When Westmark, covered in wounds, walked into the main control room under the protection of his subordinates, the first thing he saw was the shadowy figure seated atop the mound of corpses.
His body was covered in black and yellow heavy armor, with a crimson lone eye scanning everyone present.
His throne was built from bones, nearly a hundred Inhumans, either known or unknown to him, now lay dead in various poses, piled together.
And Deathstroke sat at the top of the mound, seeming quite at ease.
"Elder Westmark? I've been waiting for you, please have a seat."
A deep voice echoed in the deathly silent hall, reverberating, while the bright room carried an astonishing chill, a terrifying aura emanating from atop the pile of corpses.
Westmark glanced around at the other people in the hall, these elders he was familiar with, were no longer exhibiting the heroic vigor they showed during council discussions, their faces were now ashen, expressions sluggish.
In a corner of the hall, Westmark found his wife and child, now a woman in a black and green gown was stroking her hair, whispering to her.
He wanted to speak to his wife, but the woman merely lifted her head to glance at him, the chilling aura rendering him immobile, it turned out she was the source of the mental chill.
Atlan had not experienced war for Bai Wan years, the horrific atmosphere resembling a battlefield seemed to awaken a latent fear in his genes.
Su Ming nodded slightly towards Hel, bent down himself, resting his elbows on his knees, speaking condescendingly.
"Now, I announce, the first Atlan Representative Assembly, begins."
"...."
The hall was deathly silent, the elders looked at each other.
Indeed, they had come for the control room, but upon arrival, found it already occupied by a monstrous human who claimed to be ordinary.
Initially, he said: 'Surrender, you are surrounded by me.'
They thought it was a cruel joke, how could two people surround hundreds? So they attempted to seize the control room.
Then, it turned out this human wasn't bluffing, he alone was as formidable as an army, with countless tentacles extending from him, wielding unfamiliar weapons.
Flames raged, sweeping bright lines like metallic whips across, instantly annihilating a large group.
But alas, no matter how many they were, the main control room was only so big, these two blocked the door, they couldn't possibly squeeze in.
All sorts of superpowers were countered by the opponent, no matter how strong the abilities were, this human seemed to know for sure they couldn't exert full power here, thus each was left frustrated and tearful.
They had no choice but to surrender.
Su Ming was also somewhat impatient, because these elders definitely wouldn't arrive together, but each would bring their subordinates, coming one camp at a time, resulting in this scenario playing out four times.
Eventually stacking all the corpses up and sitting atop to increase intimidation was more effective, by the time Westmark entered, he was quite composed upon seeing the scene.
"Applause!"
Su Ming shouted sharply.
The elders seated around the long table flinched, instinctively starting to clap, not knowing what it meant to beat their hands together but best to comply.
Su Ming shook his head in dissatisfaction, the number was still too few, the atmosphere in the venue was not at all lively.
Logically, such a meeting concerning Atlan's future should be solemn yet lively, but these people clapped unprofessionally, entirely insincerely.
But it'll have to do.
"Now let's discuss how to defeat the surrender faction and eliminate the visiting army of the Kree Empire."
"Please wait, this human power user..."
An elder with a horse head stood up, wearing a headband that symbolized tribal leadership, originally a white horse, but now with a patch of grassland on his head, formed by bruised blood.
"Call me Deathstroke, elder." Su Ming interrupted him.
"Deathstroke, why must we directly resist the Kree People? We live in the Nine Realms, we could completely rely on Asgard..."
Indeed, the mouth of a horse cannot produce ivory, with such platitudes, Su Ming was too lazy to explain, leaning back into the soft belly of the corpse behind, he waved his hand casually.
"Hel, take Elder Xiuxiu out for a solitary dialogue, explain why Asgard is unwilling to help."
"I'm not called Xiuxiu..."
But he didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, Hel grabbed Tanis to Su Ming's side, pinched the horse-headed man's neck, and directly dragged him out the door.
The horse-headed man's subordinates attempted to intercept her, but a huge black spiral appeared out of thin air, sweeping left and right, the hall's blood was even heavier, leaving only the sound of a swaying door.
"Everyone, rest assured, Elder Xiuxiu's life is not in danger, he just needs to grasp the urgency of the current time." Su Ming patted the corpse beside him: "Next, let's continue discussing the strategy against the Kree People."
"No, Deathstroke, we should wait. Atlan holds great value, the Kree People are just bluffing, they can't bear to destroy us. We just need to wait."
A green-skinned senator who looked somewhat like a fat frog stood up, his gaze full of determination, as if he had complete confidence.
"Ah… Cloak, take Comrade Alone to the ozone layer for some fresh air, let him clear his mind." Su Ming rested his chin on his hand and tapped his mask.
"I'm not called Alone... Ah!!!"
A black lightning bolt, moving at a speed invisible to the others, directly whisked away the green-skinned elder, leaving only his original chair spinning rapidly in place.
"Squeak…"
The atmosphere turned more terrifying; the elders' screams seemed to still linger in the air.
Su Ming glanced at the remaining three elders, who represented the scientists landing on Earth, the current speaker, a blue-skinned person considering abandoning Atlan to flee, and Tanis's husband Westmark, who advocated resisting to the end.
The three exchanged silent glances with hostile expressions and shook their heads helplessly.
"Alright, continuing, Mr. Speaker planning to abandon Atlan, have you ever sent your subordinates into human society?"
This blue-skinned person, somewhat resembling Yondu, Star Lord's foster father, but with a more genteel and decent-looking appearance, without a mouth full of bad teeth, though both had tall red dorsal fins on their heads, looking somewhat like fish.
"No, Atlan will not engage with humans, which violates the laws that have governed Atlan for millions of years."
He answered despondently, never having imagined his team would be so weak, with most of them lying within the Corpse Bone Throne.
Indeed, has Atlan been away from war for too long? Many don't know how to utilize their Superpowers to inflict damage.
"Then you wouldn't mind showing me your elite warriors on the terminal?" Su Ming directly requested the list from him, intending to detain the SSR Colonel if he was among them.
In fact, after occupying the control room, Tanis, under Hel's intimidation, operated the console to obtain population statistics.
The Colonel's name might be fake, his appearance might be fake, but abilities don't lie.
Su Ming was certain the Colonel disappeared in front of him using Spatial Teleportation Superpower, and based on this criterion, he quickly pinpointed the person from the large list.
The only uncertainty was which faction this fake Colonel belonged to during this rebellion, so he needed each elder's list to determine his current location.
"Impossible." The senator shook his head: "Even if you kill me, I can't allow humans to gain access to our list."
Su Ming nodded, as a red electric glow flickered, and a black tentacle lifted a crystal like a magic trick from behind him.
"Let's talk conditions; I'll provide a dossier on a person, and you tell me whether he's one of yours. Then, you hand over all the stolen infants. I can let you leave and offer a Terrigen Crystal in exchange for you to escape to whichever corner of the Cosmos, and I'll leave you be."
The Speaker fell into deep thought; without the crystal, even if they managed to escape, there would be no way for their descendants to possess Superpowers.
Apart from the Kree People, only here had the crystals. Even the original site deep within the Cosmos was unknown to them.
Now, handing over the infants would allow followers to have more children, and regarding the list, as long as they… fake it…
At this moment, Deathstroke seemingly casually said to Tanis beside him: "Your husband has Psychics, right? Please bring some in to act as lie detectors for me. I'm supportive of you and your husband's stance; if this Speaker lies, even if he escapes to the Annihilation Insect swarm, I'll drag him out and kill him."
The Speaker's mind suddenly felt as though a herd of beasts had rushed past; yes, Deathstroke can be fooled, but the other side also has Inhumans.
His ability was Telekinesis, capable of lifting and wielding objects weighing tens of tons, but he couldn't defend against Psychic Superpower.
Although Atlan prohibited Psychics from using their abilities recklessly, he was ready to leave Atlan, and had already deeply offended Westmark; his Inhumans wouldn't care about a former speaker.
Tanis paused, her gaze falling on her husband, who nodded slightly at her with a stern expression.
If not for the current bizarre situation, these people wouldn't even sit at the same table, they would've been using Superpowers against each other long ago.
Tanis stepped out and returned with several odd-looking Inhumans, one even lacking a cranial bone, with the brain directly exposed, eyes bulging out like lightbulbs, obviously strong.
After all, Charles merely lost his hair as a Psychic, and this one even lost his cranial bone.
"Help me see if our 'former' Speaker will be lying." Westmark, without needing Su Ming's further instruction, immediately commanded his subordinates.
He deliberately emphasized the word former Speaker.
Seeing every preparation complete, Su Ming descended from the throne, opened the terminal on the long table, and Tanis retrieved a dossier.
The Speaker's heart calmed, his blue skin unable to conceal the excited flush beneath.
"This person is not mine."