Marvel's Shendu: Dominating the Multiverse

Chapter 35 The Observer's Methods

The excruciating pain didn't last long. When the pain subsided, a new feeling emerged—an emptiness, as if something unknown had taken root inside me.

"Observer..." the Holy Lord clenched his teeth and uttered these three words.

The Holy Lord looked down at his hands, orange-yellow light flowing through them. The gem had merged into his body, establishing a magical resonance with the three talismans within him.

The Holy Lord attempted to activate the power of this new fusion, but as soon as he did, he felt a sense of separation; the fusion between the gem and him was not perfect.

The Holy Lord closed his eyes and tried to sense the power of the Mind Stone. In an instant, the thoughts of everyone nearby appeared in his mind.

The old lady on the third floor was complaining that her neighbor's dog was too noisy;

The man on the fifth floor is thinking about how to propose to his girlfriend tomorrow;

The black man on the street corner was thinking about how to sell his "new stock" at a high price.

It's too clear, almost unnaturally clear.

The Holy Lord tried to withdraw his power, and a sharp pain appeared in his mind without any warning.

The Holy Lord clutched his head and collapsed to the ground, the pain feeling like thousands of needles pricking him.

The pain subsided after about ten seconds.

The Holy Lord gasped and opened his eyes. He knew what that sense of separation was. The Observer had tampered with the Mind Stone. He couldn't directly interfere with the workings of the world, so he could only resort to such underhanded tactics.

This is not the first time.

Now, the Holy Lord has discovered that whenever he uses the power of the gem, he suffers a backlash, which intensifies with each use.

"Well done." The Holy Lord snorted coldly.

He tried to separate a wisp of magic to examine his body, but found that spiderweb-like patterns had appeared on the three talismans inside him, and the barrier power on the gem had sealed some of the talismans' power.

Just as the Holy Lord was still observing these patterns, the sound of police sirens outside the window interrupted his thoughts.

He walked to the window and saw several S.H.I.E.L.D. armored vehicles parked downstairs.

"Damn Observer, even with the hidden array set up, the Mind Stone's energy still leaked out?"

The Holy Lord clenched his fists: "The power is still insufficient; for now, we can only set up low-level magic arrays."

The Holy Lord released a faint mental perception; the pain he had just felt made him hesitant to use the gem's power too recklessly for the time being.

Even so, he managed to catch what Fury was thinking.

"...The energy fluctuations are nearby, very similar to those felt by the Mind Stone, but the Stone should be inside S.H.I.E.L.D. right now..."

Besides Fury, he also sensed that Natasha and Steve were proceeding according to plan at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

Steve, under the pretext of discovering a suspicious person, leads a team to search a distant location.

Natasha "accidentally" discovered a file about Chitauri spies in the archives, which triggered an emergency meeting in the intelligence department.

Fury doesn't have many people on him right now, and the Holy Lord smirked.

The sound of breaking glass came from the third floor, followed by three Chitauri soldiers jumping out from the middle.

"Quick! Grab them!"

Fury directed the agents to rush towards the three soldiers, while he himself ran upstairs: "Valon's accommodation is on the fourth floor, damn it, how did they know?"

When Fury arrived, he found Valon slumped on the ground, with the bodies of two Chitauri soldiers in front of him.

"I didn't expect you to be this strong." Fury breathed a sigh of relief.

The Holy Lord drawled out, sounding weak: "You're only finding out now? Don't forget who detonated the nuclear bomb during the Battle of New York."

Fury felt a little embarrassed. If it weren't for Valon, that nuclear bomb would have killed Steve and the others as well. This might be one of the reasons why Valon resisted joining S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Holy Lord looked out the window. He had miscalculated. Turning ordinary people into Chitauri soldiers meant that their physical abilities were already very low, and they were already crippled when they jumped off the building.

Fortunately, Fury wasn't there.

Fury was about to say something more when his communicator crackled to life; it was Natasha reporting on the meeting.

"Natasha, what were the results of the meeting?" Fury asked.

After a moment of silence, Fury heard Natasha's weary voice: "The situation is not optimistic. At least four high-ranking officials have had contact with the Chitauri remnants, but I feel there are others behind them. For now, I can only direct my investigation towards the remnants of Hydra."

Fury frowned. "Hydra? When did they get involved with the Chitauri?"

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say,” Natasha paused, “The files show a strong connection, like traces left intentionally by someone.”

"Are you sure?" Fury asked.

"Steve's side is still keeping an eye on things, but I feel they won't last long. Some higher-ups are still doubting the information in the files. We need you to issue a general order now." Natasha lowered her voice, seemingly afraid of being overheard by the higher-ups present.

Fury glanced at Shendu: "Does he need treatment?"

The Holy Lord shook his head: "It seems you have more important things to do. I'm just too exhausted. I just need to rest for a while."

The Holy Lord "forced himself to stand up": "I don't know why, but I always feel like they're coming for me."

Fury was in an awkward position again. He knew that the Chitauri were trying to sow discord between Valon and S.H.I.E.L.D., and now the other side had directly attacked, and S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't made any progress in this matter.

He looked at Valon's thoughtful expression, as if to say, "It seems like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities are just average."

Fury didn't say anything more, only leaving a message to get some rest before hurriedly leaving.

Sensing Fury's departure, Shendu stood up again, his weakness turning into disdain: "Ants of your level are not people I have established connections with."

The Holy Lord brought the monkey talisman to life in his hand, the spiderweb patterns on it becoming even clearer.

When he used the Monkey Talisman to turn those people into Chitauri soldiers, he discovered that when using the transformation power, he could create some memories and implant them into the person being transformed. This was undoubtedly the result of the fusion of the Monkey Talisman and the Mind Stone.

The marks on the talisman deepened, and a small portion of the monkey talisman's power was sealed. Although this portion was harmless, the effects of repeated use could not be ignored.

The Holy Lord stared at the marks on it: "I am not a creature of this world myself. Is the Observer trying to tell me that the more a power interferes with this world, the stronger the suppression it will receive?"

"But so what?" The Holy Lord put away the talisman.

Shendu walked to the window and looked in the direction of S.H.I.E.L.D.: "The Watchers' methods are indeed brilliant, but this level of suppression is not enough to make me stop."

"Earth, Asgard, these places will one day become my kingdom!"