60: Chapter 60 All Nations Pay Tribute

New York, west of Manhattan island.

Hells Kitchen, once dirty, dilapidated, and infested with gangs, has been completely leveled in just one month.

Replacing it is a towering black steel fortress covering hundreds of hectares—the "Scarlet Bastion." It is cast entirely from a mixture of dark black silicon-carbon armor and Vibranium, like a dark red sword piercing the sky, looking down coldly upon the entire city of New York.

Above the fortress, three pitch-black Helicarriers, modified with alien technology, hover in a triangular formation. Their cold plasma main cannons are charged day and night, ready to launch a devastating strike on any coordinate on the globe at any moment.

Today is the day the Crimson Court headquarters is completed.

At the base of the fortress, on a kilometer-long black alloy corridor.

There are no flowers, no media, only two rows of fully armed "Crimson Guard" soldiers holding Chitauri high-frequency rifles.

Walking in the center of the corridor are the heads of all the super-powers on Earth... These peak power figures, who once commanded and decided the direction of the World on television, are now all pale-faced, like prisoners about to walk onto an execution ground, moving forward with stiff steps.

And walking at the very front is an old man wearing traditional African robes and a leopard tooth necklace.

The King of Wakanda, T'Chaka.

A month ago, Wakanda still prided itself as the most technologically advanced and well-hidden paradise on Earth. Until Lynn, in the form of a [Mimic], took over their proud Vibranium network firewall in three seconds. Immediately after, three Crimson Helicarriers hovered over the capital of Wakanda via space jump.

Facing the kind of absolute firepower that could level the entire Africa continent in an instant, the proud Wakanda chose to yield.

T'Chaka was forced to open the country's borders and surrender half of the Vibranium reserves in the national treasury as "tribute" in exchange for the nation's survival.

"Clack, clack, clack..."

The dull sound of footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

This group of leaders, representing the highest power of all humanity, finally arrived before two hundred-meter-high dark black giant gates at the end of the corridor.

"Rumble—"

The giant gates slowly slid open to both sides.

Behind the doors was a minimalist, cold, giant hall capable of holding tens of thousands of people.

At the highest point in the center of the hall stood a black throne crudely forged from the skull of a Leviathan interstellar beast and countless melted fighter jet remains.

On both sides of the throne stood The Punisher, Frank Castle, dressed in black, and the Venom Hound, which was the size of an armored vehicle.

And below the steps of the throne, that four-meter-tall ultimate monster covered in black symbiote and lightning runes—the "Godslayer"—stood like a demon statue from hell, coldly looking down at the crowd entering from the gate.

Just the terrifying pressure unintentionally emitted by the "Godslayer," a mix of the Hulk and Thor, made the legs of the leaders of several small nations go weak, nearly collapsing to the ground.

T'Chaka took a deep breath, suppressed the trembling in his heart, and led the way into the hall.

Hundreds of national leaders gathered in the center of the hall.

The hall was deathly silent, with only a very crisp "click, click" sound coming from the throne.

Lynn, wearing a pure black slim-fit trench coat, leaned lazily against the back of the throne.

His right hand was carelessly tossing up that cube emitting a brilliant, deep blue light—the Tesseract.

That Infinity Stone, capable of tearing through space, was like a harmless baseball in his hand, being tossed and caught at will.

"Everyone is here."

Lynn stopped tossing it, gripped the Tesseract in his palm, and his deep black eyes slowly swept over the group of the most powerful people on Earth below.

"Mr. Lynn..."

The President of the U.S. wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and took a half-step forward with courage, trying to maintain the last shred of a great power's dignity.

"The United Nations has recognized the independent sovereignty of the Crimson Court. Regarding the subsequent global trade shares and the details of the peaceful coexistence treaty, we hope to..."

"Shut up."

Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, slamming hard into everyone's hearts.

He leaned forward slightly, looking down from above.

"I didn't call you here for negotiations. Much less to sign those treaties that are like waste paper."

"I called you here to set the rules."

"From today on, there is no democracy on Earth, no votes, and certainly no so-called national sovereignty."

"I don't need your approval. I only need you to provide resources, technology, and absolute obedience. You can continue to be Presidents and kings in your countries."

"But here..."

Lynn tightened his grip on the Space Stone in his hand, and the deep blue light instantly illuminated the entire black hall.

The four-meter beast "Godslayer" standing below the steps let out a terrifying roar that shook the entire hall in coordination.

"Boom!"

The violent sound waves, mixed with lightning, directly knocked over several accompanying generals in the front row of the hall.

"Here, you have only one identity."

"My dogs."

"Now, kneel."

Silence. A suffocating silence.

The old King of Wakanda, T'Chaka, closed his eyes, let out an extremely bitter sigh, and was the first to bend his knees, kneeling heavily on the cold alloy floor.

With the first, there came a second.

"Thud, thud..."

Accompanied by a series of sounds of knees hitting the ground.

Hundreds of high-ranking individuals who controlled the lifeblood of the Earth, at this moment, abandoned all pride and, like the lowliest ants, knelt down in unison toward Lynn on the throne.

Lynn looked at the dense crowd kneeling below, but there was no joy in his eyes.

Invincibility is always accompanied by extreme boredom.

Lynn slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the dome of the hall, past the Earth's atmosphere, and into the deep and boundless dark starry Universe.

...

The scene zooms out.

Leaving Earth, passing through the Solar System, crossing countless light-years.

In an extremely deep and desolate edge of the Universe.

A dark black metal fortress as massive as half a moon—"Sanctuary II"—was quietly hovering in an asteroid belt.

On a floating throne in the deepest part of the fortress.

An extremely burly giant with dark purple skin was closing his eyes, resting his chin on one hand.

"Sizzle..."

The holographic projector below the throne flickered, and an alien adjutant in black armor knelt on one knee, his voice trembling.

"Great Lord Thanos..."

The adjutant lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the being on the throne.

"The Chitauri fleet heading to Earth... has been completely wiped out. The mothership was destroyed, and Loki's whereabouts are unknown."

"The Mind Stone has been lost."

The Purple Sweet Potato didn't speak, but only slowly opened those cold eyes devoid of any emotion.

The adjutant swallowed hard and continued to report under immense fear: "Furthermore... we have detected extremely frequent and violent Space Stone energy fluctuations at the coordinates of Earth. Someone is abusing the laws of space without any restraint..."

"Oh?"

Thanos slowly sat up straight.

He wasn't angry because of the fleet's destruction; instead, because of the Space Stone's reckless fluctuations, a very dangerous and interested curve curled at the corner of his mouth.

"It seems that an interesting bug has been born on that remote blue minor planet."

Thanos stood up, his massive body like an impassable dark mountain.

"Notify Ebony Maw."

Thanos's voice was low and full of pressure, echoing in the empty Sanctuary.

"Set the course of Sanctuary II toward Earth."