Temporary Guest

All eyes shifted between T'Chaka and Liam. Most of the officials exchanged uncertain glances. To them, the outsider had already stated his intentions earlier—so why was their king pressing further right here and now?

Liam nodded to King T'Chaka while smiling. Seeing that the king had understood his tactic, Liam decided to get straight to the point.

"As you might have already expected, I'm not really that interested in vibranium," Liam answered, keeping a smile on his face. "What I need instead is manpower."

He took a short pause, but seeing that King T'Chaka's expression didn't change and that he hadn't declined yet, Liam continued.

"Like I said before, these creatures are appearing all over the world, and their numbers have been increasing for a long time. Soon, even we won't be able to handle them anymore," he said, his smile fading.

"Now that you have seen proof of their strength and existence, you understand what will happen if their numbers continue to rise."

"Why did you come here instead of the many other countries?" King T'Chaka questioned. "While these creatures might be a threat, Wakanda has been in seclusion for many years and plans to continue doing so to keep our people safe from those outside."

"If we exposed ourselves to the outside world, the danger falling on Wakanda would be far greater than any threat these creatures currently pose," he continued. "Why would we expose ourselves when we can improve our technology to deal with these creatures ourselves?"

Silence fell throughout the room. The officials nodded in agreement, sharing the same stance as their king.

Liam didn't back down. After contemplating for a moment, he opened his mouth again.

"Let me start with your first question," he began. "The reason I came here is simple—battle and research experience. Your people are well-trained, and you have some of the greatest minds here. That is exactly what we need."

"Furthermore, Wakanda doesn't have to expose itself to the world at all," Liam stated. "We have a way—which you already know of—for people to be transported anywhere in the world without anyone knowing where they came from. No one can trace it back to Wakanda unless you allow them to."

He looked around the room, but the expressions of the officials remained unchanged. None of them seemed convinced by his argument so far. Realizing this, Liam decided to get to the final point.

"And your technology, while advanced, won't stand a chance against these creatures. Not now, not in a thousand years either," Liam stated, causing several members to frown.

"Not in a thousand years? Please," Shuri scoffed, interrupting Liam.

Liam had somewhat expected this reaction. Despite knowing it would hurt their pride, he felt it was necessary to tell them this particular truth to convince them. Ignoring Shuri, he continued.

"The creature you just saw could've slaughtered everyone in this room simply because you have no idea what you are dealing with," he said seriously.

"Sure, you could've killed it from a distance by dropping a bomb on it. But can you afford to bomb it if it goes on a rampage in a residential area?"

At this question, not only did the officials' expressions change, but even King T'Chaka's changed slightly. Liam saw that his reasoning was working and pressed forward.

"And even if you somehow managed to do so," Liam said, pausing before continuing, "the creature you just fought is one of the weakest that will be coming for you—and for everyone else in this world."

King T'Chaka remained calm as he glanced at his officials. Liam's words had hit them—he could see it in the subtle reactions among them. Some shifted uncomfortably, while others clenched their fists at the outsider's claims.

After a short moment of silence, King T'Chaka turned his gaze back to Liam. "You have given us much to think about. Wakanda does not make decisions in haste, nor on the warnings of an outsider without proof. We will continue this discussion tomorrow."

With that, he gestured to the Dora Milaje. "Bring our guest to his temporary quarters. Ensure he is well accommodated."

Liam nodded, satisfied.

He knew his words had sunk in and felt it was only natural for the king to need time to discuss the matter further. The missing proof King T'Chaka talked about was the story about the barrier and the true strength of the creatures.

"This way," the assigned Dora Milaje member said, gesturing for him to follow.

I can reveal more tomorrow, but this will still be a difficult decision for them. Which is understandable since I'm someone they only met a few hours ago,' Liam thought as he followed her.

'But I think I managed to convince them pretty well with the information I've given so far.' He thought, smiling.

As he left the hall, Liam suddenly felt something strange. A very thin and barely detectable wave of dimensional energy moved through the air, dissipating into nothingness as it touched his body.

The wave of energy was so weak that even his Eldritch Sight couldn't pick it up. The only reason he even noticed it was because of the way the white cells in his body reacted.

'What the hell was that?' Liam thought, confused. 'My Eldritch Sight isn't picking up any dimensional tears or creatures around me either.'

Sure, his Eldritch Sight couldn't cover all of Wakanda, but for something to send such a controlled wave of energy from outside his range could only mean something extremely powerful.

'Which is impossible,' Liam thought, growing even more confused. 'Could it just be a creature with great stealth? No… that still wouldn't explain why there isn't a tear nearby.'

While Liam was lost in his thoughts, the Dora Milaje member led him to his temporary residence for the night. She quickly left after informing him that someone else would come later to assist him with accommodations.

After some more thinking, Liam made up his mind—he would look around at night to see if he could find the source of that strange wave of energy.

'Best case scenario, it was just my imagination,' Liam thought, his expression serious. 'Worst case scenario, something strong is out there.'

'And no one's been aware of it all this time.'

Meanwhile, King T'Chaka had summoned his entire council to discuss their next steps. Naturally, the negotiations weren't over yet, but they at least needed to determine how they would proceed—and what their absolute limits would be.