Hawkeye Joins the Battle!

"It’s time these bastards paid the price."

Facing the battlefield head-on, Old Barton could only see a blur before his eyes. He could no longer make out anything at all, and his glaucoma was only one step away from complete blindness.

However, the loss of his vision had heightened his other five senses, along with his sixth sense.

The cold wind swept past. Merciless war had turned the once-peaceful New Times Square into Purgatory. Closing his eyes, Old Barton heard only fierce clashes, the roars and wails of soldiers, blades striking one another, and artillery thundering. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.

One scene after another appeared in his pitch-black vision at some point. In his daze, Old Barton seemed to "see" his comrades fighting desperately, bathed in blood.

Old Barton’s steps gradually became firm, and his strides forward grew larger and larger.

A Hydra elite stationed at the outskirts spotted Barton and immediately raised the Laser Gun in his hand. His duty was to keep all onlookers under control. Without an order from Red Skull, no matter how fiercely the fighting inside raged, it had nothing to do with him.

The only order he had received was to prevent anyone from approaching New Times Square. He and the other Hydra elites knew that plenty of different factions were hidden among these spectators, and suppressing them was their main task.

"Hey! Old man, get back!"

Whoosh—

Barton drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Before the Hydra elite could react, an arrow pierced straight through his throat.

"Get back?"

Barton laughed heartily and pulled out three more arrows.

"Not this time!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arrows shot forth, flying straight at the faces of several Hydra elites closing in from all sides.

Barton had never believed that losing his sight would limit his combat ability. He was an Avenger. He was Hawkeye. Even blind, he could still hit every shot without fail. That was his confidence!

Two arrows struck the Hydra elites squarely in the eyes and pierced through, while the third was noticed by its target, who tilted his head aside and dodged it.

"You missed, old man."

The Hydra elite glanced back at the arrow embedded in the ground, then turned toward Barton and let out a mocking laugh. "I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Aren’t you the legendary Hawkeye?"

Paying no attention to the three comrades Old Barton had killed, this Hydra elite, who appeared to be captain-level, focused all his attention on Barton.

"Yes, I know you. I saw your file in the archives. When I joined the elite unit, the first thing I studied was intelligence on your Avengers. I thought maintaining order meant I’d never get to fight heroes like you, but I never expected you to deliver yourself right to my doorstep."

The Hydra elite captain’s voice quickly drew the attention of nearby spectators. This area had been set aside specifically for reporters from various news agencies, and these media workers from all over naturally knew what the codename "Hawkeye" meant.

"He’s Hawkeye!"

"Oh my God, I thought he died long ago!"

"That’s a member of the Avengers from back then—a real superhero. I can’t believe he’s still alive."

"God, I knew it. I knew heroes still existed."

"Justice has arrived."

In an instant, the crowd erupted into commotion. Regardless of age or gender, every reporter was overwhelmed with excitement. Seeing Hawkeye alive before their eyes thrilled them even more than the appearance of the Justice League.

Just like the people who prayed every day for heroes to return, everyone standing here had grown up hearing legends of superheroes.

As reporters, no one understood better than they did how far this world had fallen after being ruled by supervillains. Now that an old hero had reappeared, what could possibly stir their blood more than this?

Unlike the others, the middle-aged editor did not shout or cheer. On the contrary, he was calmer than anyone else—or rather, the moment he realized what was happening, goosebumps had covered his entire body.

He clenched his teeth tightly, suppressing the desperate urge to scream from his heart. No one could understand his emotions at this moment. Even he himself, as an editor-in-chief, could not put into words what he felt.

The heroes were not dead.

They had merely grown old.

Elsewhere, the reporters’ commotion did not affect Barton or the Hydra elite captain. Looking at the aged Barton, the Hydra elite captain sneered.

"Do you know, Barton? I’ve killed you countless times—in virtual combat. I have to say, taking you down was much easier than defeating Captain America. I mean the younger you."

"Is that so? Then it seems you can only find the taste of victory online, because you’re about to face defeat in reality." Old Barton did not get angry.

"Defeat in reality, like you? You’re old, Hawkeye. When I heard you killed Baron Zemo, I was truly excited. But when you appeared before me, forgive me, I was simply too disappointed."

The Hydra elite captain stood directly in front of Old Barton. Behind him, dozens of Hydra elites held Laser Guns in their hands. From the moment Barton attacked, their muzzles had never shifted away from his vital points.

"Look at how frail you are now, Hawkeye. Are you really planning to bring a bow and arrows to a gunfight?"

"What guns?"

Old Barton merely grinned and asked softly. At the same time, he lightly pressed a button on the bow’s grip.

The next moment, the green indicator on the tip of the arrow that had missed instantly turned blue. Then, beneath the puzzled gazes of everyone around, an electromagnetic pulse swept out and directly covered everything within a fifty-meter radius.

The Hydra elites saw only a wave of blue electromagnetic energy rushing toward them. Then sparks burst from their Laser Guns. The scorching gun bodies forced them to release their weapons and keep their distance, lest the Laser Guns explode.

The elite captain was among them. The moment he noticed the weapon in his hand heating up rapidly, he immediately threw it away. Turning to look at Barton, whose face was filled with a cold smile, he felt utterly mocked.

"Petty tricks won’t change the outcome, old man."

"I know." Before the Hydra elite captain could finish, Old Barton cut him off. "That’s why I found help."

"What—"

At those words, the Hydra elites froze in place. Their battle-hardened instincts kept sending warnings to their minds, and a sense of danger enveloped every one of them.

Suddenly, the Hydra elite captain thought of something. He hurriedly covered his ears and shouted.

"Watch out for sonic attacks!"

Before his words had even faded, a pink energy blast descended from the sky alongside an ear-splitting roar.

Before everyone’s stunned eyes, it swept through the entire Hydra elite squad before Barton and tore open a clear passage leading straight to the battlefield.