Ch.81 One vs. Three—That’s It?

Both sides stood there in a standoff.

However, the two sides were not in the same state of mind.

Ronan remained seated on the couch, legs crossed, looking completely relaxed.

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers and his team were on high alert, their minds racing as they tried to figure out how to get Nick Fury out of there safely.

By now, the entire building was surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

But Black Widow had a pessimistic outlook on whether they could capture the man in front of them.

She had witnessed his abilities—the way he suddenly appeared and vanished—they couldn't contain him.

Unless...

"It seems everyone's here."

"Let's skip the pleasantries and get started."

"I've got other things to do."

Ronan stood up from the couch, stretching leisurely in front of everyone.

He even went so far as to stretch his back, arms, and legs.

It looked extremely arrogant!

"Can we talk first?"

"After all, we did fight to protect Earth together before."

"But why have you come this time?"

Steve Rogers stepped forward, shielding the others behind him.

He had seen Ronan's combat prowess before, during the battle against the Chitauri. Back then, fighting alongside him was exhilarating.

But now, with them on opposing sides, Steve found Ronan far more challenging to deal with.

"I've already told him the reason."

"You poke into other people's secrets without knowing anything."

"The lesson you learned from the Tesseract wasn't enough, apparently."

"So, I'm here to make sure you learn properly this time."

Ronan rotated his neck, making no effort to hide his intent.

He came here to teach S.H.I.E.L.D. a painful lesson, to crush their ambitions and fantasies!

Steve Rogers glanced back, choosing to believe Ronan's words.

After all, Nick Fury had a pretty serious track record when it came to this sort of thing.

"I'm just trying to protect the safety of Earth."

Nick Fury scowled, justifying his actions.

"Hmph."

"You people know nothing and yet insist on placing yourselves on such high pedestals."

"You're nothing but..."

"Fools!"

The word "fools" hadn't even fully faded when Ronan suddenly charged forward.

Since the goal was to teach them a painful lesson, Ronan aimed to utterly overwhelm them where they were strongest!

There was no doubt—this time, Ronan only wanted to use hand-to-hand combat!

Steve Rogers was quick to react. As soon as Ronan rushed toward him, Steve hurled his shield.

Ronan ducked under the shield and, with a swift step, was right in front of Steve.

With his right fist clenched, it swung towards Steve's face with a gust of wind.

Bam!

Steve raised his arm to block, but the sharp pain in his forearm shocked him.

How was Ronan so strong?

But Ronan's assault didn't stop there.

Switching his right hand from a fist to a palm, Ronan grabbed Steve's forearm, spun halfway around, and slammed his elbow into Steve's chest.

The blow made Steve's face contort in pain.

Using the momentum, Ronan flipped Steve over his back, sending him flying.

Without even turning around, Ronan crouched, dodging several bullets fired from behind.

Black Widow, holding two guns, kept firing at Ronan.

She didn't seem concerned about the risk of ricochets.

Zigzagging through the bullets, Ronan closed the distance in an instant.

Pow!

Ronan punched Black Widow squarely in the chest, sending her flying into the wall.

Her back hit the wall hard, and she bounced off, crashing face-first into the floor with a dull thud.

Steve Rogers charged again, shield in hand, not giving Ronan any chance to rest.

However, Ronan's reaction speed once again exceeded Steve's expectations.

Leaping high into the air, Ronan dodged the shield strike and, in a flash, grabbed the edge of the shield with his left hand.

Then, with his right hand, he threw punch after punch at Steve.

Steve wasn't so easily beaten. Supporting the shield with his right hand, he raised it just in time, using all his strength to block the blows.

Ronan's relentless strikes barely made a dent in the vibranium shield.

Even under his near-full strength attacks, the shield only had a slight dent.

On the other hand, Ronan's hands were stinging from the impact against the shield.

"Tch!"

Ronan cursed under his breath, realizing that brute force wasn't working. He switched tactics, grabbing Steve's right arm with his right hand while sweeping Steve's legs with his left foot.

Steve spun in midair, as if accompanied by a sound effect.

Damn! Ignore it!

Just as the sound effect lasted barely a second, Ronan's kick landed squarely on Steve's chest, sending him flying back into the wall for another intimate encounter, followed by a face-first reunion with the floor.

In the next moment, Ronan turned halfway and caught an arrow mid-flight without even looking.

He tossed it in the direction of where Steve had landed without a second glance.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed through the office.

If Steve hadn't raised his shield in time, he would have been reduced to ashes by the blast.

Nick Fury, hiding in the corner, was stunned.

What kind of monster had he provoked?

In less than a minute, his two strongest agents had been thoroughly beaten.

And what's more, Ronan didn't even seem to be using any of the abilities he had demonstrated before.

Just how strong was this man?

Ronan bent his knees, launching himself onto the desk and springing off it again for a second leap.

Cries of pain echoed from the upper floor.

Moments later, Hawkeye, who had been hidden above, was thrown down into the office.

Ronan jumped back through the hole in the ceiling, casually dusting himself off.

It seemed he still needed to work harder.

After all, if fighting these weaklings had dirtied his clothes, that was definitely unacceptable!

"With this level of power, you dared to pry into other people's secrets?"

Ronan walked up to Nick Fury, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him to the center of the office.

By now, blood from Fury's leg wound had pooled on the floor.

Had he not hurriedly patched himself up while Ronan was fighting, Fury would have long passed out from blood loss.

Looking up at Ronan, towering over him, Nick Fury felt something he had never felt before—absolute despair.

Not even in the year he met that woman had he felt such fear.

For the first time, he realized there was someone on Earth this terrifying.