A moment later, heaven and earth regained clarity.
Under the washing of the drizzling rain, the vast smoke, dust, mud, and sand that had been raised dispersed.
Peggy suddenly felt her ankle being grabbed by a hand, like closed refined-steel tongs that were difficult to break free from. Five fingers squeezed until the bones in her foot hurt incomparably. As her heart was shocked, she lowered her head to look.
"With just this little power, you want to kill me?!"
Hive's ferocious face poked out from beneath the mud and sand, and his five fingers suddenly clenched with force.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The almost chilling sound of bones shattering rang out together with Peggy's scream.
Large beads of cold sweat covered her forehead. A vicious look flashed in Peggy's eyes. She actually endured the intense pain of the bones in her right foot shattering, raised her intact left foot, activated the ability of "Dirty Boots," and blasted toward Hive's cheek like a heavy cannon.
Pain awakened Peggy's ferocity. This agent who founded S.H.I.E.L.D. chose a fighting method that was almost exchanging injury for injury.
She would not stop unless she bit off a piece of flesh from him even if she died!
Bang!
Hive clearly had not expected that Peggy could still resist under this situation.
After being stained with blood, "Dirty Boots" erupted with power that rose to another level. Hive hastily raised his hand and tried to block, but at the instant of collision, fierce and unmatched immense force poured down like a mountain flood.
As if struck by heavy artillery, his entire arm was crushed into pieces.
Tens of thousands of parasites were exterminated. Even Hive felt extremely pained, and this stirred his anger even more. Grabbing Peggy's ankle, he swung hard and directly threw her entire body out!
Peggy spun more than a dozen times in midair and smashed heavily onto the ground, groaning as she spat out hot blood.
Her entire body felt as if it had been run over by a car. There was not a single inch of bone or muscle that was not wailing, especially her right foot, whose bones had completely shattered. The broken bones pierced through the surface skin, and blood kept flowing out, dyeing a large patch of nearby ground red.
Peggy staggered to her feet, breathing the air in large gulps, barely able to remain standing on one foot.
Her swaying figure looked so frail, as if a slight breeze could blow her down.
"You only have one leg left, and you can't even stand steady. Let's see how you run now." Hive mocked coldly.
"One leg..... is enough."
Peggy controlled the rhythm of her breathing, determination flashing in her eyes as she slowly said, "Even if I only have one breath left, I will kick your head apart!"
"With just you?"
Hive's gaze drifted toward Yvette, as if searching for an opening, but when he saw Howard, a trace of gloom flashed through his eyes. "My dear mother, you really are cruel enough. You actually watch helplessly as your friends come to die."
Yvette remained silent, while Howard became somewhat anxious instead.
Looking at Howard's anxious expression, Hive narrowed his long and narrow eyes, and a sinister plan surfaced in his mind.
"Since you insist on seeking death, I will grant it." Hive moved his limbs, crouching down like a beast, killing intent filling his eyes as he released a cold and sharp aura.
Peggy raised her vigilance to the extreme, her only remaining left foot sinking half an inch into the mud, and power spread little by little along her spine.
Bang!
Almost at the same time, two violent figures collided in the rain curtain.
A low thunder-like boom erupted when their fists and feet collided, raising layers of waves that struck the void and rain curtain.
The spiritual power erupting from their exchange was like a rising tide, shaking the surrounding atmosphere and drizzling rain. Rolling gales shot out in all directions, and even Howard, despite being dozens of meters away, was blown back several steps.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a flash of lightning and fire, the two collided dozens of times in succession!
With the area where the two fought as the center, violent air waves spread and wreaked havoc. Mud flew in all directions, turf was uprooted, and broken stones shot through the air with whistling sounds. Amid the piercing howls were dull sounds of flesh colliding, continuing endlessly for a time.
Although Peggy was a woman, she displayed astonishing willpower.
Within the tiny space of Hive's frenzied bombardment, she seemed to show no signs of injury at all, moving and shifting repeatedly to escape the tiger's mouth. Every moment, she wandered along the line of death, and from time to time, she could even find an opening to counterattack.
In just a few instants, the ground within dozens of meters had been completely plowed over by the battle between the two.
Crisscrossing cracks spread out like a giant spiderweb.
"Your technique... still isn't complete?"
Watching the battle fall into a stalemate, Howard could not help becoming somewhat anxious and turned to ask the woman beside him.
Yvette seemed not to have heard Howard's voice. The fierce, heated battle did not affect her either. Holding that exquisite silver pocket watch, her beautiful eyes, like a deep blue lake, focused intently on the moving hands of the pocket watch.
At this instant, Peggy finally ran out of stamina and revealed a huge opening.
"Let's see where you can run now!" Hive let out a roar, and his voice, infused with spiritual power, shook the atmosphere like a thunderstorm. Peggy, who was closest, was directly shaken until she grew dizzy.
A supremely violent punch landed on Peggy's chest.
"Pfft——!"
Peggy raised her head and sprayed out an arrow of blood, mixed with fragments of her internal organs, while her sternum shattered with crackling sounds.
"I won't let you die so easily. I will make you my slave!" Hive laughed ferociously, one hand gripping Peggy's neck, while the amber vertical pupil between his brows surged with eerie purple spiritual power. "I want you to watch with your own eyes how your body kills your companions!"
"The World Between Gaps!"
Howard could no longer sit still. He rushed toward Hive, clapping his palms together.
By means of the action condition of pressing both palms together, a vertical light-blue wall of light shot out, successfully arriving before the purple beam and enveloping Peggy within.
"Success!" Howard felt joy in his heart, happy that he had saved Peggy.
However, the joy did not last long. Howard's heart suddenly went cold, because he saw Hive's face reveal a smile full of mockery, the smile of a scheme succeeding.
"I was waiting for you, Howard Stark!"
Hive sneered, and the muscles on his back split open as an amber vertical pupil suddenly appeared.
"Not good! This is a trap!" Howard's pupils shrank. He realized he had fallen for it. From beginning to end, Hive's target had not been the already crippled Peggy, but him, this support member!
"You want to run only now? It's already too late!" As Hive's voice fell, a purple beam shot out.
Buzz!
A black eyeball symbol was imprinted on Howard's forehead.
Once branded with the domination mark, it meant that this body part would be under Hive's absolute domination.
And if the brain was branded, then Hive could dominate the entire person.
Peggy, who was almost about to faint, showed despair on her face after seeing this scene and could not help spitting out another mouthful of blood.
Howard's importance was second only to Yvette.
Because only he could protect Yvette, but now, this layer of absolute protection had already been destroyed by Hive.
Yvette, while in the state of performing the technique, was equivalent to a person with no ability to resist.
"The annoying trash has been cleaned up."
Hive threw Peggy aside as if tossing out garbage, his eyes burning as he stared at Yvette. "Now it's just the two of us left, my dear mother. Are you ready to merge with me and become a true god?"