Avengers, Assemble

"Puh—ah!"

Bai Cangshu spat out a mouthful of blood. The dark, nearly black blood was mixed with tissue resembling internal organs.

He leaned against the wall inside a pitch-black cave, the sound of waves constantly crashing around him.

Opening the Mystic Eyes he had obtained from the Swirl of the Root came at an enormous cost, and the Existential Damage it inflicted could not be purged by Bai Cangshu’s instantaneous regeneration or resurrection.

So far, Bai Cangshu only knew that he could completely heal this effect by paying an exorbitant price within the space.

His entire body trembled, and his face was pale. After his bodily functions had deteriorated drastically, the damage to his internal organs had begun to affect the operation of his body.

Bai Cangshu began using Shen Wulong’s Logic and the Life Return ability he had gained from the One Piece World to control his internal organs and suppress his injuries. At the same time, the traits of the Perfect Individual were being brought into full play.

Bai Cangshu’s current physical capabilities were comparable to a humanoid Titan. Even with damaged internal organs, as long as they retained part of their function, they were enough to support activity at the level of an ordinary human.

His violent gasps gradually slowed, his breathing rate fell lower and lower, and his heartbeat grew weaker.

The long black hair behind Bai Cangshu’s head had already vanished, leaving him with short hair once again.

He sat cross-legged in the cave along the shoreline, adjusting his condition.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, a figure slowly appeared.

Clad in black armor, Artoria leaped in from the sea carrying some food.

After surveying the surroundings and examining Bai Cangshu’s condition, she said,

"Looks… not bad."

Though her tone was cold, this was probably the greatest concern that this tyrant, whose heart had fallen onto the path of dictatorship, could show.

Bai Cangshu curled his lips and nodded.

"I’m still some distance from death."

He accepted the food and began applying the Chef’s abilities to each item, altering their deliciousness properties.

Then he ate them one by one.

Bai Cangshu hoped to trigger a temporary effect that could improve his condition further through the Gourmet Cell and Gourmet milestones.

"How is Tree Herder? Did he notice that something was wrong with me?"

Bai Cangshu’s sudden disappearance had been somewhat unusual. Moreover, Tree Herder had demonstrated clearly above-average thinking ability before, which was why Bai Cangshu asked.

Artoria nodded.

"He probably realized you were injured, but he didn’t show anything unusual. Instead, he said we could try using Odin’s divine blood to create divine envoys and see whether they could dispel Odin’s ability effects."

Bai Cangshu sneered. It was an obvious probe; Tree Herder did not know exactly what injuries he had suffered.

If creating divine envoys with Odin’s blood had been so easy, Tree Herder would not have remained suppressed by Snow Witch and been merely the Far East Magic Society’s fourth-ranking figure.

Artoria rarely spoke so much, but with her host seriously injured, she felt she had to hold the situation together and thus took the initiative to speak.

"What about the next step of the plan? You had originally intended to snipe Solomon when he made his move, hadn’t you…?"

Bai Cangshu raised an eyebrow. Artoria was sharp.

"It doesn’t matter. The gains from hunting Odin exceeded my expectations. It’s fine if Solomon gets a little more benefit. As for the Darkhold…"

The smile on Bai Cangshu’s face was as cruel and mocking as ever. Though he was pale now, the mockery in his expression was even stronger.

"Stealing Solomon’s gains requires meticulous planning. If all I want is to destroy things, the difficulty is much lower~"

As he spoke, the golden Drop Card in Bai Cangshu’s hand seemed to contain limitless allure.

He crushed it directly.

You have opened Drop Card: Odin

"What did you say?!"

Tony Stark nearly smashed the phone in his hand against the glass in front of him.

The male voice on the phone was no longer that of the Asian man who had contacted him earlier, but that weak man with a black cross carved into his forehead.

Yes, when Tony Stark had first seen Tree Herder, Tree Herder’s pale complexion and exposed veins had led Tony to give him nicknames like freak.

Of course, only in his own mind.

But now, that damned freak was telling him that, thanks to the information analysis provided by him and FRIDAY, their trio had successfully hunted a god in Norway.

And after killing him, they had confirmed that the god had been Asgard’s former king, Odin—and also the biological father of Thor, their powerful Avengers teammate.

Tony Stark’s face turned livid. With his intelligence, how could he not know that this claim of confirming the identity only after the hunt was complete bullshit?

They had targeted Odin from the start!

But how was he supposed to explain this to Thor? That he had merely helped them search for information in order to protect New York…

And had ultimately, by accident, caused his father’s death?!

"What the fuck!"

Bang!

Tony Stark slammed his fist down on his desk. The movement caught his wife’s attention, and she walked over from outside with concern.

Tony Stark did not want Pepper Potts to know about something so troubling. He quickly forced out a smile, had FRIDAY close the office door, and nodded to his wife to show that he was fine.

Once the door closed, he roared into the phone.

"Are you fucking insane? Do you have any idea what kind of chaos killing Odin will cause?!"

Tree Herder moved the phone slightly away from his ear. From the corner of his eye, he watched Artoria sitting amid the ruins and drinking tea. Only after Tony Stark had finished venting did he speak calmly.

"We know. But what’s done is done. We have to look forward now, okay?"

"I can give you more information regarding the three Hydra members who attacked New York."

"The strongest is codenamed Jin. He looks like a blonde youth, no more than around ten years old;"

"The other two are a blue-haired woman who can manipulate wind and the atmosphere, capable of directly taking away the air ordinary people breathe; and a white-haired man who is comparatively weaker and gives off intense Freezing Qi. I think you have a way to find them based on those traits."

Tony Stark’s face remained grim. He knew full well that he was being led around by the nose by those three.

Yet he was now caught in a difficult position. He had to deal with the three who attacked New York, but the matter of those three "cooperating" with him to kill Odin was a massive hidden danger!

It could explode at any time.

He still remembered how Thor’s brother had once brought a group of aliens to attack New York. That kind of force was not something the currently divided Avengers could handle.

More importantly, if Thor learned the truth, would he still stand on humanity’s side…?

Tony Stark opened a drawer. Inside was a contact number.

But recalling everything that had happened during the civil war, Tony Stark still hesitated.

Just then, the man on the other end of the phone continued.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Tony. His Excellency Mercenary Tao said…"

"What did he say?"

"He said that this time, he would stand on humanity’s side."

At that moment, Tony Stark happened to see the dazzling afterglow before sunset spilling into his office through the window.

Someone capable of killing Odin was standing on humanity’s side?

But… what the hell did "this time" mean?

Tony Stark would not be placated by a few words. He wanted to ask more, but the other party only left him with one sentence.

"We’ll meet again in New York," before hanging up.

Tony Stark sat in his chair, his thoughts constantly shifting. Then, suddenly, his phone rang again. He looked down, and his pupils contracted.

After hesitating for a moment, he answered. A familiar voice came from the other end.

"Tony, we’ve run into a problem. Someone is trying to hunt Vision and Wanda. We need your help!"

Tony Stark’s heart jolted, but he immediately realized that this was an opportunity!

He could not place all his hopes on those three people whose backgrounds he knew nothing about. He had to bring those old friends together again as much as possible.

The Avengers had to assemble!