Chapter 205: Such an Overbearing Blessing Effect
Did it unlock a new blessing just like that?
Hearing the sudden system prompt, Loya was slightly stunned, but quickly reacted with no expression change on his face.
Now was not the time to study this new blessing; it was better to clearly explain what needed to be explained first.
Even though the desired goal was accidentally achieved, from multiple perspectives, the process of liberating Sokovia still had to be completed.
In fact, Loya's original intention was just being deeply displeased with those heinous nobles and royals, wanting to help Wanda liberate Sokovia, and incidentally trying to see if a new blessing could be unlocked.
He just didn't expect that because of some insights and heartfelt words, this incidental attempt was actually completed just like that.
The process hadn't even been walked through yet, but the result was already in hand—it was simply outrageous.
Truly, the world is unpredictable; who could have imagined it?
Therefore, it was all the more reason to help Wanda and Pietro liberate Sokovia.
Otherwise, how could he live up to this blessing, and how could he live up to his original intention of choosing to do this in the first place?
As the saying goes, stay true to one's original aspiration, and one shall achieve the ultimate goal.
This was verified right here.
Thus, Loya prepared to ask if Wanda and Pietro understood what he had said.
Just at that moment, he discovered something was wrong.
Why was his body shining so brightly? It was like a lightbulb.
He raised his hand, and in a split second, he had an epiphany.
When obtaining a new Grace of the Sun blessing, it usually came with some anomalous phenomena, just like how the sunlight was currently changing direction and converging onto him.
No wonder Wanda and Pietro were dumbfounded; so that was why.
Loya had thought those two siblings had attained complete enlightenment.
"Ahem." Loya cleared his throat, and the anomalous phenomenon of converging sunlight slowly dissipated, restoring the light to normal.
He looked at Wanda and Pietro: "Don't worry about these trivial details; the important thing is, did you understand what I just said?"
Wanda and Pietro shut their mouths, swallowed simultaneously, and were still shocked by the scene just now.
Loya's image in their hearts became even more mysterious and powerful. To think that just speaking a few words could cause such a phenomenon of sunlight twisting out of thin air—it was simply incredible.
After catching her breath slightly, Wanda nodded, her eyes shimmering: "I understand."
Pietro also nodded: "Me too."
Loya's explanation was already very clear.
Wanda and Pietro also understood.
Liberation was not just physical, but also ideological, and it had to adapt to a country's current situation.
Moreover, Loya's identity and experiences were completely unsuited for Sokovia, and it would be difficult to elicit true, essential resonance.
Liberation led by him would be nothing more than another form of rule in a different sense.
The exterior would change, but the core would remain the same. It would be meaningful, but short-lived, and ultimately return to the starting point.
If a country and its people wanted to truly stand up, what they needed was not just external liberation, but even more so, the awakening of internal ideology.
With only the exterior, they would ultimately just be puppets drifting with the current.
Liberation from the inside out was true liberation.
According to Loya, they were indeed very suitable for the task of liberating Sokovia.
Wanda and Pietro were Sokovians, and furthermore, they had struggled in the dust since childhood and joined a resistance organization, knowing very well where the stubborn ills of this country lay.
This was something those high-and-mighty royalty and nobles could never truly experience firsthand, nor were they willing to experience.
Moreover, their background could also arouse a much wider resonance.
Regardless of status, position, or experience, Wanda and Pietro were very suitable; they just lacked an opportunity and assistance.
And Loya was that opportunity and assistance.
Thinking of this, Wanda and Pietro felt even more grateful and admiring toward Loya.
Not only did he help them awaken their abilities, but he also helped them change their destiny, and even change the destiny of the entire country.
This kind of change was not a superficial change, but a fundamental one.
One could imagine how much thought and energy was put into it.
He didn't even charge any compensation; it was purely out of help.
Handsome, capable, and kind-hearted—he was simply perfect.
Wanda's eyes shimmered with brilliant colors as she pondered deeply.
Pietro also pondered deeply, only hating that he wasn't a woman; otherwise, he would definitely marry Loya.
[Wanda's favorability +5, Current favorability: 76]
[Pietro's favorability +15, Current favorability: 70]
Loya smiled and nodded: "It's good that you understand. In short, remember one thing: as long as you are willing to do it, I will help you. But I will not directly intervene; the rest can only rely on yourselves. This is your own path of liberation."
"As for now, well..."
Changing the subject, he took out the notes on basic magic knowledge that he had prepared long ago and handed them to Wanda.
"These are some basic magic knowledge I compiled. Take a look first, and feel free to ask me anything you don't understand. Just as I warned you earlier, before liberating Sokovia, you must have the ability to protect yourselves."
Wanda happily took the notes and went to the side to read through them.
There was no need to worry that Wanda wouldn't be able to learn, because her Chaos Magic was inherently a power to modify reality.
To put it bluntly, it was the power of 'I think therefore it is', an extremely idealistic ability. As long as she felt she could learn it, she could learn it.
Understanding some basic magic knowledge was equivalent to giving her a primer, making her use of Chaos Magic even more handy.
This was also the reason why Loya directly wrote notes; teaching Wanda required no tedious steps at all, just a little bit of guidance.
Afterwards, Loya looked at Pietro again, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "As for you..."
His expression became somewhat playful.
"You must properly train your body's instinctive reactions so that your body reacts faster than your brain."
"Huh?" Pietro scratched his head with a blank look, "What should I do?"
Loya smiled slightly and whispered in Pietro's ear: "I will use magic to ambush you anytime, anywhere."
Thinking of something, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, "As long as you get hit once, I will make you yang * for an hour. Doing this is a piece of cake for me."
"What?" Pietro stepped back a few steps, his eyes wide open, and his expression changing drastically in alarm.
What kind of punishment was this?!
Why could Wanda quietly read books, while he had to face this devilish training? He was just a child over two hundred months old!
Why did he have to face the baptism of magic shortly after awakening his abilities? Wasn't this a bit too overpowered?
And this punishment was so perverted!
This wasn't fair!
Loya wouldn't care what Pietro was thinking; this guy was so arrogant earlier and needed a good lesson.
He smiled gently: "It's starting ~"
"Huh?" Pietro was startled. Before he could react, he felt a chill on top of his head, something swept past, and immediately a wisp of hair slowly drifted past his eyes.
"You've been hit! The punishment begins!" Loya shouted softly, green light suddenly appearing in his hand and falling onto Pietro.
Pietro's face turned pale, and he shivered, feeling as if something could no longer be felt—that was a man's dignity—he couldn't help but let out a mournful wail: "No!"
Before he finished wailing, he saw Loya's eyes change again.
Pietro's expression changed drastically, and almost instinctively activating his ability, he instantly vanished from inside the room.
Loya had a wicked smile on his face and gently shook his head.
Wanda and Pietro's matters were arranged, and he also had time to look at this new blessing.
[The sun has recognized your understanding and will regarding liberation, you have obtained the Sun Blessing]
[Grace of the Sun has been upgraded, adding a blessing effect]
[Blessing Effect: Liberation]
[Liberation: You can see and release the shackles binding life, mind, and soul. Despair, fear, obsession, cognitive barriers, ideological steel stamps — all intangible things imprisoning the will will disintegrate under the shining of the Power of the Sun! The liberated will see themselves clearly. As your power and understanding of the world increase, the shackles you can release will not be limited to intangible things imprisoning the will. Added a blessing effect, the essence of the Power of the Sun has been enhanced. (Releasing shackles consumes your own power; the stronger the shackles, the greater the consumption)]
[Evaluation: The sun simply rises as usual, yet it can guide the way for all living beings]
"Such an overbearing blessing!"
Looking at the description on the system panel, while feeling the information in his mind and the endlessly circulating Power of the Sun within his body, whose essence was becoming increasingly pure and powerful, Loya couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
The unlocking of this blessing was unexpected, and the effects it brought were also unexpected.
Just this ability to liberate various mental shackles was extremely outrageous.
How should I put it, this meant that for those who were brainwashed or mind-controlled, Loya only needed to move a thought to help untie them and let them return to normal.
Even those subtle influences and distorted world perceptions could be untied, allowing them to wake up and restore their original perceptions.
Even the mental control of a Dimensional Demon Godcould be untied.
It could be called the nemesis of those religions and cults.
After all, most religions and cults rely on subtle brainwashing methods.
If they were to know that Loya could do such a thing, they would probably try every possible means to kill him.
At the same time, this was also the nemesis of Hydra. The Hydra members cultivated since childhood and the concepts painstakingly instilled in them were just a matter of a single thought in front of Loya, which could make them suddenly enlightened.
This blessing was like an ability to inspire thought, allowing people to view and think about problems free from various influences, and see themselves clearly.
To say the least, on the point of rebellion and subversion, it was definitely ridiculously strong.
"Hiss ~ Why do I feel like I am another version of Nangong Wenyue?"
Loya took a deep breath and couldn't help thinking this.
He shook his head and stopped letting his imagination run wild. This blessing could not only remove invisible shackles, but also had other wonderful uses, so he had to try it out.
Loya turned his head to look at Wanda, who was quietly browsing through magic notes on the side, and secretly activated this ability.
The next moment, what he could see in front of his eyes changed.
According to his cognition, he could clearly see several materialized shackles appearing on Wanda's body.
With a careful perception, Loya knew what these shackles represented.
Among them, the most powerful one was the shackles brought by hatred, which bound her spirit to a large extent.
The main source of this hatred need not be mentioned much.
It was Tony.
Wanda's parents' death was due to a missile from Stark Industries.
Therefore, Wanda and Pietro hated Tony, the owner of Stark Industries, to the bone.
In the original plot, they participated in the Hydraexperiment just for revenge, not even fearing death, which was enough to show the depth of their hatred.
However, Loya did not remove this shackle formed by hatred.
Meals must be eaten one bite at a time, and roads must be walked one step at a time.
After helping Wanda liberate Sokovia, Loya would find an opportunity to let Tony and the Wanda siblings meet and mediate.
Removing it at that time would be the best timing.
Moreover, removing the hatred shackles did not mean that the hatred disappeared; it just meant not being controlled by hatred, being able to look at problems more rationally, without losing reason, giving a feeling of having an external brain.
Of course, releasing different shackles brought different effects; emotional shackles were one aspect, while thinking and cognitive shackles were another.
These aspects still needed further testing, and now it was time to try something else.
Loya looked around the room and finally locked his gaze on the banana tree on the balcony, the one fished up using the "void fishing rod".
He walked slowly to the banana tree, secretly activated his ability, then stretched out his right hand, his fingertips touching the tree trunk.
A golden light lit up from the point of contact, then quickly spread, wrapping up the entire banana tree, and disappeared after a moment.
Just at the moment when the golden light disappeared.
Swish!
The banana tree instantly soared into the sky like a cannonball.
The entire banana tree disintegrated in an instant; the trunk burst, turning into flying debris, instantly burning under high-speed friction, and the carried sap evaporated instantly.
In the blink of an eye, the entire banana tree had disappeared without a trace.
Looking at this scene before him, Loya raised an eyebrow, shock appearing in his eyes: "Goodness, this blessing is indeed too overbearing!"
"What happened?" Wanda, who was reading magic notes, raised her head with a puzzled look, obviously startled by the commotion.
Loya waved his hand and smiled: "I am testing magic, it is nothing, you continue reading."
Wanda didn't think too much and lowered her head again to continue browsing the magic notes; these things were so interesting!
Loya looked at the spot where the banana tree had disappeared and couldn't help curving the corners of his mouth.
The reason why the banana tree suddenly flew into the sky just now was actually very simple.
It was because Loya liberated the banana tree from the binding of something.
This binding, or rather shackle, was none other than gravity!
That's right, it was gravity.
Liberating this blessing could not only liberate mental shackles, but gravity was also considered a shackle and could be liberated as well!
This was the liberation of shackles on different things based on cognition, not limited to gravity, but many others.
Why did the banana tree fly into the sky? Because losing the binding of gravity, it was directly flung out by the Earth's rotation.
Perhaps this banana tree would never have imagined in its lifetime that it would experience two extremely outrageous things in a single day.
First fished up from the void by a fishing line, and then flying into the sky on the spot after losing gravity.
This was perhaps the most legendary banana tree in history.
Loya nodded repeatedly, muttering inwardly: "How is this liberation blessing just overbearing, it's simply rampant! This is a conceptual ability!"
How many people on this Earth could withstand being hit like this?
Can the physical body withstand this speed?
Even if it could withstand it, landing would be a major problem; it could only fly in the sky following the Earth's rotation.
If used to deal with enemies, it would truly be terrifying.
It could even be used to liberate the shackles of bodily instincts and burst out ultimate potential.
Of course, doing this consumed quite a bit, and the damage to the body was especially severe.
There was also a most crucial point: liberation only cared about removing shackles, but not restoring to the original state; once liberated, it couldn't go back.
It was best not to use it on oneself.
Not long after the simple test, Loya received a message that the people sent by Pierce to take over the Sokoviabase had arrived.
Leading them was that bald fence-sitter Sitwell.
Loya didn't say anything and on the spot used "absolute command perfume" to control all the newly arrived Hydramembers.
Afterwards, he asked them if they knew what Pierce was doing, and the result was naturally that they didn't know.
In the following days, Loya did not receive the next task instructions from Pierce and Fury.
He stayed in the base, either practicing "Qi" and resonating with the Cosmo, or guiding Wanda in magic and training Pietro's physical reactions.
Loya felt that Pietro must have had a very tormenting time these past few days, because his sun * time had accumulated to two weeks.
However, the benefits brought were also great; Pietro's physical reactions were getting faster and faster, and many times he didn't need to think with his brain, his body would instinctively react.
Pietro: "Little brother! Stand up for me! Alas ~"
Of course, Loya hadn't forgotten to farm favorability either.
Every day, he used different tricks with the "automatic cooking pot" to make delicious food for the two siblings, and implemented praise therapy for Wanda to make her confident.
Pietro visibly grew stronger, and his favorability reached seventy-eight points.
Wanda also gradually grew a bit fuller, no longer looking sallow and emaciated as before, and her favorability even reached eighty-three points.
The whole person also became confident, radiating a unique brilliance; recently, the way she looked at Loya was different.
Hmm ———— Loya didn't know how to describe this look, and the emotions Wanda displayed were also very strange; anyway ————
It was just very subtle.
There was also a small interlude in between: the supplies that Loya asked the Wolf God Cult to donate to Sokoviawere actually embezzled!
To think there were still people who dared to embezzle his things.
This was truly unbearable!
He was so angry that he immediately found those bastards and liberated them from the binding of gravity.
The result was ascending on the spot, and the scene was quite unsuitable for children.
Finally, today, while Loya was guiding Wanda in magic, his phone vibrated.
He took out his phone to check, and it was sent by Pierce, with only a string of addresses and a sentence on it.
"Final cleanup!"
Chapter 206: Who Claims Invincibility, Who Dares Speak of Undefeated?
Looking at the message on his phone, Loya felt a surge of joy.
It seemed Pierce was planning to wipe out that branch of Hydra once and for all, and summoning him was likely for some hacking and slashing.
He would go straight there, slicing from south to north and back from north to south without even blinking an eye.
After waiting for so long, this day had finally arrived.
Once he finished this final cleanup mission, he could go mess around in a dungeon world.
He had really been looking forward to this for a long time.
At that thought, Loya pocketed his phone, looked over at Wanda, who was gazing at him eagerly, and smiled gently. "Wanda, I have to step out for a bit. Practice your magic on your own for now."
"Huh?" Hearing this, Wanda subconsciously grabbed Loya's arm, her face filled with reluctance. "When will you be back?"
After spending these past few days together, Wanda found herself enjoying being with Loya more and more.
He was like a warm sun; simply being beside him brought an indescribable warmth that felt reassuring and comforting.
He was always praising her too, giving her encouragement and confidence.
On top of that, he constantly came up with new ways to cook all kinds of delicious food for her.
It was the most delicious food she had ever eaten in her life, and these past days were the happiest she had ever experienced—the kind of life she had once only dreamed of.
Now that Loya suddenly said he was leaving, Wanda felt deeply reluctant to let go, terrified that she wouldn't see him for a long time.
She could hardly bear to imagine what life would be like without seeing Loya for a long time; it was too terrifying.
At the thought, Wanda hugged his arm even tighter, blinking her big, watery eyes as she gazed up at Loya.
Feeling the softness against his arm, Loya couldn't resist rubbing Wanda's head and reassured her, "It probably won't take long. I'll be back soon, don't worry."
Spending day and night together recently, Loya had frequently deployed his praise tactics to flatter Wanda, successfully farming quite a bit of affection through various actions.
Perhaps he had overdone it, or maybe it was something else, but Wanda was now extremely reliant on him and incredibly clingy.
Except for sleeping and using the restroom, she basically spent every moment with him.
Even when Loya was cultivating his "Qi"—sitting in silence for hours at a time—Wanda insisted on staying by his side, keeping him company without doing anything at all, just like a clingy little kitten.
Sometimes she would even stare at him for hours on end. Well... it gave him a bittersweet feeling of painful bliss.
And—
How to put it? The emotions Wanda occasionally displayed were somewhat peculiar, carrying a slightly morbid undertone.
Loya kept wondering if he had messed up his romance route somewhere. It would be a real headache if she turned into a yandere, especially since he couldn't pinpoint where the problem was.
Sure enough, galgames were never that simple; a woman's heart was truly difficult to understand.
He also wondered what kind of good rewards he could pull once Wanda's affection reached ninety.
Hearing Loya's reassurance, Wanda finally relaxed, released his arm, and nodded repeatedly. "I'll practice my magic diligently and strive to liberate Sokovia as soon as possible."
Loya smiled faintly and nodded, reminding her to balance work and rest, not to overwork herself, and to simply find anyone in the base if she needed anything.
He had already given strict orders to the Hydra personnel at this base: aside from himself, Wanda and Pietro held the highest authority, and their word was law.
Afterward, Loya found Pietro and informed him that he would be stepping out for a while.
Although Pietro's facial expression remained calm—even showing a hint of reluctance—under Loya's "Mind's Eye" perception, his true emotions were crystal clear.
The kid was overjoyed.
It was only natural when thinking about it. After all, he had been constantly ambushed by magic these past few days and had to remain on high alert even while sleeping.
Now that he had a brief period free from all of that, it was practically a vacation; it would be weird if he weren't thrilled.
Loya didn't call him out either, merely patting Pietro's shoulder with a hollow smile. "Rest well. When I get back, your training doubles!"
"Huh?" Pietro turned pale with fright, the sliver of joy in his heart vanishing without a trace. Before he could even beg for mercy, Loya vanished into thin air.
Staring at the empty room, Pietro let out a sigh and couldn't help uttering a mournful cry: "No—!"
Following the address, Loya soon arrived near his destination.
However, instead of heading straight for Pierce and Fury, he planned to first conduct a brief high-altitude reconnaissance to ensure everything went smoothly; it had already become second nature to him.
Down below lay an extraordinarily sprawling super-estate, lavish beyond belief.
Seeing it made Loya want to hang the estate's Master from a lamppost.
This was the family estate of Gideon Malick, a high-ranking member of the World Security Council.
This man was also one of Hydra's current leaders—the head of the founding faction—who advocated for teleporting Hive, the true origin of Hydra, back from his place of exile to rule the Earth.
The Inhuman who had previously attempted to seize the Mind Scepter was one of this guy's subordinates.
Only right now, his situation was far from optimistic.
Concealed within the cloud layer, Loya spread his "Voice of All Things" across the entire estate and its surroundings, carefully observing the situation.
By now, the perimeter of the estate was swarming with Hydra—or rather, S.H.I.E.L.D.—agents.
Some of the agents held specialized devices spraying an invisible mist that had already completely engulfed the entire estate.
Loya instantly understood the purpose of the mist: it was meant to counter Inhumans.
He could clearly perceive that with every breath taken by the few remaining Inhumans inside the manor, their physical strength deteriorated, visibly weakened by the mist.
The defensive forces within the entire estate were practically non-existent as well.
This confirmed his earlier suspicion: Pierce truly intended to eliminate this branch of Hydra.
"Pierce and Fury actually have this up their sleeves?"
Loya raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
Pierce and Fury had actually developed a drug specifically designed to incapacitate Inhumans; they were truly insidious enough.
Still, why call him here? The Inhumans had already been crippled by the chemical agent, so his presence didn't seem decisive. Surely they didn't bring him along just to stomp easy targets?
Soon after, Loya investigated further and came to an abrupt realization.
He pinpointed Gideon Malick's location.
Inside the laboratory where the Hydra leader was located stood a colossal cubic black monolith, flanked by incomprehensible instruments and several uniformed researchers.
They were frantically working, while Gideon Malick stood beside them looking anxious, constantly urging them forward.
The researchers operated the equipment desperately, drenched in sweat.
Loya understood what was happening: they were attempting to bring Hive back.
This monolith was a product of Kree technology—a teleportation device capable of reaching the planet where Hive was exiled.
What Gideon Malick's faction of Hydra had always sought to accomplish was summoning Hive to return.
In secret, they had even spearheaded something called "Project Distant Star," all to bring Hive back and fulfill their ambition of ruling the Earth.
Looking at Gideon Malick's cornered state now, though, he had clearly run out of options and was staking everything on a desperate gamble, attempting to forcibly summon Hive in hopes of reversing the situation.
Loya hadn't anticipated that during the days he was on standby in Sokovia, Pierce and Fury had already pushed this Hydra leader into such a corner.
As expected of two crafty old foxes—joining forces made them virtually unstoppable.
Could it be that killing Hive was Pierce's true objective?
Without eradicating Hive, it would be difficult to claim complete dominance over Hydra, since a large portion of Hydra members regarded Hive as Hydra's true deity.
Such deep-seated ideological shackles were exceptionally hard to shatter.
The best approach was to make the god bleed, or even slay the god, take his place, and shift the balance of power.
A new god rising by stepping over the corpse of the old god was the fastest and most effective way.
Was Pierce planning to elevate himself into the new God of Hydra?
Loya couldn't help but speculate; that old geezer's ambition was truly colossal.
However, he didn't care about that at all. Following his usual playbook, he once again used the "absolute command perfume" to quietly bring all the Hydraoperatives present under his control.
Whatever Pierce planned to do in the future, Loya would learn about it through the controlled Hydra operatives—a triple agent scenario at its finest.
New god or not, who cared? They were all just puppet gods, mere quest dispensers.
Pierce's reason for summoning Loya here was now obvious: to deal with Hive.
After all, he was still S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ace Agent and their current strongest combat asset.
Loya was thoroughly pleased with Pierce's arrangement.
Hive was definitely a boss-tier target.
Going to Pierce to pick up the mission to eliminate Hivemeant securing both a boss reward and a mission completion reward—killing two birds with one stone, an absolute jackpot.
As expected of Pierce, what a splendid quest dispenser.
At that thought, Loya couldn't help chuckling and immediately rushed toward the specific address Pierce had provided.
Before long, he arrived at the concealed safehouse near the estate.
There, he met Fury and Coulson, as well as veteran agents like Natasha and Barton.
Strangely enough, Pierce was nowhere to be seen.
Loya was slightly startled before understanding washed over him.
It would actually be unnatural for Pierce to show up here; after all, Gideon Malick knew him, and it would be disastrous if an unexpected slip-up blew his cover.
Although he didn't know the exact circumstances that drove Gideon Malick into a corner, Malick clearly hadn't suspected Pierce; otherwise, he would have dragged Pierce down with him long ago.
At the same time, having Fury step forward offered another advantage.
Even if remnants survived after this branch of Hydra was wiped out, their sole target for revenge would be Fury.
Pierce walked away with everything while taking zero responsibility; only Fury bore the brunt of it.
Director Nick Fury would have to take the fall once again.
Loya couldn't help but smile and waved to Fury. "Hey, Director, long time no see. Looks like we have a big operation today. Remember to give me a generous bonus."
He then greeted Coulson and the others as well.
Fury narrowed his single eye and sighed helplessly. "I'll pay you well above the standard bonus for this mission, and once it's completed, I will promote your Agentclearance level. However—"
AI Model: gemini-3.7-flash
He paused, his expression solemn and tone grave. "This mission is extremely dangerous. If anything goes wrong, it could endanger
the entire world. You must not be careless under any circumstances, understand?"
Loya badly wanted to laugh, but held it in and nodded with a serious look on his face.
Next, Fury explained the specific mission plan, their target, and details he hadn't had the chance to share before.
Most of it was similar to what Pierce had left on the note.
Nothing more than how they had uncovered Hydra's conspiracy, how Fury and Pierce devised a scheme to locate Hydra's stronghold, wear down their forces, and prepare to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
All highlighting their wisdom and competence.
Now came the final cleanup operation; only by taking down Hive could Hydra be thoroughly ended.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had already set up a trap here and prepped heavy weaponry.
The moment Hive appeared, they would unleash full firepower to obliterate the entire estate.
But according to their intelligence, Hive was terrifyingly strong and possessed extraordinary vitality.
Nuclear weapons couldn't be used in this location, and fearing that their prepared weaponry might fail to destroy him completely, Loya's intervention was needed at the critical moment.
Loya's task was straightforward and brutal, yet crucially important: eradicate Hive completely.
If the weapons prepared by S.H.I.E.L.D. failed to destroy Hive, it would be his turn to act.
It was indeed largely as he had anticipated.
Even so, he feigned intense shock, fully committing to the drama to provide emotional value.
Fury's emotions were thoroughly stirred by Loya's performance, harboring a joy he kept hidden beneath the surface.
And after listening to Fury's briefing, a system quest was indeed triggered.
[Fury has issued you a quest]
[Final phase of the phased quest triggered]
[Quest: Final Cleanup]
[Objective: Completely eradicate Hive]
[Rewards: +5,000 EXP, Random Item x2]
[Quest: "Standby" Completed]
[Rewards: +500 EXP]
Loya composed his expression, instantly stood at attention, and said solemnly, "Understood! Mission guaranteed to be accomplished!"
Fury nodded in satisfaction and patted Loya's shoulder. "Good man. Rest for now; we'll probably have to wait a while. Remember, be careful with everything!"
Loya nodded, stepped aside, pulled out the "hacker phone" to scroll through videos, and quietly waited for Hive's arrival.
Of course, taking out the "hacker phone" wasn't merely to kill time; he was quietly hacking into the device controlling the weaponry here.
Furthermore, he manipulated the power of wind to issue commands to the armed agents: without his order, do not attack, and pretend to be compromised.
This was a necessary move. Hive wasn't nearly as strong as Fury made him out to be; wanting to use nuclear warheads against him from the start was giving Hive far too much credit.
Although Hive's abilities were formidable among Inhumans, he certainly couldn't withstand a nuclear warhead; even enduring missiles would be a stretch.
In the original storyline, Hive was killed in an explosion, and that was after he had consumed many people. If he couldn't withstand it in that state, let alone now when he had just been teleported over in a starved condition.
Deploying this many personnel and weapons was giving Hive too much respect; if they actually took him out, Loya wouldn't be able to finish his quest.
That was why Loya acted this way, deciding to play Fury to ensure he could take Hive down himself.
Still, Loya loved bosses that were easy to beat—it was practically like picking up free money, pure bliss.
As for why such an unforeseen situation occurred, he could just blame Hydra and Hive later—dead men tell no tales!
Over two hours passed like this, leaving Loya practically dozing off, until finally, a system prompt chimed in his ear.
[Boss Triggered: Hive]
[Objective: Slay Hive]
[Rewards: +15,000 EXP, Random Item x2, Special Item x1, Dungeon Ticket x1 (Apocalyptic Category)]
At the same time, the communicator in Fury's hand rang. Without hesitation, he keyed another communicator and roared, "Fire!!!"
This sudden roar startled everyone except Loya.
They hastily got up and approached Fury, looking together toward the direction of the estate.
However—
Nothing happened.
The anticipated weapon bombardment never came; it remained so quiet it was as though nothing had happened at all.
Fury's expression changed drastically, and he immediately hit the emergency launch button.
Still no response!
He mashed the button frantically, practically pressing it until it smoked, but there was still no reaction.
Fury's face turned completely dark, even darker than his natural skin tone.
He directly dialed the frontline contact's comms and barked, "Agent! What happened? Report."
Under Loya's instructions, naturally there was no response.
All that could be heard over the comms was faint breathing, followed by static, as if jammed by interference.
Fury's brow furrowed tightly; this was trouble.
He hadn't expected something like this to happen at such a juncture. He had made airtight preparations; how could this happen?
Could someone else be aiding Hydra?
Fury dared not imagine what kind of catastrophe it would cause if Hive escaped. Why did things have to go wrong at the absolute final moment!
Just as he was contemplating what to do next, Loyastepped forward. "Director, leave it to me."
He looked at Fury with righteous martyrdom. "If I don't enter hell, who will? Let me deal with this monster. I am absolutely certain I can take him down with me."
Loya's expression darkened slightly. "If the enemy is truly too powerful and I fall, please donate all my remaining money and pension to the Wolf God Cult's foundation."
"Loya!" Fury looked reluctant and pleaded, "Let's think of another way."
Natasha and the others also rushed forward to dissuade him. They never expected that Loya, usually so cheerful and irreverent, would possess such noble resolve in a critical hour, and were deeply moved.
Loya waved his hand and said solemnly, "The situation is critical and Hive is too dangerous. I must go. Sacrificing one for the many—it's a worthy death!"
His resolute demeanor, looking as if he were ready to sacrifice himself for the greater good, struck everyone dumb, plunging them into silence.
Immediately afterward, several notifications of increased favorability chimed in Loya's ears.
Though his face remained resolute, he was rejoicing inside. With "Merciful Blessing," his acting skills were truly off the charts; wasn't this favorability just skyrocketing?
Loya gave a slight nod to everyone and offered an easy smile. "It was an honor knowing all of you. Remember me when I'm gone."
With that, he stepped into the air and departed without looking back, leaving behind the onlookers with varied expressions.
They stood where they were, staring in Loya's direction, unable to calm their hearts for a long time.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hive—his head covered in tentacles and skin a pale purple—had emerged through the portal before Gideon Malick.
Gideon Malick bowed hastily and said reverently, "O God of Hydra, we need—"
Before he could finish, Hive grabbed him by the head.
Countless smoke-like parasites rained down, devouring the Hydra leader clean in an instant.
Seeing this, the other Inhumans and researchers turned pale and instinctively drew their weapons to resist.
The outcome was obvious: before Hive, these people were mere ants and were effortlessly consumed.
A blissful smile spread across Hive's face. He licked his lips and inhaled deeply. "I was starving to death. Finally back. And they actually thought they could use gene serums against me? Utter delusion! I am invincible! I will rule the entire Earth!"
Just then, a booming voice resounded from the horizon, echoing ceaselessly through the laboratory.
"Who claims invincibility? Who dares speak of being undefeated? You think you're an Immortal King?"
"Who's there?!" Hive barked in fury, looking around.
He had just returned and his temper was flaring; this sarcastic sneak who hid in the shadows was the perfect target to vent on.
Just then, Loya was seen treading the air from afar, the buildings before him splitting open on their own to clear a path.
Holding a flame-spewing flamethrower in hand, he drifted past the wreckage of buildings and landed slowly before Hive.
Loya said nothing more. He merely smiled faintly and remarked to Hive, "Time to roast your butt."
Searing solar fire erupted from the flamethrower in his hands. This was a flamethrower transformed from "solar judgment," and its power went without saying.
Before Hive could even react, he felt an unprecedented pressure and scorching heat wash over him, as if facing the sun itself!
An indescribable invisible force bore down, freezing his body in place, unable to move or even make a sound. The fury in his eyes instantly gave way to despair and terror.
Hive could not comprehend when Earth had produced such a monster—he didn't even have the slightest room to resist!
Had he gone to the wrong place? Was this not Earth?
Why did he have to run into this the very moment he returned?
It wasn't fair! Why was this person so strong?!
He suddenly felt that staying on Maveth wasn't so bad after all; he missed home—
A chaotic barrage of thoughts flashed through his mind in a single instant.
In the next moment, the searing flames swallowed Hivecompletely, reducing him to nothingness in a fraction of a second, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
This God of Hydra, who had lived for thousands of years, the source of Hydra—Hive—deceased!
Chapter 207: So Many Rewards
"Hoo~"
Looking at the empty laboratory, Loya let out a long breath and put the flamethrower transformed from the "solar judgment" back into his System Space.
He shook his head with a weird expression: "This Hive is ridiculously weak. He got burned to death so easily without even the slightest sign of entering a second phase, or even any intent to resist."
Loya knew Hive's strength was ordinary, but he didn't understand him deeply. He never expected him to be weak to this extent, feeling that he was only slightly stronger than a normal Inhuman.
He originally thought this guy, who had been worshipped by Hydra for so many years and given the name of a god, would at least put up a bit of a struggle.
As a result, he was burned to death so easily that it made him feel a bit unaccustomed.
At least past bosses would drop some harsh words before dying.
As for this Hive... maybe he was a bit introverted, or perhaps he didn't like to talk, or maybe he couldn't speak because he was starving?
To exile something like this on a whole planet is truly a waste of resources.
It's bizarre enough for Hydra to worship such a thing. What kind of brains do they have?
Loya shook his head.
This Hive was simply a disgrace to bosses, but Loya liked him very much. He loved simple bosses like this; fighting them was effortless and joyful, no different from picking up money.
Loya looked at the place where Hive had been burned to nothingness, and put the giant boulder teleportation device into his System Space. This was loot, after all.
Then he checked the laboratory again and took everything of value. Whether it was useful to him or not, this was all loot, and it had collection value to say the least.
After collecting the loot, Loya casually found a stool and sat down, not planning to leave immediately to report to Fury.
After all, he had just acted so righteously and with such an attitude of mutual destruction that it had made everyone else sentimental.
If it was resolved so quickly, it would more or less be toying with everyone's emotions, affecting his future farming of favorability.
It was better to go back a bit later and forge the scene beforehand.
Taking advantage of this time, he might as well see what the system rewards were.
There was no need to worry about being discovered; the monitoring and surveillance equipment here had long been hacked by him, and no one would notice.
Nor did he need to worry about Fury and the others coming over early. With the "Voice of All Things", he could put on a show at any time.
Thus, Loya leisurely looked at the system panel.
[Final cleanup of the mission is complete]
[Rewards: Experience Points +5000, Item "Wasp's Nest", Item "Universal Fake ID"]
[BOSS "Hive" eliminated]
[Rewards: Experience Points +15000, Item "Infinite Wine Barrel", Item "100% Caught Blade with Bare Hands", Special Item "Staff Fusion Stone", Dungeon Admission Ticket (Apocalypse Type)]
[Wasp's Nest: Lock onto a target. Using the Wasp's Nest will summon a swarm of wasps to attack the target, ignoring defense. The wasps cannot be killed, and once a target is locked onto, no matter where the target hides or what form the target is in, the wasps can find them and launch an attack. The wasps' attacks will bring severe pain]
[Universal Fake ID: Can disguise as any identification document and make people believe in the authenticity of the document]
[Evaluation: This is a fake ID, don't think you actually master the skills on it]
[Infinite Wine Barrel: Randomly refreshes one type of wine every day, with unlimited supply on the day of refreshing]
[Evaluation: A heavy drinker's favorite]
[100% Caught Blade with Bare Hands: This is a longsword. As long as this longsword is swung, the selected target will involuntarily kneel down with hands clasped together, making the posture of catching a blade with bare hands. If the opponent has no hands, hands will be forcibly grown]
[Staff Fusion Strengthening Stone: Can fuse two staff-type items, perfectly preserving the effects of both items and strengthening their original effects]
[Dungeon Admission Ticket (Apocalypse Type): After using this admission ticket, you will enter an apocalypse world and obtain generous rewards upon completing the mission (Recommended Level: 20)]
[You have leveled up, obtained Lottery Chance ×1, obtained Free Attribute Point ×3]
[Nick Fury's favorability has reached 90. Conduct a special draw anchored on Nick Fury]
[Congratulations on acquiring ability: Camouflage Color]
[Camouflage Color: You can change your skin color at will, blending yourself into the surrounding environment to achieve powerful camouflage effects]
[Evaluation: You are simply a human chameleon]
[Unlocked Bond Object: Nick Fury]
[Bonds: Conspiratorial Vision, Romance of the One-Eyed]
[Conspiratorial Vision: Your insight and sensitivity to conspiracies are greatly enhanced]
[Romance of the One-Eyed: When you only use one eye, the vision and insight of that single eye are greatly enhanced]
Getting so many rewards at once is simply awesome!
Loya had a blissful smile on his face, and this time's rewards were also quite good.
The "Wasp's Nest" item was extraordinary; it was a conceptual item that reminded him of the conceptual god-level wasp nest from Boonie Bears.
Although it only caused severe pain and didn't deal high damage, no matter what state the target was in or where they were located, it could launch an attack ignoring defense.
Regardless of anything else, at least in terms of disgusting people, it was truly maxed out.
Loya still remembered a film featuring a spoon murderer who constantly beat the target with a spoon.
The damage wasn't high, but the insult was extremely strong.
The "Wasp's Nest" shared the same wondrous effect, and it also carried severe pain, making it even more disgusting. Just thinking about it was exciting.
If the Ancient One ever took him to other dimensions to snatch power in the future, he would definitely have to give that Dimensional Demon God one.
"Universal Fake ID" was also quite absurd. Disguising as a convincing identification document offered very high playability.
After all, having an ID made one awesome; he could also cameo as an FBI or CIA agent in the future for fun, acting as a multi-faced agent—Inception within Inception.
Even more absurd IDs could be disguised; anyway, as long as it was convincing, he could just make things up!
Of course, if he ran into some unreasonable guys who didn't recognize the validity of IDs at all, then this item would be useless.
Loya directly took out the "Infinite Wine Barrel".
This was a brownish-black wooden wine barrel about the thickness of an adult's waist and a meter high.
Opening the lid, inside was clear red wine liquid.
He leaned in and took a sniff; the aroma of the wine was rich and carried a fruity scent.
This wine should be red wine, and of an extremely high quality at that.
Loya put it back into his System Space. Thor would definitely love this item—no, all Asgardians would love it, since they were a bunch of heavy drinkers.
He just didn't know whether this item refreshed ordinary wine or included all kinds of wine.
For example, extraordinary wines that could enhance physique, or extremely fierce poisonous wines, or even legendary divine wines.
If all these could be refreshed, then the value content of this "Infinite Wine Barrel" would be extremely absurd.
However, it required time to verify, since it only refreshed once a day after all.
As for this "100% Caught Blade with Bare Hands", Loyatruly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This item reminded him of an old friend from the past.
He had to admit that this item's effect was really good.
A mandatory control effect with great practicality; dealing with certain bosses in the future would be more guaranteed.
Only that the effect of making people grow hands when they didn't have any was too abstract. Could he go cameo as a miraculous physician who regenerates severed limbs?
Hmm... it felt like he could use it on Bucky when Buckyappeared in the future.
As for this "Staff Fusion Strengthening Stone", it was truly an item Loya had been looking forward to for a long time.
Previously, after the gourds on the calabash vine matured, the vine itself became an excellent material for making a staff.
At that time, he didn't use the calabash vine to make a staff because he wanted to wait and see if there was an item like the previous "weapon fusion stone" that could fuse the calabash vine and the "amplification staff".
Now he had finally waited for it, and it was even an upgraded version that could strengthen the original effects.
Hive was truly a good boss—not only easy to fight, but he also dropped good things. Too conscientious!
Without further ado, Loya immediately took out the "amplification staff", the "calabash vine", and the "staff fusion strengthening stone" from his System Space.
He placed the amplification staff and the calabash vinetogether, then placed the strengthening stone, which was glowing with a faint blue light, on top of them.
The strengthening stone shattered instantly, turning into a light blue energy orb that instantly enveloped the two staff-type items.
The energy orb surged wildly, churning like boiling water, and gradually subsided after lasting for about a dozen seconds.
The light blue energy orb gradually disappeared, revealing the "amplification staff" within.
The appearance of the staff didn't change much; it looked as if the "calabash vine" had completely turned into nutrients for the "amplification staff".
However, the effect was truly astonishing.
[Fusion successful, the amplification staff has gained new effects, and its effects have been enhanced]
[Effects: Amplification, Azure Wood Blessing, Earth Blessing]
[Amplification: Greatly enhances magic effects]
[Azure Wood Blessing: Holding the staff to use wood-attribute magic and invoking wood elemental power will enhance the effects of magic of this element, reduce magic consumption, and improve comprehension of wood-elemental magic]
[Earth Blessing: Increases defense while holding the staff, enhances comprehension of earth element magic, and consumes no power when using earth element magic while in contact with the ground]
This effect made Loya beam with joy.
Especially the last "Earth Blessing", which turns him into a stationary turret. With high defense and zero power consumption for earth element magic, it is a complete menace on the battlefield.
It seems he needs to practice earth element magic properly.
Loya had seen many earth element magic spells in the "compendium of spells" before, but he had only learned those related to civil engineering and construction.
That was the earth element magic used to build houses for the Mutants on the moon before.
Now he could finally delve into other earth element magic.
You must know that meteorite summoning is essentially a type of earth element magic.
When the time comes for a meteor shower, just thinking about it is thrilling.
Loya put away the "amplification staff" and looked at the newly acquired dungeon admission ticket. This time it was an apocalypse-type one, and his level was high enough, so he would definitely go later.
But not recently, because he decided that the first dungeon he enters recently would be a battle armor-type BOSS dungeon.
For no other reason than that this type of dungeon only requires killing the BOSS to complete the task.
Such dungeons are very convenient and fast to complete, making them just right for him to test whether there are differences in time flow rates between different universes, along with some other conditions.
As for Fury's favorability reaching ninety points, it could be considered an unexpected pleasant surprise.
He didn't expect that the last bit of favorability would be made up during the acting earlier.
Unawares, the favorability of this Nick Fury had been farmed up to ninety, higher than even Natasha and the others, which was truly outrageous.
However, the rewarded abilities and bonds could only be described as so-so.
The ability "Camouflage" is something many Black people living in America would definitely want, needless to say.
In the future, Loya would also be able to cos someone else's racial talent in the dark night.
The remaining two bonds were also okay: one assists in seeing through conspiracies, and the other enhances vision under specific conditions.
Especially "One-Eyed Romance", which enhances vision and insight when using a single eye, truly felt a bit like a dark joke.
As for the lottery draws after leveling up, Loya did not plan to use them here; he'd rather wait until he went back to take a bath and wash away the bad luck first.
He had formed a habit; without doing this, it felt like he wouldn't be able to pull any good items.
Just like that, Loya took out the "compendium of spells" on the spot and started learning earth element magic, and a dozen minutes passed unconsciously.
Guessing that the time was about right, he slowly stood up and flew high into the sky.
It was time to go back and report on the mission. Now, he needed to first fabricate the illusion of a fierce battle having taken place.
Loya looked at the manor below, extended his right hand, clenched his The Five Fingers into a void grasp, and with a thought, a bit of golden light gathered in his palm, rapidly condensing into a quail egg-sized sphere. "Just right to test out my new move."
Loya smiled slightly.
"Miniature Standard Solar Kamehameha Wave!"
Swish!
A dazzling pillar of light erupted from the light sphere in his palm.
At first it was slender, but as it got closer and closer to the ground, the pillar of light also became thicker and thicker.
The brilliant radiance almost illuminated the entire sky.
Until the pillar of light completely collided with the ground.
Boom!
A deafening loud noise resounded through the clouds.
A violent explosion occurred where the ground and the pillar of light made contact.
The laboratory was instantly destroyed by this terrifying energy, turning into dust and scattering with the wind.
Following closely, the horrifying shockwave continued to spread!
Wherever it passed, whether buildings, trees, or various instruments and equipment placed on the ground, all were reduced to ashes under the effect of this shockwave!
Such a scene was practically like the end of the world!
High up in the sky, one could only see a huge golden light wave running rampant over this luxurious manor, and nothing could stop it.
By the time the light wave gradually dissipated, the entire manor no longer existed. Left on the ground was only an incomparably smooth giant crater, shocking to behold!
Loya looked at his own masterpiece and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad. This power is truly not bad. If we pour some water in here later, it can serve as an artificial lake."
Rather satisfied, he used wind element sound transmission to let the lurking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents know they could retreat, and then his figure flickered, rapidly skimming away toward the distance.
Meanwhile, at the temporary command post on the other side.
Fury, Natasha, and the other four opened their mouths wide, staring dumbfounded in the direction of the manor.
Such a terrifying pillar of light and shockwave could still be clearly seen even though they were extremely far apart, and even the ground was still vibrating at this moment.
What kind of weapon caused this? It doesn't look like an ordinary missile-style explosion, but more like some kind of high-power energy weapon.
Loya actually still had this kind of thing in his hands?
Fury swallowed a mouthful of saliva, appalled that Loyacould actually achieve to this extent, while an unprecedented wave of grief welled up in his heart.
Having used such destructive methods, it seemed Loyatruly perished together with Hive.
Fury knitted his brows tightly, not knowing what to use to express his feelings.
He never expected that things would reach this step, and that Loya would willingly sacrifice himself to eliminate that monster Hive.
He had still underestimated him too much; he turned out to be a hero willing to sacrifice himself for a greater cause, and previously he even ——
"Sigh."
Fury sighed and looked at Natasha: "With such a terrifying explosion, it seems Loya truly perished together with Hive.
We must not forget his final instructions; he is a true hero."
His expression was serious: "Natasha, you help Loya write up the report, and I'll approve the slip. I will apply for a medal for him and grant the highest compensation payout."
Hearing this, the few people present lowered their heads one after another, unwilling to believe that Loya had just died like this.
But with such a terrifying explosion, could anyone really survive? Even if that person was Loya.
A sorrowful atmosphere instantly enveloped the entire temporary command post.
Just as everyone was grieving, a grinning voice sounded: "Yo? What are you all grieving about? Do you feel reluctant because you have to give me a lot of mission bonuses?"
Hearing the familiar voice ring out, everyone abruptly raised their heads, only to see Loya slowly descending from the sky.
"Loya? You're not dead?"
Everyone's tone was full of shock and pleasant surprise, unable to believe that under that kind of explosion, Loyawas still alive and completely unscathed—he was simply a Superman!
Loya shrugged and smiled: "I can't die. That so-called Hivewasn't as strong as imagined. I trapped him in place, then blew him to death with special methods, running away early myself. As expected, I'm still a cut above."
The people present instantly breathed a sigh of relief. No one wanted Loya to sacrifice himself just like that, and this was undoubtedly the best outcome now.
It had really been a false alarm earlier; fortunately, Loyawas still as reliable as ever.
Deep down, Fury dropped a heavy stone in his heart. Sure enough, in critical moments, one still had to rely on Loya. If Loya were missing, this operation would definitely end in failure, and the resulting consequences would be unimaginable.
His preparations were still not thorough enough; next time he must strengthen them! Such mistakes could not happen again!
Next, Fury questioned the returned Agents and conducted tests on the equipment.
Following Loya's orders, the returned Agents all gave similar pretexts, saying they lost consciousness at that time.
Fury arrived at a general conclusion: their loss of consciousness should be because of Hive, and the equipment failure might be because someone else was playing tricks behind the scenes.
However, this still required further in-depth investigation; for now, they should finish up the final cleanup work first.
Anyway, thanks to Loya this time!
Originally, Fury still wanted to carefully inspect whether Hive was actually dead or not.
When he arrived at the scene and saw that the original manor no longer existed, leaving behind only a smooth giant crater that could be used as an artificial lake.
Fury fell silent, his single eye full of shock. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, said nothing, turned around, and walked away.
As for how Loya managed to unleash such a terrifying attack.
The clever Fury chose to turn a blind eye, after all, he had always been turning a blind eye.
As for Loya, who was being muttered about by Fury, after asking S.H.I.E.L.D. and finding out that everything was just trivial matters requiring no missions for him to execute, he returned to the Sokovia base.
After Loya cooked a big meal for Wanda and Pietro, he went to take a bath happily, preparing to draw lots right after finishing his bath.
Only during the meal, Pietro's mood seemed a bit off, and he didn't eat much.
Perhaps it was because Loya came back too early, so the training had to be doubled.
"I love taking a bath, my skin feels so good~"
Loya lay in the bathtub, humming a tune, squinting his eyes with a look of enjoyment.
Right at this moment, he abruptly opened his eyes, his expression changing drastically.
He sensed the unusual movement of his Cosmo.
He sensed carefully for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief as he said: "There's such a thing?"
Waiting for more chapters on WTR LAB