Just right, perfectly right.
Tara was in the hall, and the Shadow Generals he brought with him entered rooms, one by one, with no one left out. It was too coincidental to be just a coincidence.
The more Tara thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He was just about to summon the generals back to his side to reconsider his plan when, before he could speak, things took a sudden turn.
The stone door that had been shattered earlier had inexplicably restored itself, now protected by a stronger dark magic barrier.
Realizing he had been tricked, Tara decided to flee with his subordinate generals. But the very next moment, a layer of green demonic script appeared on the stone slabs of the floor.
Under the green light, Tara's large head began to solidify.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Generals, who had also realized they were trapped, immediately tried to retreat.
But before they could escape, the entrances to the five rooms were blocked by powerful magical barriers. The demonic script-formed magic circles beneath their feet severed their connection to their troops.
"What is this!?"
Upon seeing the raised magic barriers, Ika's first instinct was to summon his samurai ninjas to shatter them together. However, after several attempts, Ika found that his connection to his troops had been cut off. Even the dullest among them, Samo, knew they had walked into a trap.
Unable to call for reinforcements, Ika drew the samurai sword from his waist, raised it high above his head, and with all his might, swung it down at the barrier.
Ika knew his samurai sword intimately; it could slice through iron and was an absolute treasure.
Yet, even such a precious sword failed him today.
With a clang, the sword's blade struck the magic barrier.
Not only did it fail to damage it, but not even a ripple appeared. Ika even wondered if he had grabbed the wrong sword today.
As Ika was pondering this, a voice echoed from the depths of the room, answering his confusion.
"Don't bother. This was set up by the master himself. Your meager skills are no match for it."
"Who!"
Following the direction of the voice, a tall figure slowly emerged. It was none other than Kraven, a general under Bai Qi.
As Kraven stepped out, he took a metal staff from his back. The staff was covered in densely packed demonic carvings. With a gentle twist of his hands, metal spearheads extended from both ends of the staff.
This was the latest product developed by the Umbrella Corporation's weapons division, a fusion of magic and technology.
Despite its seemingly ordinary appearance, this double-ended spear was forged from the latest alloy, possessing extreme hardness and resilience. The spearheads were charged with high-voltage electricity, capable of instantly killing an adult elephant with a mere touch.
Kraven wore more than just this item.
The Saber-toothed Tiger on his hands, the lasso on his waist, the powder in his pocket, the two cleavers on his back, and even the clothes he wore were all imbued with similar properties.
Initially, Ika was a little intimidated by Kraven's imposing presence. But upon realizing that the man was not a mage, but an ordinary person without magic, his demeanor changed completely.
"How dare a mere human appear before the great General Ika! This is laughable. Begone quickly, and you might preserve your life. Otherwise, do not blame my blade for its ruthlessness."
"Very well, then let me see how you are ruthless with your blade."
With that, Kraven ceased his chatter and charged forward with his spear.
Seeing Kraven charging fiercely, Ika initially paid him no mind, thinking the man was merely putting on a show. After all, how powerful could a human be?
But Ika soon realized his mistake, and it was a grave one.
In terms of both speed and strength, this human was surprisingly formidable. Coupled with that magical weapon, he found himself being suppressed. This was happening not only to Ika, but to the other four rooms as well.
In the first room, Samo and the Mountain Demon, two heavyweight contenders, were engaged in a battle that shook the room with every collision, making it feel on the verge of collapse.
In the second room were Ressu and Caitlyn.
As a general of the Alien Troop, Ressu could stretch and contract his body at will, like clay. Even now, possessing a human body through a mask's possession, the prolonged influence had made this body incredibly pliable, allowing him to stretch and contort it freely.
For this reason, Bai Qi had arranged an opponent who was particularly suited to counter Ressu: Caitlyn.
Before gaining her abilities, Caitlyn was just an ordinary little girl. Unlike Kraven, who had extensive wilderness survival experience, or the Mimic Master, who had undergone complete special agent training, her physical condition was even worse than that of an average person.
If her opponent had been any other Shadow General, Caitlyn would not have stood a chance. But unfortunately for Ressu, his opponent possessed the ability to stretch.
After being rescued by Kraven from Sector Thirteen, Caitlyn had been secretly trained. Her physical condition improved, and her control over ice advanced by leaps and bounds.
Before their fight began, she had instantly encased the entire room in frost. The biting cold seeped into Ressu's body from all directions.
If it were before his sealing, Ressu would not have been afraid. But now, it was different. Despite successful possession, there was no denying that this physical body was far too fragile. Even after repeated modifications, it could not display Ressu's peak strength.
Thus, under Caitlyn's icy assault, Ressu was completely suppressed.
Then there was Mintar, facing off against the Wolf King Harry.
And finally, Manny was up against Experimental Mech Unit 1.
Speaking of Experimental Mech Unit 1, Bai Qi had instructed Umbrella's researchers to modify it based on Tony Stark's Iron Man suit.
Considering the existence of elusive Shadow Ninjas, it was not difficult for them to steal confidential documents and core technologies from other companies without detection, even from Stark Industries, America's leading enterprise.
As a genius, Tony Stark was incredibly stubborn, especially when it came to science, to an infuriating degree. Even now, he firmly believed that magic did not exist and that everything could be explained through scientific means.
Therefore, acquiring the technical data for the Iron Man suit was smoother than Bai Qi had anticipated, encountering no resistance whatsoever.
And this Experimental Mech Unit 1 was a brand-new suit built by combining the Iron Man suit's technology. Bai Qi also referenced the design of the Iron Monger, as what Bai Qi needed was not just a cool toy, but a weapon that could decisively influence the outcome of a war.