At this moment, T'Challa's situation was quite unfavorable.
After a round of high-intensity confrontation, his physical strength was being consumed rapidly, and his movements began to grow increasingly sluggish.
In contrast, Killmonger showed no signs of fatigue; his offensive came in waves, each stronger than the last, clearly showing he still had energy to spare.
After several rounds of combat, T'Challa was already covered in wounds, with nosebleed trickling past his chin, looking quite pathetic.
The more T'Challa fought, the more alarmed he became.
Killmonger's physical fitness simply didn't seem human; it was even comparable to his own after taking the Heart-Shaped Herb. He began to suspect if the other man had also taken it.
"Is this all you've got?"
Killmonger's offensive slowed slightly, his tone carrying the playful mockery of a cat toying with a mouse.
Now strengthened, his power far exceeded what it once was. Dealing with a T'Challa who had lost the power of the Black Panther was simply effortless.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't kill T'Challa, the man would have died several times over by now.
"Who says?"
T'Challa clenched his teeth, forcing his body to stay upright.
He could never hand over the throne of Wakanda, even if the opponent was his own cousin.
"T'Challa's gaze grew determined as he gathered what little strength remained in his body and charged at N'Jadaka, using his self-created martial art, 'Sunspot Reveals Foot,' and kicked out forcefully at N'Jadaka."
"This move was incredibly vicious; it appeared to be a kick toward N'Jadaka's lower abdomen, but in reality, it targeted a few inches lower. If it hit, the best-case scenario would be foaming at the mouth; the worst would be the end of his bloodline, a disgrace to his ancestors."
"But who was N'Jadaka? The head instructor of the American Special Forces, the Panther Head himself!"
"He remained calm in the face of danger, shifting his feet to easily dodge T'Challa's finishing move. He then unleashed the secret art, the 'Leopard Style Fist.' In an instant, the arena was filled with N'Jadaka's fist shadows, enveloping T'Challa and blocking all paths of retreat."
"T'Challa was greatly shocked, thinking to himself that this youth was actually so terrifying."
"He gritted his teeth, enduring several hits from the Leopard Style Fist until he spat blood, but he successfully managed to grab N'Jadaka with both arms and pin him to the ground."
"N'Jadaka refused to be outdone, likewise wrapping his arms around T'Challa and twisting his body to pin T'Challa beneath him."
"At this moment, the two locked eyes, their breaths intermingling. Sparks of passion flew as their gazes collided. T'Challa's eyes were like bedroom eyes, and N'Jadaka felt the delicate body beneath him grow increasingly hot. His breathing involuntarily quickened as his hands slowly moved toward the other's half-exposed..."
Darian was providing a passionate commentary below the stage, fully utilizing the profound writing skills he had developed as a failed author. However, less than halfway through, the two men wrestling in the arena suddenly jerked apart as if they had touched a hot iron, rolling to opposite sides with faces full of disgust.
Darian asked in surprise, "Why did you stop fighting?"
"Yeah, why didn't you keep going?"
Shuri nodded quickly; she was munching on popcorn and had just reached the most exciting part.
Killmonger and T'Challa already had dark complexions, and now they turned even darker.
They had been enduring this for a long time!
What the hell kind of commentary was this!?
The earlier parts were whatever, but what were those suggestive words at the end!?
If it weren't for the fact that the speaker was Darian, the hot-tempered Killmonger would have likely started cursing him out directly.
T'Challa also wanted to hit someone. He was the dignified Crown Prince of Wakanda, a man of iron character—how did he become the one being flirted with in the commentary?
The two forced themselves to ignore Darian's commentary and began wrestling again.
This time, they both tacitly avoided close grappling, fearing Darian's commentary style would shift from a martial arts novel to an erotic one again.
After Darian's commentary just now, Killmonger no longer had the heart to continue toying with T'Challa.
His gaze turned cold, and he no longer held back his enhanced physical attributes. With a slight blur of motion, he swung a sharp whip kick toward T'Challa's waist and abdomen!
T'Challa hurriedly raised both arms to block.
Bang!
With a heavy, muffled thud, the immense force sent him flying off the ground sideways, slamming heavily onto the platform.
Before T'Challa could get up, Killmonger's second kick followed immediately, striking him hard in the side.
"Ugh!"
T'Challa groaned. The bit of strength he had just gathered instantly dissipated, and his body curled up as he fell back to the ground.
Killmonger stepped on T'Challa's back and said coldly, "Surrender. You are no match for me."
"I... I won't give up."
T'Challa spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his tone firm.
Killmonger looked disdainful. "The outcome is already decided. Resisting to the end only leads to death. Your father is gone now; if you die here today too, what will happen to your mother and sister?"
"Son of T'Chaka, you wouldn't want your mother and sister to have no one to look after them, would you?"
At this moment, Killmonger wore the face of a true villain.
Oh wait, he was a villain to begin with.
Hearing this, T'Challa's gaze wavered slightly.
He remained silent for a long time before finally lowering his head.
"...I surrender."
What?
T'Challa actually lost?
The entire arena fell into a deathly silence of shock.
Prince T'Challa, who had even defeated the valiant M'Baku, had actually lost to this suddenly returned son of a prince?
The Purple-Robed Elder froze for a moment before announcing loudly, "The challenge is over... The winner is N'Jadaka!"
There were no cheers this time, because many people were still in a daze.
"Are there any other challengers?"
The Purple-Robed Elder asked according to the procedure.
The royal members of the various tribes looked at each other, but no one responded.
Even T'Challa had been defeated; if they went up, they would just be offering themselves up for slaughter.
The Purple-Robed Elder took a deep breath and declared loudly, "Then, I hereby announce that from this moment forward, N'Jadaka is the new King of Wakanda!"
As his voice fell, he placed the necklace symbolizing the King onto Killmonger.
At this moment, all the Wakandans present, regardless of their personal thoughts, raised their arms with solemn expressions and crossed them over their chests in the traditional gesture of loyalty.
Even T'Challa and his family accepted the defeat, offering no objections.
The battle had been fair and just, and Killmonger hadn't dealt a killing blow to T'Challa. The winner takes all; there was nothing more to say.
T'Challa stood up with difficulty, looked at Killmonger, and said seriously, "N'Jadaka, I hope you can become a good king and lead Wakanda toward a better future."
Are you teaching me how to do things?
Do you think you are Mr. Doom?
Killmonger glanced at T'Challa.
"I won't mind you calling me N'Jadaka now, but what should you call me from now on?"
T'Challa: "...Your Highness."
With that, the ritual battle was settled.
Killmonger had finally achieved his wish and become the new King of Wakanda.
According to the traditional process, next he would consume the Heart-Shaped Herb to gain the power of the Black Panther and then ascend the throne of Wakanda.
Darian became interested upon hearing this.
"I happen to want to see the Heart-Shaped Herb. Take me with you."
"Alright."
N'Jadaka naturally didn't dare to disobey Darian's command.
Even though he was now the King of Wakanda, his life was still in Darian's hands.
However, several tribal Elders immediately stepped forward with troubled expressions.
"Your Highness, the Heart-Shaped Herb is Wakanda's most sacred treasure. Non-Wakandans have never been permitted to set foot in its growing grounds."
Killmonger waved his hand with an unquestionable tone. "Simple. From now on, this man is the Strategist of Wakanda, with a status second only to mine. His words are my words."
This was something he and Darian had agreed upon long ago.
As an outsider, Darian needed a legitimate title to stay in Wakanda, so Darian had slapped his thigh and decided to be a strategist.
After all, he felt he had always relied on his brains to make a living.
Although the crowd had objections, a new official carries out three bold actions; they didn't want Killmonger's fire to burn them, so they chose to obey the order.
The Heart-Shaped Herb was located in the Wakandan capital, Birnin Zana.
Darian and Killmonger took T'Challa's aircraft and headed to Birnin Zana together.
Although T'Challa had been defeated by Killmonger, he didn't hold a grudge. Instead, he pestered Killmonger like a nosy relative, asking all sorts of questions to learn more about his cousin.
Upon learning that Killmonger's father had passed away long ago and that he had struggled through countless life-and-death situations alone in the U.S. Special Forces, T'Challa's eyes showed genuine sympathy and concern, his words full of warmth.
Killmonger was simply beyond annoyed.
In particular, the intense concern for family in T'Challa's tone made him extremely irritable and itchy all over.
As for Darian, he sought out the young black girl, Shuri, and started chatting about this and that.
[NPC: Shuri]
[Codename: Second Generation Black Panther]
[Favorability: 20]
[Evaluation: One of the smartest people on Earth, Wakanda's top technician, single-handedly supporting Wakanda's technology tree]
One of the smartest people on Earth—the weight of this evaluation went without saying.
Keep in mind, Shuri wasn't very old, much younger than Tony.
This meant she not only possessed top-tier intelligence but also had immense growth potential and malleability. She was a genius among geniuses, and her long-term value was hard to estimate.
Darian naturally didn't want to let such a talent go.
If he could pull Shuri into HYDRA, the organization's overall technological level would achieve a qualitative leap.
Shuri didn't have much resistance toward Darian, the man who had treated her to Popcorn.
After only a few words, she enthusiastically began introducing the various masterpieces she had developed, such as the Vibranium suit that could absorb and release kinetic energy, portable nanotechnology, sonic guns with impressive power...
Shuri's research and inventions were not inferior even to alien technology.
Darian listened with admiration, becoming even more determined to pull Shuri into the organization. It could also serve to shut some people's mouths.
Recently, some rumors had cropped up out of nowhere, saying that he, Darian, was a racist who rarely recruited black people into the organization.
"Slander!"
"Pure slander!
Didn't their HYDRA experimental Base have many black test subjects among its personnel!
Soon, they passed through the holographic energy camouflage on the outskirts of Birnin Zana and truly entered the interior of the city.
It had to be said that the Wakandan capital was indeed spectacular, blending traditional African aesthetics with a futuristic style, a complete visual feast.
The most striking thing was the ubiquitous application of Vibranium.
As Darian looked around, traces of Vibranium existed in almost every corner of the city. One could imagine just how much Vibranium Wakanda actually had.
The aircraft finally landed at a hidden cave entrance on the edge of the city.
This was the sacred ground where the Heart-Shaped Herb was cultivated, a place only a few were permitted to enter.
Stepping into the cave, the interior had been cultivated into neat plots of land, where patches of strange plants shimmering with a mysterious purple light grew.
[Heart-Shaped Herb]
[Description: A special plant mutated by Vibranium meteorite radiation. Consuming its juice can greatly enhance the consumer's strength, speed, endurance, and sensory abilities, and it has a certain hallucinogenic effect, allowing the consumer to travel to the Ancestral Plane.]
[Note: Its juice is restricted to those of Wakandan royal blood; it has a lethal toxic effect on outsiders.]
"Only those with Wakandan royal blood can take it?"
Darian felt a wave of disappointment.
His original plan was to use the Heart-Shaped Herb as the third-stage reinforcement core for the Interstellar Warrior project. Now it seemed this path was locked tight by a biological lock.
Unless he had Killmonger and T'Challa spread their seeds, or even had T'Chaka step up if needed, to frantically raise their descendants and create a batch of Black Panther Warriors that way.
But this method was far too slow and difficult to realize.
However, Darian didn't give up entirely; there were always more solutions than problems.
Since he couldn't consume it directly, he would use those who could for research, extracting data from those of royal blood to decode the genetic mysteries. It wasn't impossible to reverse-engineer a universal Black Panther Serum.
As for whether it could be achieved, he would leave that to the scientists at the HYDRA research Base.
He was the boss, responsible only for the concept; the problem of implementation was naturally left to the workers.
Besides, this Heart-Shaped Herb wasn't entirely useless.
At least... it looked like it would be quite good for poisoning people.
Darian's imagination began to run wild.
If someone took the Heart-Shaped Herb, then was injected with the Super Soldier Serum and Extremis, and finally got a few drops of Hulk's Gamma-Irradiated Blood...
This whole messy stew of enhancements would probably be more terrifying than any known poison in the world.
If used for poisoning, who could possibly survive it?
Of course, there was also a tiny chance it would give birth to a powerful genetic chimera monster, in which case Darian would be the one crying.
Not long after, Killmonger consumed the juice of the Heart-Shaped Herb and was buried in the soil by the attendants.
This was the necessary ritual for every king to gain the power of the Black Panther: burying the person alive without leaving even a single air hole.
It was said that this allowed one to see deceased ancestors or other Wakandans.
Although Darian knew the consumer was going to the so-called Ancestral Plane, he was still a bit speechless.
If anyone were buried like this for a long time, their oxygen-deprived brain would start playing a life-review reel and see dead people waving at them.
Seeing that Killmonger had been buried for several minutes without any movement, Darian raised an eyebrow.
Could this guy have stayed over there?
So he walked over, wanting to check on Killmonger's status.
T'Challa's expression changed upon seeing this. "Wait, Strategist, you can't yet..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Killmonger suddenly jumped out of the dirt, his eyes bloodshot and his expression extremely agitated.
Seeing a figure right in front of him, he instinctively swung his fist at the person.
Bang!!
Killmonger was instantly sent flying backward, his entire body embedded into the dirt wall.
T'Challa looked at Darian, who was slowly retracting his fist, and was instantly dumbfounded.
This is a damn strategist!?