On the other hand, though Shiller was well aware that Hydra wasn't an ideal ally, it was still a useful tool. In fact, Shiller had long made a deal with the Baron of Hydra. The terms were simple: Shiller would turn in Pierce, and the Baron would help Shiller get rid of Iron Man.
This was still an exploitation of information disparity. After all, how could the Baron of Hydra know how powerful Iron Man is as the protagonist? But to him, having Shiller deal with Pierce was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Shiller had previously mentioned part of it during his conversation with Pierce, but didn't go into the details. In actuality, the grudge between Pierce and the Baron could be traced back to decades ago, but if one were to get into the nitty-gritty, it was nothing more than the grievances between America and Germany during World War II.
In short, Pierce had once promised the Baron that he would prevent the United States from aiding the Soviet Union. However, Pierce didn't keep his end of the bargain, which led the Baron to believe that Pierce had betrayed him and the German people, resulting in Little Mustache's failure.
As well-known, to Nazi Germany, the most detestable were not the Soviets who fought the Great Patriotic War but those countries who supported the Soviet Union at critical moments. Or rather, they were simply unwilling to admit that the mighty bear defeated them head-on, preferring to pin the credit on others.
Actually, the Baron could have slipped away before Iron Man arrived, but in order to fulfill his part of the deal with Shiller, he chose to stay in Germany, which led to a series of unfortunate events afterward.
With all three parties gathered at Hydra's base in Germany, Shiller's plan officially began. First, he contacted T'Challa to start rounding them up, and the target was none other than Erik, who had been wreaking havoc across the cosmos.
Remember, through the Hydra Agents under Pierce, Erik had been kidnapped to the base in Germany, which meant Erik had basically lost the ability to resist. In other words, as long as T'Challa rushed over, he could capture Erik.
This completely avoided T'Challa having to chase Erik around the world and damaging Wakanda's international reputation.
As for Nick, after his arrival, he could immediately seize the group of Hydra Agents working for Pierce who had kidnapped Erik and brought him to Germany. As the saying goes, nothing stays hidden under modern interrogation techniques.
Nick was initially frustrated even though he suspected Pierce, but lacked concrete evidence. But these agents were ready-made human evidence. All he needed was a shred of evidence from them about Pierce's work with Hydra, or better yet, have them point out Pierce. Then, no matter how well Pierce had disguised himself before, the jury wouldn't have much sympathy for him.
And so, T'Challa captured the turncoat Erik without lifting a finger, retrieving the lost blueprints of the Royal Research Institute, redeeming Wakanda's international reputation, and perhaps even obtaining clues about the Vibranium smuggler, Krau, through Erik's interrogation.
Nick, on the other hand, managed to catch Pierce out when he was desperate enough to order a kidnapping, and even obtained a batch of potential witnesses who could point out Pierce.
So, what did Shiller gain? Stark's shocked expression right now was his best reward. Herding the sheep together and playing with one of them was not to shear their wool, but to see their panicked expressions.
After hearing Shiller's explanation, Stark stood frozen for a full three minutes. After three minutes, he took a step forward in his Iron Armor and threw a punch at Shiller's cheek.
Shiller didn't dodge.
Everyone, including Erik and Nick, naturally rushed up to stop Iron Man. However, Stark was in his battlesuit after all, and none of them understood the strength of the suit, so Stark easily broke free.
He threw another punch, sending Shiller to the ground. Shiller sighed as he lay there, then used the heel of his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, revealing a similarly wicked smile.
He laid there, rolling his eyes and looking at Stark saying, "Beside yourself with anger? I told you, Tony, you must pay the price for your futile heroic fantasies."
"I've said I'm not a hero, yet you have me pay the price for your stupid realization of that. Is this your great hero, Tony Stark, who you hope will save the world?"
Stark stood there, his eyes full of shock and sadness. Bloodied, Shiller scrambled to his feet, looked at Stark with insanity gleaming in his eyes and said, "What do you think a hero is? You think you can save the world just by hiding in your lab and making yourself a powerful armor?"
"Or in your stereotype, you might think that helpless me, who suffered persecution and thrown into the dark world, couldn't resist and come up with a series of plans to turn the tide?"
"You always imagine yourself to be too strong and noble while you regard others as weak and cowardly, but you can never be a true hero who will save the world."
Shiller took a step forward, reached out his bloodied hand to place it on Stark's face guard, looked him in the eye and said, "Tony, when I said you need to outgrow your childhood hero complex, I didn't just mean becoming the savior from the saved."
"You must deeply realize that there are countless comrades who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this world. And if you keep looking down on them and don't learn to truly understand and trust them, you're doomed to be that naive child who places his hopes on others."
"You used to watch your father walk out of that room time and time again, throwing all your emotions into hatred, blaming him for never staying, but you never remember that you've never asked him."
"There's no shame in begging, you must understand, if you want to change someone's mind, manipulation is an essential step. And the essence of manipulation is love."
"Call out to him, make him stay with love. Make up for the possible regrets that he might have had to leave, and force him to face your love."
"Immerse yourself in these teeming crowds, let every person who brushes past you, who turns to walk beside you, know that you understand them, let them know you love them."
"Then together you plunge into the suffering of the world, jointly fighting against this unassailable tide of reality, investing your abundant emotions in others, and rightfully receiving feedback... go on, Tony, become the great hero you dream to be."
Iron Man gripped his armored fist tightly, he would not tell Shiller that as he spoke these words, he remembered Howard looking back at him countless times at the door, and the expression in Stark's heart was always one of anger and resentment, void of any regret or reluctance.
Yet at this moment, he deeply understood the power of showing his pain and vulnerability to others, which made him never question that Shiller was the real mastermind behind all these plans from the very beginning.
He felt powerless, he should be powerless, because of the past he had revealed, because of certain vulnerabilities he had shown hidden behind his strength.
But the fact proved that this vulnerability and alienation are the ultimate techniques to lure people step by step into the trap.
Is showing weakness a good thing?
Stark would never have pondered this question before, as he would dismissively answer no without a second thought. He needed to be stronger and smarter, and treat with contempt everyone less intelligent than him, then either seize the upper hand or leave everyone helpless against his arrogant and overbearing attitude.
But Shiller showed him another scenario. He would tell others about his weaknesses, present his unstable past, let others see his vulnerable side, so they could never relax, therefore they had to do more.
But he called it an expression of love, perhaps also the simplest way to gain others' love.
Stark grabbed Shiller's wrist, he was about to say something when an alarm sound echoed within the armor. In an instant, a sharp buzzing sound pierced Stark's eardrums.
Under the cold and hazy sunlight in the high-latitude region, he watched the arrival of god, who was him.
He saw another giant wisdom appeared in his deepest nightmare, a phantom hovering above the earth, then solidified into a figure not much different from him, but with much more powerful strength.
"Let him go."
He heard another voice identical to his own say.
Stark looked intently and saw a white and blue mecha descending from the sky, the afterglow from the engine was nearly imperceptible, but the deep voice had enough formidable power to solidify the already chilly air around.
The Iron Demon God descended on the earth.
The countless illusions of the mechanical army made Nick Fury and T'Challa all look up and fix their stern gazes in mid-air. Still, Stark's attention was concentrated on this sudden visitor, who was an iron man identical to him, staring at Shiller.
"Why didn't you run?" He heard this powerful Iron Man ask: "You will damage his body. You should have hidden."
Shiller extended his thumb and exaggeratedly wiped the bloodstains beside his mouth. He turned around, gave Stark a wicked smile, and said, "You're also not as calm as you imagined when facing other universes' foolish self, right?"
"Tony, where's your sense of superiority when facing counterparts from other universes? I thought you'd stand aloof and watch until the end."
"Now, it's over," the Iron Demon God replied coldly.
Shiller dodged his teleportation. The Iron Demon God descended even closer to the ground, almost touching the surface, but the formidable energy field around him couldn't be ignored. It shrouded all the people and equipment in the field, causing those with safety energy alarms to ring ceaselessly.
"You may wonder why there are two Iron Men here, but unfortunately, I come from another universe, only to investigate a murderer..."
Before Stark could finish speaking, in an instant, evil purple light burst from the control center of Wakanda's spaceship, this time arranging themselves in a universally recognized battle array.
This long dormant trap that suddenly appeared was meant to catch everyone off guard.
The Iron Demon God clearly wouldn't be hurt by these small spacecraft, but if they targeted Wakanda's warriors and king and caused real casualties, the prime suspect would be this Iron Man who suddenly descended, making it impossible for Shiller and his party to get any real help in this universe.
But surprisingly, a giant Sky Carrier suddenly emerged in the sky, blocking out the sun. Nick sneered and said, "Caught you."