Chapter 350: Cruel Prophecy, Frigga's Assistance
"The Bifrost Bridge is completely closed; Asgard accepts no outsiders."
Even though the aura radiating from Peter caused Heimdall to feel waves of alarm.
Heimdall still forced himself to speak his lines.
Looking at this flashy-looking big black guy, Peter didn't bother fighting him. He simply smiled and took a step to the side, revealing Sif behind him, and asked with a smile:
"Not even Asgard's own people?"
"Heimdall." Sif couldn't help but step forward, speaking with some agitation,
"The situation is urgent; I need to see the All-Father."
After two seconds of silence, Heimdall finally revealed the truth:
"The All-Father has fallen into deep sleep again. Currently, Queen Frigga is in power."
"Then let me see Her Highness the Queen!"
Sif's voice carried a heavy sense of urgency,
"Cul has broken free from his seal, and Earth is being attacked by The Worthy.
If Asgard continues to stand by and watch until Culcompletely conquers Earth and restores his full strength, he will be completely unstoppable. You should know what that means."
Heimdall's fingers tightened half an inch around the hilt of his sword.
He naturally knew what was happening on Earth, but the Queen's order was...
"Let them in, Heimdall. Peter is an ally handpicked by the All-Father. I believe he will not pose a threat to Asgard."
A gentle yet unquestionable voice came from behind Heimdall.
Frigga appeared at the end of the passage, dressed in a golden gown, her face dignified yet weary.
The moment her eyes met Peter's, despite her exhaustion, she forced a smile for him:
"Long time no see, Peter."
Compared to Frigga's respect, Peter's behavior seemed somewhat rude:
"Rather than meaningless pleasantries, I would prefer to hear a reasonable explanation."
"Earth is suffering an unprovoked disaster because of your family matters, yet Asgard is ignoring it, even closing the Bifrost Bridge to play the coward!"
Hearing this merciless disparagement, Heimdall's fingers tightened instinctively on his broadsword.
He was about to rebuke Peter for his insolence when he heard a vigorous shout from behind.
"Hey, Peter!"
A powerful shout echoed from the direction of the palace.
Thunder God Thor strode down the palace steps, his long golden hair flying in the wind, a simple and hearty smile on his face.
"My friend! What brings you to Asgard? Could it be that Sifwanted to visit her home?"
Thor rushed to Peter in a few bounds, reaching out to give him a standard Asgardian bear hug.
But Peter pushed the fellow away with one hand, sending him quite a distance and even making him fall embarrassingly onto his backside.
"Damn, what on Earth did you grow up eating? Why is your physical strength so exaggerated!"
Despite losing face on his home turf, Thor showed no signs of anger.
It wasn't until he noticed that everyone present looked grim that he realized, belatedly, that something seemed wrong.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"You don't know?" Peter asked back.
Thor shook his head with a look of utter confusion.
Frigga let out a long sigh and rubbed her brow helplessly:
"Let's go to the palace first."
A moment later, in the Palace Banquet Hall.
Frigga looked at the three young people in the room and slowly revealed the truth from years ago.
"Actually... your grandfather did not pass the throne directly to your father. Before your father became the All-Father, the previous All-Father was actually your uncle, Cul."
"When he first became the God-King, he was an enlightened monarch. But later, he became increasingly corrupt, wanting to rule the Nine Realms through fear and war!"
"All living beings in the Nine Realms suffered because of him. For the sake of peace, your father chose to turn against his brother and defeated him."
"But just as your father attempted to kill Cul... the WorldTree stopped him and gave a prophecy."
Frigga's voice was soft, yet it remained exceptionally clear in the empty hall.
"On the day the Great Serpent breaks his chains, only the Son of Thunder can end him forever."
"But after killing the Serpent, the Son of Thunder shall also fall, after nine steps, to the Serpent's venom."
Thor froze in place.
"Son of Thunder..." he murmured the words, "Is it talking about... me?"
Frigga did not speak.
But the tears welling in her eyes already provided the answer.
"Is this why you sealed the Bifrost Bridge?" Thor's voice suddenly rose.
Frigga instinctively avoided her son's gaze:
"Your father's last words before falling into slumber were—no matter what, you must not be allowed to go to Earth."
An expression of indescribable complexity appeared on Thor's face.
Anger, shock, unwillingness, and then—those intense emotions settled down bit by bit, finally turning into a strange calm:
"So you would rather watch the people of Earth die one by one than let me fulfill my duty as a warrior?"
Frigga's tears finally fell:
"Loki cannot command respect and has disappeared, and your father is old and frail. Thor... you are the future of Asgard; the Nine Realms still need your protection."
Thor opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. Finally, he could only look to Peter for help:
"You came here to take me to battle, right?"
Peter shook his head:
"I came here just to get an explanation."
"The explanation is that Asgard will take responsibility for this!" Thor slapped his chest.
"Thor!" Frigga's voice became more severe than ever before.
But Thor was not afraid. He simply turned back and gave his mother an incredibly open smile:
"Mother, if this is the arrangement fate has for me—"
He paused.
"Then I should accept it with equanimity."
"Only a coward chooses to run, and I am Thor Odinson."
"I cannot allow the name of Odin to be stained."
Frigga's body was trembling.
She bit her lower lip hard, tears silently sliding down her cheeks.
Just as mother and son were at a loss for words...
Clap, clap, clap~
Peter once again broke the atmosphere of the scene:
"A wonderful tear-jerker, but it's time to end it!"
"Let's go, Sif! Although I didn't get the answer I wanted, it looks like we should be able to rely on that dead snake's head to ask for some extra compensation afterward."
Hearing this, Thor couldn't help but get anxious:
"Mother!"
Frigga let out a sorrowful sigh and finally spoke:
"Mr. Peter, please follow me."
As she spoke, she led Peter and the other two through another long corridor to an entrance sealed by a heavy magical stone door.
Frigga pressed her palm against the stone door; golden runes lit up, and the door rumbled open.
Immediately following, a wave of heat rushed toward them.
"This is the Forge of the Heavenly Palace... the birthplace of all divine artifacts."
"I am willing to give this place to you to help you Forgeartifacts that can counter Cul."
"And I have only one request... I beg you, please make sure my child returns to Asgard alive!"
Chapter 351: Shocking Frigga for a Hundred Years
Looking into Frigga's sincere and urgent eyes, Peternodded heavily:
"I will do my best, but I don't guarantee the results."
"After all, if your son insists on throwing his life away, I can't stop him, can I?"
Thor grinned at the side and patted his chest.
"Don't worry, mother, I have also grown during this time!"
Seeing the two of them talking and laughing like this, Frigga took a deep breath and wiped away the tear stains on her face, regaining the dignity and composure befitting the Queen of Asgard.
She turned and walked towards the core area of the forge, introducing as she went:
"To forge a divine artifact, three prerequisites are needed."
"The first condition is the material; only uru metal can withstand the blessing of divine power..."
Speaking of this, Frigga paused and looked at Peter with a faint smile in her eyes:
"However, this shouldn't be a problem for you. You clearly carry Cul's aura, so I imagine you've already clashed with The Worthy under his command."
"With your personality, I don't believe you would let a divine-powered hammer slip away from right under your nose."
"Fine then~ My plan to play poor has failed!"
Peter shrugged helplessly, then took out the Breaker of Stone and the Soul Breaker from his storage ring, followed by the World Tree branch and the uru metal that Odin had given him previously.
Finally, to prevent a shortage of materials, he pulled out a piece of Vibranium.
Such a grand display made even Frigga, the Queen, raise her eyebrows in surprise:
"You are much wealthier than I imagined."
After the exclamation, she continued the previous topic:
"The second is fire."
"Forging uru metal requires flames that reach at least the temperature of a stellar core. To simultaneously melt the World Tree branch, the fire itself must also possess divinity."
As Frigga spoke, she raised her hand, and a crimson gemstone appeared in her palm:
"This is a fragment of the Eternal Flame."
"It is a part of the core of the Fire Giant Surtur. Most of Asgard's divine artifacts—including mjolnir—were basically refined and forged by it."
"However..."
At this point, Frigga's expression became somewhat solemn,
"Because it hasn't been used for many years, it has completely extinguished. It will take some effort for me to reignite it."
Hearing this, Thor couldn't help but get anxious:
"Mother, reigniting the Eternal Flame would likely consume your Original Lifespan, wouldn't it?"
Frigga opened her mouth, about to say something, but Peter interrupted her directly.
"No need for such trouble."
"What?" Both Frigga and Thor were stunned. Frigga then patiently explained:
"Mr. Peter, I know you mean well, but lighting the Eternal Fire is not an easy..."
Before she could finish, Peter turned his Omnitrix and took out the Fire Wash from his storage ring.
In the next instant, a blinding Golden Divine Fire erupted from his body, covering Peter's entire form! The fire was brilliant and sacred, filled with a warm divinity of creation and protection, making even Frigga, the Queen, feel a sense of soul-deep affinity and comfort.
"This fire... it's even purer than the divine fire I condense using only my Original Power!" Frigga couldn't help but lose her voice in shock.
"I'm not finished yet~!"
Peter chuckled. In his left eye, the blood-red Eternal Mangekyo pattern spun wildly.
A flame so black it seemed capable of devouring all light rose silently in the palm of his left hand.
Amaterasu.
Frigga took half a step back.
If the Golden Divine Fire made Frigga feel affinity, then when this black flame appeared, she instinctively felt her hair stand on end!
She could feel no temperature from that flame, only a kind of pure, extreme destruction and termination that transcended the concept itself!
That was the essence of death that would make even gods tremble!
Frigga subconsciously took half a step back, not out of fear, but out of a biological instinct's awe for a "natural enemy."
"It has the quality of never being extinguished. As long as I wish, it can burn to any extent."
Peter gave Frigga a smile:
"So I said, the matter of fire is enough for me to handle."
Frigga was silent for a long time. Only after a while did she speak with a dry voice:
"The third... is the inscriptions. Every Asgardian divine artifact needs to be engraved with Rune Inscriptions. The quality of the inscriptions determines the artifact's effect and power limit.
This step requires precise control over Asgardian divine power—so precise that not a single stroke can be wrong."
"I can teach you the knowledge and techniques of the inscriptions.
But this time, let me personally handle the engraving. After all, mastering Rune Inscriptions usually requires decades or even centuries of practice..."
Peter interrupted her once again:
"Just tell me all the knowledge of the inscriptions and their corresponding effects. I'll handle the rest myself; the efficiency will definitely be higher than if you engrave them yourself."
Frigga looked at Peter's excessively young face with some speechlessness.
Where on earth did this person get such confidence?
But recalling the terrifying qualities shown by that black flame just now, as well as her husband's extremely high evaluation of the person before her.
In the end, she said nothing and touched her forehead with her finger. In this way, she transmitted the vast sea of Rune Inscriptions into Peter's mind.
She was truly a bit curious about how long it would take Peter to master this knowledge.
Whether he was truly a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, or indeed a genius at learning Rune Magic!
Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, expecting Peter to open his eyes with a troubled expression.
But she was destined to be disappointed.
Facing that vast sea of knowledge, Peter took less than a minute to complete the deconstruction and compilation!
"I see..."
As he spoke, Peter opened his eyes, and the Dual God Resonance mode instantly activated.
Bathed in golden light, he reached out his right hand and quickly drew in the air.
One by one, complex, ancient Rune Symbols representing "power" and "rules" appeared out of thin air, flickering with a stable and powerful golden light!
At first, Frigga just watched Peter's attempt with a smile.
But the more she watched, the stiffer the smile on her face became, until it finally turned into deep shock.
This... how is this possible?!"
The inscriptions Peter wrote were actually... not a single character wrong!
This wasn't even simple imitation; he had completely understood the essence of the runes and perfectly reproduced them with his own divine power!
After only three attempts, Peter's eyes suddenly lit up. Then, ignoring the shocked gazes of the others, he raised his hand and threw the uru metal and the World Tree branch into the forge.
"Peter, take it easy!" Thor couldn't help but complain:
"This World Tree branch only grows such a small section after a thousand years. If you mess up the refining..."
"Shut up!" Before he could finish, Sif gave him a slap on the back of his head:
"When has Peter ever done something he wasn't sure of?"
Chapter 352: You said you were making Divine Artifacts, but you're doing wholesale here?
Thor looked at Sif with a look of grievance. He never would have imagined that the fiery mare, who used to follow him around and was prideful to death, would one day be completely tamed by an Earthling.
If Peter had any free time, he would have definitely taken the opportunity to tease the guy.
But right now, he didn't have the spare energy.
At this moment, he held Amaterasu in his right hand and the Golden Divine Fire in his left.
Like two divine dragons, they alternately lunged at that dormant fragment of the Eternal Flame.
Hum!
In an instant, the forging core that had slept for countless years was ignited, erupting with a terrifying flame hotter than a star!
With this terrifying firepower, the indestructible uru metaland the branches of the World Tree were scorched red within minutes, turning into a molten state where one could not be distinguished from the other.
Peter took a quick glance, and seeing that it was heated enough, he immediately wrapped the Fire Wash cloth around his hands.
Next came a scene that made Frigga feel as if her worldview was collapsing.
She saw Peter actually reach his hands directly into the metallic melt that was hot enough to burn through a planet's core!
"Peter!" Thor cried out in alarm.
But Peter seemed unable to feel the terrifying high temperature as he directly took out the red-hot ingot with his bare hands!
No anvil was needed, nor was a forging hammer.
The muscles on his arms bulged and flexed, his veins coiled like small snakes. With a low shout, he grabbed both ends of the ingot and gave it a fierce twist!
The ingot, which ordinary gods couldn't even touch, was like dough in his hands, as he literally hand-kneaded an exquisite Damascus pattern into it!
His fingers flew, sometimes kneading, sometimes stretching; every movement was filled with a domineering sense of power and incredible control.
Frigga's eyelids twitched wildly. She wanted to say "the process is wrong," but the words died in her throat.
For no other reason than—the technique was all wrong, but the results were all right! And the efficiency was ridiculously high!
Forget it, she was tired, let him do whatever he wanted... She had been shocked to the point of numbness by this young man.
About three to five minutes later, amidst a mist of white steam, a brand-new Divine Artifact appeared before everyone.
It was a bamboo-jointed steel whip, pitch black all over, with a standard octagonal structure and mysterious golden patterns covering its body.
The whip was about four feet three inches long. On its body, Rune Inscription and a more ancient and mysterious Eastern array pattern—which even Frigga couldn't understand—intertwined, forming a dizzying mixed pattern full of strange beauty.
It floated quietly in the air, yet it emitted a sense of heaviness that seemed capable of crushing space itself.
"What weapon is this? How do you plan to name it?" Frigga asked, unable to contain her curiosity as she looked at this unprecedented masterpiece.
To this question, Peter answered without a moment's thought:
"Its name is... the god-beating whip."
Peter casually twirled the whip, the body tearing through the air with a dull whistling sound.
This simple and crude name, along with the obviously extraordinary design, made the corners of Frigga's mouth twitch:
"Then what is the effect of the inscriptions you've engraved?"
"Simply put... it's a specialized anti-divinity Noble Phantasm. It acts like a normal whip on ordinary people, but if the opponent is a god, that's a different story."
"The higher the godhood, the more so-called divinity they possess, and the more severe the damage they receive."
Peter explained the general effect of the god-beating whip.
Now, Frigga's face turned green, her expression subtly screaming, 'Isn't this specifically designed to beat us Asgardian gods?'
"Don't worry, I won't use it on our own people."
Peter laughed it off, casually putting the god-beating whipinto his storage ring, and immediately picked up the second blank.
The second piece.
The third piece.
The fourth piece.
The speed became faster and faster.
Peter's almost perverted control over fire accelerated the entire forging process to a degree that left Friggadumbfounded.
She even had an illusion—was this guy a master blacksmith of the Dwarven race in his past life?
Before long, a total of eight more Divine Artifacts were completed and placed together on the forging table, each flowing with a restrained yet powerful halo of divine power.
"This is for Gwen."
Peter pointed his finger at a pair of beautifully and simply styled golden bracers.
The inner side of the bracers was engraved with space-locking inscriptions, while the outer side was covered with a thin layer of Asgardian divine power crystals.
"Once worn, the spider silk shot out will carry its own divinity; even god-level creatures won't be able to break free easily. Additionally, it has a space-locking effect. Once caught in the silk, don't even think about using space transfer magic to escape."
"What an ingenious design!" Sif, standing nearby, couldn't help but praise. "It takes restraint and imprisonment to the extreme; it's an absolute nightmare for assassin and mage-type enemies."
Peter nodded with a smile and showed a pair of sharp claws gleaming with cold light to everyone:
"This is for Felicia."
"The effect is simple: the first claw strike on a target leaves an indelible divine power mark. When the second claw strikes the same spot..."
Peter made an explosion gesture, "It will trigger a divine power detonation and leave a cursed wound in the target's body that never heals."
Thor immediately imagined the bloody scene of that hot cat-lady blowing an enemy up alive. He subconsciously shrunk his neck, feeling a bit of a chill down his spine.
"This is for Natasha!"
This time it was a pair of Sun and Moon Twin Blades, silvery-white all over, with faint World-breaking inscriptions flowing on the blades.
"The Sun Blade can significantly enhance ice and snow magic, while the Moon Blade is responsible for ignoring defenses and low-level magic."
"This is for Daisy."
Peter walked toward the fifth Divine Artifact, which this time was a pair of brass knuckles.
"These brass knuckles can amplify her Quake ability nearly to the level of rules. Theoretically, she could even use shockwaves to'shatter' certain conceptual rules."
Frigga finally couldn't hold it back anymore, her voice even carrying a hint of trembling:
"You... you've forged a high-grade Divine Artifact that can interfere with, or even destroy, concepts?"
Divine Artifacts were also divided into different grades!
Like the Transforming Sword Sif used before, it belonged to the lowest grade of Divine Artifacts.
Items like the Meow-Meow Hammer, which possessed conceptual blessings (anyone meeting the requirements can gain an amplification), or those that could achieve a certain concept (like the breaker of worlds hammer's defense-ignoring ability), were mid-grade Divine Artifacts.
And items like these brass knuckles, which could destroy or establish new rules, belonged to the highest grade of Divine Artifacts.
Even the most outstanding craftsmen of the Dwarves might not necessarily be able to forge such a Divine Artifact.
"What's wrong?" Peter looked at Frigga's reaction, which was like her tail had been stepped on, with a look of confusion.
"A Divine Artifact of this quality... in the entire history of Asgard, only five have ever appeared..."
"Then now there's a sixth... well~ I guess my luck is just relatively good."
Frigga began to doubt whether giving the forging furnace to Peter was a correct decision.
If he kept forging like this, the pride of Asgard, the Heavenly Palace Vault, would significantly depreciate because of his works!
Chapter 353: Ocean Tides, Fear Descends
Peter ignored Frigga, who was caught in shock and inner conflict, and instead continued to explain to Thor and Sif, who were listening eagerly:
"I plan to give this sixth divine artifact to Steve."
Without a doubt, this artifact was a shield.
Its design was more retro than his original round shield, looking somewhat like the captain americas shield from Sanguosha.
"It has two effects. First, like the Meow-Meow Hammer, it has a built-in homing system, making it easy for him to keep throwing it around like a flying shield."
"Second, it converts the user's willpower into combat power. The stronger the user's willpower, the stronger the blessing the shield provides."
"A mortal body rivaling the gods..." Thor looked at the shield and couldn't help but sigh with heartfelt admiration.
"Steve... he deserves such an artifact."
"The seventh artifact is prepared for Tony. His and Steve's artifacts perfectly complement each other."
Tony's artifact was an energy cannon component that could be integrated into his armor.
The principle was similar to Captain America's shield—its power depended on the user's determination to protect Earth.
"The eighth artifact is Hawkeye's bow."
"I've engraved the Blessing of the Wind Spirit on it, which greatly increases movement speed and firing rate. Additionally, even without physical arrows, pulling the bowstring back can condense wind element arrows."
"Finally... is the artifact prepared for Harry."
As Peter's childhood best friend...
Peter ultimately gave Harry a bit of special treatment.
Considering he could previously only throw bombs while riding his flying skateboard...
To give his buddy a cooler look, Peter simply referenced Falcon and Scarab from the cinematic Universe, crafting a set of large wings for him that resembled those of a Gold Saint.
These wings could not only extend and retract freely, but their tips also held two sharp blades. Furthermore, the steel feathers on them could be detached, fired, and recalled at will.
Simply put, with these wings, Harry would also be able to rain down feathers all over the skies of New York in the future~
"How about it, Your Highness? Do these artifacts I've crafted meet your standards?"
After introducing all the artifacts, Peter couldn't help but humblebrag.
Frigga took several deep breaths to recover from her profound shock. She then couldn't help but grasp Peter's arm in excitement:
"If I had any reservations before about Thor going to Earthwith you, now I am completely at ease!"
"Mr. Peter, I believe that as long as you are there, Thor will definitely return alive!"
"Additionally, if you ever wish to forge more artifacts in the future, you can come to me at any time. Asgard can even provide the materials for free, as long as you leave one or two artifacts behind as a rental fee for the forge!"
...
After bidding farewell to the dazed Frigga, Peter set off on the journey back to Earth with Sif and Thor.
What they, eagerly returning to Earth, did not know was that during the time Peter was forging the artifacts, Earthhad already undergone Earth-shattering changes!
According to Sin's plan, after taking over Talokan, Cullaunched a new style of blitzkrieg unique to the Talokanils.
The North African coast bore the brunt of it.
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Wakanda—tsunamis dozens of meters high swept over the coastlines at a speed of eight hundred kilometers per hour.
There was no warning whatsoever.
There was no buffer.
All breakwaters, coastal defenses, and emergency evacuation systems were as fragile as paper, utterly defenseless before the thirty-meter-high wall of water.
With this, the war between humanity and the God of Fearhad officially begun!
The Atlanteans already possessed a type of Vibraniummine capable of releasing massive amounts of seawater.
Combined with the power of the hammer of nerkkod, the sheer force unleashed by these mines was practically world-ending.
Namo stood atop the waves, gripping the hammer of nerkkod tightly in his hand.
His face was as cold and hard as iron, but a closer look revealed that his fingers gripping the hammer were an abnormal white—the color of knuckles drained of blood from excessive force.
He didn't want to do this.
But he had no choice.
Within ten minutes...
Morocco was completely submerged.
When the thirty-meter-high wall of water swept over Casablanca's coastline, this city, famous for its romance, didn't even have time to sound a complete air-raid siren.
Seawater poured into the streets, flooded into the subways, and submerged the domes of mosques.
Thousands of people were swept up and tossed about by the torrents. They desperately reached out in the murky water, only to catch more debris and foam.
Twenty minutes.
The cities on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar had completely fallen.
This vital passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea became a thoroughfare of death.
Water rushed in from both sides simultaneously, generating water spouts dozens of meters high as they collided in the center of the strait.
Soldiers stationed at the British military Base in Gibraltarwatched helplessly as the water level rose from their ankles to their chests in ten minutes. They threw away their guns, abandoned their gear, and desperately scrambled for higher ground.
But where was higher ground? There was water everywhere.
Forty minutes later.
Southern Spain, the western coast of Portugal, and southern Italy all sounded the alarm simultaneously.
The seawater had risen past the second floors of the buildings.
More than forty coastal cities were submerged.
Hundreds of millions of people were trapped in the floods.
Even though, thanks to Cul's "special care," not a single one of these ordinary people—whom Cul viewed as nothing more than "livestock to harvest"—had died. This was not because Cul was soft-hearted, but because dead people cannot feel fear.
Only the living would feel the suffocating terror of struggling in the water, the bone-chilling despair of watching their homes get swallowed up, and the agony of calling out their loved ones' names over and over in the dark depths.
These were the things Cul truly wanted to savor.
So he did not kill.
He merely steeped everyone in the juices of fear, slowly and greedily sucking in every single drop of dread they emitted.
The terrifying impact of having their homes submerged in seawater quickly plunged the citizens of these nations into deep panic.
Cries, screams for help, and the rumbling of collapsing buildings blended together, uploaded to the global network through the lenses of phones held by survivors' trembling hands.
The comment sections beneath the videos exploded.
Exclamations, curses, prayers, and desperate messages in various languages packed the screens, refreshing so fast that it was impossible to read them.
The view count of every single video climbed at a rate of hundreds of thousands per second.
Seven billion people worldwide witnessed the face of disaster together at this very moment.
Such a terrifying and sudden natural disaster... everyone could guess exactly whose handiwork this was—
The entity previously introduced by The Arbiter in his livestream: the "God of Fear," Cul the Serpent.
Even though everyone knew in their hearts that they must not feel fear, and that every bit of fear they generated would only serve as nourishment to strengthen their enemy...
...when faced with those images of a literal living hell on Earth...
...people finally realized that knowing and doing were two entirely different things!
Fear is humanity's most honest instinct.
It requires no one's permission.
Spreading inland from the Mediterranean coast, from Europe to Asia, an invisible, oppressive panic swept through all of human civilization like the Black Death of centuries past!
Chapter 354: Terror Live Broadcast, Cul's Declaration of War
An unnamed small island in the North Pacific.
This was Cul's base of operations.
The God of Fear sat upright on Namo's Coral Throne, narrowing his eyes in enjoyment.
At this moment, his shriveled skin was gradually becoming plump, like a water-soaked sponge slowly expanding.
His dull complexion also gradually regained some of its luster.
His withered muscles filled out once more, and his bones let out faint cracking sounds, like machinery that had slept for thousands of years restarting.
Within his originally cloudy and dim pupils, an eerie green light flickered faintly.
Though weak, that light carried a bone-chilling coldness.
"How long has it been..."
He muttered in a low, hoarse voice, which carried an almost intoxicated satisfaction.
"How long has it been since I last tasted such pure fear..."
"Seven thousand years, a full seven thousand years!"
"My dear brother locked me in the dark, sunless Black Tide, preventing me from tasting even a single shred of fear. But now..."
He slowly opened his fingers, looking at the dark green light swirling in his palm.
"It's endless."
Sin knelt by his side. Listening to his rambling, she couldn't help but raise her head and ask cautiously:
"My Lord Cul, how much of your strength has recovered?"
Cul pondered for a moment.
Feeling the power inside his body—which, although surging, was still a World away from his peak—he gave a staggering answer:
"About... one-twentieth."
Sin secretly thought to herself how ridiculous this was.
The fear generated by submerging over forty coastal cities and leaving hundreds of millions of people homeless was only enough to restore one-twentieth?
Just how exaggerated was this guy's power?
If fear could cover the entire globe, plunging seven billion people into panic at the same time...
At that time... even the grand Arbiter would be nothing more than a slightly larger ant, right?
At this thought, a flattering smile quickly formed on Sin's face:
"My Lord Cul, since the second step of our plan has been completed."
"Then I think... it is also time to proceed with the third step."
"By then, the speed of your strength recovery will increase by at least tenfold."
Hearing this, Cul slowly opened his eyes.
Those eerie green pupils shone blindingly in the darkness, a sharp light flashing within them:
"You are right. It is indeed time!"
As he spoke, Cul suddenly stood up from the reef, raising the scepter in his hand high.
At this moment, the aura around him climbed frantically!
A domineering pressure that spanned heaven and Earthradiated outward from this small island.
The seawater within a hundred miles was forcefully pressed by this aura into a vacuum area several kilometers in diameter.
The clouds in the sky began to rotate counterclockwise with him as the center, forming a massive vortex.
The terrifying momentum even caused heaven and Earth to change color!
And then...
Buzz~!
A black light shot out from the snake head of the scepter, rushing straight into the sky and piercing the exact center of the cloud vortex.
A moment later.
New York, London, Tokyo, Moscow, Paris, São Paulo, Cairo, Seoul...
Cul's projection appeared in the skies all over the World.
An old, gloomy, and distorted face floated in the air.
The face was so large that it almost covered half of the sky, its eerie green pupils staring coldly at everyone on the ground.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Those who were fleeing stopped in their tracks.
Those who were crying forgot to cry.
Those who were praying stopped praying.
Everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to that face looming over the sky.
And then...
That massive, aged face spoke.
This... was their "using their own methods against them" plan!
Cul wanted to use The Arbiter's method—a global live broadcast—to push fear to its absolute limit!
A low, hoarse voice descended upon every corner of the Earth at the same time, like an echo from the abyss, every syllable wrapped in a power of fear that made the soul tremble:
"Listen to my voice... ants of Midgard."
"I am Cul... the God of Fear, the true ruler of the Nine Realms."
Seven billion people across the globe heard the same voice at the exact same second.
There was no need for translation.
There was no need for subtitles.
Cul's words were poured directly into everyone's minds in a way that transcended language, allowing everyone to clearly understand every single word he spoke.
"At this moment, I officially announce to you..."
He paused for a second.
Just this one second of silence caused countless hearts to skip a beat.
"The game has begun!"
A game.
He called it a game.
To a god, the survival of a civilization... was nothing more than a game.
"The Arbiter? The Avengers?"
Cul's tone even carried a hint of amusement and disdain.
"Let me see what you are made of!"
"Tomorrow morning, I shall set out from South America to launch a general offensive against America. At that time..."
His gaze swept across the masses of living beings beneath the sky.
"I hope you ants... can keep me entertained!"
The moment his words fell.
The projection dissipated.
The sky returned to its original color.
But everyone knew—the sky was no longer the sky they were familiar with.
Silence.
A long, suffocating silence.
It was as if the entire World had been paused at this moment.
And then...
The entire American continent fell into utter chaos!
The Argentines and Chileans were driven nearly insane!
They were located at the southernmost tip of South America, which meant that after tomorrow, they would be the first to face the onslaught of the God of Fear!
Fighting a god?
With what? Guns? Armies? Or the cross of the Virgin Mary?
Such a thing was simply a fantasy!
Not just them, but Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia... all the people of South America were similarly plunged into endless panic.
On the streets of Buenos Aires, people fled in all directions like startled ants.
Supermarkets were looted clean within ten minutes.
Lines kilometers long formed at gas stations. Some got into physical fights over line-cutting, while even more simply abandoned their cars and fled on foot.
The airport terminal in São Paulo was packed to the brim, with all flights completely booked. Those who couldn't buy tickets rushed straight onto the tarmac, attempting to cling to plane wings to leave this land that was about to become a battlefield.
What was even more despairing was that only one thought remained in everyone's mind:
Escape!
Escape to America!
Reaching America didn't guarantee survival, but staying where they were meant certain death!
And so, people began packing their bags like mad.
Countless families were torn apart in the chaos.
Children cried, looking for their Mama, the elderly were knocked down by the crowd, and the youth ran while looking back at the sky behind them that was about to be swallowed by fear.
An unprecedented mass chaos ensued.
And chaos was precisely the best breeding ground for fear.
Hundreds of millions of people were dominated by the exact same fear at the exact same time.
That fear gathered into an invisible torrent, surging frantically from every corner of the Earth toward the North Pacific and pouring into Cul's body.
Chapter 355: Darkest Hour, Wanda's Provocation
Cul's physique underwent another change.
His thin, hunched figure rapidly surged to over two meters in height.
His face also transformed from that of a withered old man into that of a dignified, sullen, and oppressive middle-aged man.
Dense, dark green ancient runes appeared on his skin:
These were the inscriptions of fear, and behind every single rune lay the dread that a civilization felt towards him.
Sin stood behind him, feeling Cul's strength climb steadily like an inflating balloon, and she could not help but wear a smug smile.
Earth was destined to become Cul's possession.
When he embarked on his new journey, she would serve as his proxy on Earth, completely controlling the seven billion people on this Planet.
She slowly raised her head, her gaze piercing through the dome of the cavern, looking toward the invisible sky.
"Father."
"Do you see this?"
"In the end... I have surpassed you!"
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly; there was madness in that smile, satisfaction, and also a trace of... sorrow that even she herself had not noticed.
...
New York.
S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
The conference room was deathly silent.
The LED tubes on the ceiling emitted a pale light, casting a pallor over everyone's faces.
Disaster footage from around the World was still scrolling on the electronic screens.
But no one was watching those images anymore.
Captain America sat at one end of the long table.
His hands were clasped together, resting on the tabletop.
His fists were clenched tight—so tight that his knuckles were turning white.
But he couldn't even say a word.
He wanted to say "We still have hope," but the phrase turned in his mouth three times, and each time, his rationality blocked it.
What would be the point of saying it?
A mortal's hope, in the face of a god, didn't even count as air.
Tony sat at the other end, with three laptops spread out in front of him.
His fingers were frantically tapping the keyboard, attempting to deduce a viable plan to defeat the enemy.
One plan was overturned.
Two plans were overturned.
The seventeenth plan was overturned.
Bang!
The computer was swept onto the floor, its screen shattered to pieces.
Tony took off his glasses and slumped back in his chair as if all the bones in his body had been removed.
No matter how he simulated it, the result seemed doomed to be nothing but despair.
The disparity in strength between the two sides had already exceeded the limit that tactics could bridge.
Natasha sat expressionless in the corner, wiping her tactical dagger.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The blade had long since been polished to a shine, but her hand still did not stop.
This was the only way she could relieve stress.
As long as her hands were moving, she could pretend she was still doing something.
Pretend that things hadn't reached a hopeless point yet.
Harry leaned against the wall, his mouth opening and closing.
He wanted to say something to lighten the mood—a joke, or perhaps a witty remark.
But the words reached his lips only to be swallowed back down.
A god was out there issuing a challenge to the whole World.
Under these circumstances, any joke was nothing more than self-deception.
After a long silence, someone finally spoke.
"No matter what, we cannot just sit here and wait for death!"
The clear female voice rang out suddenly in the deathly silent conference room, like a pebble thrown into a stagnant pool.
Everyone's gaze followed the sound.
Gwen stood at her place.
Her long blonde hair was swept to one side; the expression on her face could not be called relaxed, but in those eyes, something burned that was completely different from the surrounding atmosphere.
It was not blind optimism.
It was trust.
A trust that was almost paranoid, unconditional, and originated from the depths of her soul.
"I believe that as long as we wait for Peter to return—everything will take a turn for the better!"
Hearing the name "Peter," everyone in the conference room subconsciously looked up.
Captain America's fingers loosened slightly.
Tony's tightly closed eyes opened a crack.
Natasha's action of wiping the blade paused.
But then... they lowered their heads again.
Everyone knew that Peter would be the key to turning the tables.
There was no doubt about that.
But the problem was...
Cul's declaration of war had come too suddenly.
His strength also far exceeded everyone's worst-case estimates.
Just by moving a finger, he could submerge more than forty coastal countries around the World.
In the face of such great power...
Could they really hold out until Peter returned from Asgard?
Thinking even deeper... the current situation had deteriorated to such an extent.
Even if Peter really came back, could he really lead them to turn the tide?
After all, that was... a god!
Feeling the silence spreading again in the conference room, Gwen's heart sank little by little to the bottom of the valley.
She clenched her fists.
Even she didn't know what more powerful words she could say to break this despair.
Bang!
Just then, the conference room door was blasted open from the outside by a crimson energy without any warning!
The heavy alloy door panel was blown away like a piece of paper, embedding itself into the solid concrete wall.
Several S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents in the corridor outside instinctively drew their weapons upon seeing this, but before they could even raise their guns, their bodies felt as if they were being gripped by an invisible giant hand.
They still maintained the posture of raising their guns... but they just couldn't pull the trigger.
Because the crimson light had already enveloped their entire bodies before they could.
Following closely, a man and a woman walked in.
Walking in front was a young woman wearing a red leather jacket, her dark brown hair hanging over her shoulders, and scarlet light rolling in her eyes.
Behind her followed a blonde young man, with an expression on his face that said "Whatever my sister says goes," his hands in his pockets, his pace casual.
Wanda Maximoff.
Pietro Maximoff.
"I thought the World-famous Avengers were so great..."
Pietro's gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the conference room, his tone full of undisguised contempt and disappointment.
"Now it seems, you're just a bunch of trash!"
These words were harsh, but at this very moment, the people present couldn't find a single word to refute them.
"Without Peter Parker sitting in command, are you all nothing?"
Wanda's words were even crueler, like a knife accurately stabbing into everyone's sore spot.
There was a two-second silence.
Harry was the first to lose his temper.
He suddenly straightened up from the wall he was leaning against, clenching his fists:
"This is not your place to speak!"
He just wanted to vent the emotions he had been suppressing for a long time, but then he saw Wandacasually raise her finger.
A wisp of crimson energy floated and wrapped around his body.
He found he couldn't move.
His clenched fist remained in the clenched position, but every muscle in his body refused to obey.
The control of Chaos Magic—it was nonchalant to the point of being chilling.
"Think whatever you want!"
Wanda withdrew her gaze, her tone shifting from sharp to indifferent.
She scanned the conference room, which was filled with a decadent atmosphere, as if she hadn't seen anything.
"I thought you wastes would at least be able to help maintain order."
"Directing the evacuation would be fine, stabilizing public morale would be fine, even just standing up and telling the whole World that we still have hope would be fine."
"But now it seems, we can't even count on you for that."
Chapter 356: Crushing Defeat at the First Touch! The Avengers Fall into Their Greatest Crisis!
After dropping these words, Wanda turned and walked away.
In that instant before leaving, her gaze met with Gwen's.
The two women's gazes met in midair for less than half a second.
From Wanda's eyes, Gwen saw anger, but besides anger, she also saw something else.
Anxiety.
Wanda was actually afraid too.
But she did not choose to sit and wait for death; instead, she preferred to take a gamble.
"Let's go, Pietro."
Wanda strode away without looking back.
Pietro shrugged, spread his hands toward the people in the conference room, and made an expression that said, "There's nothing I can do about having a sister like this."
Watching the backs of the two as they left.
The conference room fell into silence once again.
But this time, the silence was clearly a little different.
Captain America slowly stood up.
He looked at the door that had been blasted askew and was silent for a long time.
"She is right."
Everyone looked at him.
"An excessive reliance on Peter has indeed made us a bit too sluggish."
"To think we needed an outsider to tell us such a simple truth as'sitting here won't solve any problems'!"
"Gwen is right. Before Peter returns, we must do something!"
"As Avengers, as humanity's last line of defense, no matter how powerful the opponent is, we must hold on until the very last moment!"
"This is the responsibility we have carried on our shoulders since the first day we became Superheroes!"
Saying this, he raised his head, and in those blue eyes, a faint light finally reignited.
"Avengers... Assemble."
The moment these words fell, the air in the conference room changed.
Everyone felt the fear and negativity in their hearts rapidly receding, replaced by some kind of surging emotion growing wildly in their hearts, beating as hot as flames!
"Captain is right. Even if we are no match for that monster, at least before we die, we should bite a piece of flesh off that bastard!" Harry shouted loudly.
Thus, Captain America picked up the Vibranium shield leaning against the wall.
Tony's fingers tapped on the arc reactor on his chest, and the Mark 50 quickly covered his entire body.
Natasha's figure underwent a drastic change, visibly switching to her hybrid form.
Harry, Gwen, Daisy, Hawkeye, Felicia... one after another.
No one spoke discouraging words anymore, and no one responded to others' mobilization with negative silence.
...
Three hours later.
Argentina, the southern coastline of Buenos Aires.
The Avengers' quinjet landed on a ruin that had already been soaked by seawater.
On the distant coastline, large shadows were moving slowly.
That was Cul's army.
The sea tide legion composed of tens of thousands of Talokan warriors paved the way in front, and in the very center of the legion, five figures emitting different colored lights hovered in midair.
It was the remaining five The Worthy.
Behind The Worthy, a tall man, his body wrapped in dark green runes, sat upright on a throne condensed from seawater.
Cul.
He didn't even stand up.
He just sat there, in an almost lazy posture, looking down at the tiny figures jumping off the fighter jet in front.
"Are you the Avengers?"
Cul's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"I had thought... at least a few more would come."
Captain America gripped the handle of his shield tightly.
He could feel the pressure radiating from Cul—that was not just simple power pressure, but an instinctive urge surging from the depths of the soul that made people want to kneel.
Fear.
Pure, unadorned fear.
"You want a few more? As you wish!"
Tony sneered and snapped his fingers, and immediately after, all kinds of lights lit up in the sky.
Those were various models of Mark Battle Suits, having activated their autonomous attack modes.
The Battle Suits raised their hands, and scorching energy cannons accumulated in their palms.
This formation indeed caused a moment of panic in the Talokan army behind Namo.
But Cul remained in an arrogant, listless manner, just casually lifting a finger.
"Go, my The Worthy."
"Let these ants see... what the gap in strength is!"
The moment his voice fell, the five The Worthyimmediately took a step forward!
Noticing their movements, Tony did not hesitate at all and chose to open fire immediately!
Boom, boom, boom!
Energy cannons smashed down towards The Worthy.
Tony thought that this level of thermal weapon bombardment, even if it couldn't instantly kill these monsters, should at least cause them serious injuries.
But facts proved that he was overthinking it.
"Overestimating yourselves!" Sin's eyes flashed with excited light.
She and the controlled Namo looked at each other, then simultaneously held high the hammers in their hands.
The hammer of nerkkod stirred up monstrous waves, covering the sky above Cul's army like a dome.
And the hammer of skadi instantly froze these giant waves, forming a thick protective ice layer.
"Don't even think about it!" Facing the joint effort of Sin and Namo, Daisy and Natasha instinctively looked at each other, then similarly launched a counterattack.
Natasha used the ability of the Okuchi no Makami fruit, condensing hard and thick ice cones, attempting to destroy the integrity of the ice layer.
And Daisy, relying on the force of the counter-shock, instantly rushed onto the ice layer, covered the ice layer with both hands, and accompanied by the full-power output of her Quake ability, instantly shattered the frozen ice layer.
Relying on this coordination between the two, the Mark army's laser cannons were able to land solidly into Cul's camp.
A large number of Talokan soldiers were blasted into crying for their parents, but in stark contrast to them, and what made the Avengers present look grim was—
Those The Worthy, these monsters, relying on the divine armor on their bodies, completely ignored the output of those powerful energy cannons!
Energy cannons sufficient to destroy a building instantly, landing on their bodies, couldn't even leave a shallow white mark!
"How dare you hurt my people!"
Namo, influenced by the "hammer of nerkkod", had blood-red eyes, and he dove into the water with a splash.
Underwater, his speed was simply like teleportation.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived in front of Daisy who was falling from the sky, the hammer of nerkkod raised high in his hand.
Daisy's expression changed slightly, and she instinctively mobilized her not-yet-proficient Three Parts Returning Essence Qi combined with her Quake ability to block.
But she had ultimately overestimated her current ability; the moment the great hammer made contact with her palms, her Quake ability shattered like fragile glass.
Daisy was thus heavily blown to the ground by this hammer, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Next, it's your turn!"
At the very same time Daisy was beaten to the point of vomiting blood by Namo, the wolf ears on top of Natasha's head twitched, and without thinking, she swiped a claw behind her, which collided head-on with Sin's hammer of skadi.
Chapter 357: Crushing Chaos Magic with Bare Hands, the Terrifying Cul
Just as Namo and Sin made their move, "Soul Eater" Angrir, "Destroyer" Greithoth, and "Breaker of Faith" Mokk also took action.
Angrir, a large fellow covered in lava-like armor, collided heavily with Alexei, who was covered in his "Radiation" Battle Suit.
This single collision sent Alexei, whose strength was second only to Hulk and Peter, flying, and he only avoided spitting blood on the spot thanks to the rapid healing of the Radiation.
Greithoth swung his large hammer attached to a chain toward Tony.
Tony had assumed his Vibranium Battle Suit could absorb kinetic energy, so he chose to take this heavy blow head-on.
But to his surprise, the hammer contained a strange power of rules.
The moment the hammer touched his Battle Suit, the armor on it fell off on the spot.
This was the special ability of the Destroyer's hammer, "Destruction Resonance"; any inorganic matter would have its molecules develop fissures the instant it was touched by this hammer.
Even a Vibranium Battle Suit utilizing nanotechnology was no exception!
On the other side, "Breaker of Faith" Mokk, covered in a layer of greyish matter and resembling a "Gargoyle" from myths and legends, targeted Captain America!
Neither Hawkeye's explosive arrows nor Harry's pumpkin bombs could cause even the slightest damage to his petrified skin.
Mokk didn't even look back at them, mindlessly swinging his hammer at Captain America.
Captain America had nowhere to run and could only use his round shield to defend.
The round shield successfully blocked the attack, but the terrifying force still forced Captain America to his knees.
Captain America was, after all, only a mortal body who had taken the super soldier serum.
His current combat power was at the bottom of the Avengers, and facing a member of The Worthy like Mokk, he was even less of a match.
Although his will remained firm, the sharp pain radiating from his entire skeleton was undeniable.
After barely blocking three strikes, his left arm was completely dislocated.
He gritted his teeth, supporting the shield with his right hand, barely managing not to collapse.
But anyone could see that he was at the end of his rope.
Even though there were only five opponents, the members of the Avengers were being completely suppressed.
This was a crushing defeat with completely unequal combat power!
Watching the Avengers members sinking into despair, Cullooked as if he were watching a great comedy.
Not only did he comfortably cross his legs, but he even had time to cast his great projection spell again.
In the next second, projections of the scene appeared in the skies all over the world again.
People knew that the projection wouldn't bring any good news, but they still subconsciously looked up.
One look was enough to make countless people collapse on the spot in fear.
In the projection, "Iron Man's" Battle Suit was in tatters, and he was currently being forced to dodge in a disheveled way by a shirtless man with eerie dark red skin.
Captain America's Battle Suit was shattered, one arm hanging limply, and he was currently kneeling on the ground, struggling against the fully armored gargoyle.
Natasha, Daisy, Hawkeye, Green Goblin... every Superheroes, familiar to everyone and always calm and confident in memory, now didn't even have the power to parry.
Anyone could see that the defeat of the Avengers was only a matter of time!
How could it be like this?
How could it be like this!
These people... were the hope of humanity!
"Where is Lord The Arbiter?"
"Great Lord The Arbiter, please save your partners, save us who are trapped in fear!"
Just as everyone was praying for the arrival of Lord The Arbiter.
In the projection in the sky, a scarlet light flashed suddenly!
Scarlet energy wrapped around the "Hammer of the Breaker of Faith", causing Mokk's motion of bringing down the hammer to stop abruptly.
This is... Scarlet Witch?!
Just as this thought appeared in everyone's minds.
Wanda's figure appeared in the projection.
She was floating in mid-air, her long dark brown hair lifted by the scarlet energy, dancing wildly in the strong wind.
The scarlet light surging in her eyes was more intense than ever.
"Get lost."
She only said two words.
In the next second, Mokk's pupils shrank, and a powerful force acted on his body, causing his body to uncontrollably fly backward.
Noticing that Wanda was actually able to throw Mokk away, Angrir on the side subconsciously rushed toward Wanda.
The veins on the back of Wanda's hands were bulging from overexertion.
She let out an angry shout, and the scarlet magic energy surged at this moment, forcibly controlling Angrir's three-meter-tall body in mid-air.
Then...
Crack, crack!
The reality-altering effect of Chaos Magic took effect.
Angrir's body began to collapse inch by inch.
This was not a metaphor.
It was a literal collapse.
The indestructible armor on his body, which revealed a lava-like color, was fragile and vulnerable in front of Chaos Magic.
His body twisted and shattered in the scarlet light, finally turning into a pile of black fragments scattered on the ground.
Thud~
The Hammer of the Soul Eater fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
The light on the hammer faded rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
The whole scene was silent.
Not only were the members of the Avengers stunned.
Even the other four members of The Worthy stopped their actions and looked together at the woman shrouded in scarlet light in mid-air.
But Wanda did not stop because of this.
She knew that these people were not the key to deciding this war.
So, despite the fact that killing Angrir had already caused her a great mental drain.
She still stubbornly locked her gaze on Cul, who was sitting on the throne!
She flicked her finger.
Scarlet Chaos Magic shot toward Cul.
At this moment, whether it was the Avengers members present or the audiences around the world looking up at the sky, they all subconsciously held their breath.
The Scarlet Witch was a powerhouse who could fight The Arbiter for dozens of rounds previously.
Maybe she really could...
"Interesting."
Cul was still sitting on the throne, his dark green pupils looking directly at this group of people on the battlefield for the first time.
To be precise—he was looking at Wanda.
He raised a finger somewhat casually.
Hum~!
The scarlet magic energy strangely stalled the moment it was about to land on his body.
Cul reached out and toyed with the magic energy that seemed to have been stripped of its control.
After examining it for a moment, he suddenly clenched his fist.
In the next second, the scarlet magic energy, which was regarded as a light of hope by countless people, was crushed in one go.
"Chaos Magic." Cul's mouth curled up slightly, "It has been a long time since I have seen this power."
He took a step.
Just one step.
But everyone felt the temperature in the air drop by more than ten degrees.
That oppressive sense of fear instantly surged several times over, like an invisible mountain pressing down on everyone's shoulders.
Gwen's knees went soft, and she bit the tip of her tongue hard to keep herself from kneeling down.
Harry was caught off guard and knelt directly on his flying skateboard, causing the skateboard to lose control and fall heavily to the ground.
They often saw Peter make villains kneel with Haoshoku, and they never thought anything of it before!
It wasn't until now, facing this kind of power head-on, that they truly realized how impossible it was to maintain oneself in the face of this will!
Chapter 358: A Life-and-Death Moment
Wanda gritted her teeth.
She could feel the emotion called fear trying to erode her will.
But the essence of Chaos Magic is to distort reality—including distorting one's own emotions.
She forcibly suppressed the fear.
"You are Cul?"
There was a hint of provocation in Wanda's voice.
Cul looked her over with interest, the corners of his mouth curling into an imperceptible arc:
"What an ignorant and fearless little girl."
He raised his hand.
This movement caused the highly tense Wanda to instantly react; she pushed her hands forward, and a torrent of scarlet energy immediately blasted toward Cul.
That energy was enough to raze a mountain to the ground.
But Cul did not dodge.
He simply tapped the scepter in his hand.
A layer of dark green light screen appeared in front of him, and Wanda's Chaos Magic slammed into it like a stream hitting a dam.
The scarlet and dark green intertwined and held each other in a stalemate for about three seconds.
"Clang!"
The scarlet energy abruptly shattered. Affected by this backlash, Wanda subconsciously took a step back, and blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
But compared to the physical pain, what she found even harder to accept was the previous result.
Her Chaos Magic... was defeated head-on?
Not dissolved like with Peter, but crushed by sheer power!
Before she could adjust her emotions and the surging magic within her, Cul had already appeared in front of her.
The speed was so fast that even Pietro couldn't see it clearly.
A large hand covered in dark green runes grabbed Wanda's neck directly.
"Ugh~!"
Wanda grabbed Cul's wrist with both hands, scarlet energy surging wildly in an attempt to corrode his arm.
It was useless.
Once that energy touched the runes on Cul's skin, it vanished instantly, like snowflakes falling onto a branding iron.
"Let her go!"
Pietro turned into a silver afterimage and rushed over, slamming a fist into the back of Cul's head.
Cul didn't even turn his head.
His other hand swiped backward casually, and a stream of dark green energy swatted Pietro away.
Pietro's body tumbled a dozen times in the air before crashing heavily into the ruins three hundred meters away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Pietro!" Wanda's eyes instantly turned blood-red.
The Chaos Magic within her went berserk at this moment!
The force of this moment was so strong that even Cul, who had been somewhat careless and relaxed, was shaken into forcibly letting go.
"Hmm?!"
Cul let out a surprised sound, and then appreciation was visibly added to his eyes.
"Such talent... remarkable!"
Seeing that Wanda still wanted to fight, he raised his scepter. The gem at the top of the scepter lit up, and four giant snakes made of dark green energy immediately flew out, tightly binding Wanda's limbs so she couldn't move again.
"Your talent is unique across the entire Nine Realms." Culpaced slowly around Wanda, as if examining a precious collection.
"With your potential... if you were to obtain that, you might truly become an existence that could threaten me."
Speaking of this, he stopped and looked at Wanda, saying:
"However, come to think of it, the reason I was able to awaken so early is thanks to you... From this perspective, you could even be considered my benefactor."
"Therefore, I will give you a choice."
"Submit to me and become my eighth The Worthy—no, something nobler than The Worthy."
Cul reached out his hand, and a ball of dark green light condensed in his palm, within which the phantom of a crown was vaguely visible.
"I am willing to groom you as the future ruler of the Nine Realms."
"After I complete my revenge and reign over the Nine Realms once more, I will pass the throne to you."
"At that time, you will become the new ruler of the Nine Realms."
"Superior to all gods."
These words were transmitted simultaneously to everyone in the World through the global projection system Cul had previously established.
Everyone was holding their breath, and Sin was so jealous that her eyes turned blood-red.
Ruler of the Nine Realms.
This bargaining chip... was just too tempting.
The hearts of the members of the Avengers were in their throats.
They didn't understand Wanda.
They didn't know what choice this woman would make.
If she agreed—
Then everything would truly be over.
Wanda lowered her head, her long hair covering her expression.
The silence lasted for five seconds.
Then she raised her head.
In those scarlet eyes, there was no hesitation, no struggle, and not even anger.
Only three cold words were spat out from her lips:
"In your dreams."
Crisp.
Decisive.
Leaving no room for anything else.
Cul's expression froze.
A trace of disbelief flashed in his pupils, immediately replaced by intense killing intent.
"Ungrateful."
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"Since that's the case... then go to hell."
Cul raised his right hand, and a pitch-black energy ball condensed in his palm.
Dark green lightning constantly crackled on the surface of the energy ball; anyone could see the extraordinariness of this attack.
Without a doubt, if this energy ball hit Wanda, she would undoubtedly die!
"Stop!"
Captain America threw his shield at Cul with all his might.
The Vibranium shield cut through the air, accurately hitting Cul's wrist.
"Cling."
The shield bounced off.
Cul's wrist didn't move an inch.
He didn't even look at Captain America.
The energy cannon from Tony, firing at full power, blasted onto Cul's back, exploding into a dazzling ball of fire.
The fire dissipated.
Cul's clothes didn't even wrinkle.
Gwen's spider web wrapped around Cul's arm, and she pulled backward with all her might.
The web stretched taut for a second, then snapped.
Everyone was fighting for their lives.
But all their efforts combined couldn't make Cul's movements deviate by even a millimeter.
This is the gap between gods and mortals.
An insurmountable chasm.
The black energy ball in Cul's palm grew larger and brighter.
Global viewers were holding their breath at this moment; many even knelt on the ground, praying to God, gods, or The Arbiter to bring a miracle.
Looking at that power capable of completely obliterating her, Wanda slowly closed her eyes.
She still didn't feel a shred of fear.
Strange.
Facing death at this moment, she actually didn't feel any fear, but rather, was incomparably calm.
What emerged in her mind was a face that was overly young, with a somewhat punchable smile.
Peter Parker.
The man who brought her and Pietro to America, left the cold jade bed for her, and let her have a good sleep for a long time.
Is this the end?
Although it feels a bit sloppy.
However... if I die like this, I won't owe you anything anymore, right?
Cul pushed his palm forward.
The black energy ball left his hand and blasted toward Wanda's face.
Everyone's heart stopped beating at this moment.
And then...
"Boom!!!"
A golden pillar of energy descended from the sky, accurately intercepting that black energy ball!
The two forces collided in mid-air, exploding into a shockwave capable of razing all buildings within a hundred-meter radius to the ground.
Cul's pupils shrank suddenly.
He looked up abruptly, releasing his aura without reservation like an enraged lion.
In the sky, a rift was expanding.
That was no ordinary rift; the other end of the rift connected to a brilliant golden sea of stars.
That was... the light of the Bifrost Bridge!