Pitiful Plan

"These lunatics! Do you think this is enough to kill me?"

Facing the Holy Light Warriors’ madness, Tony roared. Two rapidly spinning, scorching Crescent Blades flew from his shoulders, streaking across several Holy Light Warriors at astonishing speed and slicing their bodies apart.

Immediately afterward, Tony flung all the Holy Light Warriors away and blasted them apart with his Pulse Cannons.

The Crescent Blades had been inspired by Frank’s turrets and Wang Bert’s weapons. When it came to intelligent programming, Tony was far superior to Ivan. If Ivan could do it, then naturally Tony could too.

In fact, this was only a prototype. Once the experiment succeeded, he would install even more Crescent Blades on himself. Jarvis could control them anyway.

"Jarvis, control the two Crescent Blades and have them attack alongside me. They can regenerate, so prioritize their heads."

Tony charged at the other Holy Light Warriors with the two Crescent Blades. Though those Holy Light Warriors were immensely powerful and fearless in death, they were no match for Tony at all.

Tony was constantly improving.

"Once technology develops to a certain point, it’s practically like magical treasures from an immortal cultivation novel."

Skye could not help shaking her head. Then, she thrust both palms forward, unleashing her shockwaves completely. Without the Holy Light’s protection, the underground base rapidly collapsed.

At this point, only the Grand Elder remained in the underground base. He smiled faintly and moved at astonishing speed to the Sacred Ground’s location—protected by seals, this place had not collapsed.

"That should be about it."

The Grand Elder stretched lazily and muttered, "The Angel Church’s core forces are basically finished. I just wonder how many people will be buried with them."

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out behind the Grand Elder. "If those Holy Light Warriors heard you say that, they’d go mad."

The Grand Elder turned around and saw an unfamiliar chinese man staring at him with a cold sneer. He froze for a moment, then scoffed. "Blood God, did you change your appearance because you know you’re ugly?"

Wang Bert snorted. "Who exactly are you? You aren’t the real Grand Elder."

"You don’t recognize an old friend?"

The Grand Elder wiped his face, revealing Mephisto’s elderly gentlemanly visage. Then he said, "I reincarnated my true spirit into Pepper’s womb and injected everything else into the Grand Elder’s body."

The Grand Elder returned to his original face and said, "Actually, I am the genuine Grand Elder. It’s just that Mephisto’s consciousness has overridden mine."

"Mephisto, what exactly are you trying to do? Not only did you expose your own identity, you even sent people to kill yourself?"

Wang Bert could not help asking, "Is something wrong with your head?"

Clearly, the so-called god had all been Mephisto’s own little performance. Moro and those self-righteous Holy Light Warriors had been serving a devil all along.

"Not at all."

The Grand Elder smiled. "The Ghost Rider could discover me, which meant you would eventually uncover my identity. Since that was the case, I might as well come clean.

"With the Holy Light Warriors acting as villains, given Iron Man’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t abandon me even if he knew who I really was.

"Besides, I hate the Angel Church people. If I can screw them over, why wouldn’t I? After I reincarnate, I don’t want them buzzing around me like flies and causing trouble."

Wang Bert snorted. "That’s not all, is it?"

"There are some other goals, such as causing you some trouble."

The Grand Elder said, "Also, I wanted to drive a wedge between all of you. A reincarnated Hell Lord—I’m sure plenty of people want me dead."

"You want to drive a wedge between Tony and me? Sorry to disappoint you."

"I’m not disappointed. From the beginning, I never thought you would fall out with Iron Man. Someone who can collude with Hell’s demons definitely isn’t a rigid fool."

The Grand Elder said, "But others may not be like you. For example, Ghost Rider. Or Doom."

"Aren’t you afraid they’ll really take you out?"

Wang Bert asked irritably. Damon was manageable, since Hit-Girl could keep him in check. Doom was more troublesome. The man was wicked, and no one knew what he might do.

The Grand Elder laughed loudly. "With you and Iron Man protecting me, what do I have to fear? I’m really looking forward to a Civil War among the Super Heroes."

Wang Bert could not help cursing. "You’re starting to screw over your father before you’re even born."

"Screw over his father! Yes, that’s the phrase. My plan shall be called the Pitiful Plan."

The Grand Elder clapped his hands and said excitedly, "This is a brilliant plan I painstakingly devised based on my own experiences. Hahaha, Blood God, you used that idiot Blackheart to screw me over. Now it’s my turn to screw over you and Iron Man."

"Your Pitiful Plan really is pitiful."

Wang Bert was speechless. What kind of utterly deranged person could come up with such a plan?

"Of course it’s pitiful."

The Grand Elder said smugly, "The Angel Church and the trouble from the other Super Heroes are only the beginning. Once I am truly born, there will be even more pitiful things waiting for you. Blood God, Iron Man, let’s play this slowly.

"Oh, you can think of yourself as Odin and me as Loki. And by the way, I’ll be more cunning, more cruel, and more pitiful than Loki."

"Loki?"

Wang Bert’s mouth twitched. He asked, "You didn’t do all this just to screw us over, did you?"

"Screwing you over is one of my main goals. The other is to use you to quickly restore my strength."

The Grand Elder said, "You beat me until only a wisp of my soul remained, and I also lost my position as Hell Lord. It would take at least several hundred years for me to recover.

"I can’t wait that long. If I stay with you, I can become a god or devil again in just a few decades."

Wang Bert sneered. "Do you think I’ll let you regain your strength?"

"Why wouldn’t you? With Iron Man’s pride, how could he possibly allow his son to be useless?"

The Grand Elder smiled. "Besides, born into a super family, would it be difficult to increase my strength?"

"Indeed, it wouldn’t."

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. "If I’m not mistaken, you still have a remnant soul outside. In the future, that remnant soul will seize Tony’s son’s body and resurrect you."

"Don’t think so badly of me. Why would I seize my own body? It’ll be fusion—complete fusion."

The Grand Elder said, "There are two possibilities. One is that I successfully recover the memories of my previous life. Then, not only can I become Satan, I can also rule this universe, because I’ve already entered it.

"The other possibility is naturally that I fail. That would be somewhat regrettable, but not too bad. At the very least, I can screw you over every day and make your lives worse than death. And my future won’t be bad either. Reaching God-Devil Level is practically guaranteed."

Wang Bert laughed in anger. "So no matter what happens, you win?"

"That’s right. From the moment I reincarnated into Pepper’s womb, I won. Never mind that you won’t kill me—even if you do, I’ll still win. If you kill me, you’ll completely fall out with Iron Man, and Earth will definitely descend into Civil War."

The Grand Elder laughed wildly. "Iron Man isn’t an ordinary Super Hero. Earth favors him greatly. Without you, he would be the core of the Super Heroes.

"Blood God, I’ve won this time. My Pitiful Plan is destined to succeed. Just wait to live worse than death. Hahaha!"

Watching the smug Grand Elder, Wang Bert could not help sighing. This made the Grand Elder even more pleased with himself. He said, "Blood God, how does it feel to be screwed over? Let me tell you, I, Mephisto, am the ancestor of screwing people over. Compared to my Pitiful Plan, your tricks are nothing."

"I sighed not because your plan is really that good, but because I’m about to lose a Demon King’s soul."

Wang Bert raised his hand, and the Infinity Gauntlet appeared on it. Yes, he still had not returned it to Odin.

"Blood God, what do you mean?"

The Grand Elder looked at Wang Bert suspiciously and said, "My plan is flawless. You can’t possibly break it. This is an open scheme, an open scheme that cannot be destroyed."

"There’s nothing in this world that cannot be destroyed."

Wang Bert opened a small space and extracted the souls of Mephisto and Blackheart.

Mephisto’s soul shouted with feigned composure, "Blood God, what are you trying to do? Even if you kill me, the Pitiful Plan won’t change in any way."

Blackheart asked in shock and fury, "Blood God, why did you drag me out? If you have a problem, go find that bastard Mephisto. I’ve always been very obedient."

"Idiot."

Mephisto gritted his teeth. The greatest mistake of his life had been creating such an idiotic son. Fortunately, from now on, he would be the one screwing over his father.

"Nothing much. Just making a sacrifice."

Wang Bert clenched his fist and shouted, "Using the souls of Mephisto and Blackheart as sacrifices, erase all of Mephisto’s remnant souls. Also erase every memory Mephisto left behind, and ensure that there will never be another Mephisto in the future."

Tony’s son was not a remnant soul. He was a complete life.

After Wang Bert made his wish, the Reality Stone shone brilliantly, and its radiance rapidly spread over Mephisto and Blackheart’s souls. This meant it accepted Wang Bert’s sacrifice and could accomplish this task.

"This has nothing to do with me! Why am I being sacrificed?"

Blackheart shouted. I’ve been so obedient, so why am I the one being sacrificed? Blackheart did not know that he and Mephisto were tied together. Without Mephisto, who would care about Blackheart?

"The Reality Stone?"

The Grand Elder was horrified. He had never imagined there was such a cheating method. Worse still, that bastard Blood God was actually using his soul as a sacrifice.

The Grand Elder shouted, "Blood God, even without Mephisto, my reincarnated body will still screw you over."

"What does that have to do with me? He’s not my son. To be honest, I’d be delighted to see Iron Man get screwed over. The more miserable he is, the happier I’ll be."

Wang Bert scoffed. "Besides, as a strict godfather, it’s perfectly reasonable to beat that brat up every few days, right?"

The Grand Elder asked in shock, "Was all your anger before just an act?"

"Of course. Otherwise, how would you have so willingly spilled everything?"

Wang Bert sneered. "He’s not my son, so why would I be angry?"

"Actually, at first I wanted to reincarnate as your son, but you bastard refuse to leave behind any descendants."

The Grand Elder cursed, "Unless you’re willing, no one can become pregnant with your child."

"I’m barely over twenty. Why the hell would I want a son?"

Wang Bert said irritably. He would have fun for a few more centuries first. Having a child now would be irresponsible toward the child.

At that moment, the Reality Stone began to take effect. Mephisto and Blackheart’s souls rapidly vanished, while a large amount of Black Qi emerged from the Grand Elder’s body. It was Mephisto’s aura.

Not only that, Mephisto’s carefully hidden remnant souls and memories were all vanishing as well.

The Black Qi formed Mephisto’s face in the air. He gave a bitter smile. "The Infinity Stones are truly unreasonable."

"A universal wish-granting machine is naturally unreasonable. Unfortunately, many people simply don’t know how to use it. For example, that Dark Elves fellow actually used it as a weapon to smash people. How did someone with that level of intelligence become the Dark Elves’ leader?"

Wang Bert complained. Of the Six Infinity Stones, the one he wanted most was neither the Space Stone nor the Time Stone, but the Reality Stone. With enough sacrifices, the things the Reality Stone could accomplish were beyond imagination.

"Blood God, I lost this round."

Mephisto’s face said, "But don’t get smug. My reincarnated body will definitely screw you over so badly that you’ll wish you were dead."

"That has nothing to do with you. Mephisto will completely become the past."

Wang Bert said, "That’s right, Mephisto will completely become the past. Blood God, you won."

Mephisto’s face sighed and was rapidly erased by the Reality Stone.

A moment later, the Reality Stone returned to calm. Mephisto, Hell’s most cunning and shameless Demon King, had been completely ended by Wang Bert.

Wang Bert put away the Infinity Gauntlet and asked the void, "Damon, Doom, can you accept this outcome?"

Damon, who had witnessed everything through a Space Gate, fell silent for a moment before saying, "I can barely accept it, but I still think killing that child would be better."

"What a waste that would be. Since he is no longer Mephisto, let him stay. Bert, tell Tony that I want to take his son as my disciple."

Doom smiled wickedly. "Wasn’t he supposed to screw over his father? Let’s see whether he can screw over a Master like me."

"As long as you’re happy."

Wang Bert silently mourned for Tony’s child. Being Doom’s disciple was not something just anyone could handle.

A supervillain meeting a supervillain would definitely be interesting.

"By the way, Doom, you’ve been consolidating Eastern Europe. How much do you know about Sokovia?"

Thinking of something, Wang Bert asked Doom. Sokovia was Hydra Baron Strucker’s base.

"That place is extremely chaotic, and it has always refused to join my alliance."

Doom said, "Once I finish consolidating the other countries, I’ll send troops to wipe them out. Eastern Europe can have only one voice—my voice, Doom’s voice."

"That really doesn’t sound like something a villain would say."

Wang Bert complained. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Gather some troops. I may move against Sokovia soon."

"No problem."

Doom agreed readily. "By the way, the Celestial Head is nearly finished being repaired. It will absolutely exceed your imagination. Even the Three Great Empires’ super battleships would have to bow before it. It even has the capability to destroy a planet."

"Bullshit. Do you know how much money you’ve burned through this past year?"

Wang Bert said irritably. "I’m the best money-maker in the Entire Universe, and even I was almost bankrupted by you."

"Isn’t money meant to be spent?"

Doom said indifferently. "If necessary, we can disguise ourselves as Ravagers and pull off a few robberies."

Wang Bert was speechless. That was absolutely villain talk. He said, "My main body will awaken soon. I’ll go up and inspect it then. I hope it doesn’t disappoint me."

Doom said proudly, "When have my creations ever disappointed anyone?"

"Your creations are indeed excellent—so excellent that you stole what you were supposed to guard."

Wang Bert scoffed. "You actually pounced on Nebula after she got a new body. Doom, your image as a devoted king has completely collapsed."

"What does that have to do with you?"

Doom said expressionlessly. At the same time, he waved his hand, and the Space Gate closed directly.