Several Extremis-enhanced super soldiers stood guard around Gideon, so the snakes couldn't get near him. But his face had darkened.
The "Mr. Snake" Stephanie mentioned was clearly much more dangerous than he had expected.
He had assumed the enemy only had two people, while his side—excluding the Extremis soldiers—had more than double the number of superhumans.
Add in those tough, hard-to-kill super soldiers, and they should have had the upper hand.
But now, just one man had already pushed the situation into a crisis.
"Do whatever it takes. Kill them!" Gideon ordered coldly.
If Killian could brainwash some of his super soldiers, then Hydra—experts at mind control—could certainly do more.
These soldiers enhanced with the Extremis virus were fully brainwashed, even more deeply than Killian's own.
Once they were given an order, they would follow it even if it cost them their lives—even if the person who gave the command was already dead.
So the moment Gideon gave the order to kill the strange duo, the soldiers went into all-out mode, ignoring their injuries just to charge straight at the Orochimaru sub-personality.
They didn't choose to self-destruct—the space was too small.
If they blew themselves up here, it wasn't certain the target would die—but the high-ranking non-superhuman officers might get caught in the blast.
Soon, the soldiers had forced their way through the sea of snakes and were finally closing in on the Orochimaru sub-personality!
To them, he looked like a summoner or beast tamer-type superhuman.
If they could just get in close, they had a shot at taking him down!
"Mr. Weasel, aren't you going to help Mr. Snake?" Stephanie asked, her voice laced with worry.
Clearly, she had noticed the soldiers breaking through and was afraid Mr. Snake might not be able to hold them off.
Things had gone too far already—If Gideon actually managed to injure or kill one of Raymond's agents, she wasn't sure how angry her mysterious new boss would be.
So far, Raymond had always felt like a bottomless pit—Unpredictable and incredibly powerful.
She didn't believe for a second that her father's so-called trump cards could really go up against someone like that.
"No need. He's one of the Legendary Three Ninjas. If he can't handle something this small, he might as well kill himself," the Itachi sub-personality replied calmly.
"Legendary Three Ninjas?" Stephanie blinked, confused by the unfamiliar term.
But she didn't press further.
Even if she didn't understand the title, she got the point—To "Mr. Weasel," these attackers were nothing but a minor problem to "Mr. Snake."
Still, deep down, Stephanie wasn't completely reassured.
The Extremis soldiers and those high-ranking officers who suddenly turned into superhumans all looked incredibly tough to deal with.
The Orochimaru sub-personality's attack was terrifying, but even so, it didn't seem to be stopping them anytime soon.
That made it hard for Stephanie to believe "Mr. Weasel" when he said this was just a "small problem."
While she was still unsure, the Orochimaru sub-personality clearly noticed the super soldiers' approach.
He chuckled coldly—without the slightest intention of dodging.
Even though he was just a shadow clone and would vanish if seriously hurt, he wasn't worried.
A few small fries like them hurting him? What a joke.
If not for wanting to avoid killing too many people—so Stephanie wouldn't have a hard time taking over later—he had plenty of ways to go on a full killing spree. But for now, he was holding back, mostly using fear as a weapon.
Just as the super soldiers broke through the sea of snakes and closed in, his empty hands suddenly moved—Instant hand signs!
"Striking Shadow Snake Explosion!!"
With a twisted smile, several massive snakes appeared out of nowhere and instantly swallowed the super soldiers whole!
And it didn't stop there.
After devouring them, the giant snakes slithered into another rift in space—
A thunderous explosion echoed out.
The soldiers who had just reached the Orochimaru sub-personality… were gone without a trace.
Gideon, watching from a short distance away, turned pale.
Struggling to hide his panic, he suddenly said to everyone: "Find a way to get out of here—now!"
That's right. He had decided to retreat.
The Orochimaru sub-personality's strength far exceeded his expectations. He couldn't see any way to win in the short term.
And that wasn't even counting the Itachi sub-personality, who hadn't lifted a finger and was just standing calmly, watching it all.
Gideon realized now—he had completely misjudged the situation.
But that was fine. As long as he could escape, there might still be a way to turn things around later.
The political faction was indeed the most powerful among Hydra's four major branches, but it wasn't known for combat.
Its strength came from its influence, status, and wide network of political connections throughout North America.
They even had branches in Europe.
But when it came to actual fighting, the other factions were much stronger.
The most powerful of them was the Secret Faction, rumored to secretly control many powerful superhumans.
As long as he could get out alive, even if it meant throwing away his pride, he would beg the Secret Faction to help him reclaim his position!
With that decision made, Gideon immediately ordered a full retreat.
But that was wishful thinking.
The moment they stepped into this meeting room, there was no turning back. Especially now, with the battle already underway.
Sure enough, when the others heard Gideon's order and tried to withdraw—the Orochimaru sub-personality's expression turned ice cold.
"This is my first time making a move. If I let you all get away, wouldn't that be embarrassing?" His voice was low and dangerous.
The next second, the sea of snakes suddenly went wild!
They surged with renewed fury, attacking from all directions and wrapping around everyone nearby!
Their speed had tripled, at least.
Clearly, the Orochimaru sub-personality had been holding back the snakes on purpose—to give the enemy a false sense of control.
And now, with full power unleashed, he caught them completely off guard!
Even the superhuman officers couldn't escape—everyone was instantly tied up by swarms of snakes.
No matter how many snakes they destroyed, more kept coming, wrapping around them tighter and tighter.