MD-Chapter 287 Why Kill?

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"Arthur retrieved an Asgardian-made longsword from the Disassemble Space; its weight felt familiar in his grip. 

He stepped onto the ground, and from the wrecked truck ahead, a bloodied figure crawled out of the driver's seat, fumbling for a gun. But before the man could react, Arthur was already upon him. With a swift motion of his sword, he cleaved the man in two.

An explosion erupted as sparks ignited the fuel tank, sending flames roaring into the air. Amid the chaos, Arthur, still wearing Star-Lord's face, stood unflinching, his demeanor calm and steady as the wind. More figures emerged from behind the two trucks with their weapons drawn, their faces twisted with rage.

As they confronted Arthur, there was no hesitation, no words exchanged. In the blink of an eye, the sound of gunfire erupted. But when the bullets struck Arthur, the attackers were left stunned. His reinforced body rendered the bullets as harmless as raindrops, causing no damage to him whatsoever.

Arthur surveyed the scene and sighed, "Foolish Earthlings!" 

In an instant, he closed the distance, reappearing among the group. 

"Turn around!" he commanded. 

With those words, he swung his sword, cleaving the first man in half. In the next heartbeat, another head flew into the air as Arthur continued his relentless assault. Like a tiger among sheep, wherever his blade struck, blood sprayed in all directions. 

In just a few swift movements, he had dispatched ten men causing the crowd to grow increasingly frantic.

Some attempted to flee but found no escape. With nowhere to run, they gritted their teeth and fought back, but the outcome was inevitable— death. 

It all happened too quickly! From the first confrontation to their complete defeat, the entire ordeal took less than a minute. The flashing sword, the bloodshed, and the cold, indifferent gaze of Star-Lord were enough to instill terror in their hearts. 

The chill seemed to seep into their very bones like frost encasing their bodies before they died.

The Eye of Horus hovered above, observing the scene, while Arthur approached the last remaining man. This man, having lost all courage since the battle began, sat on the ground, despair etched on his face as he looked up at Arthur. 

"Who... who are you?" he stammered.

"You've never heard of me?" Arthur's face still bore Star-Lord's features as he replied seriously, "I'm the most infamous villain in the galaxy— Star-Lord!" As his words hung in the air, the sword flashed once more, and the man was struck down in an instant.

After the battle, Arthur let out a deep sigh, his expression inscrutable. "Why kill? Hmm, because you were in my way."

Killing didn't signify the end; erasing all evidence was the final step. Arthur's cryptic remark about the last man being killed stemmed from the fact that the man had a camera attached to his chest. 

It was unclear whether the camera was transmitting live footage or simply recording for later viewing, but the show had to be thorough.

After taking a detour, Arthur began to clean up the battlefield. About forty people had been involved in this incident, and aside from the one with the camera, all the bodies were packed into a shipping container and sent to the Disassemble space for later disposal. 

Looking at the final remaining person, Arthur considered the situation briefly before deciding to keep him as well.

After weighing all possible outcomes in his mind and confirming there were no significant issues, he spread his wings and took flight, returning to Camp Lehigh. The operation there was already underway. Harry was yawning, seemingly idle, while Parker, who was "busy at work," glanced at Arthur before continuing to feign research.

"What did you go do?" Harry asked casually as Arthur returned. "Nothing much, just confirmed the value of this place," Arthur replied nonchalantly. "We should get going."

"Alright," Harry said, looking around the environment. "But to be honest, this place does feel pretty good. Such a large plot of land, with military facilities like this underneath. If we buy it and make some minor changes, it could be a great foundation for a base."

He spoke with excitement, tugging at Arthur's sleeve. "In the future, we'll definitely need a lot of equipment, like vehicles that can fly and drive. The base in New York can't support this kind of gear, but here, it can. I already have a rough model in my mind..."

Just as he was saying this, Arthur had already brought him back to the base. The actual location of this base was beneath the OsCorp Industry Building, allowing direct access to Harry's office. 

Once back in the office, Harry opened his computer and began drafting structural diagrams, brainstorming his earlier thoughts about the base renovation plan.

Arthur sat across from him, removed his mask, and said, "We'll discuss this once we buy it. But I don't think it'll be easy to get."

"Not easy, indeed." Harry's face appeared from behind the computer. "But you know, in this world, while money isn't everything and can't buy everything, most things can be achieved with it. Plus, with the right connections, everything falls into place."

"Are you confident?"

"I am about seventy percent sure," Harry replied. "But I think the cost will be quite high. The military base hasn't been decommissioned yet, which probably means there's something wrong with it. A lot of relationships need to be restructured, and I'll need some time."

"Take your time," Arthur said. "Just tell me how much it costs."

"Wow, when did you become so rich?" Harry exclaimed. "I thought I was the richest one among us."

"It's because I probably... got rich secretly," Arthur chuckled. "Alright, enough about that. We're running out of time. I'll go ahead."

Before Harry could respond, Arthur had already vanished. Time was indeed tight. First, he needed to return to the base and interrogate the young man he had captured earlier. Then, he had to handle Rumlaw.

The results were promising; he gathered some information. However, whether it was true or not, Arthur would have to sift through it himself, especially regarding the Hydra personnel list, which was of utmost importance!

Afterward, Arthur prepared a day's worth of meals for them and placed them in each of their cells. Finally, he visited Bucky. Bucky reported that his condition was steadily improving. If no clear signs of losing control over his own consciousness appeared in the next few days, he would be able to move around again.

This was probably the best news in the past few days, and Arthur was so pleased that he gave Bucky twice the usual amount of drinks.

(End of Chapter)