After returning to Kamar-Taj, Karl's life became truly comfortable.
After reaching the multiversal level, blind, bitter cultivation could no longer keep up with the speed at which his strength grew.
At this level, improving one's strength depended on sudden insight.
When the right moment came, he would naturally comprehend even greater power.
Because of that, Karl did not train every day like an ascetic.
Instead, he began to experience life.
Every day, he drank tea and read books.
With the rest of his time, he relaxed. He might stroll through the streets.
Sometimes, he even played games and watched movies.
It could be said that Karl during this period was no different from an ordinary person.
Whatever ordinary people did, he did too.
After living peacefully like this for a while, Karl suddenly discovered that his strength had not declined at all. Instead, it had increased.
At that moment, Karl also understood.
Their strength came from their perception of the world, from their knowledge and understanding of it.
It was like the philosophers and sages of old.
They all had their own unique system for understanding the world.
It was precisely these things that formed the foundation of his strength.
Karl's return to ordinary life was also a way of experiencing how ordinary people understood the world.
It gave him a feeling of returning to the fundamentals, where the simplest truths mattered most.
That was why Karl's strength had improved.
After realizing this, Karl slacked off with even more peace of mind.
Sometimes, he even went over to Tony Stark's place to discuss modern science with him.
This drew repeated admiration from Tony Stark.
Tony said that with Karl's level of knowledge, he really should not have become a sorcerer. Even earning several doctorates would have been completely natural for him.
Through their combined efforts, Tony Stark even developed a suit of anti-sorcerer armor.
It was even capable of leaving many of Kamar-Taj's sorcerers helpless.
This made Karl feel extremely pleased with himself.
His God-Tier Talent had still remained limited to mana so far.
The days passed peacefully, one after another.
Earth was also developing with thriving momentum.
Ever since Tony Stark became an Avenger, he had carried out a great deal of cooperation with the Avengers.
Many technologies had been developed.
It could be said that in the Marvel world, Stark Industries was the combination of Apple and Tesla.
Tony Stark developed the most advanced phones and launched satellites. He was truly changing the world.
And that was only on the civilian side.
Under Nick Fury's leadership, S.W.O.R.D.'s technology was even more advanced.
Recently, they had even begun planning to enter deep space.
They had developed a new type of spacecraft and were preparing to head to Mars to explore the possibility of extraterrestrial colonization.
"Explorer One is ready."
"The life-support units are complete."
"Sir, as long as you give the order, we can launch the spacecraft!"
A S.W.O.R.D. agent spoke with great excitement.
This operation was a preliminary mission.
It meant that they were stepping beyond Earth and truly beginning to move toward the stars.
They were taking a step toward an even more advanced civilization.
Even Nick Fury, who had always been calculating and hard to read, felt somewhat excited.
Humanity's strength had increased, and their odds of dealing with outside threats had grown a little higher.
"Launch!"
At Nick Fury's order, a massive spacecraft launched from S.W.O.R.D.'s near-Earth orbital base.
In the blink of an eye, the spacecraft crossed an extremely vast distance.
Within the Solar System, due to the influence of gravitational fields, spacecraft had a very distant flight limit.
They could only approach Mars through gradual flight.
After adopting new engine technology, their spacecraft's speed had reached an extreme.
Interstellar flight would no longer exist only in science fiction novels and movies.
"Oh!"
"This is amazing!"
The entire S.W.O.R.D. facility fell into a sea of cheers.
Even Nick Fury, who was usually extremely rigid, revealed a faint smile on his face.
Bang!
Bang!
However, they had not been happy for long before a piercing alarm rang out.
On the console in front of Nick Fury, glaring red warnings appeared everywhere.
Nick Fury's expression immediately darkened.
"Find out exactly what happened!"
Nick Fury glared, his presence imposing without anger.
"Sir, there is no problem with Explorer One itself."
"But according to Explorer One's report, they have encountered humanoid objects in space."
A S.W.O.R.D. agent quickly reported.
"Conduct a detailed investigation. I want to know everything."
Nick Fury spoke calmly.
He had seen enough of the world by now.
There were alien lifeforms everywhere in the universe.
He would not be shocked by something like that anymore.
Right now, he only wanted to know one thing.
Why had these beings come here? Were they friendly or hostile?
Nick Fury waited tensely for the report.
"Sir, Explorer One's signal has come back."
The agent immediately projected the images onto the large screen.
In an instant, cries of shock rang out across the command room.
"My God! What are those things?"
"Are those humans? Why are they so enormous?"
"What kind of creatures are they? Why can they move through space?"
"Are they friendly or hostile?"
Nick Fury listened to the shocked cries around him, his face as calm as still water.
"Have Explorer One send these beings a message and confirm their intentions."
"Tell them this is Earth."
Nick Fury issued the order.
Just as Nick Fury was about to continue speaking, he saw the agent in front of him turn pale in an instant.
"Explorer One has been destroyed!"
Nick Fury's already dark expression turned even darker.
However, very quickly, his face became cold and severe again.
"Good. Now we know they did not come with goodwill."
"Activate the Spear of Genesis!"
"Launch an attack. Let them know Earth is not easy to bully either!"
Nick Fury spoke coldly.
The Spear of Genesis.
It was a super-laser weapon whose technical support came from Stark Industries and whose construction had been jointly funded by the world's major powers.
It used the unique Arc Reactor developed by Tony Stark as its power source.
Its diameter had reached a terrifying five hundred meters.
It could fire a high-energy laser powerful enough to melt any metal on Earth.
Even Tony Stark's armor could not withstand that kind of attack head-on.
This was humanity's most powerful weapon in space.
It was also the sharp arrow that protected humanity.
The activation button was pressed.
The enormous mechanical structure directly unfolded in space.
A red light flashed across it.
Then, there was no further reaction.
However, Nick Fury knew.
The Spear of Genesis had already fired.
Unlike in movies, in space, a laser beam could not be seen by the naked eye at all, nor would there be any sound.
This was a silent, deadly weapon.
Boom!
Nick Fury was still waiting for the results of the attack when he suddenly heard an explosion beside him, followed by violent shaking.
The base had been attacked!
As for the Spear of Genesis on the other side…
At some unknown point, it had already vanished.
(End of Chapter)
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