Dimensional Trader in Marvel

Aside from the small incident between Thor and Loki, everything else during the founding ceremony of the Austrian United Kingdom went smoothly.

Thanks to Josh and the overwhelming strength of the Ouroboros under his command, there wasn't a single force on Earth—besides a certain hidden one—that could pose any real threat to Austria.

At the Hofburg Palace, Carol was formally crowned as the first Queen of the Austrian United Kingdom.

But the person who placed the crown on her head was not Pope Pius XII, nor the Bishop of Vienna.

It was the elderly Karl Renner—the man who had dedicated his life to the dream of a restored Habsburg Empire.

That was Josh's idea.

To him, a pope or bishop couldn't compare to this devoted old man when it came to symbolizing the rightful transfer of power.

But when the ceremonial crown and scepter were brought forward on a golden tray and placed before Renner, the French delegation—who had just arrived in time for the event—couldn't help but stir with unease.

Because Josh had done it again. He'd gone straight for the heart of the French.

The crown on the tray was none other than the freshly restored Golden Laurel Crown of Napoleon.

Using Napoleon's laurel crown as the coronation piece for the new queen wasn't just a show of status. It wasn't just because it was a French national treasure. And it wasn't just because Napoleon was a major historical figure in Europe.

It was also because, in 1806, Napoleon had led his army to defeat the last Holy Roman Emperor, Franz II, reducing the Holy Roman Empire to the Austrian Empire—and Vienna had been captured three times by Napoleon's forces.

In that sense, Austria and France were historic enemies.

Now, the new queen of a nation that had just re-unified Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bavaria, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and even part of northeastern Italy… was crowned with Napoleon's laurel.

The message behind it was clear.

When Karl Renner placed the golden crown—symbol of supreme royal authority—on Carol's head, tears filled his aged eyes.

Ever since the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, he had dreamed of this moment—for nearly forty years.

After all the struggles and setbacks, Austria had finally regained its former glory.

As for the royal bloodline? That didn't matter to him in the slightest.

He didn't care if it wasn't the Habsburg family on the throne. What he wanted was the revival of Austria's empire, not a specific dynasty's legacy.

Compared to the laurel crown, the scepter that followed didn't seem all that special to most people present. It looked like a simple silver staff topped with a crystal of orange hue.

Only Thor, Loki, and the other Asgardians—standing a bit closer—noticed the occasional wave of magical energy pulsing from it.

And only Josh and his inner circle knew the truth.

There was no way Josh would cut corners for his only daughter—not for something this important.

The staff's core was forged using a rare blend: Titansteel from Northrend, along with Thorium, Mithril, and Vibranium—all smelted together by Abbendis.

The large, orange crystal at its head—over ten centimeters wide—was the biggest arcane crystal Abbendis had been able to collect from across Azeroth's various markets.

Though it looked ordinary, this scepter was an elite-grade magical staff.

And even more importantly—it had been personally crafted with the help of Tiamat.

Although the scepter didn't carry as much of Tiamat's Cosmic Power as Josh's Sword of Rupture, it still held a trace of it.

So yes, this staff could fully be considered a powerful artifact.

Originally, Josh had wanted to gift Carol with the Sin'dorei Golden Staff or Staff of Antonidas, but unfortunately, those weren't for sale. In the end, he had to ask Tiamat for help and forge one himself. (TL/N: Both the staffs are from World Of Warcraft)

Well, if they don't want to sell, so be it. Someday when they fall, Abbendis can pick through their remains for parts.

The reason for choosing a staff design was simple—Carol was a mage. And a talented one. She had studied both the magic of Kamar-Taj and that of Azeroth.

This was also what the Ancient One meant earlier when she said Carol had once called her "teacher."

After the crown and scepter came the official presentation of the new national flag and emblem of the Austrian United Kingdom.

As the flag and crest were unfurled before the guests, a new wave of unrest swept through the foreign delegations.

The flag design was simple: the traditional red-white-red Austrian tricolor, but now with a crest added in the center.

The crest, however, was a different matter altogether.

Where the old crest had featured Austria's traditional single-headed black eagle, the new one showed a two-headed eagle—the same symbol used by the Holy Roman Empire centuries ago.

And more than that, the shield on the eagle's chest now bore the symbols representing Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the other regions that had joined the union.

It was a clear message: this new Austria wasn't just reviving itself—it was reclaiming the empire.

To the European powers present, who had spent hundreds of years dismantling that old empire piece by piece, the symbolism couldn't be more threatening.

They were not happy—far from it.

But all their anger was swallowed back down the moment they remembered the super nuclear explosion that had lit up the Arctic sky just a day ago.

No matter how much they resented this imperial revival, none dared to speak a word of protest. Not here. Not now.

Watching the frozen expressions on the faces of the European diplomats, Thor and the other Asgardians couldn't help but feel curious—though they held their tongues out of respect for the event.

Loki, however, had already figured it out: This was Josh's doing.

And remembering what he had witnessed during the destruction of Xandar, the Frost Giant prince couldn't stop a cold shiver from running down his spine.

Thor, standing beside him, misread the moment entirely. Seeing Loki shudder while staring at Carol—who now wore the golden crown, gripped the gleaming staff, and was draped in the shining fleece cloak from Asgard—Thor thought to himself:

She's pretty, sure. But is that really something to get this worked up over?

Following the coronation came the military parade.

As the proud formations of the Austrian army marched across Hero's Square, the foreign dignitaries—who had still been considering how to unite and contain Austria—quietly gave up that idea.

Why?

Because almost every delegation had brought their best military observers and defense experts.

And as the parade continued, those experts started realizing something terrifying:

They couldn't recognize most of Austria's equipment.

The infantry formations at the front were still understandable. The troops carried unfamiliar but sleek automatic rifles, and their gear looked a little too bulky—but manageable.

But then came the armored divisions.

The main battle tank—called the Guardian Tank—was still somewhat comprehensible.

But what came next completely shattered expectations:Multi-purpose infantry vehicles, Phantom tanks, Wave energy tanks, Athena cannons...

Each of them looked completely alien—strange shapes, unfamiliar materials, and bizarre attachments. None of the experts could even begin to guess what most of the technology was for, let alone how it worked.

They were witnessing an army equipped with machinery decades—if not centuries—ahead of their time.

The foreign military experts couldn't understand the helicopters either. Other than the obviously heavily armed attack helicopters, the Twinblade helicopters, and the clearly transport-oriented Nightingales, there were two more aircraft that completely stumped them.

One was the Cryo Helicopter from the Allied forces in Red Alert 3, and the other was the VX Striker from the Empire of the Rising Sun.

Judging by appearance alone, no one could figure out what these strange, futuristic helicopters were even supposed to do.

As for the fighter jets, those were slightly more within expectations. The modified F-4 Phantom had clearly become the main model in service.

Still, among the familiar designs, there was one new model that stood out with its sleek, elegant form: the F-16.

There was no sign of the F-15, since the enhanced F-4 already far outperformed it, making it obsolete before it was even adopted. But since the F-4 was a twin-engine heavy fighter, a lightweight counterpart was still needed—hence the introduction of the F-16.

If the fighter aircraft only brought some small surprises, then what came next truly alarmed the foreign delegates.

The bombers.

Austria showcased two models—both from the Red Alert 3 Allied arsenal: the Peacekeeper Bomber and the Century Bomber.

Both were massive jet-powered bombers, and just looking at their intimidating size, anyone could tell—they weren't just for show.

Then came the missile forces.

And when the strategic missile formations rolled out last, an undeniable wave of unease spread across the entire viewing platform.

"Mobile land-based ballistic missiles?!"

Most nations present hadn't even fully figured out stationary land-based missiles, and now Austria had vehicle-mounted systems?

Which raised a more terrifying question: If they have mobile land missiles… what about sea-based ones?

That was when the American military advisors suddenly recalled an intelligence report they'd mostly ignored at the time: a while ago, Austria had launched several unusually large submarines into the Adriatic Sea.

Back then, nearby U.S. Navy units had joked that Austria was trying to imitate Germany's outdated "wolfpack" submarine tactics.

But now… those subs might not have been conventional at all.

The U.S. had launched the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, back in 1954. But being nuclear-powered was one thing—being able to launch nuclear missiles was entirely another.

In real history, the first ballistic missile submarine, the USS George Washington, wouldn't appear until 1959.

If Austria's big submarines were already strategic nuclear submarines… then the implications were terrifying.

Combined with: Mobile long-range land-based nuclear missiles, Stealthy, undetectable strategic subs, and strategic bombers capable of nuclear payloads (A/N: no one believed for a second those massive bombers couldn't carry nukes)...

Austria now possessed a full nuclear triad.

And not just that—they were ahead of the rest of the world in deploying it.

There was no more talk of containment or suppression.

Austria had become unstoppable.

If you can't contain it—you cooperate.

The military parade ended. Though Austria extended warm hospitality and invited everyone to stay longer, most foreign delegations declined and immediately flew back to their home countries, burdened with urgency.

They needed to rewrite their national strategies overnight.

This included every major power on Earth.

The smaller nations, on the other hand, weren't worried at all. They happily attended Austria's banquet and enjoyed the top-level hospitality provided.

After all, these smaller countries never had the strength to resist the great powers. Instead of struggling, it was better to simply lie flat and enjoy the moment.

Austria's hosting standards were extremely high, far beyond what these small states could normally afford. So this was a rare opportunity to enjoy some luxury.

Of course, there were also those who were carefree and completely unbothered—like Thor and his Asgardian entourage.

Josh didn't feel comfortable letting this group mingle too much with other national delegations, so the Asgardians attended a private banquet hosted by the Kahn family.

The other guests at the banquet were all close allies: Josh's personal friends, allies like Kamar-Taj, and even representatives from the vampire families that had stayed in touch with Austria after Dracula's departure.

All of them were supernatural beings, and with these kinds of guests, Thor and the others could relax and enjoy themselves without concern.

Only Loki quietly slipped out of the banquet hall when the others weren't paying attention and went to find Josh.

"Forgive me, my lord. The earlier occasion wasn't suitable for me to greet you properly," Loki said respectfully, bowing deeply.

"It's fine. You did well today. But why didn't you tell me in advance you were coming to Austria for the coronation?" Josh asked, motioning for Loki to stand up.

"My lord, I didn't know you had returned to Earth, nor that the Queen is your daughter. That was my mistake," Loki apologized quickly.

Hearing that, Josh suddenly remembered—Loki had no way of knowing Josh was back on Earth, let alone that Austria was under his control.

Still, as the leader, Josh wasn't about to apologize for the oversight. He simply nodded to acknowledge it.

"What about the task I gave you? How's that going?" Josh asked, shifting the topic.

"I've already sent a large number of Vrykul into Jotunheim. They've gained Laufey's trust. Even if he tried to deny it now, no one would believe him," Loki replied quickly.

Josh had instructed Loki to plant the Vrykul among the frost giants to frame them for the destruction of Xandar.

The idea was simple: once people started investigating who destroyed Xandar, they'd naturally be led to believe Jotunheim was behind it.

The frost giants, isolated as they were, had no idea what was happening in the universe or that they had just unknowingly taken the blame for a cataclysmic event.

Josh's reason for setting up this scapegoat was to deter a specific group from digging too deep.

That group was the true power behind the Nova Empire—the Shi'ar Empire.

According to recent information from Dracula and Vereesa, the internal chaos within the Nova Empire had finally settled.

Even though the Kree Empire had taken over large portions of Nova territory after Xandar's fall, the Nova Empire had not collapsed.

Because the Shi'ar Empire had stepped in.

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