Chapter 129
The story unfolded without surprise; Thor ultimately lifted his hammer, becoming the God of hammers and smashing the Destroyer Armor to pieces with a single strike.
Immediately following that, the beam of light from the Bifrost arrived across space.
Then came the familiar routine of wrapping things up.
However, Coulson and the others wouldn't be seeing such popular developments, as they still had to handle the aftermath.
The most important thing was naturally that destroyed armor; they had personally experienced its combat power, which was quite impressive—so impressive it nearly wiped them all out.
Coulson specifically put Hawkeye in charge of the escort, intending to send it back to S.H.I.E.L.D. as soon as possible.
The mythical battle just now had caused quite a stir; it was estimated that all sorts of shady characters would pop up soon. If the Destroyer Armor wasn't sent out in time, it would likely be difficult later.
"Leave it to me, don't worry."
Hawkeye sat in the passenger seat, speaking with full confidence.
Coulson glanced at the convoy ready to depart, then looked around, always feeling like something was off.
It felt as if he was being watched, but he really couldn't find any clues, so in the end, he could only give a light wave.
The convoy started up and headed toward the airport, where a transport plane was already waiting for them.
However, halfway through the convoy's journey, their communication signal was instantly cut off by a mysterious force.
By the time Hawkeye realized something was wrong and prepared to take action, he felt a sudden needle-like sting on his shoulder. Looking down, an anesthetic needle had appeared there at some point.
An intense wave of drowsiness surged up uncontrollably once again, feeling exceptionally familiar to Hawkeye.
"Shit..."
After cursing just one word, Hawkeye slumped down weakly.
As for the other escort personnel, they didn't even have a chance to react before they were knocked unconscious almost simultaneously.
Emil's figure slowly emerged on the side of the road, accompanied by a ten-man cyber tactical squad.
"Proceed according to plan: take over the convoy, spoof the signal..."
Emil methodically ordered his team members, walking over to Hawkeye as he spoke.
He yanked him out of the passenger seat, brushed aside his hair to implant a millimeter-sized biochip into his scalp, then tossed him into a roadside ditch, giving him a kick for good measure.
This guy still remembered being electrocuted by Hawkeye earlier.
S.H.I.E.L.D. still didn't know what had happened; just as they were about to try and restore communication using technical means, the signal returned to normal.
"Hawkeye squad, please respond..."
"Copy that, everything is normal, mission continuing."
The Netrunner in the special tactical squad replied using a voice changer.
Emil and the others needed time to transfer the Destroyer Armor; naturally, it was best to delay as much as possible.
This operation was naturally led by Kael. How could a righteous person like him sit by and watch the Destroyer Armor fall into the hands of the Snake Shield Bureau?
It was a case of the prepared against the unaware, coupled with an absolute lead in strength and equipment; handling a Hawkeye squad was effortless.
Moreover, Kael had plenty of connections and networks.
Hawkeye still needed to use a civilian airport, but Kael directly arranged for Emil to enter a U.S. military base and chartered a military transport plane, which could deliver it to his doorstep in three hours.
However, there was one thing Kael hadn't anticipated.
That was Hawkeye's drug resistance.
Because he had been hit by many anesthetic needles before, he woke up an hour early this time.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Because before Hawkeye woke up, Emil had already taken his bonus and gone out with his brothers to have a good time.
Looking at the rows of his team members lying flat around him, Hawkeye propped up his weak body and stood up, a faint sense of resignation showing in his numb facial expression.
He had probably already guessed who was responsible for this.
But what could he do even if he guessed it?
In the face of capital, the current version of S.H.I.E.L.D. was still a bit lacking; could they really just go to the door and arrest him?
Did they really think they were the IRS?
Even the IRS had received plenty of sponsorships from Kael.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. was always given plenty of screen time in the Marvel Universe, when it came to actual power on American soil, they even had to use the FBI's name to get things done.
It wouldn't be until after the first Battle of New York and the official formation of the Avengers that S.H.I.E.L.D. would officially step onto the stage, having a flavor of being above various national enforcement agencies.
Moreover, there was no evidence yet.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was even currently trying to cooperate with the other party, as they had a high demand for smart weapons and cybernetic implants.
But these headache-inducing matters weren't for Hawkeye to consider; his level wasn't high enough. He took out his phone and dialed a certain Egghead's number.
"Things got messed up."
"I already know. You can come back."
Nick said flatly, his voice showing no ripples.
This spymaster had seen too much darkness and filth; in his eyes, this matter was at most at the level of commercial competition. Since not even a single person had died, it wasn't a big deal at all.
Compared to the appearance of the God of hammers and the various myths and legends of Asgard, what did a set of alien armor matter?
Nick couldn't be blamed for his slight toward the Destroyer Armor; it was mainly because its performance against Thor was truly lackluster.
If Nick really knew the Destroyer Armor's past track record, he certainly wouldn't have such a casual and relaxed attitude now.
And even if the Destroyer Armor fell into Kael's hands, it didn't mean they couldn't cooperate; at most, they would lack the initiative.
On the contrary, with Kael's brain, he might be even more capable of digging out the value of the Destroyer Armor, and all Nick had to consider now was how to acquire it.
It was nothing more than negotiation, inducement, intimidation, and so on.
Many times, it wasn't necessary to solve things through violent means.
At the height these people currently stood, as long as both sides could communicate, everything was not a problem.
Nick wouldn't fall out with Kael over a piece of alien armor; even putting aside his relationship with Tony, Kael's own value and influence were enough for him to treat the matter with caution... On the other side, Kael was carefully feeling the cold, hard shell of the Destroyer Armor.
Thor's strike with the hammer had shown no mercy, nearly smashing the armor to pieces.
However, he hadn't actually completely destroyed the Destroyer Armor; its internal self-repair function was still working.
After all, it was the armor used by the God King for expeditions; it wasn't that easy to destroy. The craftsmanship of the Dwarves was no joke, and it was constructed from Uru metal.
But judging by its current repair speed, who knew how long it would take to be fully restored.
This was clearly due to a lack of sufficient energy support.
Kael tried injecting Runic power into it, and the effect was very obvious; the two immediately established a soul connection, and the Destroyer Armor was successfully activated.
However, Kael immediately stopped his actions.
This thing was Odin's armor; who knew if there was some nasty stuff hidden inside.
But there was no need to overestimate the importance of the Destroyer Armor; it was custom-made for Odin, and only Odin could fully bring out its potential.
And Odin now didn't dare to make a move; with even a little effort, he would find it hard to suppress his surging, growing power, let alone putting on the armor to amplify himself—he was afraid of leaving the stage too late.
It was precisely because of this that the Destroyer Armor was so easily destroyed, because it had now become a mere decoration.
As for Kael, he had no intention of equipping the Destroyer Armor. Once he studied the soul drive mechanism and advanced technologies like the transforming energy weapon inside, he could consider reforging it.
"You really have quite the nerve, daring to take Odin's armor."
The Ancient One appeared behind Kael, her gaze falling on the Destroyer Armor, a hint of reminiscence showing in her eyes.
She and Odin were old acquaintances.
They had once crossed swords and had also fought side by side, but now both were approaching their respective final chapters.
"Teacher, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air? I clearly picked this up off the ground."
Kael said with a serious face.
He supposedly knew nothing about any Odin's armor; this was clearly just a pile of unwanted scrap metal.
"You don't need to say that to me; you should say it to Odin."
The Ancient One gave Kael a sidelong glance.
If you took it, you took it, but what was the point of bringing it to Kamar-Taj?
"The God King is a busy man; there's no need to disturb the old gentleman. If I hadn't picked it up, someone else would have. With me, it might even benefit all of humanity."
Kael spoke with quite a bit of confidence; after all, compared to the Snake Shield Bureau, he was indeed a paragon of virtue.
"If someone else picked it up, it might be fine, but if it's you..."
The Ancient One gave Kael a meaningful look, smiled, and said no more.
The reason was simple.
If someone else took it, the severely damaged Destroyer would indeed just be a pile of useless junk.
But for Kael, who practiced both physical and magical arts, he really had the ability to reverse-engineer the Asgardian technology hidden within; the nature of the situation was completely different.
This made Kael feel a bit uneasy.
No way, others can pick up this trash, but I can't?
Was God King Odin overestimating him too much?
Kael looked up at the ceiling, afraid a sudden thunderbolt would fall on his head.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't happen.
"Teacher, you shouldn't be a riddle-maker."
Kael said in a somewhat resentful tone.
You're almost in the grave, why are you still so playful?
"The future is not set. If I explained it clearly, it might not be a good thing for you. Don't worry, it's just a favor."
The Ancient One patted Kael's shoulder to comfort him.
The future Asgard would no longer exist; Odin wouldn't care too much about the leakage of his own technology, especially since Kael was now under the Ancient One's protection.
"If you say so, Teacher, then I'm relieved."
Kael's expression relaxed, and he reached out his hand to the Ancient One.
"..."
The Ancient One didn't speak; she lightly waved her hand, and a thick stack of books appeared.
A large portion of them came from Nidavellir—the forging techniques of the Dwarven race.
After all, the Destroyer Armor was a divine artifact forged by the Dwarves; learning their techniques would help Kael analyze the armor.
The rest were documents and materials from Asgard.
The Ancient One had also traveled through the Seven Realms and collected many books and materials as her private collection, which she hadn't included in the library.
It wasn't for any other reason but mainly to master foreign languages.
The mages of Kamar-Taj couldn't even keep up with learning the ancient local languages; they didn't have the spare energy to learn the languages and scripts of other realms.
"I just love learning so much."
Kael's words sounded very insincere.
"Then learn well."
The Ancient One turned and left; she had originally come to deliver these materials to Kael.
Just as Kael was about to immerse himself in the sea of learning, Natasha's call came at the right time.
"Is this Miss Natasha? What, do you miss me, or are you planning to jump ship? I've always kept a position for you in my heart."
Kael answered the phone and spoke with a beaming smile.
"Mr. Wayne, what you did wasn't very honorable."
A deep male voice came from the other end of the phone; it was Nick Fury.
With a "snap," Kael quickly hung up the phone; he had no interest in chatting with an Egghead.
After a while, the phone rang again, and this time it was finally Natasha's slightly seductive voice.
"The Director just slammed the table."
"Need me to donate money for a new table for him?"
Kael asked in return.
It had to be Natasha; her voice was pleasant to listen to.
"That won't be necessary. The table is solid wood, and the Director doesn't have that much strength."
Natasha spoke as if she were chatting with a friend.
Different people require different ways of talking; facing Kael, she naturally had to use a soft approach.
"You haven't answered my question yet, Natasha."
"Sorry, I don't have any plans to jump ship lately."
"That's a real shame. If S.H.I.E.L.D. ever can't go on and has to disband, you must think of me first."
Kael indeed missed his very capable secretary.
"I'll remember that. But for now, let's talk about the important matter; the Director's request is to share the research results."
"What? The signal here isn't very good."
Kael moved the phone away from his mouth, acting quite convincingly; the sound of a table being slammed rang out again from the other end.
"The Director says that's not your thing."
As a simultaneous translator, Natasha began translating English to English.
"What thing?"
Kael certainly wouldn't admit it; anyway, the Destroyer Armor was kept at Kamar-Taj. If you're capable, go there and find it.
A few muffled curses came over the phone.
"I shouldn't need to relay that, right?"
Caught in the middle, Natasha seemed a bit helpless.
These two were putting on a better act than the other over the phone, making her look like a pure white lotus by comparison.
In the end, Kael still reached a cooperation agreement with Nick regarding cybernetic surgeries and smart weapons, which temporarily put the Destroyer Armor matter to rest.
Nick had originally just used this incident as an excuse to negotiate cooperation with Kael; previously, most of the share had been occupied by the military, and it was hard for him to grab a piece from those people.
As for getting even for the Destroyer Armor, he would naturally find a way to do so elsewhere.