Chapter 149 Soul Seizure

Beside the ruined campsite, Killmonger, now clad in full military gear and surrounded by a squad of Ten Rings members, cast a vigilant gaze toward the center of the battlefield.

The disappearance of both the Mandarin and Gu Chongyan sent a wave of ominous foreboding through Killmonger.

Just as Gu Chongyan had surmised, the reason Killmonger had refused to cooperate with him was precisely because he had witnessed the Mandarin's immense power and believed no one else in the world could stand against him.

Yet, their simultaneous vanishing filled him with deep unease.

His rejection of Gu Chongyan now seemed like a grave mistake. If the Mandarin managed to kill Gu Chongyan in this battle, so be it; but if he didn't, Killmonger's own fate likely wouldn't be pretty.

The longer the two remained absent, the heavier Killmonger's anxiety grew.

Finally, a flash of determination crossed his eyes. He turned to the Ten Rings members nearby and said in a deep voice, "You lot keep watch here. I'm going to the medical tent to get treated. Notify me the moment the Mandarin returns."

"Understood," several Ten Rings members replied.

Hearing this, Killmonger turned and walked away, letting out a profound sigh of relief the moment he turned his back on them.

However, before he had even taken two steps, a rapid succession of heavy thuds echoed behind him.

Immediately afterward, a teasing voice rang out at his back.

"Mr. Killmonger, where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Hearing that voice, Killmonger's body froze, and his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Like a rusted robot that hadn't operated in centuries, he stiffened completely and slowly turned his head.

Behind him, the Ten Rings members had all collapsed to the ground at some unknown moment.

Space itself seemed to come alive as countless mirror-like fragments shattered and split apart. A figure stepped steadily out of the void, descending from the air.

Thud!

A dark shadow was tossed from behind the figure, crashing onto the ground like a broken ragdoll and kicking up a layer of dust. It was none other than the corpse of the Mandarin.

Clearly, once the Mandarin had confessed everything honestly, Gu Chongyan had kept his promise and granted him a quick death.

Gazing at the corpse lying by his feet, Killmonger's heart violently skipped a beat. All the blood in his body rushed to his head in an instant as he stared in terror at Gu Chongyan, who was slowly floating down.

"You—you, you, I..."

Watching Gu Chongyan approach step by step, Killmonger's face grew paler and paler. His throat felt as though it had been blocked, and for the longest time, he couldn't form a complete sentence.

Gu Chongyan looked at Killmonger with a hint of pity, shook his head, and said, "Tell me, what was the point of all this? I came to Mr. Killmonger with the kindest intentions of cooperation, yet you insisted on fighting and killing me."

"Things having reached this point, I can only say I'm sorry."

Hearing this, Killmonger felt as though a basin of ice water had been dumped over his head. The blood rushing to his head instantly receded, turning his usually dark complexion as pale as a white man's.

"What—what do you want to do?" Killmonger asked, his voice trembling.

He instinctively took two steps back, swallowed hard, and stammered, "Weren't you looking for cooperation? You want Vibranium, right? I can cooperate with you. I'll give you a hundred—no, I'll give you a ton of Vibranium, how about that?"

"Trust me, I will keep my promise. As long as we cooperate, I can definitely get you enough Vibranium."

Watching Killmonger retreat step by step, Gu Chongyan let out a cold laugh and shot him a mocking look.

"Mr. Killmonger, you overestimate yourself. Did you really think getting my hands on Vibranium was a difficult task for me? I simply didn't want to make things too troublesome."

"Seeking you out in the first place was meant to make things simpler, but you insisted on making it complicated."

"What a pity. Though I hate trouble, I abhor people who try to stab me in the back even more. I gave you a chance earlier, yet you repeatedly tried to put me to death."

"As things stand, I have no choice but to resort to some troublesome methods."

"Congratulations. Across two lifetimes, this is the first time I've ever had to use this spell."

"What?" Killmonger's heart skipped a beat, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.

However, he was destined never to receive an answer from Gu Chongyan.

"Imperio!"

With the utterance of the incantation, darkness swept over Killmonger's vision, and he lost consciousness.

Looking at Killmonger, whose eyes were completely blank and lifeless like an inanimate object, Gu Chongyan shook his head.

Up until now, he had always been extremely cautious with mind-reading and mind-control magic, refusing to use them lightly.

Unlike the mind control commonly seen in the Marvel Universe, the effects of the Imperius Curse were continuous, slowly seeping into the victim's mind bit by bit until complete control was achieved.

Compared to Marvel's mind control, the Imperius Curse was relatively easy to shake off, but once the infiltration was complete, recovery became utterly impossible.

Those affected by the Imperius Curse were reduced entirely to his puppets, and even the Ancient One would be unable to detect the influence or lift the spell.

Such magic, rooted deep within the soul, took a heavy toll on the minds of both parties.

This time, had Killmonger not attempted to kill him on multiple occasions and even brought the Mandarin into the mix, he wouldn't have resorted to this kind of magic against him.

Yet, he had no choice. He needed Vibranium, but he didn't want to step foot into the territory of the Panther Goddess Bast. Using Killmonger, a Wakandan royal family member, to infiltrate Wakanda and plunder its Vibranium reserves was the most suitable option.

Glancing at the unconscious Killmonger, Gu Chongyan shook his head. The effects of the Imperius Curse progressed gradually; it seemed he wouldn't be getting his hands on any Vibranium until the mental assimilation was complete.

Fortunately, this trip wasn't a total loss. Whether it was the Ten Rings or the spaceship, their value was hardly inferior to Vibranium.

Among the ten rings, there were only two that Gu Chongyan truly valued.

The first was Matter Rearrangement. Of all the ten rings, this possessed the greatest destructive power and consumed the most energy. It required a moment of energy condensation to use and could not be cast instantly like the others.

However, its utility was immense. It could rearrange matter, rewrite reality, and even resurrect the dead to a certain extent. It could be viewed as a low-tier Reality Stone.

The second was Mind Amplification. This ring enhanced an ordinary person's mental faculties, achieving the effect of mind control.

In terms of function, this ring didn't offer Gu Chongyan much direct assistance, seeing as his own mental strength was already formidable. While the ring was decent, it didn't elevate his power by much.

What Gu Chongyan truly valued was the fact that, through the ring's psychic resonance, he could perceive the internal structure of the Ten Rings.

The Ten Rings were the absolute pinnacle of Makluan magic and technology combined. Though inferior to the artifacts of Asgard, they still represented top-tier creations in the universe.

By decoding their internal architecture, not only could Gu Chongyan improve his own manufacturing techniques, but the magical runes embedded within them would also elevate his comprehension of magic.

Beyond that, the rings could be distributed to the members of the Defenders to bolster their strength, helping those struggling to keep pace with the changing times to go further.