After consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb, Killmonger should have been the new generation's Black Panther.
But he was extremely repulsed by this title; the old king, T'Chaka, had personally killed his father in the guise of the Black Panther, making him loathe the name.
Of course, the main reason was that every Black Panther, after consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb, would meet the legendary Black Panther Goddess Bast in the Ancestral Plane, representing the Panther God's approval.
But Killmonger waited and waited in the Ancestral Plane, yet never saw the so-called Panther God.
He didn't know if the goddess was busy bathing or if she simply didn't recognize Killmonger as the new King of Wakanda.
Regardless of which it was, it was undoubtedly an insult to Killmonger.
He wasn't the kind of sycophant to chase after a cold goddess, so he simply changed his codename to Killmonger to draw a clear line between himself and the Black Panther.
After his formal coronation, the first decree Killmonger issued was for Wakanda to establish a permanent alliance with Sokovia.
When the news broke, many Wakandans were bewildered.
They knew nothing about Sokovia and had never even heard the country's name, so they wondered why they were suddenly forming an alliance.
In truth, Killmonger hadn't heard of it either, but it was Darian's command, so he could only comply.
His public explanation was that Wakanda needed reform; the World was changing rapidly, and the secret of Vibranium could not be kept forever. Instead of waiting for external powers to come knocking with weapons, it was better to proactively break down the barriers, choose trustworthy allies in advance, and keep the initiative in their own hands.
Unexpectedly, T'Challa, the son of the old king and a maintainer of the isolationist policy, was actually the first to agree with this decree.
In fact, T'Challa had long since begun to reflect on his ancestors' isolationist policies for Wakanda.
To keep the secret of Vibranium, everything could be abandoned, even to the point of committing certain inhumane acts—was it truly worth it?
Killmonger's decree played right into his hands.
T'Challa hadn't expected Killmonger to have such noble thoughts, and he fully accepted his cousin in his heart.
He couldn't help but sigh, "NJadaka... oh no, Your Highness, you will definitely become a very good king."
Killmonger: "..."
What on Earth is this guy imagining?
The council chamber of Wakanda.
Killmonger dismissed everyone, leaving only Darian, claiming he had important matters to discuss with his strategist.
Once everyone was gone, Darian sat on the throne without ceremony, as if he were the true Master of this place.
"Panther Head, our people will arrive in Wakanda in a few days. You arrange the reception then."
"Mr. Doom, I am Killmonger, not Panther Head."
"Alright, Panther Head. No problem, Panther Head."
"..."
Killmonger's mouth twitched slightly as he suppressed the urge to punch him.
Of course, the main reason was that he couldn't win.
Now that Killmonger had consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, his already superhuman physical attributes had improved by another level.
He even developed the illusion that he was invincible in the World.
Until he was punched into a wall by Darian, his life flashing before his eyes like a lantern show, feeling as if he had returned to the Ancestral Plane and saw the deceased waving at him.
Because of this, even though Killmonger had obtained the power of the Black Panther, he didn't dare have any thoughts of resisting Darian.
In public, he was the new King of Wakanda.
In private, he was Darian's loyal lackey.
Darian continued, "Also, plan out a piece of land for me to serve as the Sokovian embassy. It'll be easier to contact me if anything happens in the future."
"How much area do you need?"
"Not much, just over a hundred square kilometers will do."
Killmonger: "???"
Are you building an embassy or a theme park?
Killmonger hesitated, "I'm afraid many people will disagree with this."
Despite being the King of Wakanda now, his roots were shallow; he didn't even know anyone in Wakanda, let alone have his own power faction.
Bringing outsiders into Wakanda was one thing; at least he could use reform as an excuse.
But directly allocating such a large area of land to outsiders was a completely different matter; it would inevitably provoke strong opposition from all sides and might even shake his already unstable position.
Darian gave a confident smile, "Don't worry, they will agree."
Birnin Zana!
Today was the day the Sokovian delegation was officially visiting.
At the appointed time, Killmonger led the Royal Guard and the tribal Elders to a platform on the outskirts of the capital.
"Are they coming by plane?"
A tribal Elder spoke casually, with a hint of subtle contempt in his voice.
In his view, a small country like Sokovia, which one would have to search for on a map, was likely no better than those impoverished African nations outside Wakanda. Wakanda forming an alliance with such a country was practically no different from poverty alleviation or charity.
If the new king, Killmonger, hadn't pushed it through against all opposition, he would never have agreed to this alliance, which he saw as beneath them.
Not just him, most of the tribal Elders thought the same.
Even if Wakanda decided to step out of isolation, they should have chosen the five international giants to be their allies.
Sokovia?
Never even heard of it!
Another tribal Elder checked the time and frowned, "The appointed time has arrived. Have they not arrived yet?"
The beads on Shuri's wrist suddenly glowed, and she looked at the sky in surprise.
"No, they are already here."
As she spoke, the sky suddenly seemed to darken a few shades, as if dark clouds were blotting out the sun.
Everyone on the platform instinctively looked up.
High in the sky, a massive Shadow gradually emerged.
Those weren't dark clouds, but spaceships that were disengaging their optical cloaking.
These spaceships were a matte dark gray throughout, with clean and smooth lines, lacking any unnecessary curves or decorations, filled with an industrial aesthetic of violent power.
They hovered silently over Birnin Zana, their shadows covering the entire platform and bringing a strong sense of pressure.
These were all spaceships built by the HYDRA engineering team based on blueprints provided by Rocket Raccoon, named Destroyer, which shared a name with that simpleton Drax's codename.
Compared to interstellar spaceships, the performance of the Destroyer ships was not inferior. Besides basic interstellar travel capabilities, they also integrated various top-tier Earth technologies, such as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier cloaking technology.
"This... this is the Sokovian delegation!?"
On the platform, everyone's faces were filled with disbelief.
It wasn't because the technology of these spaceships surpassed Earth's level; Wakanda had its own ships, and their technological content was equally high.
The reason for this reaction was that the impoverished little country in their eyes actually possessed a fleet of such scale, with a technological level no less than Wakanda's.
Killmonger wasn't surprised at all.
He had seen the technological level of the equipment used by Darian's soldiers, so having a fleet of this scale was normal.
"Open the barrier."
Killmonger gave the order.
Shuri snapped out of it and operated the beads on her wrist. The holographic energy barrier surrounding the city's outskirts dispersed, revealing an airspace for landing.
Several black Destroyer ships slowly landed on the platform, their hatches sliding open simultaneously.
Rows of figures stepped steadily out of the cabins.
They wore streamlined high-tech armor, held standard-issue energy weapons, and were equipped with various high-tech gear, looking like future soldiers straight out of a science fiction work.
When they stood in formation, facing the Wakandan warriors who held spears and wore traditional clothing, the visual contrast was extremely intense. At first glance, it looked like a future legion facing a tribe of primitive people.
In fact, the core technological level of the equipment on both sides might be roughly the same.
But in terms of design, the Sokovian soldiers completely outclassed the Wakandan warriors.
"This..."
The Wakandans on the scene were already too shocked to speak.
They had always prided themselves on being a hidden technological powerhouse; even advanced nations like America might not match Wakanda's cutting-edge technology.
Yet the equipment level shown by this team from Sokovia was not only not inferior but might even be superior to Wakanda's in some aspects!
But the problem was, why had they never heard of this country?
At that moment, the ramp of the central ship slowly lowered.
A figure wearing a plain White robe and an eerie mask was the first to step out.
To his left followed the cold-faced Winter Soldier; to his right was an exceptionally burly figure, over two meters tall, wearing heavy dark high-tech armor, holding a thick energy cannon, with a giant metal sword on his back gleaming coldly, exuding a heavy sense of pressure.
This tall fellow was precisely the Interstellar Warrior who had successfully fused the Extremis and the Super Soldier Serum.
He not only possessed physical attributes far beyond ordinary people but also had all the traits of an Extremis Soldier. His combat power was extremely formidable, making him a super-soldier among super-soldiers. Combined with his alien tech equipment, ordinary superheroes and supervillains were simply no match for him.
Their appearance brought an inherent sense of powerful pressure, making even the battle-hardened T'Challa feel immense stress.
Where did Killmonger find such allies? They are simply terrifying!
Others were even worse off; several tribal Elders swallowed hard, feeling as if their faces had been slapped swollen.
Initially, they had more or less thought that Sokovia was just some small country power Killmonger had found in some corner.
But looking at it now, how was this some small country on Earth? This was clearly an alien power!
Seeing Darian dressed in his God Emperor Suit, Killmonger immediately stepped forward and extended his hand: "I am the King of Wakanda, NJadaka. Welcome."
Darian shook his hand: "I am the King of Sokovia, Doom."
Killmonger praised, "I have long heard of your great name. Seeing you today, you truly have an extraordinary bearing!"
"You flatter me. You, Panther Head, also exude dominance. Seeing you is truly better than hearing of you."
"You're joking. Compared to you, I'm still far off."
"That's true."
Killmonger: "..."
This isn't quite what we agreed upon.
The two boasted to each other for a few minutes before reluctantly ending the conversation.
Darian signaled for most of the Sokovian soldiers to stay on standby near the ships, only picking Bucky the Winter Soldier and a dozen or so burly soldiers who could hold their own to accompany him.
"Please follow me, the state guest house has been prepared." Killmonger led the way.
Darian nodded and, taking Bucky and the others, followed Killmonger's group toward the nearby state guest house.
Entering the hall of the state guest house, the interior space was vast.
The two kings, Darian and Killmonger, sat side by side in the primary seats.
T'Challa, Shuri, and several key tribal Elders sat in the secondary seats to the side.
Once everyone was seated, Darian and Killmonger began to act according to their script.
Under the guise of discussing strategic cooperation, they proposed a series of mutually beneficial proposals, including regular exchanges of talent and technology, establishing a technology-sharing mechanism, and resource exchange...
Of course, these proposals were all for show; the actual implementation would depend on the two leaders, Darian and Killmonger. The others only needed to know it was mutually beneficial.
No matter what the Wakandans thought, they never imagined that a traitor had appeared among them, and that traitor was their own king.
After a round of formal discussion, the two sides successfully reached several cooperation intentions.
The tribal Elders had no objections to this.
If Sokovia were just an insignificant small country, they might have voiced opposition.
But after witnessing the technological level the other side displayed with their own eyes, they suddenly felt that cooperation between the two sides was not a bad thing.
This is the gap in strength.
When a strong nation gives benefits to a weak one, it's poverty alleviation.
When a strong nation gives benefits to another strong one, it's strategic positioning.
Although some of the cooperation seemed strange, the tribal Elders didn't think too much about it; surely their king wouldn't actively hand over their national interests to others.
It wasn't until Darian proposed the need to allocate over a hundred square kilometers of land for the construction of an embassy that several tribal Elders could no longer keep their composure.
An Elder from the Border Tribe couldn't help but raise his voice: "Are you joking! What kind of embassy needs such a large area? Even the American embassy isn't that big!"
Darian glanced at him: "How does Sokovia's technological level compare to America's?"
The Border Tribe Elder was taken aback but answered honestly: "Uh, you are more powerful."
Darian said as if it were obvious: "Then that's it. We are more powerful than them, so our embassy being just a tiny bit bigger than theirs—is there a problem?"
Border Tribe Elder:"....."
Can it really be calculated like that!?
The Border Tribe Elder quickly looked at Killmonger, his tone urgent: "Your Highness, this condition is truly inappropriate."
Killmonger nodded, his expression serious: "Indeed, a hundred square kilometers is too much."
Hearing this, the Border Tribe Elder just breathed a sigh of relief.
True, how could the king agree to such an absurd request.
To his surprise, he heard Killmonger immediately follow up: "In that case, let's make it 99.99 square kilometers."
Border Tribe Elder: "???"
He stared wide-eyed at Killmonger: "Your Highness..."
"It's decided!"
Killmonger waved his hand, cutting off the Border Tribe Elder.
"This land will be allocated from within the Border Tribe's territory for the construction of the Sokovian embassy. Remember, I said 99.99 square kilometers, so it's 99.99 square kilometers. Not a millimeter more. Our territory in Wakanda, not one inch shall be yielded!"
Killmonger's voice was sonorous and forceful, striking a stern pose of defending the nation's territory.