"Heh, how could mortal metal compare to the creations of gods?!" Upon realizing that Steve's combat suit was a bit troublesome, Baron Strucker's expression darkened, but he quickly charged at Steve again. Baron Strucker couldn't believe that in this new era, an old super soldier could still make any waves.
So what if this super soldier had advanced combat gear? He and all his subordinates, who successfully became animal warriors through experiments, were also super soldiers. He was the result of super soldiers evolving to an even higher level! There was no way he could lose to Steve!
With a loud "bang," Baron Strucker's figure vanished from where he stood the moment his words fell. His speed exploded to the point where it left a crater behind, and Steve's pupils constricted sharply. He could feel the difference in their strengths because he could no longer track Baron Strucker's attack path. At most, Steve could barely catch a fleeting shadow coming at him!
"Left!" Thankfully, even though Steve was struggling to keep up with Baron Strucker's speed, his rich combat experience allowed him to respond correctly. He quickly swung his vibranium shield toward Baron Strucker's position, aiming to interrupt his attack.
A loud "clang" echoed in Steve's ears. Even with the vibranium shield absorbing some of the force and his specially designed combat suit, Steve still felt a terrifying power spread through his body from the shield. He was sent flying.
"The gap is still too large. I need to focus on defense and stall for time!" Steve rolled back to his feet, eyes warily fixed on Baron Strucker, gripping his vibranium shield even tighter.
To be honest, the combat suit was quite effective for Steve. It gave him higher error tolerance and greatly increased his survival chances, preventing him from getting into trouble just because he didn't have time to don his portable armor. However, the suit had its limitations. It could store and release some force in retaliation, but it didn't directly enhance Steve's strength or provide energy-based attacks, making it less effective offensively than the portable armor.
Thus, Steve had to adjust his combat style. Even though his defense was quite precarious, the suit meant that Baron Strucker couldn't kill him quickly. All Steve could do was keep Strucker tied up on this battlefield.
Steve trusted his teammates. Even if the animal warriors were as powerful as Baron Strucker, the other Avengers could at least hold their ground, and heroes like Martian Manhunter had the strength to defeat these animal warriors. If Robert and Kara were here, this battle might not be over immediately, but it would definitely be under control. The casualties among the official agencies would have been much lower...
In the sky above, Carter Hall finally met his match. His treasured blade had indeed slashed through Martian Manhunter, but the Martian seemed unfazed, his wounds healing instantly as he kicked Carter Hall out of the sky and into the ground.
"Damn it! What kind of monster are you?!" Carter Hall was bewildered. If Martian Manhunter didn't look so unlike any animal, he would have suspected that his opponent was also an animal warrior.
Carter Hall had to admit that Martian Manhunter was the most powerful opponent he'd ever encountered, with both speed and strength surpassing his own. Just as Carter Hall was staring down Martian Manhunter, the latter suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked him into the Hudson River.
"Ugh! Glub glub..." Perhaps because he was transformed into an animal warrior, specifically an eagle, Carter Hall was particularly uncomfortable in the water. Although he was powerful, he hadn't evolved the ability to breathe underwater, so he started to struggle desperately in the river.
Normally, Carter Hall could have used his N-metal to fly out of the water, but for some reason, he felt his consciousness fading as soon as he hit the water, eventually losing consciousness entirely...
"Is it his own resistance, or does that metal resist some of my psychic power?" Martian Manhunter murmured to himself, his eyes flickering as he watched Carter Hall float unconscious.
Yes, the reason Carter Hall passed out so easily was due to Martian Manhunter's psychic attack. After his last defeat at the hands of General Ross, Martian Manhunter learned his lesson and decided to differentiate himself from brawlers like Robert and Clark.
If Clark fought using overwhelming physical force, and Robert combined physical strength with techniques like energy waves and telekinesis, Martian Manhunter could never hope to match either in a direct confrontation. After losing to General Ross, Martian Manhunter chose to focus on using psychic powers as his primary means of combat, with his physical abilities as support.
It was clear that while animal warriors like Carter Hall had incredibly strong bodies—comparable to the Hulk—they were severely lacking in psychic defense...
After dealing with Carter Hall, Martian Manhunter continued his assault, knocking out large numbers of animal warriors and whisking them away before the official agency members could react. He left only a few animal warriors behind for the Avengers to deal with, maintaining the intensity of the battle.
Meanwhile, the official agency members were struggling to survive and had no time to notice the dwindling number of animal warriors. Given that Liberty Island wasn't large, this chaotic battle had them all hiding desperately, with no mind for anything else.
Martian Manhunter's progress was smooth, much like Robert's. He left enough animal warriors for the Avengers to gain some experience but overlooked the fact that both Steve and Bucky weren't in their prime.
Steve and Bucky had mostly retired from frontline combat, taking on administrative roles within the Avengers. However, the situation with Mister Mind had escalated so much that they both had to join the fray.
Similar to Steve, Bucky was also struggling. Though his combat suit kept him alive, his defensive abilities were far inferior to Steve's. Bucky had always been an aggressive fighter, both when he enlisted and later as the Winter Soldier, preferring to go all-out in his attacks.
But when Bucky swung his vibranium arm at an animal warrior, only for it to be caught easily by a tiger-man, he realized that his chances of going on the offensive were slim.
Sure, Bucky's vibranium arm contained some special weapons installed by Tony Stark, but the problem was that it wasn't a full suit of armor with an arc reactor. He had to conserve energy.
Unfortunately, even though Bucky managed to blast a hole through the tiger-man's stomach, he couldn't kill him and was forced to defend himself, accumulating more and more injuries despite his combat suit...
After all, a vibranium arm wasn't the same as a vibranium shield. Steve could block attacks from all sides with his shield, but Bucky's arm had its limitations. As a result, his normal arm was now severely injured.
"Damn it! Why didn't I lose both arms back then? If I had two vibranium arms, this wouldn't be so hard..." Bucky couldn't help but grumble during the fight.
"Then again, without a normal arm, life would be pretty dull... You couldn't do a lot of things... Ugh! I should talk to Steve. We should stick to administrative roles. We're getting too old for this."
Just as Bucky was momentarily distracted, a powerful force sent him flying, and he crashed to the ground. When Bucky came to, he saw Steve had also been knocked down nearby and was giving him a bitter smile.
"Sigh, we're getting old. If only I were still young..." Steve struggled to his feet, sighing as he spoke.
"Heh, you weren't as strong when you were young! At least now, you have that combat suit. Without it, you'd be dead by now!" Before Steve could finish lamenting the passage of time, Baron Strucker rudely interrupted him, charging at Steve like a lion eyeing its prey.
Except for their appearance, which differed slightly from the Gamma warriors, this batch of animal warriors was equally powerful, and their beastly appearance made them even more intimidating! However, like the Gamma warriors, the animal warriors had a major flaw: they only had strong bodies and no long-range combat abilities...
A terrifying explosion suddenly erupted, sending Baron Strucker flying. Standing before Steve and Bucky was Johnny Storm, his body engulfed in flames. He absorbed all the fire and heat from the explosion, ensuring that Steve and Bucky were unharmed.
"Cap, you should take a rest. I've already dealt with my opponent; this one's just about done too..." Johnny turned around, giving Steve and Bucky a thumbs-up with a smile.
"What about my opponent?" Bucky blinked, finally noticing that the tiger-man who had knocked him down was now grappling with Venom-covered Peter Parker. With blood-red eyes, Venom was displaying terrifying combat prowess, even more powerful than when he fought the Hulk!
The tiger-man was feeling increasingly unsettled. While animal warriors were certainly more ferocious than Gamma warriors, they still looked somewhat human. But Venom was different. Even though Venom retained a vaguely humanoid shape when attached to Peter Parker, it was far more terrifying in appearance than the animal warriors, pushing the boundaries of what humans could accept.
The tiger-man's confidence was shaken before the fight even began. And with Venom's power now boosted after absorbing Carnage, Venom believed that if he fought the Hulk again, his strength would surpass the Hulk's!
With such power, taking down a mere tiger-man was no challenge for Venom.
"Damn it!" Meanwhile, Baron Strucker struggled to his feet, looking particularly disheveled. His fur and skin had been charred to the point where they began peeling off, the pain of which spread throughout his body.
"Oh! You beastmen have pretty decent vitality and strong regenerative abilities, almost like werewolves..." Seeing Baron Strucker rise again, Johnny Storm turned into a streak of flame and charged toward him.
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