Chapter Ninety-Five: The Big Hammer Against the Little Hammer

Thor brought Loki to a hilltop.

He looked at Loki, a sheen of tears rising in his eyes.

“Loki, where is the Cosmic Cube?”

The moment Thor spoke, he began questioning Loki, but Loki seemed utterly unconcerned.

He smiled faintly. “Long time no see, brother. I missed you a little, too.”

Seeing Loki’s indifferent expression, Thor said angrily, “Do you think I came here to play with you?”

“You should be grateful to me. After the Rainbow Bridge was destroyed, do you know how much dark energy Father had to gather just to send you to that beloved Earth of yours?”

Without even thinking, Loki still used the word Father; it showed just how much he loved Odin.

Thor looked at Loki with tears in his eyes. “I thought you were dead.”

Loki gave a faint smile and said with cutting sarcasm, “Did you mourn me?”

“We all mourned you, including our king...”

At the words king, Loki was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Clearly, this had struck a raw nerve.

“That is your king.”

Perhaps too agitated, Loki forced himself to calm down before going on. “He must have told you about my true birth, didn’t he?”

Thor naturally already knew, but he did not care. He only kept speaking of the past, trying to move Loki.

“We grew up together, played together, fought together. Have you forgotten all of that?”

Loki of course remembered, but as the proud third princess, he refused to admit it.

“My memories are nothing but shadows. I grew up in the shadow of your brilliance. I remember you throwing me into the abyss.”

The more he said, the more agitated he became. Loki could no longer hold back his tears, and his voice rose.

“I should have been king, too.”

Thor shook his head in disbelief. He could not believe Loki could be like this. “So you stole my world to make up for the contempt you imagined?”

“No. I will protect Earth, Loki.”

Loki smiled and continued in that infuriatingly mocking tone. “Look how well you’re protecting it. Humans butcher one another for profit, and you can do nothing. I am ruling them. Why shouldn’t I?”

“You think you’re above everyone else?”

“Mm. Of course.”

“Then you still haven’t grasped the true meaning of rule, little brother. The throne is not for you.”

Seeing his own actions rejected once more by his brother, Loki erupted again.

“I’ve seen far more of the world than you ever have. When I was exiled, I grew. I witnessed the true power of the Cosmic Cube. Once I master it...”

Thor caught something in Loki’s words and could not help asking, “Who made you see it? Who put the idea of taking the throne into your head?”

Loki exploded again. “I am the king.”

“Not here.”

Thor rejected Loki once more, then kept persuading him.

“Hand over the Cosmic Cube, abandon these foolish dreams, and come home with me.”

As the proud third princess, how could Loki possibly admit defeat?

“I have no home. You need the Cosmic Cube to take me back, but I gave it to someone else. I don’t know where he is.”

Thor continued, “Listen to me, brother...”

Just then, Iron Man flew in, slamming directly into Thor and sending him flying. The two of them tumbled together and rolled all the way into the woods.

Seeing Thor knocked away, Loki could not help laughing out loud.

“I’m listening, brother.”

Rhodey came to Loki’s side, a whole array of weapons trained on him.

“Don’t move, sir. You don’t have the right to be free yet.”

Michael also landed, then walked straight toward Loki.

Looking at Michael, Loki could not help saying, “What do you want, filthy human?”

“Loki, be quiet. Otherwise, you’ll spend the rest of your life wearing a muzzle.”

At the memory of being controlled by a muzzle, Loki could not help growing furious.

“F--- you, lowly human.”

He broke free of the handcuffs, pulled out a knife, and prepared to go after Michael.

But in Michael’s eyes, his blade speed was as slow as a crawling tortoise. Michael sent him flying with a single kick, then picked up a huge stone and smashed it down, using brute force to make Loki calm down.

After that, Michael lashed out with a magical whip and bound Loki tightly.

“I have something nice for you.”

With a wave of his hand, Michael opened a portal and pulled out a piece of crimson armor-like gear.

“This is called the Crimson Bands. Do you like it?”

With that, Michael tossed it straight onto Loki.

The Crimson Bands rapidly reshaped and extended, binding Loki tight.

“Keep an eye on him.”

After saying that, Michael turned and left.

Loki had been bound into a dumpling by the Crimson Bands, even his mouth sealed shut. Now he could not even move a finger.

Rhodey looked down at Loki on the ground and shook his head.

Poor guy.

Electro also came over and asked Rhodey, “Are they in the woods?”

“Obviously.”

Loki lifted his head and met Max’s gaze.

That single glance felt to Max as though something had stabbed at his eyes. He thought it was Loki’s doing, but he had no idea what Loki had done.

Loki lowered his head, but a satisfied smile crept across his lips.

Max rose above the forest instead of going down at once, because he saw Michael.

“Mr. Michael.”

Michael nodded but said nothing.

“Shouldn’t we go help first?”

“No need. Just watch.”

Electro’s abilities were heavily countered by the God of Thunder. One bolt from above could easily blow him apart, so it was better not to go down.

After watching for a while, Michael realized that foreign brawls were absurdly perfunctory. They fought in turns: you hit me once, I hit you once, and the two of them even traded quips while doing it.

During the fight, Tony also discovered a new use for Thor.

Charging. One bolt from the sky could charge him to two hundred percent, brightening the Iron Man display in the process.

Michael found it a little unbearable. Turn-based fighting was completely dull.

Captain America was probably almost here; if they did not hurry up and have their fun now, there would be no time left to play.

He teleported directly in front of Thor, drove a fist into his abdomen, and sent him flying.

Then he appeared above Thor, pulled out a supermassive hammer, and brought it crashing down with full force.

Thor only felt as though heaven and earth were splitting apart. The tremendous force drove him into the ground, and the shockwave that burst outward snapped many trees in its path.

Even so, Thor still suffered little real harm. As a god-body infused with dark energy, Michael had rated him as a third-tier divine body; only a god-slaying weapon could break his defenses.

The hammer had reached god-slaying level, but because it was a blunt weapon, it could not inflict true lethal damage.

Iron Man looked at the black-armored man, his mind full of doubt.

“Who is that?”

JARVIS replied, “Based on the armor style and the emblem on the chest, the most likely identification is Michael Morbius.”

Only then did Tony understand. Apart from Michael, there was no one else.

Thor looked up at the figure in black in the sky. He did not know who he was, but he did not care.

Thor swung his little hammer again and rose into the air, gathering the power of thunder from the heavens, ready to give Michael a brutal strike.

Michael was not to be outdone. He began spinning his massive hammer.

As it turned, golden currents surged around the hammer, drawing the surrounding forces of wind and storm toward it.

The core of that hammer was a super reactor, capable of instantly supplying the weapon with immense current while also forming a vast and powerful magnetic field.

Michael had also infused the hammer with magical elements, allowing it to draw in the power of nearby storms.

In weather like this, it could even attract the lightning of the heavens themselves.