Chapter 79

The ball of light hit the moon accurately.

It seemed that some subtle changes on the surface of the moon could be seen with the naked eye.

NASA observed vibrations on the lunar surface, and a new crater appeared.

For some reason, there was no mention of the moon being hit in major media reports the next day.

All major media outlets reported extensively on the thrilling battle between Iron Man and the Apostle.

Many first-hand reports from journalists on the scene that night became hot news material. The next day, almost all websites, newspapers, and TV news featured this major event from the previous night.

The exhibition site was attacked by terrorists. Iron Man fought against the out-of-control Hammer Iron Soldiers. Then, the Apostle appeared, wielding a giant sword and cutting through a large group of enemies like slicing through butter. Finally, the climactic battle between Iron Man and the Apostle, old enemies locked in combat, shook the world...

The media always loved to exaggerate, blowing minor incidents into full-blown catastrophes. So, when they captured a real spectacle like last night, they went all out.

Iron Man's endless new moves had his die-hard fans hyped.

The Apostle, like a medieval iron knight wielding a massive sword, had fans losing their minds, screaming in excitement.

The cry of "EXCALIBUR!" became the biggest highlight of the entire event.

The British, rediscovering their long-lost glory, all became fans of the Apostle. Some even claimed that the sword he used in battle was none other than Excalibur, the legendary holy sword of King Arthur.

Online, people were calling out to the Apostle, hoping he would come forward and confirm their theory.

However, after the fight, neither Tony nor Luke gave any interviews. The reporters didn't dare to approach the battlefield. After the fight, both men simply flew away.

Military and Government Response

The events of that night had a profound impact.

First of all, the military recognized the effectiveness of the Hammer Iron Soldiers. Although Justin Hammer was facing criminal charges for harboring the terrorist Ivan Vanko, Hammer Military Industries received a massive order from the military.

Even S.H.I.E.L.D. placed an order for Hammer Iron Soldiers.

Despite being played like a fool all night by Luke and Tony, the combat power displayed by the Iron Soldiers piqued significant interest from multiple parties.

The military was keen on deploying Iron Soldiers against regular combatants. Last night, the Iron Soldiers had gone up against Iron Man and the Apostle—two absolute monsters. Given the circumstances, their performance was actually impressive.

Additionally, the U.S. military was particularly interested in the "holy sword" Luke had wielded in battle.

The footage of the Apostle's mecha shouting "Excalibur" had landed on the desks of top military officials.

Military weapons experts analyzed the footage and concluded two things:

The energy was emitted from a sword.

It appeared to be an optical weapon.

Especially in the final scene, where a massive red fireball shot straight into the moon, some high-ranking officials struggled to believe what they were seeing.

"Are you sure this isn't just a scene from a Hollywood sci-fi movie?"

In short, the military was eager to learn more about this new and highly destructive weapon. Their first step? Find the Apostle.

But when they turned to S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury simply claimed ignorance.

Interestingly, while the military was highly interested in Luke's "optical weapon technology," they had little interest in the War Lord mecha itself.

After all, this was the U.S. military—they had studied large-scale mecha designs before.

But when it came to practical concerns—control feasibility, operator requirements, technical bottlenecks, and most importantly, production costs—the military was unimpressed. Countless proposals and designs had already been tossed into the trash by both the military and Congress.

To them, the Apostle's massive mecha was just another ultra-expensive, non-replicable pet project—like Tony's Iron Man suits.

The military wasn't in the business of wasting money on flashy tech with no large-scale application.

Aftermath

A few days later, an engineering crew rolled into the ruined, deserted fountain square. S.H.I.E.L.D. had deployed resources to clean up the mess Luke and Tony had left behind.

As for the damages?

S.H.I.E.L.D. had already sent Tony an itemized compensation bill via email earlier that morning.

That same night, Tony had returned to his villa and tasked Jarvis with hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database.

He wanted intel on the Apostle.

Hacking into databases wasn't anything new for Tony. For Jarvis, it was a simple job.

However, there was a slight issue.

Tony frowned as he stared at a file displayed on the screen. Sitting in his swivel chair, he rested his chin on his hand, muttering to himself,

"It's like S.H.I.E.L.D. expected someone to hack this file... What's with this random kid's picture?"

For a long while, Tony remained silent, staring at the photo of a familiar-looking Asian child, age marked as 7.

The Far Side of the Moon

Meanwhile, on the far side of the moon...

Governments on Earth would never have guessed that hidden on the dark side of the moon was a city with an ancient history—Attilan.

The capital of the Inhumans.

The Inhumans were a powerful and ancient civilization within the Marvel Universe, with a lineage stretching back millions of years.

Inside the grand and majestic royal palace, a heavy voice echoed through the hall.

"The Earthlings are firing on the moon. Have they discovered our existence? King, shall we prepare for war?"

The speaker was a peculiar-looking man with hooves instead of feet.

Seated on the throne was a dignified yet gentle-eyed middle-aged man—Black Bolt.

One of the few superheroes on Earth capable of single-handedly defeating Thanos.

Black Bolt was the most powerful Inhuman. His voice alone could unleash catastrophic levels of destruction. A mere whisper could reduce an entire city to rubble.

For that reason, he never spoke.

Black Bolt remained seated, a gentle smile on his lips, as he signed a series of gestures.

Beside him, a striking woman with long, fiery red hair—Medusa—translated his words.

"The king says: We must proceed with caution. It could have been an accident."

Black Bolt gestured again, this time signaling, "I will send Crystal and Lockjaw to investigate."

From within the hall, a young blonde girl stepped forward, beaming with excitement. At her side stood an unusually large, dog-like creature—Lockjaw—towering over her.

This was her first mission. She was thrilled.

Medusa frowned, turning to Black Bolt.

"Crystal is only ten years old... I'm worried about her."

Black Bolt raised a hand, his gaze calm and reassuring. He signed,

"Lockjaw will be with her. She will be safe."

Thus, the Inhumans dispatched Crystal, a royal family member, to Earth to investigate the incident.

Luke's Situation

As for Luke, what was he doing during all this chaos?

After returning home that night, he received his mission rewards.

At the same time, the system notified him:

[Spider-Man's skills acquired!]

At first, Luke was ecstatic. He even jumped for joy.

But when he actually examined the skill... his expression turned a little strange.

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