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 b, 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-py progress to drop into the ive, Reid wasn't naive enough to spare the Winter Soldier just for the sake of a few role-py points. After all, the Winter Soldier was now uhe trol of Hydra, and Reid couldn't afford to let him live, especially when his own survival was at stake.

  Role-py points could be earned back, but if he died, that was it. The damned system had no resurre fun for the host.

  Faced with Reid's direct threat, the Winter Soldier was forced to abandon his pn to tinue using ratacks. After quickly releasing the magazih his left hand, he raised his metal arm in front of his face to block the ining rapier strike.

  The collisioween the rapier and the metal arm created a spark, but it failed to inflibsp;any damage on the Winter Soldier's cyberic limb.

  When the first strike didn't nd, Reed followed Alfred's bat teiques without hesitation. He didn't allow the Winter Soldier the bsp;to grab his rapier with the metal arm. Instead, he swiftly retracted the rapier, sending it through the air in a graceful arc before redireg it to strike at the Winter Soldier's thigh.

  g!!

  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 terattack.

  k! k!

  The sound of metal oal rang out incessantly. In just a few seds, Reid and the Winter Soldier had exged several brutal blows.

  But as Reid had anticipated from the start, things weren't going in his favor.

  Alfred was certainly strohan an average person, and his bat 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 sbsp;maintained his youth and strength as a super-soldier.

  The Winter Soldier's boundless stamina and his powerful, nearly iructible metal arm left Reid feeling overwhelmed.

  "Ho... Howard…"

  Iark'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 fort 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 was how he could help this stranger.

  Though he wasn't skilled in bat, Howard khe differeween a super soldier and an ordinary human. Even if the elderly gentleman had impressive bat 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 blog another of the Winter Soldier's powerful puhe hand holding the rapier began to tremble slightly.

  Reid's stamina was running low, and uhe stant pressure from his oppo, he was barely managing to maintain his grip on the rapier.

  Finally, after blog 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, searg for any opportunity to strike back. And that's wheiced Howard Stark quietly approag 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 plexity and had never delved into the details of Howard's life, particurly the events following World War II leading to his death.

  But Reid did uand ohing: Howard Stark was a genius on par with his son, Tony. If this man was sneaking around, there had to be a pn in mind.

  Realizing this, Reid wasted no time. Using every ounce of his strength, he unched himself off the ground and threunch 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 uhe 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 ior 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 Reed's heart, Howard made his move. He swiftly reached out, pg a strange device against the Winter Soldier's ear and activating it.

  A shrill, pierg soued from the device, a sound so loud and intehat 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 colpse 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 unfling just moments before, now faltered. The ditioning and mind trol that kept him focused on his mission began to crader the intense waves of sound. With his mental state slipping, the Winter Soldier ceased fog on his target and the wito the attack. Instead, he bolted toward the roadside bushes and disappeared from sight.

  However, just because the Winter Soldier had left, it didn't meahing was over.

  Howard, who was also not far from the ultrasonic device, colpsed to the ground in immense pain. Even with his hands pressed to his ears, he couldn't stop the sound waves from peing. Already injured, his breathing grew weaker, and if this tihe pyboy who had survived since World War II would die on this desote, unremarkable road.

  Smack!

  Just as Howard was struggling to breathe, Reid spped the ultrasonic device, shattering it into pieces.

  Huff... huff... huff...!!

  With the sound waves stopped, Howard gasped for air, ging to the st 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 dition wasn't much better. The same sound waves that had caused the Winter Soldier to lose trol were also fatal to him.

  Blood was still trig from his ears. He had been just moments away from losing his hearing pletely.

  'I 't take such risks again.' Reid thought.

  Supp Howard, he slowly made his way toward the Stark car, as that was Howard's wish—he o che his gravely injured wife, Maria.

  Meanwhile, Reid opehe system panel that only he could see.

  His "Alfred" role-pying progress had risen from 1% to 15%.

  "Only a 14% increase?"

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