Chapter 513

"This..." Charles widened his eyes as he looked at the large ship that could by no means be called "small." His expression changed several times, and finally, he revealed an extremely complicated expression, then said: "No, I cannot accept this."

"Although I don't know how you managed to get it, I think the process must have been very dangerous. And if it is truly as you say, that it can travel through the dream world, then this will be a very precious means of transportation. This is too valuable; I cannot accept it."

Charles's reaction did not exceed Schiller's expectations. That Charles could, by his own strength, pull the moral bottom line of the Radiant Alliance above the average line was sufficient proof that he was a noble person.

"Don't misunderstand, Professor. I am not trying to give this ship to you. It's just that, since I own this ship, it's impossible for me to run around in the dream world every day. It would be a pity for it to sit idle, so you can borrow it to use as a school bus."

"And now, I happen to need to use this ship. You shouldn't mind being a temporary captain and going on a magical dream journey, right?"

Hearing this, Charles relaxed instead. He smiled and said: "Of course. Actually, I am also curious about the dream world. It is truly too mysterious, yet I have been confined by the busyness of the real world and have had no time to explore it."

"Believe me, Professor, with your abilities, even in the dream world, you would have few rivals. If we add this ship, then we can roam freely here."

The two smiled and shook hands, perfectly reaching an agreement. Meanwhile, Marc, Jake, and the hippopotamus, who were watching this from the ship, sighed in unison.

Marc turned his head to look at the hippopotamus and then said: "I guess, if you go down now and say this ship isn't theirs, I'm afraid that..."

"I have no intention of going down!" The hippopotamus made a prayer gesture from the Egyptian pantheon and said: "If they like it, then let them take it. Besides, this ship isn't mine anyway."

"It's not yours? Then why are you staying here?" Marc asked.

Then he saw the hippopotamus roll her eyes in a very human-like manner and say: "I owe the owner of this ship a favor, so in my spare time, I have to help him guide souls. Actually, I've long since had enough of this job. I am a hippopotamus, and the only river here is sand..."

"Oh, Your Grace, Goddess, please forgive the rudeness of my other personality. He is still just a child. I apologize to you on his behalf, and I hope you can guide us on the upcoming journey." Schiller, who had brought Charles onto the ship, said to the hippopotamus.

The hippopotamus gave a light hum and then said: "I won't hold a grudge against a child, because I am the protector of women and children. I understand that these mischievous little ones aren't bad by nature. However, you should also teach him not to break things casually, otherwise, you'll have a headache..."

Whether in her behavior or her speech, this hippopotamus goddess was very much like a human mother, which made everyone feel a sense of intimacy, and subsequently, she revealed the reason.

"In the years I have been a deity, I have taken orphans abandoned by the ancient Egyptians back to my temple to raise them. After they grew up, they became my believers, but I didn't want them to stay there. I would teach them skills to make a living and then let them return to human society."

"I have been doing this kind of work for thousands of years. The last child I adopted went to Los Angeles to be a programmer. Every weekend he still calls me. Honestly, your human concept of time is too strange; his calls are so frequent that I haven't had a moment of leisure..."

Hearing this, Charles felt somewhat moved. He stepped forward, shook hands with the hippopotamus goddess, and said: "You are a kind deity and also a great mother. In fact, when it comes to educating children, I also often feel a headache..."

Seeing the man and the god start discussing parenting, Schiller, Marc, and Jake simply walked into the ship's cabin. It still carried a thick ancient Egyptian style; the murals, carpets, and wall tiles were all carved with patterns used by ancient Egyptian gods.

Schiller sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, Jake stood leaning against a pillar, and Marc sat opposite Schiller. He felt very curious now, so he asked: "Where is this ship heading now?"

"If I haven't guessed wrong, after their exchange, that goddess should take us to her former homeland."

"Former homeland? She's a hippopotamus. Is she going back to the African savanna?" Marc sneered and said.

Inside and outside the cabin, the voices of Schiller and the hippopotamus goddess sounded simultaneously: "... If you have ever heard of Egyptian mythology, then you should have some understanding of the Celestial Realm. It is lush with water and grass, full of vitality, and inhabited by countless ancient gods, but it is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface..."

The sails were hoisted once again, and the giant ship sailed into the thick white fog. After the last shadow disappeared into the hazy white fog, the mist began to gather, condensing into tiny raindrops that drifted down from the sky. In the real world, the night rain had still not ceased.

At the moment the blood burst forth, no one present realized the severity of the situation, until Schiller's corpse fell to the ground and Jarvis's slightly different voice sounded inside Iron Man's suit:

"Target lock status scanning... Scan complete... Target is dead... Lock released..."

"Lock on again, scan again," Stark said.

"Locking... Lock complete status... Scanning... Scan complete... Target is dead... Lock released..."

"Scan again!"

"Sir, the scan result error rate does not exceed 0.002%. If there is a need to lower the limit of the error rate, I can provide higher output to the scanning equipment..."

"Set output to maximum!"

The magical energy on the chest of the Iron Man suit lit up with a brilliant glow, like a lighthouse in the rainy night. But this light only lasted for an instant before slowly dimming. Everyone was watching Stark, and he walked forward with somewhat stiff steps toward Schiller's corpse.

It was not difficult to judge that it was indeed a corpse, because almost the entire chest cavity, along with the heart, had disappeared. There were charred marks near the wound. There was no pulse, no heartbeat, no breathing; the blood throughout the body was no longer flowing, and the body temperature was gradually being lost.

Iron Man half-crouched down. He touched Schiller's arm with his finger. The data sent back by the sensors had no surprises; just like the conclusion of the high-power scan just now, this was a corpse, and there was no other possibility.

Strange cursed as he put away the Crimson Bands. He also walked over here, saying as he walked: "Schiller, what kind of trick are you pulling again? Stop messing around, get up quickly. Don't you see we're in the middle of a battle here?"

After he walked over, he also knelt halfway beside Schiller's corpse. His movements were not as careful as Stark's. Strange directly patted Schiller's shoulder, but the moment he touched his shoulder, Strange froze.

Subsequently, he revealed a somewhat flustered expression, then placed his hand on Schiller's forehead. Magical light flashed on his hand, but just like the energy on Stark's chest earlier, this light quickly extinguished. Strange stood there in a daze.

"His soul... the soul is gone!"

Strange retracted his hand tremblingly and then stood up. His eyes lit up with light as he scanned the surroundings, but he saw nothing.

Stark also followed and stood up. His faceplate rose with a "clack," and he stared fixedly at Strange with his eyes, saying: "What did you just say?!"

"I said, his soul is gone!" Strange shouted anxiously: "I don't know what kind of trick he is playing, but what is lying here now is just a corpse, and his soul doesn't know where it went..."

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"Hahahaha!"

A series of laughs came. Arthur, holding the scepter with both hands, laughed loudly. His long hair was soaked by the rain and stuck tightly to his face. Purple light flickered in his eyes, like an evil ghost that had crawled up from hell.

"You bunch of stupid ordinary people! Flesh dies, the soul disappears, what else could it mean? Of course, it means he is already dead!"

Arthur shouted: "I don't know what you are still confirming! He is dead! Do you understand? This damn murderer has finally received the judgment of justice!!"

"Ammit is the true justice!"

Steve's arms began to tremble. He tried to take a deep breath, but still walked forward somewhat anxiously. He grabbed Stark's arm and said to him: "Tony, calm down, Tony..."

Suddenly, in the quiet rainy night, amidst the sound of the pattering rain, a faint, almost imperceptible sound of gears grinding appeared.

This sound was so tiny that if one didn't listen carefully, it would be impossible to capture, yet it was as loud as a cataclysm.

Suddenly, the sky brightened.

The dazzling light rising on the horizon illuminated the earth. The arc of light shone brilliantly, and the night sky was tinted in shades of blue from light to dark. The colors of the glow were so mysterious and dreamy; such a scene was telling everyone that dawn had arrived.

But when the Avengers greeted this dawn light, the faces that were illuminated all wore serious expressions as if facing a formidable enemy.

Because what was rising on the horizon was not the sun, but Iron Man.

At the same time, in Asgard, Thor led the newly reconstituted Royal Guard across the long Bifrost Bridge. Just as they reached the halfway point, they suddenly stopped.

He turned his head abruptly to look at the border of Asgard, where the branches of the World Tree could be vaguely seen, as well as the borders of the other great realms.

In that familiar starry background, a star lit up. This star became brighter and brighter, until that deafening mechanical sound reached the ears of everyone in Asgard. Thor flew into mid-air, his gaze piercing through the infinite galaxy.

After a short second, he landed and turned to walk back. The Royal Guard following behind him were confused and puzzled, and then they heard Thor say:

"Open the dungeon! Quickly!"

The leader of the Royal Guard hurried to catch up with Thor. He asked in confusion: "But didn't you just say that it is absolutely forbidden to open the dungeon within a thousand years? And that no matter who issues the order to open the dungeon, he is... he is..."

"... a liar," Thor continued. As he walked back, looking at the light shining at the border of Asgard, he said: "I don't want to change my orders either, but... in short, open the dungeon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling light erupted from beneath the palace. A petite figure landed on the ground. Loki also walked toward Thor with a serious expression. Before Thor could speak, she said: "I know, add another 300 years to the prison sentence, but what is going on now? Why did Stark suddenly..."

Thor shook his head, and the two siblings looked together at the place where the light erupted. Thor's power as the God King of Light spread out, attempting to explore the reason for Stark's sudden outburst.

He heard no words, only the endless mechanical sound.

When he listened carefully, he heard, amidst the symphony of grinding gears, whistling steam whistles, and surging energy, an unusual emotion—

That was the sound of steel wailing.