Chapter 547: The Fiery Depths of the Solar System (2)
The key to the Solar System construction plan lies in the Sun, but the difficulty also lies with the Sun.
This vibrant and fervent star shines its endless radiance upon all the planets in the Solar System, nurturing the civilization of Humanity on Earth.
However, when it comes to developing the Solar System, the brilliance of the Sun becomes an insurmountable challenge. On the planets closest to the Sun, the scorching heat poses a significant obstacle to Humanity's materials science.
So far, almost all of the facilities on Mercury Base have been constructed underground. After obtaining Molten Steel, some facilities have been moved above ground, and certain crucial components require manual enchantments by powerful sorcerers to withstand the extreme temperatures.
Material science cannot progress overnight. A solid foundation requires patience; otherwise, one might fall into the same predicament as the Sulphur Dwarfs.
Therefore, even a genius like Stark finds it challenging to balance speed and quality. Now, seeing that the Dark Elves can completely shield themselves from sunlight with their environmental force fields, his eyes light up with excitement.
Stark had equipped the cameras around Earth with temperature sensors. The readings on these sensors clearly indicate that the Dark Elves' force fields not only block light but also regulate temperature.
This technology is something even the great sorcerers of Kamar-Taj do not possess. After all, the Himalayas are not particularly hot, so there's no need for them to create a sunshade to cool themselves. Developing such a technology would take at least a decade of research.
However, the Dark Elves have mastered this skill to create a controlled environment for themselves, not only controlling light within their force fields but also precision temperature regulation.
Stark speaks loudly into his communication device, "Capture them! We need this technology!""Who is the person standing at the front of their warship? The one with dark skin and long hair..."
Strange is a bit puzzled by Stark's sudden excitement, but after Stark explains the principle, he sees the reason. So, he instructs the sorcerers who have already rushed over, "Don't get too excited! Keep them alive! Especially the one standing at the front of the first ship. Capture him!"
The sorcerer king, who has already arrived near the warship, immediately recognizes the arrogant Dark Elf standing at the front. He shouts, "Malekith!"
Malekith turns his head to look at him and the sorcerer behind him. He sneers, "Kamar-Taj? Where's your leader, The Ancient One? Are there only a few of you left?!"
After shouting Malekith's name, the sorcerer king follows up with a deafening command, "Step back quickly!"
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Several massive sword lights shatter the front of the warship, and Malekith, standing helplessly at the front, lets out a loud scream as blood spurts from his chest.
The sorcerer king and his sorcerers fly over urgently, reaching out their hands and shouting, "No! Schiller! Stop! We need to capture him!"
At this moment, Strange, who has just arrived above the battlefield, speaks into his communication device, "Tony, there seems to be a slight problem with your Mercury sunshade..."
"I saw it," Stark says with a headache. "Stop Schiller quickly. Let him go after those ships. All we need is the sunshade technology. We can study Chitauri and Kree spaceships later."
Strange can only fly over helplessly and join other sorcerers in restraining Schiller, who seems to slice through anything with his moonlight.
Meanwhile, in the control room, Stark is contemplating. After a while, he contacts Loki via telephone. At this moment, Lady Loki stands on the edge of a planet in the dark realm.
She is not in a hurry. According to her estimate, the Dark Elves' full-scale attack will likely last at least two or three days, considering Humanity's strength in Earth's airspace.
After all, this is not like the small skirmishes with a few Chitauri warships. There are a total of 28 warships and a team of elite Malekith-led sorcerers. The great sorcerers are undoubtedly powerful, but their numbers are too few. Even with the help of superheroes, they may not be able to handle everything. Eventually, Earth's various countries will have to join the fight, achieving the effect of military training.
When Stark's call comes in, Loki asks proactively, "How's it going? Should be manageable now, right?"
"Although the Dark Elves' combat power isn't impressive within the Nine Realms, they are quite formidable to Humanity," Stark says, watching the endless sword lights piercing through the crowd in the surveillance footage. All the sorcerers are chasing after them, shouting, "Stop Schiller! Preserve the spark of the Dark Elves, or we won't have access to the technology!"
Stark smirks and asks Loki, "Do you know the antonym of evenly matched?"
Just as Loki senses something is amiss and hurriedly opens the Eye of Agamotto, Strange takes out his mobile phone and says somewhat frantically, "Master The Ancient One! Come back quickly! There's an unstoppable maniac here. Get him out of here!"
As a golden light descends from deep space, reverberations akin to a tolling bell resonate throughout the space. For a moment, space and time congeal together, and The Ancient One, dressed in a yellow robe, descends from the light pillar. She says, "Everyone, cease this!"
The Ancient One scanned the scene and didn't quite grasp the current situation. She thought the Dark Elves were attempting to invade Earth, so she went through her usual routine: "Around Earth, strangers are not welcome. Malekith, go back to your territory!... Malekith? Malekith?!"
The Ancient One's turning head stopped when she noticed Malekith lying on the deck, covered in blood. At that moment, Schiller, holding an umbrella sword, stood before him with one foot on Malekith's chest, raising the umbrella high, and the sword gleamed.
"Bang!"
The umbrella sword was blocked as The Ancient One appeared in front of Schiller, extending her hand with a mystical Magic Circle forming a shield.
The Ancient One squinted at Schiller, feeling somewhat puzzled. In her memory, Schiller was still a psychologist for S.H.I.E.L.D. and a financial advisor for Sanctum Sanctorum, at best a civilian strategist. Why was he suddenly in the field himself?
Suddenly, she realized that the power emanating from Schiller felt familiar. The Ancient One furrowed her brow and proclaimed loudly, "Moon God Khonshu, you're in violation!"
From The Ancient One's perspective, this was likely another case of Space Demon gods manipulating their followers to invade Earth – something she had dealt with too many times.
So, without waiting for Khonshu to respond, The Ancient One turned her hands and struck Schiller's chest.
Silently and swiftly, the massive shadow of Khonshu was knocked out of Schiller's body. Immediately afterward, she raised her hand, and a shield formed by a Magic Circle enveloped Schiller, ensuring that he wouldn't die in the vacuum due to losing his supernatural powers.
Khonshu, freshly expelled, wore an unexpectedly terrified expression, but not because of The Ancient One.
Schiller floated slowly, surrounded by a dense gray mist. As the mist grew thicker and gradually dissipated, it shrouded the entire dark force field.
Weapons were everywhere, infiltrating every corner. In this eerie and silent atmosphere, Dark Elves fell one by one.
In a moment, the gray mist retracted, forming tentacles that rapidly extended like budding flowers. They swept over all the ships, and amidst countless splinters, the tentacles pierced every energy node.
Just as a slight tremor was felt, the entire dark force field shattered like bubbles.
Schiller used a powerful move to clear the area around Earth. The first one to react was Khonshu, who had just left Schiller's body.
With the speed of a canteen being set up for a meal, he rolled back into Schiller's body, then used his hands to support the moonlit Schiller at the top of the tower and said, "Stop! Stop! Don't fight anymore. The Ancient One is coming to get you!"
Moonlit Schiller struggled, and the Grey Mist surrounded him, grabbing his arms, trying to pull him out from Khonshu's hold. Khonshu had to exert extra effort to suppress the Grey Mist.
Meanwhile, Jormungandr coiled on the tower's top and said, "Impressive, my pope! Kill them all!"
"Don't make trouble! Come help!"
At that moment, in the real world outside, Strange finally arrived next to The Ancient One. He said, "No! It's not Malekith we need to stop; it's Schiller. Don't let him kill Malekith. Where's Malekith?"
The Ancient One lowered her head, looked at her feet, and indeed, Malekith was still alive. Her shield was strong enough to withstand the mist's effects, and since The Ancient One was close to Malekith, her shield extended to him, saving his life.
Strange breathed a sigh of relief. When he looked around the battlefield, there was almost nothing left.
Everything had been consumed by the Grey Mist, except for the suppressed Light, indicating that the Dark Elves had once been here, full of momentum. But now, nothing remained.
Strange, Stark in the control room, and Lady Loki, who was staring at the magic screen, all let out a sigh.
Lady Loki was the first to speak to Stark, "I don't know whether to say that Humanity's civilization is incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky..."
Stark touched his temple and watched as Strange began to clean up the wreckage of Malekith and the Dark Elves' fleet.
He sighed and said to Loki, "Things have come to this point, and everyone is here. If Asgard has any enemies in space, bring them here quickly. This is faster than the Bifrost."
Lady Loki also realized the issue, but as an observer, she had a clearer view than Stark. She said, "Alternatively, if you need science and technology, I can look for corresponding civilizations in space and have them send a fleet to you. That way, everything can be dealt with."
Just as Stark was about to respond, a call came in on the telephone. When he answered it, he was surprised to hear Schiller's voice, which sent shivers down his spine. Schiller said to Stark in a chilling tone, "We'll settle the accounts later. Right now, I have a plan..."
"What are you up to?" Stark asked.
"The attraction to counterattack Asgard is insufficient. The people who will come are either here to trade with Loki, seeking to borrow his power, or they have grudges against Asgard. None of them are capable fighters."
"Instead, let's spread the word that there's a highly valuable treasure within the Nine Realms, inviting experts to besiege Asgard and overthrow Odin's brutal rule. Those who can possess the treasure shall rule."
"Then block off all other dimensional routes except the one leading from Earth to Asgard. This way, Earth will become a trap."
"Of course, calling it a trap doesn't sound very nice. Let's call it a Space Toll Station."
"Raise the barrier for those who pay the toll, and for those who don't, raise it a few more times or just cut them off."
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