The silver "Giant" put immense psychological pressure on Logan.
After all, anyone would feel the weight of a "land tank" barreling toward them.
But he wasn't in despair yet. Logan had faced countless desperate situations in his life, and he had carved a path through every single one with sheer willpower.
He believed this time would be no different.
"Who are you?"
Logan wasn't stupid enough to go head-to-head. He spoke to disrupt the enemy's rhythm while using the lab equipment as cover to dodge.
But the silver giant didn't answer. Relying on its massive frame, it simply charged through everything.
"Crash... Boom...!"
Ichirō Yashida, in his desperate craving for immortality, didn't care about the expensive, high-tech precision instruments he was smashing to bits.
In his eyes, as long as he could prolong his life, destroying the entire institute was a price worth paying.
"You're awfully clumsy. Guess you haven't mastered that suit yet, have you?"
Logan dodged with relative ease, noticing the silver "Giant" had terrible agility.
"You wouldn't happen to be Yashida, would you?"
Logan's guess hit the mark.
Perhaps because the enemy was too slippery, Yashida stopped the pointless game of cat and mouse.
Because he was so old, despite the power-assisted functions of the armor, a few minutes of chasing had already drained half his strength.
Yashida flipped open the metal faceplate, revealing his wizened, aged face. He spoke in a low, gravelly voice:
"Logan, you once saved my life. Why can't you save it one more time?"
"If you give me your power, not only will I live, but the Yashida family will march toward greatness under my leadership for generations."
"So, for the sake of the family's greatness, I have to ask you to die!"
After spouting that shameless logic, Logan realized Yashida's focus was actually behind him.
"Whoosh!"
A stream of dark green liquid shot toward Logan from a tricky angle.
At the critical second.
Relying on his years of combat instinct, Logan dropped into a crouch and performed a perfect tactical roll.
Barely dodging the green fluid, Logan rolled to the side.
He saw the wall hit by the liquid begin to hiss and smoke, corroded like it had been hit by concentrated sulfuric acid, leaving a half-meter wide hole.
"Logan, it is my pleasure to introduce my partner, Madame Hydra."
Seeing Viper make her move, Yashida felt Logan was cornered. He was in a great mood as he made the introduction.
Viper hadn't come alone; she had brought fifty elite ninjas from The Hand and a hundred fully armed Hydra agents.
Logan's strength had declined severely after the long battle.
Yashida couldn't see any way he could possibly lose.
Even surrounded by enemies, Logan spoke without a hint of fear:
"Who the hell is this Viper bitch? Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is showing off their names these days!"
Viper wasn't angry at Logan's sharp tongue at all. Instead, she let out a cackling laugh.
"The great Wolverine, and now you're about to become just another corpse at my feet."
"If your strength were even half as tough as your mouth, you wouldn't be in this predicament."
Logan offered a mysterious smile. With his backer nearby, support could arrive at any moment.
Not only was he not panicking, but he actually started trading insults back and forth with Viper.
"Old hag, your face muscles look all fucked up. You had plastic surgery or something? Or did your mother just forget to give you a face when she shat you out?"
"Fuxx...! Sharp words won't save you. Once you're in my hands, you'll wish for death!"
"I won't let you die easily. I'll make you taste every horror and agony this world has to offer..."
"Haha, did I strike a nerve, old bag? Anyone can talk big. The question is, do you have the power to back it up?"
"Everyone, attack! A million-dollar bonus to whoever brings him in alive!"
"Tsk tsk. Poor people shouldn't try to issue bounties. Anyone on the other side who defects right now gets ten million dollars each!"
"What are you looking at? Get him! Tear that filthy mouth off his face!!"
After the verbal sparring, the battle was ready to erupt.
Logan had enjoyed the insults, but facing a horde of enemies, he immediately turned to run.
A strategic retreat was nothing to be ashamed of.
Harvey, having watched the show from the shadows for long enough, knew it was time to step in.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
In that instant, the charging ninjas and Hydra agents, as well as Yashida in his silver armor and Viper, all seemed to be frozen in time.
They were stuck in place, unable to move a muscle.
Yashida stared in shock at Logan, who was still free to move, and at Harvey as he deactivated his invisibility.
"Master Harvey, surely you don't intend to break our agreement?"
Viper's gaze was heavy as she stared at the sudden arrival.
"You're that sorcerer from the rumors? To think you'd dare obstruct Hydra's restoration. I advise you to..."
Harvey interrupted impatiently, "Alright, cut the crap. I'm only going to say this once. Do you want to live or die?"
"Hand over the Serpent Crown of Set and you live. Otherwise, you all die right here!"
Yashida was panicking inside. "What Serpent Crown? I've never heard of it."
But he was bound by an invisible force and couldn't even attempt to flee.
Hearing that Harvey's target was the Serpent Crown, Viper thought she had found his weakness. She lifted her head arrogantly and said with a sinister tone:
"You want the Serpent Crown? Then you must first release me and kneel as my slave. Only then might I consider it."
Viper believed she had Harvey right where she wanted him.
In reality, Harvey laughed so hard tears almost came to his eyes.
"No wonder Hydra can never get anything done. With an idiot leader like you, I won't even have to lift a finger; Hydra will destroy itself through your stupidity eventually."
"You think I'm negotiating with you? Why don't you open your eyes and look at your current situation? Where do you get the balls to talk terms with me?"
"Kneel as your slave?"
"I don't think I need to talk to a moron like you anymore!"
With that, Harvey flicked his wand repeatedly. He first used Sectumsempra to wipe out the ninja and Hydra trash.
Then, he cast the Cruciatus Curse on the delusional Viper.
As the red light hit her, she felt an agonizing pain erupting from the very marrow of her bones, spreading through her entire body.
"Heee—Aaargh!"
Viper's blood-curdling screams were enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Beside her, Yashida hurriedly lowered his head to hide, terrified he would be next.
A minute passed.
"Heee—Aaargh!"
The screaming continued.
Five minutes passed.
The screaming grew weaker, only because Viper's vocal cords were shredded from the effort.