Everyone inside the manor already knew that Karl had gone to deal with those targeting him.
However, none of them knew that Karl had already destroyed the entire Sakura Kingdom.
At that moment, Tony Stark was filled with anxiety inside his armor.
He still remembered Karl's tone during their brief phone call.
Karl had sounded genuinely furious.
And now—
Seeing the massive military force gathering in the distance, Tony didn't even know what to say.
BOOM—!
High above the battlefield, Black Phoenix floated calmly in the air.
With a casual wave of her hand, she swatted Tony aside and sent him flying.
At the same time, the approaching military vehicles began their assault.
Armored vehicles.
Jeeps.
Tanks.
They opened fire on the manor.
Black Phoenix raised her hand.
The Phoenix Force surged outward.
Every jeep advancing toward the estate suddenly lifted into the air.
Then—
They were crushed.
Metal twisted.
Engines exploded.
The soldiers inside were instantly killed.
Blood and fragments scattered across the battlefield.
Black Phoenix watched the destruction with cold indifference.
Below her, Great Wanda slowly floated upward.
With a flick of her fingers, she seized control of the incoming tank shells using her telekinetic chaos magic.
Then she sent them flying back.
BOOM—!
The shells struck their original launchers.
Every tank in the area was destroyed by its own ammunition.
Moments later, the roar of engines echoed through the sky.
The most advanced fighter jets currently used by the U.S. military arrived over the battlefield.
Missiles rained down toward the manor.
But with Black Phoenix and Great Wanda present—
Those missiles never reached their targets.
Black Phoenix seized control of every missile midair.
She even grabbed four fighter jets with telekinetic force and dragged them from the sky.
Moments later—
She hurled them toward the soldiers on the ground.
The jets smashed into the advancing army.
Missiles from the destroyed aircraft detonated among the armored vehicles.
Explosions spread across the battlefield.
Entire sections of the nearby villa district were destroyed.
At this point, Tony finally realized something.
There was no turning back.
The United States military had attacked Karl's manor.
When Karl returned—
There would be consequences.
Still, Tony activated his armor's full combat systems.
Then he turned and began attacking the soldiers outside.
Karl was his brother.
There was no way Tony could simply stand by while an army assaulted Karl's home.
BOOM—!
Meanwhile, Peggy Carter, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., had also received orders.
The World Security Council had instructed her to lead an operation to arrest Karl's family members.
But Peggy knew the truth.
This mission was suicide.
Karl had already killed Mephisto, the Lord of Hell.
And now the American government—blinded by greed—was provoking him.
Peggy Carter could only feel sorrow for the leaders of her country.
And pity for the civilians who would inevitably suffer.
If a full-scale war broke out—
Countless innocent people would be caught in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government realized their forces had not yet captured anyone inside the manor.
So they escalated the operation.
More troops.
More weapons.
Columns of tanks rolled out from Manhattan.
Armored convoys continued arriving at Karl's estate.
BOOM—!
At this point, the American military began deploying heavy weapons.
Everything except nuclear warheads had been brought to the battlefield.
Among the weapons were even large quantities of Jericho missiles, originally designed by Stark Industries.
But none of it worked.
Every shell fired toward the manor was intercepted.
Many were simply redirected back at the attackers by Black Phoenix and Great Wanda.
ROAR—!
Finally—
Bruce Banner could no longer endure it.
Provoked beyond his limits, he transformed.
The Hulk burst out of the manor and leaped directly into the middle of the army.
Chaos followed.
Armored vehicles were smashed apart.
Tanks were crushed like toys.
Soldiers were thrown aside like rag dolls.
Anything that stood in Hulk's path was obliterated by his massive green fists.
BANG—!
Even Juggernaut joined the battle.
He burst through the manor gates and charged toward the advancing tanks.
Red mystical energy surged around his body.
With every step, his momentum increased.
His impact force became unstoppable.
When Juggernaut slammed into the tank formation—
Entire lines of armored vehicles were destroyed instantly.
Even when tanks fired directly at him, it barely slowed him down.
Juggernaut ripped a cannon barrel off one tank and used it to crush another.
As the battle expanded, the surrounding villa district was completely devastated.
Nearby buildings collapsed.
The battlefield was rapidly spreading toward densely populated areas.
Yet the government continued sending more forces.
Military units from several other countries even joined the conflict, launching missiles toward the manor.
BOOM—!
At this moment, Black Phoenix finally lost control.
The Phoenix Force erupted violently around her.
Her body radiated blazing red energy.
Every projectile targeting the manor was instantly disintegrated.
Then she extended her power toward the city.
A massive building suddenly tore free from its foundation and rose into the air.
Without regard for the civilians inside, she hurled the entire structure toward the military forces.
At the same time, she used the Phoenix Force to disintegrate everything in its path.
Soldiers.
Armored vehicles.
Weapons.
All were reduced to ash.
Yet the army continued pouring in.
Watching this scene, Tony could only smile bitterly.
He had no ability to stop Black Phoenix.
If he tried—
He might be thrown aside again.
Instead, Tony flew toward the collapsing building and began rescuing the civilians trapped inside.
While doing so, he cursed the reckless leaders of the U.S. government.
The battle was being witnessed by countless people.
Reporters had already begun broadcasting the conflict live from a distance.
For the first time, the world truly saw how powerful Karl and his companions were.
Then—
A shocking news alert appeared on millions of phones across the globe.
"Gold Saint Karl Auguston Zhang has destroyed the entire Sakura Kingdom this afternoon. All 122 million citizens within the territory are presumed dead. The Japanese archipelago has completely sunk beneath the ocean."
"Is Karl truly a hero?"
Tony also received the report through J.A.R.V.I.S.
Only then did he understand where Karl had gone.
Karl had annihilated an entire nation.
One hundred and twenty-two million people—
Gone.
Tony could barely believe it.
But at the same time…
Given Karl's personality—
And the fact that multiple nations had targeted the people around him—
It was exactly the kind of retaliation Karl would carry out.
Tony remained silent.
He continued rescuing civilians from the collapsing building.
Inside the manor, May, Raven, Gwen, Helen Cho, George, Helen, Wanda, and the others had also learned what had happened.
None of them expected Karl to go so far as to destroy an entire country.
However—
Raven accepted it far more easily than the others.
Aside from a brief moment of surprise, she showed no disbelief.
From the moment she chose to follow Karl—
She had already decided.
She belonged to him.
Whatever he chose to do—
Right or wrong—
She would stand by his side.
...
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