In just a few days, Ultron had created an astonishing army.
Sweeping through the surrounding countries would probably have been effortless for him.
If no one stopped him, he might even have been able to seize most of Earth.
Unless the world's major powers stepped in, no one else would have been able to stop him.
And yet Ultron showed no intention of expanding outward.
He kept his entire army holed up inside the tiny nation of Sokovia.
He had also taken control of the Sokovian government and directly beneath Sokovia, he built enormous propulsion engines.
At the same time, he brought Wanda and her brother over to his side and made them his subordinates.
Under his control, Sokovia's capital was lifted straight into the sky, rising to an altitude of ten thousand meters.
By then, an entire national capital would be floating in midair.
Ultron's plan sounded perfect on paper, but what he did not know was that someone had already been watching him for a long time.
That person was Karl.
A Single-Universe-level powerhouse was far stronger than a Skyfather.
The difference between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
Karl's mental force could cover the entire globe in an instant.
If he wanted to, he could wipe out every human on Earth in a single moment.
Fortunately, Karl was not some anti-human extremist, so he would never do such a thing.
Still, finding Ultron was incredibly easy.
Never mind the fact that Karl already knew Ultron intended to stir up trouble in Sokovia.
Even if he had not known beforehand, with his mental force he could still have found Ultron in an instant.
But after locating Ultron, Karl did not make a move.
First, no matter how powerful he was, he had no effective way to deal with an artificial intelligence.
He could only wait for Tony Stark to develop a method specifically meant to counter Ultron.
And from the current situation, it seemed Tony intended to follow the original path and use J.A.R.V.I.S. as the template for creating Vision to oppose Ultron.
Karl could only sigh at how powerful the worldline's corrective force was.
His existence had already changed this world almost beyond recognition, yet it still seemed able to force things back onto their original track.
Second, Karl believed that someone was backing Ultron from behind the scenes.
Setting everything else aside, Ultron alone could never have created those machines that radiated such a dense demonic aura.
Even so, Karl had not managed to find any mark left by the mastermind behind all this.
Whoever it was had been extremely cautious. Any trace was so faint that it vanished almost the instant it appeared.
Karl even suspected that the person behind it might not even be on Earth.
Otherwise, he would have long since caught hold of that person's tail and gone straight to their doorstep to kill them.
"That kind of cowardly, desperate need to stay alive…"
"No matter how I look at it, it reeks of those death-fearing demons in Hell."
Karl let out a cold snort.
That pack of damned demons was worthless.
Aside from lurking in the shadows and plotting, they knew how to do nothing else.
All they ever did was hide behind others and scheme against them. They were disgusting to the extreme.
Karl could sense that same stench here.
"No rush. There's still plenty of time."
"So let's see whose patience lasts longer."
Karl gave a cold laugh.
That was all those creatures were capable of.
Most likely, they were dreaming of luring him away and then striking at Earth while he was gone.
The Sanctums' spell arrays ensured that any powerful magical being trying to force its way in would be sealed and trapped.
If they wanted to rule Earth, relying on an avatar would never be enough.
So whether it was Dormammu or some other demon god, the first thing they had to do if they wanted to invade Earth was destroy the Sanctums.
Karl had already cut that path off.
But if they thought dragging him away would be enough to deal with him, then they were being far too naive.
Karl stayed at Tony Stark's place, a cold smile on his face.
…
Soon, another month passed.
Ultron produced a huge number of robots.
Tony Stark also finished building Vision's body.
With the Mind Stone serving as its power source, its offensive power became extraordinarily great.
In the end, Tony personally powered it up.
Only then was Vision finally born.
After clashing briefly with several members of the Avengers, Vision quickly blended into the group.
"All right, we've decided to move against Ultron."
"But the only problem now is this."
"Where exactly is Ultron?"
Tony Stark looked at his teammates and asked the question.
Several members of the Avengers exchanged glances.
They were fine when it came to fighting.
But this sort of thing was not their specialty.
"You don't need to worry. I've already found Ultron."
Just as everyone was fretting, a voice rang out.
They all turned around.
The person who had arrived was Karl.
Tony Stark immediately asked, "You found him?"
"Of course."
"Ultron is in Sokovia. We need to set out immediately."
"If we wait any longer, Ultron may very well destroy Earth."
Karl spoke calmly.
"What?"
The Avengers were all shocked.
"No need to worry about that right now. Just move."
"I'll take you straight to the battlefield."
Karl smiled.
With a flicker of mental force, a massive portal appeared in front of them.
On this side was still New York City, but beyond the portal was Sokovia, thousands of miles away.
"That really is convenient."
Tony Stark could not help muttering.
Under his lead, several members of the Avengers immediately rushed toward the scene.
Karl smiled and stepped through as well.
The next moment, the entire group appeared in Sokovia.
The instant they arrived, Ultron noticed them.
In only a short moment, Ultron controlled more than a dozen robots and had them surround the group.
"Avengers. Hypocrites."
"And yet you dare show yourselves here."
"You really don't know whether you live or die."
Ultron spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Don't know whether we live or die?"
"Who gave you that confidence?"
"These heaps of scrap metal next to you?"
Karl let out a mocking laugh.
Snap.
Karl flicked his fingers.
Whoosh.
Like a gentle breeze sweeping past, the obviously extraordinary robots around Ultron were instantly erased by Karl.
They scattered like dust.
Those robots, which looked incredibly powerful, had absolutely no ability to resist in front of Karl.
They were less than ants.
In the blink of an eye, they were crushed out of existence.
That overwhelming strength was almost impossible to face directly.
Several members of the Avengers were completely dumbfounded.
What kind of power was that?
It was terrifying beyond belief.
They were not fools. They could all tell how powerful those robots had been.
And yet Karl had wiped them out in a single move?
Was this even something a human could do?
Karl did not care what they thought.
With a wave of his hand, the only part of Ultron left was a single head, and it flew straight into Karl's grasp.
"Call out the one backing you."
"I don't have time to deal with the cannon fodder you manufactured."
Karl spoke in an even tone.
"As expected of the Sorcerer Supreme."
"So you really did notice."
"Come out into outer space."
"Heh heh heh… otherwise everyone here will die."
An incomparably sly voice rang out.
"Hmph."
"I'll leave this place to you. Keep an eye on the city center."
As soon as he finished speaking, Karl shot straight into the sky without another word.
(End of Chapter)
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