Chapter 28: Victory
Manhattan Bridge
The Avengers had gathered on the bridge, forming a defensive circle as wave after wave of Chitauri soldiers attacked them.
Iron Man floated low in the air, with the roaring Hulk in front. Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and others formed a protective circle around them.
The surrounding Leviathan soldiers and Chitauri soldiers were attracted by them and swarmed over like hungry locusts!
"Clint, you find a place with a good view to help support us,"
Steve Rogers commanded, his voice steady and authoritative.
"Stark, you continue patrolling at high altitude for mobile support.
Thor, you are responsible for finding Loki. If possible, eliminate the large creatures along the way."
"Natasha Romanoff, you are responsible for roaming the battlefield and helping civilians evacuate to safety."
Everyone responded quickly to their assignments.
Hawkeye looked at Tony. "Take me for a ride."
"No problem!"
Tony replied, flying down to pick up Clint.
"Uh-huh!"
Hawkeye secured himself as they flew upward.
Just then—
"ROOOAAAR!"
An enormous roar echoed across the city.
Hulk leaped from a building a hundred meters away, his massive green form flying through the air like a meteor!
"BANG!"
He landed hard on a group of Chitauri soldiers, completely flattening them.
Hulk saw the massive Leviathan in front of him. He jumped again and landed hard on the creature's back, punching the smaller soldiers into pulp one by one.
Thor also jumped on top. Hulk roared and tore off a long horn from the Leviathan's head using pure brute force.
"BOOM!"
Thor also swung Mjolnir and smashed the horn down again.
Under the bombardment of two beings with more than a thousand tons of power, the horn completely pierced through the Leviathan's body.
The huge creature hit the ground hard. Driven by inertia, its head crashed into a building, and it stopped moving completely.
They dispersed and continued fighting.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Chitauri soldiers energy weapons erupted everywhere.
For several blocks surrounding Stark Tower, hundreds of Chitauri soldiers constantly attacked the superheroes.
A large number of Chitauri soldiers and smaller numbers of Leviathan soldiers riding in flight machines kept flying through the air. Their hard metal shells cut through the tall buildings, easily slicing through concrete.
Tony wore his Mark VII armor and flew continuously throughout the battlefield, firing laser cannons at Chitauri soldiers in the air, eliminating them one by one, while maintaining Hawkeye's position on high ground.
Captain America picked up a heavy weapon from a fallen Chitauri soldier and fired wildly on the bridge with Natasha Romanoff, forming two fierce firepower nets.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Countless Chitauri soldiers fell to the ground like wheat being harvested.
"ROOOAAAR!"
In the distance, Hulk roared and stamped two deep footprints on the ground. He flew into the sky dozens of meters high and hit a Leviathan soldier wandering outside the main battlefield. The creature crashed to the ground.
Above, Thor summoned thunder again and took Mjolnir to blast areas with many enemies.
Ordinary Chitauri soldiers instantly turned to ash when they touched Mjolnir. Even Leviathan soldiers stopped moving immediately after being struck by the high-temperature lightning.
At that moment, Thor saw a large Leviathan flying at low altitude in front of him, and he rushed over quickly.
"NOW!"
He roared.
"WHOOSH!"
Hulk, who was standing on the Leviathan's head. He punched Thor standing next to him.
"BANG!"
---
Lin Chen decided to show the some extent of his powers. He appeared out of the space layer, standing high in the sky, an exciting and terrifying aura of calamity surrounding him.
The sky turned dark with massive thunderclouds gathering overhead. Thor looked up in confusion—he wasn't doing this. He knew immediately it was someone else.
Thunder flashed like blue dragons swimming in the clouds, roaring with incredible power. The weather grew worse and worse. Everyone below felt the terrifying pressure.
The Avengers saw a distant figure high in the sky. Although he was far above them, they still recognized who it was.
Thunder started falling on Chitauri soldiers and Leviathans. Within seconds, thousands of Chitauri soldiers turned into ashes.
The lightning swept across the entire battlefield.
"Not bad! That's what real power feels like! Feel my strength!"
Lin Chen murmured to himself, watching the devastation below.
"Who was that?"
Steve shouted through the communication device, barely managing to stand.
"That's Lin Chen!"
Tony called out. "He just displayed weather control at a scale I've never seen before!"
"The power of that lightning strike..." Natasha said in amazement. "It destroyed hundreds of enemies in seconds."
"Is that his full strength?"
Thor asked, looking up at the figure in the sky with a mixture of awe and concern.
"I have no idea," Tony replied honestly. "I didn't know he could do that."
---
"Who saw where Loki is? At this rate, everyone except Lin Chen may not have enough strength to continue," Steve shouted breathlessly, exhaustion showing in his voice.
Indeed, the continuous fighting had lasted for at least half an hour. Not only was he tired, but even Hulk and Thor's attack frequency had dropped significantly.
Lin Chen was indeed too powerful. His unique abilities were changing the entire battle.
"I see Loki!"
Hawkeye's voice came through the communicator. "He's standing on a Chitauri flight machine!"
"Hiss!"
Clint drew his bow and nocked an arrow with practiced efficiency.
His temperament at that moment was completely different from his exhausted teammates. His eyes tightly tracked Loki flying through the air.
Hawkeye deserved his title as a master marksman. Even from far away, his arrow flew steadily toward Loki's temple.
"Hmph!" Loki snorted coldly and caught the arrow firmly with his left hand as it flew toward him.
Before he could taunt the archer, the red light on the arrow flashed rapidly.
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"BANG!"
The arrow suddenly exploded.
Loki was blown away from the aircraft and fell to the ground.
He happened to land right next to Hulk.
Loki really hadn't done anything to deserve this.
Lin Chen was like this earlier, and Hulk was like this now.
Like Thor, Hulk was another barbarian who only used brute force!
Why was a noble god being insulted by a lowly creature?
Why was he being beaten like a hammer?
"Well, it still feels good to see Hulk smashing him," Lin Chen commented, watching Hulk's actions. He gave a thumbs up.
Loki was indeed Loki. Even after being beaten by both Lin Chen and Hulk, he still had the ability to recover. He was truly the most durable god in Asgard.
At that moment, Lin Chen also noticed Loki's figure.
I wonder if that classic scene will appear this time? Lin Chen thought to himself with curiosity.
"ROOOOAAAR!"
Hulk still roared and jumped in front of Loki.
"ENOUGH!"
Loki was furious at that moment.
Being blown away by an arrow had made him lose face in front of everyone.
He yelled at Hulk. "I am the god of Asgard! You damn humble creature! I demand—"
But before he could finish speaking, Hulk lifted Loki up by his feet and smashed him wildly toward the ground left and right.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
After hitting him more than a dozen times, several deep holes appeared in the ground.
When Hulk saw Loki's dull expression, he spat in disgust and cursed with contempt.
"Weak god!"
"WHOOSH!"
Afterward, Hulk walked away, smashing Chitauri soldiers while rushing toward the Stark Building.
"Ahhhhh!"
Loki gasped, barely grasping the broken floor, his body shaking with pain and humiliation.
It seemed that being beaten twice had frightened him.
---
"Okay, Loki, Now—let's talk," Lin Chen walked slowly toward Loki step by step.
Loki's eyes suddenly grew cunning, and he smiled wickedly. He used his Duplication Magic, creating multiple copies of himself.
The real Loki appeared behind Lin Chen and raised his scepter, trying to control this mysterious and powerful being.
But Lin Chen was already prepared. When the scepter's energy tried to penetrate his consciousness, it met an absolute barrier.
The control failed completely.
"You fool," Lin Chen said without even turning around.
Before Loki could react, Lin Chen moved with lightning speed and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air.
"Gulu!"
Loki gagged, his feet dangling helplessly.
[Mental Power +915]
[New Mental Power: 5,302.8]
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Mind power has reached Multiversal Scale]
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Space Manipulation and Time Manipulation abilities can now merge]
[MERGE OPTION AVAILABLE: Combine Space Manipulation + Time Manipulation = Absolute Space-Time Manipulation]
[CONFIRM MERGE? Y/N]
"Yes," Lin Chen confirmed immediately.
[MERGING IN PROGRESS...]
[MERGE COMPLETE!]
[Absolute Space-Time Manipulation (Multiversal Scale)]
Absolute Space-Time Manipulation includes:
- Complete control over space and time simultaneously
- Can view the past, present, and possible futures of all timelines
- Can travel through time and space to any point in the past or future
- Can access and move between different timelines and parallel universes
- Can observe what happened in his own past and interfere if needed
- Can protect himself and others from temporal manipulation by enemies
- Can see all possible versions of anyone across the multiverse and timelines
- Can trap enemies in temporal loops
- Can age or de-age matter at will
- Can freeze time across multiple dimensions and universes
- Can create closed time-space loops
- Can perceive all causality across the multiverse
Lin Chen's consciousness expanded to truly cosmic proportions. He could now see threads of cause and effect stretching across multiple timelines. He could observe the past, present, and possible futures simultaneously. The entire multiverse was laid bare before his perception.
"Wait, please be merciful..."
Thor's voice came urgently, humbly pleading. "Loki is still just a child. He's still learning. Please don't—"
"Don't worry," Lin Chen said with a slight smile. "I've always done things in a measured way."
With a whoosh, Lin Chen set Loki down gently and returned to the top floor of the Stark Building, with Thor and Loki following behind.
"Tell me," Lin Chen demanded, his eyes piercing. "Who came to Earth with you? How many soldiers are there? What abilities do they have?"
He needed to understand the scope of this invasion. Thanos might already know about his existence and plan something.
"I came to Earth under the instructions of Thanos," Loki gasped, his throat still sore from being grabbed. His voice trembled with fear.
"Thanos?"
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. That name was significant. The Mad Titan was one of the most dangerous beings in the universe.
Loki continued, clearly regretting his decisions. "I was supposed to conquer Earth for him. Now I wish I had just stayed in Asgard. Being beaten by you is better than this endless humiliation!"
He looked at Thor desperately. "I never want to be king again. I just want to go home."
Thor sighed deeply as he looked at his brother. "You truly are hopeless, brother. You know Lin Chen is incredibly powerful, yet you antagonized him anyway. Isn't this just asking for punishment?"
---
"Okay, everyone, if you hold on a little longer, I'll destroy the mothership and win," Lin Chen's voice came through all the communicators.
"No problem!"
Steve replied.
"Do not worry!"
Tony called out.
"Sure!"
Natasha confirmed.
"ROOOAAAR!"
Hulk roared his agreement.
"Um!"
Thor gave his affirmation.
Despite being exhausted, the Avengers all felt renewed determination knowing Lin Chen was handling the larger threat.
In space, Lin Chen examined the massive Chitauri mothership—a vessel larger than New York City itself. The ship bristled with weapons and soldiers.
Lin Chen raised his hand, using his Absolute Space Manipulation.
Space itself compressed around the entire battleship, squeezing it from all directions simultaneously.
"BOOM!"
For a moment, the huge spaceship was instantly blasted into metelic debris, scattered across space!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a pity," Lin Chen said mockingly. "Such a large ship, but so fragile."
He then raised his hand again, using his Cosmic Energy Manipulation.
"BOOM!"
A dazzling golden light flashed through space like a wave of pure energy, turning into ashes all Chitauri soldiers who were heading toward Earth.
"Phew! It feels so satisfying!" Lin Chen shouted to himself in space.
Suddenly, Lin Chen's pupils shrank. His perception caught something—a threat to someone important.
He immediately disappeared from space, teleporting back to Earth in an instant.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Just at that moment, a figure appeared in front of Natasha Romanoff.
Lin Chen!
He had returned just in time!
"Natasha Romanoff! What's wrong with you?"
Lin Chen asked urgently, holding her shoulders and checking her injuries.
"I'm fine. Fortunately it's not too serious," Natasha said, feeling a sense of happiness and security in his presence.
"You guys go aside and rest first," Lin Chen said. "I will handle whatever comes next."
Lin Chen saw the past event of this place.
Just a minute earlier, a figure in black had moved through the shadows. This was a Hydra agent, sent specifically to retrieve the Tesseract and the Mind Scepter while Loki was being defeated and the superheroes were exhausted.
He saw that the terrifying figure had left for space, and the remaining superheroes were completely exhausted. He knew it was time to strike.
He identified his targets—the two humans in front of him. Their strength was slightly weaker than the others.
He looked at Captain America and Natasha Romanoff who were resting on the bridge, sneered, and then threw a powerful bomb at them!
"Call out!"
The bomb whistled through the air.
At first, no one noticed the projectile, but suddenly—
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Natasha suddenly realized something was wrong and jumped away quickly.
"BANG!"
The bomb exploded right where she had been standing seconds before!
Steve rushing toward her with his shield raised.
Lin Chen's eyes flashed with a terrifying murderous aura. His entire body exuded killing intent.
No one—absolutely no one—would hurt his people without facing the consequences.
Lin Chen's mind power covered the entire city, investigating instantly. He found a fast black car seven kilometers away heading east toward a tall building. On that building's roof stood a waiting helicopter.
Lin Chen used his space manipulation to teleport the car directly to his location.
Everyone's jaws dropped in shock.
The car doors tore away from the frame, thrown by invisible force.
Two black-suited men fell from inside, confused and frightened.
Lin Chen didn't give them a chance to speak or act. He invaded their minds directly, reading all their memories and secrets.
He discovered their Hydra base locations, their mission parameters, everything.
The agent's scepter flew out of a storage box and fell into Lin Chen's hand.
As for the agents—they knew they were caught. They chose to commit suicide rather than face interrogation, biting down on poison capsules hidden in their teeth.
Everyone standing nearby was shocked by how quickly Lin Chen had resolved the situation.
Lin Chen then teleported to the top floor of Stark Building and pushed his hand directly through the Tesseract's energy shield. He pulled out the cube and stored both the scepter and the Tesseract safely in a system space.
Now he had a new priority.
He needed to visit the Hydra bases.
---