Chapter 109: The Fall of Old Powers, The Rise of the New
"Stop! Everyone stop fighting!"
"Banner, stay out of this!"
Bruce Banner, transformed into the Hulk, charged into the battlefield and grappled with Blonsky's Abomination form, trying to separate the two monstrous combatants.
Valkyrie, Dragonfang sword in hand, blocked Anthony's attempt to decapitate Okoye. "Listen, if there's been some kind of misunderstanding, we can sit down and work this out."
"There's nothing to work out. Get in my way again, and you're next."
Drax the Destroyer, Nebula, and Groot all entered the battlefield—but they refrained from attacking Celestial Island's forces, instead working desperately to prevent further bloodshed.
These heroes hadn't come to wage war against Celestial Island. The zombie apocalypse had already cost the Avengers too many of their own. They'd already lost any realistic chance of defeating Ryan.
Their only hope now was peace.
But Celestial Island had struck first, declaring open war on Wakanda.
Without direct orders from Ryan, the Celestial Island forces wouldn't stop—and they didn't want to.
If Wakanda fell completely, Ryan would be crowned as a world power, and they would become his generals and commanders.
Former soldiers who'd once earned modest wages to support their families now had a chance to rise to prominence. No one was willing to pass that up.
Anthony shook off Valkyrie and attacked Okoye again.
His Adamantium bone claws sliced across Valkyrie's forearm, drawing blood. He followed up with a brutal kick that sent her flying backward.
Seeing this, Thor rushed forward with Stormbreaker raised high.
"I said STOP!"
The axe, crackling with thunder and lightning, struck Anthony with devastating force.
Anthony raised his bone blades to block, but he was no match for the God of Thunder's strength. The axe blade shattered through his guard, carving a massive wound across Anthony's chest.
THUD!
Anthony flew back over thirty feet, slamming into the beach with bone-crushing impact.
Seconds later, the wound healed. Anthony climbed to his feet and sneered. "Want a fight? Come on then!"
Thor, momentarily distracted by concern for the injured Valkyrie, suddenly remembered he was supposed to be mediating.
He quickly raised his hand in a placating gesture. "Hey, look—I admit I hit you pretty hard there, but you're fine now, right? How about we just call this whole thing off?"
Anthony was genuinely impressed. Only someone with rocks for brains could say something that stupid.
He sneered. "You want to negotiate? Talk to my boss. Say it nicely, and maybe he'll go easy on you."
"Your boss? Ryan? Where is he?"
Thor looked around frantically. As soon as the words left his mouth, a figure plummeted from the sky, creating a deep impact crater in the sand.
BOOM!
Ryan, having jumped from a transport aircraft thousands of feet up, casually brushed sand off his pants, stepped out of the crater, and smiled.
"Since everyone's here, let's settle this together."
Ryan's arrival immediately put everyone on edge.
Truth be told, no one present knew the full extent of Ryan's power. Of everyone on the battlefield, perhaps the only weapon that posed a genuine threat was Stormbreaker—the same axe that had buried itself in Thanos's chest.
Thor stepped forward cautiously. "Ryan, what will it take for you to stop this?"
"Complete submission. Or the death of every last person in Wakanda," Ryan replied calmly.
Asgard had annihilated countless civilizations during its conquest of the Nine Realms. Without that kind of overwhelming deterrence, how could the Asgardians have maintained supremacy? How could Odin have held his throne as All-Father?
Now that the situation was reversed, suddenly it was unacceptable?
Anthony glanced at Thor with disdain, then moved around him to continue the assault on Wakandan forces.
Thor tightened his grip on Stormbreaker, remaining silent for a long moment. Then he suddenly lunged at Ryan. If Ryan could be taken down, the war would naturally end.
It was logical—but Thor was being naive.
CLANG!
Stormbreaker struck against Ryan's energy shield, unable to penetrate even a fraction of an inch. Ryan's right hand morphed into an energy blade, sweeping diagonally and forcing Thor backward. He chuckled. "I thought you'd bring Asgardian warriors with you! Didn't expect you'd only show up with a handful of refugees."
Ryan's words carried an unmistakable implication: there was a simultaneous operation targeting New Asgard.
Unable to contain his rage, Thor attacked Ryan again.
CLANG!
CLANG!
WHAM!
The agile Thunder God was sent flying thirty meters by Ryan's kick, crashing through a massive tree before finally coming to a stop.
For ordinary humans or average superheroes, Thor's immense physical strength was enough to overwhelm anyone.
But against truly powerful opponents, Thor's real advantage lay in his mastery of lightning and the enchanted uru-metal weapon he wielded. Raw physical prowess mattered less.
In a pure contest of strength, Ryan—with his near-maximum genetic optimization—was definitively superior to Thor.
Dazed, Thor climbed out of the dirt, summoned Stormbreaker back to his hand, and charged at Ryan once more.
Ryan easily dodged the axe blade. His counterattack was blocked by Stormbreaker's handle. Thor instinctively grabbed Ryan's wrists, attempting to lock both of them in a grapple.
"Ryan, stop this!"
Ryan's lips curled into a slight smile. The energy blade in his hand suddenly extended, nearly taking out Thor's remaining eye.
SWISH!
A lock of golden hair was sheared from Thor's head as the blade grazed his forehead, opening a gash.
Terrified, Thor immediately released Ryan and stumbled backward.
Seeing Thor's defeat, the other Guardians rushed to assist. Nebula, on her approach, fired her cybernetic arm cannon at Ryan, burning through his coat.
Seeing the energy weapon's ineffectiveness, she drew her telescoping baton and engaged Ryan in close combat. Drax provided support from the flank, and with Thor charging head-on, they attacked simultaneously from three directions.
Ryan's genetically enhanced combat instincts made split-second calculations.
He morphed both hands into short blades, pivoted backward, and sent Nebula and Drax flying. Then he backflipped, crossing his blades to intercept Stormbreaker's downward arc.
He executed a 360-degree spin, dissipating the force, and thrust toward Nebula.
Nebula dodged desperately, but the energy blade passed millimeters from her cybernetic chest. If she'd been even a fraction slower, Ryan would have skewered her.
After missing his strike, Ryan redirected toward Drax.
Drax's enhanced physiology made him incredibly durable—but not against weapons forged from cosmic energy.
SLASH!
Drax, overconfident in his resilience, was cut down immediately. Having gone so long without sustaining a serious injury, he lay there stunned for several seconds.
Even as Ryan engaged the heroes, signs of Wakanda's imminent defeat were already evident across the front lines.
Vast numbers of Wakandan warriors had fallen. Even with their superior numbers, they were no match for the genetically enhanced super soldier legion.
Watching her people being slaughtered one by one, Princess Shuri finally broke. "Stop! We surrender!"
"Shuri!" Okoye looked at the princess in shock.
For a warrior, dying in battle was an honor. But from Shuri's perspective, such deaths were utterly meaningless.
The battle was completely one-sided. Even if every last Wakandan threw themselves into the fight, they would only buy more time for Celestial Island's soldiers to continue the massacre.
Looking around, she saw that aside from a few fallen Skrulls, virtually all the dead were Wakandans.
What was the point of continuing this war?
The Wakandan warriors slowly ceased fighting and gathered around Princess Shuri. The Super Soldier Corps regrouped around Ryan, encircling Thor and the remaining Guardians.
Ryan smiled faintly. "How about calling in those Asgardian warriors now?"
If Wakanda had surrendered, what reason did Thor have to stay?
Thor snorted coldly. "Ryan, this won't end well for you." Turning away, he called out, "Groot, get over here! We're leaving!"
"I am Groot!"
Thor raised Stormbreaker skyward, and the Bifrost suddenly descended, carrying Thor, Groot, Nebula, and the wounded Drax away from the battlefield in a column of rainbow light.
Seeing this, Hulk—who'd been trading blows with Abomination—immediately abandoned the fight and sprinted toward the Bifrost, shouting, "Wait! Don't forget me!"
The next moment, the Bifrost vanished.
Banner stood there awkwardly, still waving his massive green arms, and slowly turned to look at Ryan.
"Uh... hi. I'm just here to mediate."
Ryan replied with a friendly smile. Then he instructed his men, "Escort Dr. Banner to the command vessel. Make him comfortable. Afterward, take Dr. Banner to Celestial Island as our... guest."
Banner helplessly raised his hands, knowing full well he was a prisoner. "Guest" was just a polite euphemism.
Ryan approached Princess Shuri.
Anthony, standing beside him, raised his Adamantium bone claws and pressed them against Shuri's shoulder. "Kneel."
"You dare—!" Okoye glared with barely contained fury.
Anthony turned his cold gaze on her. "Kneel, or die."
At this point, continuing to fight was pointless. Wakanda had lost. Further resistance would only lead to complete annihilation. Surrender would at least guarantee the survival of those who remained.
Shuri remained silent for a long moment. Finally, she knelt before Ryan.
Despite her fury, Okoye knelt beside Shuri, finally lowering her proud head.
Ryan looked around. Every Wakandan warrior dropped their weapons and knelt.
"Let's go. Time to see what we've won."
Ryan started toward Wakanda proper, followed by his super soldiers, Princess Shuri, and General Okoye as prisoners.
Deep in the forest, they opened the energy barrier, revealing a completely different world.
Inside, Ryan felt genuinely surprised.
The technologically advanced capital city in the distance was magnificent—sleek towers, hovering aircraft, holographic displays. It looked like something from a science fiction utopia.
But the people lived in traditional thatched huts, ate wild fruits and dried fish, and despite the fertile land, there wasn't a single cultivated crop field in sight.
This was just a tribe of isolationists who'd stumbled onto advanced technology without developing any corresponding civilization.
It truly proved the saying: "Wealth doesn't create culture."
They flew to the capital city, ascending to the royal palace. Inside the throne room, all the tribal elders had assembled.
Queen Ramonda, T'Challa's mother, sat elevated on the throne, her head raised proudly as if squinting disdainfully at the intruders.
As Ryan entered the hall, the Dora Milaje guards raised their vibranium spears. A group of tribal elders began shouting in Xhosa—incomprehensible to Ryan, but certainly not welcoming.
"Shut up!"
Anthony waved his hand. Two squads of super soldiers rushed forward, forcing the guards to their knees and dragging a dozen tribal elders to the floor.
Anthony waved his hand again. Dozens of heads rolled across the polished floor.
"AHHHHHH!"
Shuri and Queen Ramonda screamed simultaneously.
Anthony said coldly, "From today forward, there are no more tribal elders. No more kings. No more queens. Wakanda has new masters now."
Ryan walked toward Queen Ramonda.
Ramonda stubbornly refused to leave the throne, as if her body was welded to it.
Anthony grabbed Ramonda by her royal robes, yanked her off the throne, and hurled her into the center of the hall.
"Mother!" Shuri immediately ran to help Ramonda up, checking for injuries.
Ramonda stared at Ryan with tear-filled eyes, her face a mask of grief and rage.
After T'Challa's death, she had hoped to protect their nation. Instead, she had watched it fall.
Ryan didn't sit on the throne. He simply circled it twice, then walked to the panoramic windows overlooking Wakanda's capital.
After two minutes of silence, Ryan—with his back still to the captives—spoke quietly.
"Tell Ross to arrange a transition team. They'll take over administration of Wakanda."
A complete restructuring awaited the fallen kingdom.
End of Chapter 109
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