With Odin and the Asgardians watching over Earth, neither the standard Yautja nor the modified Yautja would dare openly invade or destroy the planet. At most, they'd engage in covert operations, never escalating to outright conflict.
Exiting the portal into the Yellowstone base, William immediately opened another portal leading to Planet X-17. Now that the deal for the planet was sealed, there was no need for secrecy.
Ten combat robots, each driving rugged terrain vehicles loaded with excavation equipment and charging stations, passed through the portal to X-17. Following preprogrammed instructions, they scouted for a suitable mountain range to begin tunneling and establish a sealed, temporary base.
Once the mountain was excavated to the desired size, additional equipment and more engineering robots would be transported from Yellowstone to X-17.
Given that an engineering robot without specialized alloys cost only $10,000 to produce—and potentially as low as $1,000 when using resources mined from X-17—William had every reason to expand his operations.
With the robots dispatched to X-17, William spent the next three days refining the Mk. III suits and upgrading the alien detection systems in preparation for the competition.
On the fourth morning, William gathered the five members of the Expendables, excluding Yin Yang, along with Trench, and led them to the underground facility at his London estate.
There, the six were placed in stasis pods. After ensuring they were safely unconscious, William transported the pods to Yellowstone via a portal.
Six rugged terrain vehicles, equipped with the latest Mk. III suits and advanced weapons, were prepared. These, along with the stasis pods, were sent through another portal to X-17, arriving at a flat area near the designated dormant volcano.
Taking out the communicator given to him by the Yautja leader, William was about to contact him when the device beeped urgently.
Curious, he activated it, only to hear a shocking and grim message.
The Yautja leader's final words, recorded via his wrist computer, detailed the betrayal within their ranks.
Three days earlier, shortly after William had left, a traitor had leaked the capture of the Moven beasts to the modified Yautja. That very night, the leader's ship was ambushed.
The traitor disabled the main ship's defenses, allowing two modified Yautja ships to breach its hull. While the traitor was quickly killed, the damage was done.
A brutal battle ensued, with the modified Yautja systematically eliminating every warrior aboard the main ship.
Seizing control of the ship, the modified Yautja descended to the competition site, where they attacked the remaining warriors stationed near the volcano.
The Yautja leader, transmitting his final message from the ground, vowed to fight to the last breath alongside his comrades.
He requested that William inform his people of the betrayal and promised that in return, they would give him the complete technical specifications for a hundred-meter-long spacecraft, free of charge.
"Dead already?" William muttered, pacing furiously. "You stupid old fool! You couldn't have died at a worse time!"
He regretted not heeding the leader's advice to throw the Moven beasts into the Sun. Had he done so, this disaster might have been averted, and the Yautja would still be alive to honor their agreement.
Frustrated, he snapped, "Sunday, deploy all drones and scanners to search the area. Look for any surviving Yautja or modified Yautja."
"Understood, Sir."
Through the portal, a swarm of Black Hornet drones, scanning spheres, and drone carriers acting as signal relays flew out, spreading across the volcanic region.
An hour later, the worst-case scenario was confirmed: a Black Hornet drone relayed footage of the hundred-meter-long ship, now a wreck lying in a desolate area of rocky terrain.
"Send in the drones and scanners," William ordered. "Search for energy crystals and any surviving Yautja."
"Understood."
Watching the feed through his smart glasses, William grew increasingly agitated as drone after drone revealed only the lifeless bodies of Yautja warriors.
"These fools," he muttered bitterly. "Of all the times to die, they choose now—after giving me the micro-ship specs but before trading the energy crystals."
Fortunately, Sunday soon reported, "Sir, based on the stored ship schematics, the spatial jump module was deliberately damaged. However, we recovered 21 partially used energy crystals. Their remaining capacity is unknown."
"Only 21 used crystals?" William kicked a nearby rock in frustration. "Keep searching! This isn't enough to do anything meaningful."
"Sir," Sunday interjected, "I believe you may be overthinking this. With your portal ability, you don't have a pressing need for spatial jumps.
Even with an abundance of energy crystals, openly using spacecraft to leave the solar system isn't advisable until you're fully prepared.
Within the solar system, you can use the micro-ship for reconnaissance, then deploy your portal to travel anywhere you've been or can vividly imagine. For you, distance is irrelevant."
William paused, letting Sunday's logic sink in. She was right. His portal ability was far more versatile and efficient than spatial jumps, with no energy cost.
Realizing this, William's frustration faded. The Yautja might be dead, but he had already gained immensely: advanced spacecraft technology, a habitable alien planet, and a valuable lesson in interstellar politics—all for the price of a few talismans and some words.
Just as William was coming to terms with the situation, Sunday interrupted his thoughts.
"Sir, a Yautja ship is in Earth's orbit, calling for you. The transmitted message states they're delivering the jade minerals as agreed."
"You've got to be kidding me," William muttered. Did fate just throw me a lifeline—or a complication?
He had been ready to move on quietly, avoiding involvement in the Yautja's internal conflict. But now, with this delivery, the situation had changed.
Should he reveal the betrayal and the leader's death, or simply accept the jade and feign ignorance?
On second thought, he smirked. War, after all, was a boon for arms dealers. And energy crystals were the currency of war.
"Tell them to unload the jade minerals and meet me on X-17," William instructed.
"Understood, Sir," Sunday replied.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter][+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]