"How about this move?" Steve gripped the round shield with both hands and pressed down with his body weight, trying to crush Kyle beneath it.
"Not bad," Kyle replied with difficulty. His left shoulder braced firmly against the shield, while one knee and his right palm sank into the mud.
Steve wanted to pin him to the ground with the shield, while Kyle wanted to shove it aside and rise up to fight back.
At this moment, their contest had completely become a tug-of-war of pure strength!
"Kyle, admit defeat!" Steve said gravely, pouring all his strength into pressing down. The shield gradually lowered bit by bit.
After all, he held the advantage from above. In a simple contest of strength, Steve believed he was no weaker than Kyle.
"It won't be that easy." Kyle gritted his teeth and held firm. His shield-bracing stance did not waver in the slightest; the shield's descent was, in truth, only caused by the mud beneath him collapsing.
Though he wore a tight black Combat Suit, the muscles across his body could still be seen swelling slightly. At some point, the right hand supporting him on the ground had clenched tightly into a fist.
Golden sunlight fell over Kyle's body, which seemed forged from steel. At that moment, he resembled a bronze statue embodying strength.
Amid the cries of astonishment from the American soldiers and Steve's disbelieving gaze, the shield pressing down on Kyle began to rise rapidly, inch by inch.
"If you want me to admit defeat, this is still far from enough." Kyle shoved Steve's shield away, then retreated several steps and panted heavily, somewhat exhausted.
"But your stamina is almost gone now." Steve's eyes carried a complicated look. Kyle had actually pushed the shield aside with everything he had, regardless of the consequences.
It had indeed won him a sliver of breathing room, but it had also pushed him into a desperate corner.
Steve continued, "Your attacks are meaningless against this shield."
"Steve, have you forgotten something?" Kyle suddenly smiled. "I haven't even used a weapon yet, and you already think you've won?"
As he spoke, Kyle reached behind him with his left hand, gripped the hilt, and drew the Carbon Sodium Steel Sword.
Compared to the Adamantium Shield, with its conspicuous colorful design painted across its surface, the Carbon Sodium Steel Sword was simply a one-handed sword. Its mirror-smooth blade gave off a suffocating sense of sharpness.
"Hand-to-hand combat is fine, but on the battlefield, killing enemies through brawling alone is too troublesome." Kyle spoke coldly as he tightened his grip on the one-handed sword with his left hand.
He still possessed Green Ability Cards for swordsmanship.
But what mattered even more than sword techniques was that, with the sharpness of the Carbon Sodium Steel Sword, Kyle's attack power could rise by several levels at once.
Even if the weapon in his hand had been the Carbon Sodium Steel Claw or Carbon Sodium Steel Knife, the difference would not have been great.
As long as he had a sufficiently sharp cold weapon, Kyle could kill with a single strike!
At the outermost edge of the crowd of soldiers.
Joseph watched the two armed men in the center and suddenly strode over to Carter. "Agent Carter. Those two kids are getting serious now. If we don't stop them, something could happen!"
Carter gently shook her head, her beautiful eyes never leaving the field. "Getting serious only now? Can't you tell? They've been seriously trying to defeat each other this whole time."
Joseph asked in confusion, "What's going on? Their fight was so sudden, and isn't it almost time to depart for Operation White Star?"
"I'm only guessing." A complicated look surfaced in Carter's eyes. "Steve has been holding something in for a long time, wanting to let it out. That's because, no matter what he does, Kyle always gets ahead of him first and leads him forward."
"The qualifications for the Super Soldier experiment and the Adamantium Shield—Kyle indirectly gave all of those to him. Even so, Steve still feels the gap between himself and Kyle is far too great."
"He isn't even confident enough in the title Captain America. Perhaps deep down, he keeps asking himself—why, after receiving better opportunities and weapons, can he only remain under Kyle's protection? He wants to walk ahead of Kyle too, to raise his shield for him."
"So, as a captain about to lead soldiers into enemy territory, Steve wants to rediscover himself and regain his confidence through this battle with Kyle before they leave."
As Carter finished speaking, the fierce battle in the center was also nearing its end.
The sword and shield collided violently. Their kinetic force canceled each other out, producing no sparks—only the crisp ring of metal echoing clearly across the square.
After sword strike and shield defense neutralized each other, the two brushed past one another and still struck hard at each other's bodies with their fists!
Kyle and Steve were each sent flying backward. They rolled across the ground several times, quickly climbed back up, and once again clashed in a needle-against-wheatblade fight!
They were each other's best friends in this world, but also rivals. Both possessed their own pride and refusal to yield.
Both wanted to stand at the very front and claim more of the era's stage and spotlight.
Under the sun, upon the square.
Kyle and Steve, one holding a sword and the other a shield, finally charged at each other with low roars.
This breathtaking scene was forever engraved in the eyes and minds of the thousand-odd American soldiers at the base, remaining as clear as yesterday even half a century later.
And even another half-century after that, the scene would be sculpted into a physical monument by a master sculptor and erected before the War Memorial Hall.
Bang!!!
The Carbon Sodium Steel Sword flew high into the air, spinning countless times before plunging into the muddy ground not far behind Steve.
Steve still maintained the follow-through of his shield swing, while Kyle was sent flying heavily backward. He landed and plowed a clear trail through the ground before finally lying motionless, too exhausted to move.
"Captain Steve?"
The soldiers were just about to cheer for the victor when Steve raised his hand in utter exhaustion. "I lost."
A bloody line clearly appeared along the side of his neck. It looked like only a minor wound, yet blood continued to drip from it.
"That was exhausting." Kyle struggled to his feet and brushed the dust from his body.
The final strike that decided the match had not been his sword slipping from his hand. Rather, after deliberately taking a shield blow, he had thrown the sword like a concealed weapon.
If he had not held back, Steve would already have been separated from his head.
"Kyle, you used your full strength, didn't you?" Steve covered his wound and panted, staring at Kyle with bright eyes as he sought an answer.
Kyle was slightly stunned, then nodded. "That's right."
Although he had not used stealth or the Vibranium Bracer, Steve was already the toughest and strongest opponent Kyle had ever encountered.
"Is that so?" Steve nodded in satisfaction and clenched his fists with incomparable resolve. "This time, I'll let you stay ahead. But one day, I'll definitely walk ahead of you! Otherwise, I'd be letting down your expectations!"
"Then I'll be waiting to see it."
Kyle smiled faintly, swept his gaze over the surrounding soldiers, and after taking a light breath, said coldly, "Are you ready? Follow us onto the battlefield and wipe out the enemy!"
"Ready!"
Their thunderous answer resounded throughout the entire base. Five hundred American soldiers rose with a sharp rustle, their eyes burning as they looked toward the two men surrounded at the center.
"Then take up your weapons and follow in our footsteps!" Steve loudly continued the order. The five hundred assembled soldiers immediately gripped the guns they had long since equipped and collectively opened a path.
After this battle, both men were covered in wounds, yet their prestige had grown several times greater than before their duel, and the troops' morale had reached unprecedented heights.
"What are we waiting for, then? Move out!"
At Kyle and Steve's command, the two took the lead and charged forward, leading the team out of the base in a mighty procession.
Watching this scene, Joseph said in amazement, "Those two might be able to change the course of the war."
"You're wrong." Carter watched the team depart and said with certainty, "They definitely will!"
Before you continue