Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Sitwell, ignoring the sweat on his brow, said urgently, "S.H.I.E.L.D. has ample personnel and relevant experience, and we have sufficient funding to support the operation. I believe it should be attributed to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Attorney General Lasseter leaned back in his chair, staring at the report in his hand without looking up, and said to Sitwell, "No need to repeat what has already been said. Say something useful."

Sitwell looked at the outline in his hand, which had been completely overturned because of Fury's speech, and sweat began to spin on his forehead.

Upon suddenly seeing one of the people in the action report, Silvert had another idea.

"Taking this dimensional invasion incident as an example, after the incident began, my S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff invited the sorcerer Constantine to the front line of the incident in the shortest possible time."

Silvert was right; Natasha did indeed go to the front lines immediately, and Constantine was with her.

Although this was arranged by Ash, Ash could not reveal the truth. He could only tell Silvert that it was a story in which Natasha led Constantine to the front lines to assist.

Ash nudged General Ross beside him and asked, "Besides our people, has Forborough sent anyone?"

Ross pouted towards his left.

Ash followed the gaze and, wow, there was a black suit that looked just like Davelin's, and it was quite expensive.

Ash tore a piece of paper from the report and scribbled on it. After finishing, he quietly passed it to Ross's adjutant behind him.

Meanwhile, Silvert continued talking non-stop.

"The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have keen insight. They were able to confirm the seriousness of the situation immediately and accurately find professionals to handle it, which also proves S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities."

As Silvert spoke, a wad of tissue hit him on the forehead. The light tissue clung tightly to his forehead due to the sweat on it.

At that moment, Silverton looked as comical as a chocolate ice cream cone topped with a little butter flower.

"Who is it? How dare they do this!"

Silvette took the tissue, opened it, and glanced at it. There were still coffee stains on it, indicating that it had been used.

This provocation stunned everyone present; no one could believe that such a daring individual would do something like this during an inquiry chaired by the Attorney General.

Looking in the direction from which the paper ball was thrown, everyone's attention was focused on a man in a black suit.

The man wore the same black-rimmed glasses as Davelin and had a neatly trimmed, short stubble. He looked at Sylvester with disdain. He coughed twice, asserting his presence, and began preparing to speak.

Then he said, "Harvey Russell, Senior Agent Forborough, will temporarily serve as Forborough's representative at the meeting."

"So Russell, what do you think of S.H.I.E.L.D.? If you don't have a legitimate and valid reason, I'll have you out of here immediately, and Davelyn will come to the Pentagon to explain your outrageous behavior."

Attorney General Russell issued a warning and ultimatum to Russell.

Russell stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. He stared intently at the documents in his hand and said, "On the same day Chief Devlin organized the fight against those beasts on Long Island, two armed groups took advantage of the riots in New York City to withdraw from the Brooklyn Bridge. Can you guess which group they belonged to?"

It's called a guessing game, but anyone can tell that this is aimed at S.H.I.E.L.D. Needless to say, the armed personnel are definitely S.H.I.E.L.D. forces.

"However, on the front lines, on Brock Island, we only saw one female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She arrived with the sorcerer Constantine after the two armed teams withdrew from NY."

Some citizens even filmed them riding two glowing dire wolves from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to the east side of Long Island.

Furthermore, the wizard Constantine only continued his journey to Brokeland Island after assisting Director Davelin in establishing a defensive line. During this entire process, only the agent Natasha, whom you mentioned, was involved.

I couldn't help but wonder, who forgot their comrades? Who left a woman alone in NY? Who sent her alone to the front lines to complete her mission? Who left her all alone?

Chapter 112: The referees are all my men, how can you mess with me?

Russell's words were insightful and succinct; he not only killed the man but also wounded his spirit. How ruthless!

Abandoning a comrade, especially a woman, and sending her to the front lines alone—this is an act that frontline combat troops would never do.

Almost everyone with a modicum of combat experience looked at Sitwell as if she were a pile of excrement. The female representatives at the meeting had even begun drafting a proposal opposing all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s draft proposals.

Sitwell fell silent; he truly couldn't understand why Fury would leave such a huge loophole. It would have been better if Hydra had handled it themselves.

Sitwell didn't refute Russell's statement because such things, once they even begin to escalate, are bound to end badly, and besides, Russell was right. Almost every satellite in the world was watching that day; by simply retrieving the NY satellite images from that day, they could certainly find the two groups that had 'escaped'.

That's it, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation is completely ruined.

First, Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in San Francisco, made a deal with the devil and stormed off in anger. Then, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent abandoned his comrade, forcing the woman to go to the front lines.

The minutes of this meeting will be leaked—no, just look at the clerks' eyes and you'll know. The minutes will definitely be leaked.

The moment anyone who attends the meeting walks out that door, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation is completely ruined.

"Fuck Nick Fury! Which shybek picked Nick Fury to be director? Even an idiot would have been better. Oh? My superior, Pierce, picked him? Oh well, never mind!"

Sitwell, who had shut his mouth, sat down and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a paper towel stained with coffee. However, the sweat soaked the paper towel, dissolving the coffee stain and leaving several brown lines on his face.

"While we regret S.H.I.E.L.D.'s actions, our meeting today is to discuss the formation of the new department. We'll talk about other things later."

Attorney General Lasseter made the decision. However, everyone understood the implication: 'We'll see later.'

Lasseter didn't issue a gag order. "Let's see how you condemn and despise S.H.I.E.L.D. after the meeting."

Seeing everyone rubbing their hands together, ready to unleash their full power later, Sitwell couldn't help but send a message to his underlings under the table: Escape the pentagonal building as soon as the meeting ends; one moment too late and it's all over.

With S.H.I.E.L.D. down, the only remaining candidate is Ash, the representative of the military. Moreover, the department was split off from the military and has the support of the military. As long as S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't interfere, everyone knows who should be chosen.

"cough cough"

The voice came from Sheffield, who was smoking a cigar. Looking at this big shot, no one dared to stroke his beard while he was speaking.

Since the evacuation two years ago, Sheffield has been a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Everyone in the pentagonal building has been warned by their superiors to avoid Sheffield, otherwise, if they offend him, they'd better deal with themselves, as their superiors won't care.

"Two years ago, my actions caused the deaths of more than 12,000 soldiers. Without Ash's rescue, the death toll would have reached 30,000."

Sheffield's opening remarks stunned the others in the conference room; the army's top leader had actually admitted to making a mistake.

"Since Ash joined the military ten years ago, he has organized more than 900 missions and has been awarded numerous medals, including the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Presidential Medal of Freedom."

During the recent dimensional invasion, it was only through Ashe's command and personal abilities that the beasts' attack was repelled, and not a single soldier perished in that battle, except for the S.H.I.E.L.D. atmosphere team.

Sheffield went on and on about Ash's various achievements and performances, while also taking a jab at S.H.I.E.L.D. Ever since the name "Atmosphere Group" came out of Ash's mouth and was written into the report by the clerk, almost everyone had heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Atmosphere Group.

Sheffield's words implied that Ash was chosen by him, and also by all the bigwigs in the military.

Two of the highest-ranking military officers have arrived to support Ash, but one admiral is not yet present. He is currently on the aircraft carrier fleet on the east coast, organizing air strikes to kill the fleeing orcs.

But looking at the naval representative in his navy blue uniform sitting behind Ross and Sheffield, one could tell the admiral's attitude.

After Sheffield finished speaking, Ash took over the responsibility of the new head of the department under the meaningful gaze of Attorney General Lasseter.

The meeting lasted for about eight hours, from morning until night, before the initial framework of the new department was discussed. To truly complete the creation of this department, Ash would have to stay here for the next two weeks for continuous meetings.

As soon as the meeting ended, Sitwell strode outside, eager to slip away; every second he stayed there was a threat to his personal safety.

The rest of the meeting attendees followed suit, heading out. Those who loved gossip wanted to spread the word about this juicy tidbit from S.H.I.E.L.D. Those who weren't satisfied wanted to go and have a good fight with the S.H.I.E.L.D. representatives.

After most of the others had left, Ash and the others slowly stood up.

Ash asked the two bigwigs, "General, isn't the Attorney General one of our men too?"

"How did you know? Lasseter performed very well."

Ross recalled Lasseter's behavior and words during the meeting but found no clue.

"He was too fair about everything, which is not the attitude a Attorney General should have. He didn't stop S.H.I.E.L.D., nor did he stop us. He didn't even stop Agent Forborough's disrespectful behavior, and even gave him a chance to speak."

Ross replied with interest, "Perhaps he is a fair judge?"

"Yes, the Attorney General should be an impartial judge, but he should also treat the military, which has an independent judicial system, fairly, instead of ignoring it. That's the problem."

Ash pointed out the problem. Different judicial systems should ideally operate independently. The issue lies in Lasseter's impartiality towards the military during this inquiry, maintaining their stance on an equal footing with everyone else – that's the crux of the problem.

The military should have been superior in this meeting; they had a different system and were not on the same level as ordinary people.

The meeting was intended to dismantle the military's existing functions and create opportunities for others. The rest of the attendees were all adversaries of the military.

Attorney General Lasseter's 'fairness' undoubtedly broke this asymmetrical confrontation, putting everyone on the same level.

Such "fair" actions actually protect the military. Who is qualified to accept functions that originally belong to the military? Only military personnel.

Chapter 113: Event Code 141

Ross laughed heartily and said, "That Lasseter guy has connections with Sheffield."

This made Ash even more curious. Although he could guess that the Attorney General was one of his own, who would have thought that this person was actually brought by Sheffield, who had the darkest expression at the meeting?

"Lasseter and Sheffield once pursued the same girl, but Sheffield lost to Lasseter. Heartbroken, Sheffield joined the army to escape his feelings of defeat..."

Ross put his arm around Ash's shoulder and gossiped about Sheffield in a cheeky manner. Judging from Ross's excited look, he could divide this story into eight episodes and replay it on a loop every morning, noon, and night.

However, before Rose could finish his sarcastic remark, a smoking bullet hole appeared beneath his feet with a thud.

Meanwhile, Sheffield, holding his ever-present .44 Colt revolver, moved the muzzle upwards, aiming it at Ross's head.

Upon hearing the gunshots, the pentagonal building quickly activated its defenses, and red alarm lights flashed. It instantly descended into a noisy commotion.

Within seconds, a group of fully armed soldiers emerged from around the corner, covering each other as they approached.

However, as soon as they realized who it was, the soldiers lowered their guns and turned to leave, reporting into the communicator as they went, "Event code 141, repeat, event code 141."

Just as the soldier finished reporting, the red alarm lights instantly returned to normal, and an event code was broadcast over the loudspeaker. The noisy environment also instantly became quiet.

Watching this smooth, flowing operation, the pentagonal building had experienced this more than once or twice. Everyone was experienced, and there was even a special code for this kind of thing.

Event code 141: A routine brawl between General Ross and General Sheffield. During this event, the two will threaten each other with conventional weapons, but will not harm others. However, to protect your own life and future, please do not approach or try to eavesdrop. If you witness this, please act as if nothing is happening, ignore them, leave quickly, and report back.

Ash found the relevant code description in the event codebook on the adjutant's body, and he was a little troubled, but the people who worked here were probably even more troubled.

Ash picked up the spent cartridge cases from the ground and handed them to his adjutant to dispose of. Then, carrying one in each hand, he dragged the two middle-aged children away from the scene.

On the other side, seeing the sudden flashing red alarm lights, the doors leading out of the pentagonal building were all sealed off. Sitwell looked around in panic, unsure of the cause of the incident, and watching the evacuating crowds, they didn't know which way to run.

However, as the alarm was lifted and the notification code was issued, the surrounding crowd instantly returned to normal.

However, because of this short time, Sitwell and his group, who were unable to leave the pentagonal building, were stopped.

"Sir, please come with us. We need to verify your identification documents again."

A group of men in uniforms, carrying various weapons, surrounded Sitwell and his party and escorted them into a small, enclosed house.

This group consisted of suitors of the female clerks from the conference room. Having displeased their goddess, and with news of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s astonishing actions already circulating in the Pentagon building, this group of suitors, along with others, unusually joined forces to conduct a second inspection of the S.H.I.E.L.D. representatives who hadn't yet left.

Sitwell underwent numerous examinations, almost to the point of being stripped naked for an X-ray. Under the watchful eyes of a group of people, the examinations finally concluded.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the dark room and reached the front door, Sitwell was stopped by a group of people.

"Stop in your tracks, gentlemen. We need to verify your identities."

Different groups of people and different uniforms, but they are saying the same thing.