Chapter 53: War and Scholarship Aren't in Conflict
The Frost Giants and Asgardians were assessing the Xenomorphs' combat power and adaptability, and they were astonished by what they found.
Du Wa was doing the same thing. The only difference was that he already knew what to expect; now he could "witness" their performance in extreme environments firsthand.
"For five thousand Xenomorphs to hold out to this degree is already quite impressive. On a planet with a suitable temperature and a harsh environment, their performance would be even more outstanding."
Among the many planets on the border between the two realms, very few were proper life-bearing planets; their natural environments were one harsher than the next.
To a certain extent, this limited the Xenomorphs' performance, since they couldn't use high technology, magic, or divine power.
"Hmm, some Frost Giants have already taken notice of the Xenomorphs' extraordinary resistance to extreme environments. They want to incorporate them as a subordinate race?"
Du Wa, seeing what was happening on the front lines through the Xenomorphs' eyes, couldn't help but smile.
Just how strong was a Xenomorph's resistance? The answer: by the standards of a carbon-based lifeform with no transcendent power, it was terrifyingly high.
The Drone Xenomorph is the second-to-last rank in the Xenomorph social hierarchy. Born from an ordinary human host, it can stand upright and withstand the temperature of boiling lead—over 1,700 degrees Celsius.
And in the Xenomorph prequel lore, the very first batch of Xenomorphs to hatch from eggs and parasitize ordinary humans could physically withstand the flames spewed from a starship's controlled nuclear fusion engine.
Therefore, the Xenomorphs' resistance to extreme environments was frighteningly high. And don't forget, these were Xenomorphs born from parasitizing ordinary Earth humans, without any transcendent power.
Among the many Xenomorphs Du Wa had sent to the battlefield, many were born from parasitizing Vampires and biochemical monsters, making their adaptive capabilities even more formidable.
If there was one thing that still dissatisfied Du Wa, it was the Xenomorphs' inability to fight in space. The moment they fell into the void, they would be instantly frozen, doomed to slowly die as their nutrients were depleted in the endless, cold vacuum.
This was also the original intention of the Xenomorph Ascension Plan.
Du Wa slowly stood up and cracked his neck, producing a series of popping sounds. He walked to the window and looked down at the emptiness outside.
"An ordinary Xenomorph Egg, as long as it doesn't 'bloom,' can survive for over a hundred years relying purely on its own stored nutrients. If it still hasn't found a suitable Host after that time, the Egg will grow tentacles to absorb nutrients from its surroundings to sustain itself."
"However, an adult Xenomorph isn't nearly as energy-efficient. It would be completely dead after drifting in space for a few decades."
The Xenomorph Ascension Plan was a long and arduous road, even though Du Wa had already set his sights on the World Tree, wanting to absorb its divine power in an effort to create a branch faction for a Xenomorph pantheon.
Creating a divine race for one's own species was undoubtedly difficult, but considering the real-world examples of the Skrulls building the Skrull Pantheon and Thanos's grandfather becoming the God of Time, Du Wa's approach wasn't entirely fantastical.
It was just that setting his target on the core of a fully-formed divine system from the very beginning—the World Tree—was the most insane part.
As for how to actually do it, send a bunch of Xenomorphs to gnaw on the World Tree? It was a good idea, and Du Wa was very tempted to try it.
"I've already captured about two hundred Frost Giants. That should grant me over two hundred Xenomorphs with the Frost Giant bloodline. I hope to use them to leverage the divine power that the World Tree grants to the Frost Giants."
Du Wa toyed with Mjolnir. Through the hammer's example, he had begun to grasp the workings of a divine power system.
According to his memories from his past life, once Thor became powerful enough, he could, like Odin, bestow a blessing upon a weapon, thereby transferring the power of the God of Thunder to someone he deemed worthy.
Therefore, Du Wa would dispatch Xenomorphs capable of seizing a Host's strongest bloodline to replace a batch of original Frost Giants, filling their original quotas and thereby stealing the divine power of the World Tree's system.
"Right now, I can't distribute the power of Mjolnir to others, mainly because my own position in the divine power chain is too low. Strictly speaking, I'm an intruder who cut in halfway."
"In that case, I just need to parasitize more Hosts and occupy more positions. When the number is large enough, when I have thousands, or even tens of thousands, of Xenomorphs who can all use the World Tree's divine power, at that point..."
Du Wa didn't have a better method. Winning through sheer numbers was the way to go.
With enough numbers, it would inevitably draw the unseen attention and response of the World Tree.
Just as Du Wa was meticulously formulating his plans, he received a call.
"Tony Stark. I believe I've cleared my debt to you," Du Wa said casually.
"What? You consider a one-dollar wire transfer as payment for renting a helicopter and hiring doctors?"
"Those doctors of yours also obtained Thor's genetic sample from me. Don't think I don't know. Even if you have little interest in the field of biology, you'd still be curious about the body of a Deity. I haven't even settled that bill with you yet," Du Wa said.
"You're damn right. The richest man in the world never owes anyone money! Jarvis, wire the guy I'm talking to some money. One dollar."
Tony's voice was extremely excited. He changed the subject, "Did you know? I've developed a new suit of armor. It's an epoch-making product! I haven't thought of a name yet, but you'll definitely be blown away."
"Is that so? Great. Will this armor pull hair?"
"?"
I said my armor is crazy strong, and you ask me if it pulls hair?
But I'm talking about armor?
Damn it, none of my armor models pull hair!
Tony felt a fuse blow. His great personality had suffered a tremendous insult.
"Du Wa, honestly, I hope I never have to use this armor—what you're doing has already caused some people to be displeased." Tony gave up on showing off, holding a strange drink in his hand and taking occasional sips.
"Displeased about what? Have I done something unforgivable? Or have I harmed ordinary humans? Of course, if you count the Vampire sympathizers who have sided with them as ordinary humans, then I have nothing to say."
Du Wa didn't care in the least. The fact that even Tony had come to warn him meant the situation outside had become very serious.
Apparently, after he had assembled an army of five thousand and sent them to Asgard, the outside world naturally assumed he would quiet down for a while. But he had only intensified his efforts, striking out everywhere with even greater frenzy to plunder more hosts for his army.
This trend was making people uneasy.
"I heard you joined the Deities' battlefield?"
Tony took a sip of his drink, a grin spreading across his face as he put heavy emphasis on the word "Deities," clearly unimpressed. He continued, "They think you're crazy, that this will draw the attention of dangerous entities to the entire Earth, and Earth isn't ready to step into the Universe."
"With Earth's mass, it's more than ready."
"Ha, are you saying Earth has figures on par with supreme deities from mythology like Odin and Zeus?"
"Tony, want to take a guess? I know this is insane and dangerous, so why do I insist on doing it? And if I'm doing it, why not go to the battlefield myself? Staying in Asgard should theoretically be safer than staying on Earth, right?"
That clicked for Tony. He set down his cup, a puzzled look on his face.
Are there really such ruthless characters on Earth? So strong that even those so-called Deities wouldn't dare to invade?
"Jarvis, create a new secret file, codename: Earth Deity, and monitor the network at all times." Tony realized his past understanding of this planet had been very shallow.
"Tony, there are few people who can speak to me on this level, so I can tell you clearly: I will absolutely not stop raising my army, no matter who tries to stop me, until the war is over. The price is that more Vampires will die, and Earth will be watched by people from many worlds. Sooner or later, they will know that the Xenomorphs came from Earth, from me." Du Wa's voice was calm.
Tony understood. "A brilliant declaration of war. Well then, my duty to warn you is complete. Just make sure you can handle the heat. I'm guessing those guys will try to stop you from continuing to participate in the war, but they're also worried that cutting off support will anger Asgard. They're a bit unsure of Asgard's attitude and don't know what stage the war has reached."
"To put it more bluntly, they don't even know who Asgard is fighting. But that makes sense. The war has just begun. Perhaps after some time, those people with channels of communication with extraterrestrials will find out what's happening."
Du Wa hung up.
Stark Tower.
Tony put down his cup with an impatient look. "I've done what you asked. If you're smart, you'll leave now. I really don't know why your 'strategic defense organization' or whatever wants me to do such meaningless, stupid things."
The well-mannered Coulson didn't move at all, his gaze shifting to Tony's cup.
In preparation for this meeting, he had specifically studied some Eastern history and etiquette, just in case. He knew that in Eastern custom, there was the practice of serving tea to send a guest away. With Tony, it was the opposite. The fact that he could do something else while talking to someone indicated that he was actually very interested in the matter at hand.
"Mr. Stark, we delivered a brand-new element to you, one that can repair your body and provide a richer energy source for the fusion device in your chest. All we're asking now is for you to speak with that person. I don't believe that's an excessive request."
"That was something my father left behind!"
"But your father was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. With your investigative skills, you must have already discovered that our S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't born in the last century. Your father joined us in the past. This is beyond doubt." Coulson's tone was gentle, but his firm gaze was fixed on Tony.
Tony looked at Coulson coldly. For the first time, he felt such a deep-seated annoyance for someone like this. Even with Du Wa, he had approached him with a complex mix of dislike, admiration, and a desire to show off.
"I know, the Brotherhood of the Shield or whatever. You're just one branch..."
"You'll soon see another branch. S.P.E.A.R. is coming to New York."
Coulson's gaze became profound. "A Global Summit is about to be held. Both S.P.E.A.R. and S.H.I.E.L.D. will participate. And... Professor X and Magneto have jointly recommended Du Wa to attend the meeting..."
"What kind of terrifying joke is this? Letting Du Wa into the Global Summit venue? Wait, did everyone suddenly figure it out overnight? That Du Wa is actually a Mutant? That he created Xenomorphs using the X-Gene?"
Tony was horrified, thinking these people must have gone insane.
"It's about him joining the Asgardian war as an Earthling. Everyone is waiting for his statement, wanting to understand his reasons for doing so. This is an unprecedented global event; no one has ever done this before."
The implications here were huge. By joining the battlefield, what was Du Wa after? The genes of a divine race? What kind of payment did Asgard offer Du Wa? And certain other, equally warlike, factions would surely be muttering to themselves, wondering about the specific rewards, whether the benefits were great enough...
As for the rest, even pure astronomy enthusiasts and historians would surely want to learn about the cosmic situation and the movements of mythological beings.
"Then the Mutants—"
"The Eternals and the Deviants."
Coulson answered.
Yes, it could no longer be hidden.
Magneto had been quiet for so many years, yet he had recently struck out with one heavy blow after another. Even a fool could tell something was afoot, that the stakes were so high that even a powerhouse like Magneto couldn't sit still.
The appearance of Ikaris and the others drew even more attention. For a time, even the affair with Thor was overshadowed, because the Eternals and the Deviants were tied to the history of humanity.
And to the origin of Mutants.
What puzzled Coulson was that Magneto's actions were already unexpected, but why had the usually low-profile Professor X also gotten involved?
To his knowledge, Professor X had no friendly relations with Du Wa.
"I feel like there's something going on between those two. It's as if they've discovered something, to the point that even their methods have changed... Is it really just because of the Eternals and the Deviants?"
...
It wasn't just Coulson, who had received advance notice from both sides, who was shocked.
Even Du Wa was somewhat stunned when he saw the invitation in his hand.
"Inviting a warmonger like me to give a lecture at the Global Summit?"
He hadn't even finished his doctorate, only holding a master's degree in biology. All he could say was that the powerful always received special treatment.
"They're holding back from attacking the rat for fear of smashing the vase. Unsure of the situation with Asgard and my relationship with Odin and the other mythical figures, they don't dare use force directly, resorting to this indirect approach instead." Du Wa immediately deduced the truth.
Hmm, the Mutant side of things probably wasn't so complicated. They were clearly planning to use this opportunity to announce something.
He immediately summoned Mystique and glanced at her ample chest.
Meeting Du Wa's gaze, Mystique thought he had finally come to his senses. She consciously puffed out her chest and said seductively, "From my observations, you don't necessarily like human women, so I've specifically researched transforming into a Xenomorph—"
"Shut up. Get Erik on the line. I need to talk to him. Don't even think about teaming up to fool me. I can perceive your state through the larva!"
Du Wa suspected that old codger wanted to cause trouble at the Global Summit, like turning everyone into Mutants or something. But seeing that the invitation mentioned that core members of S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.P.E.A.R. would also be attending, he felt that no matter how arrogant Magneto was, he wouldn't be so conceited as to take on the two strongest organizations on the planet at the same time.
(end of chapter)