Is this how Hydra trains its assassins? Not properly reloading, but doing it one-handed instead?!
A small mistake put Reid in danger once again, but he refused to give up.
Just as the Winter Soldier was about to pull the trigger with his right hand, Reid hurled the car door at him like a boomerang, smashing it into the Winter Soldier's hand.
"Ugh..."
The Winter Soldier let out a small grunt of pain as his right hand released the gun. In that instant, Reid closed the distance, driving the rapier in his hand toward the Winter Soldier's forehead.
Show mercy? Even if killing the Winter Soldier would cause his role-play progress to drop into the negative, Reid wasn't naive enough to spare the Winter Soldier just for the sake of a few role-play points. After all, the Winter Soldier was now under the control of Hydra, and Reid couldn't afford to let him live, especially when his own survival was at stake.
Role-play points could be earned back, but if he died, that was it. The damned system had no resurrection function for the host.
Faced with Reid's direct threat, the Winter Soldier was forced to abandon his plan to continue using ranged attacks. After quickly releasing the magazine with his left hand, he raised his metal arm in front of his face to block the incoming rapier strike.
The collision between the rapier and the metal arm created a spark, but it failed to inflict any damage on the Winter Soldier's cybernetic limb.
When the first strike didn't land, Reid followed Alfred's combat techniques without hesitation. He didn't allow the Winter Soldier the chance to grab his rapier with the metal arm. Instead, he swiftly retracted the rapier, sending it through the air in a graceful arc before redirecting it to strike at the Winter Soldier's thigh.
Clang!!
Once again, Reid's attack was blocked, but this time not by the metal arm. Instead, it was deflected by a reinforced alloy dagger.
While the Winter Soldier used his metal arm to block the initial strike, his other hand swiftly drew a dagger, initiating his counterattack.
Clink! Clank!
The sound of metal on metal rang out incessantly. In just a few seconds, Reid and the Winter Soldier had exchanged several brutal blows.
But as Reid had anticipated from the start, things weren't going in his favor.
Alfred was certainly stronger than an average person, and his combat skills were on par with the Winter Soldier in front of him, but he was still a man over fifty years old.
He was never going to be on the same level as the Winter Soldier, who, thanks to science, maintained his youth and strength as a super-soldier.
The Winter Soldier's boundless stamina and his powerful, nearly indestructible metal arm left Reid feeling overwhelmed.
"Ho... Howard…"
Inside Stark's car, Howard, whose face had taken a heavy blow from the Winter Soldier, turned his head as he heard the voice. His wife, Maria Stark, had been attacked even earlier by the Winter Soldier. Her face had been smashed in by his metal arm, and she was clearly on the verge of death.
"Maria... hold on..."
Even though Howard was in immense pain himself, he tried to comfort his wife. At the same time, he observed the battle between Reid and the Winter Soldier. He was surprised that someone could stand up to such a super soldier using nothing but their own physical abilities, but now, his main concern was how he could help this stranger.
Though he wasn't skilled in combat, Howard knew the difference between a super soldier and an ordinary human. Even if the elderly gentleman had impressive combat skills, it was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed.
And just as Howard had anticipated, Reid was showing signs of strain.
After blocking another of the Winter Soldier's powerful punches, the hand holding the rapier began to tremble slightly.
Reid's stamina was running low, and under the constant pressure from his opponent, he was barely managing to maintain his grip on the rapier.
Finally, after blocking two more strikes from the Winter Soldier's dagger, Reid's rapier was knocked out of his hand with another powerful punch. The force of the blow sent him tumbling to the ground.
He watched helplessly as the Winter Soldier closed in.
Oddly, however, Reid didn't feel fear at that moment. Instead, an eerie calm settled over him. He observed everything around him with sharp focus, searching for any opportunity to strike back. And that's when he noticed Howard Stark quietly approaching from behind the Winter Soldier.
Reid didn't know much about Howard Stark. Before his journey into this world, he had avoided the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series due to its complexity and had never delved into the details of Howard's life, particularly the events following World War II leading to his death.
But Reid did understand one thing: Howard Stark was a genius on par with his son, Tony. If this man was sneaking around, there had to be a plan in mind.
Realizing this, Reid wasted no time. Using every ounce of his strength, he launched himself off the ground and threw a punch toward the Winter Soldier's face. Even as a sharp pain from a gash on his arm, inflicted by the Winter Soldier's dagger, shot through him, Reid didn't hesitate.
However, his punch was ultimately caught by the Winter Soldier, who, with his metal arm, gripped Reid's fist tightly. The pressure from the arm intensified, and Reid felt his bones groaning under the strain, as though they might be crushed at any moment.
"Let go of me!!" Reid yelled in desperation, but his voice, mixed with the excruciating pain, also helped mask Howard's approach. The genius inventor was moving silently, careful not to alert the Winter Soldier to his presence.
At the very moment when the Winter Soldier was about to plunge his dagger into Reid's heart, Howard made his move. He swiftly reached out, placing a strange device against the Winter Soldier's ear and activating it.
A shrill, piercing sound erupted from the device, a sound so loud and intense that it felt like it could shatter bones.
The harsh sound waves emitted from the device caused the Winter Soldier, who was closest, to immediately clutch his head and collapse to the ground. Even though he tried to cover his ears with his hands, he couldn't stop the blood that was flowing through his fingers.
The brutal assassin, trained by Hydra, who had been so resolute and unflinching just moments before, now faltered. The conditioning and mind control that kept him focused on his mission began to crack under the intense waves of sound. With his mental state slipping, the Winter Soldier ceased focusing on his target and the witness to the attack. Instead, he bolted toward the roadside bushes and disappeared from sight.
However, just because the Winter Soldier had left, it didn't mean everything was over.
Howard, who was also not far from the ultrasonic device, collapsed to the ground in immense pain. Even with his hands pressed to his ears, he couldn't stop the sound waves from penetrating. Already injured, his breathing grew weaker, and if this continued, the playboy who had survived since World War II would die on this desolate, unremarkable road.
Smack!
Just as Howard was struggling to breathe, Reid slapped the ultrasonic device, shattering it into pieces.
Huff... huff... huff...!!
With the sound waves stopped, Howard gasped for air, clinging to the last lifeline like a drowning man.
"Th-thank... thank you..."
"It was nothing... just a small effort," Reid replied.
He extended his hand and helped Howard to his feet. His condition wasn't much better. The same sound waves that had caused the Winter Soldier to lose control were also fatal to him.
Blood was still trickling from his ears. He had been just moments away from losing his hearing completely.
He can't take such risks again.
Supporting Howard, Reid slowly made his way toward the Stark car, as that was Howard's wish—he needed to check on his gravely injured wife, Maria.
Meanwhile, Reid opened the system panel that only he could see.
His "Alfred" role-playing progress had risen from 1% to 15%.
"Only a 14% increase?"