As the battle between the Defenders and the Hand reached its boiling point, the conflict quickly entered a state of intense deadlock. On the rooftop, the three-on-three fight raged fiercely, while elsewhere, the other Defenders clashed with the Hand's army of ninjas. For a moment, all of Hell's Kitchen was a chaotic spectacle of noise and violence.
But just as Peter had noted, Gorgon had not relaxed his guard for a single second. This was because the Defenders' most powerful ally, Spider-Man, had yet to make his appearance. He had to remain constantly vigilant.
What was Spider-Man doing?
At that moment, a wave of commotion rippled through the ninja ranks. Shortly after, Bullseye and the Prowler fought their way into the fray, cutting off the Hand's executives' retreat from behind. At the same time, it was the perfect position to launch a sneak attack on Daredevil and his team, should the conditions allow it.
It was precisely at this moment that Spider-Man emerged.
"Hey, Window Washer! Long time no see. How've you been lately?"
In an instant, webs attached themselves to the backs of a large number of undead ninjas. Dozens of men were simultaneously hoisted high into the air and slammed heavily back onto the pavement. Peter finished clearing the area in a flash. Looking at the hundreds of men continuing to rush forward, he exchanged a quick greeting with Prowler and Bullseye before landing gracefully on the ground.
"Spider-Man? Why are you here?"
"Great question. The answer, of course, is that we're best buds, so we're here helping each other out. Why? You got a problem with that?" Peter shrugged, then fired web grenades in every direction, pinning all the approaching Hand ninjas to the walls.
"Did you forget, Bullseye? It's thanks to you that we were able to discover an entire Hydra base."
So that was it. Daredevil didn't trust Kingpin's men either. No, it was more than that—they were likely playing a game of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." Once the Hand was eliminated, they could move on to capturing Kingpin's subordinates.
Seeing Spider-Man appear in the distance, Gorgon considered this and found it unsurprising. Everyone had their own agenda, and no one was a fool; calculating and counter-calculating against one another was perfectly normal. Since he couldn't be sure what Kingpin was planning, he had his own schemes in motion—he needed to put some pressure on the Kingpin's side.
Gorgon suddenly swung his blade with immense force, using his power to constrict Daredevil's movement space. Meanwhile, he spoke with mocking conviction: "Is this all you've got, Devil? How can a man like you be worthy of the name? You're nothing but a coward who doesn't even dare to kill his own enemies!"
"Is that so? Personally, I think you rats in the gutter are the real cowards."
Matt executed a nimble slide to dodge Gorgon's horizontal slash, then flipped backward. He looped his three-section staff around Gorgon's neck, tightening it fiercely. With a powerful back-throw, he pinned Gorgon to the ground and began pummeling the man's face with punch after punch. "You're too afraid to even proclaim your own ideals, so you resort to disgusting brainwashing rituals to deal with others? You are the true cowards."
"Shut your mouth!"
While silently praising his own acting skills, Gorgon immediately launched a counterattack. The two men quickly devolved into a frantic scuffle, soon discarding their weapons entirely.
With the leader looking so disheveled, the subordinates naturally fared no better. Lady Bullseye was essentially a degraded version of Bullseye. Her past was shrouded in mystery, with only one certainty: she deeply idolized Bullseye and had painstakingly learned his techniques.
The problem was that the original Bullseye himself couldn't beat Daredevil. Could Lady Bullseye possibly be a match for Elektra, who was Matt's equal?
Of course not. She was currently being hounded across the battlefield by Elektra.
Things were even worse for Typhoid Mary. Iron Fist wielded the immortal power of K'un-Lun. Although Typhoid Mary was a rare street-level powerhouse capable of creating energy shields for defense or utilizing energy for attacks, her combat experience and technique paled in comparison to the likes of Iron Fist.
Consequently, she was being systematically suppressed.
However, things shouldn't have been this pathetic. They shouldn't have fallen into a disadvantage so quickly. All of this was the "acting" Gorgon had instructed them to perform beforehand.
"Boss, something's not right here. The Hand is much weaker than we expected."
It wasn't just a professional killer like Bullseye who noticed; even a minor player like Prowler felt that the danger presented by the Hand was far less than what they had shown previously. Furthermore, the Silver Samurai had yet to show his face, making it hard not to suspect they were hiding an ace up their sleeve.
Prowler immediately called Kingpin to report. On the other end of the line, Kingpin sighed upon hearing the intel.
"Are the Hydra people really this useless? Even incompetence has its limits. They are acting for our benefit, trying to force us to turn on the heroes immediately. Otherwise, they'd rather let Daredevil and his friends win than share the spoils with us. Those damn bastards."
Prowler heard the series of frustrated noises coming from Kingpin, followed by the sound of the big man taking a deep breath. "Tell Lester to retreat. He knows what to do. Use your mobility to lure Spider-Man away."
"Understood, Boss."
Clinging to a wall, Prowler drew his weapon and fired a shot at Spider-Man before fleeing without looking back. Seeing the muzzle flash, Bullseye also shifted into a retreating posture. Witnessing this, Peter shouted to Matt, "Fisk's men are retreating!" and immediately gave chase to the Prowler.
From Spider-Man's perspective, the Prowler could navigate heights and terrain just as he could, making him harder to catch. As for Bullseye—a mere human—the Defenders were more than capable of handling him.
On the other side, Bullseye had no intention of escaping. Instead, he did the opposite, lunging toward the spot where Gorgon and Daredevil were fighting.
He flicked a shell casing forward. The metal casing flew with uncanny precision, striking Elektra's short sai. It deflected, piercing her eye socket with unerring accuracy and driving straight into her brain.
Satisfied, he listened to Daredevil's roar of disbelief and fury.
"Retreat."
Seeing the deed done, Gorgon spoke decisively. He activated the Norn Stone, allowing all the executives to leave the battlefield. He couldn't help but flash an excited grin. As a blue vortex warped the forms of the three individuals, they vanished from the battlefield in an instant.
All that remained was the enraged Daredevil, who collapsed beside Elektra's body, staring in disbelief as his lover's life faded away. By this time, Bullseye was already on his way out. However, in a flash, the terminally furious Daredevil appeared directly in front of Bullseye.
The latter even had the nerve to make a joke.
"It's not the first time. Haven't you gotten used to it yet?"