"How was it, Karnak?"
Gorgon asked, clutching his chest where several ribs were broken, in pain.
He knew that even if Karnak found their weaknesses, he was unlikely to defeat that monster, but perhaps it could provide a reference for their powerful King.
"No... no weaknesses."
Karnak, whose face was adorned with peculiar markings, opened his mouth in a daze.
Ron and Abomination showed no weaknesses in his vision.
This meant that the strength of each person had an unimaginable gap compared to his own, one that wisdom and skill could no longer bridge.
"Listen, it's still not too late for you to surrender now. Our King, Black Bolt, can blast you into smithereens with just a slight opening of his mouth."
Karnak forced himself to calm down, threateningly warning them.
He had full confidence in Black Bolt; no one could defeat their King.
"Grab him."
Ron ordered softly.
Audreyf swiftly flicked a ribbon, which extended towards Karnak, like a cowgirl roping a steer on the Western prairie.
"Don't even think about it."
Gorgon had just let out an angry roar, intending to stop her, when Abomination swiftly leaped in front of him, grabbed his hoof, and casually swung him around like a rag doll, smashing him onto the ground, causing the Earth to crack. In a few blows, he was severely injured and lay unconscious at the bottom of the pit, utterly defenseless.
"Abomination."
It called out disdainfully.
Karnak, who possessed several tons of strength even though he wasn't proficient in it, was pulled over by Audreyf like a small lamb, flying across the great hall and landing at Ron's feet.
"King? Where is your King?"
Ron asked with a sneer, lightly stepping on him.
Karnak was also a member of the Inhumans royal family. In the comics, he did not receive Terrigen Mist enhancement; solely based on the Inhumans' superior genes, his physical qualities were stronger than Captain America's.
Through meditation training, he could perceive the stress points and fracture planes of surrounding matter, and also the weaknesses of surrounding creatures. By applying pressure to these points, he could destroy matter or defeat targets.
However, in the MCU Universe, this ability transformed into his Terrigen Mist-enhanced power, allowing him to see data of all things and perceive weaknesses.
Through touch, Ron purchased his template.
With his current strength, few abilities caught his eye, and most would only waste ability points without much use. Karnak's ability was different.
Everything turns into data, analyzing weaknesses. In terms of combat, his defense is impenetrable, and his attacks are sharp and unstoppable. He would gain a huge advantage when fighting people of equal strength and speed.
His body slightly warmed, Ron used Karnak's ability. At a glance, his eyes saw various data.
The height of the pillars, the speed of the wind in the great hall, the size of dust particles invisible to the naked eye in the air, the curves of Audreyf...
After a couple of glances, he contentedly deactivated the ability.
"Ordinary objects and people are fragile from head to toe to me. This ability is not useful in everyday situations."
However, it could have another purpose.
For example... as an Inhumans, it would be easier to gain the loyalty of the Inhumans and ascend to the Inhumans throne.
"Release Karnak."
Three figures and a large dog entered the hall, followed by guards carrying laser weapons.
Queen Medusa, with her flowing red hair and the ability to control it for attack, let out an angry low growl.
Ron lightly flicked his toe, sending Karnak flying to the side where he fell to the ground, too pained to speak.
At the entrance of the great hall, stood three people and a large dog. The dog resembled a giant Shar Pei, appearing gentle and lovable.
Leading the three was a King dressed in solemn black formal wear—Black Bolt, the King of the Inhumans.
He surveyed Gorgon and Karnak's condition in the hall, and his serious expression took on a hint of fury. The enraged King exuded a powerful majesty, silently fixing his sharp gaze on Ron, like a volcano about to erupt.
"Abomination."
Black Bolt stepped forward, intending to apprehend the person who dared to invade his country and injure his relatives, but Abomination instinctively protected his master, swinging a punch at him.
Bang!
Abomination's nearly thousand-ton immense force, enough to send a tank flying, was easily parried by the King, who stood silent as a mountain. His stern gaze shifted, and in the next second, he easily punched the massive Abomination flying, sending him crashing into and breaking the thick stone pillars in the great hall.
"Abomination!"
Abomination coughed up green blood, angrily pounded the ground, and then leaped forward to attack again.
Black Bolt fought him without a word, each punch and kick containing power that easily crushed Abomination. Amidst the muffled thuds, he repeatedly forced him back.
Audreyf was slightly surprised.
Ron, on the throne, watched calmly, unsurprised.
Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans, one of Earth's most powerful heroes in the comics, a member of the Illuminati, and one of the very few individuals with the strength to contend with Thanos.
Not only does he possess a powerful physique comparable to Hulk in his unpowered state, but his most formidable ability is his mouth, which can emit terrifying sonic screams, with power comparable to a nuclear explosion.
A mere whisper can level a street, and a full-force shout can destroy a city.
However, he cannot fully control his formidable and terrifying ability, so he never speaks. He also meditates in a meditation room to prevent himself from speaking in his sleep or making sounds that could shake his wife, Medusa, into a pulp.
"Dare to injure a member of the royal family, outsider, you must pay the price!"
Medusa's hair behind her flared like flexible octopus tentacles, launching her entire body into the air, attacking Ron. Her younger sister, Crystal, the Inhumans royal princess, and the royal pet Lockjaw, attacked alongside her.
Audreyf's eyes turned cold, and she unhesitatingly swung her ribbon, stepping forward to fight the two people and one dog.
On the throne, he watched casually.
Medusa, a member of the Inhumans royal family and Black Bolt's wife. Due to Black Bolt's unique abilities, he never speaks, so as Queen, she is responsible for interpreting Black Bolt's sign language and body language to convey his commands.
Her ability is to manipulate the density of her long hair, using it as a weapon for attack.
His gaze shifted to another young and beautiful girl in a yellow short skirt. She manipulated the Earth beneath the hall, causing it to break through the ground and, under her control, form into various shapes—fists, swords, and spears—attacking Audreyf.
Unfortunately, her power wasn't strong enough and was easily shattered by Audreyf's ribbon.
Crystal, Medusa's sister, can summon and control the four elements: Earth, air, fire, and water for attack.
Finally, there was the large dog, 'Lockjaw'. It possessed immense strength from its two-meter-tall body, a biting force of up to hundreds of tons, and the ability to teleport, even between Planets.
The three worked together, coordinating seamlessly, but unfortunately, they were still no match for Audreyf.
Even though Audreyf disdainfully did not use her Star Sword, which could slightly cut Vibranium, and only used her divine ribbon, she easily defeated the three of them.
Snap, snap, snap!
Lockjaw, who was biting with a drooling wide mouth, was sent flying by a single flick of the ribbon.
She casually swung again, shattering the stone giant that Crystal had conjured. The ribbon coiled around Crystal and Medusa's necks like a python, tightening and causing them pain. She warned them coldly,
"If you don't want your neck bones to be snapped, don't move."
"Hmm?"
With his wife captured, Black Bolt, in a moment of urgency, finally used his ability. It was merely a light hum from the corner of his mouth, like a barely perceptible, gentle query.
The terrifying sonic force erupted, blasting Abomination away like a rag doll, collapsing a corner of the tall stone hall, and burying him under massive falling debris.
His eyes were sharp, and he stomped his foot, cracking the ground. With astonishing speed, he lunged at Audreyf, raising a fist that contained tens of thousands of tons of force.
Just as his fist was about to descend like a crashing aircraft carrier...
Whoosh!
A figure appeared in his path. Ron, who had vanished from the throne, expressionlessly and effortlessly caught his fist.
A wave of air exploded, sweeping through the hall.
Like an adult with an infant, he grabbed his arm and casually flung him away.
Like a skipping stone, Black Bolt, in a disheveled state, touched the ground several times at high speed before bouncing up, then skidded a long mark on the ground on one knee, steadying himself.
He looked at Ron with fury, but he did not use his ability again, glancing at Ron, who was in the same direction as Medusa, with full apprehension.
"Are you worried about your wife's safety?"
Ron slowly sat back on the throne and said.
"After all, your voice is so powerful; a full-force shout can destroy a city."
With Attilan sealed under an energy dome, if Black Bolt were to shout, he would not only destroy his wife but also personally annihilate his own people.
"But from our brief contact just now, you should have felt it: I am not someone you can contend with by merely using physical strength."
"What will you do?"
He propped his chin, his finger lightly tapping his cheek, looking down at him with a hint of playfulness.
"..."
Being spoken to in such a mocking manner, Black Bolt's face showed anger, yet he did not rashly make another move, instead contemplating a countermeasure.
The strength he had just felt from Ron far surpassed his own.
"Surrender to me, Black Bolt."
"I have only one purpose in coming here, King of the Inhumans."
Ron slowly stated his purpose.
"You... you wish."
Crystal, whose neck was constricted and who was struggling to breathe, said with an angry expression on her beautiful face.
"The Inhumans will not surrender to any outsider.
You can destroy the Inhumans, but you can never become the King of the Inhumans."
He somewhat believed that.
In the comics, even the Kree, who single-handedly created the Inhumans and whose status in ancient times was akin to the Inhumans' creators, could not make the Inhumans led by Black Bolt surrender, even when they were nearly massacred.
"Millions of years ago, the two great empires of the Universe, the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire, went to war. For strategic needs, the Kree came to the Solar System and established a workstation. They unexpectedly discovered the ruins of a Celestials laboratory, which used the galaxy as a testing ground to research and attempt to create life.
Based on this, they created the Inhumans using Homo sapiens as a template. One reason was to study and prevent potential stagnation in their own evolution, and the other was to create a powerful variant soldier for the battlefield at that time."
Ron's mind quickly reviewed the origin of the Inhumans and their relationship with the Kree.
"But when they successfully created the Inhumans, who possessed extraordinary abilities, the Kree abandoned their experimental products and left, because their ruler—the Supreme Intelligence—prophesied that the Kree Empire would be destroyed by its own creations, and the experiment could not continue."
He looked at Black Bolt and said,
"The Inhumans will not surrender to outsiders?
What if I also possess Inhumans genes?"
Excluding those metaphysical cosmic Gods, Black Bolt was one of the few strong individuals in the Universe. In the comics, he once ruled the Kree Empire, one of the three great empires of the Universe.
The Inhumans are a powerful race; killing them would be a pity. One of his purposes for this trip was to subdue the Inhumans.
Furthermore, Black Bolt's ability is uncontrollable. If he were to fight him here, a single word from him would destroy everything.
"What do you mean?"
Medusa and Crystal, restrained by the ribbon, exchanged puzzled glances. Crystal raised the multi-functional bracelet on her wrist and emitted a light beam towards Ron.
At Ron's gesture, Audreyf did not stop her. The result shocked Crystal, and she hesitantly looked at Black Bolt.
"Brother-in-law, he indeed possesses Inhumans genes, and... he is also Inhumans royalty..."
Black Bolt was startled upon hearing this, and looked gravely at the figure on the throne.
The Inhumans strictly forbade intermarriage with outsiders to maintain genetic purity. However, this prohibition came after the Inhumans discovered that intermarriage with outsiders led to genetic damage and deformed degeneration. Before that, some Inhumans bloodlines had spread, including royal bloodlines.
But—this was not enough reason for Ron to replace him and ascend to the Inhumans throne.