Should he step down?
Anyone could see that Red Skull's earlier words weren't sincere. His patience with Eric had already run out, and the faint smile on his face no longer hid the irritation beneath it.
He suddenly waved his hand dismissively and spoke in a colder tone.
If Eric wanted a challenge, then fine. As long as he could defeat the man about to step forward, Red Skull said, the conversation could continue.
The moment he finished speaking, a figure leapt down from the second floor balcony.
The man landed heavily in front of Eric.
He had long hair flowing past his shoulders, a metallic mask covering part of his face, and a powerful mechanical left arm that gleamed under the lights. His presence alone radiated danger.
This was the Winter Soldier.
His real name had once been Bucky Barnes. During World War II he had been Captain America's closest friend, a brother-in-arms who fought beside him through countless missions.
But Bucky had died during a mission long ago.
Or at least that was what everyone believed.
Hydra had secretly recovered his body and transformed him into a living weapon. After endless experiments and brainwashing, the man who once fought for freedom had been turned into a mindless killing machine.
The Winter Soldier performed several lightning-fast combat movements the moment he landed. His body twisted and spun with incredible precision, demonstrating astonishing fighting skill.
The Hydra soldiers surrounding the room erupted in cheers.
To them, Eric had no chance of defeating someone like the Winter Soldier.
Red Skull's voice echoed coldly through the hall as he gave the command.
Kill him.
The Winter Soldier's foot smashed against the floor as he launched forward. The impact cracked the marble beneath his boots as he shot toward Eric like a cannonball.
Then everything happened too quickly for most people to follow.
The cheering crowd suddenly went silent.
The Winter Soldier flew backward through the air and slammed violently into the wall behind him.
His metal mask clattered to the ground and bounced across the floor.
His jaw had been shattered.
He lost consciousness instantly.
Eric had defeated him with a single punch.
The sudden result stunned everyone present, including Red Skull himself.
When the Winter Soldier first appeared, he had been able to fight Captain America evenly. Yet the same warrior had just been knocked out by Eric in one strike.
That realization sent a chill through the hall.
If Eric could defeat the Winter Soldier so easily, then what would happen if he fought Captain America himself?
In many people's minds, Captain America seemed nearly invincible. Some even believed his strength was comparable to Superman.
But the truth was very different.
Compared to many other superheroes, Captain America's raw physical power was actually quite ordinary. He didn't even rank among the strongest fighters, and numerous villains possessed greater abilities than him.
Measured by ability ratings, Captain America's intelligence stood at level three, marking him as highly knowledgeable. His strength rating was four, his speed two, endurance three, energy projection one, and his combat skills an impressive six.
The Hulk, by comparison, possessed far greater physical attributes. His intelligence rating fluctuated between two and six depending on his personality. His strength reached seven, speed three, endurance seven, energy projection five or sometimes one, and combat skill four.
Eric carried the Hulk's strength within him.
On top of that, he had also absorbed abilities derived from General Zod.
When comparing the two directly, Eric surpassed Captain America in almost every category. If they ever truly fought, it wouldn't be surprising for Eric to end the battle instantly.
The hall had fallen completely silent.
But the reason wasn't just the Winter Soldier's defeat.
It was because Eric was now holding Red Skull by the throat.
The villain tried to speak.
Eric interrupted him with a quick movement.
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the hall.
Eric had snapped Red Skull's neck.
The body went limp immediately.
Yet something strange happened.
There was no sign of Red Skull's consciousness lingering within the corpse.
The man Eric had just killed was only a host body—a clone modeled after Captain America. The real Red Skull existed as a wandering spiritual entity capable of transferring himself into different hosts.
The moment the clone died, his spirit had already escaped.
The Hydra soldiers around the hall stared in disbelief.
Their leader had just died.
At least that was what it looked like.
Several of them raised their guns to open fire, but before they could pull the triggers, vines suddenly erupted from the floor and wrapped around them.
In seconds, every Hydra soldier in the room was bound tightly.
Meanwhile, deep beneath City Hall, Firefox and her team moved carefully through the sewer tunnels. They had expected to fight their way through heavy resistance once they reached the building.
Instead, when they climbed out of the sewer exit, someone was already waiting.
A middle-aged man stood there with a wide grin.
It was Scarecrow.
He lifted his mask slightly and greeted Firefox cheerfully, saying they had met before. He explained that the boss had sent him to guide them to the prisoners.
Firefox lowered her weapon slowly.
When she noticed the Hydra soldiers lying bound nearby with vines wrapped around them, confusion spread across her face.
She asked what had happened.
Scarecrow simply shrugged and explained that Red Skull had been killed by Eric. The entire building was now under Eric's control.
Firefox raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
Eric had done all of this by himself?
Scarecrow nodded enthusiastically and told her she could ask him personally later. For now, the important thing was rescuing the hostages.
With no resistance remaining, the operation proceeded smoothly.
Firefox and her team successfully freed Coulson along with all the prisoners who had been held inside City Hall.
Since the original shelter had already been destroyed, Coulson decided to convert the building into a new base of operations.
Elsewhere in the facility, Joker and Bane were finally released from their cells.
Both of them thanked Scarecrow for helping them escape.
Then they calmly broke both of his arms and legs.
Later, Coulson approached Eric with a wide smile.
He said Eric had saved both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the city once again. Not only had he stopped Hydra's latest plan, but he had also captured the remaining Hydra agents in New York.
Coulson believed the organization would not recover from this defeat for a long time.
Eric asked what he intended to do with the prisoners.
In the past, Coulson explained, he would have placed them all in S.H.I.E.L.D. prisons without hesitation.
But the world had changed.
With so few survivors left, endless internal conflict was meaningless.
Instead, Coulson wanted to give them a chance to redeem themselves by joining S.H.I.E.L.D. and working to repair the damage they had caused.
The idea was bold.
Imprisoning so many people would require enormous manpower and resources that S.H.I.E.L.D. could no longer afford. Recruiting them instead would relieve that burden while strengthening their ranks.
Even so, Eric couldn't shake the feeling that it resembled inviting wolves into the house.
For Coulson, however, there were no better options.
After a moment of silence, Coulson asked about Eric's future plans.
He once again hinted that Eric should consider joining S.H.I.E.L.D.
Eric ignored the suggestion.
He said his priority now was dealing with the Superman situation.
Then he asked Coulson whether the Kryptonian spaceship had been located.
Coulson hesitated before answering.
He promised that S.H.I.E.L.D. was still searching and would do everything possible to find it. Unfortunately, recent events had made the task extremely difficult.
Eric cut him off.
In other words, they still hadn't found it.
Coulson gave an awkward laugh and asked for more time.
Over the past months, Eric had entrusted S.H.I.E.L.D. with several important tasks, from the Infinity Gauntlet to the Dionysus Factor and now the Kryptonian ship.
Each time, they had failed.
In truth, the organization simply no longer possessed the power it once had. Coulson had inherited a broken system and was struggling just to keep it functioning.
Before their conversation could grow more uncomfortable, the White Queen suddenly relayed an incoming communication through Batman's computer network.
Bruce Wayne appeared on the screen.
His voice sounded irritated as he complained that Eric had been impossible to contact for an entire month.
Eric calmly told him to get to the point.
Bruce Wayne explained that he had discovered a lead regarding the Kryptonian spaceship.
Eric immediately asked where he was.
Bruce replied that he was currently inside the Batcave.
Eric ended the call and turned back to Coulson with a faint smile.
He told Coulson not to worry about the spaceship anymore. He would handle the matter personally.
Then he casually announced that he needed to use the restroom.
Of course, Eric had no intention of going to the bathroom.
He simply needed a private space where no one would see him open a portal.
Moments later he stepped through that portal and emerged inside the Batcave.
Bruce Wayne was standing near a workbench, repairing a suit of armor while Catwoman placed a cup of coffee beside him.
She asked whether Eric had hung up on him again.
Bruce frowned and said Eric claimed he wanted to talk face to face.
Catwoman shook her head skeptically.
She admitted that Eric was incredibly powerful and often surprising, but she still didn't trust him.
A familiar voice suddenly echoed behind her.
Eric stepped out of the portal and remarked that it hurt to hear someone speak badly about him behind his back.
Catwoman jumped in surprise.
She complained that he should knock before entering someone else's home.
Eric joked that maybe she was afraid he might catch her doing something questionable with Bruce.
Her face turned red immediately.
Bruce cleared his throat awkwardly and suggested they should probably upgrade the Batcave's security system.
Eric ignored the comment and picked up Bruce's coffee.
He took a sip and praised the taste, saying it was the best coffee he had had in a month.
Then he asked if Catwoman had made it.
She simply snorted and looked away.
Eric's gaze shifted to the black armor lying on Bruce's workbench.
The design reminded him somewhat of Iron Man's suit.
Bruce explained that he had upgraded the Bat Armor and added flight capability. He insisted that everything inside the suit was pure Wayne Technology, including a power system that rivaled Tony Stark's arc reactor.
Eric laughed softly and told him to relax.
Then he sat down and returned the conversation to the Kryptonian ship.
Bruce glanced toward Catwoman and asked her to make another cup of coffee before continuing.
Once she left the room, Eric asked if Bruce didn't want her hearing about the ship.
Bruce replied that he simply didn't want her involved in something dangerous.
He then reminded Eric about a scientist named Silas Stone.
Eric immediately recognized the name.
Silas Stone was a researcher at an American interplanetary laboratory who specialized in extraterrestrial life and superhuman biology.
Bruce nodded.
Silas was also the father of Victor Stone.
Victor had once been a talented football player before suffering catastrophic injuries in an accident. Desperate to save his son, Silas had used a powerful alien device called a Mother Box along with advanced technology to rebuild Victor's body.
The result was a being who was half human and half machine.
Victor Stone had become Cyborg.
Bruce explained that Cyborg possessed immense physical strength and endurance, while his brain functioned like a quantum computer connected directly to the internet.
After Eric and Bruce last spoke, Bruce had visited the interplanetary laboratory hoping to find Silas Stone.
But the facility had already fallen.
Bruce searched many other locations without success.
Just when he was ready to abandon the investigation, he unexpectedly found Silas Stone somewhere else.
Eric guessed the location immediately.
Gotham.
Bruce stared at him for a moment before laughing and calling him a genius.
Silas and Victor Stone had both been born in Gotham.
When Bruce finally located Silas, the scientist had already been infected by the zombie virus and was undergoing mutation.
Although Bruce injected him with antitoxin, the transformation still turned him into a monster.
With no other choice, Bruce locked him inside a containment cell in the Batcave.
Eric suddenly thought of someone else who had also mutated despite receiving antitoxin.
Dr. Isaacs.
Eric then asked whether Silas had told Bruce where the Kryptonian ship was hidden.
Bruce nodded.
But there was one problem.
Someone powerful was guarding it.
Eric narrowed his eyes and asked the obvious question.
Was it Cyborg?
....
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