Bab 352: Chapter 351: T'Challa Falls, Suri Steps In!
T'Challa wanted to resolve the situation himself. As an outsider, Clark felt it was not his place to forcibly intervene. He set his bottom line at ensuring T'Challa's survival, leaving the rest for him to handle.
The battle unfolded predictably, almost identical to the original timeline.
T'Challa's skills were not inferior to those of his brother, in fact, they were slightly better. After all, he was a warrior raised by the Wakandan royal family, far more orthodox than the makeshift upbringing of Killmonger.
However, their fighting spirits were completely opposite.
T'Challa, kind-hearted by nature, always held a flicker of familial affection for his brother, whom he had never confronted before. He pulled his punches, whereas Killmonger fought lethally, continuously blaming T'Challa's father for his own father's death, without mentioning his father's betrayal of Wakanda that led to many civilian deaths.
T'Challa, constrained by his familial thoughts, was even more hampered in action and ultimately lost due to a missed move. Killmonger seized the opportunity to seriously injure him and threw him off a deep cliff.
"Brother!"
As T'Challa disappeared from view, everyone present was shocked, Suri especially cried out in alarm.
Seeing this, Mindy immediately looked to Clark: "Brother Clark, what should we do now? Do I need to step in?"
Clark shook his head and whispered to both Mindy and Suri, "T'Challa is safe. I just used a portal to send him to the Avengers' base for treatment. He should recover soon. The immediate priority is to prevent that man from claiming the throne. T'Challa is neither dead nor defeated, and he can still return to overcome the usurper."
After throwing T'Challa off the cliff, Killmonger turned to the crowd and proudly declared, "From today, I am the king of Wakanda, I..."
"What a joke!" Informed by Clark, Suri did not hesitate to stand up and speak, "According to Wakandan tradition, anyone eligible can challenge for the throne and the title of Black Panther in a ceremonial fight. Just as you challenged my brother, others have the right to challenge you. Until you defeat all challengers, what right do you have to call yourself king?"
Killmonger frowned at her words, retorting, "Are you saying I actually have to fight everyone to become king?"
Suri nodded, "That's what my brother did before. Everyone recognized his ability to lead Wakanda towards a better future and gave up their right to challenge. If you want to be king, you must do the same, or defeat everyone."
Suri's argument was logical and left Killmonger without a rebuttal.
Moreover, having no solid base in Wakanda, he had not gained the Black Panther's power and suit, and thus lacked the strength to challenge tradition.
Reluctantly, he turned back to the crowd and shouted, "Who wishes to challenge me!?"
At his words, those previously eager hesitated. Killmonger had no ties like T'Challa did, and his earlier display of prowess and ruthlessness meant that any challenger would have to be prepared to die.
For a moment, silence fell.
There were plenty of prestigious and powerful individuals in Wakanda, but finding someone with both qualities present was not easy.
Seeing the crowd's silence, Killmonger's face broke into a triumphant smile, looking back at Suri, "You see, it's not that I don't want to accept challenges, but no one dares to challenge me. What about you? Do you wish to challenge me?"
"Indeed." Suri stepped forward, meeting the gaze of the man much taller than her, speaking firmly, "According to the rules of the ceremonial fight, you can choose to accept my challenge now or take a few weeks to recover. What will it be?"
Killmonger chuckled and shrugged, "I would prefer to settle all conflicts today and ascend the throne, but..."
He turned to the Wakandan queen, "Aunt, do you really intend to let this young girl challenge me? You know I cannot hold back."
The queen looked towards Clark. Suri had been training under Clark's tutelage for years, and her own knowledge of her daughter's capabilities was vague.
Clark nodded slightly, reassuringly whispering, "Do not worry, Your Majesty, Suri will prevail."
His tone was steady, indicating this was not mere encouragement but a simple statement of fact.
The queen was reassured and said to Killmonger, "I support Suri's decision."
Given Suri's challenge, the queen had also snapped out of her initial shock. As long as Killmonger was not smoothly crowned, there were still options available.
Even if Clark's response had been negative, she would not have dismissed Suri's
challenge but rather delayed it as much as possible to formulate a plan.
However, since Clark had such confidence in Suri, she saw no need to consider other methods. Letting Suri defeat him squarely seemed a fine solution.
With neither the queen nor Suri interested in delaying the challenge, the decision fell back to Killmonger.
And he was unlikely to push the date, having gambled everything on defeating T'Challa without a backup plan. Delaying would only worsen his situation.
He knew well, T'Chaka was not dead! By tradition, as a former king, he could not participate in this ceremonial battle.
Killmonger might manage through schemes against T'Challa, but T'Chaka was a different story. Against him, not even his father could play tricks.
"Since you are so eager for defeat, I will oblige," resolved, Killmonger immediately accepted Suri's challenge.
The ceremonial battle restarted according to tradition. Under the supervision of the ancestors, Suri and Killmonger, each armed with a shield and weapon, stepped into the decisive water pit.
Looking at Suri's small stature, the oversized woven shield in her hands seemed somewhat comical. To undermine her confidence, Killmonger launched into taunts, "Little girl, does that shield feel heavy in your hands?"
Facing his mockery, Suri unexpectedly nodded, then threw down her shield and weapon. Under the astonished gazes of all present, she assumed a peculiar stance with hands like claws, "Such weapons and armor are truly a burden. To deal with you, my bare hands are sufficient."
"You seek death!" Killmonger roared, thrusting his spear directly at Suri.
As a professional assassin, he would not allow his opponent to correct her mistake, using every opportunity to push her towards death!
With Suri unarmed, the spear approached her face. Yet, her expression was fearless; she calmly reached out and caught the spear just inches behind its point. Despite Killmonger's strength, once Suri grasped it, he could not advance it further.
"As I said, it's merely a burden." With that, Suri forcefully crushed the spear, breaking it in half.
The crowd was astounded by Suri's formidable strength.
As they watched in shock, Suri tossed the broken spear tip towards Killmonger's face, a swift gleam of light.
Fortunately for Killmonger, his combat experience had him instinctively raise his shield to block Suri's relentless throw at the last second.
"Clang!" The force knocked him back, but his specially treated woven shield held strong, the spear tip embedding deep but not piercing through.
"Indeed, a burden." Disdainfully, Suri gave no chance for response. Her figure blurred, leaving a trail of afterimages as she appeared right before Killmonger.
Seemingly to avenge her brother, she didn't even attempt to displace his shield but clawed directly at it.
"Puff!" With a mere scratch, the shield that had resisted the spear was punctured with five deep holes, her slender fingers piercing through, nearly reaching Killmonger's face!
The crowd was speechless at the sight.
Had any of their past Black Panthers, without their suits, achieved such a feat?
If Suri, already possessing such terrifying strength, gained the power of the heart-shaped herb... Would they witness the rise of the strongest female Black Panther in history?
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