Ah! We Successfully Cracked the Xenomorphs' Secret!

Ah! We Successfully Cracked the Xenomorphs' Secret!

As Duva listened to Thor, his expression never changed.

Surprise? Dissatisfaction? There was none of that. He simply sat there calmly, quietly watching Thor.

"Borrow troops... Honestly, that's a crazy idea. If I agree, it means getting dragged into a world-scale war," Duva said slowly.

Take Asgard, for example. The population on the Asgardian mainland itself was not large, probably less than a hundred thousand at most. The rest were scattered across the various planets of the Nine Realms, stationed there as guards.

That population included civilians, which meant there were even fewer professional warriors available for battle.

The other worlds were likely no different. Jotunheim was ruled by the Frost Giants led by Laufey, while Muspelheim was ruled by the Flame Giants led by Surtur and Queen Sindr. Their total populations probably were not large either.

But the leaders of those worlds were all Skyfather Level.

Once they started fighting, planets could be blown apart at any moment.

Odin, wielding Gungnir and clad in Destroyer Armor, had even dared to face the Celestials head-on. He was terrifyingly powerful.

"Mjolnir chose you. You are the new Thunder God now, and you should shoulder the Thunder God's responsibilities!"

The more Thor spoke, the more emotional he became. This was practically forcing him to admit his own failure. Every time he saw Duva casually playing with Mjolnir, jealousy gnawed at him until he felt ready to undergo plasmolysis.

Duva remained unmoved. Trying to bind someone who was still, for now, an Earthling with Asgardian responsibility? What a joke.

"With great power comes great responsibility?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean!"

"Then, Thor, how many troops do you want to borrow?" Duva asked seriously.

Thor first let out a breath of relief, believing he had persuaded Duva with his powerful rhetoric. Then he looked at the Xenomorphs around them and fell into thought.

Borrow troops... How many should he borrow? Thor could guess that Duva could not possibly have displayed all his Xenomorphs in this rundown building. But if he borrowed too many, Duva might not be able to provide them. Even if he could, he might not be willing to hand them over.

That was right—hand them over. Thor knew that though it was called borrowing, taking a force into a war between gods would inevitably result in enormous losses.

If they all died, there would be no way to return them.

"The way you look right now reminds me of when I ate cream cake as a child. I would repeatedly consider the ratio of cream to cake, trying to find a combination that satisfied my compulsive tendencies while still tasting good." Duva watched Thor, who had rarely fallen into hesitation. "I can tell that since coming to Earth, your personality has changed somewhat. At least now you try to think."

"If you became a mortal like me, with no power at all, and even the subordinates around you abandoned you, you would become like me too." Thor spoke with great seriousness.

If he had not lost his power and suffered that series of blows, he would not have matured so quickly, much less started using his brain.

Thor raised one hand and held up five fingers.

"Five thousand? You want to borrow five thousand troops from me? All right, that's no small number. Give me some time." Duva nodded slightly.

Thor opened his mouth. He had meant fifty...

From Thor's perspective, forged through a thousand years of war, Xenomorphs had many strengths. For example, they were naturally clad in exoskeletal armor and possessed considerable defensive power, enough to resist Earthlings' firearms to a great degree. That meant an ordinary Xenomorph was no weaker defensively than an excellent Asgardian warrior—though without the high-tech equipment.

As for offense, the Inner Jaw, tail, and highly corrosive blood were all exceedingly terrifying weapons.

Most importantly, Thor believed Xenomorphs were born warriors. Their cold minds, flawless coordination, and unyielding will to fight were tremendously valuable.

Fifty Xenomorphs certainly could not help him retake Jotunheim. Thor was not insane. He merely wanted to take these Xenomorphs from Earth and help Loki as much as possible. Perhaps they could serve as a surprise force and strike key figures among the Frost Giants.

Fifty was a number Thor had carefully considered. He believed the Xenomorph population that followed Duva should have at least that many. Even if not, there should still be thirty or forty.

And now, Duva had directly offered him five thousand???

What kind of concept was five thousand? "Thank you for your generosity. This is simply... I don't know this species' social structure. At least, there are no records in the Asgardian library. If there were, I couldn't possibly have no impression of it at all. But what I need are true elites. Don't give me Xenomorph civilians from the bottom of society. That would be sending them to their deaths." Thor hesitated before he could not help saying it.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

The Xenomorphs Duva planned to deploy would mainly consist of Blood Xenomorphs. Considering the physical qualities of vampire hosts and the higher combat power possessed by the Xenomorphs that Chestburstered from them, they had barely crossed the threshold into extraordinary lifeforms.

At the very least, Blood Xenomorphs could ignore most human firearms. Even if they were wounded, the Xenomorphs' exaggerated self-healing ability, combined with the vampires' innate regenerative power, could ensure they quickly recovered from their injuries.

If he sent Courier Xenomorphs that had been born from parasitizing ordinary animals, they would be injured by even slightly more powerful firearms. Such Xenomorphs would not be able to turn the tide on an Asgardian battlefield.

They would certainly still be useful. Even the lowest-level Xenomorphs had blood capable of corroding spaceship alloys, so breaking through the skin of ordinary Frost Giants and corroding their internal organs should not be a problem.

But naturally, it would be better to send higher-level Xenomorphs. When they encountered enemies, they could swarm them and expand their gains.

Duva said confidently, "Xenomorphs may have their flaws, but there is one thing you can rest assured of: even if they fight to the death, they will do everything they can to tear apart their own bodies and shower their warriors' blood over the enemy's heads."

An ultimate one-for-one exchange. I might certainly lose, but as my enemy, even if you do not die, you will have to lose a portion of your combat power. This was the combat method Xenomorphs excelled at most, the result of a desperate final attack once there was no other option.

Thor stared at Duva in shock.

"I hope you aren't joking."

"You've only been on Earth for a short time, yet you've already learned humanity's bad jokes?"

The two looked at each other.

"Five thousand, five thousand... If there really are that many..." Thor muttered, growing excited. His expectations had not been high to begin with, yet he had received a promise a hundred times greater. It was an incredible surprise!

Five thousand Xenomorphs that had barely crossed the extraordinary threshold and possessed the ability to make an ultimate one-for-one exchange would absolutely be a massive force, one that could provide tremendous help.

"As far as I know, the Frost Giants prefer close combat, right? They kill their enemies with powerful bodies and sharp frost magic. Conveniently enough, I like that style of fighting too." Duva smiled.

What did Xenomorph swarms fear most? The answer was high-tech weapons or long-range bombardment from powerful magic.

But if it came to close combat and hand-to-hand fighting, Duva would be more than happy. In a sense, wars between gods were dangerous, but they were also the most suitable battlefields for Xenomorphs.

At least, they were the most suitable before Duva developed Xenomorph systems capable of wielding special energies, such as god Xenomorphs and magic Xenomorphs.

"My brother, we must have a proper drink together! When we reach Asgard, I'll offer you the finest wine! I'll introduce you to the most beautiful women!" Thor was so excited that his body trembled slightly. He grabbed Duva's hands and clasped them tightly, refusing to let go.

Duva remained expressionless as he slowly pried apart the rough man's sweaty palms. He looked around, called Elektra over, and vigorously wiped his hands on her newly regrown, smooth white thigh. Elektra's eyes widened in fury as she stared at her boss in disbelief.

"Can you really produce five thousand troops?" Elektra wanted to lash out, but the Xenomorph Larva in her chest forcefully stopped her. She could only ask instead.

Elektra had also been startled upon hearing that number.

She did not know whether it was an illusion, but she felt Duva had deliberately raised the figure to the unit of thousands. "Not yet, but soon. I'm not the only one working on expanding the army. Many others are contributing."

Duva finally stood, glanced at Thor's ecstatic expression and his fear that it might all be false, then looked past the collapsed gate toward somewhere farther away.

He felt like a merchant desperately selling weapons, doing his utmost to explain the value of Xenomorphs as weapons and hoping his customer would take them to war.

Thor had no other choice. He was willing to take the Xenomorphs onto the battlefield.

Who else could Thor turn to otherwise? The Inhumans? Black Bolt would have to be crazy to drag the sparsely populated Inhumans into war. Or Kamar-Taj? Atlantis? "Wait patiently, Thor. It will be soon. I need some time to expand my military strength. War has never been a simple matter."

If he put Thor in command, this guy would probably only give one order: "Charge with me!"

"You aren't joining the battle?" Thor looked at him in surprise, as though it were extremely strange for a leader who was served with loyalty not to personally enter the battlefield.

"I'm not. A war of this scale doesn't require me to act." Duva was completely composed. In truth, even if he did not participate, he could still remotely control every Xenomorph.

More importantly, he had no intention of being beaten to death on the battlefield by some Sub-Skyfather Level or Skyfather Level powerhouse who suddenly emerged. If he stayed on Earth and commanded remotely, even if they enraged Jotunheim, they would not dare come to Earth for revenge.

"Then now, it's time to let that guy prove his worth... Mister Blue."

Leaving Thor behind, Duva took the Abomination Xenomorph and several Deviant Xenomorphs. With the ability of the newly Chestburstered Speedster Xenomorph, they became a blur too fast for the naked eye to catch and rapidly vanished from the spot.

Mister Blue was hiding in the sewers, painstakingly studying the secrets of the Xenomorphs.

Around him, dozens of pale green creatures lay sleeping in formaldehyde.

These were products he had developed using Hulk's blood and modeling them after Abomination. They could be controlled by him.

But this was not what Mister Blue wanted. He wanted to replicate the Xenomorphs. He wanted to command those fascinating creatures.

His intelligence, increased five hundredfold, meant he never stopped thinking. Deduction and calculation were as easy to him as eating and drinking.

"Ever since that guy returned from New Mexico, there hasn't been any movement... He accurately pinpointed the Thunder God Thor's landing site, then successfully returned as the Thunder God. Did he parasitize the Thunder God?" Mister Blue was extremely excited.

"Something major must have happened in Asgard, causing the Thunder God to fall to Earth. What could it have been? An external invasion? A Civil War?" Mister Blue could not figure it out, but he vaguely sensed that after Duva made contact with the Thunder God, he would definitely take further action.

At that moment, there was a deafening boom. The ground above him shattered, and Duva descended from the sky, appearing before Mister Blue.

"Looks like you've been working hard lately." Duva glanced at the pale green monsters.

"Of course. I know someone like you wouldn't let me go. You would definitely send Xenomorphs to secretly watch me, so I've been waiting for you all along. You need the things I developed, don't you?" Mister Blue showed no surprise. He merely lowered his head slightly and let out a crazed laugh.

Duva frowned slightly. It seemed Mister Blue in this universe, whose brain had been altered by Hulk's blood, was somewhat neurotic. But as long as he could be used, that was enough.

"From now on, you will devote yourself to manufacturing these things. Including you, all of them will belong to me."

"Is war about to break out? Are you going to fight S.H.I.E.L.D. or another organization? Is it to compete for control over the Thunder God Thor, or..."

Duva did not waste words. He walked over and fed him a Facehugger. Watching Mister Blue's lips turn pale as he fainted, Duva saw him quickly regain consciousness with the Hulk Serum inside his body.

"Something is growing in my chest. Just as I thought, this creature can fuse with the host's genetic material. I assume that before I lose my usefulness, you won't kill me." Mister Blue became even more excited as he carefully sensed the changes within his body.

Ever since the day the Abomination Xenomorph had been born, he had collected a tiny bit of residual Xenomorph genetic material in the laboratory. But he had never been able to replicate a true Xenomorph, and he had been waiting for Duva to come.

He had to understand them first, then decipher them, then gain perfect control over them, and finally surpass Duva—turning the tables and enslaving Duva and the Xenomorphs. That was the plan Mister Blue had made for himself! Duva could roughly guess what this ambitious mad scientist was thinking, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

Mister Blue alone was not enough to provide him with a large force.

In the coming days, aside from sending more Xenomorphs out in force to frantically capture vampires, he would have to rely on Mister Blue's genetic experiments and that stolen Xenomorph Egg.

High above the continent.

Inside the Sky Carrier's biological laboratory.

"Success! Xenomorphs really do communicate through Pheromone. So far, they have not displayed any fluctuations indicating a psychic link, and we have already developed Pheromone Potion from their secretions. We can control them!"

"Did you notice? This Xenomorph is evolving at an incredible rate. If we're right, it's evolving toward a Matriarch capable of reproduction! Asexual reproduction—this is how Xenomorphs reproduce. It's unbelievable!"

A group of scientists gathered together, intensely discussing the Xenomorph imprisoned in a cage made of Adamantium.