A breakthrough missile struck Thor mid-air, triggering a violent explosion that lit up the sky with a thunderous bang.
Though the blast hurled him hundreds of meters away, Thor's hammer absorbed most of the damage—much to his satisfaction. He quickly swung the hammer and hurled it again toward the American forces behind the battlefield.
But just as Thor took to the skies once more, a laser shot hit him again, blasting him back down into the town.
This time, it was Sharon who knocked Thor out of the air. With her superpowers, ordinary missiles and bullets couldn't harm her, allowing her to freely join the battle.
"Thor, Asgardians—you started this war!" Sharon declared, floating above the chaos.
She glanced toward the Asgardian army and noticed they were no longer on the defensive. They had begun preparing to retaliate. Though the weapons they drew looked somewhat outdated, Sharon Lang didn't underestimate Asgard's technology.
"All new-energy mechanical soldiers, advance! Destroy their weapons!" she commanded. "Wanda—handle the Hulk. Keep him away from our lines."
As soon as Sharon gave the order, Thor raised his hammer, preparing to strike her down—but before he could, a fist sent him flying.
Pietro had arrived.
Among everyone on the battlefield, Pietro was the safest. After overcoming the post-speed-movement weakness, his current velocity was nearly fast enough to freeze time itself. Even if a nuclear bomb exploded beside him, he could outrun it the moment it detonated.
"Damn it—who hit me!?" Thor roared.
"It's me," Pietro said coolly. "Now that you know, don't bother resisting. Just follow our director's orders and surrender."
"Never!" Thor bellowed, and flung Mjolnir at him.
Realizing Pietro was a speedster, Thor planned to use Mjolnir's momentum and magical homing to force him into dodging or disrupting him—and at the same time, he activated his lightning, crackling around him.
Speed didn't mean strength. Pietro's earlier punch had surprised Thor, but the pain was negligible.
Boom!
Just as Thor launched into action, another laser beam slammed into him, sending him flying again—this time smashing through four or five walls and even an entire house.
Now that hurt. Sharon's Cyclops beam, powered by Holy Grail energy, packed immense force. She could slice a mountain in half with it. And even though her last beam had been weakened, its impact was no joke.
Meanwhile, the rest of the battlefield was equally intense.
The American military was unleashing heavy firepower like there was no tomorrow.
Since Ross had become president, the military had signed a ten-year weapons deal with Pent Industries (formerly Stark Industries).
They had replaced old stockpiles with a flood of cutting-edge missiles.
Though Asgard's tech was formidable, they barely had a chance to use it. They were getting bombarded by twenty missiles per minute, turning the desert battlefield into a cratered wasteland.
High-tech energy-based mechanical soldiers swarmed the skies, launching beam cannons and laser fire from every angle. If Asgard's protective light barrier went down, they would be overwhelmed by concentrated firepower.
Even Stark's newest Iron Man suit couldn't stand its ground. He was barely in the air for a moment before being blasted back down, the armor on his back shattered.
Hulk, under Wanda's spell, was now charging directly at the Asgardian forces, roaring as he moved.
Back at the manor, Kain observed the battlefield and sighed in disappointment.
"Impressive tech... but not much in terms of actual force. Asgard's past battles were basically primitive brawls. Don't they believe in military evolution?"
In his memory, whether it was fighting Dark Elves or Frost Giants, Asgardian warfare had always been hand-to-hand combat. Even Ronan had known to use missiles when attacking Earth.
"Wait... is something being sent down?"
He noticed a beam of light from the Bifrost landing near the battlefield. From it emerged a three-meter-tall metal warrior—the Destroyer armor, one of Asgard's trump cards.
It was said Odin had once donned that very armor to challenge the Celestials. Though the Celestials vary in power—someone like Arishem wouldn't be fazed even by Odin in the Destroyer—its presence still meant serious business.
"But who sent it? Odin's still in the Odin sleep, isn't he?"
Kain pondered but couldn't figure it out. Regardless, he gripped the Infinity Wand tightly.
Asgard's Bifrost was a real headache. Its full power could destroy a planet—and Earth's current tech had no way to counter it.
It was up to him now.
If Odin were to come to Earth, only Kain could stand against him. Though Odin was merely an Asgardian god with a near-limitless lifespan, the weapons of Earth stood no chance against him.
On the battlefield in the Mexican town, the appearance of the Destroyer armor brought a flicker of hope to the Asgardians. But that hope was short-lived—within moments, the unworn armor was intercepted and entangled by the Hulk.
With skin like armor and a body fueled by pure rage, the Hulk stood nearly three meters tall—roughly the same height as the Destroyer. Pain meant nothing to him.
"Roar!!"
He leapt across a hundred meters, slammed the Destroyer into the ground, and began pummeling it wildly like it had murdered his best friend.
But destroying the Destroyer with fists alone was no easy task. This was the crystallization of divine craftsmanship—the very pinnacle of Asgardian engineering. Its durability was almost unmatched.
Zzzap!
A laser beam suddenly blasted Hulk into the sky. He soared a hundred meters before crashing back down and carving a crater into the ground.
Yet Hulk merely shook his head, stood up again, and charged with another furious roar. His green muscles bulged even larger, his height increasing by over ten centimeters. If his rage continued to grow, Hulk could become a monster seven or eight meters tall. The Destroyer might not be able to hold him off much longer.
"Good thing he's not very bright," Wanda muttered.
She stood cloaked in an invisibility suit made from the fur of a mythical beast. Without specialized detection equipment, even the Asgardians—preoccupied with defending themselves—couldn't sense her approaching.
Once she was close enough, her eyes gleamed red, and her mental energy locked onto the more vulnerable minds in the Asgardian army.
Her psychic powers surged, dragging them into vivid childhood illusions. In their ears echoed the voice they trusted most:
"Enemies are near—fight them!"
Immediately, several Asgardian warriors' eyes turned red. They deactivated the shield light curtain and began attacking the comrades beside them.
"Bastard, what are you doing?!"
"Stop it, Yatri! Are you insane?!"
Caught off guard, over a dozen Asgardian soldiers were injured. The entranced warriors focused solely on sabotaging their own defenses. In just ten seconds of chaos, dozens more Asgardians were cut down by their own brothers-in-arms.
Boom!
With the light curtain down, several missiles slammed directly into Asgard's camp. A chain of explosions erupted, hurling soldiers through the air. Those with faster reflexes managed to raise personal shields to protect themselves, but their defensive formation was broken.
Suddenly, a beam of aurora-like energy streaked down from the sky, shooting toward the American military's position like a meteor.
But just before impact, it was intercepted by a purple energy shield. The collision unleashed a shockwave so intense that tens of thousands of soldiers nearby were knocked off their feet.
Still, the attack had halted the bombardment.
Sharon immediately raised her hand. "Cease fire! Hold your position!" she ordered.
She glanced at the sky.
"Pietro, restrain him!"
She tossed two electromagnetic shackles down, then flew swiftly toward Kain, who had just arrived.
"Sir, do you have new orders?" she asked.
"No," Kain replied calmly. "Someone unexpected has entered the battlefield. I doubt you can handle this one, so I came in person."
Holding the Infinity Wand, Kain rose into the air, flying toward the beam of rainbow light that had landed in the Asgardian camp. He looked back and said,
"Come with me. We've done well so far."
The earlier aurora attack had come from Odin himself, using the Eternal Spear to target the American army's position. But once Kain blocked the attack, Odin withdrew the spear.
Stepping off the Bifrost, Odin commanded the Destroyer to blast Hulk with a laser, knocking him back. The armor then flew back to him, reshaping and shrinking until it bonded with his body like a suit.
Though now fully armed, Kain didn't sense any real intent for war from Odin. That previous blast from the Eternal Spear had likely been a warning—to repel the American forces, not kill them.
But Kain wasn't afraid of war, either.
"Mr. Odin," he said, landing calmly beside him, "that one shot nearly killed tens of thousands of people. You're incredibly powerful."
He added, "If you really want to fight, we should take it to space. Earth wouldn't survive that kind of battle."
"No," Odin replied, his voice heavy with age. "I came to stop the war. That blast was meant to protect my people—not to harm yours."
Then, catching sight of the Infinity Wand in Kain's hand, Odin sighed.
"Besides, I wouldn't be able to defeat you. Thor was too impulsive this time. From this day on, Asgard will have nothing more to do with Earth."
Kain narrowed his eyes.
"That alone isn't enough, Mr. Odin. My subordinates gave several warnings, and you ignored them. Then you brought an entire army here—if I just let it go now, I'm afraid my people might be... upset."
Kain chuckled and said, "Even though I have a favorable impression of Asgard, I can't agree to your unreasonable request. It's a shame—Earth and Asgard could have been friends."
Thor, who had been brought over by Pietro, roared in anger upon hearing those words. "You started this war first!"
Boom!
Kain tapped the ground with his Infinity Wand, and the next moment, Thor's mouth was sealed shut by a purple energy field.
Hulk, still roaring in rage, was suddenly bound by several rings of glowing purple energy. He let out a muffled growl before passing out, his massive form shrinking down into Bruce Banner.
Kain's mastery over the Power Gem had become frighteningly precise.
Odin's heart sank. If Kain only had the Space Stone, Odin might still have some confidence—but now, with two Infinity Gems and an unknown level of strength…
"Asgard is willing to offer compensation," Odin said cautiously.
"There's no need for that," Kain replied. "Just help us with something here on Earth."
He tapped the ground again with his wand, and a glowing world map appeared in front of them. He traced a circle around a mining zone in Australia with the tip of his wand.
"Mine this area for five years. If you do that, everything will be forgiven."
"Mmff—mmff!"
Thor struggled on the ground, visibly furious, but the energy seal allowed him only muffled grunts.
"The Vault of Asgard—" Odin began, but Kain cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"I don't need your so-called treasures. You have only two options: war… or mining."
He smiled coldly.
"Oh, and by the way, Mr. Odin—you can take Thor with you. Earth doesn't need him."
"Mmff! Mmff!"
"What's got you so worked up?" Kain said mockingly, stepping closer. "When you were first exiled to Earth, I had my people show you kindness. No one stopped you from retrieving Mjolnir. Your friends came down to help you, guided you, and even helped you find a place to stay.
"But what did you do in return?"
Kain tapped the ground again. A tremor followed, and several figures behind the Asgardian army were dragged out of the sky, bound by ropes of purple energy.
"These people publicly opposed me—and yet you still took them back to Asgard. Then you dared return to Earth with an army to provoke us again. If I let this slide, what's to stop anyone from coming here and spitting in our faces?"
He turned to Odin with a mocking smile.
"You rejected our goodwill and marched to our world with an army. The terms have changed now. Ten years of mining—or take them all and try to leave. But don't think about using the Bifrost. If you do… I'll destroy Asgard myself."
With two Infinity Stones, Kain had every reason to be confident. The question was whether Odin had the courage to take the gamble.
Silence fell. Odin and Thor said nothing. Even Thor could tell—his father had just awakened from the deepest of Odin sleep, and if he were to fight now… it might be his last.
"Your Majesty, don't worry about us," said Sif, clutching a bleeding wound as she knelt before Odin. "Ten years will pass quickly. We lost. We should accept the terms."
"Yes, Your Majesty. We don't object," another warrior said.
"I'm willing to stay as well."
"So am I."
"As am I, Your Majesty."
One by one, more Asgardians dropped to their knees—even the injured—choosing to stay behind.
Odin's eyes softened with guilt, and after a long pause, he finally spoke.
"I will come back for you in ten years," he said quietly to the kneeling warriors.
Then he turned, walked over to Thor, lifted him, and shouted to the sky, "Heimdall!"
Boom!
A rainbow beam of light descended from the heavens. Seconds later, Odin and Thor vanished from Earth.
As the light faded, Kain turned around and faced the remaining wounded Asgardians and the few surviving Revengers—most of whom glared at him with undisguised hatred.
With a slight smirk, he said, "These ones are yours to deal with now, Sharon. Try not to get into too much trouble."
…
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