Hydra Captain Has Betrayed Us

In the end, Russell was unable to fulfill his wish to sing karaoke at the funeral hall. The first Sorcerer Supreme's Seventh-Day Singing Contest was cut short before it even began.

Because in the black and white photo, His Sorcerer Supreme smiles very kindly.

This wouldn't have been a big deal, but you should know that before Russell picked up the broom and yelled for the first time, the Sorcerer Supreme in the photo was expressionless.

That's rather supernatural!

Russell silently jumped off the coffin lid, told everyone to eat and drink well, and hastily ended the event.

"I knew it. That old geezer wasn't dead at all. That photo is proof. He smiled at me then." Russell said angrily to Ding Yi beside him. "I suspect he was threatening me, and he succeeded."

"..."

Ding Yi remained silent. He was the assistant to the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, and his daily work involved handling trivial matters and odds and ends. He was essentially a work secretary and a personal secretary.

Although he hadn't spent much time with Russell, he had already figured it out: both generations of wizards were the same. Petty and full of malice, the best way to deal with such people was to remember the principle of speaking less and doing more.

Ding Yi was dry and lacked any sense of humor, and was a rigid old man over fifty, not the type Russell was good at dealing with. So Russell simply cut to the chase. "Master Ding Yi, I am now temporarily Sorcerer Supreme. Is there anything I need to pay attention to, or what is my daily work?"

It is said that a new broom sweeps clean, which can establish authority and strengthen cohesion. Russell decided to do just that.

He didn't say it aloud, but he was secretly delighted to have become the Sorcerer Supreme. He now had the identity of a positive figure, and a leader of a powerful force. It would be easier for him to greet other superheroes when he went out in the future.

"All matters, big and small, at Kamar-Taj are handled by designated personnel. When problems arise, we will prepare several plans, and the Master Gu Yi will make the final decision..."

Ding Yi recounted Russell's predecessor, summarizing that the Sorcerer Supreme, as the spiritual leader and the top military figure in Kamar-Taj, was generally idle.

That's normal. No boss does everything personally. Even Russell slacked off a lot when he was with Hydra.

Those negative examples who clung to power and refused to let go mostly died from exhaustion; even a magic lamp couldn't prolong their lives!

"So, aside from fighting off the invasion of extraterrestrial demons, the Master Gu Yi was basically just a mascot responsible for posing. Do I have to be a mascot too?" Russell's eyes widened, finally understanding why the Ancient One left so suddenly—she was tired and fed up, and quit.

"You could also gather the ascetic mages and organize a magical academic debate to point out their shortcomings in magical attainments. Or, you could directly compile a new magic textbook to impart your insights into the path of magic..." Ding Yi said earnestly. As a Sorcerer Supreme, it would be inappropriate not to publish a few books.

Russell: "..."

Let's talk about mascots. How should one "slack off" in daily life to become a highly respected and Sorcerer Supreme?

It wasn't that Russell was cowardly, but rather that he lacked knowledge and couldn't articulate anything meaningful. Magic in the Marvel Universe is completely different from that in other worlds; almost all spells are borrowed power.

Take the Sorcerer Supreme and Doctor Strange as an example. Their magic mainly comes from the Vishanti, as well as some Dimensional Demon God and other powerful beings of various kinds, including Dormammu.

It seems easy, as if anyone can become a Grand Magus. However, the truth is that mages have to pay a price for borrowing power, depending on the specific circumstances.

This is also why Russell read many Magic Book in Kamar-Taj but never used them. Every time he borrowed power, he would be labeled by the demon on the other side, so it was better not to learn this kind of magic.

"Wait a minute..."

Speaking of borrowing power, Russell's eyes suddenly lit up. Now that he was the ruler of the Dark Dimension, he could write a Magic Book and allow other mages to borrow the power of the Dark Dimension.

This has one advantage: it strengthens the bond between the Dark Dimension and the dimension where Earth is located. If one day he is besieged by a group of superheroes, he can use Earth as a threat, and at worst, they can all perish together.

This is good; we can keep it as a trump card!

Russell thought to himself with a smug smile, and then gave himself a thumbs up. After giving himself the thumbs up, he was stunned and froze. Why did he have a sense of crisis about being surrounded by a group of superheroes?

This... this... aren't we all on the same side?

"Master Russell! Master Russell?" Ding Yi called out twice, but Russell did not respond, so he raised his voice.

"Ah? Oh! I'm here. Sorry, I was thinking about writing..." Russell coughed lightly. "I understand the general situation. To put it simply, the Sorcerer Supreme is a high-level enforcer used to deter Dimensional Demon God that intend to invade Earth, and to block them when necessary."

Ding Yi nodded; Russell was willing to interpret it that way, and he had no objection.

"I remember it's 1960 now..."

Russell counted on his fingers, calculating his sentence. If Doctor Strange's appearance in the movies was around 2015, he would be the Sorcerer Supreme for at least another 50 years. If it were the comics...

"Master Russell, excuse me."

Ding Yi interrupted, laughing as he said, "The time flow is different between the dimension where Earth is located and the dimension where you are fighting. While you are fighting the demons in your dimension, a period of time has passed. It is no longer 1960."

"Gulp!"

Russell swallowed hard and gave a dry laugh, "Master Ding Yi, don't get agitated. Tell me slowly, what year is it now?"

"It's 1995!"

"#￥%...&!@Σ(°△°|||)@#"

Wakanda!

The capital city is Bernin Zana!

"Thirty-five years! That's even more outrageous than three years, three years, and then another three years!!"

Russell walked out of the portal cursing. It was such a rip-off. He had only traveled around the Dark Dimension for a short while, but 35 years had passed on Earth.

Whether it was because Dormammu blocked the entrance or because his gaining control of the Dark Dimension was delayed, the passage of time was vastly different in different dimensions, and he finally experienced it firsthand.

To be honest, the experience was extremely bad!

I wonder how Hydra is doing now, whether they've been ruined by the Shadow Clone!

Wakanda in 1995 had undergone a complete transformation. From the outside, it still looked like a lazy, reliant African uncle, but the capital, Bernin Zana, had developed in a way that closely resembled the sci-fi style depicted in movies.

A holographic projection shield enveloped the capital, concealing skyscrapers and technological products, while publicly declaring that the poor eat dirt and the Europeans eat spears.

Wakanda's development to this point is entirely due to its previous king, Azzuri. This king, known as the 'wise one,' had foresight, clung tightly to Hydra, and resolutely signed a servitude agreement, which resulted in a leapfrog development of the nation's technology.

Of course, these secrets are unknown to ordinary people; only members of the royal family and the leaders of the major tribes are fully aware of them.

After Azzuri abdicated, his son T'Chaka succeeded him to the throne. This king received elite education from Hydra from a young age, and his strategic vision was no less than that of his father, Azzuri. He continued to adhere to the principle of "cozying up to the big fish" as the foundation of the country, and dutifully served as Hydra's lackey, continuously supplying Vibranium veins.

Within the military restricted area near the capital, Russell calmly evaded the patrols and entered Hydra's Earth Headquarters, a massive underground base.

The standard Russell style: if a site can Digging Holes, it will never be built; if it can be dug 500 meters, it will never be dug only 499 meters.

With the highest authority in the entire base, Russell had no trouble getting through and quickly entered his office.

With nothing unusual, and seeing that his office was clean and still his own, Russell breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed that the Shadow Clone hadn't gone wrong.

He turned on his communicator, sent a signal to the Svartalfheim base, and requested the nearest officer to come and report, wanting to know in detail what had happened during the 35 years he had missed.

Bang!

Two hours later, the office door was pushed open with a bang, and a tall female warrior with long, light blonde hair strode in.

"Boss, Yelena Belova is here to report!"

The second-generation Black Widow entered the office and her eyes never left Russell, as if confirming his authenticity. For Russell, it was not a long time, but for her, it was a real 35 years.

"Long time no see, Yelena."

Russell was quite moved. Fortunately, he had previously invited two scientists from the Kree Empire to develop an anti-aging agent; otherwise, Yelena would have become an old woman after so long.

"BOSS..." Yelena's eyes immediately welled up with tears when Russell called her name, and she looked extremely aggrieved.

"What's wrong? Did someone bully you? Was it Natasha? Tell the boss, and I'll teach her a lesson for you!" Seeing how beautiful Yelena was, Russell immediately offered his concern.

"It wasn't Natasha, it was Boss who bullied me."

"No way, when?"

"Immediately!"

"..."

With your rosy lips and white teeth, how come you call yourself a scoundrel and a good person?

Russell raised an eyebrow. He had never suffered such an injustice before. If he didn't prove it, would his reputation for remaining unmoved by temptation be ruined?

After writing a million words, Russell was deeply impressed. Yelena was truly amazing; she had actually awakened the ability to predict the future.

"Boss, where have you been all these years?" Yelena stood up unsteadily, took two shaky steps and came behind Russell to massage his shoulders.

"It took 35 years to kill a demon god outside of a dimension, and incidentally wear down a Sorcerer Supreme, taking his title in the process." Russell said casually, glossing over the matter in a single sentence.

It's nothing serious, not worth making a fuss about.

"As expected of the BOSS!" Yelena didn't quite understand, but it wouldn't hurt to say a few words of praise at this time.

"Tell me about the major events that have happened over the years."

Yelena's expression suddenly turned serious. "Boss, there's a major issue right now. We suspect that the Hydra Captain has betrayed us!"

(一`一)

Why didn't you say so sooner?

Yelena: "..."