T’Challa’s Defeat, Shuri Takes the Stage!

T’Challa wanted to resolve the matter himself, and as an outsider, Li Congxin couldn’t force his way in. So he simply set his bottom line at keeping T’Challa alive and left the rest to him.

The battle proceeded without any surprises, unfolding much as it had in the original timeline.

T’Challa’s skills were originally no weaker than those of his younger brother, and were even slightly superior. After all, he had been trained by the Wakandan royal family and was far more orthodox than Killmonger, who had come up through unorthodox means.

However, their fighting spirits were completely opposite to their abilities.

T’Challa was kindhearted. He still felt a blood bond with this younger brother he had never even met, so he held back with every move. Killmonger, on the other hand, struck to kill every time. As they fought, he continuously berated T’Chaka for his "sins," blaming T’Challa’s father for his own father’s death.

Yet he said nothing about how his father had betrayed Wakanda and caused the deaths of so many people.

Because T’Challa cared about their family ties, he felt even more restrained when attacking. In the end, Killmonger seized an opening created by a single misstep, heavily wounded him, and threw him off the bottomless cliff.

"Brother!"

As T’Challa disappeared from sight, everyone present was stunned. Shuri was the one who cried out in alarm.

Seeing this, Mindy immediately turned to Li Congxin with an inquiring look. "Brother Clark, what do we do now? Should I step in?"

Li Congxin gently shook his head and transmitted to Mindy and Shuri, the two young girls, "T’Challa is fine. I just used a portal to send him to Avengers Base for treatment. He should recover soon. The immediate priority is to stop that man from ascending the throne. T’Challa is neither dead nor has he admitted defeat. Once he comes to his senses, he can still defeat this usurper."

After throwing T’Challa off the cliff, Killmonger turned to face everyone and declared arrogantly, "From this day forward, I am the king of Wakanda. I…"

"What a joke!" Following Li Congxin’s instructions, Shuri stepped forward without hesitation. "According to Wakandan tradition, anyone with the qualifications can challenge the king and the Black Panther’s throne in a ritual combat. Since you could challenge my brother, others have the same right to challenge you. Before you defeat all your challengers, what right do you have to proclaim yourself king?"

Killmonger frowned at her words and immediately retorted, "Are you saying I have to fight everyone before I can become king?"

Shuri nodded. "That’s what my brother did. Everyone acknowledged that he had the ability to lead Wakanda toward a better future, so they gave up their challenges. If you want to become king, you must do the same—or defeat everyone."

Shuri’s words were logical and well-founded, leaving Killmonger no way to refute them.

Besides, he had no foundation in Wakanda. Before obtaining the Black Panther’s power and suit, he had no strength with which to challenge its traditions.

Though he was deeply unwilling, he turned back to face everyone and shouted, "Who wants to challenge me?"

At that, the people who had previously been eager to try all hesitated. Killmonger had no roots in Wakanda, so unlike T’Challa, he shared no tacit understanding with them. Yet he had already displayed skill no weaker than T’Challa’s, along with a ruthlessness T’Challa lacked. Whoever challenged him had to be prepared to be killed.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Wakanda was not short of influential figures, nor did it lack powerful warriors. But finding someone who possessed both advantages at once was genuinely difficult.

Seeing everyone remain silent, a smug smile bloomed across Killmonger’s previously calm face. His gaze once again settled on Shuri. "See? It’s not that I refuse to accept a challenge. No one is willing to challenge me. What is it? Do you want to challenge me?"

"That’s right." At once, Shuri stepped forward and came directly before Killmonger. She raised her head to look at the man a full head taller than her and said without servility or arrogance, "According to the rules of ritual combat, you can choose whether to accept my challenge now or take a few weeks to recover your strength."

Killmonger chuckled and shrugged. "Of course I want to finish all the battles today and ascend the throne immediately, but…"

As he spoke, he turned to look toward the Wakandan queen. "Aunt, are you really going to let this little girl challenge me? You should know that I won’t hold back."

The queen looked toward Li Congxin, seeking his opinion. Shuri had spent all these years learning from Li Congxin, so the queen actually knew little about her daughter’s strength.

Li Congxin nodded gently and transmitted to her, "Rest assured, Queen. Shuri will win."

His tone held not the slightest fluctuation. This was clearly not an encouraging declaration, but a calm statement of simple fact.

The queen immediately felt reassured. Turning to Killmonger, she said, "I support Shuri’s decision."

In fact, Shuri’s challenge had also helped the queen regain her composure after her initial shock and anger. As long as she did not let this man successfully ascend the throne, there was still room to turn things around.

Therefore, even if Li Congxin’s answer had been negative, she would not have rejected Shuri’s challenge. She would only have delayed the challenge for as long as possible and found some other countermeasure.

But since Li Congxin had such confidence in Shuri, she could not be bothered to think of another method. Letting Shuri openly defeat this man was also a good way to resolve the problem.

Neither the queen nor Shuri intended to delay the challenge, so the decision was once again passed to Killmonger.

But would he choose to postpone the challenge? Of course not. Challenging T’Challa had already been a risky move, and he had no backup plan. If the matter dragged on, the situation would only become increasingly unfavorable to him.

After all, T’Chaka was still alive! It was only because of the rules that, as the former king, he could not participate in this ritual combat.

Killmonger could defeat T’Challa through his schemes, but he had no advantage whatsoever against T’Chaka. When it came to plotting and trickery, even his father would have been a mere child before T’Chaka.

"Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish." Having made up his mind, Killmonger immediately accepted Shuri’s challenge.

The ritual combat then began again from the start according to the rules. Under Zuri’s supervision, Shuri and Killmonger each took a shield and weapon and entered the pool where the final battle would take place.

Looking at Shuri’s short stature, with the oversized woven shield appearing somewhat comical in her hands, Killmonger immediately began taunting her to shake her confidence. "Little girl, does that shield feel heavy in your hands?"

Contrary to expectation, Shuri nodded at his taunt. She then threw both the shield and weapon to the ground. Amid the astonished gazes of everyone present, she curled her hands into claws and assumed a strange stance. "Weapons and armor of this level are nothing but burdens in my hands. To deal with you, my bare hands are enough."

"You’re looking to die!" Killmonger roared. The short spear in his right hand shot straight toward Shuri.

As a professional killer, he would never give his opponent a chance to correct a mistake. Using every available opportunity to put his opponent to death was his usual way of doing things!

Shuri stood unarmed as the short spear thrust toward her face. Yet her pretty face showed no fear. She merely extended one hand in an unhurried grab, moving with a ghostly speed as she caught the spear three inches behind its tip. Despite Killmonger’s strength, once Shuri seized the spear, he could not make it advance another inch no matter how hard he pushed!

"I already told you. This thing is nothing but a burden." As she spoke, Shuri’s right hand suddenly tightened around the short spear. The woven shaft shattered under her grip, breaking apart on the spot.

Everyone present was left utterly stunned.

Shuri’s strength was terrifyingly powerful!

Amid the horrified gazes of everyone present, Shuri grabbed the broken half of the spearhead and flung it backward. It turned into a streak of cold light and shot straight toward Killmonger’s face.

Fortunately, Killmonger had seen countless battles. When he saw the flash of light flying at him, he raised the shield in his left hand almost without thinking and barely blocked Shuri’s merciless casual throw at the last possible moment.

"Clang!" With a crisp sound, Killmonger was jolted half a step backward by the tremendous force. However, the specially treated woven shield in his hand was quite sturdy. Shuri’s full-powered throw only drove the spearhead deep into the shield; it failed to pierce through and impale his head as she had initially expected!

"Just as I thought—a burden." Shuri curled her lip disdainfully and gave him no chance to react. Her figure flashed, dragging out a long string of afterimages, and she appeared before Killmonger like a teleport.

Perhaps wanting to vent some of her brother’s anger, she did not even try to knock away his shield. Instead, she simply swung her clawed hand down onto it.

"Splurt!" With nothing more than a casual grab, the shield that even a spear had been unable to pierce was punctured with five deep holes. Shuri’s slender fingers passed through the shield and appeared right before Killmonger’s eyes!

At this sight, the Wakandan people were practically too shocked to speak.

Could even Wakanda’s successive Black Panthers accomplish this without wearing their suits?

If Shuri already possessed such terrifying strength, then after gaining the power of the Heart-shaped herb… did that mean they were about to welcome the strongest female Black Panther in history!?

Thanks to reader saynol for the 100 starting-point coins!

Thanks to reader Wandering Driftwood for the 100 starting-point coins!