Chapter 2171: Battle of the Twin Cities! (11)_1

Thanks to Hydra Doctor, also known as Shiller, Nick had a larger space to operate when dealing with Hydra.

The two of them, one the head of Hydra across the Americas and another the head of Hydra's New York State Area, infiltrated from within. Others might dive deep into enemy territory to achieve their goals; these two danced a complicated strategy right within the lion's den.

This gave Nick a broader perspective in dealing with Hydra. Before, it was a half-fight, half-use approach, but later it became a complete "capture the strong" strategy.

At least for now, 99% of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the Central Universe belong to Hydra, the remaining 1% are Natasha and Coulson. Even Hill was transferred to the Sky Sword Bureau by him.

But as discovered during Adam's code fixing, this bug-ridden S.H.I.E.L.D. surprisingly functions because of these bugs. For the public, who don't know the truth, what Nick Fury has done is far better than Pierce.

During Pierce's reign, he knew he was Hydra, which inevitably made him guilty. To safeguard Hydra's interests, he dragged S.H.I.E.L.D.'s affairs whenever possible, and where that wasn't possible, he tried to sell out to Hydra.

But after Nick took over, he gave all the benefits to Hydra, causing Hydra to work day and night, pouring their hearts out for these astonishing benefits. After Hydra received the benefits, Nick would figure out ways from within Hydra to launder these to his own vault and then pour them back to S.H.I.E.L.D., forming a perfect cycle.

This has made S.H.I.E.L.D. operate at a speed more than ten times faster. Pierce stole good meat from the cow-killing process to feed Hydra, whereas Nick simply made it: whoever takes more gets more. How could Hydra agents resist that?

During Pierce's reign, the Hydra agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. were just hungry fledglings, entirely dependent on the top brass to steal resources. These resources were so scarce that agents couldn't make a move but had to hand them all over to the Hydra Organization.

During Nick's reign, the Hydra agents were ferocious wolf cubs. The resources they got from a mission completely depended on their abilities: whatever extra they got was all theirs. Their teeth grew sharper, and they became stronger, turning S.H.I.E.L.D. full of elite troops.

Having played this hand skillfully, Nick understood how to use Hydra. These folks, weary of poverty, wouldn't miss any opportunity to score over S.H.I.E.L.D. or over S.H.I.E.L.D. Director.

Now that they got such an opportunity, they wouldn't miss the chance to strike first using the intelligence they received during the power shuffle caused by the merging of two Earths, would they?

Hydra sprang into action.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. in this universe got a late start. There were constant conflicts between its special agents and superhero teams, and many people were sacrificed in the wars year after year. They didn't have enough people for an all-city search, but Hydra did.

Most of the disasters they experienced in New York saw Hydra keeping itself safe; they didn't have the heroism to save the world so they still had a lot of manpower.

Also, being a villainous organization, they didn't have any moral burdens. They would use any means to get the information they wanted, including but not limited to kidnapping, physical threats, interrogation, and theft.

It's well known that as long as you give up morals, doing something without any limits will be far more efficient than you can imagine.

About two hours had passed, and Hydra had connected all the places where Barbara had appeared into a line. The conclusion was that she was staying in slums, underground, the more secluded, the better.

When Hiteville, a backbone of Hydra in S.H.I.E.L.D., received this news, he felt puzzled. The person was running for their lives, hiding, and it doesn't seem to be Kingpin's style.

Moreover, Kingpin not only ruled over New York's underworld but almost controlled the entire East Coast. If he wanted to hide, he could have just moved Barbara away. Both S.H.I.E.L.D. and other organizations don't have such strong influence outside New York. He could have just dumped the hostage anywhere, and they wouldn't find her even if given a year.

While searching, Hydra realized something was wrong.

As they wandered around in the markets, there were others, sneaking around just like them. While sneaking, both parties ended up in the same place.

Hydra caught a tongue, only to find that the person was mighty and seemed not to feel pain. It seemed to be a modified person. Hiteville felt the person was no ordinary man. So, he asked his men to take the captives to the Hydra secret base beneath Hudson for interrogation. He even went there himself.

The person tied to the interrogation chair was dressed in a black uniform, with sunglasses that resembled the eyes of some owls. They called themselves "Talons".

Hydra quickly inferred from the talons that they were actually mass-trained assassins from a mysterious organization, coming from Gotham, the city that merged with New York.

More information couldn't be extracted. These people were merciless assassins who had been thoroughly brainwashed. No matter how much pain or what drugs were used, they wouldn't spill a word.

But Hydra began to focus on Talon, because Hiteville instinctively felt that this mysterious organization was profitable.

But at this point, Hydra's disadvantage came into play. They could roll and tumble in small alleys, disguised in various roles to dig for information, or even covertly use some extreme methods, but they didn't have an official status.

Hydra was a universally condemned criminal organization. If they claimed that there was a criminal organization hiding in the dark side of the city, no one would believe it. It would be like a thief crying 'stop thief.'

But Hiteville was smart. He knew that at this point, his placing within S.H.I.E.L.D. came into play, and the two-faced Hydra agents instantly turned into S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"Boss, bad news." The proficient young female agent pressed her earpiece, looking up at Coulson, "Artificial organization traces were found behind multiple supernatural crimes in the city, someone is controlling these superpower criminals."

Coulson's brow furrowed immediately, he grabbed his walkie-talkie to report to Nick. Upon hearing the news, Nick knew Hydra was muddying the waters again.

However, Nick quickly realized the purpose behind Hydra's actions, as Hiteville boldly released a Talon that encountered Natasha, who was on her way to find Captain America. Natasha, with Hawkeye and the Bionic Bird, captured the Talon.

Nick immediately knew that Hydra had clashed with the Court of Owls, and was contemplating taking a bite out of the Owls under the guise of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Of course, Nick went according to plan, but he didn't just want a piece of the Owl, he wanted more. Having communicated with various characters from Battleworld and Gotham, Nick knew that this mysterious bird hidden in the dark parts of Gotham was fat and juicy.

S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately issued a global arrest warrant and, utilizing several New York television stations, broadcasted to the citizens of New City to be on the lookout for signs of the Court of Owls' assassin activities. They were asked to provide any clues to S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately.

As it is widely known, the members of the Court of Owls consist of the rich people of Gotham, even the shareholders of Wayne Enterprises and various big companies, as well as influential politicians in Gotham.

The saying goes 'A worm will turn,' if the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Central Intelligence Agency issued this arrest warrant, they would not be able to handle these local snakes of Gotham.

Unfortunately, two snakes can't dwell in the same hole. The Court of Owls in Gotham wanted to be the local head snake, but it also has to consider whether the post-WWII Hydra would agree or not.

Nick played his trump card again, pretending he couldn't handle it, relegated all the authority to go after the Court of Owls to Hiteville, but accidentally leaked the info Natasha collected from deep within enemy's den about the Court of Owls and his own deductions regarding the true identity of the Court's members to Hiteville.

Hiteville looked at the information and thought, we've been hiding for so many years, had to hang onto S.H.I.E.L.D. to get a taste of blood, but you've taken over a city and done as you pleased, how much wealth must you have accumulated over the years?

Then one thought crossed Hiteville's mind, "I can take their place."

Suddenly, calls for "Helada" filled the New City. Faced with such temptation, every Hydra in New York, from top to bottom, went crazy. This piece of cake was so big that even if they had to give up 90% of it, the remaining 10% was still more than enough, even if they could get 1% more, it would be enough to generate wealth for another generation.

On the other hand, during the merging of the two Earths, the Court of Owls was busy looking for Bruce Wayne.

Apart from Wayne being the most important chairman of Wayne Enterprises, his disappearance may affect investor confidence. For the Court of Owls, Batman also had special significance, so they could not afford to lose him.

This led to their delayed response. It took them more than two hours to remember to send assassins to check on what was happening after the cities were merged.

It could only be said that the first generation of local snakes were heroes, but each subsequent generation was less impressive. Obviously, just guarding their own territory couldn't promote any growth and when everyone started getting used to a comfortable and laid-back life, what capabilities could they possibly have to deal with a pack of hungry wolves?

In the beginning of the street fight, the ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were just as skilled as the Hydra agents were indeed being beaten by the Talons sent by the Court of Owls. The initial confrontation was nearly a one-sided slaughter.

When Hiteville started to use the equipment from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s warehouse, he was a bit uneasy, but after taking two batches, he noticed that the once alert King of Special Agents was now like a blind man, only busy sending people to chase the evil Iron Man.

He took advantage of this opportunity and took a few more trips, filled his own small gold vault, and armed the Hydra agents to the teeth. This equipment allowed the Hydra agents to make a comeback.

Even so, they still couldn't beat the genetically modified Talons. The losses of the Hydra agents were heavy. Even though a lot of funds and equipment were obtained, Hiteville still felt a heart-wrenching pain.

This was not going to work, he knew very well. If his own base was wiped out, what use was fighting this battle?

Hiteville gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, "Open the doors, let the Germans in! After crossing the border, the NAZI remnants will handle it for me!"

He directly released the information about the Court of Owls, and several barons, Lady Hydra, Red Skull and other Hydra remnants scattered around the world immediately rushed to action. The eighteen overlords departed in full force.

For these Hydra remnants, the biggest attraction was that they really needed a home base.

Ever since Little Mustache's defeat, the majority of Hydra members have been in exile. Germany is one of their main bases, but such a small country can hardly accommodate so many villains, leading to high survival pressure.

Other European countries have their own local snakes, in addition to superheroes. The factions within Germany are not united, and anyone who ventures out alone is only asking for a beating.

But the situation in Gotham gave them hope. They thought, why should the Court of Owls, another bunch of rats, be able to secretly control a large city? In other words, if they can do it, why can't we?

No one was more easily enticed by the smell of blood than these hungry hyenas. The major snakeheads teamed up and came. Overnight, the Owls were nearly plucked clean, left as bald as chickens.