Professor X was slightly taken aback, then lowered his eyes. Shiller had indeed pinpointed his unspoken worries. In fact, establishing a mutant nation was a goal that he and Magneto could work towards together because they were never truly enemies, just two sides of the same coin when it came to their people. They had a mutual understanding and would never truly resent each other over a momentary disagreement.

However, the younger mutants might not think the same way. They never experienced the toughest times and, growing up in an atmosphere of opposition, had developed discontent towards each other. It’s not just that many people in the X-Men didn’t like Magneto, thinking him too ruthless, but the new generation in the Brotherhood of Mutants also looked down on Professor X, thinking he was too conciliatory.

There had been no shortage of conflicts, both big battles and minor skirmishes, resulting in injuries and fatalities on both sides. The young ones were always hot-headed, and having been adversaries, even to the point of cutting off contact, were now suddenly expected to sit together to build a mutant nation. Even if they were reasonable and wanted to temporarily set aside old grievances, it was still a potential problem.

Of course, big villains like Apocalypse had attacked other mutants before. But, as the saying goes, a prodigal who returns is worth more than gold. Apocalypse was strong enough and nobody had high expectations of him, so his appearance was considered a pleasant surprise. Even if he came to help, no one would hold strong animosity towards him.

But young people from both sides already looked down on each other, believing they were stronger or their ideology was superior, and that the others’ involvement was useless. In such circumstances, friction could easily arise. Not to mention, there were well-known hotheads on both sides, and if they decided to clash on Clarkia, the trouble would be immense.

Professor X and Magneto were like members of a reconstituted family; they had no disagreements, but their followers were at odds with one another. Even the raid operation this time was primarily led by the X-Men, not a mixture of both sides, as they knew a blend might cause problems.

Professor X had thought long and hard about how to resolve this conflict. However, he inclined more towards slowly harmonizing, getting everyone to work for the same goal, and with time, they would naturally understand each other.

But evidently, Shiller preferred more direct methods. If mutual debt could make them lay down arms, then that’s what was necessary. This approach was crafted to precisely meet both sides’ needs.

Magneto letting Cyclops use Nimrod’s body proved that Cyclops was the type of self-sacrificing and kind-hearted person the X-Men recognized, while Cyclops’ all-out effort to save Magneto would naturally lead the Brotherhood of Mutants, who admired leaders, to accept him. This strategy was ingenious.

"I sometimes wonder," Professor X’s tone finally relaxed as he removed his helmet and looked at Shiller.

"Wonder about what?" Shiller asked, looking back. "Curious about me? That’s quite natural."

Professor X lowered his head and laughed, shaking his head, "I wonder what your friends are like."

"Haven’t you already met Tony?"

"Yes, he’s indeed different from many Iron Man iterations. But I guess he’s not the most different one. He lacks some... restraint on you?"

"What makes you say that?" Shiller raised an eyebrow.

"You mentioned before, your friends taught you that even if resurrection is possible, the death of close ones is still unacceptable. Someone must have deeply instilled that realization in you. I don’t think that person is Tony Stark."

"Oh?"

"Someone more tolerant than you can never truly restrain you," Professor X smiled. "Only someone more extreme than you can achieve that."

His fingers tapped on the table’s edge: "To be honest, as a psychiatrist, meeting this type of Tony Stark has been an honor. I’ve witnessed how you pulled him out from the quagmire of anxiety and worry. You not only gave him a bigger life buoy but also an entire island, like Clarkia."

"To receive such an evaluation from you is my honor."

"But he’s not that person," Professor X said, "just like I am more extreme than Erik, which is why I can restrain him. I have also taught him lessons in certain ways, similar to how you do."

"I indeed learned my lesson," Shiller sighed softly, "but I brought it upon myself."

"Who hasn’t?" Professor X seemed to recall something, squinting his eyes and smiling, "Let me guess, your methods resolved your universe’s conflicts, which prevented many from falling into tragedy like their counterparts in other universes. But simultaneously, smooth sailing would lead to a stronger urge for control and more hardened methods, which are necessary to restrain you."

"Well, not completely restrained," Shiller argued, "just slightly tempered."

"Considering how astonishing the series of actions you’ve taken since arriving in this universe are, even a slight restraint makes you a benefactor of the entire Multiverse," Professor X smiled.

"Now that you’ve reaped all the benefits, don’t play coy," Shiller snorted lightly, "I hope when you meet him, you’ll have the same patience."

Professor X watched his retreating figure. He had a premonition that some trouble was brewing, but it wouldn’t be for the mutants. It seemed someone else was going to have a tough time.

"This can’t go on!" Main Universe Captain America gritted his teeth. His uniform was already damaged, and there was a deep scorch mark on his shield from just being hit by the Energy Main Cannon. If it weren’t for the Winter Soldier of this universe knocking him away, he might have been obliterated under the cannon.

Unfortunately, Bucky from his universe was out on a mission and wasn’t here, Main Universe Captain America sighed deeply in his heart. He looked towards Iron Man’s direction, Main Universe Iron Man wasn’t faring well either, his iron suit was already smoking. Under the influence of an electromagnetic storm just now, the flight control system was somewhat disoriented, and he could only hold onto the tail of the ship’s wreckage to stabilize himself.

The local universe’s people were still fighting, but they were obviously exhausted and couldn’t stop the massive Shi’ar army. Although each of them was a superpower user, the Shi’ar people also had superpowers, using the Power of Two Gods which was no weaker than other divine powers. Only Thor and Doctor Strange were able to hold their own against them, the single combat strength of others was insufficient.

"Hulk!!!!!!" Main Universe Hulk roared and charged towards Iron Man again because the main cannon was already aiming at Iron Man. Hulk crashed into the cannon’s barrel, skewing it, then punched a hole in the ship, but was interrupted by the Source Ability Field, causing a pause in his actions.

"Bruce!" Main Universe Iron Man quickly let go, opened his Hand Cannon, but black smoke billowed from his palm. He had to hurry over to grab Hulk and run away, dodging the subsequent cannon fire.

They engaged the enemy too hastily, neither maintaining their formation nor having enough equipment. Captain America didn’t bring a replacement shield, and the energy stored in his mecha wasn’t sufficient. Even Doctor Strange and Thor were running low on power by this point.

"Something’s wrong," said the local Doctor Strange. "I’ve encountered the Shi’ar Empire before, they shouldn’t be this strong..."

The people from the Main Universe also found it a bit unbelievable. They were The Avengers after all. Not to mention others, Hulk was capable of destroying stars single-handedly, yet he couldn’t do much against the Shi’ar Empire’s ships. That Source Ability Field seemed tailored against Hulk, always stalling him the moment he made any move, preventing him from unleashing his full strength.

Moreover, other units’ combat tactics were also very sophisticated, as if they had completely deciphered The Avengers. Main Universe Iron Man, pondering this, glared fiercely at the local Iron Man, "There must be a mole amongst you!"

The local Avengers had no words in response. The Shi’ar Empire seemed to be targeting mutants, but why were they so knowledgeable about The Avengers? Both strategically and tactically, they were holding them back tightly. Could it really be that someone amongst them leaked information about The Avengers?

They didn’t doubt their teammates, but S.H.I.E.L.D. and the US Government were another matter. After all, if they weren’t colluding with the Shi’ar Empire, where did the technology and materials come from?

Since they were colluding, wouldn’t it be natural to casually leak some information about their comrades?

"You should head back," Apocalypse said as he flew over. He surveyed The Avengers and said, "If any of you fall here, I can’t be held accountable. I will have Professor send more mutants over to hold the line temporarily."

In truth, even the Mercury Line couldn’t be defended anymore; they were merely temporarily unable to approach Earth, but this "temporary" was limited indeed.

"How many mutants are left?" the local Captain America asked worriedly. After all, they didn’t know about the Totem Revival Plan and thought most of the good mutants had died.

"There are still some back-pocket cards," Apocalypse said, "You don’t have to worry about that. Just go back and figure out how to thoroughly defeat the Shi’ar Empire’s army."

In the end, The Avengers retreated, Main Universe Iron Man’s face somber. He was going back to catch that mole.

The local Avengers were also pondering what had gone wrong within them, why the battle was so hard to win.

Unknown to them, watching the solar system battlefield through the ship’s cameras was a general, not a Shi’ar but a pure human with black hair and firelight in his eyes.

In the vast combat command room, all the Shi’ar Empire soldiers had been dismissed by him. He heard some faint noise behind him, and after he turned, a figure with red skin and long horns atop his head was standing on the chandelier, smiling at him.

"The operation is going smoothly, Fire God General," the other jumped down lightly and said, "At tomorrow’s royal banquet, you just need to draw Emperor D’Ken’s attention. Soon, the Shi’ar Empire will be yours."

The man, however, did not seem overly pleased; he just stared at the demon in front of him with eyes flickering with flame: "Why do I always feel like you want more than this, Mephisto?"

"Devils and greed are forever entwined, indistinguishable," Mephisto stepped forward, smiling at the Fire God, "If you didn’t want to conquer the Shi’ar Empire, why would you cooperate with me to invade the Milky Way?"

The Fire God tightly pressed his lips: "Are you really confident about taking Ferocious Feather Star in one stroke? D’Ken is not easy to deal with."

"Since I promised you, I naturally won’t go back on my word. Just wait for the show tomorrow," Mephisto assured.

The Fire God squinted at the demon’s gray eyes. He always felt that these eyes were unlike those of a demon, devoid of cunning and calculation, but exuding an innate indifference, a more immense, unstoppable evil.