Chapter 87: Marvel Multiverse OL: Alien Calamity Version 1.0 Is Now Updating
Loki stared blankly at The Void before him. In an instant, countless thoughts flooded the mind of the World Tree's God of Mischief, only to vanish just as quickly.
What should he do now? Follow Knull's command and rush off to attack Earth? He was certain to meet a tragic end. He wouldn't even have the chance to contact other notoriously infamous cosmic factions to use as cannon fodder.
"If I am to turn Earth into a planet teeming with Symbiotes like Klyntar, I will need a sufficiently large number of them. These Symbiotes will eventually spread across Earth and, after absorbing enough energy, can self-replicate to produce new ones."
Loki thought for a long while. With no other choice, he immediately formulated a battle plan.
Through his contact over this period, he had a good grasp of the temperament of Knull, one of the universe's foremost evil gods. He knew the being was a cruel, cold-blooded, and selfish god, but his power was truly, absurdly immense.
Loki paid lip service to giving his all for Knull, to doing everything in his power to help Knull reclaim his body and return to his peak, but in reality, he had no desire to do so at all.
Loki merely wanted to seize more Symbiotes and then find a way to perfectly control this superior species, which possessed incredible strengths despite its significant flaws.
"Du Wa's Xenomorphs have already begun to spread throughout the Universe. I believe it won't be long before these Xenomorphs multiply exponentially across the various galaxies. Your Great Excellency Knull, believe me, I understand Du Wa very well. He either doesn't act at all, or when he does, he comes with absolute preparation, having formulated an overwhelmingly complex plan so meticulous it's baffling, ready to deal with all sorts of unexpected situations. But what he will absolutely never expect is for us to launch a massive assault with countless Symbiotes on the planet where his main body resides."
Loki looked at the Symbiotes that enveloped him completely, ensuring he was isolated from the vacuum of the surrounding Universe. A deep glint of greed flashed in his eyes as he spoke with utmost sincerity, "I need greater authority to control the Symbiotes. You are aware of my talent, and I am also extremely familiar with the situation on Earth."
Knull agreed immediately.
To put it bluntly, the Symbiotes were merely a species that had spun off from the Necrosword he had meticulously forged from the Abyssal Realm. In his eyes, these things were just a batch of mass-produced tools. All they needed to do was bow their heads and obey him.
Not to mention, these tools had betrayed him. They were the main culprits who had reduced him to this pathetic state. No matter how many of them died, it was what they deserved.
Knull's mind was extremely unstable at present. Over countless years, he had indeed had moments where he was overturned, but those defeats were at least the result of being besieged by numerous Celestials. Even so, those Celestials didn't dare push him too far.
But now? These bastard Symbiotes had imprisoned his body, and some lower life forms on Earth could wantonly ravage his consciousness, trampling upon the dignity of a Cosmic God like himself.
"Great God, I already know what to do. Just you watch. Before long, the entire Earth will become a world of Symbiotes. All Earthlings will become hosts to the Symbiotes, just as Du Wa intends to deploy his Xenomorphs across the universe to parasitize various cosmic races."
Loki bowed his head, feigning a posture of utmost reverence. Adopting a humble attitude towards a powerful individual carried no psychological burden for him, a master of deceit. Only a fleeting, playful expression would occasionally flash across his face.
He had envisioned a scenario of clashing with Du Wa again and had mentally prepared himself to struggle for several hundred, or even several thousand, years first—after all, he refused to believe that Du Wa, a so-called Earthling, wouldn't have at least that long of a lifespan.
In Loki's perception, for someone like Du Wa, the body was nothing more than a shell of little value. Once it grew old or broken, it could be discarded at any time in favor of seizing a younger body with greater potential.
But Loki never expected that he would be meeting and clashing with Du Wa again so soon.
"The Xenomorphs' appearance here indicates that Du Wa's gaze has also fallen upon this place... You've gotten ahead of me once again, but how will you deal with this? With such a vast number of Symbiotes, no matter how strong you are, unless you blow up the entire Earth, you'll find it difficult to contain their invasion."
A glint of madness flashed in Loki's eyes.
Make no mistake, this fervor was not directed at Du Wa. To be blunt, he and Du Wa had no irreconcilable grudge. The greatest conflict was when Thor had first arrived on Earth. Loki, seeing that Thor had been parasitized, attempted to kill Du Wa on the spot.
He did not succeed. In the end, Loki was repelled by the combined efforts of Du Wa, who lifted Thor's hammer, and Magneto, accomplishing nothing.
But this time... Loki felt he ought to think for himself. With his ambition, he could not remain Knull's servant forever, even if Knull was a remarkable Celestial.
"Should I capture a Xenomorph? Perhaps you can use a Symbiote to seize a Xenomorph's genes, just as Du Wa did to your Symbiotes," Loki said in a low voice, but Knull no longer responded.
At Loki's command, the numerous Symbiotes retreated like a tide, abandoning their invasion of The Void.
Even if a small number of Symbiotes were captured by some of the lawless denizens of The Void, who were gleefully discussing how much money they could sell for, Loki was not concerned.
Soon he would be driving an army of millions, even tens of millions, of Symbiotes rampaging across the Universe, with Knull up top to take the blame. Why would he care about the lives of a few paltry Symbiotes?
Within The Void, a group of villains gathered from all corners of the Universe looked up at the retreating black substance, collectively sighing in relief. Otherwise, they truly suspected that the more they killed, the more their enemies' numbers would grow, becoming an unkillable horde.
"Does anyone know what these gooey things with no fixed form are? They feel alive, but they have no organs of any kind. They're a completely different species from us."
"I'd rather know who led them here. Don't these things know that The Void is the Collector's territory? How dare they start a war with us Space Pirates, Bounty Hunters, and Mercenaries here!"
"Haven't you figured it out yet? The Collector didn't even show his face. With a commotion this big, it's impossible he doesn't know. This means these damned things have some serious backing—so serious that even the Collector doesn't dare to make a move."
"Hehehe, doesn't that mean this stuff is really valuable? We've struck it rich, we're rich..."
Yondu and his group of Ravagers watched the surrounding crowd with cold eyes. They knew that if it came to a real fight, it would be impossible to kill all the Symbiotes. They had personally witnessed countless Symbiotes forming an entire planet.
The Symbiotes that had detached from the planet were but a tiny, insignificant fraction.
"Yondu, we lost two more men. This is the time we've suffered the fewest losses," Kruger said in a deep voice, unsure whether to be happy or sad.
Yondu counted carefully and found that over a dozen Xenomorphs had also died. The remaining Xenomorphs exuded a brutal aura that warned all living beings to stay away.
A continuous stream of dangerous individuals drew closer, pointing from a distance and exchanging intelligence in low voices. Clearly, anyone who could make a name for themselves here was well-informed. Seeing the strange appearance of this group of Xenomorphs, and a number that was clearly enough to constitute a species, some had already made a connection, their faces showing expressions of shock and disbelief.
Some villains acquainted with Yondu even took the initiative to approach and chat.
"Xenomorphs... are these the Xenomorphs? The kind that are said to have conquered a world?"
"Hiss! Just one look gives me a feeling of bone-chilling dread, yet there's a certain beauty to their slaughter that makes me unable to look away."
"According to legend, this newly emerged race is extremely powerful. They conquered a world in a single battle and even captured many giants from a god race... and now they've appeared in The Void? I wouldn't be surprised to see a few Asgardians here, but Xenomorphs?"
The key was their sheer numbers. This was clearly an interesting and subtle signal, implying that the master of these Xenomorphs was planning to expand into the Universe.
To be fair, based on the strength of Du Wa and the Xenomorph species, in the perception of these individuals, they were fully qualified to expand wantonly across the Universe and establish a powerful empire. They had the qualification to rule over a cluster of galaxies, madly seizing territory, and running rampant. They could swagger through most regions of the Universe.
After all, they were a high-level race with a Skyfather-level powerhouse at the helm. The elders in the Elders of the Universe and some Celestials were merely Skyfather-level life forms.
It was important to know that the vast majority of these Skyfather-level powerhouses were either the sole descendants of some extinct ancient race or unique life forms that constituted a race of one.
Those who possessed a race with astonishing potential were, in contrast, extremely rare.
Therefore, the fact that some powerful divine races within the World Tree had Skyfather-level powerhouses was what made the various factions of the Universe so deeply wary, unwilling to provoke them no matter what.
"How come you guys get to recruit these Xenomorphs? Damn it, I want a group of battle-hardened Xenomorphs in my crew too!"
"Shut it, you idiot. How can trash like you compare to me? This is strength, understand? I have strength, so I can hire these Xenomorphs. You can't."
Yondu whistled, manipulating his Yaka Arrow and aiming it at these ill-intentioned individuals.
He appeared extremely calm and confident on the surface, but in reality, he was incredibly nervous. He was genuinely worried that the leading Xenomorphs would turn on them on the spot with the remaining Xenomorphs. Kruger had brought these creatures, but that didn't mean Kruger could control them.
Although Yondu was extremely confident in his own strength, believing his specialty was quickly clearing out large numbers of enemies, the few leading Xenomorphs gave him an exceptionally dangerous feeling. In the battle just now, any single one of them, picked at random, was strong enough to make Yondu's heart pound with fear.
"Quill, quick, Quill! Where did you run off to, you bastard? Get over here and entertain our new helpers..."
Yondu wanted to find Quill, but he discovered that Quill had long since vanished without a trace amidst the earlier chaos.
Furthermore, a batch of the Xenomorphs behind him had also quietly disappeared.
Kruger said, "Stop yelling. I saw Quill say something to a leading Xenomorph, then leave with a group of them. He might not be coming back. He's wanted to leave us and go solo for a long time; you know this."
"What? Damn it, he actually treats his foster father this way! I really should have let someone eat that bastard back then."
...
What the Xenomorphs saw, Du Wa of course saw as well.
The brief but fierce war that had erupted on The Void was also fully known to Du Wa.
"I didn't expect my Xenomorphs to clash with the Symbiotes again so soon. No wonder Kruger was so anxious. Anyone targeted by this dangerous group of Symbiotes would suffer a miserable fate... Knull is not a good-tempered God."
Du Wa nodded slightly, a look of realization dawning on his face.
It seemed Knull had been greatly provoked. How long had it been since he fled Earth, yet he had already managed to control a batch of Symbiotes so quickly and immediately launched an operation.
"I just don't know how strong this Universe's Knull is. If he's like the Main Universe Knull, who one-shotted the most powerful Sentry that had defeated Molecule Man Owen, then I'll have to plan this out for the long term."
This thought flashed through Du Wa's mind.
Even if he wasn't as heaven-and-earth-shatteringly powerful as the Main Universe Knull, this Universe's Knull at his peak was certainly a being ranked near the top. The only ones who could reliably suppress him were the single-universe-level divine beings, represented by the Celestials.
Most importantly, Knull was extremely difficult to kill. He would constantly and rapidly draw power from the Abyss within his body, obtaining a ceaseless supply of life force.
The God of the Symbiotes, who carried a world within him and enjoyed the offerings of countless Symbiotes, was just that domineering.
"Judging from the way that group of Symbiotes attacked The Void, it was fairly normal when the battle started; they were just scavenging for various hosts. But when the Xenomorphs joined the battlefield, these Symbiotes pounced like they were mad, and then slowly retreated after failing to make progress."
Du Wa could almost imagine how utterly furious Knull must be at this moment. The Symbiote race he had created had been, in turn, enslaved by Du Wa's Xenomorphs.
A look of resolve appeared in Du Wa's eyes; it seemed he had to prepare for the worst.
An enemy like Knull was different from Dormammu, and certainly not someone the likes of Laufey could compare to.
Once a war began, it would be a war of species. The scale of the war would expand drastically, and the total military force invested would foreseeably be astonishing.
Unless Du Wa completely disregarded the entire Earth and blew the whole planet, along with the countless invading Symbiotes, into cosmic dust in one fell swoop.
Du Wa then thought of the renowned Symbiote universe within the Multiverse.
In that universe, everything had been taken over by Symbiotes. Taking Earth as an example, every single living person on the entire planet was a Symbiote.
The total number of Symbiotes on Klyntar was inestimable. These Symbiotes would also reproduce, and when the total number reached a staggering level, a single number almost lost its meaning.
"I originally wanted to wait a bit longer, but now it seems there's no need... It's time to begin the global expansion of the Xenomorphs, to prepare for the worst possible outcome."
Du Wa carefully sensed for a moment and found that Kruger's side had already begun to fulfill their promise, continuously creating multiple teleportation portals and tossing Xenomorphs onto various planets.
Of course, there was no shortage of unlucky Xenomorphs who were discovered by the native life on those planets and were ganged up on and miserably killed on the spot.
But a majority of the Xenomorphs, upon arriving on a strange planet, immediately found a place to hide successfully, diligently searching for food and silently undergoing transformation.
This way, no matter what happened in the future, Du Wa would have a way out.
Unless he happened to run into a multiversal god who was waging war with the Multiverse as their battlefield and casually blew up the universe he was in with a single move. That would be truly helpless, enough to leave one utterly speechless.
With a command from Du Wa, the Xenomorphs lurking in various parts of the world sprang into action.
In the tropical rainforests of South America, in the boundless deserts of the Middle East, in the Antarctic Continent...
Xenomorphs continuously appeared, beginning to madly transform into Queens, using all available time and resources to rapidly lay eggs and expand the species' numbers.
In the initial stages of expansion, this change was still hidden, because there were too many places on this planet rarely visited by humans. Before the total number of Xenomorphs reached a certain scale, few people would pay attention.
Even if someone accidentally saw swarms of Xenomorphs appearing, they would only cautiously stay away, subconsciously thinking that perhaps Du Wa was once again launching some large-scale hunting operation.
But there were always a very few extraordinary people who noticed the changes happening on Earth.
The first to come and inquire was none other than the Ancient One.
"Are you starting a world war?"
"Something like that. A vast number of enemies may be about to attack us. Their individual strength isn't strong, but their numbers are too great, and their life force is sufficiently tenacious. If we want to protect Earth, the best method is to use numbers against numbers," Du Wa replied.
Unless one had the resolve to blow up the planet, dealing with a vastly numerous species would be extremely difficult.
"Is it related to the Symbiotes? So, the god behind the Symbiotes is about to attack Earth? Is it the one controlling Grendel?" the Ancient One asked directly.
Du Wa pondered for a moment. "I can't be certain yet. At the very least, I must be prepared to welcome the arrival of the Symbiote army. I also hope that I'm overthinking things and this is all for nothing... If I'm really wrong, I'll just have Kruger work a bit harder and transport these newly added Xenomorphs to various parts of the Universe."
The Ancient One said no more. Perhaps she felt that regardless of whether the enemy came or not, Du Wa would do this anyway. Venturing into the cosmos to hunt countless more superior hosts should have been the goal for someone like Du Wa all along. It was only a matter of time.
Compared to this, the Ancient One felt a faint sense of regret. If only she had detected Knull's presence earlier. She should have decisively borrowed a portion of his power, which would have also served to weaken Knull.
As time went on, the scale of the Xenomorphs began to increase at an ever-accelerating rate. The time it took to increase their numbers by ten thousand would only get shorter and shorter.
When the total number of Xenomorphs broke one hundred thousand and rapidly approached two hundred thousand, they were forced to hunt everywhere to obtain food, due to their need to consume massive quantities of meat daily. As a result, they were observed by more and more people.
Finally, many people panicked. Some shouted that Doomsday was coming, that the demon Du Wa could no longer hold back, had finally bared his fangs, and was about to turn the entire Earth into his slaughterhouse, with all of humanity serving as his tools to create Xenomorphs.
So... if they had known, they should have joined the Alien Cult over in Hell's Kitchen, defected to that priest named Carl Burbank, and accepted this demon's protection!
But for however many people were panicking, there were even more who were ecstatic.
This group of people cheered and leaped for joy, proclaiming that a new era was dawning. A new world of universal superhumans would surely wash away the exploitation and oppression of the old society, granting rebirth to the people suffering in modern society.
Driven by this, they madly searched everywhere for Xenomorphs, wanting to be parasitized to become superhumans at zero cost.
Inevitably, some overzealous fools would get too close and provoke the Xenomorphs, getting killed on the spot. Only these bloody lessons made some of the more self-important individuals sober up a bit, realizing they were ultimately just ordinary people. Before becoming a Xenomorph, they should at least maintain respect for power.
Ordinary people were fine, for the most part; as long as they didn't provoke the Xenomorphs, they wouldn't be attacked.
More troubled than the ordinary people were the leaders of the various factions. The Alien Calamity they once feared most was now, under Du Wa's frantic actions, faintly beginning to take shape.
Once upon a time, they were still worried that if they actually killed Du Wa, the hidden Xenomorphs all over the world would, in a matter of minutes, begin to reproduce madly. The countless wild animals flying in the sky and swimming in the sea would all become a breeding ground for Xenomorphs. Humanity would find it difficult to contain them, let alone exterminate the rapidly increasing numbers of Xenomorphs.
Therefore, even for someone like Fury, the longer-term plan was to defeat Du Wa and imprison him permanently—at least, that was the plan until a reliable method of controlling the Xenomorphs was obtained.
But this was, after all, the panic and trouble of the Surface Dwellers.
The inhabitants of the ocean were on the verge of exploding with rage.
If one were to ask which region on this planet had the largest quantity and variety of life? It wasn't some tropical rainforest, but the ocean.
The people of Atlantis watched as Xenomorphs appeared and disappeared in the ocean like ghosts, wantonly hunting and parasitizing. They were about to lose their minds.
(end of chapter)