Chapter Forty-Nine: The Lich King Passing By By Chance

“Motherf—!”
Gin; no… Motherf— Man finally uttered his famous line.

“Coulson, your bonus has been docked for five years. I hope you watch your language and prepare for my review once this is over. Before that, tell me what’s happening on-site.”

With Natasha and Barton lost, and Tony yet to join his Avengers, Coulson was now Nick Fury’s only remaining connection. Fury heard everything Coulson said. Perhaps the agents in the surveillance room could analyze his words too, but Fury deftly and lightly resolved any potential embarrassment or suspicion Coulson might face in the future.

“I understand, Director. The situation is terrible, but some of the monsters are vulnerable to firearms. As for me, I’m temporarily safe…”

He hadn’t finished speaking.

Suddenly, the ground before him split open, and a long, sinister figure crawled out from the fissure.

The monster stood about three meters tall and seven or eight meters long. Its agile movements at first glance resembled a spider, but it had long, menacing scythe-like forelimbs and a segmented, bone-crafted tail.

Its first act was to tear a sedan in half.

“F—; Director, I take back what I said. I… I think I need backup now!”

Nick Fury: “……”

Through Coulson’s portable device, the remote monitoring team witnessed the monster’s emergence.

This creature seemed a fusion of several species, but more terrifying was the fact that it was almost entirely composed of white bone, with a red, armored skull crowned by vicious horns.

Eight gray-white limbs, jointed and sinewy, lacked any muscle. Some bullets passed through gaps in its bone armor, others sparked violently against the carapace, and the enormous scythe-like forelimbs radiated dreadful power!

Behind it trailed a segmented, spiked tail constructed entirely from bone.

Red, horned, triple speed.

Long tail, eight limbs, perfect balance.

This was the Burrow Demon Lord.

Compared to the previous burrow spiders, this creature was far more intimidating.

As the new monster raised its scythe-like forelimbs, a host of other burrow demons of varying sizes surged from the newly opened fissures.

The demon lords quickly gathered, forming a cluster, assembling into a small tactical formation under the scrutiny of S.H.I.E.L.D. and countless onlookers.

Suddenly, a multitude of earth spikes erupted from the ground, piercing through vehicles, facilities, and equipment, radiating hundreds of meters outward from their center.

Then the first demon lord, its scythe forelimbs raised toward the military’s lines, signaled the others. Instantly, the burrow demon lords launched a massive charge against the military’s heavy firepower positions!

“Open fire!!!”

In the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, the military commander slammed down the signal to commence firing.

At that very moment, the military’s artillery counterattack began.

As the shelling continued, the temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. command center was shocked to discover that these skeletal beetles possessed remarkable defense. Some shells passed through gaps in their bone structure, others bounced off their smooth carapaces.

The monsters would burrow underground during heavy bombardment, and re-emerge not unscathed, but their resilience and agility rendered much of the firepower useless; some attacks even struck allies.

Roald and Kel’thuzad continued their intense observation; those burrow demons had just been unleashed by Kel’thuzad.

“Hey, friend, we meet again.”

Just as Roald was about to ask Kel’thuzad to escalate the situation, he heard a familiar voice from below.

Looking down, Roald saw Peter Parker crawling up the wall, carrying a pizza delivery box on his back.

“???”

Roald reached out to stop Kel’thuzad, who was about to kick Peter Parker off the building, and offered a friendly hand to the “super-annoying” Spider Brother.

“You know, buddy, I just noticed something wild happening in the neighboring district while delivering food. Spider—you know, the one with eight legs. I don’t know if she can shoot webs like us, but she seemed way more formidable than me. By the way, why are you here?”

Standing on the rooftop, Peter Parker couldn’t wait to speak.

He’d seen the scene with Barton, thought Roald also had web-shooters, and aside from meeting an acquaintance, wanted to thank Roald.

And perhaps, he felt a kinship, as if they were the same kind of person.

“Hey, you know, the headline you gave me was just too amazing…”

“I was shopping with my butler, happened to pass by. Are you heading over to help now?”

Roald swiftly interrupted Peter’s rambling.

“Of course, buddy. I’m rushing to deliver, and planning to buy eggs for Aunt May, but the other district isn’t too far—I don’t need to hurry. You know me, I’ve got webs like you. I can change here, right? I figure you’d understand—I’m going to throw some sand in those monsters’ eyes.”

Once dressed, Peter Parker pointed toward Manhattan, launched a web onto a distant overpass, and swung away. “Buddy, watch my pizza box for me. I’ll treat you when I get back—I just got a raise.”

“……”

Roald held his hand in a theatrical gesture, wanting to speak but not, hesitating…

He turned to Kel’thuzad, palms up. “What do you think of this kid?”

As a lich, Kel’thuzad possessed the trait [Spy Detection], able to discern a person’s character and behavior, seeing much through their soul.

Kel’thuzad elegantly stroked the orange cat and after a moment, spoke.

“A bit naive, slightly ignorant, impulsive, clumsy—though he’d make a great friend of the Scourge, he’ll never match Kel’thuzad’s excellence.”

Roald: “(⊙_⊙;)”

“So, try to make contact?”

“Certainly. He has many flaws, but the Scourge needs every bit of strength, my master.”

Their conversation decided Peter Parker’s fate.

Truthfully, Roald was curious what Aunt May might be like.

Strange was also watching.

He sensed something unusual—the terrifying dark powers, the clouds eclipsing the sky—and finally understood the Ancient One’s enigmatic silence before leaving.

He was being forced to work.

With the Eye of Agamotto, he could observe timelines, but the timelines were always shifting, every tiny fork spawning countless choices.

He did not yet possess the ability to see the full scope of all time.

“Could someone have contacted the Dark Dimension?” Strange wondered, then sat cross-legged in the void, forming a sign representing time.

The Eye of Agamotto slowly opened, extending toward the far end of the timeline.

Kel’thuzad, stroking the cat, sensed the change. With a flick of his hand, mana surged; [Obelisk] and [Necessary Cunning] quickly concealed his and Roald’s position.

Strange, unable to observe anything, frowned, withdrew his spell, and then drew a circle of fire with his left hand, stepping through it.