Chapter 31: Chapter 29 - First Battle
It took Steve a moment to regain his composure. Then he sat down, waiting for my explanation.
Noticing that Steve had awakened, Ada entered the cabin and stood silently behind her king, wielding her spear and staring fixedly at Steve, ready to kill him if he made any wrong move.
(The attitude of the people of Wakanda towards foreigners doesn't seem to have improved much.)
"Baldur, what are you doing in Africa?" Steve couldn't contain his curiosity any longer.
"That's not the way to address a king, American," Ada interjected before I could respond.
"A king!?" Steve became even more bewildered. I knew I had to start explaining.
"Wakanda and my kingdom have been allies for centuries, since the time of King Azzuri's invasion. He came to seek my opinion on the matter."
"I would never have imagined you were a king, nor that a king would be strolling with his wife in Brooklyn," he said, giving me a sarcastic smile.
"I was on vacation, so to speak. My wife loves American fashion."
"What country are you king of?"
"Of a small island near Africa. We're not much, so we don't attract much attention," I explained. My words elicited broad smiles from Ada and Azzuri. If my country was considered small, who could claim greatness on this earth?
"I've given my explanations; now it's your turn, my friend. Why are the Americans here?" I asked.
Steve hesitated for a moment but then proceeded to explain why they were there. Several months ago, he had saved a battalion of allies from the clutches of HYDRA. Following that, he was ordered to hunt down all HYDRA bases with a team. But a few days ago, they received information that HYDRA had taken great interest in a small kingdom in Africa. And anything that caught the attention of their enemies was worthy of investigation.
Knowing that time was not on their side, Steve left his team in Germany and went straight to Africa, where he joined a battalion to investigate HYDRA's movements, only to be ambushed and captured by the "small kingdom" mentioned.
It seemed that events were unfolding relatively similarly to the movies; after returning from this journey, Steve would directly confront the Red Skull.
"King Azzuri, if you'll allow me, I'd like to know how my men are doing," Steve finished his explanation and asked, visibly concerned.
"They are all unconscious but without serious injuries. They will awaken in a few hours," Azzuri reassured him.
"Thank you very much," Steve said, relieved.
I was about to start trying to form an alliance with Steve when we were interrupted by another bald, armed woman entering the cabin.
"Sir, the Nazis are moving," she announced.
This made everyone tense.
"How many?" Azzuri asked.
"About a hundred men, with two Panzers IV leading the way."
The number alarmed Steve. Besides the German tanks, which were considered perfect war machines, there were a hundred soldiers.
"That's not their entire force," the king said. "They're testing the waters. If you're going to act, you shouldn't reveal all your strength," he advised.
"Yes, you're right," Steve agreed.
The king then looked at me. "Do you trust him?" he asked.
"I've only met him once, but I can say he's still the same good guy as before," I replied.
"Very well, then I hope he keeps our secret," the king said.
With Steve confused, the king stood up and left the cabin, followed by Ada.
"Wait, let me help. You can't fight them alone; you'll be outnumbered," Steve shouted as he stood up.
"They don't need help, Steve. Just watch, and you'll see something incredible," I said with a big smile, leaving Steve even more confused about the situation.
POV: Third Person
1943
Outskirts of Wakanda, Africa.
The soldiers of the Third Reich marched through the tough African terrain. Ahead of them, two Panzer IV tanks plowed through the jungle. The soldiers were walking casually through the field, unafraid of being attacked. This mission was a walk in the park for them, a chance to have some fun with a few women after so much time on the battlefield. They attacked anything in sight.
But the dreams of fools don't last long. Ahead, the two tanks stopped, making everyone apprehensive and raising their weapons.
"Why did they stop?" the lieutenant in command of the battalion shouted.
The hatch of the tank on the right opened, revealing a soldier who shouted in response, "People ahead, sir!"
The lieutenant advanced and stood between the tanks, looking at the people. There seemed to be about sixty natives, none of them carrying firearms, only shiny spears and wearing colorful cloths. In the middle of them stood a man dressed all in black, a truly ridiculous sight that made the lieutenant laugh.
"Teach the savages the size of the world," he ordered, smiling at the tank operator, who also smiled, understanding the order.
"Yes, sir!"
He entered and closed the hatch; shortly after, a movement could be seen in the barrel of the tank's cannon. The soldiers around them stepped back a bit, expecting a massive explosion, expecting to see the savages run in fear.
"BOOM!"
The shot from the tank's cannon was loud, but what the German army expected did not happen. As if by magic, the shot seemed to collide with an invisible wall very close to the natives. Trying to comprehend what had happened before them, everyone froze. But the enemy didn't give them time to think and began running toward the soldiers.
"In position!"
Ignoring what he didn't understand, the lieutenant gave the order, and all the men kneeled and aimed their weapons behind the tanks.
The Black Panther, with a physique far superior to any of them, left his men behind and stood a few meters from the tanks.
"Fire at will!"
Azzuri arrived between the tanks, in front of the lieutenant, who froze in amazement at the speed of the man in black. He tried to raise his rifle, but two lights flashed, blinding him. Now Azzuri had two Khopesh swords in his hands, and the lieutenant split into two pieces and fell to the ground.
The hatch of the left tank opened, and the soldier grabbed the .50-caliber machine gun and fired at Azzuri. All the bullets ricocheted off his suit, and the Black Panther jumped on the tank and decapitated the soldier. Then he took something from his belt and threw it inside the tank before jumping off and continuing his attack on the army behind.
"BOOM!"
The left tank exploded, and Azzuri continued his attack, ignoring the other tank, which, unsure of what to do, ignored him and fired at those coming toward it. The Wakandan soldiers pulled their cloths over their faces, creating a small energy shield that protected them from the .50-caliber bullets and the tank cannon.
Ada stood in front and threw her spear into the tank's barrel. Shortly after, the second tank exploded.
Without her spear, she picked up the lieutenant's rifle from the ground and ran to stand behind her king, who was wreaking havoc. Each strike from the king resulted in a dead body falling to the ground.
Those who tried to attack the king from behind were shot by Ada, who hit each one in the head or heart.
"A demon!"
"A demon!"
"A demon!"
All the men screamed in fear, but the situation only worsened for them. The Wakandan army had finally reached them, shooting energy bullets from their spears, hitting several enemies before engaging in close combat. Some brave men, seeing that bullets were ineffective against the black demon, tried to stab them with their bayonets. The blades sparked against the Black Panther's suit, and Azzuri took advantage to decapitate them.
Azzuri was like a wolf among chickens, each strike of his weapons resulting in a death, and the slaughter would not stop until everyone was dead.
Wakanda's secret is guarded by the bodies of her enemies.
POV: Baldur.
1943
Near the Battle.
Steve was observing the entire war in astonishment. At the beginning of the combat, I had to restrain him from trying to "help," as he put it.
But things didn't unfold as he had imagined. Azzuri took the first kill, followed by Ada, and then pandemonium broke loose. I must say, Ada's marksmanship skills are incredible; every shot is precise, taking a life. And Azzuri seems more like a barbarian swinging his swords, but he was drawing all the enemy's attention, relieving pressure on his men.
I was glad that the project with the energy spears worked well. They are based on the staff of the cult I defeated years ago. Both my army and Wakanda's are using them, and the energy shots are quick and powerful, easily penetrating a human. And the people of Wakanda are using them effectively.
After ten minutes of combat, the Germans finally realized that their numbers were dwindling rapidly and tried to retreat into the forest, fools.
I could sense several people up in the trees, just waiting for them to fall into the trap. I doubt any of them will emerge from the forest alive.
"Baldur, who the hell are you guys?" Steve finally wakes up and asks me. His shock is understandable. During World War II, there was no army more powerful than the Germans. They managed to fight on multiple fronts against a coalition of several countries and still lasted a long time.
"All will be revealed later, Steve. For now, let's go and greet the victors."
Without waiting for his response, I head toward our army.
POV: Third Person.
1943
Near the Battle.
Not far from where Baldur was, several men wearing uniforms were watching the battle, all with shocked faces, unlike their leader, who had expected this outcome.
"Do you gentlemen believe me now?" he asked sarcastically. The leader of this battalion had blond hair, black eyes, and a large nose, but what stood out about him was his left hand made of steel.
"Yes, Colonel Klaw, we believe you now," one of the three subordinates behind him replied. Two were men, and the last was a woman.
Colonel Klaw, who wore a gray uniform with a swastika on the chest, with blond hair and blue eyes, a perfect example of the Aryan race, was known as Master Man.
The woman wore a slightly revealing leather outfit, with a whip attached to her waist, black short hair, and a cruel smile on her face; she was known as Warrior Woman.
The third was the most peculiar of the group; he had no arms but didn't seem harmless due to his shark-like pointed teeth. He wore a yellow uniform and gave the impression of being a wild beast; he was called Armless Tiger Man.
Warrior Woman and Master Man had received an experimental formula of the super-soldier serum that didn't give them as much strength as Steve, but still made them far superior to an ordinary human.
When they received orders to obey Klaw, they weren't very happy. Klaw wasn't German, and they became even more doubtful when he spoke of Wakanda's strength. So he proposed an experiment; a small part of his army would attack. This was the experiment.
They never imagined that their men would be easily defeated.
"Now let's proceed as I planned. Let's prepare and also enlist the help of White Gorilla," Klaw said.
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Then the three turned around to put the plan into action. Meanwhile, Fritz Klaw looked at the horizon, envisioning Wakanda once again.
"I'm back, Azzuri. This time, I'll take everything you have and leave only ashes behind."
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