What Nyau was eyeing was likely Sawatari Akane's perfectly beautiful face.
As is well known, the summoned beings of an incarnation do not naturally recognize one another.
They only recognize the incarnation who summoned them and Su Modie, the main body; everyone else is an outsider.
Therefore, upon seeing the stunningly beautiful Makima and Quanxi on the throne, Nyau—who had just finished a massacre and was still in a bloodthirsty state of excitement—could not suppress the twisted collector's urge rising from within.
This covetous and malicious thought naturally drew Makima's displeasure.
Sitting on the throne, she casually raised her hand and pointed her index finger at Nyau from a distance.
In an instant, the frivolous smile on Nyau's face froze.
He felt a sudden heat deep in his nasal cavity, and two streams of dark red blood overflowed uncontrollably, dripping onto the stone floor.
Confused, Nyau raised his hand to touch his nose. When he pulled it away, his palm was stained a striking scarlet.
This is...
Seeing this, Esdeath quickly stepped forward with her long legs, subtly blocking Nyau as she looked up to meet Makima's gaze.
"Miss Makima, I apologize. Please forgive my subordinate's rudeness. I have already completed the mission assigned by Master Mo Die. I hope you can show mercy and spare his life. After all..."
Buying this guy wasn't cheap, either.
He was worth at least 1,000 simulation value.
Of course, this was Su Modie's thought.
Although none of the Three Beasts were good people—one could even say that except for Liver, who was somewhat decent, the other two were pure perverts—their perversions were quite straightforward: one simply enjoyed the thrill of battle, while the other simply enjoyed collecting faces.
They weren't the kind of lecherous scoundrels that Su Modie hated most.
As long as they didn't do anything outrageous to irritate Su Modie or the other incarnations, the daily discipline would just have to be Esdeath's burden.
Hearing Su Modie's words, Makima smiled slightly and calmly withdrew her finger.
She wouldn't actually take it upon herself to kill a summon the Master had spent simulation value on, not to mention that the previous strike had been at Su Modie's suggestion.
It was merely to make this overconfident young man realize his place.
As her finger moved away, the suffocating pressure dissipated.
Nyau shuddered violently, only then realizing with hindsight that he had just taken a walk past the gates of hell.
It was Officer Esdeath who had stepped in to save him.
Pale-faced, Nyau wisely took two steps back, shut his mouth tight, and S-Rank behind Liver, not daring to make another sound.
As for Sawatari Akane, who had been inexplicably approached and then ignored, she remained in a state of utter confusion.
"What the hell are you guys doing?"
Unable to understand the thoughts of the two S-Rank villainesses and Su Modie, Sawatari Akane sighed. She turned back to continue moving the bulletproof plates while lamenting softly—
"My life is so bitter..."
After helping Esdeath discipline her subordinate, it was naturally time for more important business.
Esdeath walked out of the hall, and when she returned, she was lightly tugging a long, thin chain she had found from somewhere.
At the other end of the chain was Baron Strucker.
This HYDRA tycoon, who once called the shots in Sokovia and was insufferably arrogant, was now forced onto all fours, being dragged forward like a stray dog.
His dignified face was twisted with humiliation, veins bulged on his forehead, and suppressed whimpers escaped his throat, but under the intimidating glint of Esdeath's ice-blue eyes, he didn't dare make any move to resist.
Strucker knew very well that everyone sitting and standing here were monsters in human skin.
His power and physical capabilities were as fragile as tissue paper before these madwomen.
If he wanted to live, discarding his dignity seemed to be the only choice.
Esdeath led him before Makima.
Makima calmly stepped down from the stone throne, the crisp sound of her high heels clicking against the stone floor hammering against the Baron's crumbling mental defenses.
It hadn't been long.
A few days ago, he had been sitting high on that throne, looking down disdainfully at Makima, the special envoy sent by the U.S. to deliver the Scepter. Now, only a few days later, Makima sat high on the throne while he crawled on the ground, looking like a dog.
However, that wasn't enough. Right now he only looked like a dog; what Makima wanted was to turn him completely into one.
A pitch-black chain shot out from Makima's abdomen, making a low whistling sound as it precisely entered Baron Strucker's abdomen.
In that instant, the humiliation and resentment in the Baron's eyes receded like a tide, as if his underlying logic had been forcibly rewritten. It was replaced by a twisted sort of fanaticism and worship.
He looked up slightly, gazing at Makima with a look of pilgrimage, his lips trembling with excitement, ready to give everything for the Master before him.
Baron Strucker was now under Control.
Makima nodded slightly, feeling very satisfied with her new doggy.
As one of the core leaders of HYDRA, Strucker was on equal footing with Pierce in terms of status.
Although the actual worldly power he controlled was much less—just as the gap between the small Eastern European nation of Sokovia and the United States—controlling him meant taking the substantial first step in the grand plan to swallow HYDRA.
As for this territory and the remaining forces...
Makima looked up at Esdeath and spoke softly: "What do you think of this castle?"
Esdeath was taken aback for a moment, then looked around. Her gaze swept across the cold, thick stone walls and the treacherous snowy peaks outside the window. She said frankly, "It's very good. It feels like being back home."
For an Imperial General from an otherworldly Western setting who was accustomed to the law of the jungle and cold-weapon warfare, this HYDRA castle hidden atop a mountain and filled with a killing aura was clearly more to her taste than the crowded, noisy steel jungle of New York.
The corners of Makima's lips curled up: "In that case, how about he, and this place, belong to you?"
After all, Makima still had many deployments in S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Thunderbolts to watch over. It wasn't realistic for her to stay here and do research with HYDRA.
Besides... devils can actually be afraid of the cold.
But Esdeath was different. She was the incarnation of ice and snow herself. Furthermore, with Lux able to open a portal at any time, geographical distance was not an issue at all.
Esdeath could return to New York to find Su Modie at any time, or simply bring Su Modie over to stay for a few days.
It was all doable.
More importantly, Su Modie also believed that Esdeath's Imperial philosophy and HYDRA's doctrines were a perfect match.
Letting her take over this remnant was a perfect fit for her expertise. Perhaps under the command of this iron-blooded female general, this branch of HYDRA in Sokovia could experience a "second spring" and become even more formidable than when Strucker was in power.
Esdeath did not decline the proposal and readily accepted.
She was a commander born for conquest and rule. Having a ready-made army and territory to manage was better than being bored in New York with nothing to do.
And so, the HYDRA forces in Sokovia quietly welcomed their new queen.
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