Chapter 239: The Battle for the Triskelion

"This base doesn’t need to exist anymore!"

George had secured the Tesseract, eliminated Dr. Zola, and acquired all the data stored by the scientist. This mission had already exceeded expectations.

Now, it was time to wrap things up.

“Explosive Blast!”

Hovering above the Hydra base, George waved his wand, unleashing one explosive spell after another.

The explosive power of a standard adult wizard could destroy multiple houses, while a wizard of higher caliber, like Peter Pettigrew, could flatten an entire street.

George, having practiced extensively, was above the level of an average adult wizard, though still below the elite level of someone like Pettigrew.

However, thanks to his wand’s amplification—boosting his spells by more than twentyfold—the destructive power had reached that of a top-tier wizard, yielding impressive results.

With just a few explosive spells, the entire Hydra base was reduced to rubble.

As he left the island, George intercepted Hydra’s ship transporting energy weapons. He seized all the weapons and left the ship, along with its crew of Hydra soldiers, to feed the fish.

“Let’s check out Washington.”

Originally, George thought that with Captain America, Wolverine, the Hulk, Winter Soldier, and Coulson’s team working together, dealing with Pierce wouldn’t be an issue.

After all, in the movie, Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow resolved the situation on their own.

But according to the intelligence obtained from Zola, Hydra had sent a large number of robots to assist, and Pierce might even have superpowered allies, akin to Absorbing Man.

To play it safe, George decided to personally oversee the situation.

The Insight Program was destined to fail. Once the three helicarriers were launched and began targeting threats globally, they were bound to be destroyed.

Earth was full of hidden powerhouses.

Since the helicarriers were doomed, it would be better for the Superpowered Academy to take them down, showcasing its strength to world leaders.

Hydra’s Insight Program didn’t just target America; it threatened nations worldwide.

When the carriers launched, many countries would suffer airstrikes.

If the Superpowered Academy resolved the crisis, it would not only gain goodwill from global leaders but also demonstrate its capabilities.

This would pave the way for smoother operations when the academy opened up to the world, avoiding unnecessary troubles.

Of course, these were side benefits. If the opportunity arose, George would seize it, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to curry favor with world governments. His primary focus remained on strengthening himself.

He firmly believed that as long as he was powerful enough, everything else would fall into place.

When he reached a level where he could destroy an entire planet with a single strike, even the highest-ranking leaders of every nation would be too afraid to oppose him, let alone minor bureaucratic entities.

However, his ambitions extended far beyond Earth.

Earth was just one planet. Beyond it lay countless stars, civilizations, and universes.

In the grand Marvel multiverse, there were innumerable worlds.

George’s ultimate goal wasn’t just to conquer the stars but to establish himself in the vast multiverse, securing a position among the infinite worlds.

Using Apparition to reach the nearest location to Washington, George accelerated toward S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

Meanwhile, the X-Jet had arrived near the Triskelion after half an hour of high-speed flight.

“What are those... robots?”

Seeing the hundreds of armored robots marked with Hydra’s insignia guarding the Triskelion, Coulson and his team were stunned.

They had no idea Hydra had produced so many robots.

And the weapons mounted on those robots weren’t conventional—they were energy-based.

“The original plan is scrapped. Looks like we need to devise a new strategy!”

Captain Steve Rogers frowned.

According to the original plan, he was supposed to bulldoze his way through the Triskelion, capture Hydra soldiers, and take down Pierce. With Pierce dealt with, the helicarriers wouldn’t launch.

Since George had already dealt with the Winter Soldier and Pierce’s elite troops at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, the Triskelion’s defenses should have been weakened.

With Hulk leading the charge, pushing through should have been straightforward.

However, Pierce clearly had backup plans. The robots weren’t the only defense; there might be other hidden measures, so a more cautious approach was necessary.

“Logan, you’re on good terms with Stark. Reach out to him and see if he can spare time to help. He has experience dealing with robots.

“Coulson, try contacting the government again and see if we can get the nearest military forces to assist.

“We’ll divide into two teams for the operation.”

Steve’s plan was straightforward but practical.

He, Logan, and Banner would launch a frontal assault on the Triskelion.

Steve had his shield, Logan had his regenerative abilities, and the Hulk could tank energy blasts. The three would draw Hydra’s firepower.

Meanwhile, Coulson, Bucky, and others—familiar with both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra—would use the X-Jet’s stealth capabilities to approach the building from another direction and infiltrate it.

Their goal was to locate the control room and shut down the helicarrier launch sequence.

If Tony Stark arrived or military reinforcements joined in, it would significantly ease the operation.

Pierce would undoubtedly anticipate their attempt to stop the launch. How he allocated his forces would determine their next steps.

If Pierce focused all his robots on the frontal assault, Coulson’s team would have a chance to succeed.

If he split his forces to deal with Coulson, then the frontline assault team would face less pressure and could break into the building.

Once inside, they wouldn’t need to find the control room. Destroying the helicarriers directly would work just as well.

The Hulk was a master at tearing things apart, and Logan’s Adamantium claws could easily shred through the carriers.

As for Steve, his shield—re-forged by the Dwarven King using Uru metal—was now razor-sharp, capable of cutting through the helicarriers like a blade through paper.

“Any objections? If not, let’s move!”

With no objections from the team, the battle for the Triskelion officially began.