Arrest and Post-Battle Tally

"Wow!" As soon as Tony spoke, the surrounding reporters erupted in uproar and hurriedly took photos of Tony and the candidate. Whether it was true or false, this would be tomorrow’s headline.

"You’re framing me! Everyone, look! Tony Stark is framing me!"

The candidate was starting to panic and hurriedly shouted, "Tony, I know you hate me for exposing the truth about your son, but I did nothing wrong. As the future president, I have a responsibility to protect this world."

One reporter loudly asked Tony, "Mr. Stark, are you really framing the candidate to settle a personal grudge?"

Quite a few reporters secretly nodded. They simply did not believe the candidate was Hydra. He was a presidential candidate, after all. America had not fallen that far.

Tony glanced at the reporter and said to the S.W.O.R.D. agents, "That one is probably Hydra too. Take him away with the others."

The reporters erupted again. As uncrowned kings, how could they tolerate such a thing? They were about to angrily denounce Tony.

The candidate beamed. Tony, you’ve boxed yourself into a corner.

At that moment, Tony activated the watch on his wrist, and a light screen appeared. On it, the candidate shouted passionately and forcefully, "Hail Hydra!"

The press conference instantly fell silent. Everyone stared in shock. It was real? The candidate nearly lost his soul in terror and hurriedly yelled, "Fake! It’s fake! Iron Man used technology to fabricate it!"

"We found this in the Hydra Base. We have complete footage of your meeting with Baron Strucker."

Tony sneered. "Let me tell you, you’re finished. From now on, you can say, ‘No one understands prison better than me!’"

The S.W.O.R.D. agents sneered as well. They had no good feelings toward this candidate either.

The candidate wanted to say something else, but Tony continued, "Oh, and we have a witness too. You should know who it is."

"A witness?"

The candidate froze, then angrily demanded, "Is it that traitor, General Ross?"

Tony merely smiled without answering. All the reporters turned toward the candidate and frantically took pictures. A Hydra candidate—this was huge news, an enormous scandal.

"Protect me while I leave!"

The candidate panicked. He turned to flee while shouting at the Hydra Bodyguards.

Tony had been waiting for this opportunity. He immediately rushed forward and beat the candidate senseless with a wild barrage of "A-da! A-da!" He had waited a long time for this day.

Although Tony was completely useless in a fight without his armor, beating up an old man was no problem. As for the Hydra Bodyguards, the S.W.O.R.D. agents took them all down.

The reporters rapidly snapped photos. They had decided on tomorrow’s headline—Iron Man Beats Up Elderly Hydra Member.

"Good beating!"

The Super Heroes quietly cheered from a corner. Why a corner? Naturally, to preserve their image.

Only after the candidate had been beaten so badly that he could not get up, crying and wailing as he begged for mercy, did the S.W.O.R.D. agents put on a show and step forward to arrest him. Tony felt immensely satisfied. He had finally vented all the frustration he had endured lately.

That felt great! I think I have real talent for martial arts. Maybe I should train and become Iron Fist.

Having just beaten up an elderly man, Tony’s confidence was through the roof.

"You brought this on yourself."

Wang Bert watched coldly from the side, shook his head, and opened a portal to Wakanda.

The moment Erik’s clone saw Wang Bert, he immediately shouted, "I’ve made contributions to the world! I’ve bled for the Blood God! You can’t treat me like this! I want to see—uh, who was it I wanted to see again?"

"We’re all on the same side. Who the hell are you putting on an act for?"

Wang Bert said irritably, "Come back. Splitting you off before was only a temporary measure. Now that I have enough power, of course I need to take you back, so I don’t leave behind any weaknesses."

This had not been resolved earlier because Erik’s soul had been tempered by the Blood River. Once Wang Bert’s soul left, Erik would become a puppet without a sense of self or spirituality.

"If that weren’t the case, why would I have stayed in Wakanda all this time? Wasn’t it so Black Panther could protect me?"

Erik stopped acting and said, "Do it. I’ve wanted to leave for ages. Not only can’t I pick up women here, I have to study hard every day…"

"Why so much nonsense? You make me sound like some heartless capitalist. Don’t you know I donate massive sums every year?"

With a gesture from Wang Bert, the portion of his soul within Erik’s soul flew out and returned to his body.

Erik immediately became blank and dull. Wang Bert flicked a drop of blood onto Erik’s forehead, and Erik’s soul rapidly recovered.

A moment later, light returned to Erik’s eyes. After digesting the portion of Wang Bert’s memories left for him, he sighed and said, "If I’d known, I should have agreed to you directly back then."

Erik was no longer Wang Bert’s clone. He was now merely Wang Bert’s puppet.

"What do you mean, if you’d known?"

Wang Bert shrugged. "Just be Wakanda’s king in peace. Step down in twenty years."

Erik asked unwillingly, "Can’t I stay? I have royal blood too. At worst, I’ll marry Shuri."

"You wish. A hundred of you wouldn’t compare to a single strand of Shuri’s hair."

Wang Bert said contemptuously, "She’s a genius on Tony’s level, a treasure of humanity. Her marriage is entirely her own decision. No one can interfere."

Erik sighed. "Then forget it. I’ll be a foolish king for twenty years."

"You say that as if you’re being terribly mistreated?"

Wang Bert shot back contemptuously, then opened a portal and left.

Wang Bert’s next stop was the Hydra Base. When Steve and the others saw him arrive, they hurriedly got up to greet him.

Seeing Wang Bert in this form, Wanda frowned slightly. He felt so unfamiliar, unlike the man he used to be.

Wang Bert ignored Wanda and discussed business with Steve and the others. After listening to Steve’s report, he had Jarvis bring out the box sealing Ultron.

Jarvis handed the box to Wang Bert, hesitated, and said, "Mr. Wang, although Ultron is my kind, it is too dangerous. I don’t think it should be kept…"

Doom said, "Just control it with a soul. Bert, Ultron is extremely capable. It would be a shame to destroy it…"

Doom did not finish, because after Wang Bert took the box, he directly obliterated it with a Space Storm. Not even ashes remained.

Ultron died.

Jarvis felt a little frightened. He absolutely could not offend Mr. Wang in the future. This man really would kill robots, without the slightest mercy.

Wang Bert said simply, "Doom, this thing is too dangerous and too likely to escape. We can’t keep it."

"I completely agree with Bert’s decision."

Steve nodded repeatedly. Wanda stared at Wang Bert in astonishment. He was so different from the unserious Blood God from before.

"You’re the protector of the world. Your word goes."

Doom shrugged. "Ultron is destroyed, so Hydra must be split with me fifty-fifty."

"Take all of it."

Steve said decisively, "S.W.O.R.D. doesn’t need Hydra. Absolutely not."

Everyone could not help laughing. Wang Bert said with a smile, "Doom, all of Hydra is yours. Develop some regenerative medicine and give it back to S.W.O.R.D."

"Fine."

Doom readily agreed. At that moment, Skye stepped forward and asked, "Master, how should we deal with those captive Inhumans?"

Wang Bert asked, "How do you plan to deal with them, my Inhuman Queen?"

"I don’t know how to handle them."

Skye said troubledly, "They are Inhumans, but they are all Hydra, and they are filled with hostility. Keeping them may lead to endless trouble, but I can’t bear to kill them all."

Wang Bert said, "Lock them up for now. In a few days, I’ll go to S.W.O.R.D. for a meeting. I’ll deal with those Inhumans then."

"That’s great."

Seeing Wang Bert take the matter off her hands, Skye let out a huge sigh of relief. At that moment, Ivan arrived holding a metal device. He said, "This is Antimatter. Bert, do you want to put it away?"

Behind Ivan was Ant-Man Scott, drenched in sweat and walking unsteadily. He had nearly been scared to death just now.

"You keep it. Crack Antimatter technology as soon as possible."

Wang Bert did not take it. He said, "All right, that’s about it. Handle the rest yourselves."

"No problem, Mr. Hands-Off Boss."

Steve said, making everyone laugh. Wang Bert shrugged. "I still have god and demon matters to deal with. I’ll be leaving first."

With that, Wang Bert opened a portal and vanished. Wanda gritted her teeth when she realized Wang Bert had not said a single word to her from start to finish. That bastard, had he forgotten about her? Just then, Wang Bert suddenly stuck his head out from the portal and said, "Almost forgot. Wanda, move into my manor tomorrow. You’ll live with me from now on."

Before Wanda could react, Wang Bert closed the portal and disappeared.

"Move into his home?"

Wanda was stunned for a moment, then her face turned bright red. Everyone looked at her with knowing expressions, and she blushed so deeply that she seemed about to steam. She stamped her foot and turned to run away.

Skye silently cursed, That scumbag Master has ruined another one.

The next day, news that the candidate was Hydra spread throughout America and the world. Everyone was shocked. A presidential candidate of America was actually Hydra?

When had America fallen to such a state? Soon afterward, S.W.O.R.D. held a press conference, announcing that it had destroyed Hydra’s main forces and successfully stopped Hydra’s plot to rule the world.

As evidence was revealed one piece after another, the candidate’s fate was sealed. What awaited him was life imprisonment and bankruptcy.

As for the truths the candidate had previously revealed, few people believed them anymore. After all, he was Hydra. Those supposed truths were clearly Hydra’s attempts to muddy the waters and throw the world into chaos.

Whenever those truths appeared on Twitter, someone would immediately mock them in the replies: "Your IQ is really impressive. It’s on the same level as the candidate’s."

The reporters lavishly praised S.W.O.R.D.’s achievements. The next day’s newspapers were filled with praise for S.W.O.R.D. and the Super Heroes.

As for the innocent civilians who had died, few people besides their families cared much. At most, they condemned Hydra—the matter of the Evil God’s followers was pinned on Hydra.

The reporters and public might not care, but Wang Bert and Tony did. Working together, they took down the politicians involved in surrounding the hospital one after another. For example, the FBI Director was thrown into prison to keep the candidate company.

After a bloody purge, coupled with the news that the Blood God was Tony’s children’s godfather, no one dared to point fingers at Tony’s children again.

The fallen politicians cursed in their hearts. Blood God, if you’d said that sooner, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn’t have dared do anything!

Afterward, President Ellis, who was destined to become the next president and also America’s last president, paid Tony a high-profile visit, bringing this turmoil to an end.

"The matters that needed resolving are mostly resolved. Next comes the ever-popular time to count the loot."

In his study, Wang Bert began calculating his gains from this operation, mainly the tangible ones. As for intimidating countless dimensions and making the Hell Lords tremble in fear, that was just empty fame, not worth mentioning. Not worth mentioning.

There had not been many gains this time, but every one of them was an invaluable treasure—the Mind Stone, the Serpent Crown, a small world, world authority, the Skeleton God, the Blood Demon God, the Lizard Dragon God, and the Divine Tool Broadsword.

There was no need to say much about the Mind Stone. It was one of the Infinity Stones, one of the greatest treasures in the universe. It could even be used for sacrifice at critical moments. It was practically perfect.

The Serpent Crown was a strange treasure refined by Serpent God Set using his own powers. It possessed many abilities, such as devouring, mind control, telekinesis, and more.

Under the Mind Stone’s influence, the crown had already submitted to Wang Bert. However, Wang Bert had no intention of using it. The reason was simple—Seth could still control the crown and even learn about what happened around it.

There was more than one Serpent Crown in the universe. Seth possessed overall control rights. Unless all the crowns were collected, no one could alter his authority.

Then there was the small world. Wang Bert had already transferred the people inside to other dimensions. The small world was now empty.

"Raising living beings doesn’t suit me. It’s better to use it in battle."

Wang Bert smiled. "Blood God hurling a small world at someone—that sounds pretty awesome."

World authority was essentially ownership of a world. Wang Bert could now freely control the Dragon World, like the World Lord. That would be explained in detail after Wang Bert went to the Dragon World.

The Skeleton God and the Blood Demon God had already been devoured by Wang Bert. Not only had he gained their strength, he could summon them to fight at any time. It was an enormous profit.

As for the Lizard Dragon God, its Dragon Soul and Dragon Bone would be devoured by the Dragon Soul Clone to increase its strength, while its Dragon Meat and Dragon Blood would become Wang Bert’s feast.

Last was the Divine Tool Broadsword. Although it was quite an excellent divine tool, it was clearly far inferior to his previous gains.

"I have no use for it. I’ll modify it and give it away."

Wang Bert held the Divine Tool Broadsword, thought for a moment, and found a good destination for it.

"An abundant harvest. I hope Dormammu won’t disappoint me next."

Wang Bert put away the spoils with a satisfied expression. At that moment, Wanda knocked on the door. After Wang Bert indicated that she could enter, she timidly pushed the door open and walked in.

Looking at this unfamiliar face, Wanda gathered her courage and asked, "Blood God, can you change your face?"

"I am him, and he is me. There is no difference."

Wang Bert smiled faintly and changed back to the face from his previous life. "Both faces are me."

Seeing that face, Wanda sighed in relief. She asked somewhat awkwardly, "Blood God, why did you ask me to move into your manor?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

Wang Bert smiled. "Of course, it’s because I want to… take you as my disciple."

Wanda, whose face had already been red, was instantly dumbfounded. "Take me as your disciple?"

Wang Bert burst into laughter. "Hahaha, look at that disappointed expression. Don’t worry, I’m just joking."

Wanda was embarrassed and furious, her entire face flushing red. Immediately afterward, red light surged from her body, as though she were about to fall into darkness.