Chapter 114: Debut
"Mason, Steve just sent word that Hitler's special forces have begun their operation. He's advancing toward the energy signature. You need to move fast!"
Mason sat in the transport aircraft, listening to Peggy Carter's transmission.
He glanced at the fleeting energy beams in the distance. "I see it. One hell of an operation."
Looking at the faintly visible islands in the distance, Mason continued, "Tell Steve that reinforcements will arrive in ten minutes max. I want to surprise him!"
The confidence in Mason's tone also reassured Peggy. "I hope you don't give him a heart attack!"
After their meeting yesterday, Peggy had initially been somewhat concerned about Mason going to England to assist Steve, but Mason's casual demonstration dispelled her worries.
He attributed his enhanced physical capabilities to Hydra experimentation, then quickly prepped his equipment and headed straight for England.
There were four operatives initially dispatched together: Mason went to New York to eliminate Carter, while the other three were assigned to proceed directly to England.
However, the group failed to locate the secret force deployed by Hitler. Mason himself wasn't entirely certain of their exact location until Peggy reminded him of Steve's mission.
Steve's trip to England was to escort a professor named Trevor Bruttenholm to investigate Hitler's occult operations.
Bruttenholm was President Roosevelt's personal paranormal advisor, a history scholar, and in the movies, he was Hellboy's adoptive father, raising him and guiding him into the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
Mason believed this mission would be more straightforward than the previous two. His physical descent made the operation much easier.
Once he captured the infant Hellboy in Scotland, he could contact Hydra and return directly to their facility.
For Steve's sake, Mason planned to use this opportunity to destroy the Hydra base and end Schmidt's regime.
This way, Steve wouldn't have to fight Schmidt to the death, ending up frozen for 70 years and separated from his lover forever.
Meanwhile, at the ruins of Trondham Abbey, after the energy pillar dissipated, a massive mechanical apparatus in the area began to rotate.
Countless currents were fed into the device through converters, and the arc-shaped mechanism spun faster and faster, the thrumming sound causing nearby personnel to cover their ears.
"Success!"
With Rasputin's shout, a blue point of light appeared in the air, then expanded into a circular gateway about three meters in diameter. Through this portal, a crimson realm filled with flames could be seen!
"VWOOOOM!"
A powerful suction force emanated from the portal, pulling a researcher who couldn't dodge in time into it, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Immediately afterward, a deep roar resounded, as if some terrifying entity was trying to break free of its prison and squeeze through the gateway!
"Expand the portal aperture! I want to release all the creatures inside!" the German officer roared.
"Nein, the opened dimensional gateway is already the limit of this device. If we increase the energy output, it will collapse!"
A torrential downpour obscured everyone's vision, but just then, a tall figure carrying a metal shield burst through the rain in the distance, penetrating the outer defensive perimeter.
Even from a distance, the shield flew from his hand, striking down several soldiers before ricocheting back into his grasp.
"Captain America!"
"Stop him!"
"Scheisse, how did they find this location? Protect the experimental apparatus!"
A German officer roared, unleashing a hail of gunfire, but Steve ducked, using his shield to deflect all the attacks. He flashed to a German soldier's side, kicking him into the crowd.
Then, he grabbed another soldier as a human shield, firing rapidly, instantly clearing the surrounding hostiles.
From his appearance to his charge into the enemy formation, only seconds passed. Steve single-handedly tore through the entire outer defensive line, and was about to reach the core area.
"Kroenen, stop him!!" Rasputin shouted.
At his command, a figure wearing a bizarre gas mask and a black tactical suit vanished like a phantom, materializing at Steve's side.
His hands, constructed of metal, extended two half-meter-long blades from his wrists, and he spun, slashing at Steve's face!
Steve raised his shield to block, managing to deflect the attack, but the force sent him staggering back half a step. The two combatants clashed like lightning, the ordinary soldiers nearby unable to intervene.
"BLAM!"
A gunshot rang out in the distance.
Bucky Barnes, following behind, shot and killed a German soldier attempting to ambush Steve.
"Bucky, don't worry about me—destroy the device!" Steve roared.
Although it was unclear why Hitler had secretly deployed personnel to the Scottish coast to conduct this bizarre experiment, the sounds emanating from the blue portal were terrifying.
Hitler had sent elite forces this time, including Kroenen, the clockwork assassin, and several soldiers who had undergone experimental augmentation.
They were massive, clad in heavy armor, and like mobile fortresses, they wielded heavy machine guns, firing relentlessly and suppressing the Allied advance.
In fact, this tactical squad had always been centered around Steve, who used his superior physical capabilities to rapidly breach defenses, often catching the enemy completely off guard.
Now, with Steve tied down by Kroenen, without his breakthrough capability, the situation was difficult to improve quickly.
Just then, the roar of an aircraft filled the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a plane cutting through the rain.
"Backup has arrived!" Steve exclaimed with relief.
Flying in this torrential downpour was like dancing on a razor's edge. Mason had originally planned to deal with the other operatives sent by Schmidt first.
However, due to the weather, he had to change his insertion point, instructing the pilot to stay clear of lightning zones, and then leaped from the aircraft.
"This is the support you were talking about?" Bucky roared. "Just one guy?"
Steve was also stunned. In the previous communication, Peggy had confidently told him that powerful reinforcements had been dispatched...
Still clinging to hope, he glanced at the sky again.
In the pitch-black night sky, a figure plummeted rapidly toward the ground, while the aircraft above had already begun its return journey, moving away from the lightning zone.
This so-called powerful support really was just one person...
"CRACK!"
Just then, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire area as if it were broad daylight, and Steve could finally see the face of the figure in the sky.
"Ma... Ma..."
His tongue seemed tied in knots as memories of their first meeting flooded his mind. Steve had actually lost focus at the crucial moment of combat.
"CLANG!"
A devastating blow struck, and in his distraction, the shield slipped from his grasp. A flash of steel appeared in the darkness, aimed straight for Steve's throat!
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