LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 179: Reply
There weren't many Japanese people Blake had feuds with in this world, and you could count them on one hand—or even on your fingers.
Now that it was confirmed the funding came from Japan, things became simpler.
However, Blake didn't act rashly. Instead, he had Natasha and Hill investigate who exactly was pulling strings behind the scenes.
He didn't believe that the head of that Heavy Industries, Shunsuke Mitsuguchi, would have the audacity to go against the Avengers.
"This time, I was really surprised, Blake. You know, in the past, you always handled things a bit impulsively. Although innocent lives were lost on our side this time, I see you've become more mature compared to before. Honestly, I thought you'd charge in recklessly," said the Captain.
Blake turned to look at the Captain, who was smiling approvingly, and burst out laughing.
"Captain, you're overthinking it. I just need more excuses to kill a few more of them. Sometimes, I can be low-key and make compromises when necessary but it is not my nature."
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In Japan, the NM Shrine is a place that enshrines JW, a notorious WWII war criminal who commanded naval battles and attacked LY, LS, and TW.
Although this war criminal committed seppuku after Japan's defeat, a shrine was still built in his honor.
Japan has many registered shrines. Apart from those enshrining deities, there are also numerous shrines dedicated to Class-A war criminals from WWII. The NM Shrine is one of the more well-known ones. Many Japanese people visit it to pay their respects, and it's even used as a wedding venue by locals.
It's one of the most famous shrines in Japan, though it's still less infamous than the notorious JG Shrine.
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Late at night…
Above the NM Shrine, a silent spatial wormhole appeared. Blue-black spatial energy surged in the night sky.
For some reason, the other side of the wormhole was pitch black, making it even harder to notice. Even from a close distance, there were no visible abnormalities in the air.
In fact, the other side of the wormhole wasn't just dark but completely silent as well. It simply hung there in the sky, motionless and mysterious.
Several minutes passed before the faint mechanical sound of gears turning came from the other side of the wormhole.
Suddenly, light burst out of the wormhole, and several missiles, trailing fiery tails, streaked across the night sky and shot toward the NM Shrine.
Although the missiles were fired simultaneously, they were staggered in their trajectories, covering every inch of the NM Shrine.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions shook the air, reducing the NM Shrine to rubble in an instant.
By all accounts, the precise strike should have been sufficient to destroy the target completely.
But then, over a hundred small missiles shot out of the wormhole, their fiery tails illuminating the night sky.
Another wave of continuous explosions followed, leaving the NM Shrine unrecognizable. The rubble was thoroughly obliterated, leaving no trace of the shrine's former appearance. Even the debris had no identifiable connection to what it once was.
Afterward, the wormhole slowly closed.
Several seconds later, it reopened above the ruins.
This time, the wormhole wasn't vertical in the air but rather horizontal, hovering over the wreckage.
As the wormhole opened, a torrent of unidentified liquid poured out, mixed with foul-smelling substances.
It was unclear where Blake had connected the wormhole, but sewage and waste cascaded from the sky like a massive waterfall.
This process continued for over ten minutes, covering the ruins entirely in waste and foul-smelling liquids before it finally stopped.
By the time officers from the Metropolitan Police Department and other government agencies arrived, the wormhole had already disappeared.
What greeted them at the shrine's original site was nothing but a nauseating sea of mixed waste.
The stench was so unbearable that it wafted several kilometers downwind, carried by the evening breeze, making everyone in the vicinity gag.
Japan still hadn't figured out what was happening when another wormhole slowly opened in the sky above another shrine dedicated to Class-A war criminals.
What had just happened at the NM Shrine repeated itself.
Then came a third shrine, a fourth shrine…
While the first few attacks caught the Japanese completely off guard, by the time it happened to later shrines, they had realized what was going on.
Blake destroyed six shrines in total. After turning the ruins into cesspools filled with waste, he finally stopped, at least for the time being.
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Inside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the Emperor urgently summoned the Prime Minister and all cabinet members.
The most powerful figures in Japan, dressed in formal suits, sat around in a circle. At the center was the Emperor, his face dark and grim, still in his pajamas, not even bothering to change clothes.
"Don't just sit there in silence! What are you all here for? Give me a solution! What should we do? The heroic souls of those who sacrificed for our nation have been insulted!"
Breaking the tense silence, the Emperor angrily smashed the teacup his attendant had just handed him, shattering it on the table.
All the cabinet ministers bowed their heads. The Prime Minister glanced around the room, sighing inwardly. He knew the Emperor was usually just a symbolic figurehead, with no authority to interfere in the country's affairs, big or small.
However, the issue of the shrines touched upon matters of faith and national spirit, falling squarely within the Emperor's domain.
"This all started because of the Mitsuguchi family. It seems some of our people still can't grasp the reality of the situation. They used a plane to carry a nuclear warhead in a sneak attack on the Avengers' base. If they could kill all of them, fine, but the problem is, the nuclear warhead was a knockoff. It's an utter disgrace to us!"
"I understand that the shrine incidents have deeply angered His Majesty. But, as the saying goes, when under someone else's roof, you must bow your head. Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to tear that Blake into pieces. But in terms of military strength or international opinion, we don't stand a chance."
The Prime Minister left his statement vague, but everyone present understood. The significance of these shrines to most of the world was no secret.
During World War II, aside from the infamous Hydra and the Nazi regime in Germany, Japan was seen as the invader and plunderer across Asia and the Pacific.
Against the Avengers, Japan was hopelessly outmatched. If the Avengers had been slaughtering civilians, perhaps some people might have spoken out in criticism. But these shrines?
The world would likely be celebrating with drums and fireworks.
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