Chapter 677

"Pushed aside?!"

The Eredar twins weren’t remotely intimidated by the idea.

If anything, they found it hilarious.

War never truly ended. That was the first thing.

And even if the impossible somehow happened and one day the universe achieved lasting peace, they still weren’t worried. They might be demons with little attachment to human morality, but that didn’t mean they didn’t understand humanity.

The Burning Legion had conquered countless worlds. Brute force had certainly been one of its favorite tools, but that didn’t mean it had never employed subtlety. Infiltration before a war was practically an art form.

And as Kil’jaeden’s lieutenants, the Eredar twins had been among the Legion’s finest infiltrators.

Olesesus smiled faintly and leaned toward her sister.

"I was chosen as the world’s savior saint 10,028 times. I’ve been proclaimed the Light of Hope for the world 12,600 times, and I’ve received the Outstanding Youth of the World award 9,800 times. What about you?"

Salorass rolled her eyes.

"We always worked together. When exactly did we not receive those titles together?"

The twins exchanged knowing smiles.

So what if this world’s war ended?

With their experience, pretending to be virtuous, compassionate heroes would be child’s play.

They’d probably look even more convincing than that little girl.

Meanwhile, Peggy Carter had reached the conversion chamber.

She explained the truth of the world, and indeed the truth of the wider universe, to the newly transformed Hydra agents. Once they had finished processing the mountain of information they’d just been given, Peggy delivered the line she’d prepared for them.

"We sacrificed everything to protect this world. We will be its final line of defense!"

The words were undeniably dramatic.

Almost painfully so.

But somehow, they landed perfectly.

The ten former Hydra agents practically lit up.

They had originally devoted themselves to Hydra because they believed in a higher ideal. Now they’d been shown an even greater one.

Their loyalty to Hydra evaporated on the spot.

And despite having been brainwashed, they weren’t resentful toward Peggy.

Quite the opposite.

"Hydra turned us into ghosts," one of them said with tears in his eyes. "And now the organization that saved us has made us human again!"

The others immediately began encouraging one another with the solemn enthusiasm of men who had discovered their destiny five minutes ago.

"If we never meet again, brother, may you die a death worthy of your cause!"

Peggy scratched her head.

Their ability to absorb propaganda was almost frightening.

She then led the ten men out and brought them before Stephanie, who had been waiting impatiently for the results.

It was time to demonstrate what her money had bought.

The newly transformed soldiers showed off a few of their abilities, just enough to prove that the operation had been successful.

Afterward, Peggy gave Stephanie several perfectly reasonable explanations about the need for further adjustments and the possibility of biological-energy radiation following the transformation.

Then she took the ten men away and placed them in isolation.

After all, they’d spent years inside Hydra.

Peggy was confident in the conditioning, but there was always the possibility that one of them might have a loose screw somewhere and start telling Stephanie everything.

That would be a disaster.

We paid you a fortune to enhance our soldiers, and somehow you enhanced them into becoming your soldiers instead?

Then everybody would be miserable.

So for now, it was better to keep the two sides apart and observe the former Hydra agents for a while.

Stephanie suspected nothing.

How could she possibly imagine that ten perfectly loyal Hydra operatives could collectively defect in less than half a day?

Besides, she was still too busy celebrating the results.

That brief demonstration had already left her thoroughly impressed.

The ten newly transformed soldiers had barely shown off their abilities before Stephanie was staring at them in disbelief.

Then they brought out their new weapons.

And, naturally, someone had decided the demonstration needed suitably epic background music.

Stephanie’s pulse quickened.

A female soldier stepped forward.

"Flying blades! Hah!"

She hurled a handful of knives into the air.

The blades streaked across the training ground, striking multiple targets before curving back into her waiting hand.

"Eye beams! Ha!"

The crowd erupted.

The woman struck a dramatic pose and stepped aside.

Another soldier emerged.

He floated several feet above the ground.

Then twin beams of searing energy erupted from his eyes.

The line of targets in front of him vanished beneath the concentrated heat.

The crowd went wild again.

"Light as a swallow in the clouds! Courage reaching the heavens!"

Apparently, one of the soldiers wasn’t satisfied with merely watching.

He sprinted out of formation.

Two steps carried him onto a wall.

He kicked off, launched himself skyward, tapped one foot against the other in midair, and continued climbing.

Then a pair of enormous black wings suddenly unfurled from his back.

The man proceeded to circle the entire training ground before finally returning to the group, looking unbearably pleased with himself.

"Train the body! Hah!"

Another soldier stepped forward.

He didn’t perform any elaborate movement.

He simply stood still, gathered his strength, and took a deep breath.

Then he roared.

His muscles instantly swelled.

His skin darkened to a blackish purple, and several long bone spines burst from his back with a series of wet cracks.

His teammates immediately understood their cue.

They drew their weapons and attacked him.

The blades, forged from some of the strongest metal available, struck his body again and again.

They couldn’t even cut him.

At most, they left faint white marks across his skin.

When the weapons struck the bone spines, sparks flew.

The spines didn’t even crack.

"Train the inner breath! Hah!"

The transformed soldier raised his head.

He inhaled deeply.

Then he opened his mouth.

A torrent of green flame erupted from his throat, flooding the training ground with heat like a dragon’s breath.

"Strength and flexibility together! We bow to no one!"

The music reached its climax.

The ten soldiers struck a final synchronized pose.

And the demonstration was over.

Stephanie was the first to applaud.

This money was worth every penny!

She had soldiers who could take punishment and soldiers who could dish it out.

Who could possibly stand against them?

The transformation process might have only had roughly a fifty-percent success rate, but every successful subject seemed to be exceptional.

And these were their abilities immediately after transformation.

What would happen after the subsequent adjustments?

How powerful would they become then?

Stephanie gave the soldiers a few words of encouragement, mostly because that was what she was expected to do, and then left with a spring in her step.

The first batch of transformations was complete.

The next batch wouldn’t begin for another week.

There was no reason for Evenson and the others to sit around in the operating room for seven days waiting.

The Eredar twins suggested that everyone head to the Final Doctrine for some relaxation.

Evenson agreed immediately.

After all that time, the various relationships between them had finally been brought into the open.

At least now he wouldn’t have to keep sneaking around and maintaining two separate fronts.

To his surprise, Claire happily agreed as well.

She had no idea she’d just walked straight into the twins’ trap.

The Final Doctrine sounded impressive.

In reality, it was simply the private entertainment room the Eredar twins had built for themselves.

And they had spared absolutely no expense.

The place contained every kind of entertainment imaginable.

Once they arrived, the twins immediately began showing off.

They brought out expensive drinks.

Then they went even further and retrieved some of their personal collection, clearly intending to let Claire sample it.

Evenson barely managed to stop them.

Claire was still human.

Even with her newly acquired Void powers, there were certain things a human body simply shouldn’t drink.

Eventually, everyone settled down.

Salorass sprawled across the sofa, arms and legs thrown wide, and thought back over Evenson’s plan.

A slow grin spread across her face.

"I’ll admit it. That was a clever idea. I didn’t think you had it in you."

She gave him an approving look.

"This really killed two birds with one stone. I never expected you to come up with such a sneaky little plan."

Evenson smiled.

For once, even the Eredar twins had to admit he’d played the game well.