"Boom~!"
"The tenth squad has been wiped out, the eleventh squad has only one survivor, the twelfth squad has lost contact. The enemy is less than two hundred meters away from us."
Baron Strucker sat in the command room with a cold expression, listening quietly to his subordinates' reports. Within a mere ten minutes, he had lost over three hundred men—fully armed soldiers equipped with various high-powered weapons had been defeated in such a short time. However, he felt no heartache over the lives of his subordinates; instead, he was extremely curious about the intruder. What kind of person could defeat his elite troops single-handedly? He was very interested in the enemy's power.
"So, this is the Hydra Base? What a bunch of people who don't fear death."
At the same time Hydra discovered Artoria, Artoria also discovered them. But Artoria did not take them seriously because she was no longer afraid of Hydra's power. Thus, Artoria sat leisurely on Touka, moving forward slowly as if taking a stroll. According to Saturday's knowledge, she was not far from that Infinity Stone. However, these Hydra guys made Artoria sit up and take notice. Although there was an element of brainwashing involved, it was the first time Artoria had seen soldiers who didn't fear death. After having their limbs twisted by telekinesis, they would bite down on the poison sacs in their mouths and commit suicide, giving the opponent absolutely no chance to capture them alive. It was truly terrifying. The conviction of these guys opened Artoria's eyes, and then, she ravaged them fiercely.
"Although faith gives one a sense of finding a spiritual pillar, fanatics are truly annoying enough."
Telekinesis formed a protective shield, blocking the lethal rays from the outside. She raised the holy lance Rhongomyniad in her hand, aiming it in the direction of the attack. A golden beam flew toward the Hydra soldiers in the snow. The massive energy vaporized these few people in an instant, leaving only a crater. There had already been several waves of such attacks. These guys didn't know what it meant to run away; they only knew to follow orders and eliminate the enemy. If they were ordinary soldiers, they would have likely wavered or fled long ago, but these guys heroically rushed forward to fight even when facing an enemy a hundred times stronger than themselves. It was evident how powerful their faith was.
"Found it. It's time to resolve the trouble."
Utilizing her Dragon Eyes, Artoria turned her head slightly and discovered the well-hidden entrance. It was only then that Artoria got down from Touka. Snapping her fingers, Touka was retrieved into the mount space. Walking to the main entrance and looking at the password input area covered by snow, Artoria didn't even think about it; she directly kicked it. The twenty-centimeter-thick steel door was kicked until it dented, but the door still didn't open.
"Bang~!"
If one kick didn't work, then she would give it another. After a loud bang, the steel door was completely ruined and kicked away. The two unlucky guys behind it preparing to shoot were turned into pulp, plastered against the wall. Artoria strode in. Even without using the holy lance Rhongomyniad, Artoria's powerful telekinesis was enough to let her come and go as if in an empty place. After walking in, Artoria began to walk by intuition, tearing down walls when she encountered them and kicking down doors when she encountered them. Artoria's violent behavior was transmitted to Baron Strucker via surveillance without missing a single detail.
Looking at his destroyed Base, the Baron didn't feel angry at all; instead, he watched Artoria with interest. Although this power was crude, it was very much to the Baron's liking. If his subordinates weren't currently unable to defeat the opponent, he would have really wanted to capture this person wearing silver armor and bring them to the laboratory to study how they obtained their power.
"Notify everyone to begin retreating. Take everything that can be taken, and destroy everything that cannot. Initiate the self-destruct sequence. In ten minutes, this place must be reduced to ruins."
"Yes."
He didn't have to appear; now was not the time. Other Hydra members were all hiding themselves; if they were exposed because of him, he would be treated as a must-kill target. Watching Artoria, who was handling things with ease in the video, Baron Strucker felt that he couldn't take down the opponent for the time being. The information was too insufficient, and the power levels were unequal. But he always felt he had seen this armor somewhere. Unfortunately, Baron Strucker didn't recognize it at first. First, because during the Battle of New York, Artoria hadn't worn the complete armor. Second, when Artoria destroyed the walls, the entire corridor was filled with dust, so the surveillance footage wasn't clear. If he had enough time, he should have been able to discover that the intruder was Artoria Stark.
But Artoria's speed at tearing down the tower... oh no! Her speed at wrecking the place was too fast. He didn't have much time to think. If he played around a bit longer, he might have to face a fully armed Artoria. There was no need for him to take that risk. After giving orders to his subordinates, Baron Strucker quickly left the command room and headed for the escape exit.
"Found it."
Baron Strucker never would have imagined that Artoria would find the lab so quickly. Artoria's sudden burst of speed meant that after he turned to leave, he missed the moment she broke into the laboratory. He thought the researchers in the lab could quickly evacuate with the scepter. As it turned out, before the researchers could even get out the door, they were flattened against the wall by it. Artoria walked in and saw a man and a woman lying in the lab. Loki's Scepter was emitting energy fluctuations, with two energy transmission lines connected to the pair. At this moment, both were closing their eyes and enduring pain, while a nearby computer recorded the data. Artoria had arrived just in time for this experiment.
"Interesting, truly interesting. To think they're using humans to receive the power of the Mind Stone, how fascinating."
After snapping the necks of the remaining two researchers with her telekinesis, Artoria saw a very interesting scene through her visor. In her perception, instead of their genes collapsing from the energy of the Infinity Stones, these two were evolving into another form; their physical qualities were changing.
"Could it be that these are the Wanda siblings?"
Thinking of this, Artoria looked at the pair with curiosity. Once the scepter stopped inputting energy, Artoria used her telekinesis to wrap up the scepter and the two of them, preparing to leave the Base. After taking just two steps, her intuition told her that the place was about to explode and was very dangerous.
"Are they that crazy?"
Artoria looked at the soldiers who were still trying to stall her, constantly firing their weapons at her. In an instant, she understood that these guys were being used to delay her so they could 'perish together' with her. She didn't know if the soldiers knew, but even if they did, they would probably smile, shout 'Hail Hydra,' and happily go to meet God. But thinking of Hydra's frantic actions, Artoria was in no mood to stay here any longer.
Summoning Touka from the Mount Space, Artoria sat on Touka's back and smashed a large hole through the roof, flying into the sky. Just as Artoria took to the air, the Hydra Base erupted in a massive explosion. Loki's Scepter and the Wanda siblings thus fell into Artoria's hands.
"Hydra, huh! Now I have plenty of time to deal with you."
Sitting on Touka's back, Artoria took off her helmet and looked down at the billowing smoke from the former Hydra Base. She began to calculate how to settle the score with Hydra. Now that she had three Infinity Stones in hand, it was time to settle the debts from her childhood. The grudge for her Father and mother should also be avenged. Although they weren't dead, the grudge for being separated from her parents for so many years was something she had to settle with Hydra. It was also time to look for news of her parents. Thinking of this, Artoria's eyes reddened slightly and her nose felt a bit sore, but she endured it. Carrying Loki's Scepter and the Wanda siblings, she left the place.
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