Chapter 5754: Chapter 4777: X Royal Family: Rebirth (17)

"I can finally speak." Thor put down his hammer, "After we came to help, the Shi’ar Empire invaded the Solar System. Whether or not it has anything to do with us, it will definitely be seen as us messing things up. If we can’t resolve the sanctions on Clarkia, forget about being the leaders of the Multiverse, even in the Prime Universe, we’ll be universally condemned!"

"I’ve been wanting to say it too." Banner said irritably, "Those two have no political skills whatsoever, yet they have an inflated self-image. And you all love listening to them. So how about now? Under their management, we’ve lost everything."

"This isn’t the time for sarcasm." Captain America immediately stopped Banner, then said, "The decision to go support was proposed by them, but we all agreed. We can’t shove all the blame on them at this point."

"But you did get one thing right. Their political skills aren’t high, and they do have a somewhat inflated self-image. To be precise, they make assumptions without considering reality. It has to do with their individual upbringings; it’s not something we can force."

"None of us present here are political maestros, at best we can be said to have self-awareness. However, given the current situation, we also need to do our best. At the very least, we need to show some attitude, right?"

Everyone sighed in unison.

Political skills are like an extremely expensive sports car. If you weren’t born with one, it’s hard to ever get it. For the average person, political struggle is simply too distant.

In The Avengers, probably only two and a half people have any political savvy. The rest are all out of their depth.

First, for those who have it. Don’t be fooled by how Thor usually acts like a brute, but after all, he’s Asgard’s heir, and he’s received education for heirs since childhood. Even if he didn’t learn well, he’s picked up a lot through his ears and eyes. Included are things like how Odin balanced his various generals, how to distribute spoils in victory, and soothe people in defeat. These are all very valuable experiences. He learned quite a bit during his years following Odin in battle.

Then there’s Captain America who counts as one. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he’s a soldier, but he served as a U.S. Military recruitment ambassador for a long time, representing the military and had to get involved in political struggles. Though he quickly went to the front lines, he still gained some experience.

Black Widow counts as half a person. Don’t be misled by her Soviet background; she was an active field agent from start to finish, never really getting into actual power. Although occasionally she could glimpse pieces of the whole, and glean different meanings, she still cannot compare to someone trained formally.

The rest mostly have none. They mostly come from modest backgrounds and have no access to high society, much less the power center. And Iron Man is the sole exception.

You can’t say Iron Man lacks political experience. Even just internally with the Stark Group, there’s power struggle. But his major flaw is a lack of self-awareness, and adherence to interventionism. These two flaws combined make his political skills inadequate.

This is also the main reason why the Illuminati repeatedly causes trouble and is infamous. Among the whole Illuminati, there isn’t a single one who can be truly called a skilled politician, yet they all hold themselves in high regard and love to meddle. They may have good intentions, but their execution is crap, so naturally, they seem like troublemakers.

For instance, banishing The Hulk to an alien planet. Although the cause is The Hulk indeed endangered the city, staying on Earth was too risky. Their concerns were reasonable, wanting to keep The Hulk away from Earth. But because the whole thing was done in a mess, it eventually triggered the World War Hulk event.

After Iron Man and Doctor Strange left, the biggest improvement is that the remaining people now have self-awareness of their skills. They won’t set up a completely fanciful plan and blindly think they can execute it successfully, but will discuss more realistic issues.

"First, we need to ascertain who the leader of Clarkia is now and what his attitude is." Banner spoke up first, "I just saw that young Magneto. He’s definitely from the Central Universe. They may seem more approachable compared to our universe’s, but that could just be a facade. Their attitude is very important."

"I think so too." Hawkeye said, "These two are definitely not easier to deal with than the previous two. At least in the current situation, they are still at ease, showing no sign of panic. This proves they surely have strategies to cope."

"Have you heard?" Black Widow asked, "The young Mutants want to hold a ring showdown to test their skills. We can go watch then, maybe have some private talks to find out what they are really up to."

"That’s a good idea." Captain America said, "After the ring showdown, there will certainly be a celebration banquet. The banquet is the best opportunity to gather information."

"However, are you sure you want to participate in the ring showdown with the Mutants?" Thor asked, "Even spectating could be dangerous, right?"

"It’s okay, this island has a restrictive effect on Mutants." Spider Man said, "They won’t use overly powerful abilities, and there will be other Mutants restricting them."

The others all looked at Spider Man. Captain America said, "It sounds like you know a lot, Peter."

Spider Man did not deny it, he nodded and said, "They are not hiding anything from me. Or rather, they don’t plan to hide anything from us. Such things are easily found out by asking one Mutant or observing for a few days, there’s nothing secretive about it."

"What I actually want to say is, the Mutants want to go to a hot spring together, and they have also invited Spider Men from other universes. I might be able to follow along. If you have something you want me to convey, I can pass it on."

"Oh my god, you’ve actually infiltrated them." Hawkeye exclaimed, "You can even get into such private gatherings."

"No one has ill intentions towards Spider-Man," Spider-Man said, "The local Avengers have also invited me to visit. Perhaps I can talk to them. If you have anything to say, I can bring it over."

"Can the local Avengers step in and slightly restrain the side of Washington?" Thor asked, "I mean just to exert some influence, considering the safety of Earth and all."

"That’s a possible solution, but it’s going to be tough." Captain America said, "The Avengers certainly would like to do that, but the problem is whether Washington will accept it. I don’t see them accepting."

"That’s so inflexible and stubborn." Thor cursed, "The mutants just helped them fend off an alien army, and now they turn their backs completely. It’s shameless."

"What about S.H.I.E.L.D.? Won’t they consider S.H.I.E.L.D.’s suggestions either?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. can’t stand out." Captain America continued, "Mutants fall under the jurisdiction of superpower users, which is under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s domain. If S.H.I.E.L.D. stands up against sanctions on Clarkia, then any superpower-related incidents in the U.S. involving Clarkia will fall on S.H.I.E.L.D."

"It’s really troublesome." Black Widow said, feeling a headache, "It seems we can only start with the Avengers. Peter, you go there first, convey our intention to mediate, and see what they say."

At the base of the local Avengers, Spider-Man was narrating what he had seen and heard, he said, "Ever since the new leader arrived, the island has looked completely different, it seems much more orderly. The engineering progress has also sped up, which proves they’re very capable."

Captain America nodded and said, "I feel the same way. Just being able to maintain stability under so many sanctions and continue to endure is remarkable."

"They invited me to soak in the hot springs." Spider-Man explained, then said, "The volcanic geothermal resources are abundant. If I suggest they use geothermal energy to develop industry, could it express our goodwill?"

"This doesn’t require your suggestion, does it?" the local Iron Man said, "Anyone could think of using geothermal energy."

"But I can give some technical advice." Spider-Man said, "I can take the opportunity while soaking in the hot spring to slightly assess the geographical conditions there and offer a feasible plan. We’re not aiming to fully assist the mutants, just to express our attitude."

"That could work." Captain America said, "But you’re only responsible for the assessment, leave the rest to Tony. It’s not that we doubt your technical ability, but if something goes wrong later, you might not be able to bear the responsibility."

"I have a question." Winter Soldier said, "How dare they use our plan?"

"They may not necessarily use it." Captain America answered, "But as long as we provide it, the message is conveyed. Not to mention, I’m sure the Stark Group’s plan will be the best. If they want to cooperate, that’s even better."

"Can the Stark Group defy sanctions?" Hawkeye asked. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Everyone turned to look at Iron Man. Iron Man said, "Certainly can’t directly defy them, but we can find ways to circumvent them. If it comes to it, I could wear the mecha every day, stroll around Earth, stop briefly at some island in the middle of the ocean and provide a bit of guidance for an hour or two, it’s not a problem, right?"

Iron Man spread his hands, "Everyone knows I’m a maverick. Washington long ago gave up on having hope for me. They want to separate Stark Group and Stark, but obviously, Stark’s support is far more important than Stark Group’s."

"That’s indeed the case." Spider-Man nodded and said, "If you help Clarkia in your personal capacity, no one can say anything. And your help is exactly the most important."

"Then let’s do it this way." Captain America concluded, "We promise to provide technical support to Clarkia in Iron Man’s personal capacity, to demonstrate the goodwill of the entire Avengers."

"But the sanctions problem still isn’t solved." Black Widow said, "The resources needed for industrial development are not trivial, there’s an embargo by air and sea, and there’s ongoing harassment, so where will the resources come from?"

Thor, however, shook his head and said, "We’re showing goodwill to the mutants to let them know that we’re not the same as the U.S. government. Not everyone is helping those politicians bully them. This is for emotional reassurance, so they don’t go extreme. After all, if the mutants go crazy, it will bring disaster to the entire Nine Major Kingdoms."

"However, we are not obligated to or should not help them lift the sanctions. Because if they can’t find a way through this by themselves, Clarkia is bound to disband."

"Whether a country can stand on its own in international society always depends on its own strength, not on others’ help. Or at least they need to have a self-reliant spirit. We only need to show our attitude, soothe their emotions. The fate of this country thereafter will be up to them, and only them."