Chapter 37: Du Wa Strains to Lift the Hammer
The Deviant Leader simply raised its arm and slapped him, sending Thor flying over ten meters. Its eyes, shimmering with a strange luster, were clearly "thinking," as if pondering why this god was so weak.
He was so weak, the buff from absorbing him didn't seem very significant.
The Deviant Leader strode over to Thor.
Thor staggered to his feet, looked down at his nearly gaping chest, and sucked in a sharp breath. "Good. You dare attack the son of Odin. You have successfully enraged me!"
He swung his fist, punching at the Deviant, but it was blocked by the creature's claws. With a single squeeze, Thor's hand was instantly crushed.
Truly crushed.
Thor's eyes instantly turned red. Following his will, the once-clear sky was suddenly filled with dark clouds. Terrifying lightning brewed within, but in the end, none of it struck down.
Mjolnir also had no reaction.
Thor would not back down. Even knowing his chances were slim, he glared with blood-red eyes, roared furiously, and attacked with his other hand.
*Smack!*
The Deviant threw Thor's entire body aside. After confirming this was the extent of Thor's abilities, it finally relaxed. Several fleshy tendrils grew from its body, preparing to formally absorb Thor.
After absorbing a god, what would its evolution look like?
Just as the fleshy tendrils were about to touch Thor, the son of Odin—who had only just arrived on Earth and hadn't even touched his hammer—was about to die a frustrating death, reduced to mere nourishment.
The dark clouds in the sky gathered, becoming as gloomy as a deep, dark shroud.
"Come on! The son of Odin never surrenders!" Thor roared madly.
Even though a voice in his heart clearly told him he was about to die, to die on Midgard.
"Father, Mother, brother, I might already be..." The thought flashed through Thor's mind. He felt time slow to a crawl as he watched the Deviant's fleshy tendrils draw ever closer.
The life energy within him was already uncontrollably leaving his body.
"Honestly, I wanted to see what the depowered God of Thunder would do. I didn't expect brute force, but it's very much to my liking."
A voice sounded out. At the same time, an extremely muscular figure, as if having leaped from several hundred meters away, descended from the sky and slammed the Deviant Leader into the ground with a boom.
This was only the beginning. The figure then reached out with a monstrously thick hand, grabbed the Deviant Leader by the neck, yanked it out, and threw it into the distance. With an explosive leap, it followed and landed a heavy punch right in its face.
The attack, lasting only a brief moment, was as swift and violent as a raging storm.
Thor, his ruined hand dangling uselessly, endured the intense pain and stared in astonishment at the creature overpowering the Deviant Leader—a creature that looked remarkably similar to a Deviant itself.
"Don't worry. Although the enemy is strong, the warrior I sent out won't lose in the short term. Let it take this opportunity to relax a bit. Otherwise, it's always by my side and never gets a chance to practice freely."
Du Wa walked over, carrying a ridiculously large travel bag on his back. His posture didn't look like he was here for a battle at all; rather, he seemed to be on vacation. "This area is really hot and annoying, don't you think, son of Odin? You're sweating."
Thor was completely dumbfounded. It was the first time he had met someone like this, who would charge in at a life-or-death moment and then talk about things completely unrelated to the battle—discussing the weather. Was this a traditional conversational tactic on Midgard?
Thor steadied himself, feeling the weakness in his body. After a moment of silence, he averted his gaze and stubbornly looked toward his hammer.
No matter who came to kill him or help him, as long as he could get his Hammer back, he would still be the God of Thunder!
But just as Thor was about to stagger forward, Du Wa had already made his move. He stood before the Hammer of the Thunder God, reached out, and placed his hand on it. There was no surprise or discomfort; everything seemed perfectly natural.
Thor was stunned.
Watching this scene through a camera, Coulson, and Hawkeye—who had been 0.1 seconds away from firing an arrow at the Deviant—both fell silent.
"Sir?"
"Don't move. Keep watching. See if Du Wa can lift it." Coulson hesitated for a moment before giving the command.
"My Hammer..."
Thor's mouth fell open, his face flushed red. "That's my Hammer!"
"What's the big deal? I'm just touching it, not your woman. I just want to give it a try."
Du Wa was very dissatisfied. *I saved your life. Even if I don't know whether Odin and the others would have intervened at the critical moment, at least I actually made a move. What's wrong with touching your hammer?*
*"Scree!"*
The Deviant Leader grabbed the Abomination Xenomorph's legs, flipped it over, and took the opportunity to land on all fours and run back. As expected, Thor was still its primary target.
Its charge was powerful and heavy, but just as it was about to reach Du Wa and Thor, with only two meters left, the Abomination Xenomorph intercepted it right on time. It grabbed the Deviant Leader's shoulder from behind and used its other hand to smash down hard on the Deviant Leader's head. *Wham, wham!*
Each heavy blow was more exaggerated than a missile explosion, unleashing violent shockwaves that sent visible ripples through the surrounding air.
If an ordinary person were in this environment, the best-case scenario would be shattered eardrums and damaged internal organs.
The two monsters began another round of fierce combat. With every punch landing on flesh, the ground trembled violently, and dust flew everywhere.
The Deviant Leader was clearly shocked by the Abomination Xenomorph's appearance. During the melee, it repeatedly extended its fleshy tendrils, attempting to absorb the Abomination Xenomorph's life and genes, but each time, the Abomination Xenomorph keenly sensed it and immediately shattered them with its fists.
But even with the battle so close, all of Thor's anxiety came from Du Wa alone, and the hammer that Du Wa was holding.
*BOOM!*
A bolt of lightning tore through the dim sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, as if a god was enraged, or perhaps sensing what was about to happen.
Thor held his breath nervously. This man had saved his life and seemed very familiar with him and Mjolnir. Could he really...
Du Wa's gaze sharpened. Facing the hammer, he suddenly exerted his strength and pulled upwards!
Thor's heart skipped a beat, and then he watched in horror as...
...nothing happened.
The hammer, as if rooted in the earth, didn't move an inch.
Du Wa tried again with more force. After confirming that he truly lacked the "qualification" to lift the hammer, he let go, straightened up, and smacked his lips.
"Am I not righteous enough? I was just silently vowing to capture all the vampires in the world to feed to the Xenomorphs. Such a magnificent ideal and wish, doesn't that demonstrate my greatness?"
This stupid hammer actually doesn't recognize me? Pfft, trash hammer. I don't want it anyway.
Still, I could let the Xenomorphs give it a try—although Du Wa wasn't sure if the Xenomorphs under his command could gain the approval of the Hammer of the Thunder God itself.
But it didn't matter if it couldn't be lifted. Du Wa had originally thought that if he managed to create some bizarre existence like a Thunder God Xenomorph, Odin and Thor might find it very awkward.
Now, he didn't need to worry about that anymore.
(end of chapter)