Yelena immediately realized the situation had become hopeless.
Their enemies possessed too many different abilities, and none of them understood what had happened to Juggernaut after he disappeared into that portal.
Even Pietro's speed, which had always been their greatest advantage, had been completely neutralized.
At this point, they had only one option left—
Retreat.
If they were captured, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Whoosh!
Shadow ninjas suddenly appeared behind Pietro, Peter, and Yelena, preparing to pull them into the Shadow World.
But the moment the Altar members noticed the movement, the leader immediately shouted:
"Da Jie!"
Green energy spread across the battlefield again.
Time in the surrounding area slowed drastically.
The shadow ninjas' movements became sluggish.
Before they could complete the extraction, several Altar members rushed forward.
Peter and Pietro were instantly captured.
Pietro was even dragged halfway out of the Shadow World before being pulled back into reality.
After Da Jie stopped using his ability, the battlefield returned to normal.
Yelena's heart sank.
Both Peter and Pietro were now in enemy hands.
At that moment, the Divine Spear Bureau agents finally arrived.
They quickly surrounded the entire battlefield.
The street was in ruins.
Buildings were damaged.
Debris was scattered everywhere.
In the middle of the destruction stood the Altar organization, holding two armored captives.
From the silhouettes alone, the agents could already guess their identities.
Peter.
Pietro.
Nearby stood another armored figure.
Yelena.
But Juggernaut was nowhere to be seen.
The Divine Spear Bureau immediately tightened the encirclement.
Yet the Altar members showed no fear whatsoever.
Their teleportation user stood safely in the center of their formation.
They had no intention of being captured.
Soon, Zheng Xian arrived at the scene.
When he saw Peter and Pietro restrained by the enemy, his face turned pale.
After a long sigh, he spoke.
"Release them."
"Name your conditions."
At this moment, he had no choice but to compromise.
The most important thing now was ensuring their safe return.
If Karl became enraged—
Zheng Xian didn't even want to imagine what would happen next.
The leader of Altar was a scar-faced man.
He looked at Zheng Xian with amusement.
"Oh?"
"Who exactly are these two?"
"They actually made Director Zheng Xian lower his head."
"They look like foreigners."
"Don't tell me they're your illegitimate children from overseas."
The man burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
Yelena's face turned pale beneath her helmet.
These people clearly had no idea what they were saying.
Peter and Pietro were practically Karl's family.
Provoking him like this was the same as courting death.
Still, Yelena remained silent.
Her bracelet had already transmitted an emergency signal to Karl's main system.
She was certain—
Karl already knew.
"Scarface!"
Zheng Xian's expression changed drastically.
"You'd better watch your mouth!"
"They are honored guests of our country!"
"What will it take for you to release them?!"
Cold sweat covered his back.
If Karl heard those insults—
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Scarface simply smirked.
"Oh?"
"So Director Zheng Xian is willing to pay such a high price?"
"The more you want them back…"
"The less I feel like releasing them."
His expression turned vicious.
"Not only will I keep them…"
"I'll kill them right here."
BOOM—!
Suddenly, a pillar of golden light erupted into the sky.
High above the city, the constellation of Sagittarius appeared.
Anyone from America would immediately recognize the meaning of that symbol.
The Gold Saint had arrived.
Many people in the East did not understand the significance of the constellation.
But Zheng Xian did.
His heart dropped instantly.
Yelena, on the other hand, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
In truth, Karl had known about the attack from the beginning.
When Pietro charged into battle earlier, Karl had deliberately chosen not to intervene.
He wanted to see how effective their training had been.
The result was… disappointing.
Pietro had been captured in less than five minutes.
Peter's telekinetic attacks caused almost no meaningful damage.
Juggernaut had been removed from the battlefield through a portal.
Only Yelena, the one without superpowers, had remained calm and composed.
Karl had been speechless.
So he allowed them to struggle a little longer before deciding to intervene.
Screech—!
A massive phoenix phantom suddenly appeared beside the golden pillar of light.
The next moment—
Three streaks of light descended from the sky.
They stopped above the ruined street.
The people below looked up.
A man hovered in the air.
Black hair.
Blue eyes.
A suit of brilliant golden armor.
A white cape fluttering behind him.
Karl had not bothered wearing his helmet.
For opponents of this level—
There was no need.
Beside him stood two women.
One was a beautiful mature woman wearing a black dress.
Scarlet energy surrounded her body.
The terrifying power of the Phoenix Force radiated outward.
On Karl's other side stood a cold and elegant blonde woman clad in armor.
A pair of pure white wings extended from her back.
Yan.
The three figures hovered silently above the battlefield.
Looking down.
Like gods judging mortals.
Yelena immediately removed her helmet.
Then she dropped to one knee.
"Boss…"
"I failed in my duty."
"They were captured because of my mistake…"
"Even Juggernaut disappeared…"
Her voice carried obvious guilt.
Karl glanced at her calmly.
"You don't need to kneel every time."
"This isn't your fault."
"The situation was already beyond what you could handle."
He raised his hand slightly.
Telekinesis lifted Yelena to her feet.
Then Karl turned his gaze toward the Altar organization.
The Altar members carefully observed the three figures in the sky.
Even they could sense the overwhelming pressure radiating from Karl and his companions.
Without warning—
Karl released a fraction of his aura.
An invisible force crashed down onto the battlefield.
Most of the superpowered individuals collapsed to their knees instantly.
At the same moment—
Peter and Pietro suddenly vanished.
They reappeared beside Yan in the sky.
For her, opening a wormhole and retrieving them had taken less than a second.
Both of them lowered their heads in shame.
They had wanted to test their strength.
But instead they had been captured within minutes.
They had even required Karl to rescue them.
They didn't even know where Juggernaut had been sent.
The humiliation burned in their hearts.
Karl looked down at the people below.
His voice was calm.
But his eyes were cold.
"You have courage."
"Ever since I destroyed Mars…"
"No one has dared to touch the people around me."
"You are the first."
"The first individuals."
"And the first organization."
His voice grew colder with every word.
Inside, his anger burned like a raging fire.
It didn't matter why they had done it.
The moment they touched the people around him—
Their fate had already been sealed.
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