"You're finished; you're addicted to fishing!"
Darian looked at Wanda, who had even prepared professional fishing gear, and felt that his secretary was becoming a lost cause.
How did a perfectly good Scarlet Witch end up becoming a fishing fanatic?
But this was fine; at least fishing fanatics were emotionally stable. After all, nothing could be worse than a fish escaping just as you were about to net it.
"Divine Lord, shall we depart now?"
The Commander in charge of this voyage asked respectfully.
Besides the accompanying combat personnel, there was a group of rigorously trained crew members. Each was a veteran pilot with a perfect score in spaceship maneuvers, skillfully handling the vessel—even drifting the ship was a basic operation for them.
"Mm, let's go."
Darian nodded and sat down at the main control seat of the spaceship.
Wanda, clutching her precious fishing gear bag, sat down right next to Darian.
At Darian's command, the Destroyer spaceship set sail smoothly, quickly breaking through the atmosphere.
Outside the porthole, Earth's silhouette gradually shrank, eventually turning into a deep blue Planet suspended in the dark cosmos, serene and magnificent.
"It's so beautiful..."
Wanda gazed at the scene outside and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Darian nodded. "Yeah, but unfortunately, it's too coveted. All sorts of monsters and freaks want a piece of it."
Wanda was a bit surprised.
"What exactly is coveting Earth?"
"Many things."
Drawing from information he'd gathered in past dungeons, Darian listed them offhandedly: "Major Alien factions, visitors from parallel Universes, Dimensional Demon Gods... even some ancient deities that have existed since the birth of the Universe. Their heads might be larger than a Planet."
Wanda's mouth hung open slightly, clearly shocked by the description.
"Then isn't Earth in great danger?"
"Don't worry, Earth has its own Guardians. Under normal circumstances, it's quite safe."
"And what about abnormal circumstances?"
"Anything from the destruction of Earth to the rebooting of the Universe."
Wanda: (°—°)
Thanks, she was a little spooked.
Darian said irritably, "So, when you have time, improve your abilities more. Chaos Magic has an extremely high ceiling. If you train well, beating those beings I mentioned won't be a problem. Stop thinking about catching those damn fish all day."
"Fishing can also train my abilities!"
Wanda retorted righteously.
Whenever she couldn't catch a fish, she would secretly cheat using Chaos Magic—how was that not training?
Darian's lips twitched slightly. He secretly decided to have someone clear out all the fish in the Sokovia lake later—drain the pond and leave not a single one behind—so Wanda would think she was failing to catch anything every day and start questioning her life.
"Divine Lord, a stable spatial node has been detected nearby. Shall we initiate teleportation?" the Commander inquired.
Since the Ravagers had once come to Earth to take the young Quill, the existence of a spatial node near Earth wasn't too surprising.
Darian nodded. "Teleport to the vicinity of the Moon first. I want to see exactly what's on the far side of the Moon and if there really are Aliens."
"By the way, Bucky, are the cigarettes I asked for ready?"
Bucky: "..."
Darian pushed away the cigarette Bucky handed him. "I'm not the one smoking. Keep them safe; this is an important tool for Sokovia to advance its technology."
Soon, the Destroyer spaceship arrived at the nearby spatial node.
The void ahead began to warp, revealing a structure like a giant Hive, with several regular, bright yellow squares closely arranged.
The Destroyer didn't slow down at all, diving straight into the central square.
The scene before them changed abruptly.
Through the ship's massive observation window, the grayish-white Moon was already right before their eyes.
As the Destroyer rapidly approached, the details of the lunar surface zoomed in. The spots that looked pitted from afar gradually revealed the outlines of craters. No signs of life were visible, only endless rocks and dust, like a dead and desolate grayish-white World.
The Destroyer began to orbit the far side of the Moon.
The scenery passing outside the porthole wasn't much different from the near side—still continuous craters and barren plains. It even became a bit monotonous after watching for a while.
Wanda looked disappointed. "Is this the lunar surface? I thought there would be some Alien ruins."
Just as Darian was about to respond, his gaze caught a glimmer of light at the edge of his vision.
"Head over that way."
Receiving the order, the Destroyer immediately turned and glided toward the light.
As the distance closed, the area still looked like an ordinary lunar plain to a normal person, but in Darian's eyes, a layer of camouflage was gradually fading, revealing the true scene hidden beneath.
It was a small city with a strange style, nestled at the bottom of a massive crater.
The city's buildings were sharp-edged and densely packed together, surrounding a particularly large, fortress-like central structure. It was clearly not a natural formation.
"There really is something on the far side of the Moon."
Darian's interest was immediately piqued.
At this moment, the Commander looked at the wildly fluctuating detection panel and reported, "A stable energy field has been detected in the area below. It appears to be using optical camouflage. Shall we initiate energy interference?"
"No need for that much trouble."
Darian waved his hand, his gaze falling on Wanda. "There's a city down there hidden by a protective shield. Can you use your ability to open a gap for the ship to enter? Try not to destroy the shield if possible."
Wanda closed her eyes to sense it and nodded.
"I feel it. I'll try."
With that, she raised her hands, and dense scarlet energy emerged from her palms, penetrating the Destroyer and surging toward the city's shield.
When the scarlet energy touched the invisible shield, space immediately rippled violently, and the outline of the shield was forced to appear under the energy clash.
Under the interference of the powerful Chaos Magic, the shield was forcibly pried open, creating a gap just large enough for the ship to pass through.
Wanda urged, "It's open. The gap won't last long, get in quickly."
"Very well, bring the ship in!"
Darian waved his hand, and the Destroyer charged directly through the gap into the city.
Attilan!
A city belonging to the Inhumans.
The so-called Inhumans were, simply put, a race different from ordinary humans.
Their appearance was similar to Earthlings, but the difference was that they had a chance to awaken their own superpowers upon reaching adulthood, which was somewhat similar to Mutants.
These Inhumans had lived in this city on the far side of the Moon since ancient times, isolated from the World.
There was a shield around the city that served as both a life-support system and perfect camouflage, which was why Earthlings had yet to discover their existence.
The king who ruled this city was named Blackagar Boltagon, codenamed Black Bolt.
He was a man of few words, preferring action over speech.
This was all due to Black Bolt's superpower; he could release a destructive Quasi-sonic wave through his voice. It was extremely powerful—even a whisper could easily shatter a person.
But this superpower was uncontrollable; if Black Bolt made even the slightest sound, it could cause a disaster.
Because of this, Black Bolt never spoke. He even kept his mouth tightly shut while sleeping, fearing he would wake up to find his bedroom gone.
At this moment, he was sitting on his throne, discussing an urgent matter with other high-ranking Inhumans.
Just yesterday, a rover sent to the Moon by America accidentally crashed into Attilan's shield. The guards reacted quickly and immediately destroyed it.
But they weren't sure what the rover had captured and feared that Attilan might be exposed to the Earthlings.
As everyone knew, Earthlings were notoriously insecure.
If they discovered a group of superpowered Alien races living on the Moon, they would probably be too scared to sleep, and only nuclear weapons could give them warmth.
Thus, Black Bolt gathered everyone to discuss countermeasures.
Naturally, he couldn't speak and communicated through sign language throughout, with his wife Medusa translating for him.
Not far below the stage, Maximonov stood quietly, taking everything in. The fire of jealousy instantly ignited in his heart.
Why did Black Bolt get to have all of this!?
As Black Bolt's younger brother, Maximonov also had royal blood, but he hadn't awakened any superpowers.
If not for his status as the King's younger brother, he would have been tossed into the underground mines to work, just like those Inhumans who failed to evolve.
But this preferential treatment didn't make Maximonov grateful; instead, it was like a thorn stuck in his heart every day.
He looked at the man on the throne, and an evil thought surfaced in his mind.
If he could get rid of Black Bolt, then everything the other man possessed would be his.
The throne of Attilan, the submission of all Inhumans, his sister-in-law Medusa...
As the saying goes, nothing tastes better than dumplings, and nothing is more fun than... well, you know.
At the thought of Medusa's potential widow status, Maximonov couldn't help but feel a surge of "respect."
Just then, he heard Medusa relaying Black Bolt's meaning: "The King believes that the Earthlings' probe was destroyed in time and the risk is controlled. We just need to increase vigilance for now; there is no need for further action."
Maximonov was immediately displeased.
If things stayed this way, wouldn't his plans fall through?
He immediately stepped forward and said, "We can't just leave it at that! The Earthlings' probe likely captured enough information. Once they confirm our existence, they will surely send people to investigate and then invade Attilan in force."
"Rather than waiting for death, we should strike first. With our race's abilities, seizing power in an Earth nation would be easy. Then, we could establish a new home on Earth. Why stay trapped on this cold Moon forever?"
Maximonov's tone was full of contempt, as if he didn't care about Earthlings at all.
But his inner calculations were loud. If Black Bolt was persuaded to send his troops to Earth to carry out the plan, his loyal forces remaining in Attilan would surely be depleted, and that would be his chance.
Hearing this, Black Bolt shook his head decisively and began to make hand signs.
Medusa translated in real-time: "The King says that actively invading a Planet with billions of people is dangerous and unwise. Attilan's strength should be used for self-preservation and continuation, not expansion and conquest."
Maximonov feigned excitement and raised his voice, "Are we going to wait until the Earthlings' warships are over our heads before we regret not striking first?"
"You're overthinking it. Earth's aerospace technology is only at the Rocket stage. They're far from having warships that can fly freely in space."
Medusa's sister, Crystal, laughed. She knew more about Earth and knew that was impossible.
To her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, an Inhuman suddenly rushed into the conference hall.
"King! This is bad! The humans are attacking! Their warship broke through the shield and charged into our city!!"
Everyone:"..."
Maximonov: "..."
No, I just said that offhandedly. How did they actually attack!?
Could it be that my ability awakened long ago, and it's just the power of a jinx?
Crystal snapped out of it and said in shock, "How could they break through Attilan's shield? It's the pinnacle of our race's technology; even the most powerful weapons can't destroy it."
The messenger Inhuman quickly said, "We don't know either. By the time we noticed, they had already broken through the shield and entered."
Black Bolt frowned and made a few gestures.
Medusa immediately understood: "Let's go out and see."
The group quickly rushed out of the hall and arrived at the square outside.
Sure enough, they soon saw a massive, dark-colored spaceship landing on the ground.
The surrounding Inhuman guards were on high alert, forming layers of encirclement with their weapons aimed at the ship, but no one dared to open fire recklessly.
*Click*
With a soft sound, the hatch on the side of the ship slid open, and a ramp extended smoothly to the ground.
Then, several figures walked out from inside.
Leading them was Darian, wearing his Divine Lord suit, with Wanda following closely behind. On either side were Bucky and an Interstellar Warrior, acting as his left and right Guardians.
Behind them were over a dozen soldiers in uniform, their armor shimmering with a faint blue energy light. They looked highly advanced, exuding an aura of high-end gear.
Feeling the menacing aura of this mysterious group, Maximonov swallowed hard and quietly moved half a step behind Black Bolt before feeling a bit safer.
He mustered his courage and shouted sternly, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into Attilan! What is your purpose!?"
Darian noticed Maximonov's subtle movement and felt a bit disdainful.
Then, he glanced at Black Bolt, who stood at the front, silent and acting like a master.
[NPC: Blackagar Boltagon]
[Codename: Black Bolt]
[Favorability: 0]
[Evaluation: The strongest "mouth cannon" in the Marvel Universe. Speaking releases powerful Quasi-sonic waves with a power comparable to a nuclear explosion. A big boy who loves to laugh. Weakness: Mr. Fantastic.]
Seeing Black Bolt's evaluation, Darian's expression remained unchanged as he silently shielded Wanda in front of him.
He spoke calmly, "We are from Earth. While passing by, we detected an abnormal energy signal and came down to take a look. I didn't expect such a civilization to be hidden on the far side of the Moon."
Maximonov said coldly, "Outsiders are not welcome here! Get out!"
Darian's eyebrows shot up. "Oh? And what if we refuse to leave?"
"Stupid Earthlings!"
Standing behind Black Bolt as if he'd found his backbone, Maximonov said arrogantly, "You have no idea what you're facing. This man beside me is the King of Attilan, Black Bolt. He can wipe you out just by moving his mouth."
Although he usually didn't get along with his older brother, Maximonov had absolute confidence in Black Bolt's power.
As long as Black Bolt opened his mouth, he was invincible!
Being so highly praised by his rebellious younger brother, Black Bolt cooperated, crossing his arms and lifting his chin slightly with a confident smile, as if everything was under control.
Just then, Wanda tilted her head slightly, scarlet energy flashing past the tips of her hair.
She looked at Black Bolt and asked in confusion, "What mouth?"