Chapter 232. Smile (Part2)

In the face of Steve's command, Bucky refused without thinking. He raised his gun and shot at the Hydra soldiers. He turned his head and looked at the other team members beside him, "We're with you all the way!"

"That's right."

"Absolutely."

The team members behind them echoed affirmatively.

Faced with the unrelenting support of the group, Steve's heart couldn't help but feel touched. However, as he gritted his teeth and resisted the light beams, he failed to notice that one of the members of the team behind him had somehow disappeared.

...

Dio stood calmly on the second floor, looking down at the situation below.

An odd smile appeared on Dio's face as his eyes swept over the "Johann Schmidt" figure.

Actually, from the moment he entered the base, he had swapped his card with the [Dio Brando] card to become a real vampire.

It was for this reason that he was able to detect the peculiarity of the "Johann Schmidt" below. Although he appeared to be the same person as the Red Skull, they had seen earlier; his vampire senses clearly told him that this "Johann Schmidt" was the white-bearded old man he had transformed in Tønsberg.

Not only did he not die in the explosion at that base earlier, but Hydra also used some kind of method to not only control him but transform his appearance to look like Red Skull.

While Dio was thinking on the second floor, below, Steve used his shield to deflect the rays and leapt over to "Johann-Schmidt".

Behind him, Bucky and the others ducked behind some cover and kept firing to support Steve.

"Schmidt!"

Steve swung his shield. The shield slammed into "Johann Schmidt's" body, sending him flying backwards like a cannonball, overwhelming a large number of soldiers.

However, it was clear that Steve's attack wasn't fatal to "Johann Schmidt", or should we say, the vampire. Standing up and staring at Steve, the vampire opened his mouth and hissed at him. In the next instant, he appeared in front of Steve, swinging his arm towards him and grabbing him.

Theoretically, the vampire clearly had an advantage over the real Johann Schmidt when it came to fighting.

Unfortunately, he was going up against Steve, who had gradually adapted to the power of his serum and was holding a vibranium shield that cancelled out the force of most impacts. Steve was able to parry the vampire's attack, even if he thought it was terrifying.

However, although these attacks were perfectly blocked, Steve still carried a puzzled expression.

There seemed to be something different between the "Johann Schmidt" in front of him and the one he had met before.

Although there were some doubts in his heart, the situation didn't give Steve much time to think. With his arms moving, Steve used his shield to lean forward and block all of "Johann Schmidt's" attacks, followed by a crouching sidekick that struck the vampire's left leg.

Crack --

With a noticeable crack, the vampire's left leg was bent 60 degrees backward under Steve's powerful attack.

With a loud snarl escaping his lips, "Johann Schmidt" didn't go down with a scream as Steve had expected. The vampire's eyes started to emit a green glow, and he immediately started running on his hands and knees. He switched targets and leapt towards Bucky and the others, who were still standing behind Steve.

"What the...?!"

Seeing the situation, Steve was shocked. He quickly turned around and ran towards the vampire.

However, it was obvious that the Hydra soldiers wouldn't let him follow.

In the next instant, a torrent of rays was aimed at Steve's location, forcing him to raise his shield in defence.

Bang bang bang bang --

With their guns raised, Bucky and the others kept firing at the charging "Johann Schmidt" in an attempt to stop his attack.

However, "Johann Schmidt" didn't dodge the bullets that rained down on him, letting them strike his body.

"Damn it!"

Seeing that the bullets had no effect on "Johann Schmidt", Bucky cursed.

"Johann Schmidt's" behaviour reminded him of his previous encounter with the undead army, but it was clear that "Johann Schmidt" had demonstrated a power that was even more frightening than that of the vampire soldiers.

Bang --

The attack from "Johann Schmidt" was about to strike Bucky. With the power it displayed, it would certainly be a massacre for the team.

Off to the side, with a dull crash, a figure in a Hydra uniform smashed to the ground, with blood flowing all over the floor.

It was at this point that "Johann Schmidt" stopped his movements.

'Sure enough...'

At the sight of the scene, Dio's face, hiding in the shadows of the second floor, expressed his realisation.

He had wondered what method Hydra used to control the vampires earlier, so he searched the base and found an odd figure in a secluded area on the first floor. He tackled the other party and succeeded in removing their control over the vampires.

Of course, Dio didn't do it to rescue Bucky and the others, it was purely to ...

Below, with a single thought from Dio, the vampire that had stopped moving lunged forward a second time. He directly pounced on the group of people.

"Poof!"

The vampire's sharp nails pierced through Jim's chest like a razor-sharp blade, and in the next second, a massive amount of blood stained his arm a bright shade of red.

"Jim!" Steve let out a miserable shout, throwing out the shield he was holding; he brought down all the Hydra soldiers across the room.

"Ah ~~~"

With a cry of rage on their lips, the team turned their fire on "Johann Schmidt". The bullets poured out, shooting the vampire's body full of holes.

Jim looked up at the roof of the base, the gleam in his eyes fading. But, his attention went to a figure on the second floor, and he muttered the words, "Dio, Dio, Dio ..."

He saw that Dio, standing on the second floor, held a pale mask in his hand. A grin that no one had ever seen before spread across his cold face.

Like an evil demon in a game.