Long ago, in order to resurrect the Egyptian queen he loved, the High Priest searched desperately for forbidden knowledge.
Eventually he discovered two ancient scriptures:
The Sun Bible
and
The Dark Bible.
The Dark Bible contained forbidden spells capable of resurrecting the dead.
However, before the High Priest could complete the resurrection ritual, the Pharaoh's royal guards discovered his actions.
They interrupted the ceremony before it was finished.
As punishment for betraying the Pharaoh, they cursed the High Priest—transforming him into an insect-like creature before sealing him inside a coffin deep within the tomb.
That was how the two scriptures eventually became buried alongside the Pharaoh.
However, using the magic within those scriptures was not simple.
The spells required authentic Egyptian magical lineage and the ability to read ancient Egyptian language.
If ordinary people attempted to cast the spells—especially powerful ones—they would immediately suffer a fatal magical backlash.
Nevertheless, the scriptures were still incredibly valuable.
Even if someone couldn't use them themselves, they could exchange them for lifespan essence from Karl.
And that alone made them priceless.
Meanwhile—
Aldrich Killian and Justin Hammer had already injected themselves with the Extremis virus.
Both men could feel an unprecedented power flowing through their bodies.
Their physical strength, endurance, and regenerative abilities had all increased dramatically.
Satisfied with the results, they began injecting the virus into a group of hired mercenaries.
Their plan was simple.
Once the Extremis-enhanced soldiers were ready, they would launch their revenge against Tony Stark.
As for the Mandarin, he refused the injection entirely.
To him, Extremis was merely another piece of technology.
And technology meant nothing compared to the Ten Rings.
Each of his rings possessed unique supernatural abilities.
In his mind, that alone made him invincible.
Killian and Hammer did not attempt to persuade him.
After all, the Mandarin was never meant to be their partner.
He was simply a tool they intended to manipulate.
Of course, the Mandarin himself had his own agenda.
And both sides were well aware of that fact.
Killian soon began making preparations.
He arranged for several unstable failed Extremis subjects to carry out terrorist attacks throughout New York.
These incidents would serve as distractions.
At the same time, Killian continued recruiting additional mercenaries.
His first real target, however, was not Tony Stark himself.
Instead, he planned to attack Tony's personal driver and close associate.
According to the intelligence they had gathered, Tony seemed to trust this man deeply.
If they captured him, Stark would certainly respond.
Meanwhile, Justin Hammer had his own target in mind.
Pepper Potts.
Once nothing more than Tony Stark's assistant, Pepper had now become the CEO of Stark Industries.
Watching her rise to such a position had filled Hammer with bitterness.
In his mind, Pepper now looked down on him in exactly the same way Tony did.
The thought of it filled him with rage.
Hammer had already decided.
Anyone who dared to mock him would eventually pay the price.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark remained completely unaware that he had become the target of a major conspiracy.
At the moment, Tony was busy with two things:
Continuing research and improvements on his Iron Man armor
Arranging another artifact appraisal meeting with the world's major financial groups
The next meeting was scheduled for only a few days later.
Until then, Tony intended to focus entirely on his technological research.
Time passed quickly.
Soon, the appointed day arrived.
Major financial families and corporate groups once again gathered at Tony's villa.
But this time, the scale was far larger.
More than two hundred trucks arrived.
The number of participants was nearly ten times greater than before.
Every organization brought massive collections of antiques and relics.
As before, each group carefully labeled their items with their family or corporate insignia to avoid confusion.
Once the inventory was completed, Tony and his bodyguards loaded the relics into the trucks and began transporting them toward Karl's estate.
The route between Tony's villa and Karl's manor had been entirely sealed off.
Using their enormous influence, the financial conglomerates had arranged security across the entire road.
Private security forces guarded every intersection.
Surveillance teams monitored the surrounding area.
Interestingly, no national government representatives were present.
For now, most countries had chosen to simply observe.
If governments entered the competition directly, the situation would escalate dramatically.
After all, several nations—especially the ancient Eastern powers—possessed historical artifacts far older and more valuable than anything the corporations could offer.
And once those nations entered the race, the current financial groups would have no chance at all.
Meanwhile, the two Egyptian scriptures had already changed hands.
The small expedition team that originally discovered the Sun Bible and Dark Bible never even reached the airport.
They were intercepted along the way by a wealthy family that had hired an entire team of retired Navy SEALs.
Against such opponents, the explorers had no chance.
The scriptures were seized immediately.
At first, the wealthy family intended to study the artifacts themselves.
But after ten people died mysteriously within just a few days, their confidence disappeared instantly.
Whether the cause was a curse or magical backlash, no one knew.
Fear spread quickly among the family members.
They immediately sealed the scriptures and prepared to exchange them with Karl for lifespan essence.
If their direct heirs died, the consequences would be disastrous.
Thus, the two Bibles were now also on their way to Karl's manor.
Inside the manor—
Yan sat casually on the second-floor sofa with one leg crossed over the other.
"Kid," she said teasingly.
"You left me alone on that island for so long without even visiting me."
"What's wrong?"
"Is your sister not attractive enough?"
"Or do I simply not interest you?"
Yan had returned from the island earlier that day.
For someone with angelic technology, traveling through a wormhole was trivial.
Karl looked slightly embarrassed.
"It looks great… very attractive."
"I've just been busy."
"I'll definitely visit next time."
Then he looked at her curiously.
"But how's the progress on the warship?"
Yan rolled her eyes.
"I built a group of vibranium construction robots."
"They're finishing the rest of the work."
"Don't worry. With angel technology, they won't slow down the project."
She stood up slowly and walked toward Karl.
"Seems like all you care about is your warship."
"Don't I, a beautiful angel, deserve a little attention from my master?"
With a mischievous smile, she sat directly on Karl's lap.
Karl's face immediately turned red.
The faint fragrance surrounding Yan made him even more flustered.
"Seriously…"
"Are all angels this fond of teasing people?"
"Aren't you supposed to be extremely devoted to love?"
"You're making it sound like angels are frivolous."
Yan leaned comfortably against him.
"We angels do long for love."
"But in seven thousand years, I've only met it twice."
"Or perhaps not even once."
"For that possibility, I even defied the Queen and was imprisoned for hundreds of years."
She looked at Karl calmly.
"So, child…"
"I have great expectations for you."
"So great that one day I may fall in love with you."
"And if that day comes, I will protect you until death."
"Good luck."
"I believe in you."
After saying that, she stood up and returned to her seat.
Karl watched her thoughtfully.
From Yan's words, he could infer something important.
She had not yet met Ge Xiaolun.
That meant the timeline of Super God / Super Soldier (Super Seminary) had likely not begun yet.
In the original timeline, Yan had said similar words to Ge Xiaolun.
Now she had said them to Karl instead.
Perhaps it was because Karl had summoned her into this universe.
Or perhaps Yan already sensed something about the future.
Regardless—
Yan was someone he had summoned himself.
And she was also a character he had liked in his previous life.
Now that he had the chance, Karl naturally wanted to add her to his harem.
Besides…
He also wanted to experience the legendary Angel's vow of eternal protection.
Karl smiled at Yan.
Yan returned the look with a slightly strange expression.
At that moment, Yelena approached.
"Tony Stark has arrived."
"He brought more than two hundred trucks filled with antiques."
"Several adventure teams also arrived with newly discovered artifacts."
"They're waiting outside the manor."
Karl stood up.
"Let's go take a look."
Yan followed beside him.
As Karl stepped outside—
Black Phoenix suddenly appeared at his side.
She glared coldly at Yan.
Yan simply smiled.
She didn't seem to care at all.
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