hotmtlnovel Chapter 3716 Doomsday (9)
Chapter 3716 Doomsday (9)
Chapter 3716 Doomsday (Part 9)
The leaders of the three empires exchanged glances, seemingly having guessed the same thing. Could it be that the earlier leak of information about their intention to attack the World Tree had made Thor disregard the danger posed by these people and prepare to forcibly drag Earth into the conflict?
The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Asgard has always been more offensive than defensive, the World Tree is not without weaknesses, and the three great empires all possess weapons of various rules. Therefore, even during Odin's reign, he dared not confront the three great empires head-on.
Now it's Thor's turn, but he's caught in the crossfire of the three great empires fighting. All three are pressuring him to take a stand, and the pressure is immense. But Asgardians are known for their stubbornness, and the God-King is the most stubborn of all—the kind of people who would rather perish together than bow down.
The three great empires are now essentially nuclear-armed nations, while Asgard is somewhat lacking. This is because Asgard has always relied on its individual military strength. Although the Bifrost is also powerful, it is nowhere near the ultimate weapons of the three great empires—it's like one side has nuclear weapons, while the other only has ordinary missiles.
Furthermore, their stockpile of ordinary missiles is limited, as the Rainbow Bridge requires charging and preheating, and excessive use can cause it to overheat. Besides the Rainbow Bridge, their only weapon of mass destruction is the God-King himself. Although the two Asgardian God-Kings are currently in good condition, they are still insufficient to directly confront the three great empires. Even if they ultimately win, it will be a loss that Asgard cannot accept.
Non-nuclear states can never truly stand up to nuclear-armed states. Therefore, the only way to confront them head-on is to develop their own nuclear weapons.
But Asgard has been like this for millennia, so expecting them to directly transform into scientific researchers is unrealistic. Starting from scratch to develop strategic weapons is definitely too late now, so the only option is to steal or plunder.
But the irony is that there really are wild nuclear weapons within the nine nations, and they are not the kind of large strategic weapons with many usage restrictions that are easy for the enemy to detect and counter. Instead, they are super strategic weapons that are extremely small, extremely fast, extremely simple, and can infiltrate the enemy's territory anytime and anywhere, destroy a star system in less than two seconds, and then escape smoothly afterward.
The three great empires have been cursing about the "nuclear warheads naturally growing in the deserts of the nine great nations" for quite some time now. But jokes aside, don't joke about Earth. If they didn't understand how dangerous Earth is, the elite captains of these three empires wouldn't have reacted so quickly upon seeing this planet and turned back.
They now realize that the reason Asgard didn't use Earth as a strategic weapon before wasn't because the two couldn't reach an agreement, but simply because the situation wasn't that dire. Now that the pressure has increased, Thor is really going to disregard everything and move nuclear missile silos right to his doorstep.
Those in the delegation who understood the situation were seething with anger. When Odin was the king of the gods, Asgard was glorious and powerful. Now that they finally had a chance to put pressure on them, it seemed like it was anyone's game now.
Even so, they were already there. After landing, they reluctantly headed towards the Asgardian palace. The other side had already placed nuclear weapons in their bedroom; clearly, they weren't going to back down, and further negotiations were unlikely to yield anything. How were they going to explain this back home?
Loki warmly welcomed them, meticulously arranging accommodations and preparing exquisite meals for them. Just when the members of the delegation thought Asgard was about to give them a treat, they suddenly discovered that there were other people staying in the building.
Good morning, Captain.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
Good morning, everyone.
Steve, carrying his tray, smiled and nodded to everyone, then went to the bar to get a drink and went to the window to find a suitable seat. Just as he found a good spot and sat down, he heard a commotion coming from the spiral staircase.
A group of strangely dressed aliens approached. They wore brightly colored, luxurious silk garments, and had oddly shaped feathers or feather-covered hats on their heads. They chatted and laughed as they walked down the stairs, but their laughter and conversation abruptly stopped when they saw the scene inside the restaurant. The group simply stood there, motionless, on the stairs.
There were clearly others behind them; Steve heard several shouts of alien language. The first group of aliens stepped aside, and another group of aliens in military uniforms walked down, cursing as they went. But when they saw the scene inside the restaurant, their cursing stopped abruptly, and they stopped in their tracks.
The call came from upstairs again, and the group of aliens in military uniforms quickly moved aside. Another group of aliens in blue military uniforms came down, but they were clearly not the same group as the previous ones. They were still complaining and scolding, but the moment they saw the scene in the restaurant, they seemed to have been choked and stood still.
Thus, a comical scene unfolded: on the narrow spiral staircase leading to the Asgardian restaurant, the Shi'ar stood in a row on the far left, the Kree in a row on the far right, and the Skrulls in the middle. The three rows were clearly distinct, yet their expressions and movements were remarkably similar.
Just then, Steve heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw Wanda's face: "Hey, Captain, what's with calling Jarvis to Earth? Can I share a table with you today? I want to try everything, but I can't finish it all. If we share a table, we can get more varieties..."
“Of course, no problem, ma’am.” Steve took a plate from his own plate and said, “Let me see what you took? Good heavens, are you a vegetarian? Why did you take so many vegetables?”
“Of course not, but don’t you find these oddly shaped vegetables interesting?” Wanda said, poking at a spiral-shaped vegetable on a plate with her fork.
“Most of Asgardian specialties come from Vanaheim,” Loki explained to the group gathered around the table. “The climate there is better, producing all sorts of fresh ingredients and delicious food. My favorite is a stew from there, but unfortunately the chef isn’t here. I’ll have them make it for you another day…”
"Doom thinks the dish is delicious, and he thanks you for your hospitality." Doctor Doom, sitting opposite Loki, nodded.
Stark, sitting on the other side, glanced at him. He remembered that Doctor Doom had indeed been out of the public eye for a long time; the last time he heard news of him was that he was conducting some kind of experiment in the Himalayas. He guessed that it was very likely that he was collaborating with China on a faster-than-light engine.
Thinking about this, Stark felt a bit annoyed: Why did they ask Doom and not me? Don't they know who the smartest person and greatest scientist in the world is? They really don't know what's good for them!
Although he thought this way, he also knew in his heart that China would never choose to cooperate with him, no matter who else it sought. Iron Man was even more representative of America than Captain America—Captain America could be considered an internationalist fighter, while Iron Man was a thoroughly American capitalist with overtly obvious political leanings.
But Doctor Doom's background is much better. Although he's the king of a country, it's a small one, and regardless of the system, he governs it quite well. Its infrastructure is excellent, even top-tier in the region—a true powerhouse among small nations. It's a highly sought-after country in both international relations and science and technology.
The third scientist at the table, Reed, is the weakest of the three, but he is the happiest because he is getting married.
Reed glanced at the time, wiped his mouth, and said, "Sorry, I promised Susan I'd go pick out a wedding dress today. She said she really needed my advice, so I have to go early. You guys eat first, I'll be going now."
Loki stood up and saw him off, then walked around the screen and noticed the congestion on the spiral staircase. He looked at the people on the stairs with some confusion and said, "What are you all doing here? Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"
"I suddenly don't feel so hungry," Carter said with a swift turn. "Everyone, about-face! Back line to front line! March!"
The Skrulls rushed upstairs. Then the Cree said, "We don't eat breakfast, we're leaving now."
They ran away too. The Shi'ar hesitated for a moment—they were the most human-like of the three great empires and the race most in need of breakfast, and Asgardian food was indeed quite good, with the buffets filled with the aroma of meat and fat.
They were so nervous last night that they didn't eat properly. If they don't eat this morning, what if they faint from hunger during the negotiations?
The Shi'ar people still came down despite their reluctance.
The people from the three great empires dared not descend, mainly because there were simply too many humans among them. Although they didn't recognize them all, just the few they could identify were enough to cause a stir. The Steel Demon and the Scarlet Witch were renowned figures, and these two were among the highest-yield nuclear weapons.
Could any contestant who can compete against these two be weak? If everyone in this room were like them, what's the difference between living in a nuclear missile silo?
The Skrulls and Kree who fled would probably want to write a book called "My Date with a Nuclear Bomb" or "To the Most Dangerous Time of My Life" if they went back.
But there was no other way; food is essential for life. While the two cyborg races could go without food, the Feathered Clan, a carbon-based species, still needed to eat. After entering, they found a round table and sat down, intending to finish eating quickly and leave as soon as possible. They didn't want to talk to anyone; surviving until noon would be a success.
Unexpectedly, instead of causing trouble for these aliens, humans started causing trouble for their own kind.
After Loki finished introducing the guests to Stark and his group at their table, he went to another table to socialize. Stark already disliked Doctor Doom, and without Loki acting as the host and mediator, the two started arguing after only a few words.
"What do you mean?!" Stark slammed his fist on the table. "You're saying I'm like a peacock? I think you're more like a treacherous villain!"
"Doom acknowledges your intelligence. However, he feels you focus too much on commercial marketing, completely lacking a down-to-earth research spirit, which makes Stark Industries' products overly flashy and significantly lacking in practicality..."
"What did you say?!" Stark was so angry his nose almost twisted. With his rapid breathing, the Arc Reactor on his chest grew brighter and brighter, then began to flicker, looking like it was about to explode.
This was actually a breathing light that Stark had installed on his Arc Reactor specifically for show, but the Shi'ar Empire didn't know that. Being a magical race, they were extremely sensitive to energy and sensed the surging power approaching detonation. A dozen or so people instantly flew into the air and activated the energy shield.
This caused quite a commotion. The shield sent the table flying, smashing it into Eddie on his left, spilling drinks and food all over him. Venom howled and charged at the shield, only to be bounced back.
As soon as Steve saw a huge black shadow flying towards him, he instinctively raised the shield beside him to block it. With a "bang," Venom was thrown back again, flying directly onto the table on the corner where Polaris and Iceman were sitting, smashing a table full of food and spilling soup and drinks all over the two of them.
Polaris, her head covered in vegetable soup, stood frozen in disbelief for two seconds. As she slowly stood up, everything in the restaurant began to tremble.
"what!!!!!!!!"
Bad