Chapter 174: The Angel's Descent
"Ahhh!!!"
As all the robotic soldiers lost control and began attacking Iron Man, the audience screamed in terror.
"Come out and fight me!"
Realizing that he was the target, Tony immediately flew out of the exhibition hall.
The hijacked War Machine and the airborne robotic soldiers fired their machine guns at Tony while closely pursuing him.
As for the remaining ground and naval robots, their anti-aircraft cannons rose as they prepared to move outside the hall to support the air force in besieging Tony from the ground.
However, at that moment, George dispelled his Disillusionment Charm and blocked the path of the robots.
"I think you'd better stay right here!"
"You're asking for death!"
Ivan Vanko, who was remotely controlling War Machine and the robotic soldiers, saw George blocking the way on his screen. A flash of malice crossed his face as he immediately ordered the ground and air force robots to aim their weapons at George.
However, in the next second, all the ground and naval robotic soldiers on his computer screen turned red, indicating a loss of connection, and the display vanished.
"How is this possible?"
A look of disbelief appeared on Ivan Vanko's face. Had his system been hacked?
Even Iron Man couldn't have instantly taken out so many ground and naval robots unless he had used some powerful missile to blow up the entire exhibition hall—or unless the system had been hacked, severing his control over the robots.
The first possibility was out of the question; his airborne robots were still chasing Tony, and there had been no missile strikes in the exhibition hall.
The second possibility was also hard to believe. Given his technical expertise, he didn't think anyone could hack his system—especially in such a selective manner, as he could still control the airborne and War Machine robots without any issues.
He couldn't figure it out. It made no sense.
But since he couldn't understand it, he decided not to dwell on it. His main goal was to take revenge on Tony, so he focused all his attention on controlling the airborne robots and War Machine to continue hunting him down.
Inside the Exhibition Hall
George stood before the frozen robots.
Just as they were about to attack him, he had used the Freezing Charm to immobilize them all.
The Freezing Charm was not only capable of paralyzing small creatures within its range, but it also had the effect of freezing Muggle technological devices, causing them to stop functioning.
George had studied this spell carefully.
Despite its name, the Freezing Charm did not rely on conventional ice magic. Instead, it involved principles of time magic, similar to the Mending Charm.
In the Harry Potter world, wizards had conducted in-depth research on time-related magic.
For example, the Hour-Reversal Charm could turn back time, and when integrated into a device, it became the Time-Turner, allowing one to travel into the past.
The Mending Charm and Freezing Charm were extensions of this time-based magical application.
"These things should just be destroyed."
George raised his hand and pointed at the robotic soldiers. A surge of Fiendfyre erupted, and under its intense heat, the robots quickly melted into pools of molten metal.
If he remembered correctly, Ivan Vanko had planted explosives inside these robotic soldiers. Even if he disassembled them, they would still explode once the effect of the Freezing Charm wore off.
To be safe, he decided to burn them all down to molten metal, ensuring there would be no risk left.
"George!"
At that moment, Pepper rushed over from the audience area, recognizing him.
"What's going on?"
"Tony asked me to help. He'll explain everything later."
George didn't provide further explanation. Instead, he spread his wings and took off, flying toward Tony, who was still being attacked.
The remaining audience members, who had not yet evacuated, stared in shock at George as he soared into the air with his pure white wings.
"Is that an angel? I think I just saw an angel! An angel saved us!"
Aerial Battle
Above the exhibition hall, Tony relied on his advanced flight skills and superior weaponry to take down half of the airborne robots. However, the remaining half, along with War Machine—whose performance was slightly inferior to his—forced him into evasive maneuvers.
"Tony, fly this way!"
Seeing the situation, George used an Amplifying Charm to shout toward Tony.
Realizing that George had likely dealt with the robotic soldiers below, Tony swiftly performed a 180-degree turn and flew in George's direction.
Under Ivan Vanko's control, War Machine and the remaining robotic soldiers immediately followed.
As soon as War Machine and the robotic soldiers entered George's magnetic control range, he gently lifted his right hand.
"Freeze!"
His magnetic control burst forth with full force, instantly locking War Machine and all the robotic soldiers in midair.
While his magnetic control had a weight limit of a thousand pounds, if the robotic soldiers and War Machine operated at full power, they could likely break free from the restraint.
But it didn't matter—George only needed to hold them in place for a brief moment.
"Rain of Light!"
A holy magic circle materialized above George's head, making him appear like a true angel. Countless beams of light rain burst from the circle, arcing toward the robotic soldiers.
The steel-armored robots, as if they were made of fragile paper, were pierced by the beams of light. One after another, they exploded midair and plummeted to the ground.
The citizens outside the exhibition hall looked up in astonishment at the scene above.
"Such a showoff," Tony muttered to himself, watching George effortlessly obliterate all the airborne robots. "I should probably upgrade my electromagnetic pulse cannon when I get back—maybe modify it into a scatter-shot form. That'd look way cooler."
Now, only War Machine remained.
George hadn't attacked it—because Rhodey was inside.
Inside the control room, Ivan Vanko was now utterly bewildered.
He finally understood what had happened to his ground and naval robots.
"What kind of person is this…?"
"Hold him still. I'm going to fix his system."
Tony instructed George as he flew toward War Machine.
War Machine tried to escape, but its body refused to move.
George had redirected all his magnetic power, concentrating it solely on War Machine. The binding force increased dramatically.
The machine gun on War Machine's back attempted to fire—until George flicked his wand.
"Veraverto!"
Instantly, the massive gun transformed into a large baguette.
At that moment, Tony had already reached War Machine.
He removed a small cover at the back of the suit, extended his finger, and inserted it into the slot.
(End of Chapter)