As Qi Yun and Thanos ceased their battle, the conflict on Earth also reached its climax.
“So, you’re just abandoning Loki? He must be quite disappointed,” Qi Yun remarked to Thanos.
Beneath their feet was a thoroughly shattered asteroid, which would cease to exist once they departed. Hopefully, no students were writing their theses on it.
“He’s just a pawn,” Thanos replied dismissively before turning to leave.
Qi Yun glanced into the distance. The fleet that had emboldened Loki was already retreating. Thanos had orchestrated everything perfectly.
As the fleet retreated, all invaders on Earth simultaneously collapsed, ceasing all movement.
Loki, who had been laughing moments before, was now in utter disbelief.
“How can this be?!” Loki was stunned.
No matter, I still have my scepter. There’s still a chance!
Turning around, Loki realized the scepter that should have been behind him had vanished.
With 99% of their enemies suddenly neutralized, Lin Zhengying and the others felt an immediate release of pressure.
Glancing at the now-clear sky, Lin Zhengying sighed. It seemed their group was never the key to this war.
But regardless, the cleanup had to be done.
He pulled out a new Taoist robe from his personal space and donned it. Now, a righteous and imposing Taoist priest stood before everyone.
Luo Yi timely placed a bowl of clear water on a table before Lin Zhengying.
“Half a bowl of water to stabilize the universe!”
Lin Zhengying thrust his wooden sword into the bowl, causing the water to vanish instantly.
The area within a hundred meters around him dimmed, a force rising through his body to his spiritual platform.
Retracting his sword, a yellow talisman appeared at its tip. Lin Zhengying raised his sword high.
Stepping the Eight Trigrams of Yin and Yang, he chanted the Urgent Jade Command.
As the sword was drawn, it could judge life and death and determine good and evil spirits.
Luo Yi watched without blinking. As a longtime companion, he knew Lin Zhengying’s innate skill required high preparation and conditions, but its effects were unrivaled once complete.
A few stars shone brightly in the dim sky. Lin Zhengying borrowed their power and swung his sword at the portal.
The starlight cut through the energy pillar, destabilizing it and shutting down the portal.
Annie watched another portal close and turned to her sister.
“Hey, sis, are you done? Everyone else is faster than us,” Annie asked.
“Almost. I’ve figured out the elemental distribution and operation within this thing,” Anna said, rubbing her eyes before stepping back.
Familiar streams of flame surged from her hands as she began to replace some of the energy elements within the pillar.
Raising her hands, the flames danced in her palms. Anna closed her eyes, waiting for the right moment.
Suddenly, she clapped her hands together, successfully integrating a new force into the energy pillar.
The moment the pillar hit its critical point, the crucial elements disappeared, causing the pillar to dissolve.
“Got another one,” Natasha said, kicking a stone. “Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark, are you done yet?”
“Almost, almost, don’t rush us,” Tony and Banner both replied, each holding a terminal computer. They backtracked the energy pillar’s basic principles with JARVIS’s hardware and computing power.
“Okay! Done! I truly am a genius,” Tony sighed, his computer displaying the key points of the energy pillar.
“Fortunately, even under control, these scientists didn’t lose their professionalism and left backdoors for repairs,” Banner said, relieved.
“So, what next?” Rogers asked.
“Next? We borrow your shield,” Banner replied with a mischievous smile.
…
“Yes, now! Insert it!” Banner instructed Rogers, watching the dynamic model of the energy pillar.
Following orders, Rogers thrust his shield into the pillar. This time, it didn’t bounce back. The paint on the shield’s surface vanished instantly, leaving only the vibranium core.
The vibranium absorbed the pillar’s energy, causing it to lose its stability and collapse.
Within minutes, only one portal remained in New York.
“Finally, it’s time to end this,” everyone said, looking at Loki.
Thor stood over his brother. He had joined the battle in its latter stages, his main contribution being to suppress Loki.
“Even now, you still refuse to give up?” Thor asked Loki.
“You don’t understand… you don’t understand!”
Loki turned and roared at Thor, “Do you think you can lecture me because you’re the next in line?”
“Since we were young, you’ve never surpassed me in anything. In cunning, I’ve deceived you countless times. In learning, I know far more magic than you. In politics, I wouldn’t start a war without cause. And yet, you are the chosen one. Do you know why?”
Thor listened to Loki’s hysterics, gripping his hammer tightly.
Thor was inferior to Loki in many ways, but he excelled in one way—strength.
Asgard needed a leader who could intimidate the Nine Realms like Odin, not a god of mischief.
“You don’t understand, you never will!” Loki raged. “But you haven’t won, not yet!”
Loki pulled out the Casket of Ancient Winters, freezing Thor in place.
By the time Thor broke free, Loki had reached the last portal.
Taking one last look at Earth, Loki stepped through, leaving the Nine Realms behind.
Tony sighed behind Thor. Asgard’s education had clearly failed. This also reminded him of the importance of his future children’s education with Pepper.
“What do we do with this?” Anna asked, standing before the last projector. This one housed the real Tesseract, far more challenging than the others.
“I’ll handle it,” a voice said from behind.
A now-recovered Selvig, supported by Nick Fury, approached.
“Luckily, I retained my scientific integrity and left a few maintenance channels,” Selvig said with a shrug.
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