Chapter 9: The Strength of Bronze
Stanley didn't draw a weapon. He didn't need one.
As the first Supporter lunged, Stanley stepped into the strike. He caught the creature's bladed hand with his bare palm. The metal hissed against his bronze skin, but it didn't draw blood. With a guttural roar, Stanley squeezed. The synthetic alloy shattered like glass.
He delivered a palm strike to the Supporter's chest. The force was so immense that the "man" exploded into a shower of sparks and black oil, his internal robotic frame pulverized by the sheer density of Stanley's cultivation.
"Amara! The machine!" Stanley shouted.
The other two Supporters flanked him. One managed to land a kick across Stanley's ribs. In the past, it would have broken his spine. Now, it felt like a dull thud. Stanley spun, his arm catching the attacker's throat. He lifted the hundred-and-fifty-pound android-human hybrid with one hand and slammed it into the concrete floor, cratering the ground.
Amara was at the machine, her fingers dancing across a portable terminal. "It's a resonance spike! They're trying to call down a heavy-class Collector from orbit! I can't shut it down from here!"
"Then break it!" Stanley shouted, dodging a blade that sliced through a steel support beam behind him.
"It's protected by a kinetic shield!" she yelled back. "Only a high-level Qi burst can penetrate it!"
Stanley looked at his hands. He was only at the Muscle-Tempering stage. He couldn't project Qi. He couldn't throw fire or lightning. But he could be the weapon.