American Comics: Tales of Cultivator

Chapter 176: Assassination (Part 1)

Rogue walked through the buffet area, a plate in one hand and tongs in the other, picking up the delicacies she liked.

Naturally, the people attending this cocktail party weren't there just for the food, so aside from the occasional person coming to the buffet corner for a couple of pastries,

No one else was like Rogue, staring at the abundant delicacies, caught in indecision.

"Tang, try this cheesecake. I tasted it, it's pretty good!"

Rogue was like a busy little bee, flitting through the buffet area, occasionally holding a plate and handing some delicacies she thought were delicious to Tang Song.

"Mm! It tastes good!"

Tang Song looked at the plate extended before him by Rogue, used a fork to pick up a piece of cheesecake adorned with bright red cherries from the plate, put it in his mouth, and returned a warm smile to her.

Seeing Tang Song eat it, Rogue was finally satisfied and happily skipped off with her plate to continue selecting food from the buffet area.

"Are you also interested in Wakanda's Vibranium technology?"

Tang Song watched Rogue leave and continued chatting with Bishop Hyde.

"Vibranium technology? I was just invited to a cocktail party. As for Vibranium technology, I'm not interested!" Bishop Hyde said with a smile, "Perhaps Weyland is more interested in these technological products, but our base is still The Church!"

"Forgive my presumptuous question, but is The Church entirely made up of our Sacred Shield Brotherhood members?" Tang Song took a sip of champagne and asked with some curiosity.

Bishop Hyde pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head: "It's not that exaggerated. The Inquisition is currently ours, four out of the twelve Holy Knights are our people, and as for the Cardinals, only two stand with us. Adding some Diocesan Bishops, at most, only one-third of The Church's high-level staff are our people."

"At most, only one-third." Hearing this 'Versailles' statement, Tang Song raised an eyebrow and smiled somewhat mysteriously: "So, does that mean The Church is the Sacred Shield Brotherhood?"

Hearing Tang Song's words, Hyde smiled and replied: "Not exactly. At the very least, we have to wait until one of our own takes the position of Pope! Moreover, we can only be considered the largest branch of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood; there are also some old friends who prefer to work alone, like Weyland! Everyone's stance is against alien invasion. West should have told you, this is the purpose for the establishment of our Sacred Shield Brotherhood."

Tang Song looked at Bishop Hyde, downing the cocktail in his glass: "Mr. Vickers is my guide, so I'm one of The Church's own people too!?"

"Of course!" Bishop Hyde looked at Tang Song approvingly: "West has praised you many times in front of us, saying you are the future of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood. That old stick-in-the-mud, I rarely hear him praise someone like that!"

"When does the Pope election start? I think I can lend a hand!" Tang Song placed his empty glass on a Waiter's tray passing by and said to Bishop Hyde.

"Uh, the Pope election is held through a closed-door meeting, electing from among several Cardinals. Outsiders find it very difficult to participate. This is different from a presidential election; there's no way to solicit votes!"

Although Bishop Hyde appreciated the young man's desire to contribute to the Sacred Shield Brotherhood, he still explained to Tang Song.

"Then what's your estimate for the election results? What are our chances of winning?"

The most influential religious leader in the Western world, and likely also the largest supernatural force. If he were one of their own, many matters would undoubtedly be much more convenient.

If the Pope didn't have to be chosen from the Cardinals, Tang Song might even consider pushing West, the Vice Chief Judge, into the position.

After all, their relationship was paved with boxes of silver-plated gold crosses, making it much closer than ordinary brotherhood.

"Our chances of winning aren't high!" Hyde's complexion fell, and he said with a wry smile: "The Pope's designated successor isn't one of ours, so it's a bit of trouble!"

"Mr. Vickers should have told you that I have some manpower in the Underworld!" Tang Song said: "Finding some gunmen is quite easy..."

*Cough cough* Bishop Hyde gave Tang Song a strange look. He was silent for a moment, then seemed thoughtful: "Gunmen, ordinary gunmen, are useless against those Cardinals. They all wear defensive Holy Artifacts. These are Holy Artifacts passed down from the Middle Ages. Although they can't compare to those few Holy Relics, ordinary firearms are useless against them..."

"Ordinary firearms won't work, but we can use RPGs, use Stinger missiles. The Underworld is full of desperadoes who don't care about their lives. If that still doesn't work, I know some Mutants, I can hire them at a high price. I have some connections with Magneto..." Listening to Hyde, Tang Song smiled like a demon tempting people to Hell.

"Magneto, his strength, should be able to..."

Bishop Hyde didn't show any aversion; instead, he seriously considered Tang Song's suggestion.

After WWII, the Sacred Shield Brotherhood was severely weakened. Some people of insight saw The Church as a big tree to rely on.

At that time, there happened to be a few Sacred Shield Brotherhood members within The Church. They were originally planning to defend against His arrival.

So, they conveniently introduced a portion of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood members into The Church. After nearly a century of infiltration,

Just as Hyde told Tang Song, close to one-third of The Church's high-level staff had been replaced by Sacred Shield Brotherhood members.

However, only when the Pope was one of their own could the Sacred Shield Brotherhood be considered to have completed their plan of usurpation.

One must know that The Church's few Holy Relics could only be mastered and their strength fully utilized by the Pope.

Just as Tang Song was about to say something more to Bishop Hyde, a commotion suddenly erupted not far away.

Tang Song turned his head and saw two Black Persons surrounding Rogue, loudly scolding her about something.

Rogue picked up a shell spoon, scooped a spoonful of caviar from her plate, and put it in her mouth. The moment the fish roe burst in her mouth, it brought a slightly nutty, salty, and fresh taste.

A reception of this scale held at the White House naturally had excellent ingredients.

Although the caviar used for the buffet wasn't the expensive Beluga Sturgeon caviar, it was still Russian Sturgeon caviar worth several thousand US dollars per kilogram.

Rogue's family was only middle-class. Even at home, she had never eaten caviar, which was considered a luxury goods.

After tasting a bite of caviar, she imitated the way she saw on television, picked up a slice of bread, spread the caviar evenly on both sides of the bread, and took a bite. The delicious feeling made her eyes narrow into slits.

Just as Rogue picked up another box of caviar from the buffet, planning to take it to Tang Song to try, a Black Person woman holding a spear blocked her.

With a cocktail party invitation personally issued by the White House, those who could attend were naturally not ordinary people in terms of identity and status.

There were very few young people; most attendees were old men who held real power in consortiums. Their purpose for attending the cocktail party was also very clear: they were all here for Wakanda's Vibranium technology.

Even if the attendees weren't from the same class, they all had impressive backgrounds.

These old men were all shrewd individuals who had been in the business world for a long time. In situations like this, it was generally impossible for them to look down on people or engage in humiliating displays.

So, even though many people saw Rogue, who looked out of place in her hoodie, eating at the buffet area, no one said anything.

Most just smiled and cast kind gazes. After all, no one knew which old man's junior she was, and no one would make enemies for no reason.

But idiocy is like probability; as long as it's not zero percent, no matter how small the chance, it can still appear.

"Madam, this is a cocktail party held for Your Majesty. As a minimum sign of respect, you should remove your hood!"

A tall, bald-headed Black Person woman blocked Rogue's path and spoke to her in an accusatory tone, looking down on her.

Rogue looked up, her mouth full, like a little hamster with its cheeks stuffed with dried fruit.

"Uh, I'm sorry!" Although Rogue didn't know the origin of this aggressive Black Person, she didn't want to provoke trouble for Tang Song.

Hearing the Black Person woman's words, she hesitated for a moment, took off her hood, revealing a slightly youthful face, shoulder-length auburn hair, with two strands of silver-white hair hanging down by her temples.

Rogue didn't want to provoke trouble for Tang Song, but to the Black Person female guard from Wakanda, Rogue's act of showing weakness further confirmed her guess.

She glanced at Rogue's obviously cheap clothes, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.

A freeloading intruder. These Federation People are useless. But it's a good opportunity to make these Federation People look foolish.

For Wakandans, especially the King's female guards who guarded T'Chaka, they didn't have much liking for the Federation that had provoked war.

If they could make the Federation People suffer a great humiliation at the cocktail party, that would naturally be for the best.

"Madam, I suspect your identity. For the safety of Your Majesty the King, I need to check your invitation!"

A hint of panic flashed in Rogue's eyes: "I didn't sneak in, I came with my companion, he has the invitation!" Rogue said, pointing to Tang Song who was standing not far away.

However, the arrogant Black Person female guard, having already made up her mind, didn't believe Rogue's words. Instead, she grabbed towards Rogue's arm, wanting to take her to question the security personnel responsible for this event.

Rogue was flustered by the situation and her own physique, afraid of hurting someone, and quickly retreated.

The commotion between the two quickly attracted the attention of many people.

"Check this girl's identity?"

Natasha Romanoff, also in a red dress, was surveying the venue. She quickly noticed the commotion here. Looking at the two arguing, she contacted the internal security responsible for the cocktail party's security work via her earpiece while walking towards them. Meanwhile, another Black Person female guard had already walked behind Rogue, and the two Black Person female guards surrounded Rogue.

"Excuse me! She is my female companion, is there a problem?"

Seeing the two Black Persons getting closer and closer, Rogue was anxious to the point of tears, afraid her ability would erupt and hurt them. Just then, Tang Song walked over in time and blocked her path.

The Black Person female guard glared at Tang Song: "Sir, I suspect she is an Assassin who infiltrated the hotel, threatening the safety of Your Majesty the King. I need to take her away to investigate!"

"Are you deaf? I said she's my female companion, can't you hear me!?" Sensing the malice from this Black Person woman with his Divine Sense, Tang Song said with a calm complexion:

"If there's something wrong with your ears, I can contact a nearby ENT hospital and get you a cochlear implant!"

"You! Rude Federation Person—"

The Black Person female guard was eager to try, exchanging glances with her companion, seemingly intending to go up together and teach Tang Song a lesson.

"Captain Renata, this is Mr. Tang, a guest invited by the White House Secretariat!"

Just then, a voice came. Natasha Romanoff, in a red dress, walked over and, seeing the tense atmosphere, quickly smoothed things over.

"Mr. Tang, there must be some misunderstanding!" After explaining to the female guard, Natasha Romanoff showed Tang Song a smile.

Tang Song glanced at Natasha Romanoff, then turned to Rogue and said: "Are you full? If you're full, I'll take you for a walk to clear your head!"

Rogue nodded, looking at the handsome Tang Song in front of her, her eyes seemed to sparkle with light.

Tang Song took her hand and walked towards the outside of the hall.

"She can't—" A female guard was about to stop them, but Tang Song put on a stern face and let out a cold snort.

The two Black Person female guards felt Tang Song's cold snort pierce their ears like an awl. Their brains felt a burst of severe pain, saw stars flashing wildly before their eyes, and stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to move at all for a long time.

With that cold snort from Tang Song, his vast Mental Power transformed into invisible long spikes that poked the brains of the two female guards. They were just ordinary guards; how could they endure being toyed with by Tang Song like this? "Someone, two people, someone here isn't feeling well..."

Natasha Romanoff watched Tang Song lead Rogue away by the hand, then looked at the two Black Persons slumped on the ground. She could only helplessly call internal security to carry them away first.

......

Outside Blair House at this time, a pouring rain had begun to fall at some point.

Rogue stood on the stone steps, took off her gloves, and carefully caught the rain with her hands, a heartfelt happy smile on her face.

Tang Song stood not far away, chatting with Hyde, accompanying Rogue as she watched the view in the rain...

Splashing water stirred up a vast rain mist, and the entire world seemed to be within a curtain of rain.

Several Agents in black suits watched Tang Song warily from not far away.

Although they had just seen Tang Song's invitation, they still maintained complete caution.

Across the street, from the White House, a motorcade of black cars drove out, plunging into the rain curtain and heading towards them.

"They're using bulletproof vehicles at such a close distance. It seems our Federal President is very afraid of death!"

The straight-line distance between the White House motorcade and Blair House was very short, but there was a tree-lined avenue in between. People could walk across, but the motorcade had to take a detour.

At this time, on this tree-lined avenue, more than a dozen capable and sturdy men in gray trench coats were patrolling the intersection. Seeing the motorcade approaching, they immediately straightened their already upright backs even further. The gale blew up the hems of their trench coats, revealing the large-caliber automatic firearms under their clothes.

"Hmm?" Tang Song looked at these sturdy men in gray coats, then glanced at Hawkeye who had been lingering by his side and smiled: "Are you S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?"

Hawkeye shook his head: "They're Secret Service!"

Tang Song sized up the gray-coated men before him. He found some interesting things about these people.

These people actually had energy fluctuation on them, and it was somewhat similar to The Church's Holy Power.

Tang Song cast a doubtful gaze towards Bishop Hyde, who was accompanying him to watch the rain view.

"I see The Church's shadow on these people!"

Bishop Hyde seemed to understand Tang Song's doubt and nodded:

"Yes, these Secret Service people were indeed trained with the help of our Church. They used the method of training Holy Knights!

This is a deal that has been going on for over a hundred years!"

After a pause, Bishop Hyde shrugged: "You know, the Federation was founded less than three hundred years ago. If it weren't for our Church's help, just these criminals with superpowers, Mutants, and Dark Creatures would be more than the Federation could handle!

We help the Federation train manpower, and the Federation helps The Church build churches and spread faith. It's a very fair deal!"

"Mr. Bishop, we in the Federation have our own department to manage these superpower crimes!" Hawkeye retorted from the side.

"Are you referring to your S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Bureau for Paranormal Observation and Defense? How long have you been established, seventy or eighty years?

If it weren't for the manpower we trained, relying on you, the number of Federal Presidents who died by assassination wouldn't be four, but forty!"

Bishop Hyde glanced at Hawkeye and said with mockery: "S.H.I.E.L.D., I have to say, Howard Stark and the others' naming skills are really average!"

Hawkeye was so mocked by Hyde that he felt like shooting him with an arrow, but it was clear that Agent Barton, acting as a bodyguard, didn't have his bow and arrow with him.

Just then, the Federal President's motorcade drove over. After glaring at Bishop Hyde, Hawkeye hmphed angrily and led his people out into the rain to greet them.

Bishop Hyde winked at Tang Song, and Tang Song smiled understandingly.

As a member of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood, Bishop Hyde wouldn't have a good impression of either S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra.

"They're here," Tang Song's Divine Sense swept through the rain! "Someone's coming!"

Tang Song suddenly let out a light exclamation, feigning surprise. He pointed into the rain curtain and called out: "With such strong wind and heavy rain today... why are there so many people?"

Hyde looked into the rain curtain in surprise, following Tang Song's gaze, and indeed saw that something was wrong.

Although Pennsylvania Avenue was an important traffic artery, vehicles were not prohibited from passing through it on normal days,

But today it was under martial law, and the weather was like this, with strong wind and heavy rain.

How could there be so many people?

Also noticing that something was wrong were the Secret Service guards responsible for security and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Hawkeye. Looking at the dozens of faintly visible figures in the rain curtain, although Hawkeye didn't know how these people had gotten around the layers of cordon lines and broken in, the sharp spiritual sense gained from countless life-and-death situations made his body hair stand on end.

He fiercely drew the handgun from his waist, fired several shots consecutively at the figures in the rain curtain, and shouted loudly at the Secret Service guards escorting the Federal President out of the car: "Protect the Federal President! Get him into the hotel!"

Several Secret Service guards quickly pulled the Federal President, not bothering to hold an umbrella for him. One person supported him, and several others guarded by his side, retreating towards the hotel.

They had just escorted the Federal President to the hotel entrance,

A piercing shriek came from the rain curtain. Two armor-piercing rockets whistled as they shot over, accurately hitting the bulletproof vehicle the Federal President had just been in. The vehicle's thick steel plate was directly torn open, and the high-explosive warhead exploded inside the car. Countless triangular pre-fragmented shrapnel burst out,

Several Secret Service guards standing beside the car and the Vice President who was about to get out were directly torn to shreds by the explosion!

In the rain curtain, Kane, wearing the Cobra Organization's stealth camouflage, his burly figure faintly visible in the rain, threw the rocket launcher in his hand aside. Amidst the charge of Cobra Soldiers and Ninjas,

He glanced at the familiar figure standing at the hotel entrance, exchanged glances with his Boss, and silently retreated into the rain curtain.

The curtain rises, the show begins!

Tang Song watched the Federal President, surrounded by bodyguards, walk past him like a drowned rat.

He pulled up Rogue, who was screaming in fright beside him, put on a panicked expression, and followed behind them, running into the hotel.

(end of chapter)