For Bast, the Panther God, today was undoubtedly a bad day.
As usual, he was in his dimensional world, enjoying the offerings from the Wakandans.
After he had enough to eat, he was ready to take a nap.
Since he became the god of Wakanda, he had become accustomed to such an uneventful and fulfilling life.
Eating, drinking, sleeping and fattening every day was very satisfying.
Why would he want to be like that Dormammu, thinking of conquering Earth every day? And getting beaten up by the Sorcerer Supreme.
In Bast’s opinion, that guy was simply too idle.
‘Why bother?’
However, fate would always surprise people and play a joke on them.
A big hand fell from the sky and dragged him out of his dimensional world!
Although Bast was a panther, he still belonged to the cat family.
When the back of the neck was grabbed, his furry, vigorous, round belly jiggled…
His four paws went limp, his ears drooped, and he involuntarily curled up into a ball.
Oww!
He let out a low cry.
But it wasn’t an effective deterrent.
“Damn guy, mortal! Let go of your sinful hand!”
Bast, whose nap was inexplicably disturbed, wanted to shout loudly, to show his godly fury and majesty.
But the keen intuition for danger, as well as the rich experience as a dimensional demon god, made him realise that something was terribly wrong.
‘This mortal … is too strong!’
‘And… this magical aura of the Vishanti!’
‘It isn’t the Sorcerer Supreme, is it?’
‘I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die!’
‘I’m a good guy! I’ve never done anything bad…!’
Bast, the Panther God whose mind was quickly turning with all kinds of thoughts, continued to curl up like a ball of black fur.
He didn’t seem like the god worshipped by the Wankandans but a good and docile kitten waiting for its owner’s favour.
“Panther God! The Panther God really appeared!”
Wakanda was originally a hermetic tribal nation, and the ultimate interpretation of the Panther God’s beliefs and objects of worship had always been firmly in the control of the royal family and priests.
Seeing the high priest take the lead in kneeling, and then the King also crossed his arms and placed them in front of his chest, respectfully bowing to the black panther on the altar that had an unusual aura…
Those Wakandans who were shouting and clamouring for the execution of the outsiders hastily shut their mouths and fell to their knees.
The look of devotion on their faces at this moment was in stark contrast to the frenzied and violent shouting before.
This was probably one of the ill effects of giving the power of thought to the upper class.
“What’s going on? Did we fall into some kind of poor backwater village?”
Carol, who was still drunk, had no regard for the norms of behaviour that superheroes should maintain.
“If this were a movie or a comic, you’d be in big trouble for those words.”
Luke held Bast, the Panther God, in one hand and Captain Marvel, who nearly crashed because of her drunk flying, in the other.
King T’Chaka of Wakanda looked up at the two muttering outsiders on top of the altar, coughed a few times and said, “The Panther God has revealed himself, and this is a recognition of the ritual! This is a gift to Wakanda!”
The high priest grasped the meaning and echoed, “Bast, the Panther God, please continue to bless Wakanda! Bless your most devout believers!”
This statement caused even more cheers from the subjects.
The other tribal leaders were calm and looked at each other with different expressions.
‘The Panther God Bast appeared. This matter could be big or small, and it all depended on how the King wanted to publicise it.’
‘If that slightly ‘bloated’ black panther was really the god that Wakanda believed in…’
‘What about the two outsiders who interrupted the ritual?’
‘Apostle of the gods?’
‘Or maybe the devotees of the Panther God?’
‘But only the King of Wakanda could carry on the name of ‘Black Panther’ and visit the Ancestral Plane to meet the gods.’
‘Now, these two outsiders, who appeared out of nowhere, made the Panther God Bast appear. Undoubtedly, the royal family would be somewhat embarrassed.’
The minds of the other tribal leaders fluctuated and looked forward to what the King would do to defuse the situation.
Within Wakanda, there was never an ironclad structure.
In addition to the royal family that inherited the Black Panther title, there were five other major tribes.
Combined with the way the King was elected through a fair one-on-one challenge, the ultimate succession wasn’t entirely monopolised by the royal family.
As a result, Wakanda’s political landscape was instead subtly balanced, with a sense of mutual restraint.
The tribes with strong military power settled near the national boundaries, usually disguised as ordinary herders, but in fact, they were all well-trained soldiers.
And it was also proficient in raising war rhinoceroses, which formed the first strong line of defence to protect Wakanda.
The riverside tribes live by the water and have lived on both sides of the river for generations, and their descendants were mostly fishermen and farmers.
Because of the extreme loyalty to the royal family, political marriages were often agreed upon.
The mining tribes were responsible for mining mineral resources, and they had superb smelting and casting technology.
The export of Wakanda’s speciality, vibranium, was largely held and managed by the trading tribes.
In addition to that, they regularly sent spies and eyes overseas every year to ensure that they were ahead of the game in terms of intelligence and information.
Finally, there was the White Gorilla Tribe.
They were very different from the Wakanda mainstream. First of all, in terms of beliefs…
They worshipped the White Gorilla God, not the Panther God.
They had no reverence for the royal family. Instead, they were very resistant.
Therefore, they chose to live in the Jabari Lands, isolated from the rest of the world and didn’t interact with other people.
The appearance of the Panther God Bast had an extremely important symbolic meaning for several forces other than the White Gorilla Tribe.
Under the system of the divine right of the King, whoever could get the affirmation of the Panther God, could replace the royal family and win the support of the people.
It sounded crazy, but it was perfectly normal for Wakanda, which was located in East Africa, disguised as a third world country that actually owned the vibranium technology and could shoot down aeroplanes with their spear.
Advanced science and technology couldn’t change the fact that the system and civilisation were backward.
“The two of you must be the messengers chosen by the Panther God, right? Your presence has completed this ritual! On behalf of the people of Wakanda, I offer my heartfelt gratitude!”
T’Chaka swiftly took in the situation and stepped forward, addressing the two outsiders.
It must be said that the young King, who inherited the name of Black Panther and had swallowed the Heart-Shaped Herb, knew eloquence.
Preempting Luke and others, he hammered out Luke’s identity while later naming Wakanda.
He showed a good attitude with absolutely no intention to pursue blame.
“Messengers? We are just travellers passing through here.”
Luke had no intention of pretending to be a divine messenger.
He didn’t think he would appear in Wakanda.
The discovery of this country, and diplomatic meetings, were supposed to come at a later date.
The trade routes to Atlantis had been opened by S.H.I.E.L.D, and a large amount of resources were sent to the land world every year.
As top priorities in line, five major countries had benefited greatly…
Atlantis had been incorporated into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s domain, so naturally, Wakanda wouldn’t be an exception.
“Traveler …? Wakanda has always been simple, warm and generous. We hold a welcoming attitude towards any traveller!”
King T’Chaka laughed loudly and defused the embarrassment.
“Really? I don’t believe it.”
Luke continued to be an inquisitive talker, trying to leave T’Chaka with nothing to say.
The King’s royal face looked very unpleasant. If it wasn’t for the Panther God’s honour, he wanted to punch his opponent to death.
“Since Wakanda is so welcoming to foreign guests, do you have a custom of giving gifts?”
Releasing one of his hands that were holding Carol, Luke cupped his hands around the round, bloated black panther and kept stroking it.
The latter was too afraid to speak and could only stare at the King of Wakanda with angry eyes.
T’Chaka’s heart shook, thinking that his lack of respect had offended the guest summoned by the Panther God. He quickly nodded and said, “Naturally, there is, Wakandans are generous by nature!”
“Distinguished guests, if you see something you like, just say the word, and you can take it away!”
Luke was holding the poor, weak and helpless Panther God. When he heard T’Chaka say that, he couldn’t help feeling interested. There was a twinkle in his eyes.
“Are your words true, Your Majesty?”
He asked again.
“I promise, in the name of Wakanda. Our honoured guests can take away whatever they like!”
T’Chaka was very generous. His tone was sure and decisive.
In front of the Panther God, he naturally had to behave well and shouldn’t be stingy.
‘It’s just these two people; even if they asked for gold and silver, how much could they carry?’
“Your words, Your Majesty.”
Luke was a little reserved. Then he smiled and said, “I heard that Wakanda is the origin of vibranium. I once promised a friend that I would give him the rare metal as a gift.”
T’Chaka was slightly stunned but wasn’t surprised.
Wakanda strictly controlled the export of vibranium reserves, and there was very little of it circulating in the international market.
Every time it appeared, it sold in seconds at an unimaginably high price.
Seeing the gaze of the Panther God, whose yellow pupils flashed with golden light, filled with great majesty…
T’Chaka briefly paused before nodding his head in agreement, “No problem! Honoured guest, as long as you can get it, Wakanda will give as much vibranium as it has!”
