When the vampire duke saw the werewolves being slaughtered and Marius preparing to rescue them, he wanted to stop Marius to let him feel what it was like to be hindered. However, the vampire duke ultimately gave up. The vampires were still more numerous than the werewolves, and they were also being slaughtered at an even faster rate. The sooner the vampire duke acted, the sooner he could save his kin.
"Shush!"
"Bang!"
"Shhh!"
"Shhh!"
The vampire duke and Marius rushed towards their respective clans in different ways, first encountering Tony Stark's mech. They attacked the mech in various ways, but the next moment, their expressions changed as their claws and fists seemed to be burned, leaving marks instantly.
"Damn it! Silver?!" Neither the vampire duke nor Marius expected these mechs to be made entirely of silver. This realization made the vampire duke curse inwardly as he began to evade the mech's attacks.
This was the predicament for vampires and werewolves. Even though the vampire duke and Marius were top-tier Hell Lords, they couldn't overcome their weaknesses. Only their ancestor, who was neither a vampire nor a werewolf, could ignore such specific restraints. They had faced silver and other methods before, but fully silver mechs were a first.
Even the wealthy vampire clan had never been so extravagant. Recognizing Tony Stark and the Avengers, the vampire duke's heart sank.
"Avengers! We have no past grievances or recent grudges, so why target us?!" The vampire duke, emitting dark energy, stared at Tony Stark and asked in a deep voice.
"No past grievances or recent grudges? You've killed so many ordinary people. Isn't it right to eliminate you?" Before Tony Stark could respond, Blade sneered, waving his silver sword. "Do you think your vampires can be innocent?"
"Even if we've killed people, it has nothing to do with the Avengers in the USA. We've only been here a few days and haven't targeted anyone from the USA..." The vampire duke tried to suppress his anger, seeing more of his kin fall, and addressed Blade.
"Really?" The Avengers paused, realizing why the vampires they encountered earlier were weaker. These new vampires weren't from the USA.
"You're from Europe?" Blade, recalling his battle with Machinelle, sneered. "So what? All vampires are the same!"
With a "whoosh," Blade threw a string of silver darts, piercing several vampires. Blade had never had the resources to fight like this before joining the Avengers, making his current wealth-fueled battles remarkable.
"Damn it!" Seeing Blade ignore him and watching another vampire fall, the vampire duke couldn't hold back. He began transforming from a vampire with human features to a pure bat monster, emitting dark energy that seemed to corrode the air around him.
"Bang!" At that moment, a mech was smashed to the ground. Marius's hands were burned, but his wolfish face showed no pain, only madness. The mech, although made of silver, couldn't withstand Marius's determination, showing his desperation.
"Stop talking! Don't you realize we must kill them to save our kin? We've been tricked; this was all a plot by the Avengers and official agencies!" Marius roared, charging at Johnny Storm while calling out to the transformed vampire duke.
"Boom!" As Marius rushed at him, Johnny's expression changed, and he threw a blast of explosive fire. The explosion enveloped Marius, making the dark environment even harder to see.
"Not good!" Pietro exclaimed, rushing to push Johnny aside. Where Johnny had been, a massive figure appeared, its claw tearing into the ground, creating deep cracks.
As the smoke cleared, Marius appeared relatively unscathed, only his fur singed. His injuries from silver weapons were more severe.
This highlighted Johnny's weakness. His explosive fire was lethal to ordinary vampires and werewolves but only injured more powerful ones. Strong werewolves and vampires could quickly heal, unlike silver, which suppressed their abilities.
"Whoa! Thanks for the save, or I'd be in pieces..." Johnny said, relieved, after seeing the ground's condition.
"I'll carry you while you attack. We'll kite him together!" Pietro suggested, not dwelling on the rescue. They had saved each other countless times, focusing now on dealing with Marius.
Pietro had initially been killing werewolves, making Marius target him first. But Pietro's speed and silver weapons made Marius shift his focus to Johnny, the only one not using anti-vampire and anti-werewolf weapons. This sneak attack, however, failed.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Explosions continued as Marius chased Pietro, who kept kiting him. Johnny's attacks, though flashy, didn't severely harm Marius. Despite his rage, Marius couldn't catch up to Pietro.
Considering the situation, Marius thought of giving up but couldn't. Whenever he tried to retreat, Pietro would accelerate, throwing silver darts at him, frustrating Marius.
Unbeknownst to Marius, Martian Manhunter was also feeling helpless. He planned to showcase his strength, thinking he was the only one who could uphold the Avengers' combat prowess with the other aliens absent.
But as he prepared to act, an explosive fire cooled his enthusiasm and body. Spider-Man pulled him aside with his webs, saving him from a vampire's attack.
"What's going on? Why does it seem like silver's effect on him has diminished?" Tony Stark wondered, seeing the vampire duke seemingly unaffected by multiple silver-inflicted wounds. His strength didn't seem to drop, and his wounds weren't healing, making Tony question silver's effectiveness.
"I don't know. I've never faced such a powerful vampire. His strength might have declined but is offset by his transformation..." Blade speculated uncertainly.
"Leave it to me! You handle the other vampires and werewolves!" Morbius flew over, addressing Tony Stark before charging at the vampire duke.
"Can you handle it?" Tony frowned. The vampire duke was a top-tier Hell Lord, and Morbius didn't seem strong enough.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
The next moment, Morbius's claws pierced the vampire duke, who reciprocated. However, Morbius's wounds began healing despite the dark energy hindering him, thanks to his silver-tipped claws.
"You..." The vampire duke, realizing something, stared at Morbius. "You're a vampire? From the USA? Why are you helping the Avengers? Did you kill the werewolves, drain their blood, and frame us? You're too despicable!"
"What?" Morbius, puzzled by the accusation, didn't understand. Tony Stark, however, seemed to realize something, scanning the surroundings.
"Jarvis, scan the area. Identify vampires, werewolves, and our people. Check for any hidden individuals!" Tony ordered, spotting some werewolf corpses that seemed drained, making him wary.
Tony didn't want the Avengers' actions to benefit someone else, especially an unknown entity with potential ulterior motives.
"Scanning complete. 47 werewolves, 98 vampires, 9 Avengers, and one unidentified non-vampire, non-werewolf superhuman... Data analysis ongoing..." Jarvis reported, making Tony's expression darken.
"Analysis indicates an 87% probability of the unknown superhuman being the Moon Knight, previously seen fighting a werewolf strongman..."
"Him?" Tony, recognizing the location provided by Jarvis, directed the mechs to aim. "Come out! You've benefited enough. It's time to explain yourself."
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