Punching Hydra

A few minutes earlier.

Red Skull stood in the base's command room, envisioning the future and laying out his grand design.

He spoke at length about how to rebuild the Third Reich upon the ruins left by the war.

Then, through the power Hydra possessed, he would bring the entire world under his control.

And he had only one listener.

Hydra's chief scientist, Dr. Arnim Zola.

With the Tesseract in hand, Red Skull firmly believed that he was the chosen son of destiny, the future ruler of this planet!

"Mr. Schmidt, the Fuhrer hopes we can provide more weapons and create opportunities for victory on the front lines. He is no longer satisfied with merely holding back the Allied Nations' advance. He wants to sound the horn for a counteroffensive!"

Dr. Zola said cautiously.

In truth, the Fuhrer in distant Berlin had used an almost commanding tone to force Hydra to step up production of more and stronger energy weapons to arm the Axis Powers' soldiers.

If he repeated those words exactly, Red Skull, who had long harbored ambitions of independence, would likely fly into another rage!

Dr. Zola felt that ever since obtaining the Tesseract, Hydra's leader had grown increasingly ambitious, to the point where it was nearly impossible to contain him.

"The Axis Powers are finished! Because of differences over wealth and religion, Hitler launched a massive slaughter of the Jews. Then he provoked the Soviet Union, that Red Bear, made that idiot Italy his ally, and America joined the war as well... The Third Reich is about to become the enemy of the world. The outcome of this war was decided long ago, Zola!"

There was not the slightest respect for Hitler in Red Skull's tone.

He had indeed once fanatically worshipped the Fuhrer, joining the Schutzstaffel and becoming a loyal confidant much like Heinrich Luitpold Himmler.

But later, before Schmidt became Red Skull, he entered the military's research division and met Abraham Erskine, learning of the existence of the Super Soldier Serum.

In pursuit of his own strength and perfection, as well as out of loyalty to the Fuhrer, Schmidt volunteered to become the first test subject. Due to the side effects of the first-generation serum, he became Red Skull.

Unfortunately, Hitler later decided that the "disfigured" Schmidt no longer fit his ideal image of an "Aryan."

Using the excuse of establishing a foreign intelligence department, he exiled his former confidant to the fledgling Hydra.

"Hitler's ship is going down. Even if I provide the Axis Powers with vast quantities of weapons, it will still sink. Zola, do you want to be buried with him?"

Red Skull sneered.

"Hail Hydra!"

Dr. Zola raised both arms and shouted the slogan, declaring his loyalty.

"Now that is the choice of an intelligent man. Once the Valkyrie Project succeeds and half the world is reduced to ruins, I will personally establish an unprecedented Hydra Empire!"

Red Skull's voice rose. Long ago, he had taken complete control of Hydra, turning it from a foreign intelligence department into an independent secret organization.

If the Allied Nations had not been pressing closer step by step, the Fuhrer of the Third Reich in distant Berlin would surely have slammed the table, shouted himself hoarse, and moved to eliminate this oversized institution that had become impossible to control!

"By the way, Dr. Zola, how are preparations for the Valkyrie Project coming along?"

Red Skull turned to business. The so-called "Valkyrie" was a missile warhead embedded with Tesseract energy blocks.

Its power was no less than that of the hydrogen bomb America had yet to create.

"All research institutes are actively cooperating, and the targets have already been selected. New York, Berlin, London, Moscow... 'Valkyrie' is enough to wipe all these cities off the map and lead countless people to meet Death!"

Dr. Zola answered tremblingly.

In his eyes, Red Skull was simply a madman.

Not only did he want to destroy the Allied Nations, he also wanted to erase the Axis Powers.

He wanted to build a new era belonging to Hydra atop the shattered ruins.

"Good. What Superman? What Mutants? Beneath 'Valkyrie,' all beings are equal! The Tesseract is the future!"

Red Skull's eyes burned with fanaticism as he continued, "One day, I will..."

A piercing alarm cut off the Hydra leader's words. On the command room's surveillance screen, a tall, upright, blurry figure appeared.

The intruder wore combat gear resembling steel armor, and a dark red cape, as if dyed in blood, made him especially conspicuous!

"One person?"

Red Skull seemed to sense the intruder's gaze and looked uncertainly at Dr. Zola. "Is that the Allied Superman?"

The latter shook his head. The image on the surveillance screen was too blurry for him to identify.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blurry figure shot forward like an arrow, moving so fast that it exceeded the surveillance camera's tracking limit.

Hydra soldiers carrying energy rifles were like stationary punching bags, sent flying with effortless blows!

Within a few breaths, an entire squad of guards had fallen!

And from the look of it, they would never get back up.

Did Erskine develop a second-generation enhanced serum?

Judging solely by his combat performance, this intruder who was suspected to be the Allied Superman completely surpassed a Super Soldier!

At the very least, Red Skull felt that he himself would find it difficult to knock down so many people at once.

And when the guards opened fire with submachine guns, the bullets struck that steel armor-like combat suit without producing the slightest reaction.

"What should we do?"

Dr. Zola asked nervously.

Hydra's soldiers clearly did not seem to be a match for this intruder.

"He is only one man! We have so many guns and cannons, and enhanced warriors too! What are you afraid of?!"

Red Skull barked angrily.

Then, on the surveillance screen, a massive tank rumbled forward like a roaring steel beast.

Its turret moved, constantly adjusting its position.

"Heh, Superman! Even if you have a Steel Body..."

Red Skull wore a scornful smile.

But—

The next moment!

His voice abruptly stopped!

The taunt he had intended to deliver caught in his throat!

"How is this possible?! Erskine definitely developed a new generation of serum! Damn it! I was the first Super Soldier, yet he gave the best thing to someone else!"

Red Skull roared in impotent fury.

On the surveillance screen, the massive tank's cannon barrel was forcibly snapped off.

Then, the intruder grabbed the broken barrel with both hands as though lifting a thick club and, in an instant, flipped the tank weighing dozens of tons onto the ground.

That horrifying sight utterly destroyed the fighting spirit of the other Hydra soldiers. They wished they could imitate the enemy and raise white flags in surrender.

"Mr. Schmidt?"

Dr. Zola called softly.

"Retreat! Return to headquarters! We are temporarily no match for that Allied Superman!"

Having quickly calmed himself, Red Skull took a deep breath and pressed the switches for the self-destruct sequence one by one.

He had no intention of leaving the Valkyries in the military factory as trophies for the Allied Nations.

As for the captured soldiers and Hydra's guards?

Red Skull did not care in the slightest!

They were merely making a small sacrifice for the birth of the Hydra Empire.

"Even the strongest Super Soldier can be injured and can die."

Red Skull clenched his teeth and said hatefully, "Superman, just you wait!"

The Tesseract was extracted from its metal apparatus and placed inside a case.

As long as he returned to the underground base in the Alps, he could activate Valkyrie and destroy both the Allied Nations and the Axis Powers.

What could Superman do then? He would still die in the bombardment!