Eve of the Decisive Battle

Hundreds of meters above the bottom of the glacial valley, Kyle and Steve, along with the hostage, plummeted rapidly through the cold wind and snow. Not far away, over a dozen train carriages exploded and tumbled down the mountainside.

They had experienced high-altitude falls before, such as during parachute jumps from planes, but this time they had no parachute equipment at all.

Even with the physique of a Super Soldier, their ability to withstand fatal crises was only three to five times that of a normal human, within the perfectible range of human limits.

Falling hundreds of meters from a cliff should have been a certain death situation.

The moment before jumping from the carriage, Steve still couldn't understand what escape method was possible in such a predicament.

But Steve jumped without hesitation, because ever since they were at the Training Base, Kyle had been constantly creating miracles, leading and teaching him like a pioneer.

More importantly, he trusted Kyle, and that was enough.

Kyle himself wasn't thinking as much as Steve. After jumping from the carriage, he spread his arms wide, face towards the sky, as if waiting for something.

At this very moment, thousands of meters above the glacial mountain range.

Whoosh!

A faint blue beastly shadow rapidly pierced through the atmospheric layers. Its sharp golden eagle eyes looked down, its massive wings, covered in abundant feathers, suddenly retracted, and its head pointed downwards as it swooped towards the ground.

It was like an arrow, its speed breaking the sound barrier in mere moments, leaving a trail of white sonic booms in the sky.

"It's here." Seeing a long, thin tear in the clouds above, Kyle's lips curved into a smile.

He had summoned the Blue Eagle some time ago and had it scout the sky within a few miles of his body, effectively creating a personal anti-air defense zone.

After all, he was now a major threat to the German army and the Hydra organization. Just a month prior, the enemy had dispatched fighter jets into the battlefield, dropping bombs in an attempt to kill him and Steve.

The Blue Eagle's aerial maneuverability was extremely high. In a one-on-one fight against a single fighter jet, before the jet could even spot it, it would be outmaneuvered from behind and destroyed by its sharp talons.

Creatures summoned by Creature Cards possessed inherent closeness and obedience to the cardholder, along with a subtle telepathic connection. However, maintaining a summoned creature in a constant state of summoning required daily provision of food.

"What's here?" Steve asked in surprise, his eyes fixed on the ground below, the valley floor rapidly approaching as they continued to fall.

Before Kyle could explain, the next moment, a massive shadow enveloped their bodies, accompanied by a strong gust of wind.

Chirp—

The Blue Eagle let out a clear cry, flapping its wings and rapidly approaching. It first caught Kyle with its body, then firmly grasped Steve and the hostage with its talons.

"My god, what kind of bird is this?" Steve was startled, looking back at the Blue Eagle, whose wingspan was a full ten meters wide, his mouth agape in astonishment.

Chirp chirp. The Blue Eagle glanced at Steve in its talons, its blue-feathered wings beating downwards, tearing through the wind and snow below, creating a small localized hurricane as it ascended into the sky.

Steve was a bit bewildered and hesitantly said, "I feel like it's looking down on me."

Kyle, sitting on the Blue Eagle's neck, replied, "It's a type of eagle. Very intelligent, with the IQ of a ten-year-old human."

"I've never seen such a big eagle," Steve said, relaxing considerably now that they were out of danger, and added with a wry smile, "Also, why are you sitting on it while I'm being held in its talons?"

"Well," Kyle paused as if recalling something, then began to spin a tale, "I met it when I was a child, in the forests on the mountain. Back then, the Blue Eagle was only as big as a normal eagle. Later, it was infected by some radioactive agent from a factory, and its body mutated. Not only did its feathers change color, but it also grew larger and larger."

"I see," Steve nodded, not questioning or prying further, accepting Kyle's words at face value.

"Steve, I hope that after we return, you won't reveal the Blue Eagle's existence to anyone, including Carter."

Kyle stroked the feathers on the Blue Eagle's head and got down to business, saying, "The Blue Eagle doesn't harm humans; it only eats wild animals from the mountains. If people with ulterior motives learn of its existence, they might try to hunt it down by any means necessary."

"Alright, I won't say anything," Steve agreed readily.

Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. For the Marvel world, creatures like the Blue Eagle were appearing a bit too early.

It wasn't until the 21st century, with the proliferation of mutations and technology, the brief visits of mythological figures like Thor and Loki to Earth, and the expansion of human thinking through aliens and magic, that the existence of the Blue Eagle wouldn't be so astonishing.

After taking the three of them away from the valley bottom, the Blue Eagle landed them on the ground in the snowy mountain region, then flapped its wings and disappeared into the high-altitude clouds.

Kyle and Steve, with their hostage, headed to a pre-arranged location to rendezvous with Fury's unit, and then returned to the base.

That evening, in the underground operations department of the base.

A large operation map was plastered on the wall like wallpaper. On the map of the enemy's factory base, six flagged areas were circled and crossed out, indicating they had been annihilated.

"That's how it is. Sergeant Bucky Barnes died during the mission, falling into the snowy valley. The target hostage has now been handed over to the base's professional personnel for interrogation."

"The Hydra organization has now separated from the German army. According to the intelligence we have, the leader of Hydra, Red Skull, still possesses a mysterious item capable of generating infinite energy."

"Do we need to seize it? I still remember Red Skull's grudge."

"Of course, even if we don't create infinite energy, we can't let a dangerous organization like Hydra abuse it."

At a brightly lit operations desk, Kyle, Steve, Carter, and the base's commanding officer, a Colonel Officer, sat in chairs, discussing and deliberating.

"Major Kyle, Lieutenant Steve. Please prepare yourselves!" the Colonel Officer said sternly, looking at Kyle and Steve opposite him, and added sincerely, "If we learn Red Skull's whereabouts from the target individuals of this mission, it will be up to you two, one with a shield and one with a sword, to strike."

One shield represents America's justice and protection, and one sword represents America's strength and might.

Kyle and Steve held respectable military ranks, though not exceptionally high, their national prestige and reputation far surpassed that of some generals and officers.

Therefore, the base's commanding officer, the Colonel Officer, treated them with equal footing, without any airs.

Steve nodded in response, "Understood. I will prepare in advance and depart immediately once there is news."

"The target is Red Skull. You don't need to tell me; I'll insist on going," Kyle said coldly.

He still had to settle the score from last time!