*Chapter 235: No Need to Use a Bull Knife to Kill a Chicken*

Having fought in the Battle of New York, Captain America’s performance wasn’t as impressive as the powerhouses like Thor, Kratos, Hulk, and Wonder Woman. Those were the heroes who tore apart Leviathans with their bare hands.

Captain America also couldn’t forget the extraordinary individuals who came to help during that fight. Among them were some fierce women allied with Kratos.

If the first two were considered comrades from previous battles, he was even more familiar with the one in white, known as Starlight.

Upon joining S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America had access to classified documents, including those about the destruction of Vought Tower. One of those reports labeled Starlight as missing after the Black Adam incident.

Who would have thought that not only was she alive, but she had also joined Kratos’ team?

At this moment, Captain America wore a confused expression and turned to Black Widow: "Nat?"

Black Widow shrugged. "I’m still with S.H.I.E.L.D., working for Director Fury. But with S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised to its core, collaborating with outsiders was our only choice."

There were some things she couldn’t explain to Cap.

When she learned about Nick Fury’s situation, she immediately called on Atreus. She had no choice. That man was just too powerful and useful. The fact that Nick’s strange predicament only proved Kratos’ decision to avoid joining S.H.I.E.L.D. was the right one. After all, the agency had been infiltrated to the bone, and entering it would only leave a stench on you.

More importantly, someone as powerful as Kratos, who could rip Leviathans apart, would have no interest in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Insight Plan and its three airborne battleships.

In terms of interest, Black Widow and the so-called “S.H.I.E.L.D. traitors” had no conflict with Kratos’ side.

Of course, Black Widow knew she was using Kratos’ strength. Being the smart woman she was, she didn’t even bother offering terms—when dealing with real gods, anything she could offer would be meaningless. At worst, she’d just play a few more games of billiards with Kratos.

It was almost laughable. These hidden enemies had spent who-knows-how-many years scheming for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarriers, yet to Kratos, those "treasures" were nothing more than toys.

In such an uneven power dynamic, Black Widow actually felt at ease borrowing Kratos’ strength.

There were many things she couldn’t say outright, so she merely commented, "It’s very likely Director Fury isn’t dead."

Cap’s eyes widened: "Really?"

"Kratos said he didn’t see Fury’s soul."

Cap’s cheek muscles twitched. Anything related to souls was out of his expertise. Still, this was the best news he had heard since the chaos began. "So what do we do now?"

"Did Nick give you anything? The enemies were probably after that, determined to kill him for it."

Cap opened his palm, revealing a military USB drive. It was the very one they recovered from the S.H.I.E.L.D. ship in the Indian Ocean.

Black Widow nodded. "First, let’s head to the safe house Kratos provided, see if we can figure something out, and then try to meet up with Nick’s people."

"How do you know who’s on Nick’s side?" Cap suddenly remembered the female agent who had burst into his apartment when Fury was ‘killed.’

Black Widow was momentarily at a loss. She wasn’t sure how to explain it, but now when she looked at people, anyone with a certain red aura was the enemy. "You’ll feel it. But Agent Hill is definitely trustworthy."

Unable to explain, she chalked it up to intuition.

Being a little cryptic felt kind of fun.

Maria Hill was well-known as one of Fury’s most loyal allies, so Cap nodded in agreement.

And so, they headed to the safe house.

In reality, the "safe house" was an industrial warehouse on the outskirts of New York, bought using someone’s financial power. There were plenty of places like that around the city. The owner had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to outfit the location with surveillance and security systems, as well as two escape routes for regular humans.

Meanwhile, Atreus himself was ‘watching’ everything unfold from a presidential suite at a hotel not far from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

Through his connection to souls, Atreus, as a god, could communicate with anyone he considered a follower. He could see through their eyes, hear what they heard, and even sense their innermost feelings.

To the outside world, Atreus was simply enjoying a glass of wine.

He set the glass down gently, and Helen, his assistant, took it away.

At that moment, a woman in a Ghost-Spider suit descended upside down from the ceiling on a web.

Gwen, without her mask, let her long hair dangle freely like a waterfall. She kissed Atreus on the cheek and asked, "You don’t need us to step in?"

"There’s no need to use a bull knife to kill a chicken," Atreus replied.

Gwen blinked, realizing he meant that those of her caliber didn’t need to get involved. Even when translated into English, the saying was still full of wisdom. She smiled wryly, "I really don’t know what kind of god you are. Greek? American? Or maybe Eastern?"

"Technically, I’m the God of War of the Olympian pantheon," Atreus said, even though he himself wasn’t fully convinced.

A God of War who frequently organized large-scale e-sports tournaments?

Honestly, if you measured by how seriously he took his divine duties, he should’ve been called the God of Slacking.

Atreus walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window and watched as police cars and helicopters buzzed about like headless flies. He could only laugh.

The grand events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier seemed like nothing more than a children’s game in his eyes.

As for the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, the so-called final boss of this saga? He was "strong," sure—at least strong enough to be a challenge for The Huntress.

Among the women in Atreus’s entourage, the strongest were the two Amazons, who were half-goddesses.

In the second tier was Gwen, who had been enhanced with red soul power. Even without her webs, her body was four times stronger than a peak human’s. She could easily survive a hundred-meter fall. She was like a more agile, web-slinging version of Captain America. Cap wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

Next were the Canary sisters and Catwoman. Already skilled in combat, they were now physically on par with Captain America thanks to their enhancements.

In the lowest tier were The Huntress and the others. Atreus hadn’t "touched" them, but since they were with him, he had still granted them the highest level of red soul enhancement without physical contact. This gave them about double the strength of a regular human.

Let’s not forget, Captain America was someone who could leap from a plane at a hundred meters and land in water unscathed. For a normal person, even a 50-meter fall into water could be fatal if they didn’t land perfectly, as the surface of the water would be as hard as concrete.

As for Black Widow, the woman who had played a "friendly match" with Atreus, she was now slightly stronger than The Huntress. That was more than generous.

Atreus gazed at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in the distance. "I’m curious whether Hydra can spark a real war."

(End of Chapter)