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Chapter 279: Ch.278 Deception Within Deception

The man behind the desk was busy writing, surrounded by stacks of thick reports and documents. He preferred to personally handle such matters.

"My Führer," Heinrich stood in front of the desk, raising his right arm in salute.

The man at the desk waved dismissively, continuing to quickly scribble on the documents with a laser pen. Before long, he signed his name—Adolf Hitler—and set the pile aside.

"Alright, my loyal Heinrich. What do you have to report? You were about to brief me before you suddenly said you needed a \'soul projection,\'" the man said, standing and stretching his back. His towering figure bore little resemblance to Hitler\'s. He made a light joke as he stared out at the dark Berlin night, his thoughts already focused on the future.

The figure was tall, dressed in a green uniform, but with a purple helmet resembling that of an astronaut.

"Apologies, Führer. Hive initiated a psychic link unexpectedly. I suspect Schmidt has a private means of communicating with him," Heinrich said, standing stiffly. He was no longer the erratic figure he appeared to be in front of others, but rather serious and rigid before this man.

"No matter. Your current position is crucial," the Führer dismissed the concern, hands clasped behind his back as he walked toward the window. Outside, iron-clad soldiers patrolled the streets.

"Thank you, Führer. I was vacationing in Paris when I came across some vital intelligence, so I flew back immediately to report. During the Hydra meeting, I made an even greater discovery," Heinrich said, relaxing slightly as he removed his military cap and held it in his hands, speaking softly as he joined the man by the window.

"Let me guess: Schmidt plans to overthrow \'me,\' right?" The man cut him off with a smile, speaking slowly but with an air of undeniable authority. "Just like in history, Red Skull..."

"You are wise, Führer," Heinrich lowered his head, confirming the man\'s suspicion.

The towering figure remained calm, adjusting his helmet slightly. "But the others won\'t agree. Historically, they didn\'t agree either."

"Yes. Despite my efforts to stir dissent, they still fear your authority. It proves they\'re not a threat to you," Heinrich bluntly laid out his manipulations.

"Well then, all that\'s left is for Captain America to send him off to the stars."

"Exactly. Everything is playing out like history. Red Skull is tangled up with Captain America, and soon your objective will be within your grasp, laying another foundation for your eternal empire," Heinrich nodded, noting how history had deviated only slightly. His meticulous efforts to nudge things back on track hadn\'t been in vain, even going so far as to plant information for the SSR to find.

"Red Skull is the only one smart enough to sense something is off," the figure sighed, as if lamenting the fact. But he quickly looked up, setting those thoughts aside. "And what about the bait I laid out? Did anyone take it?"

"Yes, Viper, Whitehall, and even Hive. They\'re all very interested in the X-gene and the Sub-Mariner. They\'ve shifted focus from the Tesseract to studying biology and chemistry," Heinrich reported.

The figure smiled, rubbing his hand in satisfaction. "Excellent. The Americans threw me a decoy, hoping I\'d waste my efforts on a doomed scientific endeavor. They\'d never suspect that the X-gene holds no secrets for me, and that I have no interest in it. I passed the project off, triggering a schism in Hydra."

"Your wisdom knows no bounds, Führer. Now only Red Skull and Zola remain focused on the Tesseract," Heinrich affirmed.

"No matter. Captain America will deal with them. When the time comes, I can sit in my little boat in the ocean, waiting to fish the Tesseract out of the water when it falls right into my hands," the figure said with a gleam in his eyes. Something about this conversation set him off, and he began describing his future plans in detail.

He spoke of his multiple selves across different timelines, all working toward the same goal: the unification of the galaxy. He reminisced about being bullied as a child, mocked and called weak-minded and sickly by others as they cruelly taunted him with the name Richards.

But no one dared call him that anymore. He had become the Conqueror, the King of Kings, the Master of Stars—the greatest ruler in the cosmos.

Though Heinrich had heard these stories countless times, he remained attentive, nodding in agreement occasionally.

His master\'s experience of time was non-linear, with countless iterations of himself existing at various points in the timeline, each as an independent entity. Sometimes he would feel as though he hadn\'t accomplished something, only to realize that a past version of himself had already completed it—erased by the passage of time.

"The Tesseract. In this era, that\'s all I\'m interested in. But Red Skull is too cautious, so I have to use Captain America—the pawn he underestimates—to take him out. Red Skull doesn\'t yet realize how much trouble that American soldier will cause him."

"But, great Conqueror," Heinrich hesitated, "Captain America and the Avengers will pose more problems for us in the future."

The blue-skinned man just shook his head with a smile. "No matter. Time will prove everything, because in the end, the ultimate victor will always be me."

Heinrich simply nodded. Whatever his master said was truth. So he continued his report. "One unexpected thing to mention—Mister Sinister has gone missing. His mission to derail the enemy\'s technological advancements failed. Neither the British nor the Americans discovered his deception, and he was ultimately taken out by Slade."

"Oh, really? No matter. That wasn\'t supposed to happen in history anyway. When altering the past, unexpected events occasionally arise," the Conqueror said dismissively, casually wiping a barely noticeable speck of dust off the glass in front of him.

Historical mistakes could easily be erased. He could manipulate history just as easily as he could rewrite it. As a being independent of time, he had no concerns.

"Praise be to you, Master. Your power can rewrite everything."

"History is always subject to the whims of those in power. I\'m beginning to grow weary of it, though. Still, this era has some amusement. Many things are different from how I remember them."

"Yes, like Su Ming, the one you told me to watch. You said he didn\'t exist in the original timeline..."

"That\'s right. He\'s too similar to me. As soon as I arrived in this era, my first task was to use my nanomech phase bugs to lock down his company\'s technological capabilities. Only then could I safely proceed with my plans, using holograms to disguise myself as Hitler and build up Germany\'s war machine. Unfortunately, the industrial base of this time can only produce these toy-like weapons."

"He\'s dangerous. His power continues to grow," Heinrich massaged his temples, having lost track of Su Ming\'s whereabouts when he ventured into the sewers. "If necessary, I will personally deal with him for you."

"With the two hands I\'ve given you? You can try after we obtain the Tesseract, but I doubt it will go well. Since he didn\'t exist in history, I have no memory of what he might do."

The Conqueror did not reject Heinrich\'s suggestion; he was genuinely curious.

Heinrich understood his master\'s plan—the Tesseract was the priority. "The super-segmented, still-active Namor fragments we used to draw the world\'s attention have instead attracted Slade. He\'s gathered a future army and is actively collecting those fragments."

The Conqueror pondered for a moment before responding. "I see. He\'s worried about Namor\'s death leaving no one to balance U-Man, thinking his enemy is Hitler and not me. He\'s trying to prevent a timeline where the polar ice caps melt. In that case, give him the Namor fragments when you can. Let\'s send him on his way."

"As you command, great Conqueror. I\'ll keep an eye on the Tesseract for you."

The blue-skinned figure pressed a few buttons on his armor, causing his image to flicker as if space itself warped around him. His form shifted, transforming into the likeness of Hitler—short, thin, and frail. He brushed his combed-over hair and slowly returned to his desk.

"In this era, I must say, I\'ve grown quite fond of the title \'Führer.\'"