Fierce Battle

At the Hellfire Club, the Punisher, who had issued the threat, leaned calmly against the sofa. A bottle of whiskey on the table had already been drained, and the cigar box had been opened. The Browning Automatic Pistol lay by his right hand, while its owner puffed away, savoring an authentic Cuban Cigar.

"You damned rich people!" Even as he drank someone else's liquor and smoked a premium cigar, Frank cursed without changing expression.

Wesley pretended not to hear him and did not dare show the slightest anger. If he provoked the other man, he might not live long enough for his boss to arrive.

"Your boss sounded young. How did he kill Kingpin? Set a trap, or use heavy weapons?" The Punisher appeared relaxed, but if Wesley made any suspicious move, he could blow his head off within two seconds.

"Mr. Punisher, I truly know very little about my boss. He does not wish to appear in person, so he supported me as his agent to handle various matters for him."

Wesley gave a bitter smile. He knew that young boss did not trust him, and that he did not care much about loyalty either. After all, as long as the price was high enough, a person's convictions could change at any time.

"Looks like he's a cautious one." The Punisher did not ask further. He was merely curious about the man who had killed Kingpin.

When had Hell's Kitchen gained such a mysterious figure? Someone who could eliminate Kingpin and Bullseye, install a puppet to take over their assets, and carry out a whole series of moves without causing the slightest ripple—it was enough to astonish Frank.

Wesley lowered his head slightly. In truth, he knew the identity of that young boss, but had chosen to conceal it. Under threat of death, revealing some insignificant intelligence was forgivable. But leaking important information would undoubtedly be outright betrayal.

The Punisher was certainly frightening, but his own boss was no kindhearted man who could be easily dealt with. Even Kingpin, who had once ruled Hell's Kitchen with an iron fist, had fallen with ease. Wesley did not dare entertain the slightest thought of rebellion.

Second by second, time passed. The Punisher's gaze gradually turned cold. He had always kept his word. If Wesley's boss did not arrive within half an hour, then he would have no choice but to lose a capable subordinate.

As the clock hand was about to reach twelve, the lights in the private room suddenly went out, plunging the entire space into darkness. The Punisher immediately grabbed his pistol. His burly body vaulted over the sofa as he found suitable cover.

Years of training had made him constantly vigilant. That mysterious man hiding behind the scenes had swiftly swallowed all of Kingpin's remaining assets after killing him, which was proof enough that he was no simple-minded fool.

So the Punisher had never expected him to come alone. He had long prepared himself to deal with a group of gunmen and thugs, and had even planned an escape route. The moment he found himself outnumbered, he would seek an opportunity to flee.

As a retired Marine, the Punisher did not think there was anything shameful about that. Charging forward recklessly after discovering that the enemy was too strong was not bravery—it was stupidity!

He was no brute with muscles for brains. On the contrary, beneath that burly body was a mind capable of thinking calmly under any circumstances.

The Hellfire Club was pitch-black, as though someone had cut the power. In the silent surroundings, the tap-tap of footsteps sounded exceptionally clear. The private room's door was pushed open. In the low-visibility Dark Dimension, the Punisher raised his Browning Automatic Pistol. With a deafening bang, muzzle flashes burst forth and bullets poured out.

The person opening the door seemed to have anticipated it. He swiftly dodged aside and vanished like a ghost. Every bullet missed, striking the doorframe and punching out a dense series of holes.

The Punisher tossed aside the empty pistol magazine and drew the tactical knife at his waist. He hunched slightly, like a savage wolf waiting for an opening.

A fierce gust swept down from overhead. The Punisher quickly lowered his head, evading a powerful whip kick. His sharp knife slashed upward in a fierce flash of steel, but his opponent was clearly no amateur. He turned sideways and trapped the arm holding the knife, his hands twisting like a garrote as he stripped the Punisher of his weapon!

"What incredible strength..."

His arm had gone faintly numb, and the Punisher could not help but feel surprised. His opponent was not particularly large or muscular, yet in their first exchange, he had overpowered him and directly disarmed him.

Having lost his combat knife, the Punisher suddenly closed the distance and threw a punch at his opponent's face. He clearly intended to use close-quarters combat. His fists flew so fast that there was no time to react, as though he meant to batter his opponent to the ground with a relentless storm of blows!

The intruder showed no weakness either. After blocking a heavy punch aimed straight at his chest, he kept shifting his body and rapidly parried attack after attack. Like an indestructible reef, he withstood the Punisher's savage, frenzied assault head-on.

The two were like human combat machines, throwing punches like the wind without tiring. They discarded all complicated fighting techniques and engaged in a fierce brawl without any tricks!

Wesley, pressed against the sofa and too frightened to move, could only tremble in the corner after witnessing their fight. He could not help sighing inwardly, Were these even humans!?

"Get down!"

A furious shout suddenly erupted through the spacious private room. Amid their violent, rapid clashes, the Punisher finally found his chance. Like a tiger descending the mountain, he charged forward with unmatched force. His right hand came down like a massive axe, and the fierce gust rushing toward his opponent made it impossible to doubt that even solid stone would be shattered by that blow!

"Weakness limits your imagination..."

The Punisher vaguely seemed to hear a soft laugh. An immense sense of danger surged through him. The opponent who had been evenly matched with him moments ago suddenly seemed to transform into a terrifying beast, his overwhelming presence crashing forward like waves, as though he would swallow him whole in the next instant!

His fatal strike, containing all his strength, smashed viciously into the other man's arm. A clear cracking sound rang out. The Punisher felt as though he had struck a solid steel plate, and the tremendous recoil directly shattered the bones in his hand.

His opponent pressed the advantage without mercy. His tall body charged forward like a mountain at astonishing speed. The Punisher's two-hundred-pound body flew through the air like a cannonball and slammed into the wall behind him with a dull, heavy crash.

With a light snap of his fingers, the lights in the private room came back on. Sean stood in the center of the wreckage. Tables and chairs around him had been smashed, wood splinters drifted through the air, and broken glass littered the floor.

"Just a few broken bones. That should be nothing new to you."

Watching the Punisher struggle several times without managing to rise, Sean spoke in a relaxed tone. Having completed a point-farming operation, he was in quite a good mood, so he did not intend to make this street hero, who showed criminals no mercy, compensate the club for its losses.

This battle had been without suspense from the very beginning. Even though the retired Marine Punisher had received rigorous training, was familiar with special combat tactics for individuals and teams, and excelled in combat, hand-to-hand fighting, shooting, underwater operations, interrogation, intelligence gathering, and other skills, he was still bound by the limits of humanity.

Facing Sean, whose strength, speed, and neural reflexes all far surpassed human limits, was like a low-level beginner in basic gear encountering a high-level player decked out in top-tier equipment. Even breaking through his defenses was a problem.

A nonhuman who could punch through steel plates and outrun cars was not someone the Punisher could defeat, no matter how much training he had received. The ones who could now threaten Sean were Mutants who wielded supernatural abilities, Asgard's Exotic Gods, and Extraterrestrial Life born with immense power.