The Queen... oh no, the throne competition is on the verge of breaking out.
The Inhumans loyal to Black Bolt and Maximonov's rebel army instantly clashed into a chaotic mess, the entire screen filled with special effects.
In terms of individual strength, Black Bolt's side undoubtedly held the upper hand.
Even if Black Bolt's abilities couldn't be used, the other loyal high-ranking Inhumans and members of the Royal Family were all elites among thousands; taking on several opponents at once was no problem at all.
However, Maximonov had clearly come prepared.
He had secretly turned a large number of Inhumans to his side. The moment he made his move, several rebels surged into the meeting room, launching an attack on the Inhumans led by Black Bolt.
Two fists are no match for four hands, and even a hero fears a crowd.
Under the absolute numerical suppression of the opponent, no matter how well Black Bolt's side fought, they began to buckle. Many were wounded, and the rebels forced them back step by step, their room for maneuver shrinking.
A thin rebel took advantage of the chaos to get behind Medusa. His hands erupted with blinding electrical currents, shocking Medusa until she trembled violently and collapsed to the ground with her eyes rolling back.
Without Medusa's Wild Lion's Mane technique, the pressure on the Royal Family's side increased sharply, and more and more Inhumans were knocked down.
"Lockjaw!"
Seeing her side pushed into a corner, Crystal shouted in desperation.
The Lockjaw she spoke of wasn't a virus, but a giant dog with superpowered teleportation abilities. It could perform long-range teleports at any time; taking people from the Moon to Earth was a piece of cake for it.
Crystal wanted Lockjaw to take them away from there, but she shouted until her voice was nearly hoarse without seeing so much as a shadow of the dog.
Protected by a group of rebels, Maximonov gave a mocking sneer: "Stop shouting and save your strength. That stupid dog was drugged and knocked out by me long ago. It only took a single ham sausage."
Crystal's face stiffened, and in her heart, she cursed that gluttonous, stupid dog eight hundred times.
Maximonov shouted to the still-resisting Black Bolt: "Surrender, brother! You have no way out! For the sake of our brotherhood, I can let you abdicate with dignity!"
His tone suggested victory was already in his grasp.
If Black Bolt could still use his abilities, Maximonov would naturally tuck his tail and behave, not daring to face Black Bolt head-on. But now that Black Bolt was forcibly silenced, it was undoubtedly a godsent opportunity for him.
The rebels are already in your face, how can I lose!?
Seeing the situation grow increasingly dire, Black Bolt knew his side wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer if this continued.
He turned to look at Darian and the others who were watching the drama, his hands gesturing rapidly.
"What are you saying?"
Without Medusa, the professional translator, Darian couldn't understand what Black Bolt was trying to express at all.
Black Bolt hurriedly pointed at his own mouth.
Darian had a sudden realization: "Oh, you want to give this city to me? That's quite embarrassing."
Black Bolt: "..."
Are you looting a burning house here!?
Darian naturally understood the meaning of Black Bolt's gesture. It was nothing more than wanting Wanda to release the Chaos Magic, bring his mouth back, and then have a good talk and reason with the rebels in front of him.
But he certainly wouldn't do that.
Black Bolt's ability was too dangerous. Who knew if he would have a 'chat' with Darian as well after finishing with the rebels.
Better safe than sorry.
Darian didn't have the habit of handing decision-making power to others. At least in front of him, it was better for Black Bolt to remain a mute.
But Maximonov didn't know Darian's thoughts.
Seeing Black Bolt wanting to restore his mouth, he naturally couldn't let the other have his way.
He said sternly: "Kill these Earthlings! Don't let a single one go!"
Receiving the order, some of the rebels immediately turned their spears with cruel grins, pouncing toward Darian's group like wolves and tigers.
The thin rebel who had shocked Medusa rushed at the front, greed flashing in his eyes. He wanted to be the first to take down these Earthlings; once Maximonov took power, he might even earn the merit of being a founding official.
He didn't take these Earthlings seriously at all.
Mere Earthlings, how much skill could they have?
The thin rebel exerted force under his feet, his body leaping like an arrow toward the seated Darian, his hands glowing. He intended to capture the leader first.
Bang!!
With a heavy, dull sound, the thin rebel flew back even faster, knocking over two other rebels in the process.
The Interstellar Warrior in heavy armor withdrew his fist, standing before Darian like an iron tower. His tall frame emitted an invisible pressure that made the other rebels about to rush forward pause, their hearts turning cold.
But the arrow was on the string and had to be fired.
A rebel with bulging muscles roared and charged straight ahead, swinging a fist at the Interstellar Warrior.
The Interstellar Warrior's reaction was lightning-fast. He raised a hand and caught the rebel's fist. With the crisp sound of bone cracking, the muscular rebel let out a scream of pain before being violently thrown away by the Interstellar Warrior.
"Die!"
On the other side, a strange-looking rebel approached, releasing a pillar of scorching fire from his hands, continuously spraying it onto the Interstellar Warrior, attempting to melt him along with that high-tech armor.
Heavy footsteps approached.
The Interstellar Warrior walked slowly out of the raging flames. His entire suit of armor was glowing red from the heat, yet he seemed completely unaffected.
Before the fire rebel could react, the Interstellar Warrior suddenly reached out and grabbed the opponent's face. Ignoring the fire rebel's panicked struggles and pounding, his arm remained steady as he lifted the man off the ground and then slammed him hard against the solid floor.
Boom!!
After the heavy impact, the fire rebel lay on the ground, motionless.
An Interstellar Warrior doubly enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum and Extremis was simply not something an ordinary Inhuman could contend with. Based on raw stats alone, an Interstellar Warrior could easily crush a group of average-powered Inhumans.
In the blink of an eye, several more rebels lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
Maximonov was shaken by what he saw.
Were these the weak Earthlings he remembered?
The Interstellar Warrior's valiant performance made Black Bolt's eyes light up in his desperate situation, and he immediately made several quick gestures to Darian.
Darian said helplessly: "I told you, I don't understand sign language."
Black Bolt was a bit anxious and made a flurry of gestures.
Darian's expression suddenly became solemn: "You mean, as long as I help you suppress this rebellion, you are willing to share the shield technology with us and gain the friendship of the Inhumans? And if there are any problems in the future, your Inhuman race will provide assistance? Is that what you mean?"
Black Bolt: "..."
Don't you understand this just fine!?
[NPC Blackagar Boltagon has just issued a new quest to you]
[Quest: Suppress the Rebellion]
[Objective: Stop the coup initiated by Maximonov]
[Rewards: EXP +1500, Inhuman Reputation +20, Random Item *2]
"No problem. What we HYDRA hate most are these radicals who disrupt national peace. I'm definitely helping with this!"
Darian put on an expression of righteous indignation.
It would have been even better if he were willing to put down the melon he was eating.
"Bucky, go give them a hand."
Hearing Darian's command, Bucky nodded coldly. Holding his shield, a pair of metal wings unfolded behind his back as he cut directly into the fray.
Although Bucky hadn't been injected with Extremis, as HYDRA's top agent, he was always at the peak state where 'darkening makes you several times stronger.' Combined with the support of various superhero equipment, he was a fusion of offense and defense, knocking down several rebels in an instant.
With Bucky joining the battle, the efficiency of the cleanup skyrocketed.
Bucky and the Interstellar Warrior were like pay-to-win players who had wandered into a starter village. Under the absolute suppression of stats and equipment, the rebels fell one after another like harvested wheat.
Of course, it was mainly because these rebels had a variety of superpowers but very inconsistent combat experience.
Facing two battle-hardened warriors, as long as their abilities weren't particularly broken, they were basically just delivery fodder.
Seeing his subordinates being beaten to a pulp, the remaining rebels began to shrink back.
Maximonov immediately got anxious and yelled at the top of his lungs: "Don't be afraid! There are only two of them! Everyone, attack together!"
At his shout, more rebels who were originally pinning down Black Bolt turned their focus to Bucky and the Interstellar Warrior, leaving only a few to continue entangling the Royal Family members.
In an instant, dozens of figures pounced from all directions, throwing various abilities at Bucky and the Interstellar Warrior as if they cost nothing.
Fortunately, the two had excellent equipment. After a flurry of clanging sounds, though they looked a bit disheveled, they didn't suffer any substantial damage.
Some of the cleverer rebels saw how fierce Bucky and the Interstellar Warrior were and immediately turned their eyes toward Darian and Wanda at the back.
These two had been hiding in the back, so their strength surely wasn't much. They would take them down first.
Thinking they had found soft targets, they immediately bypassed the two powerhouses in front and rushed toward Darian and Wanda in the back row.
Facing the aggressive rebels, Darian and Wanda remained seated, calmly munching on their melon.
The rebel in the lead rejoiced, thinking the two were paralyzed with fear. His ten fingertips turned into sharp blades, and he slashed viciously at them!
Boom!!
A heavy impact accompanied by the sound of shattering stone slabs suddenly erupted.
The crowd only saw a black shadow flash before their eyes, and the rebel was suddenly slammed violently onto the ground.
An eerie black tentacle appeared, pinning the rebel's head down. Its terrifying force smashed his face into the floor, carving out a shallow pit filled with spiderweb-like cracks.
The rebel didn't even let out a grunt before he stopped moving entirely.
The entire battlefield, whether rebel or Royal Family, involuntarily paused for a moment.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, one, two, three... five black tentacles emerged from beneath Darian's white robe. Together with the first one, a total of six black tentacles swayed wildly around him. They were twisted and terrifying, emitting an ominous aura, making him appear altogether eldritch.
"Wha... what kind of monster is this!?"
The rebels' eyes widened, their scalps tingling with fear.
They used to think some of their fellow Inhumans looked abstract enough, but compared to the one in front of them, those people suddenly looked quite handsome and at least human.
The rebels in the front couldn't even brake in time before being tightly coiled by the suddenly attacking black tentacles!
Those seemingly soft black tentacles were exceptionally hard and powerful. No matter how they struggled, even using their own abilities, they couldn't budge them an inch. Instead, they were coiled tighter and tighter.
Creeak, snap!
The crisp sound of bones breaking suddenly rang out.
The rebels' screams faded from high-pitched to weak, and as the tentacles tightened heartlessly, they finally vanished completely.
Gulp!
The rebels who were lucky enough to escape the first wave swallowed hard, cold sweat instantly soaking their backs.
Compared to Bucky and the Interstellar Warrior, this humanoid creature covered in eerie black tentacles was obviously far more terrifying.
Not a single rebel dared to approach anymore.
They would rather face two pay-to-win warriors than face a non-human monster like Darian.
Taking advantage of the rebels being intimidated by Darian, Bucky and the Interstellar Warrior began an efficient sweep, with rebels falling one by one at their feet.
In less than a few minutes, only a few rebels were left on the field, cowering in a corner and trembling.
Maximonov stood at the very back, his face pale: "You aren't Earthlings at all. How could Earthlings be this powerful!"
Darian said cheerfully: "The version updates on your Moon side are a bit slow. Earthlings evolved long ago. Warriors like these are everywhere on Earth. This level of skill is the weakest batch in our HYDRA. In a few years, when the technology iterates again, they'll probably have to transfer to the logistics department to clean toilets."
Maximonov's eyelids twitched as he listened.
If he had known Earthlings were this powerful now, how would he have dared to target Earth?
It was lucky enough that Earthlings weren't targeting them Inhumans.
By this time, Black Bolt and the others had also finished off their opponents and were staring intently at Maximonov.
"Give up, brother. Your plan has already failed."
Maximonov understood Black Bolt's sign language and knew his momentum was gone, a flash of madness and resentment in his eyes.
"Failed? I haven't failed yet!"
Maximonov suddenly began to sneer, his laughter hoarse: "Did you think I wouldn't leave a backup plan? I long ago planted a destructive command in the city shield's main program. Every so often, it needs my palm print to reset."
"Without my authentication, Attilan's protective shield will immediately fail. When that happens, the entire city will be exposed directly to the vacuum of the Moon, and everyone will be buried with me!"
Black Bolt's face changed: "You're truly insane! Doing this will kill the entire race!"
A twisted sense of satisfaction appeared on Maximonov's face: "So what! Since I can't have it, then no one else can!" Either let me leave here safely, or we all die together!"
"You!"
Black Bolt's expression was agitated, his signs flying wildly, interspersed with a few vulgar gestures. It seemed he was cursing very filthily.
But Maximonov was unmoved, only laughing maniacally: "Come on! Kill me! Without my palm print for authentication, I'll see how you manage to survive on this Moon!"
Darian nodded: "Understood. Bucky, cut off his palms. Just to be safe, cut off both palms."
Maximonov: "...."