What happened next caught everyone completely off guard. Even Nolan had not anticipated it.
Although Nolan had removed some of the core technologies from the Titan mechs to lower the cost and avoid potential trouble in the future, they were still Titans.
Under the concentrated firepower of dozens of Titan mechs, even Nolan, wearing the Mjolnir Armor, would not dare to step into that barrage lightly.
The only reason he could move without hesitation was because of Unit-01's AT Field.
Yet in such a situation, someone had actually hidden within the storm of artillery fire and seized that fleeting opportunity.
It was something Nolan had never imagined.
"Victor?"
Nolan narrowed his eyes.
He had assumed that after killing Reed Richards, Victor had disappeared because something in his mindset had changed. Perhaps he had decided to abandon the path of a villain.
He had not expected to see him appear at a moment like this.
"Mr. Locke. Long time no see."
Victor stood on the silver board.
Behind his mask, his face was stretched into a wide smile that refused to fade.
This board was incredible.
Even with only a basic grasp of its power, it had already given him the ability to survive under such overwhelming bombardment.
Ever since the Silver Surfer had humiliated him earlier, treating him like a circus animal, Victor had been burning with the desire for revenge. That was why he had come here ahead of time.
Originally, he had only planned to find an opportunity to sabotage the Surfer.
But he never expected this place to be a massive ambush.
There were not only numerous superheroes here, but also Nolan Locke and the military's Titan forces.
Once he realized the danger, a new thought quickly formed in his mind.
The board.
With his intellect and his control over electrical energy, he had already suspected during their previous encounter that the board might be the true source of the Silver Surfer's power.
So he decided to gamble.
And the result?
He succeeded.
Now he stood on the board, feeling its immense energy flowing through his entire body.
Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer, having lost the board, had fallen straight out of the sky.
Seeing this, Tony Stark did not hesitate. He rushed forward and caught the falling Surfer.
They were enemies.
But right now, the Silver Surfer could not die.
There were still too many things they needed to learn from him.
At the same time, everyone turned their attention toward Victor.
"You bastard!"
Ben Grimm, the Thing, cursed loudly.
He had not forgotten how Victor had used him before.
Although those events had exposed Reed Richards' true nature and shattered Ben's trust in him, that did not erase what Victor had done.
Victor heard him clearly. He glanced at Ben and chuckled.
"Ben, you should be thanking me."
Those words instantly ignited Ben's anger.
He did not want to argue about the past, but right now Victor Von Doom had stolen the board.
That alone was enough to make his blood boil.
"Give the board back!"
Under the intense gaze of everyone present, Victor simply laughed.
There was not a trace of fear on his face.
"Sorry. This thing belongs to me now. Honestly, it's unbelievable. I never imagined the board would contain such enormous power."
His voice was filled with excitement.
Nolan's expression remained cold.
"Victor. Reed Richards is already dead. You don't have to walk down this road any further. Hand over the board. This is your only chance."
His face showed no visible anger.
But anyone could tell Nolan was furious.
And he had every reason to be.
The board itself did not interest him.
Even though it connected to Galactus, that power was clearly not something that could be used safely.
In Nolan's eyes, it had no real value.
The problem was what it represented.
The board was tied directly to whether Galactus would come to Earth.
If Victor's actions ended up drawing Galactus here, killing Victor ten thousand times would not be enough to make up for it.
Unfortunately, Victor had no such awareness.
He simply sneered.
"My only chance?"
He looked at Nolan with cold amusement.
"Nolan Locke, you helped me once, that's true. But our paths have already diverged. Out of respect for the past, if you stay out of this matter, I won't trouble you."
Victor finished speaking.
Nolan's response was simple.
A sharp whistle of air suddenly cut through the battlefield.
In the blink of an eye, Nolan had already reached Victor.
Without hesitation, his plasma blade slashed forward.
If Victor could not understand reason, then reason was no longer necessary.
Victor's pupils shrank.
Nolan was far too fast.
He barely had time to react.
Fortunately, his instincts saved him. The board beneath his feet suddenly rose, blocking the attack head-on.
The plasma blade struck the board.
A ripple spread across its surface.
Then the blade's energy began to drain away rapidly.
The energy was being absorbed.
Not only that, the board seemed to be trying to draw power directly from the Mjolnir Armor itself.
Nolan immediately released the weapon.
Luckily he reacted in time, and the armor was not significantly affected.
Victor burst into loud laughter.
The board was even more powerful than he had imagined.
Seeing this, the others did not hesitate.
They all rushed toward Victor at once.
Today, they would make sure he could not escape.
Victor simply sneered.
"That's enough for today. Next time, we can have a proper conversation."
With that, he turned and left.
The board accelerated instantly.
In the blink of an eye, Victor Von Doom vanished from sight.
Johnny Storm could have kept up with him, but fighting Victor alone would have accomplished nothing.
"Damn it!"
Johnny cursed angrily.
They had actually let Victor escape.
Nolan frowned slightly.
He had never expected Victor to appear at such a critical moment.
Fortunately, they had still captured the Silver Surfer.
"No matter what, separating the board from the Surfer is still better than letting him escape with it," Nolan said.
The others exchanged glances.
Tony Stark nodded.
"That's true. We can deal with Victor Von Doom later. Right now we need to learn why the Silver Surfer came to Earth."
The Silver Surfer was not from Earth, so naturally he did not speak any human language.
But that problem was not difficult.
Language systems followed universal patterns. For geniuses like Tony Stark and Nolan, it was simply a matter of updating the language database and developing a translator.
Tony quickly got to work.
Nolan, meanwhile, sighed quietly.
The situation felt strangely familiar to him.
It was as if everything had returned to its original course.
Still, perhaps that was not a bad thing.
If they could convince the Silver Surfer to turn against Galactus, it would provide at least some measure of security.
Even if the Surfer could not defeat Galactus outright, a sudden betrayal might create an opportunity.
But Nolan did not focus too much on that.
Right now, he wanted to find Victor Von Doom.
A trace of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
Once, he had believed Victor could become an ally.
Now, he was simply angry.
Unfortunately, finding Victor would not be easy.
Victor had already proven he could hide for long periods of time. Combined with his intelligence, locating him would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.
Meanwhile, there was a breakthrough in the interrogation of the Silver Surfer.
The translation device was completed quickly.
Tony Stark and Bruce Banner stood outside the holding cell. The Silver Surfer looked curious, but his expression remained calm and unreadable.
"Hello," Tony said.
The translator activated.
The Silver Surfer paused slightly, clearly surprised.
"Hello," he replied.
His voice was calm and gentle. There was no anger at being captured.
Soon, the conversation began.
Tony and Banner had assumed the Surfer would refuse to cooperate.
Instead, he answered their questions without resistance.
"Norrin Radd," Tony asked, using the Surfer's true name. "What is your purpose in coming to Earth?"
The Silver Surfer replied calmly.
"I came to search for food for my master."
Tony and Banner both froze.
They had not expected that answer.
"Who is your master?" Tony asked.
"His name is… Galactus."
The Surfer spoke the name slowly.
Both men felt their hearts skip a beat.
They were both brilliant minds, and even from the name alone, Galactus sounded terrifying.
Before they could ask another question, the Surfer continued.
"I come from the planet Zenn-La. I was once an astronomer. One day my master arrived at my home world and chose it as his food.
To save my planet, I made a bargain with him.
I would search for new worlds for him to consume.
In exchange, he would spare my home."
"He gave me the board."
"From that moment forward, I lost my memories, my sense of good and evil, my conscience, and my morality. I became his herald."
"Only after losing the board did his influence fade. My memories are gradually returning."
Tony and Banner stared at him in shock.
"You're saying Galactus eats planets?" Tony asked.
The two of them could barely hide their disbelief.
A being that fed on entire planets sounded impossible.
Bruce Banner spoke next.
"You said you were searching for food for Galactus. Does that mean… he has set his sights on Earth?"
Bruce disliked using the word "he."
But when describing something that devoured planets, there were few better terms.
"Yes," the Silver Surfer answered calmly. "I came to determine whether Earth is suitable."
Both men felt their faces grow pale.
How could anyone fight a being that devoured planets?
Suddenly Tony spoke with a trace of hope.
"You said you were scouting for food. Did you already report back to him?"
Bruce's eyes lit up.
If the Surfer had not reported yet, then perhaps they still had time.
But the Silver Surfer's face showed faint pity.
"The board is the bridge between my master and me. Now that I have lost contact…"
"He is likely already on his way here."
"Damn it," Tony muttered.
They had imagined that if the Silver Surfer served someone else, that being would be terrifying.
But they had never imagined their enemy would be something that consumed entire planets.
Tony and Bruce did not waste another moment.
"Sorry," Tony said. "We have to go."
The Silver Surfer nodded.
Now that his emotions had returned, he understood exactly what they were feeling.
After all, he had once felt the same despair.
He had saved his home world at the cost of his own freedom.
But these people of Earth might not be so fortunate.
Tony and Bruce left the cell immediately and informed Nolan.
Nolan already had a good idea of the truth, but he still acted surprised when he heard the news.
"Damn. Looks like we can't avoid this disaster."
In truth, that was exactly what he believed.
Even though he knew the general outline of events, after so many years in this world it was impossible for him to remember every detail.
He had hoped that eliminating the Silver Surfer early might prevent Galactus from arriving.
Now it seemed that effort had been meaningless.
And then there was Victor Von Doom.
The Silver Surfer had been shaped by the board into Galactus's herald. Victor might have been clever, but this time he might have outsmarted himself.
If he continued using that board, he might eventually become the next herald.
All of these problems together gave Nolan a headache.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke.
"We can't be completely sure the Surfer is telling the truth. But the board clearly is his energy source, which gives his story credibility."
"If he's telling the truth, we probably don't have much time left."
"I'm going to S.H.I.E.L.D.. You two notify the White House."
"This time, the situation is serious."
After that, the three of them split up.
Nolan felt a little relieved.
Fortunately, he had not killed Nick Fury earlier.
If Fury had died, Nolan might truly have had to face Galactus alone.
Even if Nolan could escape using multiverse energy, people like Susan Storm could never follow him.
Soon Nolan arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury had not been having an easy time lately.
The actions of both Nolan Locke and Tony Stark had made things extremely difficult for the agency.
As Fury sat frowning over paperwork, Phil Coulson walked in.
"Director, Nolan Locke is here."
Fury looked up in surprise.
"Why is he here? Did he say what he wants?"
"No," Coulson replied. "But he looks… urgent."
"I see."
Fury nodded.
"Send him in."
At least Nolan had not forced his way inside.
That thought crossed Fury's mind.
Moments later, Nolan walked into the office.
"Director Fury. Long time no see."
Nolan greeted him with a friendly smile.
After all, he had come here to cooperate.
In Nolan's opinion, offering a polite smile was only appropriate.
To him, it felt perfectly sincere.
Unfortunately, the smile made Fury feel slightly uneasy.
"Nolan Locke. What are you doing here?"
Since he could not guess Nolan's intentions, Fury decided to ask directly.
"Director Fury," Nolan said calmly, "Earth is in trouble."
"It's time to call Captain Marvel back."
Fury's pupils shrank instantly.
"How do you know that?"
That was the greatest secret he possessed.