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Ch. 343 Public Condemnation
🕑 Added 2024-04-03 16:00:16 +0000 UTCThe voice of the Black Panther God Bast was not loud, but everyone in the king's hall heard it clearly.
While Bast's tone seemed somewhat calm and lacked obvious signs of anger, as she spoke these words, she silently invoked her divine power and released her own divine presence.
Momentum is something intangible, something you can't see or touch. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
In the animal kingdom, animals facing a natural predator would sense an indescribable sense of danger. Even if the predator was well-fed and had no intentions of hunting or killing at the moment, the mere presence of the predator would make the animals uneasy.
Though humans are more advanced than ordinary animals, in human society, there is still this "natural" oppression. Faced with superiors who possess significantly greater power or status, most people find it difficult not to show deference and unconsciously lower their posture.
Black Panther God Bast, in terms of both form and power, far exceeded King T'Chaka and the others. Except for Russell, who had both higher rank and power than Bast, everyone present felt an indescribable tension and fear.
This tension and fear were unrelated to the strength of one's will or the robustness of their psyche. It was purely an instinctive feeling, originating from the depths of the soul.
Upon hearing the words of the Black Panther God Bast, King T'Chaka and the others fell into silence. Regardless of whether they admitted it or not, their failure to promptly follow Bast's divine oracle implied their intention to defy it.
As silence enveloped the king's hall, the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive.
Russell remained silent, sitting calmly in his chair, awaiting the unfolding events.
Black Panther God Bast also didn't continue speaking. Instead, she gazed at King T'Chaka, who sat on the throne, waiting for his response.
Time passed slowly. After two or three minutes had gone by, realizing that they couldn't continue this silence, the future superhero, Black Panther, T'Challa, spoke up.
"Black Panther God, we have no intention of offending you, much less defying your divine oracle."
"You are the Guardian of Wakanda, and you are well aware of how important vibranium is to our nation."
"We are willing to surrender the vibranium, but we are unsure if we can retain the vibranium items that have already been mined or manufactured?"
As the future King of Wakanda, T'Challa spoke with utmost respect to the Black Panther God Bast.
After T'Challa finished speaking, King T'Chaka also spoke slowly, "Black Panther God, we are willing to hand over all the unmined vibranium to Mr. Bradley."
"But the vibranium items that have already been created have become an integral part of the daily lives of the Wakandan people."
"Even if we give these vibranium items to Mr. Bradley, it would be inconvenient for his future use."
At this point, King T'Chaka, seated on the throne, turned his gaze towards Russell.
Although it appeared that they were seeking the opinion of the Black Panther God Bast, in reality, they were seeking Russell's opinion.
Russell's agreement was what gave meaning to Bast's approval. Otherwise, even if Bast wanted them to keep the mined vibranium and vibranium items, they wouldn't be able to.
After listening to T'Chaka and T'Challa's words, Black Panther God Bast did not immediately respond but instead turned to look at Russell.
Seeing Russell sitting calmly in his chair, showing no intention of speaking, Black Panther God Bast spoke with utmost seriousness, "A divine oracle is a divine oracle, and there is no room for negotiation."
"If you are unwilling to surrender all the vibranium to Mr. Bradley, then Wakanda has no reason to continue existing."
As her words fell, Black Panther God Bast released her divine power in front of everyone's eyes.
As a mist-like divine power surged from her body, the form of Black Panther God Bast, initially only slightly larger than an ordinary black panther, began to rapidly expand.
In the blink of an eye, the form of the Black Panther God Bast reached a towering height of over five meters, appearing like a primordial beast in the king's hall.
This...
Seeing Black Panther God Bast's action, King T'Chaka and the others knew that the negotiations had completely failed.
After a few seconds of complex and silent contemplation, King T'Chaka slowly said, "Since this is the will of the Black Panther God, we will naturally not refuse."
"From now on, all of Wakanda's vibranium will be handed over to Mr. Bradley's Justice League."
After saying this, King T'Chaka seemed to age instantly by more than a decade, giving the impression that his vitality had rapidly dissipated.
In fact, King T'Chaka had no other choice now.
Black Panther God Bast had made herself perfectly clear, and if they didn't follow her instructions, today would be the day Wakanda ceased to exist.
Although Black Panther God Bast had never demonstrated her true power in front of them, King T'Chaka had no doubt that she could make good on her threat.
Upon hearing King T'Chaka's words, T'Challa and the elders of the other four tribes wore uncomfortable expressions. They understood why King T'Chaka had made this decision, but it didn't mean they had no reservations.
"Very well!"
"I don't want any further unexpected incidents during the handover process."
Black Panther God Bast first turned to King T'Chaka and the others and spoke.
Then, she turned to Russell, lowered herself as much as possible, and spoke with a respectful tone, "If Your Excellency has no further instructions, please allow me to return to my divine realm."
After Russell had given her a beating earlier, Black Panther God Bast was now showing him an unusual level of respect. Although this respect was likely just a façade, it didn't matter to Russell whether she meant it or not.
"Very well!"
Russell spoke calmly.
With Russell's permission, Black Panther God Bast dispelled her current divine avatar and returned her consciousness to her Divine Realm.
After Black Panther God Bast left, Russell glanced at King T'Chaka and said calmly, "Since you have agreed to surrender all the vibranium, don't waste any more time. Start the handover process."
....
Russell did not stay in Wakanda to oversee the specific handover process.
This kind of task was best left to his subordinates.
Of course, to prevent T'Chaka and the others from playing tricks, he deliberately left behind a divine power avatar.
With a divine power avatar in place, it would be impossible for T'Chaka and the others to attempt any tricks.
The people of Wakanda could not have imagined that on an ordinary day, their king would issue a royal decree demanding the surrender of all vibranium items.
Any items containing vibranium, whether pure vibranium items or those with a small amount of vibranium, were all within the scope of surrender.
Fortunately, Wakandans did not have the habit of using vibranium to build their houses; otherwise, they would have witnessed the largest-scale "demolition" activity in Wakanda's history.
While Wakanda had basic education, its research system was as peculiar as its royal transition process.
One person was responsible for all of Wakanda's top experiments.
In other words, the only real researcher in Wakanda was T'Challa's half-sister, Princess Suri, the daughter of King T'Chaka from another mother.
As for the other personnel in the laboratory, they were essentially assisting Princess Suri.
Although Suri was a princess, and Russell was someone who enjoyed tea, he has no desire for such things anymore for now.
The only reason his divine avatar was now in the laboratory was to take away all of Suri's research findings.
This included data, finished products, and even semi-finished products.
For example, the already developed Black Panther suit and the Black Panther nanosuit, which were still in the early development stages.
Regarding the collection of experimental data, Russell entrusted this task to No. 3.
Time passed by quickly.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
During this half month, all vibranium products in Wakanda were surrendered and transported back to the Justice League headquarters in New York by HYDRA.
Although the people of Wakanda harbored deep resentment during this half month, Russell paid no attention to their discontent.
Furthermore, he had ordered the HYDRA soldiers remaining in Wakanda to begin large-scale mining without any consideration for cost.
Since he had promised to take away all the vibranium, he wouldn't leave any vibranium in Wakanda.
Even the vibranium throne in the royal hall was taken away.
At the current mining rate, in just another half month, all of Wakanda's vibranium mines would be exhausted.
To facilitate the transportation of this vibranium, Russell had the Justice League warships that had been stationed in outer space land in Wakanda.
These four Justice League warships, modified from Kree vessels, not only served as transport ships but also underwent a second round of modifications in Wakanda.
For instance, the armor of the warships was entirely replaced with vibranium.
Wakanda had a complete vibranium production and manufacturing system, which saved a lot of effort for the modification of the warships in Wakanda.
To expedite the modification of the warships, Russell brought No. 3 out of his divine realm, and No. 3 was responsible for the overall modification of the warships and the vibranium mining.
The large-scale operations of the Justice League in Wakanda quickly caught the attention of the outside world.
As a result, news spread rapidly that Wakanda possessed vibranium, an extraordinary metal, as well as unique vibranium technology.
While most of the vibranium was in Wakanda, some had found its way outside in the past.
Moreover, there were some vibranium smugglers who specialized in stealing vibranium from Wakanda.
When these organizations and countries discovered that HYDRA was collecting all of Wakanda's vibranium, they quickly became interested in vibranium.
Of course, these organizations and countries did not dare to openly oppose HYDRA, but that did not mean they would do nothing.
Not long after, there were discussions in the outside world, claiming that HYDRA's monopoly of all the vibranium was an undisputed act of hegemony.
On the internet, there were even discussions about whether HYDRA should share vibranium with the entire world.
Most netizens believed that vibranium, as a unique and valuable resource, should be made available for the benefit of the entire world, rather than being monopolized by an individual or organization.
In the name of righteousness, they raised a flag.
Vibranium could lead to a truly new era of technological development on Earth and take a crucial step towards exploring the universe.
As time passed, discussions about HYDRA's inability to monopolize vibranium grew stronger, and some people even went to Wakanda to protest.
Not only in Wakanda but also in front of the Justice League headquarters, protests occurred.
Faced with this overwhelming public condemnation, Russell did not waste much time thinking about what to do.
He chose the simplest and most brutal way.
You want vibranium?
Fine!
Let's settle it with fists!
As long as someone could defeat him or the Justice League, all the vibranium would belong to the victor.
In addition, any protests related to vibranium would be considered a provocation against the Justice League.
And in the face of provocation, the Justice League's response would be ruthless, involving the elimination of planners, organizers, participants, and so on.
Although this was very domineering and would attract a lot of unnecessary criticism, after the Justice League took action a few times, the whole world suddenly became quiet.
Although it was only surface calm, it was enough for Russell.
No matter how others cursed or hated him behind his back, he wouldn't care.
But if someone dared to step forward, he would not hesitate to eliminate them.
When necessary, he would also kill the enemy's family, friends, and even the neighbor's dog.
This was his method for dealing with all his enemies when he was an assassin, and he had no qualms about using it now to silence his enemies.
After once again demonstrating himself and the Justice League to the world, the discussions about vibranium suddenly disappeared, both on the internet and in the streets.
More than half a month later, the Justice League completed all vibranium mining in Wakanda and the armor modification of the warships.
After completing these tasks, the Justice League's warships and related personnel finally left Wakanda.
As soon as the Justice League left, the organizations and countries that had been waiting outside Wakanda's borders for more than half a month rushed into Wakanda en masse.
Wakanda had indeed lost all its vibranium now, and most of the vibranium research data had been destroyed.
However, that did not mean Wakanda was entirely without value.
While most things related to vibranium had been taken away or destroyed by the Justice League, data and information were things that could be obtained to some extent as long as people remained.
For instance, if they could capture Princess Suri, the only researcher in Wakanda, they could obtain a lot of information related to vibranium technology.
However, these organizations and countries could not have imagined that Russell had already taken care of King T'Chaka's family in advance.
The current king of Wakanda was a former tribal elder with average intelligence and combat abilities.
Russell made sure to destroy any vibranium technology data that was copied, so there was no way he would leave such an obvious loophole.
Anyone involved in vibranium research and development, including some specialized technicians, had all been eliminated by Russell.
Even the war machines like aircraft that no longer had vibranium and energy weapons had been destroyed one by one by him.
