Inside the narrow underground tunnel, the flamethrower unleashed a devastating power that surpassed even energy weapons. The continuous burst of flames created a scorching blaze, heating the air to an unbearable temperature.
Kyle furrowed his brow and quickly retreated to a safe distance, using the recessed tunnel walls as cover to shield himself from the scorching flames.
If it were an energy weapon, it would be manageable. With his Vibranium Bracer, he could deflect the lasers effortlessly. However, the widespread flames from the flamethrower limited the defensive capabilities of his armguard.
What made the situation even more perilous was the symbiotic suit Venom that enveloped Kyle's body. Venom, fearless against bullets and lasers due to its bulletproof nature and liquid healing ability, now conveyed a primal fear to its host, Kyle, under the threat of the intense flames.
"Hang in there a little longer," Kyle verbally reassured Venom, as he prepared to throw his sword to eliminate the guards. Just as he began to gather strength in his hand, a round object whizzed past him from behind.
The round shield accurately struck the head of the guard wielding the flamethrower, rendering him unconscious. It then quickly returned in a curved trajectory, revealing its identity as the Adamantium Shield.
"Adamantium Shield?" Kyle turned his head quickly and saw a tall young man rushing towards him. It was none other than Steve, who had hurriedly caught up with him.
"Steve, weren't you supposed to block and clear the guards?" Kyle asked with a surprised expression on his face.
Steve responded firmly, "There are soldiers assigned to clear the guards so I came to help you with Schmidt."
"Okay. Let's see who takes down the Hydra leader first…" Before Kyle could finish his sentence, he took off in a sprint towards the end of the tunnel.
"No problem… Hey, don't you dare cheat!" Steve called out, keeping up with Kyle's pace without slowing down.
The two of them swiftly traversed the final section of the underground tunnel, one after the other.
Upon emerging from the tunnel, they were greeted by a wide underground base plaza, filled with hundreds of armed guards wielding energy weapons.
"This is getting tiresome," Kyle coldly muttered as he unsheathed his longsword. Steve raised his shield with determination. Standing side by side, the two of them faced a hundred guards without fear. However, if they were delayed any longer, the Hydra leader, Red Skull, would slip away.
'Bang! Bang! Bang!'
Just then, a large number of American soldiers armed with rifles rushed in from the underground tunnels from different directions of the underground plaza. They swiftly engaged the armed guards, launching a fierce assault on them.
At the forefront of one of the squads, wearing an eyepatch, was Fury. He smiled and waved at Kyle, calling out, "Kyle, do you need reinforcements?"
Kyle breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Perfect timing. You're as reliable as ever!"
As if hearing his words, a woman leading another group of soldiers emerged from the tunnel and she remarked with a cold snort, "Who here isn't?"
Steve glanced at the elegant woman and jokingly said, "Agent Carter, you almost arrived late."
"She did arrive late," Kyle corrected him, causing Agent Carter to glare at him.
"Hahaha, so it was just me who was behind?" A casual and familiar voice sounded from behind, slightly slower than the rest.
As the car lights continued to illuminate, a sleek and stylish car drove up, stopping in front of Kyle and the others. Howard, in his customary gentlemanly manner, waved at them from the driver's seat.
"Why did you, the logistics of the Scientific Strategic Department, come here? And you even drove Schmidt's vehicle into the base," Kyle raised an eyebrow, expressing his surprise.
Howard chuckled and replied, "This is the final battle of the European front. Of course, I had to come. After all, we are a team!"
We? A team…
Kyle was momentarily stunned as he looked at Fury, Agent Carter, and finally Steve and a subtle smile appeared on his lips.
Yes, at some point, they had become a team. A team of unstoppable combat elites.
"Now is not the time for chatting; Schmidt is about to escape in an aircraft!" Steve suddenly reminded them as he pointed his finger toward the end of the underground plaza.
There, a large transport aircraft was slowly starting up and accelerating towards the exit of the base. There was no doubt that Red Skull was onboard.
"Get in the car, I'll take you two there!" Howard quickly said.
Without hesitation, Kyle and Steve jumped into the car, one on each side. Howard floored the accelerator, and with the roar of the engine, the car sped towards the massive aircraft.
"We have to win this!" Agent Carter clenched her fist with slight concern as she watched their backs until the car disappeared into the distance at the end of the underground plaza.
On the aircraft taxiway in the base's underground plaza…
With wingspans of thirty meters on each side, the large transport aircraft, with its wide and elongated design, picked up speed. Not far behind it, a car carrying three people was racing at full speed to catch up with the aircraft.
"The plane is about to take off, and we can't catch up with this speed!" Steve frowned as he looked at the aircraft ahead, his face filled with worry.
Kyle, on the other hand, had no worries at all. He glanced at Howard, who remained calm in the driver's seat, and urged, "Don't hold back now. Use any technology devices you have hidden in here!"
"You caught me again. Well, coincidentally, I've upgraded this car with some of my own technology," Howard smiled and pressed a button below the steering wheel.
The exhaust pipes at the rear of the car immediately erupted with blue flames and the car, already traveling at over a hundred kilometers per hour, suddenly accelerated to more than three times that speed. The strong wind pressure made Kyle and Steve hold on tightly to their seats.
The distance between the car and the transport aircraft kept narrowing. When there were just about ten meters left, the area ahead suddenly lit up as bright as daylight, and the wheels of the transport aircraft began to lift off the ground.
"The plane is taking off! Steve, send me up first!" Kyle spoke up while standing up from the fast-moving car. Steve seemed to understand what he had in mind and crouched slightly in the car seat, raising his shield.
"Go!" Kyle took a deep breath and stepped onto the round shield, using his full strength to leap forward.
Steve also pushed the shield forward, adding momentum to the jump.
"Swoosh!"
Kyle soared high into the air, swiftly crossing the ten-meter gap. When he was just a hair's breadth away from the fuselage of the aircraft, he forcefully plunged the sword in his left hand into the landing gear as a means of securing himself.
"Kyle!" Steve shouted loudly, then jumped over as well. Kyle promptly extended his right hand, grabbing onto Steve's arm as they ascended together, following the rising transport aircraft.
On the base's runway…
Howard managed to bring the speeding car to a halt just before the cliff. He gazed at the transport aircraft soaring into the sky, with the two figures standing on the landing gear below, and softly said, "I hope you succeed in this battle. When you return, we'll drink wine and celebrate together!"
The most important thing is that they must come back!
(End of this chapter)
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