The next day arrived quickly.
On the other side, Alexander Pierce also received intelligence that Nick Fury planned to move against Karl today.
Naturally, Pierce would not miss such an opportunity.
He secretly deployed several Winter Soldiers, including the most important one—
James Buchanan Barnes, Captain America's former best friend.
Their mission was simple.
Wait until Fury captured Karl.
Then intercept him and seize the Tesseract and Loki's scepter.
Meanwhile, Karl vaguely sensed that something felt different today.
But he did not pay it much attention.
Around noon, after finishing lunch with May, Raven, Gwen, Helen Zhao, and the others, a sudden explosion echoed outside the manor.
BOOM—!
Yelena rushed into the room.
"Boss! Someone has broken through the outer defenses!"
Karl vanished instantly.
The next moment—
He appeared at the main gate of the manor.
The moment he saw the woman standing beside Nick Fury, Karl's eyes narrowed slightly.
Without hesitation, he activated his precautions.
All of his family members—May, Gwen, Raven, and the others—were immediately pulled into the Shadow World.
Even George Stacy and Helen Stacy, who were not currently present at the manor, were taken into the Shadow World by their hidden Shadow Ninjas.
Karl slowly floated into the air.
He calmly examined the large group gathered outside the manor.
"Interesting."
His voice was calm.
"Captain Marvel… Carol Danvers."
"I didn't expect Nick Fury to actually call you back."
His gaze slowly moved across the battlefield.
"Captain America."
"Black Widow."
"Hawkeye."
"Bruce Banner."
"Daredevil."
"Quite a few mutants as well…"
Then his eyes landed on another figure.
"Oh?"
"The Black Panther of Wakanda too."
Karl smiled faintly.
"So it seems you've truly surrounded me, Director Fury."
At that moment, Juggernaut burst out of the warehouse behind the manor.
His enormous body shook the ground as he ran forward and stopped beside Karl.
Nick Fury stepped forward.
"You're too dangerous."
"Someone like you who cannot be controlled is a threat to Earth itself."
"Hand over the Tesseract and Loki's scepter."
"Now."
Nick Fury's confidence had never been greater.
With Carol Danvers present, he believed Karl had no chance of escaping.
Suddenly—
A loud roar came from the sky.
BOOM—!
"Wow!"
"Looks like everyone started the party without inviting me!"
"No problem."
"I'll just invite myself!"
A massive armored figure descended from the sky.
Tony Stark.
He landed beside Karl wearing a vibranium armor suit.
Behind him floated a huge secondary armor frame, along with a supply pod filled with reactors and additional equipment.
When Nick Fury saw Tony arrive—
Thousands of Iron Robots suddenly rose into the sky behind Fury's forces.
Each one had a reactor glowing in its chest.
Tony froze.
His eyes widened.
"How the hell do they have arc reactors?"
He immediately turned toward Karl.
He needed an explanation.
Karl chuckled softly.
"Well."
"It seems Director Fury is even more shameless than I imagined."
"You actually dug through the things Howard Stark left behind for Tony."
"Impressive."
Karl's tone was filled with mockery.
Everyone present instinctively looked toward Nick Fury.
Even Steve Rogers frowned slightly.
But Fury's expression didn't change.
A man like him would never be embarrassed by something like this.
Nick Fury raised his voice.
"Karl!"
"If you surrender now and hand over the Tesseract and Loki's scepter…"
"I might consider sparing your life."
Of course—
He had never intended to let Karl live.
Someone like Karl was far too dangerous.
If Karl escaped today, Fury believed the entire world would be at risk.
Karl had to die here.
Karl smiled faintly.
"How interesting."
He glanced around.
"Is that everyone?"
"If not, the party is about to start."
He paused briefly.
"But be careful."
"You might die if you're not careful."
A chill ran through the crowd.
Suddenly—
A flash of lightning erupted.
Snap—!
Thor appeared beside Karl.
At the same moment—
Another figure appeared beside Juggernaut.
Loki.
Thor had secretly asked Speed to release Loki earlier.
After receiving Tony's message, Thor had rushed here immediately.
But when he saw the enemy's overwhelming numbers, he realized their side needed more fighters.
So he made a deal with Loki.
Fight alongside them today.
In return—
Thor would allow Loki to visit their mother Frigga once a week after returning to Asgard.
Loki agreed.
Thor's eyes quickly moved toward Carol Danvers.
His expression became serious.
He had only felt such power once before—
From Odin himself.
This woman was incredibly powerful.
At minimum, she possessed Skyfather-level potential.
Thor silently made a decision.
If things went badly—
He would forcibly take Karl to Asgard.
Karl was his friend.
He owed Karl too much.
Even if he had to give up his claim to the throne, Thor would still ask Odin to protect him.
Karl looked around one last time.
"Well."
"Everyone seems to be here."
He smiled.
"Good."
"Then let the party begin."
A blue light flashed across Karl's eyes.
In the sky above—
The stars suddenly aligned.
They formed the constellation of Sagittarius.
Then—
A golden box descended from the heavens.
BOOM—!
The box landed before Karl.
In front of everyone's stunned gaze—
The golden box slowly opened.
Inside stood the image of a centaur archer holding a golden bow.
A surge of brilliant golden energy exploded outward.
The figure disintegrated into countless fragments of light.
Those fragments rushed toward Karl.
One by one—
The pieces began attaching to his body.
Armor formed around him.
Golden plates covered his limbs.
A white cloak flowed behind him.
Moments later—
Karl stood there wearing the Sagittarius Gold Cloth.
Karl reached out.
The golden bow appeared in his hand.
But he did not use it.
Instead—
He pulled something from his system space.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang.
The golden staff radiated terrifying energy.
The aura around Karl surged violently.
With the Sagittarius Gold Cloth and the Golden Cudgel amplifying him simultaneously—
Karl's power climbed to the level of a Skyfather.
Far away—
Both Odin and the Ancient One turned their attention toward Earth.
Odin was visibly surprised.
Not long ago, Karl had struggled even against Odin's Destroyer armor.
Now—
He possessed Skyfather-level strength.
Thinking about Karl's close friendship with Thor, Odin actually felt pleased.
Having a friend of such power could be extremely valuable for Thor in the future.
As for Karl dying here?
Impossible.
Odin was watching closely.
If necessary, he could intervene.
If he did—
Karl would owe Asgard a tremendous favor.
And such favors were extremely valuable.
That was reality.
If you possessed value, powerful forces would naturally invest in protecting you.
BOOM—!
Karl raised the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
His aura exploded outward.
The overwhelming pressure crashed down on everyone present.
Most of them instantly dropped to one knee.
Only when Carol Danvers activated her cosmic energy did the pressure finally ease.
Carol stared at Karl seriously.
She had not expected this.
Moments ago, Karl had merely been powerful.
Now—
He had reached Skyfather-level strength.
For the first time, Carol felt a slight trace of regret.
She had offended a being of that level simply because of Nick Fury's request.
Thor burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Karl actually reached the level of a Skyfather!"
"You're all finished now!"
"You dared attack my friend!"
"Now you're all my enemies!"
Beside them—
Juggernaut roared.
ROAR—!
Red energy surged violently around his body.
His eyes burned with both rage and excitement.
The battlefield was on the verge of exploding into chaos.
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