Ancient One's request did not trouble Josh for long.
After all, that matter was still far away—perhaps dozens or even hundreds of years later before Eternity might discover the Ancient One's "betrayal."
For now, something else had caught Josh's attention.
The mages stationed in South America, who were keeping an eye on Thor, had sent word that Thor's situation was not looking good.
It had already been more than a year since Thor was exiled to Earth.
After being saved by Che Guevara, Thor had stayed with the revolutionary ever since.
Having witnessed the suffering of countless South American people in this era, along with America's constant meddling and exploitation in the region, and with Che Guevara's teachings beside him, Thor—stripped of his godly power and stranded as a mortal—fell right into Josh's expectations: he joined Che's ranks.
And somehow, Thor's very presence seemed to carry a strange aura. Not only did he quickly become a key figure in Che's forces, but his influence even pushed Che to leave Cuba years earlier than in the original timeline, beginning his campaigns across Central and South America.
Of course, in this altered world, the sudden rise of the Austrian Kingdom and its secret support of anti-American and anti-Soviet movements made such uprisings far more common than in the original history. Josh simply ignored this as if it were natural.
Any chaos in the world? Clearly Hydra's fault!
What did it have to do with Ouroboros or the Austrian Kingdom?
During this past year, following Che through countless battles, Thor's name had begun to spread internationally.
Though now only a mortal, his physique and thousands of years of battle experience were undeniable. Even without his power, he was not much weaker than a super soldier. In the movie, he was pinned down by mere doctors and nurses only because, after his exile, his unstable emotions left him broken.
But here, having accepted his exile after meeting Che, Thor could unleash his true combat ability.
What's more, Thor was no longer just a brute swinging a hammer. He had mastered modern firearms, could even fly fighter jets, and had turned himself into a true warrior of the jungle.
In such conditions, it was easy for him to stand out on the battlefield—especially in the dense tropical forests of South America, where individual skill mattered most.
But walking the night road too often always brings ghosts.
Since its victory in the Mexican–American War, the United States had long treated the entire Americas as its backyard, using every method of control and exploitation. From then on, nearly every political upheaval in Central and South America carried America's shadow.
In the original timeline, Che Guevara was targeted by the United States and, under the CIA's schemes, was captured and executed.
Now, with Thor as a powerful one-man army, plus secret backing from the Soviets and "other" forces, Che's group had inevitably become America's thorn far earlier.
Had they remained in Cuba, things would have been different—the Soviets still had enough weight to restrain the U.S. But once they left Cuba, matters were no longer in their hands.
The CIA had been watching them from the very first moment they departed.
Back when Josh was still in the United States, in order to fight for more resources, he had managed the CIA quite well.
Although the mass-produced super-soldier serum used by Austria's military had not yet become common in America, the second batch of super soldiers Josh once helped create still remained. Later, under his influence, the U.S. made several more batches.
Thanks to his involvement, the formulas developed afterward—though still deadly—were far more reliable than what the Americans might have achieved on their own in the original timeline. As a result, the projects were never sealed away.
Later, under pressure from both the Soviets and Austria, the United States produced even more super soldiers. By now, America's supply of them was not small.
And of course, there was Peggy Carter, the current CIA Director.
As someone who had been thoroughly molded and manipulated by Josh, Carter naturally would not act against Thor at his signal. But going after Che Guevara and Thor was a matter of U.S. congressional consensus—it was not something Carter could simply block.
Besides, Carter was not Josh. While the CIA was still largely under Ouroboros' control, it was no longer his one-man domain.
And Josh had no reason to protect Che and Thor. So with Carter turning a blind eye, intelligence about Che's activities flowed steadily into U.S. hands. Eventually, the Army took the lead in planning a targeted capture.
This time, however, they did not act alone. They deployed one of their most secretive projects—something Josh himself had nearly forgotten about: the Reanimated Soldier Program.
The early stages of that program had been very rocky. But with Josh driving forward radical new technologies, along with the corpses of fallen super soldiers he once supplied, the program suddenly leapt ahead.
The "Reanimated Soldier" breakthrough, in turn, gave the U.S. military renewed confidence in continuing super-soldier research.
Dr. Woodward, who led the program, had discovered something shocking: by rebuilding dead super soldiers—or even failed test subjects—and combining them with vibranium's data-storage and energy-conducting properties, success rates jumped above eighty percent. Even more, the combat power of these creations surpassed that of ordinary super soldiers.
This discovery made not only the U.S. brass sit up straight—even Josh himself was surprised.
After all, when it came to super-soldier numbers, who could rival him?
So it didn't take long before Hydra channels delivered the technology to him as well.
Unfortunately, his own scientists quickly confirmed its flaw: these reanimated soldiers only retained physical strength. They could not restore any supernatural powers that might have been in the body.
To Austria—where the super-soldier serum was already widespread and robot armies were being built—such "undead warriors" were costly and rather useless. A chicken rib: too wasteful to use, too good to throw away.
But to America, they were treasures.
And so, under meticulous planning, the U.S. Army sprung its trap.
Che Guevara and Thor, along with more than a hundred resistance fighters, suddenly fell into an ambush: thirty-six Reanimated Soldiers leading a fully armed American reinforced regiment.
At the very first clash, Che's fighters were scattered. Only Che, Thor, and a dozen men managed to flee in desperation.
But the region was already under tight U.S. control. For them, escape was nearly impossible.