Loki stood arrogantly at a high vantage point, looking down at Captain America and Coulson as if they were ants.
Steve clutched his waist and abdomen. Blood seeped from the wound, soaking his palm. But a small injury like this was nothing to him. He'd suffered worse and never truly bowed his head.
The instant Loki appeared, Coulson had already drawn his pistol and aimed it at him.
"Who are you?"
"I am Loki…" Loki paused, a complicated look flashing across his face. "Loki Odinson."
He added the surname.
But in reality, he already knew he was not Odin's biological son at all. He was the son of Laufey, leader of the Frost Giants.
So his true name should be Loki Laufeyson.
To be honest, he had no desire to acknowledge his Frost Giant bloodline. No matter how Loki had lived in Asgard all these years, whether he'd been excluded or looked down on by his peers, one fact remained: he was raised under Asgard's education.
Deep inside, he still carried Asgard's pride.
No matter how much he despised the warriors' brutality, it was still better than being a Frost Giant.
In his eyes, Thor and his kind were barbarians who used muscles instead of brains. And Frost Giants?
They were barely different from beasts.
As for Midgardians, they were nothing but ants beneath his feet.
"Mortals, when you meet your king, why aren't you kneeling?"
Before Steve or Coulson could react, Thor's expression changed.
His smile froze. The hope that reignited when he saw Loki was instantly extinguished again. "Wait, Loki, what do you mean by that?"
"I am Asgard's new king now, brother." Loki finally directed his gaze at Thor. His eyelids lowered slightly, his eyes filled with contempt.
Yet his voice was soft, as if it carried an endless, sorrowful mercy.
"T that's impossible… you must be joking with me."
Thor shook his head. Then he suddenly laughed, a nostalgic look appearing on his face.
He remembered when they were young, Loki often tricked him. Once Thor truly believed it, Loki would smugly tell him, got you.
But this time, Thor felt he'd grown smarter. He thought he saw through Loki's lie.
He pointed at Loki and shook his head. "You're the God of Lies, but you won't fool me this time."
How could the All-Father possibly hand the throne to Loki?
Thor thought this was the lowest-level lie Loki had ever told in a thousand years.
But that only made Loki angrier. His expression grew colder and colder, twisted with fury, yet his voice remained calm.
"Why do you think I'm lying to you? Do you think you're the only child Odin has? Do you think that aside from you, no one can inherit the throne?"
"What, no…"
Loki's rapid questions instantly left Thor speechless. He looked awkward, but he also had to admit he really had thought that way.
Even after Odin exiled him, Thor never truly believed he'd lose the throne. He never believed Odin would let Loki inherit his position.
And that mindset, aimed at Loki's already raw and sensitive heart after learning his origins, ignited a violent envy and hatred. It was as if jealousy burned in Loki's throat.
"You think you're more worthy than me?"
Loki ignored Coulson and Steve and walked straight up to Thor.
"Because of you, Father is dead."
"What?"
"Exiling you, the threat of war… he couldn't bear it anymore. And all of it was caused by you."
Originally, Loki hadn't planned to provoke Thor so directly. He wanted to act magnanimous in front of him.
But he couldn't hold it in.
Seeing the disbelief on Thor's face, then the despairing grief, made Loki feel satisfied.
"But Asgard can't go a day without a king. Besides me, who else is there?"
In that instant, Thor was struck by crushing sorrow.
Steve and Coulson exchanged a glance. Both of them saw the stink of a scheme in the other's eyes. Anyone with a brain wouldn't believe Loki's one-sided story.
At this moment, Coulson had already imagined an entire palace conspiracy. The cunning second prince framing his elder brother, murdering his own father, all for the throne.
Coulson had no interest in Asgardian family drama. He only hoped this schemer would leave Earth as soon as he got what he wanted.
But clearly, Loki didn't plan to leave that easily.
After stabbing Thor with lies, it was like he finally let out a breath. A faint, hidden smile appeared.
Then Loki turned his gaze toward Steve.
This mortal who lifted Mjolnir had to be eliminated!
"Midgardian mortals, in the presence of your king, how dare you remain standing?" Loki looked down on them, every movement radiating royal authority. "Kneel!"
Loki: Meow!
"Your meow won't scare anyone," Steve said coldly. "This country has never had a king, and we will never kneel to someone like you!"
"Ignorant mortal." Loki curled his lips.
In the next second, he suddenly raised the Eternal Spear and fired a powerful beam of light!
Swish!
Steve raised his shield in a hurry.
Seeing that, Loki let out a cold laugh.
The Eternal Spear was Odin's weapon, imbued with terrifying might. Even if Loki couldn't unleash its full power, it still wasn't something a mortal could block!
But just as he expected Steve to be pulverized along with his shield, he saw the beam actually get stopped.
"How is that possible?" Loki froze.
But Steve didn't waste an opportunity like this.
Enduring the pain, he twisted his waist, snapped his arm, and hurled the indestructible shield like a massive flying blade.
Steve's counterattack was beyond Loki's expectation. The shield was already in his face in an instant. Loki looked a little flustered, but he was no ordinary being.
He swung the spear back and knocked the shield away.
Before he could even breathe, Steve was already on him.
Steve, who had mastered countless weapons and combat styles and fought through multiple wars, understood battle far better than Loki, who was a "mage" in name but an assassin in practice.
The shield was a feint. His fists and feet were the real weapons.
Steve kicked Loki in the chest, forcing him back several steps. Then he followed up with multiple punches, beating Loki until he looked stunned.
Loki might look weak in the movies, but in reality, his physique surpassed Steve's by far. Those combos didn't actually break his defense at all.
But the damage wasn't the point. The humiliation was.
"Enough!"
Loki roared in rage. Divine power burst from his body like a hurricane, instantly collapsing the temporary base!
"Wait, Loki!" Thor tried to calm him down, but without his divine power he couldn't even stand steady. The storm flipped him into the dirt, and he ate a mouthful of sand.
Then Loki grabbed Steve by the collar and flung him away with a backhand, sending him flying hundreds of meters!
"Captain!" Coulson clung to the twisted, crooked railing and fired, but the bullets hitting Loki's face couldn't even scratch his skin.
Still, it was enough to draw Loki's attention.
"You've truly angered me, mortal!"
Killing intent surged in his eyes. He lifted an arm, levitated a car with magic, and smashed it toward Coulson.
Coulson instinctively closed his eyes and curled up, trying to protect the most vulnerable parts of his body.
But he knew it was pointless. If that car hit him, he was dead.
Boom!
A heavy crash sounded right above his head.
Coulson's heart jolted, yet he felt no pain at all.
He opened his eyes and saw a car, crushed into a bizarre shape, hanging above him. A red arm thicker than a tree trunk extended upward like a giant spine.
Looking farther back, a towering red figure loomed over him, completely covering him in shadow.
The difference was that this figure had four arms.
It felt like Coulson's heart was being squeezed. His breathing turned heavy.
"Are you alright?" Bant casually crumpled the car like a sheet of scrap paper and tossed it aside.
Only then did Coulson notice the insignia on Bant's shoulder. He immediately remembered the Heatblast who fought monsters at Stark Tower a few days ago.
"You're from the Tiangong Guild?"
Bant nodded, not denying it. But to avoid getting labeled something like "Number One Monster-Hand Bro," he gave a simple introduction instead.
"I'm a sheriff from the Tiangong Guild. Four Arms."
With that, the arms under his ribs swung out, pushing Coulson aside as Bant turned his attention to Loki.
Just moments ago, Bant had already used Ghostfreak to obtain Thor's hair. But against Loki, who possessed divine power, that method wasn't nearly as effective.
He had planned to transform into Heatblast, someone who could counter Frost Giants, but when he hit the watch, the form he got was Four Arms instead.
Bant was sure he hadn't slammed the watch hard. Which meant the Little Broken Watch believed Four Arms was more useful than Heatblast against Loki.
Almost the moment he transformed, Bant understood exactly what he needed to do.
As for Loki, he still had no idea what was about to happen.
Right now, he stared at Bant's sudden appearance, searched through every species in the cosmos in his mind, and after confirming Bant wasn't from any famous powerful race, he continued wearing that arrogant expression.
"Another one," Loki shook his head, as if mocking Bant's ignorance.
He even walked straight up to Bant.
"I am a god. You foolish creature. Do you think an animal like you…"
Before Loki could finish, Bant's rib-arm snapped down and seized his ankle, then slammed him back and forth into the ground like a sandbag doll!
Smack!
Smack!
Dust and sand exploded everywhere.
A few seconds later, Loki lay peacefully in a small dirt crater, eyes wide, eye sockets red, as if tears were shimmering…
"Just another weak god," Bant said in satisfaction, dusting off his hands.
This chapter is three thousand words.
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