Although Reed Richards had invented many "black technology" devices that seemed incredible to ordinary people, his creations were typically designed for individual use, supporting at most four people simultaneously. The super-massive energy shield that could completely surround and conceal an entire city like Wakanda was on an entirely different scale from his previous inventions.
Richard ignored the shock on Mr. Fantastic's face and looked up at the giant energy shield that still shook violently from his first impact. To avoid punching straight through the energy shield before him—or rather, to avoid destroying even a small section of it—he had deliberately channeled magic to envelop his right fist. This allowed the power to dissipate to the surroundings under the blessing of magic, rather than causing a concentrated point-to-point penetration.
He knew the giant energy shield that wrapped and concealed the entire capital was one of Wakanda's pinnacle technological achievements. He also knew it wouldn't be easy to completely destroy the entire shield—but he still wanted to try.
After completing the world challenge in the Boys universe, the fusion degree of his Superboy-Prime template had increased from 7% to 17%. Though this fusion percentage wasn't particularly high—still far behind the fusion degrees of his Sephiroth template and Vergil template—it didn't mean the power granted by the Superboy-Prime template was weak. In terms of upper limits, the Superboy-Prime template far exceeded both the Sephiroth and Vergil templates. In other words, even at only 17% fusion, the strength granted by the Superboy-Prime template wasn't significantly weaker than his other templates. If it had any shortcomings, it was that the power granted by the Superboy-Prime template was relatively simple and raw, lacking the gorgeous and ostentatious qualities of the Sephiroth and Vergil templates.
Richard had originally planned only to take some vibranium from Wakanda, or perhaps more ambitiously, to claim all of Wakanda's vibranium reserves. But now—specifically after listening to the Invisible Woman's introduction to the charity foundation's future plans—he had changed his mind.
Wakanda is a beautiful place with unique vibranium and advanced vibranium-based technology. It seemed wasteful for such a country to remain in the hands of Wakandans. He was simply too kind-hearted to watch the Wakandans squander their vibranium. Since the Wakandans were keen on showing the outside world their backward agricultural lifestyle, he would satisfy their wishes and let them live the agricultural life that matched the world's perception of them. This could be seen as bringing consistency from another perspective.
After looking up and observing the still-violently trembling energy shield, and confirming its energy operation form and key nodes, Richard took a deep breath. The blue-white magic wrapping his right fist grew more dazzling. A moment later, under Mr. Fantastic's watchful gaze, he threw a second punch at the energy shield.
BANG!
When his magic-wrapped fist struck the energy shield again, a tremendous sound—like an intercontinental missile hitting its target—echoed through the air. Simultaneously, violent fluctuations from the collision spread like tsunami waves, sweeping across the entire shield in seconds. As the giant energy barrier covering Wakanda's capital began fluctuating more violently, the earth itself shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Mr. Fantastic knew Richard was powerful—the strongest mutant he'd encountered so far. But he hadn't expected Richard's punch to produce such a terrifying effect. His surprise was understandable; he had never witnessed Richard's full-strength attack. Moreover, his understanding of Richard's capabilities remained at the level from when Richard had fought Ghost Rider. Although less than six months had passed since that battle, Richard's strength had improved considerably during that time.
To put it simply: if Richard were to fight Ghost Rider now, even without using any X-gene superpowers—relying solely on the super strength and physique granted by the Superboy-Prime template—he could completely exhaust the Spirit of Vengeance's energy in minutes. He could potentially beat the Spirit of Vengeance to death with simple, raw physical attacks, ending the battle in minutes despite the Spirit's near-immortal regenerative abilities.
Unlike the shocked Mr. Fantastic, Richard frowned slightly after seeing his second punch still hadn't completely defeated the giant energy shield.
This thing is quite resilient! Richard thought to himself.
Though he had slightly underestimated the shield's defensive capabilities, he quickly moved past this realization. If two punches weren't enough, he'd throw a few more!
Without hesitation, Richard once again swung his right fist, now wrapped in swirling blue magic.
BANG!
Another massive impact reverberated for kilometers, and the shield—which hadn't fully recovered—began fluctuating even more dramatically.
BANG! BANG!
Richard wasted no time, delivering two more devastating blows with power far beyond ordinary comprehension. After being hit five consecutive times, the giant energy shield that the Wakandans took such pride in completely shattered in a way they could never have anticipated—like glass breaking on tile floor.
As the shield collapsed, the energy center near the vibranium mine and laboratory exploded. Flames soared skyward, forming a massive mushroom cloud hundreds of meters high.
Richard paid no attention to the exploding energy center. Instead, he gazed with satisfaction at the giant shield that had fallen to his brute force—or more precisely, at the hurricane-like energy dissipating around them after the shield's collapse.
Though it had taken five punches to completely defeat the energy shield, he was quite satisfied with the result. Using only magic and super strength, without calling upon his other powers, he considered this a successful demonstration.
From his perspective, this was indeed a satisfactory outcome. But from others' viewpoints, it was something else entirely.
For Mr. Fantastic, King T'Chaka, and the other Wakandans, the result was completely beyond their expectations. Mr. Fantastic was astonished that Richard's strength far exceeded his estimates. King T'Chaka and the others were stunned that their mighty energy shield had been completely destroyed with just five punches. Richard hadn't merely penetrated the shield or created an opening—he had utterly obliterated it, making their prized defensive barrier disappear entirely.
When Richard had thrown his first punch at the shield, King T'Chaka and others had received alerts from the monitoring center. But before they could even determine what was happening—just as they opened the holographic projections on their bracelets—the shield that covered their entire capital had completely collapsed. Everything happened too quickly for them to react.
In the King's Hall, after witnessing Richard demolish the giant energy shield with only five punches, T'Challa—still only a prince but having already consumed the heart-shaped herb and received Bast's blessing—said to King T'Chaka: "Father, Richard is definitely not here for vibranium this time."
"If he came for vibranium, he wouldn't need to be so aggressive."
"I have enough reason to suspect he wants to wage war against Wakanda."
Though he hadn't yet claimed the title of Black Panther, T'Challa was undoubtedly now Wakanda's strongest warrior.
After hearing T'Challa's assessment, King T'Chaka turned to Okoye, captain of the Royal Guard, with a solemn expression. "What do you think, Okoye?"
By title, Okoye was merely the Royal Guard captain, responsible for protecting the royal family. But her responsibilities extended far beyond that role. Both the current King T'Chaka and future King T'Challa placed absolute trust in her and held high expectations for her judgment.
"I agree with T'Challa," she replied, gripping her vibranium spear while standing in her Royal Guard uniform. "Although Wakanda and Richard have no open conflicts—they've barely had any contact at all—Richard has always been arbitrary and domineering. Based on his previous behavior, coming to Wakanda and displaying his strength so openly cannot be merely about vibranium."
Though Richard had good looks that appealed to women of different ages and races, many women disliked him. Okoye was among them. More precisely, Okoye not only disliked Richard but despised his domineering and unreasonable nature. In her view, only men who were steady, modest, respectful, and self-disciplined like T'Challa could truly be considered good men. As for Richard, she saw him as someone who abused his power to bully others.
After hearing Okoye's answer, King T'Chaka remained silent for several seconds before continuing: "Judging from Richard's previous behavior, he indeed appears to have malicious intentions. But before we completely fall out with him, we cannot provoke war, even though he has destroyed our city's protective shield."
"T'Challa and Okoye, go greet him on my behalf."
Perhaps due to his age, or perhaps because he recognized that Wakanda lacked the advanced combat capabilities to confront Richard directly, King T'Chaka decided to temporarily disregard Richard's hostility. Though this approach might prove futile, it was preferable to immediate conflict.
"Yes, Father," T'Challa responded.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Okoye said simultaneously.
Under King T'Chaka's watchful gaze, they turned and departed from the King's Hall.
As they left, T'Challa instructed a nearby royal guard: "Notify the elders of all tribes and request their immediate presence in the King's Hall."
"Yes, Your Highness!" replied the guard, who shared the same distinctive dark complexion as Okoye.
After issuing orders to the royal guards, King T'Chaka said nothing more. He sat silently on the vibranium throne, awaiting Richard's arrival.
On the grasslands outside the capital, having defeated Wakanda's prized city shield, Richard didn't immediately proceed into the capital with Mr. Fantastic. Instead, he stood patiently, waiting.
"You're going to make the Wakandans very unhappy by doing this," Mr. Fantastic remarked.
"If they're unhappy, so be it!" Richard replied indifferently. "There are so many people unhappy with me already—who are they to complain? Surely you haven't forgotten that the US government has always been dissatisfied with me."
"Their dissatisfaction might mean nothing to you, but this is still their country," Reed continued. "According to international legal standards, you and I are undeniably illegal. Even if they attack us immediately, they would be in the right."
Upon hearing this, Richard laughed loudly as if he'd heard an amusing joke.
In the right? No wonder you can't keep up with Susan! You really are a nerd!
Richard studied Reed, wondering how someone decades old could maintain such naive ideals.
"Do you know how I understand justice?" Richard asked.
Mr. Fantastic looked at him with surprise. "Is there a different understanding of justice?"
"Of course there is!" Richard replied. "Take me, for example. My understanding of justice differs completely from yours. In my view, justice and evil are defined by the winner. 'Justice must prevail?' Of course—because only the winner has the authority to define what justice is! The winner is justice!"
"To give a simple example: if the current world hegemon weren't the United States but instead some small Middle Eastern country, the US military would immediately be labeled terrorists. You're not a child anymore, yet you still hold such naive ideas. I find that quite surprising."
Reed clearly disagreed with Richard's statement. "You're only concerned with results. That's not justice—at least not justice as recognized by people!"
As Mr. Fantastic made this righteous declaration, Richard almost felt as if the man was glowing with a so-called "holy light."
"I understand you don't agree with me," Richard responded. "After all, everyone has different values. But you needn't try convincing me to accept your concept of justice. Let me tell you something—you know why I must kill Captain America? From a personal standpoint, there's no deep hatred between us. My desire to kill him stems not from any grudge, but because I despise the American justice he represents."
"Since we're discussing this, I'll offer you a friendly warning: never promote American justice in my presence, and don't become my enemy in the name of so-called American justice. Otherwise, I guarantee your fate will match Captain America's."
Richard spoke slowly, not threatening Mr. Fantastic but offering sincere advice. If Mr. Fantastic proved as stubbornly idealistic as Captain America Rogers, Richard would decisively eliminate him—regardless of his status as an Illuminati member and Fantastic Four leader.
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