Chapter 121: City of the Forest

Following the armed conflicts of the early phase, the global situation gradually stabilized. All overt rebellions and wars slowly subsided, leaving only undercurrents churning beneath the surface.

After all, with the four major powers holding the core control of energy, dissenting factions soon tasted express deliveries originating from afar, while their own attacks failed to penetrate the shields originally designed to withstand tsunamis.

Naturally, this hopeless war came to a swift end. Although the four major powers harbored mutual animosity, they clearly shared a tacit understanding during this conflict. Even though covert maneuvers would never cease, the entire world ostensibly returned to a state of peace.

Once peace was restored, the shields enveloping the skies of various nations were naturally deactivated. While the shields were useful, they severed trade and communication between countries, which was fatal to many multinational corporations. Therefore, as soon as the war ended, the shields were immediately turned off.

In the wake of this conflict, anyone with discernment knew that the future had changed. The era of a single superpower and multiple major powers had passed, and the world had ushered in an era of four-way equilibrium. Some experts even believed that global unification would soon arrive.

After all, no one could forget the root cause of this war: the evil gods from the depths of the universe were coveting this planet. Only a unified human government could acquire sufficient strength to prevail in future interstellar wars. If nations continued to fight each other independently as before, hoarding cutting-edge technology weapons in secret, the outlook for the future would be rather grim.

Consequently, the leaders of the four powers had recently been holding frequent secret meetings, determined to forge a unified government for the sake of humanity's future.

However, each nation harbored selfish motives, hoping to secure a distinct advantage in the upcoming unified government, which was why this secret conference determining humanity's future had yet to reach a conclusion.

It was precisely at this juncture that Malekith arrived on Midgard. Since the shields had all been deactivated, Malekith failed to detect the Stellar Empire observation station, whose technological level vastly surpassed his own.

As the locations of the World Tree's pathways were fixed, Malekith materialized directly within the Nordic nation of Norway.

Although Malekith did not believe humanity possessed the strength to threaten him, Heimdall's eyes remained his greatest source of anxiety, prompting him to keep his cloaking systems activated throughout the journey.

Upon discovering a massive density of life signatures on Midgard, the arrogant Malekith immediately decided to head toward a densely populated city to execute his plan. Of course, to avoid leaking the plan prematurely, Malekith bypassed Norway, situated right by the portal, and flew toward the capital of the Russian Federation.

The reason Malekith flew in this direction was because the capital of the Russian Federation was the most populous city in all of Europe. Thus, after briefly reconnoitering the surrounding environment, he decided to perform the ritual in that city.

The City of Forests was the capital of the Russian Federation and one of the greenest cities in the world. It was a colossal metropolis with a population of fifteen million and served as the economic and cultural center of the nation. A blow dealt here would inflict catastrophic losses upon the entire country.

Therefore, following the advent of the new era, the Russian Federation relied on its historical and geographical advantages to successfully incorporate parts of Northern and Eastern Europe into its sphere of influence, further expanding the strategic depth between its border regions and the capital.

Meanwhile, the traditional powerhouse France, aside from Western Europe and West Africa, attempted to bring the entirety of Africa under its banner, though a minor mishap occurred along the way.

As for the UK, it naturally seized the opportunity of the global geopolitical reshuffle to attempt to restore its former glory. The British Commonwealth shared deep-seated ties with the UK, so aside from cooperating and confronting France in Europe, the UK focused on reclaiming its former colonies.

Yet at this moment, none of these three European powers realized that a new crisis was about to descend upon the European continent, and none of their detection systems registered any response to Malekith's vessel.

Malekith's ship soon arrived above the City of Forests. Overlooking the metropolis from high altitude and sensing the tens of millions of lives teeming below, Malekith finally wore the first brilliant smile since his awakening.

"With these flesh and blood, I shall surely have my revenge." Malekith looked down excitedly at the bustling city below. Behind him, several Cursed Warriors stood silently without uttering a word.

"Go, warriors, and offer the returning tribute to our master." Malekith raised his hands high, as if embracing the city below. Receiving his command, the Cursed Warriors saluted him and plummeted rapidly toward the city beneath.

Having undergone the modification of the Cursed Elixirs, the Cursed Warriors possessed very few emotions left, meaning they obeyed Malekith's orders without exhibiting excessive feelings.

Before landing, the four Cursed Warriors tacitously chose four directions to surround the city. Although there were only four of them, relying on their strength—two at level nine and two at level eight—they could essentially walk unimpeded across Midgard, provided Kamar-Taj did not intervene and nuclear weapons were not deployed.

However, Malekith was unaware of the existence of Kamar-Taj and nuclear missiles, so he dispatched all four Cursed Warriors with complete peace of mind, choosing to remain within the warship to prepare for the sacrificial ritual.

Speaking of Kamar-Taj, what was the Ancient One doing at the moment? The answer was that she was observing Doctor Strange. Following the conclusion of the war with the Dark Dimension, the Ancient One had discovered violent turbulence within the timeline. Although the future of the prime world remained uncertain, she, as the wielder of the Time Stone, could still observe the most probable outcomes by extrapolating various factors.

Therefore, upon perceiving that something had gone wrong with Strange, the Ancient One intended to subject him to trials ahead of time. Aside from the timeline's turbulence, another reason was Strange's exceptional talent, which allowed him to grow rapidly in an extremely short period, enough to compensate for the massive loss of strength Midgard would suffer due to her ascension.

Consequently, when Strange fell into despair and self-abandonment, the Ancient One assumed the form of various passersby to guide him to Kamar-Taj.

This region was within the traditional sphere of influence of the ASEAN nations, so it remained unaffected by the recent shifts in the global situation, making it one of the more peaceful areas worldwide.

Upon arriving in Kathmandu and undergoing trial after trial of the soul, Strange finally succeeded in joining Kamar-Taj. At this very moment, the Cursed Warriors had descended upon the outskirts of the City of Forests.

Although Malekith's ship was cloaked, the Cursed Warriors were not invisible. Thus, the moment these four ill-intentioned, unfamiliar life-forms appeared in the City of Forests, they immediately alerted the Russian Federation.