Expanding the Army for Better Expansion

Duva did not know what had happened in Kamar-Taj, but he could guess. Perhaps the Ancient One was discussing him with Wong and the others.

Duva did not believe the Ancient One was unaware of his existence. After all, she possessed the Time Stone and was the protector of Earth, capable of observing countless futures through it.

"I just wonder whether the Ancient One in this universe is male or female..."

The thought crossed Duva's mind, and he let out a quiet laugh before quickly dismissing it.

Either way, the Ancient One had a bright future ahead of her—either returning to the Vishanti or roaming the universe with Eternity.

That was the benefit of having powerful backers. Even death did not mean worrying about losing one's prospects, so one could face life and death with indifference.

By comparison, Duva felt that he needed to work harder. Unlike the Ancient One, he had multiversal-level backers—and more than one at that. He could only rely on himself.

"The attempt to use Xenomorphs to steal Black Magic has failed. There won't be another chance like this."

Duva rested one hand on the Xenomorph born from the Chestburster of Black Magic and carefully sensed its condition.

For now, Duva could only try to steal Dormammu's power. He could not set his sights on anyone else, because no matter how furiously Dormammu raged, the Ancient One was there to stop him. There was no need to worry about the consequences.

Besides, it was not as though Dormammu would give up devouring Earth just because Duva did not offend him.

"Then I can give up on the path of magic."

Duva muttered this without feeling disappointed. He had never placed much hope in it to begin with. Constantly using borrowed power was not a long-term solution.

Raven swayed as she walked, her slender figure moving gracefully as she brought him a cup of boiling water. She slammed it heavily onto the table with a bang. "Magic? You clearly possess a unique power, yet you still covet magic? I truly do not understand what you are thinking."

"Magic is still very useful. Those sorcerers..." Elektra argued on Duva's behalf.

"Listen to who's talking. A Stockholm syndrome patient who started speaking for someone else so soon after being captured? Or a rookie who only just learned that a place called Kamar-Taj exists?"

Elektra was so furious that her face twisted. This old woman was always adept at seizing every opportunity to sneer and mock.

"Don't mind her, Elektra. She's around the same age as Erik and Charles, but her menopause has lasted longer," Duva comforted her.

"How heartwarming. You really are good at comforting people." Raven was clearly close to losing it as she imitated Elektra's voice.

Duva picked up the boiling water and drained it in one gulp, then took a tissue and wiped his mouth.

"It seems you truly understand nothing. Of course, that isn't your fault. You only need to focus on the power of your X-Gene. I can't do that."

"A man saying he can't?"

"On a small scale, I am the commander of an army. On a larger scale, I am the leader of a species. That is the greatest difference between you and me," Duva said.

While everyone else focused on the wonder and strength of the Xenomorphs, Duva's gaze had already turned toward a far more distant future.

Indulging in low-level supernatural power had no future. Who knew when some visitor from beyond the universe might appear, wielding strength Duva had no way to handle?

That was why Duva had long been quietly devising a plan to elevate the Xenomorphs! To elevate them from planetary lifeforms into cosmic lifeforms! At the very least, they needed to survive in the vacuum of space instead of dying the moment they fell into space like they did in the movies.

Granted, many famous figures did not qualify as cosmic lifeforms either. Iron Man and Star-Lord, for instance, needed to wear advanced technological equipment to fight in space.

That did not stop them from displaying their talents, and no one dared look down on them.

But if there was an opportunity to raise the lifeform level of the entire species, why not do it?

For now, at least, magic was not a viable path. Duva had no desire to base the Xenomorphs' ascension on some multiversal being.

"...Do I need to continuously adjust the genetic structure of the entire Xenomorph society? Keep parasitizing hosts and bursting from chests until they eventually develop a universal foundation capable of surviving all kinds of harsh environments?"

Like the Kryptonians next door: they were born able to bask under a yellow sun, and sunlight made them stronger. That power came from their racial genes.

Duva pondered repeatedly as he surveyed the numerous Xenomorphs gathered around him.

After parasitizing the ten Deviants that Magneto had sent over, the total number of Xenomorphs had risen to forty-seven. That was only on the surface, of course. Sixty Xenomorph Eggs remained unhatched in the underground caverns. If Duva did not order them to hatch, those eggs could lie dormant for more than a hundred years without taking in any nutrients from the outside world!

It was not that he could not possess more Xenomorphs and Xenomorph Eggs. But with insufficient top-tier combat power, blindly expanding at a mad pace—such as parasitizing countless animals—would only hasten a joint extermination campaign by Earth's major forces. That would be detrimental to long-term development.

"The numbers are still insufficient. At present, I have only one peak combatant, the Abomination Xenomorph, fifteen Deviant Xenomorphs, and the rest are a whole bunch of Blood Xenomorphs..."

A crazy idea surfaced in Duva's mind. Judging by the time, it was almost the point when Thor would arrive on Earth.

Thor himself was not what Duva wanted. Odin was not dead yet. If he dared to parasitize Thor, he would inevitably provoke Odin's wrath.

Although Duva greatly coveted Odin's body as well, sometimes thinking that since Odin would die in a few years anyway, such an excellent body might as well benefit him—Odin was not someone he could lay a hand on right now.

Duva felt that he needed to be more flexible. He needed to choose a promising path instead of staying on Earth all the time, fighting vampires.

"Let me see. May 8th, New Mexico... Hmm, judging by the date... Hmm, I can actually begin acting now." Duva made his decision and immediately set things in motion.

Raven was filled with doubts about Duva's actions. In truth, she had never been able to understand this man's secrets. She did not know where Duva obtained his intelligence, whether the Xenomorphs had been created by Duva, or the logic behind his next move.

"What have you thought of now? If I were you, I would wait quietly here—wait for Erik to capture more Deviants, wait until enough vampires had been hunted, and keep expanding the number of Xenomorphs," Raven could not help saying.

Even if she counted only the Blood Xenomorphs, Raven could not see where the Xenomorph Queen's egg-laying limit was, nor could she see where Duva's limit for controlling Xenomorphs lay. Naturally, the more Xenomorphs he had, the better.

When Duva had only a few Xenomorphs, others considered him a mad scientist. When he had dozens, they considered him a troublesome superhuman.

But what if Duva had hundreds of Xenomorphs?

Even the weakest Blood Xenomorph possessed raw strength far beyond ordinary humans and weak mutants. They could ignore damage from most firearms, were utterly obedient, and had immense utility. Once they reached sufficient numbers, they would become an unimaginable source of support for the Brotherhood!

Just imagine it: every Brotherhood member could be assigned one Xenomorph—or even three to five. What a terrifying increase in power that would be!

Even Magneto would be tempted.

Raven's intention in remaining by Duva's side had shifted from simply serving as a hostage and probing his secrets to doing everything she could to recruit Duva.

But Duva's mind was not on this old woman at all. He had noticed Raven's little schemes, but he did not care.

He set out with his army.