Sabretooth Must Die

Kyle stood alone on the rooftop terrace, already battered beyond recognition after several fierce battles. Within his field of vision, Sabretooth’s broad back retreated somewhat raggedly. Once he disappeared around the end of the street corner, Kyle could no longer see him.

He had no intention of continuing the pursuit. Driving Sabretooth away with a show of strength was already the best outcome—

Whether in physique or strength, Sabretooth far surpassed Logan. But because of that, he was somewhat clumsy in speed, and his combat skills were nowhere near as rich or solid as Logan’s. Thus, the Vibranium Bracer restrained him even more noticeably.

But that was all. The Sodium-Carbon Steel Sword was still lodged in Logan, whom Blue Eagle had carried away. Without the certainty or means to kill Sabretooth, Kyle had no desire to keep fighting.

After all, what mattered more now was drawing the Healing Factor card from Logan before any further complications arose.

With that thought, Kyle did not linger any longer. His black figure flickered slightly, and he quickly left the rooftop, sensing Blue Eagle’s location as he hurried toward it.

Three miles beyond the small district, within a birch forest in the suburban mountains.

"Aaargh!"

A sound like a human scream yet also like a beast’s roar echoed through the forest, startling countless birds that had yet to be disturbed by the smoke of war.

Beneath the forest where a giant eagle-beast circled low overhead, Logan groaned in pain and rolled constantly across the ground, staining the grass crimson with blood. Beside him, a one-handed sword slick with thick blood was embedded in a tree trunk, clearly having just been forcibly pulled from his body.

Yet the wound inflicted by the Sodium-Carbon Steel Sword still suppressed the Healing Factor’s vitality, preventing the fatal injury in Logan’s chest from healing in time.

If he had been an ordinary human, he would have died countless times before the sword was even pulled from his chest.

Only Logan, relying on sheer willpower, had barely managed to endure despite the excessive blood loss.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…"

A black figure swept swiftly through the woods, military boots crushing fallen leaves all along the way before stopping in the area. When Blue Eagle saw the arrival, it let out a delighted cry and, as if its mission had been completed, flapped its injured wings and flew once more toward the blue sky beneath the blazing sun.

"You’re here… Where’s that man?" Logan raised his head with effort, glaring at the cold young man before him. Clutching his chest, he struggled to rise from the grass, his muscular body drenched in sweat and blood, a miserable sight.

"I drove him back," Kyle replied calmly, watching the severely injured Logan with indifference.

The two of them could be said to bear neither grievance nor resentment toward each other. To some extent, they were even comrades in the Allied forces.

It was simply that Logan possessed an important card Kyle wanted to draw. Such was the natural law of the strong devouring the weak.

Kyle had never been a kind or good man. Under his absolute desire to grow stronger, even if he were given another chance to do it all over again, he would still risk his life in a deathmatch against a powerful opponent like Logan for a Healing Factor Ability Card.

He had principles, boundaries, and emotions, but they were limited to those who stood on his side. They did not include anyone on the opposing side.

Within the birch forest.

Kyle swept his gaze around, stepped forward, pulled the Sodium-Carbon Steel Sword from the bloodstained trunk, and walked toward Logan with it in hand.

"Are you going to kill me here?" Logan’s voice was weak and bitter. Supporting himself against a nearby birch tree, his eyes were full of unwillingness.

He was unwilling to die like this! To die before Sabretooth!

"I never said I was going to kill you. But things have reached this point. It’s too late to negotiate now. Even if I don’t want to kill you, I can’t let you go," Kyle stated evenly.

Even after drawing the Ability Card from Logan, given their nearly hostile relationship, he could not possibly release the tiger back into the mountains.

"Then there’s nothing left to say." Logan gave a bitter smile and nodded slightly. Three sharp claws suddenly extended from his empty right hand. Just as Kyle thought he was about to keep resisting, the claw tips pressed against his own heart.

Kyle narrowed his eyes and asked calmly, "What are you trying to do?"

"I want to… negotiate again!" Logan gritted his teeth, stared at Kyle before him, and took a deep breath. "There must be something on me that you want. And it must come with the condition that I stay alive—otherwise, you wouldn’t have ordered that eagle-beast to save me on the rooftop. You would have let that man kill me."

Indeed, the rescue order Kyle had given Blue Eagle on the rooftop had directly exposed that information.

"I don’t think threatening suicide can serve as a bargaining chip."

Kyle’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sighed. There had truly been no other choice at the time.

Ability Cards could only be drawn from living people. Item Cards, on the other hand, were like equipment drops obtained by killing their holders.

"This is the only chip I have. How will I know if I don’t try?" Logan said with difficulty, pushing the claws in his right hand slightly farther forward until they completely pierced his skin.

The Healing Factor was still suppressed, so the wounds torn open by his claws showed no sign of healing whatsoever.

Kyle fell silent for a moment before saying gravely, "Wait. Tell me what you want to negotiate first."

"Looks like I bet right." Logan relaxed slightly and said coldly, "That man from before—Sabretooth—must die!"

"That’s no problem. I’ll kill him." Kyle nodded in agreement. Sabretooth was currently an officer in the German army. Once the Allied forces invaded Germany, they would have to deal with him sooner or later.

For now, he would agree first and stabilize Logan.

Just as Kyle thought that, Logan shook his head. "No. I have to kill him with my own hands. You can only assist me."

"Impossible." Kyle rejected him flatly. This was going too far.

"As long as this condition is met, I’ll do anything you ask of me from now on. Whether it’s human experimentation or serving as a killing weapon, I’ll obey without question!"

After Logan spoke in a deep voice, the claws slowly drove farther into his body, nearly reaching his heart, as though he were using this to demonstrate his unshakable resolve.

The choice in the negotiation had been handed back to Kyle.

He was not using his life as a bargaining condition, but offering his loyalty along with it?

Kyle fell silent again. This time, he was genuinely weighing the terms Logan had proposed.

The other man was now a lone wolf driven into a corner. If Kyle could take him under his command and keep him firmly under control, then the faction he built in the future would have a high-level combatant capable of holding the field.

The only concern was the possibility that Logan might betray him in the future.

Kyle asked directly, "If I agree to your proposal, how will you prove your loyalty?"

"I swear in the name of my father, Stryker, and my mother, Ero Lian, that as long as you help me kill my enemy with my own hands, I will carry out anything you ask of me in the future without hesitation." Logan finished solemnly, looking at Kyle with expectation in his eyes.

"Very well. Then we have reached a preliminary agreement. Remember what you said today."

Kyle shrugged and made his decision. "I’ll help you kill Sabretooth!"

No matter how one looked at it, Sabretooth had to die.