novelhk Chapter 179 Duel Between Leopards
Chapter 179 Duel Between Leopards
Chapter 179 Duel Between Leopards
Ant-Man sprawled on the sofa, his fingers fidgeting impatiently with his helmet. He muttered, "Shouldn't we consider evacuating the crowd? I mean, what if Red Skull really brings those lunatics in?"
Wasp rolled her eyes at him, but her gaze was equally grave: "There's no time to evacuate, and besides, we have nowhere to hide."
"Actually, we still have one more unit," Fury said in a low voice, "enough for a decapitation strike."
Just when the atmosphere was at its most tense, the alarm in the conference room suddenly went off.
"Unknown spacecraft approaching," the AI system announced. "Signal identified—Ms. Marvel."
Fury laughed: "Our reinforcements have arrived, friends."
Everyone looked up sharply. A few seconds later, the roar of engines echoed from the building's helipad. Ms. Marvel strode in, followed by a fully armed team of super-Skrug agents. She glanced at the people around her, a hint of confusion in her mind—why was the atmosphere in Avengers Tower so somber at this moment?
"Sorry to interrupt your gloomy party," Ms. Marvel grinned, "but I brought some reinforcements. And guess who else is here?"
Fury's smile twitched briefly before immediately crumbling, while Black Widow raised an eyebrow at the guy emerging from the Skrull agents. Tony, always eager for drama, whistled after recognizing the newcomer: "Oh, this is going to be interesting."
Wakanda, the underground prison.
Steve Rogers' consciousness gradually cleared amidst the pain.
His limbs were bound by heavy magnetic forces, leaving him suspended in a spread-eagle position in the center of the Wakanda dungeon. Every tiny struggle triggered automatic contractions, the vibranium rings digging deep into his muscles and cutting off blood circulation. The purple energy field above his head blocked out all sound, imprisoning him in absolute silence.
"This is much worse than the treatment I received from Hydra," he muttered to himself with a wry smile, his voice echoing within the energy shield.
Suddenly, the energy field flickered. A familiar figure was dragged into the opposite cell by two border tribe warriors—T'Challa.
The former King of Wakanda, now stripped of his armor, with dried blood at the corners of his mouth, his hands also bound by special magnetic locks.
After the guard left, Steve became alert instantly when he heard rhythmic knocking coming from next door. He realized that Black Panther was trying to tell him something, so he listened carefully—it was Morse code! And the code was…
[Liao—. Has weaknesses in time—. Fluctuations.]
Captain America squinted. In the flickering purple light outside the cell, he could see that the magnetic chains binding him and T'Challa fluctuated in energy for 0.3 seconds between each pulse.
Opportunities are fleeting.
Steve began to shake his right hand rhythmically, once, twice—and on the seventh shake, his right hand made a slight clicking sound, and sure enough, his right hand was out of the magnetic field!
His right arm suddenly broke free, the recoil causing him to swing violently like a pendulum. His left hand groaned under the strain of inertia. Steve seized the opportunity, using his free hand to slam into the control node of his left hand—instantly disabling the entire magnetic restraint system.
Steve also fell heavily to the ground, but ignoring the pain, he immediately rushed towards T'Challa's cell.
"Do you need any help, Your Majesty?" Steve ripped the energy lock off the cell door, his voice carrying a long-lost sense of ease.
T'Challa gave a tired but determined smile: "You're quite late, Captain."
The two worked together seamlessly to unlock the remaining locks. Just as the last magnetic lock was broken, an alarm suddenly sounded in the distance, clearly indicating that their escape attempt had been discovered.
"Follow me!"
Steve followed T'Challa, and the two crawled into the ventilation ducts, making their way through the narrow passage. Black Panther, relying on his memory, found the route to the Royal Armory. The two had initially intended to find two vibranium weapons for protection, but unexpectedly found their own weapons there. Erik clearly considered the Black Panther suit and Captain America's shield as trophies and stored them in the Royal Armory.
Suddenly, two whooshing sounds came from afar. Steve immediately stepped forward and raised his shield. Two teeth-grinding metallic clangs rang out, while Black Panther seized the opportunity to quickly put on his battle suit. Steve lowered his shield and squinted at the distance. At the end of the corridor, Black Panther, dressed in his brand-new battle suit, slowly walked towards them, the purple stripes on his helmet writhing like a living creature.
Eric's voice, processed with a voice changer, had a metallic quality: "You think I don't know about the royal secret passage?"
T'Challa slowly adopted Buster's fighting stance, vibranium claws springing from his fingers: "Words are useless, let's duel!"
Incidentally, T'Challa waved to Steve, signaling him not to interfere. Steve sighed and could only stand further away. Even more absurdly, after hearing T'Challa's challenge to a duel, the guards actually abandoned their advantageous position and, like Steve, stood as far away as possible, choosing not to interfere in the duel.
The dueling system—one of Wakanda's most baffling systems. While Black Panther is Wakanda's national leader, wielding military, political, and religious power, and the position is typically hereditary, hereditary succession doesn't guarantee its stability. Outsiders can challenge the current king and seize his position and title. This dueling system is even imbued with sanctity by the Elder Tribe Council, forbidding anyone from interfering in duels. However, this also laid the groundwork for T'Challa's comeback—as for how he failed, don't ask yet.
Eric charged forward first, his modified boots unleashing a stream of purple energy that made him three times faster than in the traditional Black Panther suit. His first claw strike tore through the air, leaving four sparks on T'Challa's chest. But T'Challa used the momentum to flip backward, his heel striking Eric precisely in the jaw—the clash of vibranium shattered the surrounding glass.
Upon landing, Eric did not rush to pursue. Instead, he grinned and activated the hidden weapons in his suit, launching dozens of miniature drones from his shoulder armor. However, T'Challa slammed his fists into the ground, and a purple energy wave swept through the drones, causing them to fall from the sky like dead fireflies.
Seeing that the drone had accomplished nothing, Eric roared and charged again, and the two once again engaged in close combat, their vibranium claws clashing and sparks flying.
As the two were locked in combat, pale purple smoke suddenly emanated from the joints of Erik's armor. T'Challa, having been hit by the attack before, was on guard and instantly pushed Erik away, taking a few steps back, but inevitably inhaling some of the smoke.
"How is it?" Eric asked with a sinister grin after seeing the black panther kneeling on the ground. "The toxin specially made by Red Skull, designed specifically for those who consume the heart-shaped herb, seems to be working very well, doesn't it?"
Eric approached and plunged a claw into T'Challa's abdomen.
Steve roared, "No!"