Chapter 266: Intruder
"Boss! What's wrong?"
Several patrolling Ghost Wolf Soldiers saw this scene and gathered around.
The tall Wolfman Leader took off his full-face helmet and black protective mask, sniffed hard, and muttered, "Brothers, smell carefully, isn't something strange?"
Hearing him, the Ghost Wolf Soldiers also took off their helmets and sniffed around with their sensitive noses. One Ghost Wolf Soldier, wearing a necklace made of many Beast Fangs on his chest, sniffed a few times and said in a muffled voice, "Boss, it's strange. This smell isn't the Vodka we usually drink, nor the Red Wine those Bats usually drink. This smell is strong, it should be good liquor—"
Just then, a team of Miners who had just finished training passed by them. Several Ghost Wolf Soldiers turned to look, and the two with the most sensitive noses went over.
They sniffed hard at the Miners.
Then, one Ghost Wolf Soldier nodded seriously and said, "That's right, it's their smell! Hey, what kind of liquor are you drinking? It smells good!"
"It's good Sake from Japan, Officer. I had two bottles I treasured before and couldn't bring myself to drink them. Coming here to mine, I lost the desire, so I shared them with a few people from my hometown and we drank them. If you officers like it, I still have one bottle!"
The Japanese Man speaking looked only thirty or forty years old, but his temples were gray, and his face was full of sorrow, yet he forced a smile.
"Sake? Never mind, you can go!" The leading Ghost Wolf Soldier Leader waved his hand at them, letting them leave.
After the group of Miners got on the Armed Bus in the distance, the Ghost Wolf Soldier Leader and a few Subordinates looked at each other.
"Sake, hehe, it's not like I haven't drunk this bland, tasteless liquor. This isn't the smell of Sake!"
"You wait here, there's an Intruder, I'll go report to Lucien Leader!"
Thor, who had sneaked into the Forward Base, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead under the Invisibility Cloak.
He no longer dared to underestimate the guarding capabilities of this Base.
If it weren't for that group of Miners just happening to pass by, and he had a flash of inspiration, secretly sprinkling some liquor on them, they would have been exposed!
Thor really didn't expect these Guards' noses to be so incredibly sensitive.
Before coming, he had brushed his teeth, yet he was still sniffed out.
"Where do we go next?"
Rocket Raccoon whispered softly into Thor's ear from his shoulder.
"Follow this group of Miners. From what the guy in the Hood said, Star-Lord was sent here to mine!" Thor replied softly to Rocket Raccoon. Using the Invisibility Cloak, the two easily followed behind the group of Miners and left this so-called Number One Forward Operating Base.
"Am I drinking too much of my liquor? Why are there so many Stars in the sky?"
Just after leaving the Base, the surroundings were bright. Thor looked up in disbelief. The Artificial Suns hanging in the Horizon, like bright light bulbs, brought large areas of light and heat to the Ground below.
"Based on Energy Radiation Value analysis, they are Controlled Nuclear Fusion Devices. Someone is using these Energy Sources as substitutes for Stars. Although the Technology is crude and backward, the idea is great! Many civilizations use these Controlled Nuclear Fusion Devices as Energy Sources, but no one has ever used them like this."
Rocket Raccoon sat on Thor's shoulder, holding an energy analyzer in his hand. After manipulating it a few times, he quickly figured out the "Truth" of these Artificial Suns! "That is to say, this is indeed Heimdall. Someone has occupied this World and is using Artificial Suns to modify it. Damn it, don't they know that the Nine Realms are all territories of Asgard!" As the former King of Asgard, a sense of responsibility for his Territory being invaded suddenly surged in Thor's heart, completely forgetting that he had personally destroyed Asgard.
"Quiet, big guy. This is no longer our Universe, and you are not the Prince of Asgard. In Asgard, there is still a legitimate Thor. We are just passersby in this Universe!"
Looking at the furious and indignant Thor, Rocket Raccoon manipulated the Instrument in his hand, analyzing the values of this World, and a few words extinguished the Flame in Thor's heart.
"It looks like they're doing a good job of modifying it. The Oxygen Concentration, Gravity, and other aspects of this World are similar to Earth. It's a very habitable Planet. If it were in the Milky Way Galaxy, the Coordinates of such an uninhabited Planet could sell for a good price."
"But this is still the territory of Asgard, and it has a master. This Underworld is being modified on such a massive Scale, where are the Dark Elves? And my Father King, doesn't he care?"
"Oh? Correction, it's this Universe's Thor's Father, big guy. This Universe is not our Target. It must have deviations from our Universe. Your mother, oh no, this Universe's Thor's mother is still alive, which explains everything. This Universe has little to do with us. What we need to do now is save our own Universe!"
"Now let's get to work. First, follow this group of Miners, find Star-Lord, and then help Scott get enough Pym Particles to return to our own Universe and find the correct Target, the Universe that is Quantum Entangled with ours! OK!"
Rocket Raccoon's few words set the goal for the conflicted Thor. The two quietly followed behind the Bus transporting the Miners to the Mine.
"Those should be Space Fortresses, cool. These Space Fortresses, relying on Artificial Suns, can serve as Armed Bases and also control and block the light of these Artificial Suns. It looks like they are imitating Earth's night and day!"
The two followed behind the Bus. Along the way, they saw the extent of this mysterious Influence's modification of Heimdall, this Underworld.
An Artificial Sun hung every few dozen miles in the sky. Around these Artificial Suns were accompanying Space Fortresses. The two could clearly see Iron Soldiers circling and flying around the Space Fortresses.
"Am I seeing things? Those look like Tony's Iron Suits!" Thor looked at the sky and rubbed his eyes.
"Be careful, those Iron Soldiers are equipped with Detectors!" Rocket Raccoon said, manipulating the instrument on his person, adding another layer of Infrared Perception Shielding outside the Invisibility Cloak.
"I understand their purpose in finding those Botanists. They want to plant the native Plants of the Underworld on a large Scale!"
On the vast plain, under the illumination of the Artificial Suns, Heimdall's dark land, bathed in Sunlight, showed a lush Vitality. This photosynthesis had not appeared for countless years since the Dark Elves dragged the entire World into darkness.
The wind blew through these buckwheat-like Plants, like green Sea Waves undulating. In the fields, there were large Machines everywhere, Drones spraying pesticides, and large water wheels for irrigation.
Looking at the Ordinary People bending down and busy in the fields, Thor couldn't tell whether this modification of the Underworld was good or bad.
"Screech!"
Several Raptors, like giant eagles with wingspans of over ten meters, rushed out from somewhere, screeching and pouncing on the Ordinary People on the Ground.
Thor subconsciously reached out, about to summon his Stormbreaker, but in the sky, on the Space Fortresses next to the Artificial Suns, dozens of Iron Soldiers, emitting Blue Plasma Flames from their feet, rushed forward first, whistling to intercept these giant eagles.
From the various firing ports of these Iron Soldiers, Blue Energy Beams rained down, scattering the giant eagles. "I've seen these guys in the Asgard Nine Realms Bestiary. They are War Eagles domesticated by the Dark Elves. It seems this Influence hasn't fully controlled Heimdall!"
Thor was explaining the Origin of these giant eagles to Rocket Raccoon, but he didn't get a reply for a long time. He looked up and saw Rocket Raccoon staring intently at the Golden Spaceships flying across the Horizon.
Thor looked at the somewhat familiar Spaceships and was also stunned: "Are those?"
"Those are the Nova Empire's most advanced Warships. They were before they were destroyed by Thanos. It seems we underestimated this Influence!" Rocket Raccoon smacked his lips, looking at the Spaceships and inexplicably remembering the days of adventure with Star-Lord and the big guy.
Thor, carrying the somewhat dejected Rocket Raccoon on his shoulder, followed behind the Buses and soon arrived at a Mine.
Thor and Rocket Raccoon, covered by the Invisibility Cloak, almost turned the entire Mine upside down but couldn't find any trace of Star-Lord.
With no other option, the two had to follow the Bus back to the Number One Forward Operating Base, hoping to find clues about Star-Lord's Whereabouts.
"It seems this place is very important. Smelting Workshop?"
Using the advantage of the Invisibility Cloak, the two explored the entire Forward Base but still couldn't find any trace of Star-Lord.
It wasn't until the two followed an Ore Escort Convoy to a Smelting Center a hundred kilometers away from the Forward Base.
Here, the two saw what it meant to be heavily guarded.
This Base was built in the Mountain Interior of a large mountain. The entire Base, including the mountain cracks, was actually cast with Metal.
Inside the Metal Passage, countless Iron Soldiers stood. In their Mechanical Eyes, a Red Light invisible to the Naked Eye flickered. Infrared scanned the Passage over and over again.
At the end of the Passage, there were also some Winged Gargoyle Sculptures. In their Gem-like Eyes, there was a Hazy Light.
Although Thor was not proficient in Magic Arts, his mother and Younger Brother were top Magic Users in the Marvel World.
Thor recognized that the Colored Light in the Gargoyles' eyes was released by extremely Formidable Illusion and Phantasm Breaking Spells.
And below these Gargoyle Sculptures, a row of White Beads, like Pearls, were inlaid.
"Little guy, it seems we need to be cautious. I feel an Undead Aura on these Beads!"
Thor looked at the wall inlaid with White Bone Beads in front of him and whispered to Rocket Raccoon.
Those Beads carried a powerful Energy Fluctuation that Thor had never felt before—gloomy, deathly, a kind of unspeakable profound taste.
"A completely new Power, like the Energy of Undead Creatures summoned by Dark Creatures."
Thor's expression changed drastically. He didn't fear this Energy, but the Energy displayed by this unknown Influence made him consider whether he should warn the Asgard of this World.
After all, this Influence occupied Heimdall, and Necromantic Magic, if he remembered correctly, this Power had always been a Taboo in Asgard.
When his Younger Brother Loki was young, he once found an Ancient Grimoire about Necromantic Magic and wanted to practice it, but his Father King found out and almost beat Loki's Rear bloody.
He never understood why, thinking it was just because his Father King didn't like people playing with Souls. It wasn't until he experienced the conflict with his sister, the Contender for the Throne, that Thor understood.
King Odin feared the power behind the Necromantic Magic book, his sister, the Goddess of Death (Hela)! Carefully avoiding these White Beads of unknown Origin, Thor and Rocket Raccoon finally arrived at the very center of the Mountain Interior, a vast Metallurgy Base.
Dozens of assembly lines were laid out in the huge Mountain Interior Space. In the crowded Metallurgy field, there were sounds of hammering and sparks flying everywhere.
Huge Artificial Suns provided Energy Source and High Temperature, melting Metal Ingots in furnaces into liquid metal.
Some short but extremely strong Big Beard Dwarves controlled Mechanical Arms to adjust the proportion of these Metal Liquids. The adjusted Metal Juice was poured into molds prepared beforehand.
These cooled Metal Ingots were picked up by Metal clamps and placed on assembly lines, flowing to the next stage.
On the assembly line, heavy hydraulic hammers continuously forged, hammering pieces of red-hot Metal Ingots into various shapes. The busy, irritable Dwarves on the assembly line left Thor dumbfounded. He recognized those Dwarves, they were the Dwarf race from Nidavellir, famous Forging Masters in the Universe. His Stormbreaker, Mjolnir, and even King Odin's Gungnir were all made by these Dwarves.
But how could they be here? Thor curiously leaned next to the assembly line, looking at the strange Weapons being forged, some iron rods, Swords, and some flags woven with Metal wires, and strange Skulls.
At the end of the assembly line, some intelligent Robots used extremely fine Needles to perform micro-engraving on these Metal Weapon models. Were these all Magic Weapons like his Stormbreaker?
"Big guy, big guy—"
Just as Thor was feeling some Doubt, Rocket Raccoon, who had somehow slipped out of the Cloak using his size, slipped back and pulled Thor towards another Room in the Mountain Interior.
The empty hall was about two to three thousand square meters in size. The brick floor of the hall was covered with Magic Patterns. From the flickering Energy Glow, it could be seen that these Magic Arrays were in an Energy Activation state.
Hollow Black Vortexes lit up and closed in the center of the Magic Arrays. Every time the Magic Array lit up and the central Black Vortex appeared, countless small Demons, about the size of human children aged four or five, swarmed out from the Vortex.
The River Styx flowed, and a continuous stream of small Demons hatched from the deepest part of Hell's Underworld Sea, drifting along the River Styx to various Abyss Worlds.
They were the lowest level cannon fodder, the foundation of the entire Hell. Their numbers were simply too large, with hundreds of millions of small Demons born every second.
They would be the Subordinates, Food, and Cannon Fodder on the Battlefield for High-Rank Demons. They were also the foundation of Hell, just like the weeds in the Material World. These small Demons would kill and Devour each other, gradually growing into Mid-Rank or even High-Rank Demons over time.
Black Vortexes would occasionally open in the River Styx, sucking in large numbers of small Demons.
These small Demons, with mouths full of Fangs and bodies covered in black Scales, had just arrived in the Reality Dimension hall. Iron Soldiers, in groups of ten, were like fishermen catching fish during a fish run, looking into the Vortex mouth and fishing.
small Demons, who had just been born in the Underworld Sea not long ago and arrived in the Mortal Realm through the Magic Array, were like salmon going against the flow, netted ashore in scoops.
Using net scoops carved with Jambudvīpa World Demonic Dao Runes to catch these small Demons was not much harder than fishing.
There were simply too many of these small Demons. A few Occult Researchers (Black Wizards) at Tang Group's Hive Base initially just used small Demons for Experiments.
Such as Integrated Human-Demon Bloodline Modification Technology, and the damage of Holy Water to Demons.
On the composition of Demonic Organs—Anatomical Argumentation Theory.
With hundreds of projects prepared, these small Demons won unanimous praise from the Researchers for their quantity and durability.
Large quantity, a plentiful supply, this was the biggest advantage of small Demons.
On one occasion, the Forging Department received an Order to be responsible for Mass Production of some "Magic" Weapons Refining Methods.
These magical "Magic Weapons" mostly used Souls, like the so-called Hundred Spirits Immortal Slaying Sword, which is said to require Refining the Souls of a hundred kinds of magical Beasts and finally condensing them into one to obtain a Formidable Magic Weapon.
Magical Beasts were easy to find at first, there were many in this Underworld, like giant eagles, Dark Demon Bats, but extracting Souls was a very troublesome Matter.
Only the Magic Weapons bestowed by the Big Boss had the Ability to hook Souls.
Later, Hei Mu Mingliang, an Occult Researcher responsible for Demon Research, had a sudden idea one day. Many Demons were between Soul and entity, so why not use Demons from Hell to replace these Souls and forge these Magic Weapons with Demons?
She had seen the Big Boss use these Demons to Refine those four magical Bone Banners.
Later, this Project was approved by the Big Boss. After wasting tens of thousands of Demons and experimenting thousands of times, the result was a great success.
Although the power was less than one-third of the genuine "Magic Weapons", there was no shortage of Materials in Hell.
Meteorite Star Cores, Adamantium Alloy, Vibranium, Heimdall's Magic Ore, under the Research of the bald experts in the Weapon Development Department.
Fixed Weapon models were continuously produced on the assembly line, not limited to ancient Longsword styles, Curved Knife, Military Knife, Dagger, bayonet.
Mixing Demon Blood with their Soul Energy to engrave Magic Arrays inside the Sword Body, then capturing batches of Demons and locking their Souls inside the Sword Body.
Then, Energy Activation, and they became magical Magic Weapons.
Since the power couldn't match the genuine ones, these Researchers, under the array diagrams provided by the Big Boss, even developed a series of upgraded products like the Thousand Spirits Immortal Slaying Sword and the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Slaying Sword.
They didn't understand the so-called Restriction Formations and Forbidden Techniques, but they could imitate them like the Chip Engraving Method.
Facing these Research Fanatics, even Tang Song himself had to spend a few days each month cooperating with their Research.
Currently, this Base can not only produce some Demonic Dao Magic Tools of average power on an assembly line basis.
It can also manufacture some high-Quality Demonic Dao Magic Tools with considerable power.
A Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Slaying Sword uses the Souls of ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and nineteen Demons as Materials, plus the Soul of a High-Rank Demon as the Sword Soul, Adamantium as the Sword Body, and the malicious curses formed by the Demon Souls attached inside the Sword Body.
However, for Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Slaying Swords, currently, besides a few Leaders of Tang Group, only Deadpool has managed to get two Katana-shaped Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Slaying Blades by taking out a loan.
This is also the Reason why he had to work in Hell for 10 million US Dollars. He overdrafted some Company Salary for dating, plus the Cost of the two Swords, it is estimated that he will have to work for the Company for at least another thousand years to pay off the debt.
The experts in the Weapon Development Department, having tasted the sweetness, directly submitted an application to their top Leader, Ivan Vanko, and after obtaining approval from Boss Tang.
They also obtained some Manufacturing Methods for Demonic Dao Magic Tools.
The White Bone Heart Locking Hammer requires Refining five Six Yang Heads and forty-nine Living Souls of people with foundations, specifically for releasing Demonic Fire.
After Research by several Research Experts in the Weapon Development Department, they used the Head of the Earth Core World Skull Giant Lizard as a substitute. This thing is big, and these Skullcrawlers have tenacious Vitality and sufficient Soul Strength, suitable for Refining. Coupled with four hundred and ninety-nine Souls of Ordinary Demons.
The Refined White Bone Heart Locking Hammer is not only sturdy and can easily penetrate the Protective Armor of a Tank.
Moreover, it can perform Rapid Flight under the Operator's control, and its maneuverability within a range of three thousand meters is even better than a Drone.
As an Attack Method, besides relying on Hardness, it can also release Steel-Melting Flames.
Currently, the Weapon Department is planning Mass Production.
These White Bone Heart Locking Hammers, when shrunk, are only the size of a button. According to the Plan, they will be prioritized for distribution to the Card Soldiers later.
Of course, in the Plan, the first batch of personnel to be equipped is not the armed forces within Tang Group, but the batch of Yellow Turban Warriors researched by the Biology Laboratory.
The Hundred Spirits Immortal Slaying Sword is also like this. Currently, the Weapon Department and the Hive Laboratory are targeting Knowhere.
Using the Massive Amount of Angels as hypothetical enemies.
...
"Thor, what are these Creatures?" Seeing the black mass of small Demons in the net scoop, for some Reason, Rocket Raccoon clearly heard the sound of his Teeth chattering. That was the Fear of Hell from a Creature of the Material World.
"Those are Demons, Demons from the Hell Dimension. They are using Demons to make Weapons—"
Thor watched as the Metal Robots put these Demons into a strange Round Cauldron. Then, from the Ancient Dragon Head on the Cauldron, black Juice sprayed out from its mouth.
He saw very clearly that this Juice was the Solution in the Needles of the micro-engraving Robots on the assembly line.
"This is too dangerous! Since Star-Lord isn't here, let's leave this place first!" Thor looked at the Magic Array in the center of the hall and turned to leave.
It was too crazy. Even his Father King, the God King of Asgard, wouldn't dare to connect with the Power of the Hell Dimension so recklessly.
Although he was confident that his current Power was no less than his old Father's, he was now with Rocket Raccoon as a liability and was deep in someone else's territory. He didn't want to risk Rocket Raccoon's Life.
Thor turned around and was startled, his whole Body trembling.
His fat trembled, and he almost screamed.
Because less than two meters behind him.
A Man in a White Suit was standing steadily. His handsome face seemed to be looking at him, standing firmly there, completely blocking the small Door.
Thor grabbed Rocket Raccoon and said dryly, "You can see me."
The Man stared at him for a long time without saying anything. After a long time, he nodded lightly and said in a low voice:
"Of course I can see you. I saw this Invisibility Cloak in the Asgardian Treasury when I went to the Golden Palace to drink.
If I hadn't let you in, you probably wouldn't even have found the Space Gate to Heimdall!" The Man's Voice was soft and very pleasant to listen to.
"You've been to the Asgardian Treasury?" Thor asked in Doubt.
"What do you think is the Reason your mother is still alive? I blocked the Dark Elves for Asgard, and this Underworld was one of the rewards Odin gave me!"
Thor looked at the Man with half-belief.
"Hey, what exactly do you want? Did you capture Star-Lord?" Rocket Raccoon jumped out from under the Invisibility Cloak and pointed the Energy Rifle in his hand at the Man in front of him threateningly.
Tang Song looked at Rocket Raccoon, who was only knee-high to him, clasped his hands behind his back, and smiled, "Capture him? To be precise, I saved him from Death! Do people from your Universe like to point Guns at their companion's savior?"
"You saved Star-Lord?" Rocket Raccoon moved the Muzzle away suspiciously and stared closely into Tang Song's eyes as he asked.
(end of chapter)