Chapter 107: Soldier Boy Roasts Butcher!

Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.

~ George Orwell

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"This is just a small punishment from me, John!"

Hillel kept his hands behind his back, floating in mid-air.

"I pulled Soldier Boy back purely to make things difficult for Clara. I want to utterly break his spirit!!"

Homelander looked shocked. "It’s one thing to kill someone, but you want to break her spirit too?"

"Duh, that old Nazi goes against me every single day. Do I look like I have a good temper? What, do you feel sorry for her?"

Homelander waved his hands repeatedly. "Definitely not, I won’t ever dare do it again!"

"Then... what about Wonder Man’s matter?"

"I’m going to film a second installment! The script is all set. Regarding the anti-hero Wonder Man, several more superhero shows are going to be filmed, and you’ll go make a cameo as Butcher!"

Homelander: "..."

So you’re just picking on me here, aren’t you!

However, Homelander did breathe a sigh of relief, because The Guardian didn’t bring Soldier Boy back to replace him.

Instead, it was specifically to deal with Clara.

If he slaughtered Clara himself, would it appease The Guardian and get rid of that old popsicle?

Homelander didn’t reject this idea.

He hadn’t expected that the play his good brother arranged for him actually had a second playthrough.

Clara was just an appetizer.

The real meat was yet to come!

[Homelander — Emotional Changes: Unease, relief, dependence and trust, inexplicable peace of mind]

[Acquired Ability Points: +8,200]

...

Night fell.

In a rundown, trashy strip club in Brooklyn.

Soldier Boy was sitting alone in front of the bar counter, chugging whiskey cup after cup.

On the very first day back in this era, he felt incomparably annoyed.

Clara...

Sigh!

What was so great about that little brat, wasn’t it just that he could fly?

Compared to himself, Homelander was simply a freak draped in curtains, yet Clara happened to dig that look.

"Mind if I sit down, pal?"

A voice with a heavy London accent sounded beside him.

Soldier Boy glanced sideways.

Niggers, gays, transgenders, Asians... and now an Englishman came along. Were there any orthodox locals left in America? [Don’t look at me like that! It’s canon Soldier Boy’s thoughts!]

Butcher, wearing a black trench coat and full of heavy stubble, sat down next to him.

"It’s you! What, didn’t you come with your teammates?" Soldier Boy didn’t even raise his head.

"Of course not, big hero!" Butcher grinned, pouring himself a drink. "Soldier Boy, the initial king of America, sold out completely by his own teammates... a pitiful wretch."

"If my friend comes over, it won’t be so easy to talk!"

Soldier Boy let out a cold snort, his face full of disdain.

"Just say what you want!"

"Cooperation!" Butcher got straight to the point.

"In my hands, I have a list of those old teammates of yours! Don’t you want revenge? Our goals are actually the same, pal!"

"I hate those Meta-humans, especially the blonde bitch draped in the flag! I wish they would all go to hell, and you want revenge!"

"Cooperate with me, and I’ll help you send those bastards all into their graves, deal?"

Soldier Boy thought about it carefully, then put down his glass.

"Fuck off!"

Butcher was stunned.

"I’ve already promised someone else. Keeping one’s promise is what a real man should do," Soldier Boy said indifferently.

"Someone else?"

Butcher sneered. "Who? That The Guardian who lifted you back onto the altar? Pal, you’ve been scammed by him!"

Butcher said with an unnatural expression. "That Guardian is a mad dog raised by Vought. He is more controllable, so he’s even more dangerous than Homelander!"

"That guy is full of benevolence and righteousness, and everything he does is a trick to buy people’s hearts—charities, saviors—his purpose is to subvert the American regime!"

"He brought you back just to use you as a knife!"

Soldier Boy didn’t deny it, but turned to look at Butcher.

"Kid! I’ve lived for nearly a century! I fucking ain’t an idiot!"

"It’s true that The Guardian uses me as a tool, but how much better are you?"

Butcher’s expression changed.

"I read newspapers too, kid!" Soldier Boy clipped a cigar, took a drag, and blew the smoke into the Butcher’s face.

"The Little St. James Island incident was done by The Guardian, that’s right, isn’t it!"

"He is a hero in the true sense, daring to declare war on those big shots in Congress. His words are even more inflammatory than the one Clara believes in!"

"But what do you think my view should be?"

"Protect the country, put on armor, and go make an enemy of the more than three hundred children The Guardian protects?"

"That’s not what a man should do, kid!"

Soldier Boy looked proud. "I actually pity you. You don’t know your own boundaries; justice is justice, and Supes are Supes."

"When that Polish kid was saving lives, where were you, the anti-Supe hero?"

Butcher was left speechless for a moment.

His confidence became even weaker.

"I admit that there are plenty of scumbags among Meta-humans, and I am the strongest one among them."

Soldier Boy seemed to dare to admit it.

He said, "But Supes are not the malady of this society. The capital that created them, and the ones who push these people to the forefront as commodities, are!"

"And an antisocial element like you, whose mind is full of only hatred, who will stop at nothing to achieve your goals, and who even treats all Supes as enemies—are you any different from a Nazi?"

"Is it that in the future, if there is a new type of mustard gas that can wipe out Supes in one go, you would drop it without hesitation?"

"Even if the other party is a child kept in the dark?"

"Even if the other party is The Guardian, doing good deeds to save this damn country?"

Soldier Boy put down his glass and stood up. "Think about it carefully, don’t expand your hatred to such a large scope."

"If you have the ability, go take revenge; if you don’t have the ability, stay tucked away obediently, stop coming out to scheme and instigate, and be a real man, okay!"

With that, Soldier Boy dropped a few crumpled bills and walked out of the bar without looking back.

Leaving only Butcher frozen in place, his face turning livid.

He hadn’t expected Soldier Boy to be so hard to poach.

He had thought the other party was eager for revenge, but he never expected to be retorted into speechlessness.

It seemed like another fanboy brainwashed by The Guardian.

On the other side.

Hillel was lying comfortably in bed, and Starlight was curled up in his arms, fast asleep.

On the other side.

Maeve was scrolling through her phone.

"What are you thinking about?" Maeve suddenly patted Hillel.

Because Hillel was holding the controller, but right on the big TV opposite, that outlaw had already been pounced on by a cougar.

"Oh, I was thinking about some funny things."

Hillel loaded his save.

"Oh? What funny things, let’s hear it."

Maeve slipped her hand under the covers.

"I’m just looking forward to what might happen next. Don’t you think it’ll be very interesting? Soldier Boy and Homelander, a pair of biological... father and son!"

Maeve lifted the covers and crawled inside.

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Early access to 12 advance Chapters.

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