Red Skull’s Trump Cards

Chapter 237: Red Skull’s Trump Cards

The door slowly opened, and under the escort of a squad of Hydra soldiers, a group of strangely dressed people walked in.

"Long time no see, my trump cards."

Without turning around, Red Skull already knew who they were. Since the end of the old war, those who had remained at his side until now were all his most loyal subordinates. Aside from the Winter Soldier and Bullseye, they were Hydra’s strongest group of warriors.

"Your favor is greatly appreciated, Fuhrer. The moment I received your message, I rushed back. I have to say, news about superheroes from another world really gets the blood pumping."

The first to speak was Taskmaster, wearing a skull mask. He still wore his somewhat worn-out combat suit, with a shield and a sharp sword strapped to his back. It was clear they had not been used in a long time.

To Taskmaster’s left stood a man wrapped like a mummy, silent and still. If Pietro had been there, he would surely have mistaken him for an incomplete version of Moon Knight. In truth, he was not far off. This man was Randall, Moon Knight’s brother.

However, unlike his heroic older brother, Randall had lived in his brother’s shadow ever since childhood. It had deeply affected him, and from that point on, he began imitating Moon Knight in every way, trying to surpass him.

Later, he witnessed his brother die and come back to life in the moon god’s temple, becoming the new Moon Knight. This filled him with rage. In his heart, he believed that he should have been Moon Knight.

So, he found ways to sabotage the relationship between Marc and the moon god Khonshu. He also stole part of the moon god’s power and called himself Shadow Knight, frequently opposing his own brother.

In today’s wasteland world, aside from a handful of divine powers that could not be perceived, he was perhaps the only person who truly possessed and could freely wield divine power.

Shadow Knight not only possessed all of Moon Knight’s abilities, but could also fire divine lightning from his eyes. However, with divine power declining in the current age, he was no longer as formidable as he had once been.

To Taskmaster’s right stood an elderly man in a yellow-and-purple combat suit. In his youth, he had been known as "Leap-Frog." Leap-Frog’s real name was Batroc. He was a master of hand-to-hand combat, capable of leaping tremendous distances and possessing immense fighting ability.

Before the old days, Leap-Frog had fought many heroes, including Captain America. However, his results were generally terrible; he had never won a single battle.

Back when he was a mercenary, he often worked under Kingpin. But after being absorbed by Hydra, he had spent these years as Red Skull’s most obedient dog.

Besides him, there was another person present whom Red Skull had taken under his wing: Sandman Baker. As one of Spider-Man’s classic archenemies, Sandman’s strength went without saying.

Not only could he control sand with his mind, but he could also transform his body into sand to evade damage. It was precisely this powerful ability that made Red Skull actively recruit him.

The last two among the group were, respectively, a die-hard loyalist of Red Skull and a Super Skrull.

The Hydra loyalist was named Grant. He was one of Hydra’s finest trained agents and was also personally appointed by Red Skull as the second Vulture. After that battle years ago, not only had many superheroes died, but some villains’ weapons and equipment had also been left behind.

Red Skull had seized all of those things, and they became part of Hydra’s foundation for dominating the world. Vulture’s combat suit was now worn by Grant, who had willingly taken up the Vulture name and become one of Red Skull’s notorious lackeys.

As for that Super Skrull, he had been captured by Hydra during the later conflicts between supervillains.

He was a Super Skrull who had acquired the Fantastic Four’s powers and could freely use all of their abilities. In terms of strength, he could be said to be the strongest member of Hydra.

For the safety of his family and race, he had willingly accepted Hydra’s brainwashing. Now, he could no longer be considered a living being with self-awareness. After Hydra erased his consciousness through brainwashing, he became a blank sheet of paper.

Under Red Skull’s influence, that blank sheet had long since been covered with Hydra’s symbols.

It could be said that after the Winter Soldier’s fall and Bullseye’s defection, the six super soldiers before Red Skull were the greatest trump cards in his hand.

"Taskmaster, I recall that you failed to find a way to recover those Super Soldier Serums." Red Skull slowly turned around, his gaze suddenly turning cold as he glanced at Taskmaster.

Under that glare, Taskmaster felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit.

Naturally, he knew what Red Skull was referring to. After Bullseye defected, he had become the one responsible for tracking down Hawkeye Barton. Yet throughout the journey, Taskmaster had been slacking off, with no intention of completing the mission.

In truth, Taskmaster had wanted to retire as early as his first joint surgery. He knew he could no longer fight. His aging body made it difficult for him to display the abilities he had possessed in his youth, and it was becoming harder and harder for him to imitate others.

So, after learning that Old Barton had nearly slaughtered all the enhanced individuals in the Thunderbolts, the life-loving Taskmaster naturally had no desire to face an Avenger. He could only dawdle until everything was over before going there to clean up the mess.

On the surface, Taskmaster did want to deal with Hawkeye and make Red Skull see him in a new light. But in reality, he had no desire to travel across mountains and rivers to hunt down someone else’s archenemy. To him, staying alive peacefully was what mattered most.

Thus, he sincerely hoped Barton would be smart enough to stop after killing Zemo and the Thunderbolts. That way, he would never have to deal with him again.

Feeling Red Skull’s concealed fury, Taskmaster shuddered and then said awkwardly, "In fact, Baron Zemo’s base has already been reduced to ruins. Excavating the serum in such extreme conditions would be an exceedingly difficult task."

"Then what about that Avenger, Hawkeye? I cannot allow a ‘superhero’ to stir up trouble nearby and encourage others to defy me. Though he is merely a useless old man, this is an important day of execution. There can be no mistakes."

"Like I said, Fuhrer, no one survived there. I suspect they all died inside long ago. Besides, there has been no news of that old blind man during this time, has there?" Taskmaster spread his hands.

"Hmm." Upon hearing this, Red Skull’s expression revealed neither pleasure nor anger, but he did not linger on the matter.

"Very well. It seems you have brought the situation under control. Congratulations, you have become one of my most capable subordinates. At the same time, you will be the executioner for this execution, the execution officer personally appointed by me, Red Skull."