"No, Father… don't die, don't leave us…"
Prince T'Challa, ignoring his injuries, crawled towards King T'Chaka's corpse, using both his hands and feet, but the next second, a large foot descended from the sky and stepped heavily on his head.
"Ha! What, after all that, that's all you've got?"
Erik Stevens mockingly said to Prince T'Challa, who was pinned under his foot, "Seriously… with your level, you dare to replace Black Panther and accept my challenge?"
"A piece of trash like you wants to be King of Wakanda? And you're worthy of becoming the new Black Panther?!"
The disdain on Erik Stevens's face grew deeper, and he spoke with increasing fervor, turning to look at the tribal leaders observing the battle.
"You wouldn't actually want this useless waste to lead you, would you?"
"Open your eyes and take a good look. Can someone who only uses despicable methods to scheme against his own people truly protect your tribesmen? Can he truly lead Wakanda to a stronger future?"
"No, they cannot!!!"
As he spoke, Erik Stevens raised the short knife in his hand again, under the horrified gaze of Queen Ramonda, Princess Shuri, and others.
Then, without any hesitation, before they could even scream, he slashed down at Prince T'Challa, who was struggling under his foot.
Pfft—
Blood splattered, and a dark head rolled onto the ground.
Prince T'Challa's eyes were wide, his face frozen in the expression of his last moments before death… filled with anger and despair!
"No, no, no, my son…"
"Brother…"
Queen Ramonda and Princess Shuri collapsed to the ground in despair at the sight; in a mere few minutes, they had lost two of their closest relatives.
Wails of grief instantly echoed throughout the entire area.
Erik Stevens, however, completely ignored Queen Ramonda and the others. Holding Prince T'Challa's head, he looked at the tribal leaders opposite him and said with extreme dominance:
"Alright, now that I have completed the challenge, according to the customs of Wakanda, I should be the new King!!"
The tribal leaders exchanged glances, and no one stepped forward to raise an objection.
Soon, a priestess in a purple robe tremblingly placed a necklace of panther teeth, symbolizing the King's succession, around Erik Stevens's neck.
Swish—
The tribal leaders, as well as the Dora Milaje members maintaining order on the periphery, all crossed their arms over their chests, showing their submission and respect to their 'new King'… even though he had just killed their beloved old King!
Okoye watched Prince T'Challa's head, two lines of hot tears silently streaming down her cheeks.
Queen Ramonda and Princess Shuri, meanwhile, were quietly led away by a few loyal subordinates, fearing that Erik Stevens would ruthlessly kill them both.
Thus, this grand challenge ceremony officially concluded… Wakanda had changed!!
"Father, do you see? I can finally fulfill your wish from back then…"
Erik Stevens had successfully become the new King of Wakanda. Next, all he needed to do was consume the Heart-Shaped Herb, and he would truly become the Black Panther!!
But only he knew that the reason this challenge had gone so smoothly, aside from his meticulously honed killing skills over the years, was entirely due to the parasitic worm Albert Wesker had left in his head, which provided absolute suppression in terms of power.
However, he naturally couldn't tell this secret to anyone else.
After he completed the Black Panther's inauguration ceremony, he planned to order the sale of Wakanda's weapons to 'black brothers' all over the World, and then lead them to unify the entire World!!
…
Somewhere in Africa.
Inside Trasel Pharmaceutical's secret laboratory.
Ikosera Johnny looked at Prince T'Challa's head, which had just been delivered by a Dora Milaje member and was contained in a bag, and clicked her tongue in wonder:
"I can't believe that guy actually did it!"
Then, she turned to look at Albert Wesker, who was sitting at the laboratory bench, tinkering with viruses. Her deep blue eyes darted around a few times before she said casually:
"Since he has now fulfilled his promise, can you temporarily not kill him, please…"
However, Albert Wesker at the laboratory bench seemed to ignore her, remaining silent and continuing with his work.
Seeing no response, Ikosera Johnny gradually mustered her courage and urged:
"Recently, I sent people to the black market to investigate the Vibranium that person mentioned before, and guess what… this rare metal from Wakanda has an absurdly high price on the market."
"On the black market alone, the price per gram of Vibranium has already been inflated to over 20,000 U.S. dollars, and it has always been a situation where there's demand but no supply… This is 400 times the price of gold, can you believe it?!"
Clearly, after learning the price of Vibranium, Ikosera Johnny had already developed a scheme to resell Vibranium weapons at high prices.
After all, no matter how rich a person is, they wouldn't mind having more money, right?
As if afraid of being rejected, Ikosera Johnny quickly added, before Albert Wesker could speak, pointing to Prince T'Challa's head in the bag, where the bloodstains had long dried:
"Over this period, many of our Bases have been destroyed by him, resulting in heavy losses. Even if we can find reasonable reasons to report the losses each time, these figures will inevitably affect my rating for next year's annual assessment… Now is a good opportunity to recover all the previous losses!!"
Albert Wesker heard her words and did not reject her proposal, merely saying coldly:
"I don't care what you want to do, but if your decision affects my plan, then you should know what the consequences will be…"
"I… I understand."
Ikosera Johnny's voluptuous body shivered instinctively, but soon the fear in her heart was dispersed by a surge of excitement.
Next, as long as she could acquire large quantities of Vibranium and weapons from Wakanda through Erik Stevens, she would surely make a huge fortune in a short time, recouping all her previous losses.
However, what Ikosera Johnny didn't know was that her beautiful dream was destined to remain unfulfilled.
Because soon, the entire Wakanda would be utterly destroyed!!
…
Wakanda.
Underground Sanctuary.
For thousands of years, all the Black Panthers of Wakanda have completed their inauguration ceremonies at this altar.
At this moment, the new King, Erik Stevens, lay slowly in a sand pit filled with red sand, his upper body bare, his fists clenched, and his arms crossed over his chest.
Surrounding the sand pit was a circle of priestly figures dressed in White garments, continuously chanting ancient, incomprehensible songs.
Soon, a priestess, carrying a bowl of purple liquid, moved through the crowd and slowly approached Erik Stevens.
"Your Majesty, the bowl contains the sacred Heart-Shaped Herb juice. After consuming it, you will possess all the powers of the Black Panther… and your soul will also enter the 'Ancestral Plane' under the guidance of the Black Panther Goddess, Bast…"
With the priestess's assistance, Erik Stevens, half-believing, drank the bowl of Heart-Shaped Herb juice in one gulp. As soon as his eyelids closed, he felt a surge of violent power instantly flow through his entire body. Immediately after, the scene before him abruptly changed, and he found himself outside an incredibly familiar room.
"This is…"
Erik Stevens's pupils contracted sharply, and his muscular body trembled slightly, because the room before him was none other than his childhood home.
Didn't the priestess say that after taking the Heart-Shaped Herb, his soul would go to the 'Ancestral Plane'?
Why did it bring me here?
Click—
With a complex mix of emotions, Erik Stevens pushed open the door. Sure enough, the interior furnishings were exactly as he remembered them from his childhood.
The only difference might be the view outside the window.
It was a primeval land shrouded in a purple glow, with nothing but endless forests and grasslands on its surface.
Yet, faintly, Erik Stevens could feel that something was watching him from within those lush trees.
But because the light outside was too dim, he couldn't see clearly.
Click—
Looking at the familiar scene before him, Erik Stevens, feeling somewhat nostalgic, followed his childhood memories and retrieved a diary from a hidden compartment in one of the room's walls, in which he found the Vibranium ring necklace, a symbol of the Wakandan royal family.
It's still here!
"Child, didn't I tell you not to mess with my things?" a voice, both familiar and strange, suddenly echoed in the room.
Erik Stevens sharply turned his head, only to see a figure had appeared opposite him, none other than his father, Prince N'Jobu, who had passed away many years ago.
He still retained his youthful appearance, with no signs of aging on his face, as if time had frozen on the day he departed.
"Child, it seems you've found your way home?"
"Yes, Father."
Even though he knew his father before him was merely an illusion, Erik Stevens couldn't help but nod gently, his voice trembling slightly as he said:
"Father, you were right, the scenery of our homeland is indeed the most beautiful in the World…"
Prince N'Jobu smiled with relief upon hearing this, and softly asked, "Child, do they welcome you?"
"No, they don't."
Prince N'Jobu sighed remorsefully, "I'm sorry, child, I should have brought you back earlier. Then they wouldn't be rejecting you like this now…"
"It's alright, Father."
Erik Stevens smiled grimly, clenching his fists and saying, "I am now the King of Wakanda, and as long as I am strong enough, no one will dare to reject me again…"
"Child, violence ultimately cannot solve problems."
Prince N'Jobu was about to offer some heartfelt advice, but he was interrupted by Erik Stevens's cold laugh.
"If violence can't solve the problem, then I'll use violence to solve the person who poses the problem… Father, times have changed. Wakanda is my call now!!"
Prince N'Jobu's face showed a complex expression upon hearing this. "Child, if you rely solely on violence to rule Wakanda, your soul may never receive the Black Panther Goddess's protection."
"Protection?"
Erik Stevens raised an eyebrow dismissively, "When you were killed by T'Chaka, did she protect you then?"
"As long as I have power, I don't need anyone's protection. Whoever dares to block my path, I will kill them. This is the law of survival I've learned over the years…"
"Child, this is not right…"
Just as Prince N'Jobu was about to say something, a green, tentacle-like creature suddenly shot out of Erik Stevens's mouth like lightning, and with a 'pffft', it bit onto Prince N'Jobu's neck.
It was a green, snake-like parasite, its form looking very similar to the parasite Albert Wesker had spat out of his mouth when he bit Erik Stevens earlier.
"Uh ah… Child, what… what is this?"
By the time Prince N'Jobu reacted, the snake-like parasite had already retracted back into Erik Stevens's body.
At the same time, a voice that sounded full of kindness suddenly echoed in this dimensional space, "I finally found you…"
Outside the room, in the dim primeval forest, on the trunk of a giant tree, a Black Panther that had been resting with its eyes closed suddenly opened them as if sensing something, and an uncontrollable rage erupted from its golden pupils.
"Damn it, what just happened? I didn't mean to… Ah no, that thing wasn't under my control!!"
Inside the room, Erik Stevens was clearly startled by the sudden turn of events.
Because before the parasite attacked, he hadn't felt anything at all, as if at that moment, the parasite had completely taken control of his body.
However, before he could go forward to check on Prince N'Jobu's condition, a Beast-like roar of anger echoed in his ears, "Despicable Loki, quickly take your follower and get out of my dimensional space!!"
The next moment, Erik Stevens felt as if his consciousness had been violently kicked by an invisible force, and he directly awoke from the previous illusion, returning to the real World.
"Damn it, what just happened…"
Erik Stevens shot up from the red sand pit with a 'whoosh,' continuously patting his head and muttering:
"Why could that parasite follow me into the illusion, and why did it attack my father… And who was that voice that expelled me?"
A priestess, mistakenly believing that Erik Stevens had not fully 'woken' from the illusion, quickly approached him with concern and comforted him:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. All the visions you saw earlier were merely the effects of the Heart-Shaped Herb…"
"Heart-Shaped Herb… is this it?"
Erik Stevens turned to look at the mysterious plants glowing with a bluish-purple light growing on the ground around him, and a flicker of anger appeared in his eyes. He immediately waved his hand and said:
"Burn all the Heart-Shaped Herb here immediately!!"