Launch

Hearing Ivan’s introduction, General Ross nodded and said, "Good."

"I’ll go install the bombs. Get ready."

After giving the order, Carter turned back into Wasp and went to install the Energy Bombs, while everyone else prepared for battle.

"My task is dealing with the Kree. Nothing difficult about that. I’ve killed plenty of those blue-skinned bastards before."

With a toothpick in his mouth, Ivan restored the miniature Drone Armor suits one by one. At first, he had wanted to stay behind at the hospital. Though the woman he loved was about to give birth to another man’s child, he didn’t care—if Pepper was willing, he wouldn’t mind becoming a father without doing the work.

Unfortunately, that ungrateful bastard Tony Stark had kicked him out. If not for Pepper’s sake, he would have made that bastard regret it.

Meanwhile, at the Sokovia border, Steve smiled at Doom. "King Doom, it’s time for your performance."

"Leave it to me. A mere Hydra army is nothing."

Doom said proudly, "Director Steve, once the war begins, your S.W.O.R.D. will be responsible for controlling the civilians. I don’t want to see civilians on the battlefield. I’m not used to holding back."

"Control them?"

Steve turned to glance at the Doom Legion, all clad in Power Armor, and smiled. "No problem. S.W.O.R.D. will protect Sokovia’s civilians.

King Doom, S.W.O.R.D. will help Eastern Europe gain the status it deserves."

After the previous interstellar war, Eastern Europe’s status had risen somewhat, but it was still far from what Doom wanted.

Doom snorted. "A bunch of fallen nobodies. Sooner or later, they’ll change their attitude."

Steve said no more. He checked the timer and said, "It’s about time. Let’s begin."

With that, Steve activated the Space Stone Tablet Wang Bert had given him. The tablet shook violently, transformed into a beam of light, and plunged into the ground. Immediately afterward, the surrounding space was swiftly sealed.

"Hm?"

Inside the Hydra base, the Serpent Crown Ring on Viper’s finger suddenly trembled, and a message entered her mind.

"The surrounding space has been sealed? The Blood God and S.W.O.R.D. have made their move?"

Viper’s expression changed. She hurriedly tried to contact Supergiant within the Mind Stone, but could not reach her at all.

Viper’s eyes flickered. She rose and summoned her trusted subordinates—dozens of Inhumans and dozens of Enhanced Humans. Then, she activated the power within the crown and vanished with all of them.

That was right. Viper did not inform Baron Strucker and chose to leave on her own. However, she was not fleeing. She was going to New York to obtain the Demon King’s reincarnation for her god, allowing her god to descend upon this filthy world.

As for Hydra, Viper did not care in the slightest. It was perfect to leave them here to hold off S.W.O.R.D.

It was a pity about Supergiant, but since she would not answer the call, she had no one to blame but herself.

"Bert really has a lot of good stuff."

At the border, Doom sensed the spatial fluctuations and said, "Looks like one day, I should also find some rich fool like the Collector to fleece."

Steve laughed. "I think I can get in on that."

"Your fans would be terribly disappointed to hear that. Enough nonsense. Let’s begin."

Doom raised his hand, and the five hundred soldiers in Power Armor behind him charged into the forest ahead in unison, moving nearly as fast as cars.

"Coulson, begin the operation."

Steve gave the order. S.W.O.R.D. agents immediately drove a large number of armored vehicles behind the Doom Legion. Hawkeye, Danny Rand, Human Torch, and other Super Heroes were among them.

"Why does Latveria have so much Power Armor while S.W.O.R.D. has nothing at all?"

Human Torch was puzzled. Hawkeye said, "Because Doom developed that Power Armor himself. Also, S.W.O.R.D. applied to the World Security Council for Power Armor, but they never approved it. By the way, that was a year ago."

Everyone could not help cursing. Coulson shouted over the channel, "Power Armor is prioritized for the Space Fleet. It’s normal that we don’t have any. It is military equipment, after all."

"Military equipment? Besides doing evil, what else does America’s military know how to do?"

"Even worse evil."

Everyone burst into laughter. Coulson could not help shaking his head. Speaking of which, Director Steve was good in every way except one—he did not know how to cook the books or swipe equipment. Back in the day, how much good stuff had that black-hearted Nick Fury siphoned into S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Sokovia was a very small country, with only one city and several small towns. Once they crossed this forest, they would reach its city—the capital.

Hydra’s base was on a mountain in Sokovia. On the surface, it was a castle, but underground had been hollowed out into dozens of levels.

For safety, Hydra had laid down heavy defenses in the forest. The moment the Latverian and S.W.O.R.D. coalition appeared, they were discovered.

"Enemy attack! It’s S.W.O.R.D. and Latveria’s Doom Legion."

The Hydra agents hurriedly reported upward. Baron Strucker was shocked and rushed to the command room at once. Staring at the footage on the monitors, he slammed his fist onto the command console in fury.

They had still found them. It must have been because of that energy. He had been careless.

"Activate the Defense Shield! All Inhumans and Enhanced Humans, prepare for battle!"

Baron Strucker gave the order loudly. At that moment, a thunderous boom suddenly came from beneath the base. The entire castle shook, and great clouds of dust fell from above, leaving everyone filthy.

"What happened?"

Ignoring the dust on his body, Baron Strucker hurriedly asked. A Hydra agent quickly reported, "Baron, the Defense Shield generator has been destroyed."

"What? Someone infiltrated the base?"

Baron Strucker was horrified. Before he could do anything, the Hydra soldiers around him began collapsing unconscious one after another.

It was not just the soldiers. The Inhumans and Enhanced Humans throughout the base were also passing out. Only some physically powerful Inhumans could barely hold on.

"Poison gas?"

Baron Strucker felt his head grow heavy. He immediately pressed his watch, and a needle pierced his skin. The special medicine on the needle took effect, and his consciousness rapidly cleared.

Baron Strucker breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that his Inhuman bodyguard was about to pass out, he hurried over and slapped him hard across the face, trying to wake him.

However, to Baron Strucker’s surprise, the Inhuman bodyguard not only failed to wake up, but instead fell to the ground.

When did my divine arts become so powerful? No, this poison gas is incredibly potent.

After thinking for a moment, Baron Strucker took several syringes from a nearby cabinet and injected them into the Inhuman bodyguard.

The medicine was a stimulant with severe side effects, but it worked well. The Inhuman bodyguard soon woke up. Baron Strucker gave him the medicine and told him to save the others, while he contacted Rumlow.

Baron Strucker shouted, "Foreign enemies have invaded! Rumlow, wake the other Inhumans immediately, then clear out the enemies inside the base!"

Rumlow had a Metal Body and some resistance to Hypnotic Gas. He shouted, "Baron, I know what to do."

After instructing Rumlow, Baron Strucker contacted the Kree and said, "Foreign enemies have invaded. Prepare your defenses. They may already know of your existence."

"Baron Strucker, you’re an idiot. You were infiltrated and didn’t even know it."

The Kree commander cursed loudly. Baron Strucker sneered. "Didn’t you fail to notice too? S.W.O.R.D. loves dissecting aliens. Handle it yourselves."

With that, Baron Strucker directly ended the communication. Then, he used the base-wide broadcast to shout, "S.W.O.R.D.’s lackeys are here! We will never surrender, never retreat! Destroy them! Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

All the still-conscious Hydra members shouted in unison. Baron Strucker nodded in satisfaction, then thought for a moment and ordered the Frontlines, "Use the city’s civilians to force S.W.O.R.D. to split its forces. They are excellent tools."

The frontline commander replied, "Understood."

After giving his orders, Baron Strucker led several Inhuman bodyguards to Dr. List’s laboratory. Dr. List had a full supply of medicine and had been purifying the air the whole time, so he was fine.

Worth mentioning, Wanda had already "woken up," while Pietro was still asleep.

Just as Dr. List was about to speak to Baron Strucker, Baron Strucker whispered, "Dr. List, pack up. We’re leaving immediately. And remember to bring the Mind Stone."

"Huh? Didn’t you say we would never retreat?"

Dr. List was completely bewildered, and everyone else stared in disbelief. This was far too shameless, wasn’t it?

"I’m not fleeing. I’m merely changing locations to command. Don’t worry, I won’t abandon this place, nor do I need to."

Baron Strucker said confidently. Everyone looked at him with contempt. If this was not fleeing, what was?

Baron Strucker could not be bothered to explain. He said, "Prepare quickly. Wanda, bring Pietro. You’re leaving with us."

"Alright."

Wanda nodded and did nothing else. On her own, she might not be able to defeat so many Inhumans. More importantly, these people could not escape.

Soon, everyone had packed up. Dr. List tucked the box containing the Mind Stone into his clothes. Unfortunately, Dr. List did not know that the Mind Stone inside the box had long since vanished.

In the underground space, Wang Bert’s true body held the Mind Stone in the Infinity Gauntlet and sneered. "Go on, keep acting arrogant. Keep trying to screw me over."

The Mind Stone rippled with layers of yellow light, but it could not attack Wang Bert. The Infinity Stones were still just stones. Inside itself, it could act wild, but outside, it could do nothing unless some idiot directly grabbed it.

However, the Mind Stone did not surrender. It desperately poured Mind Energy into Supergiant, allowing her to defeat Dragon Soul Wang Bert as quickly as possible. Then, Supergiant could control the Mind Stone and fight Wang Bert.

Simply put, the Mind Stone needed an operator.

"Stubborn to the end."

Wang Bert snorted and placed the Mind Stone into the gem slot on the back of the Infinity Gauntlet. Then, nothing happened.

"Damn it, knockoffs really don’t work."

Wang Bert cursed. The counterfeit Infinity Gauntlet could withstand one and a half Infinity Stones, but its control was insufficient. It could not forcibly control an uncooperative Mind Stone.

If it had been the real Infinity Gauntlet, this would never have happened.

"Then I’ll wait. Dragon Soul Clone will definitely win anyway. He hasn’t even used half his power."

Wang Bert did not care much. He concealed the Infinity Gauntlet and quietly adjusted himself.

This time, Wang Bert’s strength had increased far too much, and he was having trouble controlling it. He needed some time to adjust. Otherwise, one careless mistake might leave no living people in New York—all their blood would be drained dry by him.

Leaving Wang Bert aside for now, once everything was packed, Baron Strucker had Piri open a portal. Piri immediately tried, but to everyone’s surprise, his body could not turn transparent.

Baron Strucker asked in confusion, "Piri, what’s going on?"

Piri shouted in slight panic, "Baron, space has been sealed. I can’t teleport."

"Damn it. They want to wipe us all out."

Baron Strucker cursed and gave up on fleeing. He said to Dr. List, "List, hide here. If anyone from S.W.O.R.D. comes, surrender immediately. I’ll rescue you afterward."

Dr. List asked, "Baron, where are you going?"

"Underground. There is an Antimatter Bomb there. Once it detonates, not only this base, but even Earth will be destroyed."

Baron Strucker sneered. "With it, we are invincible from the start. I wasn’t lying before. I really have no intention of abandoning this place. I’m just changing where I command from."

Everyone understood. Baron Strucker was avoiding a dangerous wall. He would first hide somewhere absolutely safe, then slowly play with S.W.O.R.D.

To put it bluntly, he’s still afraid of death. With a commander like this, how could Hydra possibly win?

Wanda sneered inwardly. Fortunately, she had already changed sides.

Then, Baron Strucker took Wanda and several Inhumans through a secret passage toward the Kree area. Pietro, who was now nothing but an empty shell, was left behind.

Leaving the cowardly Baron Strucker aside for now, after receiving his orders, Rumlow immediately led more than a dozen Inhumans to rescue people. Among them was one who could detoxify others. Under his ability, the Inhumans and Enhanced Humans quickly woke up.

In a short time, Rumlow gathered over a hundred Inhumans and Enhanced Humans. His heart settled, and he led them to eliminate the invaders.

In a hall, Rumlow and his group ran into Skye, General Ross, and the others.

Skye, who led dozens of Inhumans and agents, looked at the device in her hand and said, "They’re waking people too quickly. We have to take them all out, or it’ll become troublesome."

"Then we’ll take them all out. I’ve hated that traitor Rumlow for a long time."

General Ross stared at Rumlow and sneered. "Don’t you call yourself Crossbones? In a moment, I guarantee I’ll cross your bones."

"General Ross, you actually betrayed us?"

Only then did Rumlow understand why their interior had been breached. He roared, "Without Hydra, you’d still be an old prisoner."

"So what? Would I, General Ross, betray America and betray Earth over a personal grudge?"

General Ross declared righteously, "Unlike you, I am a soldier. An American soldier."

The Inhumans and agents behind Skye looked at General Ross with admiration. Only Skye secretly rolled her eyes. Her Master had told her what kind of person General Ross was.

An old war dog.

"I’ll kill you, traitor!"

Rumlow flew into a rage and transformed into a metal giant on the spot. With BAM! BAM! BAM!, he stomped across the ground toward General Ross, every step leaving a deep footprint in the hard floor.

"You think you can kill me?"

General Ross smiled disdainfully. His body suddenly swelled, transforming into the completely red, steam-emitting Red Hulk.