The Quicksilver sacrifice event was in full swing at the Base.
If Darian hadn't set a rule beforehand that each person only had one shot per day, and could only fire one bullet each time, this research Base would probably have turned into a huge battlefield.
Even Wanda couldn't resist joining the activity, claiming it was all to help her older brother train. She then picked up a small pistol and launched an attack on Pietro.
However, her shooting skills were truly abysmal. A bullet aimed at his calf somehow flew towards Pietro's head. If Pietro hadn't reacted quickly, he would have almost been righteously eliminated by his own sister.
Wanda apologized profusely. What could Pietro do? Of course, he chose to forgive her.
To be honest, if he hadn't been forbidden from participating, he would have wanted to shoot himself a few times. After all, Darian's rewards were too generous; even the ordinary rewards were hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars. He had never seen so much money in his life.
Given Wanda's astonishing shooting skills, Darian ordered her to stop using firearms and instead attack Pietro with magic.
He felt that Wanda's bullets were far more dangerous than Chaos Magic.
On this decision, Pietro actually reached a consensus with Darian, raising both hands in approval.
However, after this period of special training, Pietro's growth was indeed visible to the naked eye.
Now, whenever he encountered danger, his body would instinctively activate his ability before his mind even registered what was happening.
Mind: What happened?
Body: Oh, no, superpowers, activate!
Now, ordinary firearms could hardly pose a threat to Pietro. Even when shot at close range, just a few meters away, bullets couldn't touch his clothes. He finally had a bit of a speedster's demeanor.
After easily dodging another sneak attack from a HYDRA member, Pietro darted in front of Darian, hands on his hips, a look of triumph on his face.
"See? I'm not the same as before; bullets can't hurt me at all!"
"Really?"
A golden Desert Eagle appeared out of thin air in Darian's hand, and he fired a shot at Pietro without hesitation.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out suddenly, and the bullet flew from the barrel!
Pietro instinctively activated his ability. In his eyes, the bullet instantly slowed down immensely. With a confident smile, he easily dodged sideways, watching the bullet slowly pass by his thigh.
"I told you, bullets can't hurt me! Ahhh! My leg! My supersonic flying leg!"
Pietro clutched his profusely bleeding thigh, writhing on the ground in pain, howling miserably.
"The bullet curved?"
Wanda, standing nearby, gasped.
Although her naked eyes couldn't see clearly, her omnipotent Chaos Magic could sense it. The moment Pietro dodged sideways, the bullet had automatically corrected its original trajectory, curving in mid-air to hit Pietro's thigh.
Wanda stared at Darian with wide eyes: "How did you do that?"
Darian explained seriously: "It's simple. The moment the bullet leaves the barrel, the wrist vibrates extremely quickly. This vibration gives the bullet a horizontal acceleration, thus forming a special curved trajectory. The faster the wrist vibrates, the greater the curve of the bullet!"
Wanda: "..."
I'm not well-read, don't lie to me!
Is this really plausible!?
In fact, Darian had actually activated his God of Death's Eye, giving the bullet an automatic lock-on function.
No matter how Pietro dodged, the bullet would relentlessly pursue him as if equipped with tracking navigation. Unless it was blocked or caught, it would never stop.
It was like an ADC's auto-attack in a game; even if the enemy hero teleported back to the Water Spring, the fired bullet would still chase them to the Water Spring until it hit the target.
For a speedster like Pietro, it was simply a natural counter.
Darian looked at Pietro, who was clutching his leg and wailing, and shook his head: "It seems your ability isn't skilled enough yet. Next, we'll begin the second phase of training. I'll have you locked in a confined space and continuously shot at."
"You must learn to block or catch all bullets until you can face Gatling gun fire."
Pietro: "???"
If you want me dead, just say so!
Strucker, the head of the research Base, was actually pleased with this activity.
In his view, Wanda and Pietro were both important assets of HYDRA. Training them into more powerful combatants would undoubtedly greatly enhance HYDRA's strength.
During this time, Strucker's experiments also gradually made some progress.
Darian knew he couldn't wait any longer.
That day, he returned to the headquarters of the Liberators Organization and issued an order to Zemo.
"Three days from now, launch a general attack on the capital, take down the palace in one fell swoop, and completely overthrow this corrupt regime!"
"Understood!"
Zemo nodded in acceptance of the order and immediately began to deploy, mobilizing Liberators Organization members from various regions.
Today, the Liberators Organization's prestige in Sokovia was soaring, truly achieving widespread recognition.
Walking through the city's streets and alleys, graffiti and flags supporting the Liberators Organization could be seen everywhere.
From street vendors to farmers in the fields, almost everyone longed to join this revolution to change the country's destiny, contributing their strength to liberate Sokovia.
Even many nobles sensed the shift in the wind and actively defected, voluntarily donating all their property, stating that they had long disliked the palace and would go through fire and water for the Liberators Organization, blah blah blah.
These shrewd nobles had clearly seen the situation: the Sokovian royal family's days were numbered, while the Liberators Organization was rising like the morning sun, unstoppable. To avoid future reckoning, they were eager to jump on this bandwagon.
Zemo was undoubtedly the best example. This former noble colleague now held a high position within the Liberators Organization and was highly valued.
Recalling how they used to secretly mock Zemo as a traitor to the noble class, these nobles now only felt regret, wishing they had seized the opportunity earlier like him.
For these nobles, Darian graciously accepted their property, but as for the people themselves, he declined.
Zemo had joined early, had no real dark history, and was also a smart man.
However, most of these nobles who followed suit had a long list of misdeeds. Their current defection was purely opportunistic and couldn't be compared with Zemo at all.
In addition, Darian also received a secret letter from the Sokovian royal family, revealing a desire for peace talks between the lines, which he directly ignored.
The atmosphere had been built up to this point; not fighting would be letting down so many spectators.
Three days later, the members of the Liberators Organization were assembled.
Darian ascended a high platform, looking at the neatly arrayed Liberators below, and cast a sound amplification magic on himself, his voice clearly reaching every corner.
"This land has been bound by chains for too long, and our people have suffered too much. But now, all of this will end today!"
"We will personally create a new era belonging to all Sokovians, an era without oppression!"
"For Sokovia, advance — on the palace!"
The short and powerful declaration was like igniting a fuse, and a deafening roar immediately erupted from below.
"For Sokovia!"
"For Sokovia!"
Amidst the impassioned shouts, the Liberators Organization's army, like a torrent, surged towards Novigrad, the capital of Sokovia.
The Sokovian royal family had long received intelligence and naturally wouldn't sit idly by. They had already arranged troops to set up heavy defenses inside and outside Novigrad, absolutely determined not to let the Liberators set foot inside.
Among them was Sokovia's most elite special forces unit, the very same team Zemo had once served in.
According to Zemo, every member of this unit was a hand-picked elite, well-equipped and well-trained, truly the royal family's last trump card.
However, even the most elite unit was ultimately composed of ordinary people.
In contrast, on the Liberators Organization's side, the Night Raid Squad, clad in alien tech equipment, and several Iron Soldiers with battle-damaged skins formed the vanguard. Various energy cannons and missiles flew everywhere, making it seem like some kind of interstellar war was being fought.
This was already considered the most normal part.
Max, wearing an electric rat mask, floated in mid-air, directly unleashing Water and Fire on his left and right, with the God of Thunder assisting him, electrocuting all the intercepting soldiers into his compatriots.
Equally formidable was Wanda, the novice magic user. She effortlessly used Chaos Magic to control a group of soldiers, making them act as guides, allowing the Liberators Organization to advance unimpeded towards the palace.
Within the enemy ranks, a silver blur moved at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. Soldiers in its path fell one after another, unable to even clearly see the person, let alone aim.
Upon hearing about the recent events in Sokovia, Pietro, like Wanda, unhesitatingly joined the Liberators Organization.
Putting everything else aside, this was an opportunity to have his name recorded in Sokovian history, and he certainly couldn't miss it.
Of course, in addition to these core members, there were tens of thousands of Liberators, all fully armed.
And as they advanced towards the palace, ordinary Sokovian citizens continuously joined in, carrying various firearms and weapons, many of which had been opened from wooden crates just days before.
It truly embodied the saying, 'A just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust cause finds little.'
Seeing such a luxurious and massive lineup on the opposing side, the morale of the royal soldiers collapsed.
How the hell were they supposed to fight this!?
At dawn, the mighty Liberator army had advanced to the outskirts of the palace, laying siege to the city.
On the palace's last line of defense, the royal family had gathered all their remaining troops, even bringing out their hidden tanks. They were clearly unwilling to surrender without a fight, wanting to make one last desperate struggle.
Darian stepped to the front of the line, looked at the royal army arrayed before him, and declared loudly: "Look behind you. Those noble monarchs are cowering in the castle, calculating how to preserve their wealth and lives."
"Now look in front of you. Standing here are the people of Sokovia, your compatriots. Think carefully about who you are fighting for!"
The soldiers exchanged glances, their hands clutching their guns trembling slightly, their faces etched with struggle.
Just then, a furious roar from a noble came through their communicators.
"Damn it! Open fire! Eliminate these traitors immediately!"
"Wanda."
At Darian's command, Wanda immediately understood.
She raised her hands, and crimson Chaos energy swirled within them, instantly enveloping a main battle tank in the distance.
Creak, creak!
Accompanied by a chilling sound of grinding metal.
Under the dumbfounded gaze of everyone, the tank, like a toy being disassembled by an invisible giant hand, had its cannon barrel twisted into an exaggerated pretzel shape, its thick armor plates peeled off layer by layer, and was finally torn into a pile of parts, stacked in front of the soldiers.
"Gulp!" xN
Sounds of swallowing echoed one after another from the defending positions.
The next second, the soldiers uniformly dropped their weapons, their movements so synchronized it was as if they had practiced countless times.
Although our side had precision strikes, the enemy had dimension-reducing strikes!
The two were simply not on the same level!
Not just them, even Darian was a little stunned.
He had only intended for Wanda to casually display some power to intimidate the enemy, but who knew Wanda would directly perform the act of tearing a tank apart with her bare hands.
Looking at the tank parts scattered everywhere, Darian's heart ached. If they took down the palace, these would all be his spoils of war!
Wanda, this wasteful woman!
Darian also hadn't expected that Wanda, who was usually a gentle and delicate girl, would be so fierce when she took action.
Could it be that Wanda, like Old Man, inherently had a bit of the 'grand showman' attribute in her genes, enjoying creating big spectacles?
"Wanda, come with me. Everyone else, wait here."
Darian led Wanda towards the palace.
Wherever they passed, the soldiers moved aside, instinctively parting to create an unobstructed path.
A thousand armies avoid the White Robe!
The palace gates were tightly shut, but that was nothing to Wanda. With a slight lift of her hands, crimson energy flowed, and the heavy palace doors were torn open like paper, revealing the resplendent halls behind.
Wanda was truly so useful!
Darian praised her from the bottom of his heart. Their steps did not falter in the slightest as they walked over the shattered door panels and into the depths of the palace.
The guards along the way retreated, not a single one daring to step forward to block them.
This was normal; anyone with a brain would do this, after all, who would dare to provoke someone who could tear a tank apart with their bare hands.
What's more, Wanda was clearly just Darian's subordinate.
If even his subordinate was this strong, then Darian, the leader, must be absolutely soaring!
Can't mess with them, can't mess with them!
Soon, Darian and Wanda found the puppet king cowering on the throne in the main hall, along with several influential Sokovian grand nobles who truly held power.
These once high-and-mighty power figures were now huddled together, trembling, their faces filled with terror as they looked at them.
"Two, two sirs, we can discuss terms." A fat noble stammered.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the palace hall, and the fat noble fell to the ground.
Under the horrified gazes of the nobles, Darian chuckled: "You think you're the Sorcerer Supreme, to negotiate terms with me?"
Hilarious. Only the weak negotiate terms. Why would the strong be willing to negotiate terms with the weak?
In Darian's eyes, the NPCs of this World were mainly divided into three levels.
One type was the Big BOSS level. With his current strength, he could only temporarily avoid their edge. If he could kneel, he would kneel; if he could run, he would run. It wouldn't be too late to come back and settle scores after his level increased and his equipment and items were updated.
Next were ordinary NPCs, whose strength was on par with his own. Even if he couldn't defeat them, he could easily leave, posing no substantial threat.
And the most numerous type were those randomly generated NPCs who purely served as background elements, like the pedestrians in Los Santos who were often carjacked or robbed by a certain mute. Their only value, presumably, was to test the power of newly acquired weapons.
In Darian's eyes, these nobles were similar to such NPCs.
You, a mere background character, dare to negotiate terms with me, the player?
Truly Big bold!