If the Open Doesn't Work, Go for the Underhanded

"That's how it happened, Director."

Coulson lowered his head sheepishly. The mission failure was indeed unexpected.

Truth be told, Coulson didn't always succeed on his missions. Mistakes happened. Even Black Widow Natasha and his former superior, Nick Fury, the king of agents, had their lapses.

But to fail because of legal issues? This was a first for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coulson felt utterly humiliated, too ashamed to show his face. He expected a severe scolding from the Director.

However, to his surprise, Xia Ling wasn't angry.

"Oh, I see. It's fine, just keep investigating."

Xia Ling seemed unconcerned. After all, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Church of Dagon led by Kaecilius were his subordinate organizations.

The conflict between the two was like a fight between his left and right hands. Whichever side lost was merely stepping off the stage to rest before fighting again.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. lost, they would retreat to headquarters and fight another day. If the Church of Dagon lost, these mages could simply open a portal and escape. At worst, they could hide in the water.

Could anyone possibly go into the water and round them all up?

"So, Director, what's our next move? Forge a search warrant and go again?"

Coulson asked cautiously. Before Xia Ling could reply, Hawkeye immediately refuted Coulson's idea.

"Going again with a forged search warrant is pointless now. They'll definitely be on guard. It's better to investigate under the cover of night. Maybe we can uncover some unspeakable secrets."

"Coulson, what's your opinion on what Hawkeye just said?"

Coulson felt miserable. Why did Director Xia ask him about everything? Even if he was excellent, he couldn't handle being pushed around like this.

"Director, I have no opinion. I will follow your orders."

Heaven knows, Coulson just wanted to do his job honestly, stay in this position peacefully until he got old and collected his pension.

He didn't want to keep toiling away like this, wondering if he'd even live long enough to collect his pension.

"We are upright citizens. How can we sneak around like thieves?"

As soon as he said this, Hawkeye was about to retort, but he saw Xia Ling change his tune: "However, to protect the lives of American citizens, it is necessary for us to conduct some necessary patrols at night."

Hawkeye's eyes lit up. As a loyal American, he understood this perfectly.

"The Director is right. Protecting the lives of the American people is our undeniable responsibility. Since monsters appear at night, we must naturally take all necessary measures to eliminate the danger!"

Watching the two of them go back and forth, Coulson felt superfluous.

"In that case, Director, I will immediately begin preparations for the night patrol. I will form a small team to deal with any potential trouble."

Coulson looked at Xia Ling nervously, afraid the Director would disagree and make him and Hawkeye patrol together again.

Of course, it wasn't that Hawkeye wasn't good enough, but they were simply understaffed. Without teammates to assist, if they really encountered danger, they wouldn't even be able to escape.

"Coulson, you're truly remarkable. You always handle things so perfectly. It's not for nothing that I trust you so much. Your request to form a team is granted. This time, let Brock Rumlow join, and select a few others to join the team.

Make sure this is handled flawlessly."

"Yes."

Coulson breathed a sigh of relief. At least this time he managed to get a small team to carry out the mission with him.

Last time, he wanted to include his colleague Brock Rumlow, but he happened to be on a mission and wasn't at S.H.I.E.L.D.

And it wasn't just him; many other excellent colleagues from S.H.I.E.L.D. were also on missions at the same time and not at the agency.

This made Coulson very puzzled. What kind of mission would require so many S.H.I.E.L.D. elites to be out on assignments?

However, Director Xia Ling didn't say anything, and acted as if it were normal, so Coulson didn't ask further.

For a low-level employee like him, it was best not to know or understand many things.

Otherwise, he might accidentally bring trouble upon himself one day and inexplicably commit suicide.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, was observing the area.

She had changed into ordinary clothes, and her powerful aura was concealed. To ordinary people, she would appear to be just a beautiful woman.

Although she was bald, her face remained stunning.

The Ancient One already knew where her disciple Kaecilius had fled. After all, with such a large church here, there was no reason she couldn't find him.

However, the Ancient One couldn't enter that church.

It wasn't that she lacked the ability, but she felt an extremely ominous sensation, with every cell in her body issuing a warning.

It was as if the moment she dared to walk in brazenly, she would immediately report to the underworld.

Although the Ancient One didn't believe anything on Earth could kill her instantly, it didn't mean she could ignore these warnings.

Moreover, her Mana was running low. Every bit used was a bit less, and she hadn't found a suitable successor Sovereign Lord yet.

The voice that had been echoing in her ears kept repeating. It promised to be her new Sovereign Lord, and the interest it demanded wasn't too high.

But the Ancient One had never agreed. Even against her former mortal enemy, Dormammu, she had dared to draw power from the Dark Dimension to prolong her life.

However, she dared not directly treat this voice that constantly echoed in her ears as the next Sovereign Lord for herself and the mages.

And coincidentally, her time was running out.

Her disciple, Kaecilius, had already chosen a Sovereign Lord as a creditor for continuous borrowing. If she, as the Sorcerer Supreme, and the other Mages didn't borrow from a Sovereign Lord in the same way...

Then it wouldn't be Kaecilius hiding from her, but Kaecilius leading his disciples to hunt her down.

According to the original timeline, she should indeed have died at Kaecilius's hands, thus retiring smoothly.

However, in the current situation, that was clearly no longer possible.

She had to survive, to live forever!