Chapter Forty-Six: The Chase Within the Tunnel

“Kael is here—”
This phrase was often repeated by the people of Germany, used to frighten children into obedience.
At this moment, in the lobby on the second floor of the base, the armed HYDRA guards stared at Kael, who had burst in through the window, their scalps tingling and a cold shiver running down their spines.
They did not fear dying in battle, but they did dread being slaughtered like pigs or vegetables.
If their adversary were only Steve, the guards were confident they could overwhelm him with superior numbers. But with the addition of the “Demon” Kael, everything changed.
Up above in the lobby, Red Skull, who understood Kael’s true strength better than anyone, realized this instantly. So, the moment he caught sight of Kael, he did not hesitate for even a second. He spun around and dashed decisively for the underground passage of the base.
“Trying to run again?” As Kael entered the hall, his eyes first sought out Steve, and, confirming he was safe, immediately locked onto Red Skull’s location.
Seeing Red Skull fleeing, Kael snorted coldly and, sword in hand, exploded forward in hot pursuit.
At the same time, Steve shed his disguise, sprang up, and knocked out the two guards restraining him with swift, decisive blows. Shield in hand, he turned his steely gaze on Red Skull as well.
Red Skull, sensing the chill of death crawling up his spine, fled even faster, shouting in a harsh, guttural voice, “All personnel! Stop them at all costs!”
“Yes, sir!” the armed guards replied in unison, frantically forming a human barricade and opening fire.
“Stop me?” Kael sneered. With a flash of his sword, two guards in front of him—arms still gripping their energy rifles—were cut down, their scarlet blood splattering across the polished floor.
But as Kael prepared to continue his relentless advance, more guards rushed forward without fear, forcing him to divert his attention and cut down the obstacles in his path.
One could not help but admire the thorough brainwashing of HYDRA’s personnel. Even knowing it was certain death, the guards still held their ground as cannon fodder, firing desperately to block Kael and Steve’s pursuit of Red Skull.
A hiss—
Kael’s right arm shot up, deftly deflecting another laser shot back at his attackers. His left hand, gripping the sodium-carbon steel sword, was slick with blood, which dripped steadily from hilt to blade.
He cast a cold glance toward the far corner of the second-floor lobby—Red Skull’s silhouette was already vanishing, about to slip away entirely.
“Don’t even think about it!” Kael gritted his teeth, planted a foot on a fallen guard’s chest, and vaulted into the air. Mid-leap, he hurled the sword forcefully toward the fleeing figure.
Whoosh!
The sodium-carbon steel sword sliced through the air like a thrown dagger, whistling sharply as it sped toward Red Skull’s back.
“Get over here!” Sensing imminent danger, Red Skull instinctively seized a passing guard, using him as a human shield.
Squelch—
The guard’s body was as fragile as paper; the blade pierced clean through his armor and chest, emerging from his back in a burst of hot blood that sprayed across Red Skull.
“Hmph. Major Kael, I’ll remember—” Red Skull coldly tossed the corpse aside, about to spit out a taunt, when he suddenly noticed something wrong with his own arm. His gaze darted down swiftly.
The sword, having pierced the guard, had grazed his left forearm, leaving a long, shallow wound that bled freely.
“It’s just a superficial cut… With my enhanced physiology, how is this possible?” Red Skull muttered in disbelief, casting a suspicious glance at the sword embedded in the corpse before clamping a hand over his wound and disappearing around the corner.
“Just missed him—will he get away again?” Kael arched an eyebrow. At that moment, a thunderous roar of soldiers charging echoed from outside the base.
It was Fury, leading thousands of American soldiers in a massive assault against the HYDRA base.
Crash!
From the glass windows of the second floor, agile American soldiers rappelled in on steel cables, clashing with the armed guards and greatly easing the pressure on Kael.
“Good work. Steve, you and the troops finish clearing out these HYDRA guards—I’m going after Red Skull!”
With that, Kael darted through the chaotic battle, reclaimed his sword from the corpse at the corner, and accelerated toward the underground passage.
“Kael!” Steve called out, hurling a guard aside with his shield and charging after Kael’s retreating figure.
In the dim corridors beneath the base,
Red Skull led, Kael followed, and Steve brought up the rear. None could see the others, yet all tacitly increased their speed in the chase.
“With the venom suit boosting me, not only is my strength superior—even my speed surpasses that of a perfect super-soldier,” Kael thought to himself, confident he could catch the wounded Red Skull.
And he had another means of acceleration.
Following the faint blood trail along the floor, Kael seemed to become a shadow in the dimly lit tunnel, his speed surging to a new level.
[Stealth] Ability Card: In Nightstalker Mode, movement speed is further increased!
“This time, let’s see where you run,” Kael whispered, a bloodthirsty predator racing forward, the wind howling in his wake.
In moments, at a slight bend in the passage, Red Skull’s back came into view, less than ten meters ahead, caught in the cold light of Kael’s red eyes.
Within ten meters of his target, and under the glare of the lights, Kael’s stealth mode was forcibly canceled, his presence fully revealed in the tunnel.
“How is he so fast?!” At the same time, Red Skull glimpsed Kael closing in and, for the first time in his life, felt terror prickle beneath his scalp.
Both were super-soldiers—so why this overwhelming gap? Why?
Red Skull’s face twisted with rage and despair, but he could only continue fleeing like prey as Kael inexorably closed the distance.
“Schmidt, why don’t we stop and have a drink? Talk about life?” Kael taunted, slowly crushing Red Skull’s psychological defenses.
Red Skull remained silent, wishing his parents had given him another pair of legs as he ran for his life with every ounce of strength.
“If you won’t stop, then I’ll just have to come to you,” Kael said, pushing his body to the limit and surging forward, sword in hand.
He was barely five meters away when, suddenly, an armed guard burst from a side corridor, blocking Red Skull’s retreat. The weapon he carried was not the usual blue-glowing energy rifle, but a massive flamethrower attached by hose to a fuel tank on his back.
A flamethrower?
Kael recognized the weapon just in time, stabbing his sword into the tunnel wall to anchor himself as he rolled backward.
A split second later, a five-meter jet of flame roared from the nozzle, sealing off the narrow passage and raising the temperature sharply.