Hydra, Hold On!

Sokovia, a mountainous region.

Strucker Castle.

An ancient castle perched on a hill, it was the private property of the Strucker Family. Having weathered centuries of storms, it had been transformed into a modern Hydra base over the past twenty years.

This was one of Hydra’s outposts, as well as one of its last and largest bases, where it had long conducted certain forbidden experiments that violated both law and morality.

After Hydra’s downfall, Baron Strucker had cut off contact with Hydra’s other heads and key members. While S.H.I.E.L.D. was busy carrying the fight to the other branches, he had kept his head down and built up his strength.

Who could have known that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intelligence network was even more formidable than he had imagined? It had found this place in barely two months, and it had sent the Avengers, whom few people even knew about.

Hiding three kilometers away from the castle, Captain America lowered his voice. "Agent Barton, what’s the situation?"

The moment he spoke, Barton’s voice came through the earpiece:

"At least a thousand enemies. Fewer than a hundred are researchers. Hydra’s soldiers are well-equipped, no worse than S.H.I.E.L.D.’s special forces. There are over twenty artillery pieces positioned in and around the castle, along with missile launchers and radar."

"Can you destroy the artillery and missiles, or infiltrate?"

"Strucker Castle is the highest point within a twenty-kilometer radius. The enemy has a highly developed surveillance system—hidden cameras everywhere, plus drones. More than three hundred Hydra soldiers are patrolling all over the place in squads of ten. I can take out at least three artillery pieces, but the moment I make a move, they’ll lock onto me."

Captain America frowned.

Strucker Castle was no ordinary terrorist base. Whether in equipment or combat units, it rivaled the finest military bases in the world. Five hundred men might not have been many, but they had every modern weapon they could need, including tanks.

A frontal assault would be impossible even for ten fully equipped special forces squads.

This was mountainous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if they mobilized regular troops for a direct assault, the enemy would know in advance and retreat decisively. Hunting them down afterward would be even harder.

The Director was negotiating with the Sokovian government. Too many interests were involved, and secrecy had to be maintained—

If Baron Strucker dared hide here, there had to be people in the government backing him.

This operation had still been in the preparation stage. Now they were suddenly being told to move, before they even had time to clear the outer sentries. What exactly was Master Wang thinking?

"Keep watching. Stay safe."

After giving the order, Captain America prepared to find a way closer and figure out the patrols’ shift patterns.

Then a cool voice rang out:

"Captain Rogers, reinforcements have arrived."

It was Skye!

Captain America’s spirits lifted. He asked in a low voice, "How many? My coordinates are XXX. Have your people rendezvous with us first. We’ll discuss the battle plan."

Skye chuckled. "Discuss? Captain Rogers, are you sure you want to discuss things with a bunch of steel?"

Steel?

Captain America froze again.

The reinforcements weren’t people, but steel?

Could it be Tony Stark?

Wait…

Tony and he might not see eye to eye, but Tony was still a person, not steel.

So what did she mean?

He took a deep breath. "Skye, Strucker’s technology is more advanced than that of any Hydra base we’ve destroyed. A frontal assault will be extremely difficult. I think we should take out the outer patrols first, change into their uniforms, find a way into the castle, and carry out a decapitation strike…"

"That was my thought too, Captain Rogers."

Skye cut him off. "In fact, I’ve already done it… Look up!"

Up?

Captain America hurriedly raised his head.

A super-soldier’s eyesight was exceptional. Even from three kilometers away, he could make out blurry figures, not to mention that he had the optical binoculars specially supplied by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Science and Technology Division.

The first thing he saw was a streak of light, something like the tail flare of a rocket thruster. Then, farther ahead, he saw a sky-blue figure.

It was nearly two and a half meters tall, massively built, more muscular than the most famous bodybuilders.

Its entire body was forged from steel, looking like an enlarged, bulked-up version of Mark 7.

If Mark 7 was compared to a curvaceous female fitness instructor, then the thing flying through the sky was a wild Tarzan.

With just one glance, he spotted seven kinds of external weapons: autocannons, machine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers, and even shoulder-fired rocket launchers.

This was no Iron Man suit.

It was practically a humanoid arsenal!

And there wasn’t just one.

There were ten of them, lined up in midair and hovering at exactly equal distances from one another. Not even the best soldiers could maintain such precise formation.

"Tony’s new product?" Captain America asked instinctively.

"No. Azeroth’s new product."

At the headquarters of Azeroth Industries, in the Iron Soldier control center, Skye looked at the ten oversized screens mounted on the wall. She tapped the keyboard and switched to the voice-control system.

"Activate intelligent combat system."

"Air Force One, Air Force Two, clear the enemies in the east sector."

"Air Force Three, Air Force Four, clear the enemies in the west sector."

"Air Force Five, Air Force Six, clear the enemies in the south sector."

"Air Force Seven, Air Force Eight, clear the enemies in the north sector."

"Air Force Nine, Air Force One Zero, assault Strucker Castle."

"Move!"

A string of voices sounded in Captain America’s earpiece.

The next moment, he saw the ten Iron Soldiers split into pairs and scatter toward the east, south, west, and north. The remaining two swiftly flew close to Strucker Castle and began transforming.

Their main bodies remained unchanged, but the armor on their shoulders, backs, chests, and even arms flipped open, exposing thick, black, elongated barrels.

Blue light glowed in the eye-like lenses of the Iron Man-style armor, instantly locking onto dozens of enemies within attack range. Then…

Fire!

Machine guns, shotguns, and six-shot miniature tracking missiles struck the Hydra soldiers with astonishing precision, blowing apart their heads before they could even raise their weapons.

Not a single one escaped.

Captain America’s eyes lit up.

These Hydra soldiers were well-equipped, their entire bodies concealed within combat suits. Even their heads were protected by top-grade helmets, enough to withstand ordinary handgun fire.

Yet they could not withstand the Iron Soldiers’ attack.

The Iron Soldiers had limited weapons, and the number of enemies they could target at once was also limited.

The survivors quickly took cover or moved to control the artillery, apparently intending to shoot the Iron Soldiers down.

However…

They were far too late.

The Iron Soldiers vanished from Captain America’s sight in a blur.

He had no choice but to lower his binoculars and track them with the naked eye. He quickly spotted them again.

The two Iron Soldiers raced toward Strucker Castle, circling at a distance of roughly one hundred meters while firing continuously.

In just one minute, every Hydra soldier still outside was dead.

Some soldiers had retreated inside the castle, using its walls as cover. Others had hidden in tanks, relying on heavy reactive armor to resist the assault.

Skye’s voice rang out again:

"Air Force Nine, destroy all tanks."

"Air Force One Zero, enter Strucker Castle. Eliminate everyone."

Eliminate everyone?

Captain America immediately growled, "No! My orders are to capture Baron Strucker, Dr. List, and all researchers alive!"

Skye paused slightly, then Old Wang’s voice came through. "Do as Captain Rogers says."

She hurriedly issued the order.

At the same time, Egghead’s voice sounded as well. "Captain Rogers, Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff, it’s your turn to make an entrance."

Captain America sighed inwardly.

He could hear the helplessness and resentment in Director Fury’s voice.

They had been preparing for this high-difficulty mission all along, yet Skye’s side was about to finish it while they had not even made a move. Did S.H.I.E.L.D. have any pride left?

No matter what, participation was what mattered!

"Agent Barton, infiltrate from the rear."

"Agent Romanoff, attack from the front with me."

After issuing two orders in quick succession, Captain America began sprinting.

They were roughly three kilometers from Strucker Castle. His top speed was around thirty meters per second, but mountain forests were not flat ground, so he could not run that fast. Three kilometers would take around three minutes.

Hopefully, the battle would not end that quickly.

Hydra guys, hold on!

Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Steve Rogers is coming…

Hail Hydra!