Glancing at M'Baku prostrate at his feet, Peter couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
"Consider yourself sensible, wild dog."
"Since I'm in a fairly good mood today, I'll give you a chance. Disappear from my sight right now, and I can act as if nothing just happened."
As he spoke, Peter quietly withdrew his Conqueror's Haki, and the sound of heavy gasping instantly filled the scene.
Under the varied gazes of the crowd, M'Baku turned and slunk back toward the mountains like an old dog with its back broken, stripped of all his former prestige.
Today's encounter had truly been an eye-opener for him.
He had originally thought Wakanda was invincible in the world.
As the second strongest in Wakanda, although he couldn't compare to T'Chaka's family, he at least considered himself the second strongest under heaven.
But today, Peter had given him a resounding slap in the face with practical action.
He let him see clearly that there is always a heaven beyond heaven, and what a truly powerful person is.
It turned out that in front of a truly powerful person, he was so insignificant.
So insignificant that he was powerless to resist even a wisp of the other's released will!
...When M'Baku slunk away, the crowd's expressions shifted as they looked at Peter and T'Chaka's family.
Wakanda, where martial prowess is paramount, respects the strong, and Peter's performance just now had fully proven his power.
As for T'Chaka's family... it was because they had remained as calm as if nothing were happening when facing that terrifying aura Peter had released.
This led the simple citizens to believe that the King was still as formidable as ever, which was why he could use his own strength to withstand this powerful, god-like outsider.
Only T'Chaka's family knew what was really going on.
This caused them to feel a few more points of goodwill toward Peter, in addition to their secret relief.
"Cough, cough..." Amidst the long silence, T'Chaka spoke after letting out an unnatural clearing of his throat.
"Sir, I think we can continue our previous topic. This time, I guarantee no one will interrupt our conversation again."
Hmm~
Noticing the old King's respectful attitude, Peter narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
It had to be said, this old King was much smarter than characters like General Ross or Nick Fury.
At least he knew how to judge the situation.
Peter liked dealing with smart people, so he didn't bother to keep up his posturing and simply snapped his fingers.
*Snap~*
*Crack...* The solid ice encasing T'Challa instantly shattered into countless ice crystals and dissipated into the air.
T'Challa, his body radiating cold, gasped for air and fell miserably at Peter's feet.
As soon as he regained his freedom, the Dora Milaje led by Okoye immediately surrounded him.
While helping T'Challa warm up, they looked at Peter nervously, fearing he might strike again.
To Peter's surprise, the recovered T'Challa did not fly into a rage as he had imagined, nor did he complain to his father.
He simply pushed Okoye and the others away weakly, then with some effort, placed his hand over his heart and bowed to Peter.
"I am very sorry, sir. My vision was narrow before, and I mistook you for a thief... Please allow me to apologize to you for my recklessness and that of my subordinates."
During the time he was frozen just now, a normal person would have been unable to maintain their ability to think.
But he, after all, had the enhancement of the heart-shaped herb and the protection of the Black Panther Suit, so his brain remained highly active.
Along the way, he had gradually calmed down.
Through a review of the entire event, he had realized his mistake.
He was wrong, and terribly so.
The opponent's strength was unfathomable. If he insisted on leaving, they wouldn't be able to stop him at all; if he wanted to kill them, he wouldn't even be alive right now.
Furthermore, the opponent could fly and control water.
Why would such a person specifically find a cruise ship if he wanted to leave with Vibranium?
Therefore, the truth was most likely that the man had actually come to help.
Yet he had been treated as a thief and attacked... T'Challa hadn't been quite sure of this guess until he saw the man help his old father out of the predicament.
This completely confirmed his thoughts, and he felt increasingly ashamed of his previous behavior of indiscriminately provoking the man.
Noticing that T'Challa's expression didn't seem fake, and considering the character's open-minded nature in the original work, Peter generously forgave the guy.
He had already planned to pull this super rich second-generation into his S.H.I.E.L.D., so there was naturally no reason to offend such a major financial backer.
Suddenly, the previously tense atmosphere completely melted away like snow.
At that moment, a delicate girl of seventeen or eighteen with dreadlocks looked at the holographic projection on her watch, then at Peter, and couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.
"Excuse me... are, are you My Lord 'The Punisher'?"
The girl's voice was crisp and pleasant, carrying a hint of uncertainty and a small touch of excitement.
The Punisher?
As soon as this title came out, T'Chaka and T'Challa were both stunned.
Of course they knew this name.
Although Wakanda usually pretended to be a backward agricultural country, it actually possessed a secret intelligence force.
T'Challa's girlfriend, Nakia, did exactly this kind of work.
Therefore, they were all aware that a group of superheroes had recently emerged in New York.
Among these superheroes, the one the people of Wakanda admired most sincerely was The Punisher!
Seeing that his identity had seemingly been exposed, Peter stopped pretending.
He simply nodded to Shuri.
"That's right, I am The Punisher."
As soon as he said this, the atmosphere on the scene didn't just melt; it boiled to another extreme in the blink of an eye!
If the Wakandan warriors' previous attitude toward Peter was one of having to bow their heads under pressure...
Now, it had turned almost entirely into naked worship!
"So it is My Lord The Punisher who has graced Wakanda with his presence. Please excuse my lack of manners!"
T'Chaka bowed slightly to Peter again, lowering his posture even further.
"Mr. Punisher, please allow me to welcome you on behalf of my children and accept our sincere apologies."
With that, he reached out and made a gesture of invitation.
Soon, a grand welcoming banquet was held in the palace.
At the banquet, T'Challa, who already felt guilty, and Peter could be said to have become friends through their fight. After a few drinks, the two young men soon began calling each other brothers.
In contrast, T'Chaka was much more steady, repeatedly probing for Peter's purpose for coming.
He tried to get Peter to reveal whether his visit to Wakanda was authorized by the U.S. government.
After hearing Peter personally state that he only came to investigate after hearing from his subordinates that a new element had been discovered,
And even arrogantly stating that "the President couldn't possibly get him to travel all the way to a godforsaken place like Africa,"
T'Chaka was immediately delighted.
To speak so wildly, it must undoubtedly be the truth!
Once he was certain there was no one behind Peter secretly testing them, T'Chaka's attitude immediately became even more enthusiastic.
Not only did he proactively offer to give Peter a full ton of Vibranium as an apology, but his words were also full of hints about wanting to form an alliance with Peter...