Fleeing in Defeat

"Sin Buster, be careful. This guy’s trash talk is unbeatable. I even suspect he could talk a skyscraper into collapsing."

Seeing Damon arrive, Tony breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly shouted.

"I saw the earlier fight. The tv station has been broadcasting it live. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

Damon nodded and forcefully flung a blazing chain at Black Bolt. Black Bolt let out an "ah," and a ripple flashed out, sending the magical chain straight back at Sin Buster.

Sin Buster raised both hands, wreathed in Hellfire, to block the chain. With a bang, Sin Buster rapidly slid backward, leaving two deep tracks in the ground.

"He really is strong."

Damon was somewhat excited. He slammed the fiery chain into the ground, and it rapidly tunneled through the earth toward Black Bolt’s feet.

Black Bolt sensed Sin Buster’s intention and lowered his head, releasing a sound toward the ground. The grass shattered, and the earth sank into a rippling crater surrounded by cracks.

"What a pity."

The Human Torch on the ground sighed. The chain had been pinned down and surely could not launch another sneak attack. Black Bolt thought so too, but in the next second, the flaming chain burst out from beneath his feet, tightly binding his legs before rapidly coiling upward.

Damon smiled faintly. "Sorry, my chain can keep growing."

Black Bolt opened his mouth and whistled at the magical chain on the ground. The Sonic Wave condensed into a straight line and instantly severed the magical chain, leaving a small hole in the ground as well.

"He can even break magical chains?"

Damon was deeply shocked. He hurriedly withdrew the chain and repaired it with Hellfire.

The moment the magical chain broke, the chains binding Black Bolt immediately dissolved into firelight. His feet had been scorched black, darkening his expression as he looked up, intending to attack Damon directly.

Damon refused to back down. All the missiles on his body sprang out, ready to give Black Bolt a hard hit. It was not as if he could die anyway.

Just as Black Bolt and Damon were about to clash, Black Bolt suddenly sensed danger from above and behind him. He hurriedly looked up and saw Tony Stark hovering in the air, his glowing red right hand aimed at him.

At the same time, Natasha, without her suit, appeared behind Black Bolt, her Flame Energy Gun pointed directly at his back.

Surrounded on three sides, even Black Bolt frowned. He opened his mouth and waved his hands. Medusa translated, "Black Bolt says everyone should stop, or everyone here except him will die."

After a pause, Medusa shouted, "His Majesty is not threatening you. With his full power, this entire park will be reduced to ashes."

Tony and Natasha both frowned, finding the situation exceptionally troublesome. Damon snorted inwardly. I refuse to believe he’s faster than my Penance Stare.

Iron Man spoke to Damon over the comms. "Damon, there’s no need for a killer move. He isn’t an enemy. He’s been holding back the whole time."

"There really isn’t much sin on him."

The flames in Damon’s eyes faded. However, he, Tony, and Black Widow did not lower their weapons, and the situation immediately fell into a stalemate.

Forced to resort to such a method, Black Bolt sighed inwardly. This was truly disgraceful for a king.

Black Bolt’s offensive power was incredibly formidable, capable of destroying even space battleships. However, his defense was rather average.

Normally, this was not a problem. Black Bolt was a king, surrounded by countless guards and his queen, Medusa. He had never needed to defend himself. But now that he had fallen into hardship on Earth, defense had become his weakness.

"Attack."

Seeing the deadlock, Jiaying gave a cold command. The Inhuman Lincoln immediately raised a hand and fired two streams of electricity at Black Widow. Black Widow twisted aside to evade them, then returned fire with a flame beam at Lincoln.

At the same time, another Inhuman formed his hand into a gun and continuously fired Energy Bullets at Iron Man in the sky. Tony dodged while firing back toward Jiaying’s group.

Another Inhuman activated his power, and a Defense Shield appeared around Jiaying and the others, blocking all the bullets and flame beams.

Just as Jiaying’s group was distracted by the battle, a pair of hands suddenly emerged beneath Medusa’s feet and dragged her rapidly downward. Earth Demon had arrived.

Earth Demon was not a Super Hero, but the Super Heroes often called on him for help. His ability was simply too useful, and he was a money-grubber. As long as he was paid, he was willing to come.

He could not help it. He had been poor for too long in the past.

Just as Earth Demon was about to take Medusa away, an Inhuman stomped forcefully. A ripple flashed out, and the ground became as hard as steel.

Immediately afterward, another Inhuman with exceptionally muscular arms grabbed Medusa’s hands and forcibly pulled both her and Earth Demon out.

Lincoln immediately fired electricity at Earth Demon. Earth Demon snorted and formed an earthen shield to protect himself, then kicked through the air. His shoe transformed into an earthen spear and shot toward the Inhuman who had hardened the ground.

The Inhuman hurriedly dodged. The moment he moved aside, the ground returned to normal. Earth Demon landed and quickly sank underground again.

"Black Bolt, keep attacking. We’ll protect you. With people protecting you, you’re invincible."

Jiaying shouted loudly. Black Bolt had no choice but to sigh toward Tony in the sky. Tony was sent flying in response, though because Black Bolt had held back, his suit was not completely ruined like Black Widow’s and remained usable.

At a time like this, no one had time to mock Tony for getting blasted away again. Damon fired missiles at Black Bolt while once again swinging his chain toward him.

"Sorry."

Black Bolt raised his volume. All the missiles shattered in midair, while Damon was struck by an immense force and hurled backward along with his chain. His suit was covered in cracks.

"Did you see that, my fellow Inhumans? We are invincible! Whether it’s Iron Man or Sin Buster, neither is a match for us Inhumans! We Inhumans should unite and become the rulers of this world. As for humans, compared to us, they are merely unevolved apes!"

Jiaying shouted with high spirits. At that moment, a blue ring of light suddenly appeared ahead, growing larger and larger.

The moment Jiaying saw the ring, her expression changed drastically. She hurriedly shouted at Gordon, "Go!"

Gordon was equally terrified. He immediately tried to take everyone away, Black Bolt included.

At that moment, a hand stretched out from the blue ring and lightly tapped. Gordon’s teleportation was disrupted. He gritted his teeth and recklessly pushed his power to the limit. With a flash of light, every Inhuman except Black Bolt in the distance vanished.

"Huh? What just happened?"

The viewers watching television were utterly baffled. Had they not claimed to be invincible? Had they not said humans were mere apes? Why had they suddenly become so terrified that they fled in defeat?

"Invincible?"

Those who knew better snorted. The Blood God had not even said a word, yet these Inhumans dared call themselves invincible? Black Bolt was indeed strong, but what was he compared to the Blood God? It was worth mentioning that the viewers had not seen the blue ring, because the cameras had not captured it. By the time the cameras turned in that direction, the tv station’s feed had gone black.

Wang Bert had no intention of revealing himself before the public. It was not because he was shy, but because it would interfere with his dating life. Public figures had too many restrictions.

Take the Human Torch, for example. He had used his Super Hero status to pick up women everywhere, and now every newspaper was criticizing him. Even the sales of his merchandise had been severely affected.

Putting that aside for now, Wang Bert stepped out of the portal and looked at the park, which resembled ruins. "Tony, looks like you’ll have to pay up again."

"Why should I pay? That king over there should be the one paying."

Tony climbed to his feet irritably. "Why didn’t you come earlier?"

Wang Bert shrugged. "Would it have made a difference? The moment I appeared, they fled in defeat. There was no way to catch them."

"You actually have a point."

Tony was speechless. He said, "I’ve completely recorded the No-Eyed People’s teleportation fluctuations. Next time, I’ll definitely catch him."

"Let’s hope so."

Wang Bert looked up and saw the helicopters departing. He nodded in satisfaction, then opened a portal and said to Wind Demon and the Human Torch, "You and Thing should go to the hospital for treatment first. Earth Demon, go with them."

"Okay."

Earth Demon, Wind Demon, and the Human Torch answered, carrying Thing into the portal. As for Damon, his injuries had already healed. He was repairing his suit with Hellfire and had no need to go to the hospital.

It had to be said that a Ghost Rider’s abilities were truly useful.

Natasha walked over and said familiarly, "Boss, my suit is wrecked. Get me the newest model. I want to add some features myself."

"That title really brings back memories."

Wang Bert smiled. "Fine. Tell Steve I personally approved it."

"Thank you, handsome, rich, and generous Boss. You’re much more reliable than a certain someone."

Natasha looked at the approaching Tony and said resentfully, "You keep saying you’ll develop a cure, but it’s been over a month. Where is it? I can’t even touch a man now—or rather, men can’t touch me at all."

"How was I supposed to know the Perfected Extremis Virus would be so complicated? Didn’t I already develop a cure for the ordinary version?"

Tony said unhappily. Natasha snorted. "I’ve decided to move into your house. I won’t leave until you develop the cure."

"Move into my house?"

Tony’s eyes widened. If Natasha moved in, sleeping on the couch would be the least of his problems. Even durians… ahem, the Stark Family had no tradition of kneeling on durians!

Wang Bert could not be bothered with Tony and Natasha. He walked over to Black Bolt and introduced himself. "Hello. I’m Earth’s next guardian, the Blood Clan Chief, Earth’s richest man, Bert Wang."

Black Bolt bowed to Wang Bert, then waved his hands. The problem was that aside from Medusa, no one could understand his gestures. This was not sign language.

Wang Bert asked, "You use English on the moon too, right?"

Black Bolt nodded. Wang Bert traced a circle with his finger, pulled a phone from it, and tossed it to Black Bolt. "Type. Once you’re done, it’ll speak automatically."

Black Bolt knew how to type. A mechanical voice soon came from the phone. "Hello. I am the king of the Inhumans. You may call me Black Bolt."

Wang Bert asked, "Black Bolt, if you don’t mind me asking, did something happen to the Inhuman Kingdom on the moon?"

Hearing them get to business, Tony Stark immediately walked over. Black Bolt nodded and typed rapidly. "A coup occurred on the moon. My brother, Maximus, joined forces with the Kree Empire and stole my throne. More accurately, I am now a king in exile."

"The Kree Empire?"

Tony cried out. This matter actually involved an alien empire?

"Yes, the Kree Empire. They sent a fleet to secretly lurk on the moon."

Black Bolt nodded and used the phone to say, "Then we discovered each other at the same time. I intended to destroy them, but Maximus suddenly betrayed me at the critical moment and led the Kree Fleet into Attilan, our Inhuman city.

"To protect my people, I could only choose to surrender. Afterward, Maximus became king. The reason Inhumans have continually awakened on Earth is because he and the Kree are behind it."

"This is a bit troublesome."

Wang Bert frowned. He was not afraid of the Kree Empire, but he did not want Earth to be dragged into an interstellar war so soon.

Earth’s strength was still far from sufficient.

Tony also found the matter extremely troublesome. He glanced at Black Bolt and asked, "Is your Inhuman Kingdom really that strong? You can actually wipe out an alien fleet?"

Black Bolt replied concisely through the phone. "Yes."

Thinking of something, Black Bolt added through the phone, "Rest assured, I represent more than half of the Inhuman Kingdom’s strength. Maximus’s forces are not particularly strong."

Tony mocked, "You don’t sound arrogant at all."

Natasha snorted. "Aren’t you exactly the same?"

Wang Bert said, "Let’s leave here first and discuss things properly at my estate. Natasha, notify Steve and Rhodey to come over too."

Natasha nodded. "Okay."

Tony said, "You discuss it first. I’ll go find Aunt Carter and Dr. Pym."

With that, Tony flew away. Wang Bert remembered something and said to Black Bolt, "Black Bolt, most of the damage in the park was caused by you. By Earth’s rules, you need to pay compensation."

Natasha mocked, "Does he look like he has money? He even stole his clothes."

Black Bolt looked embarrassed. He typed, "Cover it for me first. Once I reclaim the Inhuman Kingdom, I’ll repay you double."

"No need to double it. That sounds like a scam text. Just sign your name."

Wang Bert waved dismissively, then opened a portal and extended a hand toward Black Bolt. "Your Majesty, please."

At Pym Group, Hank Pym saw Carter and mocked, "You must be Carter’s granddaughter. You look exactly like your grandmother."

"Pym, are you sure you want to speak to your only friend like that?"

Carter sighed. Pym fell silent. After a moment, he asked, "What do you need?"

Carter handed the documents to Pym. "I need you to analyze quantum fluctuations."

After reading the documents, Pym said in surprise, "Quantum Teleportation? An Inhuman actually has such an ability?"

Carter said, "Inhumans can have any kind of ability. Pym, time is short. I need you to finish the analysis as soon as possible."

"I’ll take the job for your sake."

Pym did not refuse. He said, "But you have to pay. The Blood Clan is not short on money anyway."

Carter asked tentatively, "I’m certainly not short on money, but you seem to be very short on money lately?"

"It’s just poor company management."

Pym did not mention his own problems because he did not trust Carter, even if she was his only friend.

Carter did not press further. She merely said, "If you need investment, you can come to me. My boss is so poor that all he has left is money."

Pym had intended to refuse out of pride, but thinking of the company’s current situation, he said, "I’ll consider it."

At that moment, Tony suddenly flew outside the window and made a knocking gesture at it.