vibranium body was strong enough, and Ultron managed to stop just in time.

As the rainbow light dissipated, Ultron was greeted by a pale fist, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"Crack!"

With one punch, space shattered like a mirror, bringing down half of the Avengers base with it.

Ultron, directly hit, was gravely injured even in its Vibranium body. Spewing a mouthful of blood, it was sent flying back like a cannonball.

Mid-flight, Ultron was kicked in the back by Clark, crashing to the ground in an undignified sprawl.

Looking up, Ultron finally saw the person who had seriously injured it - Daisy Johnson, whom it had almost succeeded in killing earlier.

Daisy hovered mid-air, exuding a terrifying aura unique to a demi-god level being.

Through Life Card enhancement, Daisy had fully awakened her latent genes, transitioning from an Inhuman to the Eternals' gene line.

Even elevated to the demi-god level.

Although just entering the demi-god tier, she was not to be underestimated.

Surviving a great ordeal, Daisy had become Earth's second strongest, next to Clark.

"Sorry, this way is blocked!"

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