Karl put their plan into motion once again.
Last time, Eric O'Grady had kept the enemy occupied while Karl destroyed their base, leaving the Skrulls utterly enraged.
"Remember, no matter what happens during this mission, don't get dragged into a prolonged fight."
"The moment you get what we need, withdraw immediately."
"Don't give them any chance to counterattack."
After saying this, Karl gave Eric a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Only if this mission succeeds can we move forward with everything else."
A trace of hesitation rose in Karl's heart.
He wasn't entirely certain whether taking this risk was the right decision.
But if they couldn't obtain the command phrase needed to access the shield's storage, everything would remain at a standstill.
They had no other choice.
They had to take the risk!
"Stop hesitating."
"I was only joking earlier."
"With all of us working together, this mission will definitely succeed."
"And we're going to pull it off beautifully."
Hearing that, Karl finally smiled confidently.
He would go in first and draw away most of the enemy forces.
Karl raised his hand and immediately rushed toward the Skrull base at incredible speed!
"I can smell him…"
"That's his scent…"
Tothwanwell had been sitting on his throne, watching his painstakingly constructed base undergo repairs as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, he shot to his feet.
His pupils widened.
He could smell Karl!
That scent was unmistakable to him.
"My god, could you have made a mistake?"
"There's no way he would dare come here now!"
"We already taught him enough of a lesson last time."
"He should be hiding from us right now."
"How could he possibly dare show himself in front of us again?"
But Tothwanwell's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
He grabbed Dotilt by the collar and stared toward the entrance.
The scent was coming from outside.
"What?"
"You don't believe me?"
"Or are you questioning me?"
"If I say I can smell him, then he's here!"
"I'm not imagining it!"
"Go!"
"Gather everyone immediately!"
"This time, we're going to make him understand the consequences of opposing the Skrulls!"
"Under no circumstances are we letting him escape again!"
Dotilt couldn't sense anything herself.
But since her god had spoken, she could only follow his orders.
A trace of helplessness rose in her heart.
"Gather!"
"Everyone, assemble!"
Dotilt issued the Skrulls' private command phrase.
The Skrull forces rapidly assembled.
Many fake superheroes were mixed among their ranks as well.
"He's here!"
"Our enemy is here!"
"He reduced our base to this state!"
"Whatever method you use, capture him!"
"Anyone who catches him will be heavily rewarded!"
"Dead or alive, I want him brought to me!"
A powerful killing intent spread through the gathered forces.
Tothwanwell was extremely satisfied.
Since Karl had dared to return, Tothwanwell was determined to ensure he never left alive!
"Karl must have some other objective this time."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't risk his life by returning here."
"So guard every safe carefully!"
"And the command phrases are not to be revealed under any circumstances!"
"Do you understand?"
Tothwanwell emphasized the order once again.
His subordinates nodded heavily.
This time, he had already made up his mind.
He absolutely would not allow Karl to escape right in front of him again.
Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how to vent the rage building inside him.
The humiliation was suffocating.
The base had been destroyed so badly that it couldn't be fully repaired anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Iron Man was preparing to move in five minutes.
Karl had already arrived.
Tothwanwell had indeed sensed him!
"I didn't expect you to start rebuilding so quickly."
"I thought after what happened last time, you'd need quite a while to recover!"
Karl leisurely wandered around the area as though he had all the time in the world.
His voice was unmistakable.
The moment the Skrulls heard it, every hair on their bodies seemed to stand on end.
They would never forget that voice.
Karl's sudden appearance completely exceeded their expectations.
They had assumed he would hide away after the last battle.
Instead, he had returned almost immediately!
Every Skrull was furious.
Their resentment had already reached its limit.
The moment they saw Karl, each of them wanted nothing more than to kill him.
"I can't believe you actually dared come back here!"
"Have I been too tolerant with you?"
"Or do you really think the Skrulls are easy to bully?"
Karl hurriedly gave a slight bow, putting on an innocent and respectful expression.
"Don't misunderstand me."
"I've never thought anything like that."
"I just have a habit of being a little excessive in the way I talk and act."
"Don't take it too personally…"
Karl bowed slightly again.
Normally, Tothwanwell wouldn't have regarded an ordinary sorcerer as much of a threat.
But this particular sorcerer had used the Phoenix Force to reduce their entire base to ruins!
They had poured an enormous amount of effort into preparing this place for their conquest of Earth.
And now?
Almost everything was gone!
They had to start over from the beginning.
How could Tothwanwell possibly let such humiliation go?
The mere thought of it filled him with hatred.
"Stop pretending!"
"I know exactly what kind of person you are!"
"Seeing you standing in front of me now makes me want to tear you apart with my own hands!"
"Let me make this clear."
"If I don't kill you, I will never be able to vent this hatred!"
Karl immediately put on a frightened expression.
But internally, he was quite satisfied.
A huge number of Skrulls had already gathered around him.
That meant his part of the mission was succeeding.
Iron Man and Eric O'Grady would now have enough time to sneak inside.
Every additional moment Karl kept the Skrulls occupied gave the others more time to complete their objective!
Unfortunately for Tothwanwell, he still had no idea what was really happening.
Hatred had completely clouded his judgment.
All he could think about was capturing Karl and making him suffer.
"Come on."
"There's really no need for things between us to be this hostile."
"I've already come and gone from your base several times."
"There have clearly been a few misunderstandings between us."
"I came here specifically to clear things up with you."
Karl looked completely relaxed, as though he had walked into his own home.
The Skrulls, meanwhile, had already formed a massive square formation around him.
They were clearly terrified that Karl might suddenly do something outrageous again.
Tothwanwell raised a hand and ordered them to hold their positions for the moment.
"So according to you, I misunderstood you before?"
"Or do you think I'm that easy to fool?"
"You think you can come into my territory and do whatever you want?"
Karl hurriedly waved both hands.
"What are you talking about?"
"That's not what I meant at all."
The situation was already developing exactly as planned.
All Karl needed to do was keep Tothwanwell's attention focused on him.
"Look at you."
"I only said a few words and you're already getting angry."
"To your people, you're their god."
"You're supposed to be the one who leads them to conquer Earth someday!"
"You really should work on that habit of losing your temper over everything."
(End of Chapter)
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