Chapter Twenty-Seven: Wolverine

Outside the pitch-black estate, three figures cautiously climbed over the perimeter wall and slipped inside.

"Victor, something is wrong!" One of the men, a burly figure with mutton-chop sideburns and hair swept up on both sides, tugged at the man in front of him. He twitched his nose, his face full of suspicion.

"Jimmy, are you ever going to stop whining? There’s nothing wrong!" The man in front, whose prominent canine teeth were bared, shoved his companion away, his face twisted in impatient irritability.

"Victor, it really is strange. It’s too quiet here. Don't you find that odd?" At this moment, a long-haired, brown-skinned youth who had been trailing them spoke up.

"According to the intel provided by Marshal Hawk, this is the residence of that so-called 'god.' When we were here a few days ago, guards were everywhere. But today, there isn't a soul in sight, and I don’t smell a single thing. Isn't that strange enough?" Jimmy added, backing up the long-haired youth.

"Some 'god'—just a rat hiding in the shadows. How much power could he really have? And you two, what exactly are you trying to do? Don't forget why we’re here." Victor was utterly dismissive of the god Jimmy spoke of. In his eyes, the man was likely just a mutant who liked to play pretend. As for actual divinity, he didn't believe in it for a second. Over the years, he and his brother had traveled far and wide; they had seen countless mutants posing as gods in backwater towns, many of whom had ended up dead by their hands.

It wasn't that Victor lacked caution. Years of combat had fostered an inexplicable reliance on his immortality and regenerative abilities. After all, what was there for an immortal man to fear? To him, no matter how strong a mutant was, they had to step aside when facing his brother and him. They had encountered powerful enemies before, and regardless of their strength, they had all fallen beneath their claws.

"Victor, I advise you to be careful. If this person can subjugate both vampires and werewolves, he must be a powerful mutant. It’s best to be cautious." Compared to his reckless brother, Jimmy was far more prudent. Although he possessed formidable healing powers and did not fear death, they were not immune to pain. Unlike his brother’s volatile temper, Jimmy—though not exactly mild-mannered himself—was significantly more rational.

"Hmph. Those so-called vampires and werewolves? To me, they’re just a bunch of losers." Victor brushed off his brother’s warning. He wasn't afraid of ordinary vampires, no matter how many there were.

"Victor, have you forgotten how that silver-furred wolf pinned you to the ground and shredded you just a few days ago? If you insist on not listening, I won't save you next time." Seeing Victor moving out of sight, Jimmy hurried to catch up, his face filled with agitation. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't speak like this, knowing that the more he provoked Victor, the more volatile he would become. But he couldn't afford to care now. Beyond their immortality, the brothers possessed incredible beast-like instincts. While Victor was irritable, Jimmy was much calmer, allowing his senses to be sharper.

The moment he stepped into the estate, a chill had crept up his spine. His instincts screamed that something was wrong, as if they had entered the territory of a powerful predator and their every move was being monitored. More than that, his heart was pounding—a sense of crisis he had never felt before. While he had faith in his immortality, he trusted his instincts even more.

"Fine, Jimmy! Whatever you can feel, I can feel too. I just want to see exactly what kind of freak is playing god here!" Victor glared at his brother, his expression one of pure impatience. Recklessness was only his surface; his regenerative ability made him accustomed to acting first, but it didn't mean he was a brainless fool. His bravado was born from absolute confidence in his powers.

"Sigh... Trist, let’s follow them," Jimmy said. Seeing Victor disappear from view, he knew he couldn't stop his brother’s hotheadedness. He sighed and led the long-haired youth deeper into the estate.

"I think... we might need to rethink this," Trist said. As they ventured deeper, even he—who lacked the heightened senses of the brothers—began to feel that something was off. The entire estate was deathly silent. They hadn't encountered any resistance, or even any living creatures. Moreover, as they neared the strange iron tower at the center of the grounds, the air grew noticeably hotter. These bizarre signs made the trio increasingly uneasy.

"I’m going to see exactly what kind of thing dares to act high and mighty in front of me!" Despite his instincts warning him to retreat, Victor refused to turn back. They hadn't completed their mission, nor had they gathered even the most basic intelligence. If they retreated now, they would have nothing to report to Marshal Hawk. It was for this reason that Jimmy and Trist gritted their teeth and followed.

"Bang..."

"What is that?" As they pushed open a massive iron gate, a vast courtyard came into view. In the center stood a strange metal tower, over a dozen yards tall. It was jet-black and hexagonal, constructed from massive metal plates covered in mysterious inscriptions that radiated an inexplicable sense of authority.

Beside the tower was a bizarre altar the size of a football field, flanked by four towering stone pillars. The altar was covered in crimson, tadpole-like engravings that resembled ancient text. If one looked closely, the markings seemed to crawl and shift as if alive. Most peculiar of all was the center of the altar: a crimson fireball the size of a man, glowing with an orange-yellow light that illuminated the dark night like midday.

"This is..." Pushing through the intense heat, the three approached the altar. They saw a figure—only the upper half of a torso—sitting beside the fire. Their pupils contracted violently. Jimmy and Victor felt their hair stand on end, their claws instinctively unsheathing like bristling beasts.

Only then did they realize it wasn't a fireball at all, but a strangely shaped furnace, warped by extreme heat, which had made it appear like a ball of fire from a distance. As for the figure in front of the furnace, he triggered a sense of crisis they had never known. They felt closer to death than ever before. They wanted to turn and run, but their instincts warned them that doing so would mean certain death.

"You're here..."

"Wolverine?"

Facing the trio’s defensive postures, Li Yang smiled faintly. He wasn't surprised by the appearance of Wolverine. After all, if mutants existed, why not the Wolverine brothers? Besides, Britain was their home, and they were young enough that it wasn't strange for them to appear here shortly after the Great War.

In truth, the moment they entered the estate, they had been under his surveillance. Li Yang had laid down a formation when building the estate; no creature could enter without his spirit sensing it.

"Gulp! Who on earth are you?" Jimmy, the most resilient and composed of the three, swallowed hard, his voice dry.

"Me? Why, I'm the very 'god' you were just talking about!" Li Yang smiled, amused by the expressions on the brothers' faces. "Since you're here, you might as well stay. I happen to need a few servants to pour tea and run errands. You look like you’ll fit the job perfectly. I’m quite optimistic about you."

"Damn you... you bastard, how dare you insult me! Raaaah!" Unlike the composed Jimmy, Victor could not stand Li Yang’s mockery. Even though the crippled creature in front of him brought an unprecedented sense of pressure, he relied on his immortality. At worst, he’d just take a beating.

"How noisy." Li Yang had no patience for Victor’s hotheaded act. Seeing the man’s recklessness, he moved his mind.

"Boom... crackle..."

A flash of blue-violet lightning surged through Li Yang’s eyes, and a bolt of silver lightning manifested out of thin air, striking Victor with brutal force.

"Bang... Raaah... Ugh..."

The lightning wasn't just electricity; it carried immense kinetic force. Struck by the bolt, Victor screamed as he was sent flying, trailing sparks and lightning. His body convulsed as he skidded across the ground, leaving a deep trench before his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.

"Victor!" Seeing his brother struck down by a bolt from the clear sky, his body still twitching, Jimmy was shocked. Despite their volatile relationship, their bond was strong. With a feral glare at Li Yang, he lunged toward his brother.

"Crackle..."

"Oh... damn it!" As soon as his hands touched his brother, the residual current left him paralyzed, and he couldn't help but curse. Only after the current dissipated could he pull the unconscious Victor up.