Peter, You Don’t Want Anything to Happen to Aunt May, Do You?

Peter’s attack did not land cleanly. Before his palm could strike, he was kicked away.

Ward had already escaped Shuri’s entanglement and rushed over to stop his attack.

The aftershock of their battle spread outward, destroying half of the White House.

If Steve had not already become a Magnetic Field Warrior and promptly put on the Strong Magnetic Armor, he likely would have been caught in the blast and killed.

A warrior’s instincts urged Steve to charge forward and fight, but the rationality of a president advised him not to seek death.

But in the end, the president’s rationality overwhelmed the warrior’s instincts. Under the escort of a squad of Magnetic Field Warriors led by Shao Ji, he began the scheduled evacuation procedure—running to Master Zhan Liu’s Martial Arts School.

As for the situation at the White House, Ward was left to handle it.

Peter had several broken ribs and was vomiting blood in great mouthfuls, but he seemed not to notice. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed wildly.

As his laughter rang out, his aura soared crazily, while his injuries rapidly healed.

Without waiting for his wounds to recover, he charged again, as fierce as a mad tiger, intent on finding someone to devour.

In the past, Peter had always been extremely careful not to injure civilians during battle, but the Peter of today no longer cared about any of that.

The people he had once trusted so deeply had now betrayed that trust.

Director Garrett was Hydra. S.H.I.E.L.D. was full of Hydra agents. His former idol, Tony Stark, was also Hydra. Now even the president, Captain America, was Hydra.

Was there anyone in the entire United States who wasn’t Hydra? Who could he trust?

One blow after another had shattered Peter’s worldview. The bitter wine brewed from that trust made him regret everything beyond measure.

Uncle Ben was gone, and Gwen had broken up with him.

And all of it was his own doing!

It was all Peter Parker’s fault!

At that moment, Peter even had the urge to destroy himself.

To him, dying here in battle might be more comfortable than returning to face Aunt May’s anguished expression.

All Peter wanted now was to fight!

Fight!

Fight!

Ward, on the other hand, had to be careful to control the range of the collateral damage. The area around the New White House was basically all Hydra.

After exchanging several blows, Ward flew toward outer space, drawing Peter away so that the entire base would not be dragged into the fight.

Once they reached space, Ward stopped holding back and unleashed one killing move after another, intending to cripple Peter.

But he had already missed his best opportunity. Peter’s cultivation was now soaring rapidly, advancing swiftly toward the Fifty Heavens.

The more Ward fought, the more frustrated and alarmed he became. Peter’s power seemed to have no bottleneck, increasing and improving with every passing moment.

At first, every one of Ward’s attacks had inflicted severe injuries on Peter, but Peter fought back desperately while vomiting blood. It seemed that with just a little more effort, Ward could kill him, yet Peter simply refused to die! The damage Ward inflicted on him was not even as fast as Peter’s own recovery.

Ward naturally understood what this meant. He was shocked, furious, envious, and jealous. He tried fighting with his life on the line like Peter, and under his surging battle intent, he did advance several heavens, but he still could not match Peter’s astonishing leaps in progress.

He now somewhat understood what his master, Zhan Liu, had once said: technological creations could be used, but not relied upon.

But if he took off his armor and fought Peter now, he would be courting death. He did not have the courage to do so.

He was no longer considering whether he could capture Peter alive. Instead, he was wondering whether he could escape with his life from Peter.

Ward deeply regretted coming to outer space to fight. If they had battled on the ground and he showed signs of defeat, someone would certainly have notified Shuri and had her remotely bring the White Panther Armor to rescue him.

At the very least, he could have lured Peter over to Shuri.

But now Peter had him locked in combat. Several times he tried to retreat, but the madman that was Peter clung to him relentlessly, nearly causing Ward to fall at his hands.

He had no choice but to stay focused and deal with Peter’s attacks with all his strength.

Once he began thinking of retreating, his defeat became even more apparent. Ward was now relying entirely on the Strong Magnetic Armor to hold on, barely avoiding being struck down by Peter’s palm.

Although the Strong Magnetic Armor contained a little Vibranium, the amount was extremely small. If this continued, Peter would inevitably break it apart.

But warfare was the art of deception.

The outcome of a battle had never depended solely on personal strength.

As a member of Hydra, Ward was more skilled at using underhanded tactics.

"Stop!" After Ward and Peter collided once more, Ward pulled back while manipulating the magnetic field to transmit his voice.

But Peter paid him no attention and continued unleashing one heavy attack after another.

"Peter, you don’t want anything to happen to May Parker, do you?"

The moment Ward said this, Peter’s body stiffened.

Seeing that the tactic had worked, Ward pressed his advantage:

"And your little girlfriend—what was her name again? Oh, right, Gwen Stacy. What a pretty little girl! Peter, you don’t want anything to happen to Gwen, do you?"

Peter’s fury surged again. With a furious roar, he attacked even more savagely, his fists growing three times heavier.

Ward struggled to defend himself, vomiting blood as he shouted, "If I die, they’ll both be buried with me!"

"Peter, you know this! We’re Hydra! In our eyes, civilians and warriors are no different. There are only our own people and our enemies!"

"If you continue opposing us, we’ll make sure to wipe you out root and branch!"

"So what if you manage to kill me?"

"Cut off one head, and two more will grow in its place!"

"Do you think you can kill every Hydra agent?"

"Those two are just ordinary people. A single bullet would be enough to kill them!"

Peter’s assault came to a halt. He glared at Ward through clenched teeth, his face twisted into a crazed expression that sent chills down anyone’s spine.

Ward did not yet know that reaching the Tenth Heaven allowed one to read minds. Everyone capable of reading minds had intentionally or unintentionally kept that ability hidden in their hearts, and no one had revealed it to the outside world.

As long as one knew about Professor X, it was clear how much resentment such an ability could provoke.

Seeing that his threat had worked, Ward relaxed slightly. While hurriedly recovering from his injuries, he said:

"Peter, from the moment you attacked S.H.I.E.L.D., May Parker was already placed on the list of important hostages. I don’t even know where she’s being held now. You’d better give up on rescuing her. Otherwise, it’ll only end with both sides suffering!"

"I know you still don’t want to join us, but Hydra’s door will always be open to you!"

"From now on, Hydra won’t take the initiative to provoke you. You can have a transcendent status like Master Zhan Liu and travel freely to every corner of the world."

"That is the privilege of the strong, but don’t interfere in Hydra’s affairs!"

"Think of those who love you, and those you love!"

"You can deal with assassination attempts one after another, but they can’t."

"You don’t want them to spend the rest of their lives hiding like rats in a gutter, do you?"

Peter’s hands trembled as he stared at Ward with a twisted expression. Inside, he kept shouting:

Kill him!

Kill him!

Kill him!

Yet his body remained completely motionless, frozen in place. The magnetic field around him spun wildly, but he could not throw another punch.

Ward smiled in satisfaction and turned back toward Earth, leaving Peter behind here to howl miserably, resentfully, and painfully.