Bethel City had already been occupied by the Axis powers. As a strategic stronghold tied to a transportation and supply hub, it was inevitably guarded by heavy forces.
Gun emplacements stood atop the city walls, suppressing anything directly ahead with firepower.
At the unavoidable approaches to the city gates, numerous bunkers prevented enemies from launching a frontal charge.
The 107th Regiment's soldiers huddled in the trenches, enduring the heavy snow and bitter cold as they gazed helplessly toward Bethel City.
They had already launched several assaults, only to be forced back to their original positions beneath the barrage of heavy fire.
The wrecked tanks scattered across the battlefield seemed to speak of the enemy's terrifying strength.
At that moment, a helicopter arrived in the sky.
Steve leaped down with a Vibranium shield strapped to his back.
With his astonishing physical abilities, even a drop from more than twenty meters in the air would not injure him.
The moment he landed, he raised his round shield and advanced toward a bunker.
Dense gunfire immediately converged on him.
The bullets hammered against the shield like a rainstorm, scattering sparks everywhere, yet they could not stop Steve's advance.
The commando soldiers took cover behind him, waiting until they were close enough to destroy the bunker with rocket launchers.
Compared to the twentieth century, World War II tactics looked exceedingly backward.
The main reason was that all kinds of guided weapons had yet to be developed, so strategic objectives more often had to be achieved with soldiers' lives.
Boom!
A blue beam erupted across the surface of the round shield in a burst of brilliant light.
The terrifying impact sent even Steve flying backward, while the team members sheltering behind him scattered at the same time.
The first attack had failed.
Steve withdrew from the front lines.
When the commandos counted their numbers, they found that three men had been killed in action. It was an inauspicious start.
"What kind of weapon was that?"
Steve sought out an officer and asked.
Beam weapons were simply unheard of.
If they had not seen the cannon emplacement on the city wall glowing and guessed that it needed time to charge, the Allied forces would likely have already chosen to retreat.
At the very least, the enemy's seemingly science-fiction-like cannon emplacement fired more slowly than ordinary artillery.
"Who the hell knows what kind of cannon those Nazi bastards came up with? One hit destroys a tank. Unless we take out that emplacement, we can't capture the city."
The officer looked at the Vibranium shield. Its surface bore only a layer of scorch marks, with no sign of damage whatsoever. He could not help thinking that if tanks were made from this metal, they would be unstoppable.
Of course, Vibranium's scarcity existed only in fantasy.
Carter came over, craned her head toward the city wall, and said in shock, "The intelligence our agents sent back was true. Hydra seems to have mastered a special form of energy and has already weaponized it."
Without a doubt, it was the Tesseract that Red Skull had found.
A Space Gem was hidden within it, containing inexhaustible energy.
That was why so many Vanguard Technologies projects that had remained theoretical could now be put into practice.
"Could the air force bomb them?" Steve suggested.
"That won't work."
The officer said bluntly, "The walls are equipped with anti-aircraft guns. Low-flying aircraft can't get close, while high-altitude bombers lack accuracy and could injure the residents inside the city."
The most fatal problem was that after a night of snowfall, a thick layer of snow had accumulated. Every step left a deep pit, making it difficult even for Steve to break through alone.
"We've used howitzers and mortars. They poured water over the wall, and the ice thickened it. We simply can't break through."
They did not dare use long-range artillery carelessly either.
The moment the enemy took control of the city, they had coerced civilians into staying there, leaving the Allied forces hesitant to unleash indiscriminate bombardment.
For a time, they were caught in a dilemma.
If they relied on suicidal charges fueled by human lives, the entire 107th Regiment could be wiped out without necessarily taking the city.
If they surrounded the city without attacking, their own side would most likely fail to hold out first.
The enemy could hide in shelters and keep warm, while their side did not even dare light fires in the freezing trenches, fearing they would become targets at night.
If their luck ran out, the next rainstorm might freeze them into ice sculptures.
"Look, who's that?"
A soldier pointed into the distance.
Countless eyes turned toward the newcomer. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and composed. No movement of his legs could be seen; he seemed to glide over the snow.
"You mortals, this great Golden Core cultivator has descended upon you. Open the gates at once and come pay your respects."
Allen shouted at the city gates, then did not forget to lower his head and remind him, "Nanaue, watch out. There's a tree ahead."
Yes, Allen had arrived, riding atop Nanaue.
Perhaps because Nanaue possessed the bloodline of a divine descendant, he could fully display his abilities in an environment filled with water elements. Therefore, swimming through snow was perfectly reasonable.
"Allen, it's dangerous! Come back!" Steve shouted anxiously.
"What did you say? I don't eat rice noodles."
Allen turned around and saw dense firepower rushing toward him, immediately abandoning the shark and fleeing.
Meanwhile, Nanaue kept swimming beneath the snow toward the city gates, kicking up a spray of drifting snow and instantly drawing all the fire.
Yet the bullets could not penetrate Nanaue's thick, tough hide.
His speed was so great that even the beam cannon atop the city wall lagged half a beat behind.
No matter how powerful the cannon emplacement was, without a fire-control system, locking onto a highly mobile target was nothing but wishful thinking.
"Hello, is this Dead or Alive Delivery?"
While the fire was concentrated on Nanaue, Allen quietly approached a bunker. He lay atop its roof, poked his head toward the firing slit, and casually tossed a grenade inside.
Within the bunker's cramped space, a single grenade left a squad of machine gunners nowhere to hide.
"Take this—Annihilation Divine Thunder!"
"Open the door, delivery service! Your online-ordered girlfriend has arrived."
"This great one shall bestow a fortune upon you all—the Life Restart Device!"
"Sir, the grenade you ordered is here. Careful, it's hot."
The bunkers that had previously stopped the Allied advance exploded one after another.
The soldiers hiding in the trenches stared wide-eyed.
Whose fierce general was this?
How could he be so valiant?
"Launch the assault! Take the city in one push!"
At the order, the soldiers concealed in the trenches began advancing through the snow.
Nanaue, already at the positions beneath the city walls, began slaughtering with abandon. He tore Nazi soldiers apart with his bare hands and withstood machine-gun fire, truly displaying Shark King's bloodthirsty ferocity.
Normally, Nanaue was very gentle, but once he smelled blood, he lost his reason and descended into a mad killing frenzy.
After dealing with the bunkers, Allen reached the positions before the city gates.
This spot lay in a blind angle beneath the cannon emplacements on the wall.
He casually picked up a rocket launcher and fired at the gates. Three consecutive shots successfully blasted them open.
Phew...
Blowing into the rocket tube, Allen said smugly, "RBQ, I like them best."
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Bloodthirst! Rampage! Slaughter! Hahaha..."
At that moment, Nanaue had fallen into madness. He no longer distinguished friend from foe and wanted only to slaughter every living thing he saw.
Pop! Pop!
At some point, Allen had jumped onto Nanaue's back. He hooked his ring and middle fingers into Nanaue's nostrils, one hand gripping each nostril.
Sharks went mad when they smelled blood, so blocking his nostrils would solve the problem.
Nanaue tried to struggle, but his arms were too short to reach Allen. He shook his head and flung his body around, yet still could not throw Allen off.
The savagery in his eyes gradually faded, returning to clarity.
"Where's Master?"
As though he had lost his memory, Nanaue looked around repeatedly.
"I'm here."
Allen sat atop Nanaue's head, their four eyes meeting.
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