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Previously, circumstances forced Talos to choose Darian as their leader.
But now, he was sincere, without any hypocrisy, and instead began to worry that Darian might find them troublesome one day, kick the Skrulls away, and stop playing with them.
Thinking of this, he hugged his thigh even tighter.
Darian tried to pull his leg back, but couldn't, looking disgusted: "Alright, alright. From now on, you Skrulls will work for me. Within three years, I will find you a suitable Planet to live on. Even if I can't find one for a while, I have places on Earth and the Moon to settle you, so you won't have to hide anymore."
He wasn't just making empty promises.
Going to the Universe to expand the map was a matter of time. The Galaxy was so big that finding a Planet suitable for the Skrulls to live on really wasn't difficult. Not to mention, the Bohet Planet where the Galaxy's sculpture group currently lived was a good place.
Talos looked happy: "Thank you, leader!"
After some coercion and inducement, Talos was completely submissive, his loyalty was brushed up high, and there was basically no need to worry about him having second thoughts. However, Darian wasn't actually afraid of Talos or other Skrulls daring to betray him.
Other forces might be wary of the Skrulls, fearing that Skrulls would mix into their internal ranks, be quietly and gradually eroded, and eventually be completely replaced.
But for Darian, this was not a problem at all.
He possessed the Golden Eyes that could see through all illusions. No matter how powerful the Skrulls' disguise ability was, it was useless in front of him. Once he discovered any signs, he could just step on them.
After returning to Earth, Darian handed over the daily management of the Skrulls directly to Talos.
Anyway, Talos was originally the leader of the Skrulls, and Gravik and those Radicals were just setting up a separate kitchen. He knew the affairs of the clan well, so when he was away, he would be fully responsible, and report any major events later.
With Talos as an insider, it would be much more convenient for Darian to mobilize the Skrulls in the future. At least he wouldn't have to wear Layla's face every time he wanted to arrange something.
In addition, Darian didn't intend to waste the Skrulls' talent.
He asked the Skrulls' technicians to continue researching gene fusion schemes, striving to create more stable mass production methods based on Gravik's crude method, with the goal of being able to stably produce Super Skrulls, or even super stitched monsters like Gravik.
Going to the Universe to expand the territory required a lot of combat power and manpower. Relying solely on Sokovia and HYDRA's forces was far from enough. If he could create a Super Skrull army, his confidence in the Universe would be completely different.
Although ordinary Skrulls could transform and infiltrate, their combat power was just like that when they really fought, at most the level of intelligence personnel.
But Super Skrulls were different.
After fusing with special genes, these guys could fight and hide, could fight head-on, and could sneak behind, making them first-class at infiltration and assassination.
Moreover, they could also match different gene combinations to deal with various situations, capable of long-range and melee, output and support, truly universal soldiers. Of course, the kind like Gravik was an exception.
Currently, the limit for Skrulls was to fuse three special genes, and they had to be relatively weak ones. If they wanted to fuse powerful genes like Hulk and Captain Marvel at the same time, their own genes would instantly collapse.
But this was also good; if the Skrulls were too strong, they would be hard to control. This level was just right.
As for whether it would attract the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
There was no need to worry about this at all.
The Agents in charge of monitoring the Skrulls were all HYDRA spies, all his own people from top to bottom. How to report it later was just a matter of a word from Darian.
He casually arranged these HYDRA members into the senior management of the Skrulls, specifically responsible for intelligence.
Millions of Skrulls were scattered all over the World, disguised in various identities, infiltrating various industries. If such a huge intelligence resource was left unused, it would be a waste.
HYDRA originally had its own intelligence network, and with so many Skrull eyes and ears, it was like adding wings to a tiger.
Now, HYDRA's intelligence network really covered the whole World, and no wind or grass could hide from HYDRA's ears and eyes.
Kamar-Taj!
According to custom, the first thing Darian did after landing was to go to the Ancient One's meditation room to check in.
As expected, the Ancient One still hadn't returned.
Darian finally understood; the other party was clearly avoiding him.
In a fit of anger, he kicked the door open, determined to confiscate all the tea leaves the Ancient One had hidden, so that when she returned, she could only brew plain water with empty cans.
As a result, after searching the whole room, he couldn't find a single bit of tea, but he found a piece of white paper the size of a palm.
"Mage Darian, when you see this paper, I might... not be dead yet"
Darian: "..."
Seeing this prefix, he thought the next part would be that she was already dead or unfortunately killed, but it was just this?
If you're not dead, why the hell did you specifically say that!
"No, you don't understand, not being dead yet is actually a sad thing, but that's not what I want to say"
"Because the Dimensional Demon God I encountered is too difficult to deal with, I'm afraid it will take some time for me to return. Without me sitting in town, Earth is very likely to encounter more threats from other dimensions"
"So, I want to ask you for one thing. During the time I'm away, you will temporarily guard Kamar-Taj and the reality dimension for me. As a reward, you can freely mobilize the mages of Kamar-Taj within a reasonable range. I have already explained this to Mordo, and he will cooperate with you as much as possible"
"In addition, the Library's access is also fully open to you, but I hope you can have some sense of proportion. Just take a look at those overly dangerous forbidden books; I don't want to rush back to wipe your ass"
"In short, Kamar-Taj is entrusted to you for the time being"
"Also, help me fix the door"
This white paper looked small, but the content was quite rich.
The reason was simple, because the text on it would change.
Every time Darian finished reading a line, that line of text would automatically disappear, and the next line would jump out immediately, just like real-time refreshing, and it even came with interaction, not at all like a message written in advance.
He reasonably suspected that the person controlling these words was hiding in a corner nearby, silently watching his every move. This was a bit scary!!
Darian cleared his throat and shouted loudly to the air: "Master Ancient One, look what you said! What kind of friendship do we have? Your business is my business, I will definitely help with this!"
"And... the door to your room, it was like this before I came in, it has nothing to do with me. But don't worry, I will definitely help you find the culprit! Daring to kick the Sorcerer Supreme's door, it's simply lawless!"
After saying that, he greased his soles and slipped away.
Walking out of the meditation room, Mordo was already standing outside the door waiting.
"Mage Darian."
Mordo nodded slightly, with a polite smile on his face: "Master Ancient One has already explained it to me. If you have any needs, just speak up, I will fully cooperate."
Darian coughed lightly, suddenly becoming a member of the management of Kamar-Taj, feeling a bit unaccustomed.
He patted Mordo on the shoulder, his tone old-fashioned: "Little Mage Mordo, I am very gratified that you have this heart."
Mordo: "..."
This guy adapted quite quickly.
Darian asked: "By the way, how is Kamar-Taj doing recently?"
He had been busy these days, with a bunch of side quests needing to be completed, and hadn't been able to take care of Kamar-Taj at all, even forgetting to brush daily quests.
Mordo restrained the smile on his face, his expression becoming serious: "To be honest, it's not very optimistic. Since Master Ancient One left, the probes from other dimensions have become frequent."
"During this period, more and more magic creatures have broken into the reality dimension, and their strength is not weak. They have caused not a little damage to reality, and our mages have been trying their best to deal with them."
"However, using magic requires a price, and some mages' bodies have reached their limits."
The more magic used, the more debt incurred.
These days, the mages of Kamar-Taj could be said to be squeezing their bodies to pay off debts, like they had been working 007 for several months, and they were almost unable to hold on. Darian's eyes lit up: "There's such a good thing?"
Mordo: "?"
He suspected he had misheard, blankly looking at Darian, his face full of the question 'Are you human?'.
Darian realized the problem with his words, putting on a serious expression: "I mean, I have already thought of a countermeasure, don't worry, it will be solved in a few days."
Before Mordo could ask what the countermeasure was, Darian slipped away.
For the mages of Kamar-Taj, those magic creatures that popped up every few days were a burden, a bottomless pit that needed to be filled with lives.
But for him, the player, those were a bunch of moving experience packs!
The stronger the monsters and the more there were, the more rewards he would get.
However, Darian also knew that he couldn't stay at Kamar-Taj every day to brush daily quests, just like the previous period, once delayed by other side quests, he missed a bunch of daily quests.
The feeling of watching experience points slip away from his eyes was even more uncomfortable than losing money!
So Darian had long figured out an idea: to set up a daily quest outsourcing team similar to the X-Squad at Kamar-Taj. It just so happened that the Ancient One had handed over the management of Kamar-Taj to him, so he could let go and do it.
Of course, this matter couldn't simply copy the X-Squad model.
After all, the mages of Kamar-Taj all used life-burning magic. They weren't like Peter's bunch, who could lie down for one night and be full of energy the next day to continue liver-grinding tasks.
They ground one task, maybe they would have to lie down for several days when they got back, and in serious cases, they might have to lie down for several months. If they encountered any accidents, they might spend the next few years in bed.
This level of grinding seriously slowed down the progress of brushing daily quests, and Darian didn't want his daily quest production line to suddenly stop. Because of this, he intended to enhance the strength of the Kamar-Taj mages, letting them minimize the number of times they used loan magic and extend the usage time.
In the past, Darian might not have had a good way.
But now it was different, he had just acquired an Enchantment skill.
He had already studied this skill; simply put, as long as it was a magic he knew, it could be attached to any equipment. As for how much magic could be attached and how strong the effect was, it depended on the material of the equipment.
The better the equipment, the more magic it could carry, and the more powerful the effect after Enchantment.
Wasn't this a proper magical artifact?
Do it!
Darian ran directly into the Library and began to look for magic suitable for Enchantment to learn.
A few days later, Darian called Mordo to the training ground and asked him to call the other managing Great Mages over as well. Soon, several Great Mages stood on the training ground.
In addition to Mordo, Kaecilius, and Wong, there were two other Great Mages Darian hadn't seen before.
They had also heard about Darian, this parachuted leader.
Most of the Great Mages, out of respect and trust for the Ancient One, did not have any doubts or opinions, thinking that the Ancient One had her own reasons. Only Kaecilius felt that Darian was not worthy of the position.
An outsider mage who hadn't even officially joined Kamar-Taj, why did he become their leader as soon as he arrived?
Just because the Ancient One was backing him?
Oh, that was indeed awesome.
But Kaecilius was even more unconvinced.
He had followed the Ancient One for so many years, not being able to compare to Mordo, the Ancient One's direct disciple, was one thing, but why could Darian, this unorthodox mage, also get the Ancient One's favor?
Yes, in Kaecilius's eyes, Darian was an unorthodox mage.
After all, what kind of mage uses thermal weapons as their magical artifact? This is not a mage at all!
A real mage should use cold weapons!
"Mage Darian, is there anything you called us here for?" Mordo asked first.
Darian said happily: "I know you have been exhausted recently to deal with the threats from other dimensions. Since Master Ancient One handed this place to me, I have to do something."
"So I have been painstakingly researching these few days, and finally thought of a way to deal with magic creatures without using magic."
As soon as these words came out, the Great Mages looked surprised.
"What method?"
Wong couldn't help but ask, his tone with a bit of urgency.
It's no wonder he was so excited.
During this time, not only the ordinary mages of Kamar-Taj, but even these few Great Mages were exhausted.
Now that the Ancient One was away, those powerful magic creatures had no one to block them, and they all fell on them. Every game was a high-end game, and the price paid for every fight was not small.
The only female Great Mage had even sacrificed the condition of never being beautiful again, paying a heavy price, just to gain enough power to kill a powerful magic creature.
The other Great Mages were not that miserable, but they were about the same; either bald and losing hair, or kidney-deficient and weak, walking shakily.
If this continued, they really didn't know how long they could hold on.
Darian chuckled: "I recently forged a special magical artifact. It is powerful, consumes almost no magic power, can kill single targets, and can also sweep groups. The attack frequency is surprisingly fast, and killing a dozen magic creatures in a second is not a problem."
Mordo's eyes widened: "What kind of magical artifact is so powerful?"
"It's this."
Darian looked proud, his hands flipped, and an AK automatic rifle appeared in front of everyone.
The Great Mages: "..."
Isn't this f*cking a thermal weapon!?