Marvel Saiyans - Chapter 53

In Afghanistan, the stationed U.S. forces were in an uproar, as the notorious playboy and chairman of Stark Industries, Tony Stark, had been kidnapped by terrorists. This caused a significant stir back home. The immense pressure was immediately felt by the commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Major General John Scott.

Scott, a U.S. Army West Point graduate, and a Major General who had previously commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and served as the ground forces commander for NATO, had extensive connections in the military and political arenas. Yet, even he was struggling under the pressure from the Pentagon.

In response, he had mobilized nearly a third of the forces stationed in Afghanistan to launch Operation “Python,” targeting the bases of the Ten Rings.

The 2nd Battalion of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division’s 87th Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division’s 187th Infantry Regiment, along with Navy SEALs and Delta Force, all joined this massive operation.

On the other hand, Scott also tried negotiating with the Ten Rings through some well-connected individuals within the Afghan government.

“General Captain Michael Murphy of SEAL Team 10 has located a Ten Rings base,” reported his adjutant.

“But it seems the base was attacked, and all Ten Rings members there were killed.”

The video footage taken by the SEALs was quickly transmitted to the command center through the battlefield command and control system. The person filming was obviously in shock, causing some shakiness in the video, but it was still clear enough to see the scene inside the base.

Bodies lay on the ground, apparently attacked during lunch as a pot of soup was still cooking over a fire. There were few shell casings on the battlefield, suggesting the Ten Rings militants had been taken out before they could fire many shots. Some even dropped their weapons, choosing to surrender.

However, the attackers showed no mercy, cleanly killing everyone.

“The attackers used cold weapons, like darts, with no signs of firearms use,” detailed Michael Murphy after inspecting the battlefield.

“Who could have done this?”

Everyone in the command center was abuzz with speculation.

“Given our frequent offensives against the Ten Rings, they couldn’t have been unalert; the attackers had an overwhelming advantage.”

The relationship between the U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the Ten Rings was quite ambiguous, as both sides had common enemies and often cooperated to attack the Taliban jointly. The U.S. military even trained Ten Rings militants, so they were well acquainted with the Ten Rings’ armed strength.

Anyone capable of effortlessly destroying a Ten Rings base was no ordinary person.

Major General John Scott’s expression was grave.

“Perhaps it was the work of Eastern warriors.”

He voiced the worst possible scenario. Unlike the strained relations between the U.S. government and mutants, the Eastern governments had complete control over their warriors.

These warriors possessed the power of “Qi,” with the best among them able to easily take on hundreds. It was not surprising that they would choose this time to trouble the Mandarin, with whom they had deep-seated enmity.

“Intensify the search; we absolutely cannot let Tony Stark fall into the hands of these Eastern people. Otherwise, everyone might as well prepare to go farm potatoes in Alaska.”

Tony Stark’s value far exceeded his role as the chairman of Stark Industries. As a genius engineer, Stark Industries produced a third of the current U.S. military weapons; a quarter were developed with his involvement, and he directly designed a tenth.

If such a key figure were to fall into the hands of the Eastern people, they would gain a massive advantage in any conflict. Just the potential leak of weapon performance specifications would be troublesome,

And the worst-case scenario would be Tony Stark defecting and developing weapons for the Eastern people.

……

……

At this time, Broly was camping in the wilderness of Afghanistan, sitting cross-legged in the middle of a dried riverbed, lighting a campfire.

The landscape was a bleak yellow, with desolate mountains resembling dragon spines, undulating and rugged, magnificent under the sunlight.

This place was a forbidden zone for life, barren all around, with no people or houses.

During the Second Afghan War over thirty years ago, the Russians had buried over ten million landmines here and laid an additional three million when they withdrew. Often, herders accidentally stepped on mines and were either killed or maimed, gradually making them too fearful to graze there.

Broly had boiled a pot of water and laid out his Batman armor and mask, covered by his cape. He had snapped the neck of a brown bear and tossed it aside.

The landmines had driven away humans but allowed the wildlife of the entire Panjshir region to thrive rapidly. This bear had access to abundant food sources, making it fat and robust.

Berries in the bushes, insects, fish, and even packs of wolves and snow leopards were all in its diet.

Broly took out a Batarang, neatly skinned the brown bear, and threaded the cut pieces of meat onto sticks, roasting them over the campfire.

“Come out.”

He threw the bear skin aside and sat down to adjust the fire. The bear meat sizzled enticingly on the branches, its rich fats bursting on the surface.

A young man carrying a knife emerged sheepishly from around the river’s bend.

“Can you speak Chinese?”

He asked in halting English, as Broly still maintained the appearance of Bruce Wayne.

“Yes.”

Broly replied, tossing a skewer of well-roasted meat to him.

“My name is Nie Zheng.”

Nie Zheng caught the roasted meat and barely took a bite before nearly choking on its overpowering smell. He was gentle and too embarrassed to spit it out before Broly, so he swallowed it with a pained expression.

But he was unwilling to eat any more of the meat, awkwardly holding it in his hand.

“Your knife is quite impressive.”

Broly grabbed another skewer of meat and devoured it completely.

“This is a treasured sword passed down from my ancestors, named the Snowdrinker Mad Blade.”

Seeing Broly’s wild eating manners, the pungent smell that Nie Zheng had suppressed surged up again. He quickly unscrewed his water bottle and took a large gulp to suppress the taste.

“May I take a closer look?”

Nie Zheng unfastened the long knife and handed it to Broly.

“Why not?”

He practiced the family’s Ice Heart Technique, which allowed him to discern people’s hearts; otherwise, he wouldn’t have emerged just from a shout.

Broly unfastened the buckle on the sheath and drew the blade. The long knife was substantial; as soon as it was unsheathed, it emitted a daunting chill, and the roaring campfire suddenly diminished. The valley gathered white mist and frost as if winter had arrived early.

“Good blade.”

He sheathed the knife and returned it to Nie Zheng.

Become a Patron to read chapters ahead of public release and support me 😉

Read up to 30 chapters ahead on p atreon.