Ch: 121-130
Chapter 121: Fusing the spirit of vengeance, Hell Chariot!
Although the Ancient One's reputation among dimensional beings could be described as notorious, she was very reliable as far as the humans of Earth were concerned.
Furthermore, Karl was also curious about what the next item the Ancient One mentioned was.
Judging by the Ancient One's tone, it seemed to be something even more precious than the spirit of vengeance... It was actually quite embarrassing that she had brought so many gifts for their first meeting.
While Karl thought this to himself, his hands didn't hesitate in the slightest as he immediately fused the spirit of vengeance into his Shadow World.
At this point, Karl's Shadow World already contained the power of several talismans. Thus, even after adding the spirit of vengeance, he did not experience the pain of burning flesh or the suffering of losing his sanity like the original Johnny did.
Moreover, due to the balancing power of the tiger talisman, although Karl obtained all the abilities of the Ghost Rider, he did not turn into a skeleton and retained his original appearance.
This was because the tiger talisman had already refined the spirit of vengeance, keeping only the high-quality parts and completely removing its negative states.
As blue flames ignited in his pupils, his body seemed as if a bucket of gasoline had been poured over it; starting from his hair, intense blue flames erupted across his body!
Karl clenched his fists and found that his physical strength had more than doubled. Now, in terms of raw physical power alone, he was likely even stronger than Little Spider.
In reality, physical strength was the most insignificant boost provided by the Ghost Rider.
Hellfire was the ability Karl valued the most!
Especially the Hellfire enchantment!
With a thought from Karl, the shadow beneath his feet expanded several meters. His custom ford raptor—which had been damaged in the previous Rhino attack and rarely driven since being repaired—reappeared!
Karl placed his hand on the ford raptor, and blue Hellfire immediately crawled over the entire chassis.
Under the refinement of the Hellfire, the ford raptor continuously emitted sounds of twisting and deforming. In the blink of an eye, the already wild-looking raptor became even more ferocious, looking exactly like a burning new-energy vehicle!
Seeing that the raptor's enchantment was successful, Karl raised his foot, but instead of getting in, he kicked the side of the raptor!
With a dull 'thud,' the raptor immediately flew out like a cannonball and finally became embedded in the Mirror Dimension wall.
In the spot where he had kicked the raptor, under the hundred-plus tons of force from Karl's current Ghost Rider state, there was only a single dent!
From this, it was evident that the raptor's defensive power had increased significantly under the Hellfireenchantment!
Furthermore, the raptor gained more than just defense; in just a few seconds, that dented chassis restored its integrity under the burning of the Hellfire!
And with a thought from Karl, the Hellfire-enchanted raptor seemed to possess its own intelligence, driving itself back in front of Karl.
"Not bad! Really not bad!"
After a brief test of the strength boost in his Ghost Rider state and the Hellfire enchantment ability, Karldeactivated his Ghost Rider state with satisfaction.
In the future, he would never have to worry about driving along only to be attacked until only the air conditioning worked!
How about learning more about Hellfire new-energy automatic repair?
Horse Talisman: So? Should I leave then?
In short, Hellfire could not only strengthen his own power but also enhance his ride, which was very nice.
If he ever pulled a Transformer or something from the book of ages in the future and enchanted it with Hellfire, he couldn't even imagine how cool and strong it would be!
After seeing with her own eyes that Karl had perfectly mastered the power of the spirit of vengeance in almost no time at all, the Ancient One also felt completely at ease and smiled:
"The spirit of vengeance, which originated in Heaven but was corrupted by Hell—if you can easily master a power that grew in such an extremely complex environment, then I can rest assured in handing the next two items over to you..."
As she spoke, the Ancient One reached out and opened both hands toward Karl, and two diamond-shaped crystals, one black and one white, appeared in her palms.
The moment the two crystals appeared, the entire Mirror Dimension instantly lost all color, and a holy yet evil aura rushed toward Karl!
Even the sorcerer's robes on the Ancient One's body were split into black and white by these overbearing crystals.
Feeling the black and white crystals that even made the tiger talisman inside his body throb slightly, Karl's gaze sharpened, and he asked solemnly, "What are these?"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Ancient One tossed the two Godheads toward Karl and said calmly, "These are the Godheads of the God of Light and the God of Darkness of the Aesir. They are two of the Godheads of the Twelve Main Gods..."
Hearing this, Karl hurriedly reached out to catch the two crystal Godheads that the Ancient One had thrown so casually, his expression full of disbelief as he looked at her.
Two Godheads from the Twelve Main Gods?
And they were the top-tier Light and Dark Godheads?
What are you all trying to do today?!
It was one thing for a surprise to come suddenly, but this was a whole series of surprises!
Are you trying to test an Earth official with this?
Karl's breathing became a bit rapid as he held the two Main God crystals.
Although he had often said before that his strength was comparable to a god, and others called him the God Among Men on Earth.
In reality, before his main body had fully assembled the Shadow Legion, he was still just a mortal body that was a bit stronger than average!
But now, a shortcut to godhood was placed so clearly before him. As long as he absorbed these two Main God Godheads, he could immediately become a true god!
And a Main God who surpassed most other deities!
Who wouldn't be tempted by this?
However, Karl still suppressed his inner impulse, fiddling with the two Godhead crystals like walnuts as his tone returned to calm. "The Main God Godheads of the Aesir... then the person giving this gift must be none other than the All-Father, Odin, right?"
"Tell me, what are old man Odin's conditions? Don't tell me he gave these two Godheads just to get back his son's broken hammer..."
The Ancient One shook her head slightly and said calmly, "the hammer is not important to Odin. Or rather, Odin wishes Thor would never get his hammer back, so that Thor, the God of Thunder, can rid himself of the title 'God of Hammers.'"
"The reason Odin gave you these two Godheads isn't for anyone else, but for you."
"That old guy saw your potential and hopes to establish diplomatic relations with you through these two Godheads, so that you can look out for each other in the future."
"Of course, if you are unwilling or have other demands, I can negotiate for you... Uh... what are you doing?!"
Before the Ancient One could finish, she saw that Karl had already raised the two Godheads and opened his mouth wide, looking as if he was about to swallow them whole!
Bottoms up, brothers!
Chapter 122: Dual Godhood, Leaping to the Peak of Earth's Power?
Before the Ancient One could stop him, Karl had already let go, allowing the two Godheads to drop into his mouth.
Of course, the moment they entered his mouth, Karl actually teleported them into the Shadow World to begin their fusion with it.
The fusion process of the Godheads was even smoother than Karl had imagined.
The two primary Godheads of Light and Darkness, having lost their Master for so long, had grown restless and were desperate to be reborn.
Thus, the moment they entered Karl's Shadow Dimension, they actively began to frantically absorb the energy of the Shadow Dimension to replenish themselves while assimilating with the host. Both tried to assimilate him first and push the other out of the host's body.
If it were an ordinary person, or even an ordinary god facing this situation, even if they had the chance to possess two Godheads, the two would eventually clash in a struggle for dominance over the host, resulting in only one Godhead remaining while the other was expelled.
Or, even if a gifted individual could accept two Godheads simultaneously, they might be unable to withstand the frantic energy absorption of two primary Godheads and would be forced to abandon one.
But Karl was different. Not only could he perfectly balance the dispute between the two Godheads, but most importantly, he had more than enough energy in his body!
Although he was still very green in the use of Dimensional Power and couldn't even truly project it externally, his dimension had already undergone two upgrades. While the Dimensional Power in the Shadow Dimension wasn't infinite, it was as vast as the ocean!
Simply 'recharging' two primary Godheads was more than enough!
Therefore, under the intervention of the tiger talisman and the energy replenishment of the Shadow Dimension, both Godheads were exceptionally successful in awakening within Karl's body, bringing about Earth-shattering changes to both his internal and external self.
First was the external. If the spirit of vengeance required him to be in his Ghost Rider state for his power to be fully amplified, the power boost from the Light and Dark Godheads required no transformation at all!
In terms of strength, each Godhead provided him with the base power bonus of a primary god. If converted into numbers, each Godhead increased his base physical strength by roughly 500 tons.
So, in terms of strength alone, the boost from the Godheads allowed Karl's raw power to break through a thousand tons, completely transforming him from a slightly stronger human into a true humanoid monster!
Now, even disregarding Karl's other abilities, with pure absolute strength alone, he could crush 99.99% of the humans and metahumans on Earth.
For example, take his old man Kingpin, a true human limit. Before fusing with the spirit of vengeanceand the Light and Dark Godheads, Karl hadn't wanted to build a physique as exaggerated as his father's, so he was still a notch below Kingpin in terms of strength.
But now, after his transformation, he could lift his father Kingpin with a single finger and spin him like a fidget spinner!
It was that exaggerated!
And forget about Kingpin's human limit; even superhumans known for their strength, like Hulk and Thor, were no longer his match in terms of power.
After all, in their base states, Hulk and Thor's strength was only around 500 tons, which was numerically far lower than Karl's.
Even though Hulk has a buff where he gets stronger the angrier he gets, Karl could use his strength—which far exceeded Hulk's—to knock him unconscious with a set of military boxing just like Thanos did, before Hulk could ramp up his strength to match him, giving him no chance to grow stronger!
As for more details on speed, constitution, and so on, I won't waste words. After all, this isn't a game; how could strength increase without constitution and speed also increasing? Why would they need to be increased separately?
Except for intelligence, the Godheads caused Karl's basic five-dimensional physical stats to rise across the board, just like his strength!
As for intelligence, while Karl's might not reach the freakish levels of Tony or Dr. Banner, it was already at the top tier on Earth, so there was really no need for an increase.
After all, intelligence just needs to be sufficient. Sometimes being too smart isn't necessarily a good thing; it might even backfire... wouldn't you say,'Smartest Man in the World,' Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards?
This guy, who is supposedly even smarter than Tony, has caused crises and screwed over teammates in Marvel just as much as those World-destroying villains, if not more!
The most classic example was in Universe 838. Facing the invasion of a blackened Wanda, the Illuminati's Mr. Fantastic opened his mouth and immediately sold out the fatal weakness of their strongest 'talk-no-jutsu' user, Black Bolt. This caused Black Bolt to lose his strongest and only means of attack—his mouth—and his head was blown up by Wanda.
Looking at how that turned out, wasn't Black Bolt wronged?
Fortunately, in his World, Karl hadn't heard of someone named Reed Richards. Like the Mutants, he probably didn't exist in this Universe.
Back to the main point.
Besides these external boosts, the two Godheads also brought quite a few internal changes to Karl.
First, he discovered he could use so-called 'Divine Power'.
Previously, didn't he have a massive amount of Dimensional Power but suffered from being unable to use it directly?
Now, he could use the Godheads to convert the Dimensional Power in his body and project it externally in the form of Light and Dark Divine Power.
For example, he could use the three major skills of the Light Godhead: Searing Beam (an offensive energy skill similar to Captain Marvel's beams, where the target is burned by searing energy or turned to ash), Blindness Wave (a control, concussive, and mental interference skill), and Earth Illumination(an auxiliary skill for mass healing, dispelling darkness, and mental purification).
He could also use the three major skills of the Dark Godhead: Corrosive Beam (as the name implies, anyone hit by the beam will have their flesh corroded by dark energy until they turn into a pool of blood), Insomnia Dark Sigil (a control, interference, and mental invasion skill), and Darkness Descends(an auxiliary skill for mass weakening, evoking the inner darkness of everyone in range, and stripping away sanity).
The skills provided by the two Godheads didn't seem like many, totaling only six.
However, the effects of these six skills covered almost most practical abilities across both positive and negative spectrums, making him very versatile.
Furthermore, what the Light and Dark Godheads brought him wasn't limited to these skill changes; they also caused a qualitative change in his Shadow World!
First of all, the eternally unchanging black-and-white dimensional space of the Shadow World finally possessed other colors besides those single two.
They were the warm orange light representing Light and the cold purple light representing Darkness!
In the sky of the Shadow World, just like the real World outside, during a single day, an orange-yellow Sun would hang in the sky for half the time, and a purple full moon would hang for the other half!
Chapter 123: An Elder in the House is a Treasure!
And what did this represent?
It represented life!
In other words, his dimension was now extremely close to the reality of the outside World. With sunlight, it could completely serve as a second home for humanity!
After all, the Sun is the source of life!
If he were given an Earth Divinity, an Ocean Divinity, or a Harvest Divinity, this would be a complete Minecraft World—and in Creative Mode, no less!
Thinking of this, Karl's eyes darted around.
Didn't the Ancient One say before that if he had more requests, he could ask Odin again?
He saw that there weren't many true gods in Asgard, so weren't there plenty of divinities like the Light Godhead and Dark Godhead just gathering dust in a warehouse?
Should he just pluck them all away together?
Acting on the thought, Karl immediately told the Ancient One about his request.
The Ancient One's eye twitched as she listened. She said irritably, "You're dreaming, kid. Setting aside the importance of divinities, God King Odin only intended to give you one. I fought for these two Major Divinities for you. Since you've already absorbed them, it's equivalent to accepting God King Odin's goodwill. How can you expect me to ask for more for you?"
Hearing the Ancient One's words, Karl couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed with himself.
Sigh, it was all his own fault for being too impatient. Hearing the Ancient One describe Odin's 'request' as something that wasn't even a request to him, he couldn't resist the temptation and fused with the divinities immediately.
If he had known, he would have waited for the Ancient One to finish before asking for more benefits from Odin... Seeing Karl's pained expression, as if he'd lost a multi-million dollar lottery ticket, the Ancient One's lips suddenly curled into a mischievous smile.
"You don't need to make that face. I only said I can't ask anymore, not that you'll never get them. Odin's health won't last more than a few years. In a few years, whether he likes it or not, his son will take power. And given that Thor's IQ isn't much higher than Hulk's, what divinity couldn't you get from him?"
Hearing the Ancient One say this, Karl suddenly felt enlightened!
Right! How could he forget about Thor!
Wasn't his original goal to win over Thor and Loki, and then bring Asgard to his side?
Now, before he even started winning them over, Odin had already brought Asgard to his doorstep with gifts as a gesture of goodwill. This made Karl temporarily forget about Thor!
And Thor was actually the easiest path to obtaining divinities!
With Thor's IQ, once Odin passed away, with Karl's ability to bluff, Thor would obediently deliver whatever divinity Karl wanted.
Maybe after giving him a divinity, Thor would even end up thanking him!
Seeing Karl comforted, the Ancient One smiled again. "Besides, biting off more than you can chew is unwise. The Light Godhead and Dark Godhead aren't that simple. You've only just mastered them; you haven't tapped into their deeper, more powerful forces. If you fuse with other types now, it will distract you and delay the full awakening of the Light and Dark powers."
Hearing this, Karl realized he was being too greedy and nodded solemnly to her. "Thank you for the lesson, Sorcerer Ancient One!"
The Ancient One was right. He'd gained enough for now. It would take time to digest it all. Getting more now would just make him a jack of all trades, master of none.
Truly, an elder in the house is a treasure!
The Ancient One's few words had woken him up!
Karl looked at the Ancient One, again entertaining the idea of recruiting her into the Justice League, even if she was just a Guest Elder who did nothing.
With such a powerful treasure trove of knowledge around, he'd have more confidence and freedom in everything he did.
But before Karl could speak, the Ancient One spoke first.
"Now that I've given you the benefits I snatched and bluffed for, let's talk about us. Didn't you want to learn magic before?"
"Become my disciple, and I'll teach you."
Karl:???
"Didn't you just say biting off more than I can chew is bad, and that I should focus on the Light and Dark Divinities?"
The Ancient One said calmly, "Young people have good teeth. There's nothing you can't chew. Just chew more, and it'll be fine."
Karl:???
"That's not what you said just now!!"
Going back on your word, are we?
The Ancient One didn't feel embarrassed at all. She held up an index finger. "I can help you completely master your Dimensional Power."
Snap!
Very fast!
Karl immediately performed a formal Apprenticeship Bow and looked up'sincerely.' "If you do not disdain me, I, Karl, wish to acknowledge you as my..."
Snap!
Again, very fast, before Karl could finish his sentence, the Ancient One slapped her hand over his mouth. With dead fish eyes, she said, "No, I do disdain you. I don't want a rebellious son using my name to swindle people in my old age..."
Seeing the Ancient One see through his little scheme, Karl glared at the Time Stone on her chest.
This damn Time-peeping device is just too broken!
I really f-ing... want it!
But the second that thought arose, Karl saw the Ancient One throw something at him.
Karl instinctively caught it. Looking closely, it was Kamar-Taj's supreme treasure, the eye of agamottocontaining the Time Stone!
???
Karl looked at the Ancient One with a confused expression, losing track of how many times he'd been baffled today.
He felt like happiness was coming too fast and too suddenly!
The Ancient One said indifferently:
"Don't you want it? I can give it to you now, along with all of Kamar-Taj. I can hand it over directly because, compared to the future Strange, you are already excellent enough to take responsibility for Earth's safety."
Oh no!
His Guest Elder is trying to run away!
Karl's heart skipped a beat. He immediately threw the eye of agamotto back to the Ancient One.
"No, no, no. I'm not Japanese—oh wait, Japan doesn't exist anymore—so I don't need Time Stop Techniques. You keep this thing yourself."
He'd rather not have the Time Stone yet than have the Ancient One leave Earth now.
Although she said he was capable of protecting Earth, and he had that confidence...
...being able to protect Earth didn't mean he wanted to protect Earth.
If the Ancient One slipped away, he'd have to handle threats from reality and invasions from Lords of the Dimension in the spiritual World. Double shifts? How could he live?
He was a beast of burden for a company in his past life; was he supposed to be a beast of burden for Earth in this one?!
Chapter 124: The Three Camps Arguing at the Justice League
He wasn't going to do it!
So Karl decisively returned the Time Stone to the Ancient One.
And the Ancient One wasn't surprised by this.
After all, in the countless timelines she had seen, Karl had a relatively lazy personality in most of them, rarely taking the initiative to shoulder responsibilities.
Whether it was his father's underground empire or his godfather's HYDRA, as long as the previous generation's leader was someone he trusted, he would find ways to extend their lives so they could continue working for him; even the future Kamar-Taj was the same.
So, in the Ancient One's view, it was only natural for Karl to refuse the responsibility brought by the Time Stone.
However, the Ancient One hadn't actually thought about having Karl take over right now, so she didn't feel any disappointment.
If Karl accepted, she would naturally be happy to see it; if he didn't, it was within her expectations.
The Ancient One said calmly:
"Since you don't want to take on this responsibility right now, then forget it. Do you want to come back to Kamar-Taj with me first to receive my guidance on your dimensional power and magic, or do you want to go back to your Justice League first to handle the aftermath of the Skrulls?"
Karl didn't expect the Ancient One to accept his evasion so easily.
He thought about it for a moment.
Of course, he wanted to receive the Ancient One's guidance on his dimensional power and learn miraculous magic right now.
But now the Skrulls incident also needed him, the initiator, to bring it to a close, so he had to go back.
To put it bluntly, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
Suddenly, Karl's eyes flashed, and he held up an index finger: "I indeed can't step away from the Justice League for the time being. In the coming period, there should be many high-level humans who want to meet me to talk about cooperation. For the sake of World peace, I should talk to them."
"So how about this, Sorcerer Ancient One, why don't you come back to the Justice League with me and stay for a while, and teach me within the Justice League?"
"After all, you've been a sorcerer for hundreds of years; it would be quite interesting to try out modern life, wouldn't it?"
Karl was actually just giving it a try, but in his estimation, the possibility of the Ancient One agreeing wouldn't be very high.
But unexpectedly, the Ancient One nodded very simply: "Okay."
This couldn't help but make Karl a bit surprised.
Was the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One of this Universe a bit too good to him?
Giving him things, teaching him how to use dimensional power and magic, being so agreeable... something's not right, something is extremely not right!
Could it be... this old woman likes me?
As soon as Karl had this thought, he was struck on the head.
Looking up, he saw the Ancient One retracting her hand, staring at him with a speechless expression of dead fish eyes:
"I have no interest in a little brat like you. The reason I am good to you is actually the same as the God King Odin; we both see your talent and potential. We know your past and likewise value your future."
Hearing this, Karl nodded in realization: "I see, then there's no problem. You indeed have very good eyes!"
He was never afraid of these open exchanges of interests; he was only afraid that the Ancient One and Odin had unknown secrets regarding him.
So the Ancient One's bluntness and honesty, instead of making Karl feel uncomfortable, actually improved his impression of her.
He could be dishonest with others, or even deceive them.
But he did not allow others to be dishonest with him, especially to deceive him!
"Let's go. Now your companions have finished cleaning up the Skrulls on Earth, and I have also sent sorcerers to secretly handle a few individual omissions. You should return to the Justice League to wrap things up."
The Ancient One waved her hand to open a portal to the Justice League and pointed at it for Karl.
"When you teach me magic, please be sure to teach me this move first. I've been eyeing it for a long time!"
Karl looked at the portal, still finding it amazing.
Truly miraculous!
One must know that even though he now possessed dual main godheads, he couldn't achieve this.
Even if the spirit of vengeance has the ability to open dimensional gates, that is an advanced ability of the Ghost Rider, and the consumption is also very large.
This shows that even in the Marvel Universe, spatial ability is actually a high-level ability and cannot be obtained just like that.
And this spatial teleportation magic called the 'Sling Ring Portal' is merely an entry-level secret technique in Kamar-Taj, yet it can ignore distance to cross space and open a portal to the Universe or even the Multiverse... Kamar-Taj is truly not simple... Maybe, taking over Kamar-Taj wouldn't be a bad thing?
Karl's eyes flickered, making his little calculations in his mind.
And with the slight flickering of the eye of agamotto on her chest, a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of the Ancient One's mouth.
When you feel curious about a person or a thing, at that moment you have already stepped one foot into the quagmire; sinking in is only a matter of time... Mephisto contributed five years of time to the Ancient One, so that within these five years she wouldn't have to worry about the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj being tricked by other Lords of the Dimension because of dimensional power.
It also gave her enough time to teach Karl, letting him unknowingly sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire, until he finally realizes that Kamar-Taj and Earth itself are within his responsibility... After that, she can leave in peace... Justice League.
At this moment, the Justice League plaza was quite lively, divided into three camps, arguing incessantly.
The first camp, and also the camp with the most people, was naturally the original members and reservists of the Justice League.
The second camp consisted of the Good and Evil Captain Marvels, because some people in the Justice League felt very unhappy about the Evil Captain Marvel's behavior of starting to snatch their prey as soon as she arrived on Earth.
And the Evil Captain Marvel didn't have a good temper either, so she directly snapped back. If these people hadn't also been Karl's people, plus the Good Captain Marvel had been stopping her, saying things like 'Forget it, forget it, it's not easy for everyone,' she, who had all negative emotions separated by the tiger talisman, might have already made a move.
But even though the two sides hadn't fought yet, they had already started insulting each other's ancestors from the cowboy era.
As for the third camp, it was composed of Thor, Jane, Jane's assistant Daisy, and Dr. Erik.
Their purpose for coming to the Justice League was naturally to accompany Thor to ask for his hammer back.
It has to be said, these few people were truly bold.
In the original story, they dared to take the simpleton Thor to the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary Base to snatch the hammer, and even dared to make a fake ID to get Thor out of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now they even dared to bring people to the Justice League to ask for things.
Should one say they are brave, or should one say they are stupid?
Chapter 125: Karl's Return, Authority, and the Panicked Crowd
Fortunately, the members of the Justice League were actually quite easy to talk to, especially since the hammer was in the hands of Peter, who was the easiest of all to talk to.
Although Peter had his doubts when Thor claimed to be the Master of the hammer, he still generously put the hammer down and let Thor try to his heart's content, not coveting the power the hammerbrought him in the slightest.
Peter's generous behavior actually caught Thor off guard.
One had to understand that seeing this kid in tights wreaking havoc with his hammer on TV had made him feel extremely disgruntled, giving him the persistent feeling of being cuckolded.
Moreover, he hadn't initially believed that the other party would be willing to return the hammer after tasting the immense power that Mjolnir provided.
But he hadn't expected that once he actually arrived, before he could even argue his case or resort to threatening them with his status as the Son of a God and his father Odin's name, the boy had carelessly let him try the hammer.
Wasn't it said that Midgard was the most backward Planet in the Nine Realms?
When did they evolve to the point where they didn't even care about Mjolnir?
When he asked Peter with this doubt in mind, Peter's answer left Thor's heart filled with complexity.
Peter told Thor, "Once, Karl told me that with great power comes great responsibility. Karl has the ability to protect the entire World, so he is honored by the people as a God and has performed all sorts of actions to protect the World."
"As for me, I don't have as much power as Karl, so I am the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and I will do my best to fulfill the responsibility of being a friendly neighbor."
"A weapon is just a tool. I only borrowed its Master's power to temporarily possess the abilities and responsibilities of a God, but that doesn't mean it belongs to me, nor does it mean I am a God. Its true Master is the God, and I also believe that only its true Master can truly be worthy of this power of Thor!"
Peter's words hit Thor's heart one by one, heavier than Mjolnir itself.
Thor felt his heart being touched, as if he had understood something.
But because his own intelligence was truly limited, he couldn't immediately grasp the deep meaning in Peter's words, nor could he figure out why Peter was able to lift Mjolnir.
Despite everything Peter said, his mind was still entirely on the hammer.
So, when Thor gripped the handle and gave it a pull...
Although the hammer moved slightly, as expected, Thor still failed to lift his hammer and pass Odin's test.
Even Odin, who was watching this from the Heavenly Palace, couldn't help but let out a weary sigh.
That boy had put it so clearly, yet Thor still didn't understand the meaning he wanted him to grasp; he was truly beyond saving... In the square, Thor was completely unaware. Refusing to believe it, he switched from one hand to two, using all the strength in his legs and every ounce of strength he had, but he still couldn't pull up Mjolnir!
Finally, while Evil Captain Marvel was trading barbs with the crowd, Thor let out a howl of grief toward the sky, causing both sides who were busy insulting each other to stop and stare blankly at Thor, who had suddenly started wailing for no apparent reason.
Evil Captain Marvel frowned. "What's this guy suddenly wailing about? Did his mother die?"
Tony, who had been her main opponent in the shouting match, followed up with a quip. "Doesn't look like it. I think he looks more like a cuckolded husband who is powerless to do anything about it~"
"Oh? That's a good description! Why didn't I think of that!" Evil Captain Marvel glanced at Tony and grinned. " I'm starting to like you a little!"
Tony gave a wicked smile. "Like me? If you want to find a time to go for a round, I'd be quite welcoming. I've played with many cover models, but I've never played with a glowing woman before."
"But if you want to date me, forget it. I don't want my future child to be a glowing alien baby."
Seeing that Tony's mouth was still so foul, Evil Captain Marvel couldn't tolerate it. She raised her hand and fired a Photon Cannon, blasting Tony away.
"Going for a round? Was that round satisfying? You three-inch man hiding in a turtle shell, if you keep flirting crudely, the next round won't be hitting your armor!"
Tony lay on the ground, looked at the scorched marks on his chest armor, felt a chill in his crotch, and his mouth twitched. "Alright, I don't want to date you anymore. My small frame can't handle your rough play..."
When Karl stepped through the portal and returned to the Justice League, this chaotic scene was what he saw.
Tony lying down, a swearing Carol, a howling Thor, and everyone else watching the show... He had been gone for less than half a day, and these guys had already made such a mess?
If he had been gone any longer, wouldn't these guys have torn down the Base?
As soon as Karl returned, the scene instantly fell silent.
Tony stopped flirting, Carol stopped cursing, Thor stopped howling, and the crowd watching the show all straightened up.
This was authority!
Karl's commanding presence swept over the crowd as he said coldly, "What's all the noise about? It seems this global operation was too easy for you, wasn't it? Every one of you has such abundant energy!"
"Then next time, I'll assign you an even bigger mission, and the planning, communication, deployment, and even the final execution will be left entirely for you to handle. I won't participate. Let's see how much energy you have when you have nothing better to do!"
"Now everyone, get to the meeting room. Meeting!"
After speaking, Karl turned and walked away.
The others looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing that Big Daddy Karl seemed truly angry, they immediately wiped away the relaxed expressions on their faces and hurried to follow him.
They couldn't let the Big Daddy of the Justice League wash his hands of them!
The reason they could be so relaxed now, shooting the breeze after completing a mission, was all because Karl had arranged everything; they only needed to execute it.
Moreover, even if there was something they couldn't handle, they knew that Karl, their Big Daddy, would be there as a backstop, so they didn't panic at all.
Now that Karl actually said he would leave the entire workflow of future missions to them, how could they not panic?
They had already grown accustomed to the convenience and sense of security brought by having Karlas their Big Daddy; they were completely dependent on him now!
Seeing everyone leave, Jane and the other ordinary people swallowed hard. Feeling somewhat afraid, they nudged Thor, who was also staring blankly at Karl.
"Thor, you can't lift that hammer anyway, so let's just leave for now and come back next time. I think Lord God seems a bit angry now, so let's not disturb the members of the Justice League while they're discussing serious business."
Thor looked at Karl's back and also swallowed hard.
But he wasn't afraid; he was shocked.
Because at the moment Karl appeared, he had actually felt the unique aura of their Aesir race from Karl!
And it wasn't just a regular deity, but a Chief God of their Aesir race!
This Midgardian God, Karl, was actually a deity from their Asgard!
This was the reason for Thor's shock.
But before Thor could respond to Jane, Karl, who had reached the door, stopped and looked back at Thor and the others. "You few, come along as well."
Jane, Daisy, and Dr. Erik all pointed at themselves in unison. "Ah? Us? Attend a Superhero meeting?"
How was this any different from letting Benbo'erba and Babo'erben attend a Heavenly Court banquet?
Chapter 126: Silly Thor, Loki Arrives
Are they even worthy?
But regardless of whether they felt worthy or not, God Karl had spoken. Whether they wanted to go or not, they had to go now!
Didn't they see that the special operations teams guarding the Justice League had already set their sights on them?
If they dared to run now, they'd likely be riddled with bullets from behind the next second, and the U.S. government would ultimately rule it a suicide.
Thor, however, didn't struggle with such thoughts like the others. He trotted along eagerly, following them as if he were returning to his own home.
In Thor's eyes, since this God Karl was also a chief God of the Aesir, they were naturally family!
And family members certainly help each other!
So, Thor planned to ask Karl later if he could help lift Odin's seal on the hammer, allowing him to take up Mjolnir once again.
Before Karl returned, he might have felt that what Peter said to him made a little sense.
But after Karl returned and Thor felt the aura of the Aesir from him, he became certain that the kid in the tights had only picked up his hammer because of God Karl's help.
Otherwise, he didn't believe a mere mortal was truly qualified to lift an Asgardian artifact that even he couldn't lift right now!
After everyone entered the conference room, they found that a stranger was already sitting there before they arrived.
Moreover, the seat was located behind the head of the table, as if they were Karl's secretary.
But it was clear that the person was definitely not a secretary.
After all, what secretary sits behind the boss during a meeting and is dressed even more magnificently than the boss?
Besides, those clothes didn't look simple. Was that a mage's outfit from a movie set?
However, seeing that Karl, who was leading the way, didn't speak, the others—who had just 'angered' Karl—naturally didn't dare to ask questions.
The person sitting behind Karl's seat was, naturally, the Ancient One.
After Karl walked through the portal earlier, the Ancient One had disappeared.
Karl figured she probably didn't want to be exposed to the cameras, so she left first.
After all, ever since the Justice League was established, paparazzi had been camping out, hoping to catch a big scoop.
But to his surprise, the Ancient One hadn't left; she had arrived at the conference room ahead of them to wait.
However, judging by where the Ancient One was sitting, she clearly only intended to observe and had no intention of participating in the meeting.
So, Karl acted as if the Ancient One wasn't there and sat down at the head of the table on his own.
Once the other members of the Justice League had taken their seats in turn, an unexpected figure suddenly sat down on Karl's right-hand side.
It was Thor.
Seeing this, everyone else couldn't help but look at Thor in surprise.
While Karl had never explicitly stated where everyone should sit, those in the Justice League tacitly understood that the seats at the head of the table to Karl's left and right were for the second and third-in-command.
The seat on the left had always been Tony's, and no one had any objection to that.
After all, Tony contributed money, effort, and equipment to the Justice League, and he led most of the major research. Thus, Tony, with his many contributions, was the recognized second-in-command of the Justice League.
As for the seat on Karl's right, everyone, including Gwen, felt they weren't yet qualified to be compared to Tony, so it had always remained empty.
But who the hell was this guy?
How could he just walk in and sit in the third-in-command's spot!
Is this even right?
Even Karl couldn't help but glance sideways at Thor.
He thought, 'Does this guy have no situational awareness at all?'
'Is this your seat?'
However, when he turned his head and saw Thor giving him a big, goofy grin, Karl decided to forgive him.
Forget it, the kid's brain hasn't worked right since he was little. Seeing that Karl didn't say anything, the others, though annoyed, only glared at Thor—who clearly didn't understand Earth's social etiquette—and remained silent.
Next, Karl shifted his gaze away from Thor, who was sitting beside him grinning like an idiot for some reason, and looked toward the far end of the conference table.
Sitting in the last few seats of the long table were Jane and her group. Having come with Thor, they were now regretting it so much their guts were turning green.
Why on Earth did they believe this idiot was some God of Thunder from a Divine Realm and bring him to the Justice League to look for some hammer!
Now that they were being stared at by Karl, this God on Earth, they were so nervous they couldn't even speak.
But in reality, Karl wasn't looking at them at all. He was looking at an empty seat at the end and said calmly:
"This isn't Asgard. Since you're here, there's no need to skulk around like you do in Asgard, Second Highness Loki Odinson."
Following Karl's words, everyone looked where he was pointing. Amidst a flow of green light on that empty seat, a black-haired man with slicked-back hair wearing a dark green suit appeared slowly with a cryptic smile.
That was— "Ho ho ho, Loki, my brother!"
Before the crowd could wonder who this new figure was, Thor had already shouted Loki's name and ran toward him with excitement, pulling Loki into a bear hug.
Thor's sudden move instantly shattered the aura Loki had been building for himself.
A complex expression flashed across Loki's face before he gently pushed Thor away: "Thor, could you please calm down? Don't lose our divine poise in front of these Midgardians."
Thor scratched his head, not understanding Loki's meaning, and smiled foolishly: "Poise? We Asgardians revere battle and fear nothing—isn't that our poise? You care too much about those formal airs, brother!"
Hearing Thor say this, a flicker of disgust instinctively appeared in Loki.
It wasn't disgust for Thor himself.
But rather disgust for this so-called warrior's poise of Asgard!
It was because of this boorish poise that the people of Asgard only liked those crude warriors and disliked an elegant mage like him!
So, compared to the First Prince Thor, he, the Second Highness Loki, had no friends, no popularity, and no status since childhood. Even his family bonds were incomplete!
Everyone loved Thor. Thor had his followers and was the next God-King chosen by Odin. And what about Loki?
Aside from receiving a bit of maternal love from his mother Frigga, he had absolutely nothing in Asgard!
"Hey, Loki, what are you dazed for?"
"You've come because Father has forgiven me and sent you to take me back to Asgard, right?"
At the sound of Thor's voice, Loki, who had fallen into bad memories, snapped back to reality, his face returning to that smile that was ninety percent fake:
"I'm sorry, brother, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. Although I have indeed come to Midgard by Father's command, I haven't come to take you back. I was ordered to tell you that you cannot return for the time being."
"Father wants you to stay on Earth to continue making amends for your mistakes until you truly understand them. Otherwise, you are never to return to Asgard."
Chapter 127: The Skrull Incident, Concluded
"What?" Thor's face was filled with disbelief as he heard this. He stumbled back a few steps, eventually knocking over several chairs before collapsing onto the floor, murmuring, "No..."
"No, this can't be true. Loki, tell me it's not true, right? Father hasn't given up on me. He wouldn't give up on me, would he?!"
Loki looked down at Thor on the floor and shook his head ruthlessly. "No, my brother. This time it is true. I am not deceiving you."
"Father not only forbids your return, but has also passed the throne to me. I am now King. To prevent Asgard from going to war with the Frost Giants and causing the deaths of more innocents, I cannot let you return—"
What Loki failed to convey, however, was that Odin had only appointed him as Acting King, rather than directly handing him the throne.
But Thor knew none of this. He only knew he had lost everything: his power, the hammer, the throne, and even the chance to return to Asgard. Loki ignored the despondent Thor, turned to look at Karl in the main seat, and performed an elegant Asgardian salute:
"God of Midgard, my father Odin also asked me to express Asgard's sincerest respect to you. Thank you for purging the Nine Realms of those pests, the Skrulls. Asgard owes you a favor. Whenever you have need, the armies of Asgard and the Bifrost Bridge are at your service!"
Karl raised an eyebrow.
That old fellow Odin really is a crafty old fox; he certainly knows how to play the game.
Not only did he send a Godhead, but he also sent Loki to help him put on such a grand show of prestige in front of his subordinates.
Claiming to owe him a favor and offering the Bifrost and Asgard's armies for his use?
Tsk tsk, Asgard's army is an interstellar force, and the Bifrost is a planet-killing weapon. That's quite a generous gesture... Naturally, Karl accepted it gladly.
He stood up, patted the seat to his right for Loki—who represented Odin and Asgard—and smiled.
"I have received God King Odin's gift. Your Highness, when you return, please thank His Majesty the God King for me."
"Now, if Your Highness is not in a hurry, why not sit down and chat? Stay on Earth for a few days and let me show you some hospitality. What do you say?"
"Then I shall not refuse such kindness." Loki straightened his suit, which had been wrinkled by Thor's bear hug, and elegantly sat in the seat Thor had occupied moments ago.
Unlike when Thor had plopped down earlier, drawing dissatisfaction from everyone...
This time, Loki, representing the entire God Realm of Asgard, sat in this position with everyone's approval.
This caused Loki, who had grown up in Thor's shadow, to feel a sense of recognition and respect he had never experienced in Asgard!
He finally had a day like this where their roles were reversed. He sat in a position revered by thousands, while Thor lay on the cold floor.
Catching a glimpse of the smug smile Loki couldn't hide, the corner of Karl's mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.
These two brothers: one is all brawn and no brains, easy to control.
The other has brains but lacks 'brawn,' and because of his childhood psychological defects, he is equally easy to control.
With this pair of 'Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix' as the heirs to Asgard, Karl was completely confident that by controlling them, he could control all of Asgard!
Next, Karl opened the meeting by asking for reports from the Justice League members regarding the Skrull purge.
After they finished their reports, Karl proceeded to criticize them by name one by one.
Tony: Arrogant. He only focused on the high-level officials and didn't thoroughly clean out the elites of the financial families.
A financial family is a whole family; they should be sent off together as a complete set. How could he only get rid of the leaders?
Hulk: Too playful.
Hulk didn't care about gender or age when he attacked, but in the middle of smashing, he forgot the task Karl gave him was to smash people. He found smashing people unsatisfying and went off to smash buildings instead, allowing many 'celestial dragons'—wait, no, 'Skrulls'—to escape.
Peter, Gwen, and most of the other newcomers shared a common flaw.
They were too soft-hearted.
This was different from the minor mistakes Tony and Hulk made. They literally let many Skrullsdisguised as the old, weak, sick, or disabled slip through their fingers and escape.
Although not many escaped from each country, Skrulls are metamorphic parasites; letting even one go could cause unimaginable disaster for the World.
For instance, if a remaining Skrull replaced a President and launched a nuclear war against the World, things would get very ugly.
However, those Skrulls who managed to slip through didn't escape their fate of extinction in the end.
Because they had nowhere to hide before the Ancient One, who possessed the Time Stone. The Ancient One had already arranged for sorcerers to wait at the paths they had to take to escape.
Just as they were rejoicing over their narrow escape, they were decapitated by the melee sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
When the severed heads of the Skrulls were placed on the conference table via the Ancient One's portals, and Karl explained the consequences of letting them escape, Peter, Gwen, and the other newcomers all realized their mistake.
So, even though Karl didn't scold them for it, it was believed they would gradually correct their soft-heartedness in the future.
Scolding is never the best correction; responsibility, guilt, and the deaths of innocents are.
The main purpose of this meeting was to wrap things up and tally the Skrull purge results to report to the Security Council, so they could allocate funds based on the number of Skrulls eliminated.
After all, the Justice League isn't a charity. Even if he and Tony are rich, they can't just spend money like that, right?
So, all of this had to be billed to the Security Council.
And it wasn't just this operation. Karl also had our Financial Director, Tony, submit all expenses since the founding of the Justice League to balance the books and turn a profit from the Security Council.
To this, Tony gave Karl a thumbs up.
When it comes to being shady, you're still the master!
Next was the press conference for the global public regarding the Skrull incident.
After all, over 'one hundred million' Skrulls were purged this time, and the Island Nation had directly vanished from the map of Earth. Without an explanation, those confused civilians might think World War III had broken out.
Although people around the World found it a bit hard to believe when they heard on the news that over a hundred million people from the Island Nation were all Skrulls...
When they thought about the inhumane things the Island Nation people did during World War II, it didn't seem so unbelievable anymore!
No wonder they did so many inhumane things; it turns out the people of the Island Nation really weren't human!
Thus, the people of the World accepted the fact that the entire Island Nation had become'spacemen' with unimaginable speed. Very few expressed dissatisfaction.
And those few who did express dissatisfaction disappeared from the internet and reality shortly after.
When it comes to the FBI knocking on doors—
Chapter 128: Arrogant Wakanda, Taunting Everyone!
With nearly two hundred countries on Earth, one more or one less makes no difference; the Worldcontinues to function as usual.
In the following days, the leaders of the nations, led by the Five Great Powers, all lined up to make appointments to meet with Karl, as if they had pre-arranged it.
Karl accepted the appointments from the top-tier Five Great Powers, but as for the other hundred or so first, second, and third-tier countries, he didn't have the spare time to meet them one by one.
Therefore, he let the other heroes of the Justice League serve as his representatives to meet with the leaders of the countries below the Permanent Five.
The purpose of these countries' visits was basically to discuss and reach long-term cooperation with the Justice League. If a situation similar to the Skrulls incident occurred again in the future, they hoped the Justice League could prioritize helping their respective countries.
After all, the fact that the entire population of the Island Nation had been replaced by aliens this time truly terrified these countries.
This time it was the Island Nation; would it be their country's turn next time?
In response, the message Karl had the heroes representing him pass down was neither a yes nor a no, but rather that it depended on their own sincerity.
As for what'sincerity' meant, some of the simpler Superheroes who passed the message might not understand, but those national leaders were all as shrewd as spirits; they naturally understood what sincerity meant.
So, they all began to show frantic sincerity toward the Justice League.
Those with money gave money, those with supplies gave supplies, and those with neither provided the Justice League with their country's rare local resources, all seeking the protection of the Justice League.
Among the nearly two hundred countries in the World, the only one that did not send'sincerity' to seek protection was a small country in East Africa called Wakanda.
Wakanda's King, T'Chaka, spoke up, stating that Wakanda was poor and desolate, with nothing to offer the Justice League and nothing worth an alien's interest, so they wouldn't trouble the Justice Leaguewith the worry of protecting them.
When the King of Wakanda made this statement, it seemed like self-deprecation, but in reality, it was a taunt to everyone.
That one phrase 'offer as tribute' offended both the Justice League and all other nations at the same time.
T'Chaka's words made Wakanda appear incorruptible, but they made the Justice League sound like an organization that only worked for money, and further made the other countries on Earth sound so incompetent and weak that they needed to rely on the Justice League for protection!
Even though that was indeed the fact, you can't just say it out loud!
Doesn't saying it out loud mean offending everyone?
Consequently, at the United Nations, all countries united to demand that King T'Chaka of Wakandaretract this statement, which was detrimental to global unity.
But Wakanda didn't seem to care at all; they didn't even attend the United Nations General Assemblyin person, only using an official account to publish another firm tweet stating that Wakanda had said nothing wrong and would not take down the statement.
This left the other countries helpless.
After all, although what they said offended every country, you couldn't exactly go and conquer them by force because of it, could you?
Not only would there be no justification, but most importantly, there was no profit to be made from that dump called Wakanda!
Even if the US military were to mobilize, the opponent would need to have oil; otherwise, what's the use of spending massive military funds to send troops and conquer a piece of barren land?
To graze cattle?
The loss would outweigh the gain!
So, other than posting articles online every day to smear Wakanda, the other countries didn't actually do anything to them; they could only swallow their anger.
The Justice League, on the other hand, had no response for the time being, appearing as if they didn't care about this small country's bold international statements.
In reality, it was because Karl had been busy personally negotiating with the Permanent Five these past few days, so he simply had no time to deal with Wakanda for the moment.
But in his heart, Karl had already sentenced Wakanda to death.
Nothing to give the Justice League, land is barren, right?
Thinking the Justice League are Bandits and the other countries are paying him protection money, right?
Heh, don't worry, I'll make your words come true!
He could make the Island Nation fly for a legitimate reason, and he could make Wakanda disappear for a legitimate reason too!
It just so happened that he had long wanted to take back the Vibranium from Wakanda.
What sense did it make for this gift from the Universe to Earth to be occupied by a primitive tribe all this time?
However, things had to be done one by one; he had to finish the matters at hand before planning for Wakanda.
And the most important thing right now was the cooperation with the Five Great Powers.
Furthermore, he even brought along our second prince, Your Highness Loki, for this negotiation with the Five Great Powers.
During Loki's days playing on Earth, Karl would basically bring him to every press conference, letting him stand in the spotlight with him, and high-profilely introduced to the World that Loki was the God King from the Divine Realm, the ruler of Asgard, and a steadfast ally of the Justice League in the Nine Realms!
On one hand, this satisfied Loki's vanity and desire for recognition, letting him indulge in the cheers of billions of humans on Earth.
On the other hand, it also let all the countries on Earth know that the Justice League didn't just have allies among the nations of Earth; even without their support, he had the support of an ally from another Divine Kingdom.
He could even, whenever he wished, ignore Earth entirely and take the whole Justice League to ascend to the Divine Kingdom!
So under this premise, Karl's negotiations with the Five Great Powers went exceptionally smoothly.
On one hand, they feared Karl's strength, but on the other, they were even more afraid that Karl would actually take his people and bail on Earth.
Therefore, they basically granted every request Karl made without exception.
Funds, privileges, status, materials, and so on were given in abundance.
It could be said that as long as Karl didn't want to destroy the World, the Five Great Powers would take the lead in supporting whatever he did.
Of course, the premise for all this was Karl's display of God-like power and his use of Asgard's prestige.
In return for the Five Great Powers' support of the Justice League, Karl also promised that in the event of a World-class disaster on Earth, he would prioritize saving the Five Great Powers.
Loki also stated that at necessary moments, Asgard would send troops to aid Earth, helping God Karlsuppress any invasions or unrest in Midgard.
Even if an interstellar war occurred, Asgard could use the Bifrost Bridge to help Earth annihilate alien enemies!
To this end, Loki even used magic to show the leaders of the Five Great Powers some historical war records of the Asgardian army, as well as the immense power of Asgard's Bifrost Bridge.
Watching the images where Asgard was already fighting interstellar wars—and as the aggressor at that—and possessed powerful planet-destroying weapons, the Five Great Powers, amidst their shock, felt more and more that Karl's strength was a mystery.
Initially, they thought Karl had street-level strength.
It was only at the Skrull gathering place that they changed this view, believing Karl possessed city-destroying strength!
Chapter 129: Loki, Whose Vanity Was Satisfied on Earth
After Karl upgraded the entire island nation into spacemen, they elevated Karl's strength to a nation-destroying level that must never be provoked.
But now, after witnessing the interstellar warfare of the Asgardian army and the Planet-killing capability of the Bifrost Bridge, they reasonably suspected that destroying a country was no longer the upper limit of Karl's power.
Because from the perspective of Asgard's war history, Asgard was actually a highly aggressive divine kingdom; their King, God-King Odin, had even once conquered the Universe.
If Karl did not possess powerful personal strength to match such an aggressive divine kingdom, how could the other party have adopted an equal stance to befriend them? They would have long since led an army to steamroll over them.
The leaders of the Five Great Powers did not think that other higher-dimensional races in the Universewould have a friendly attitude towards the humans on Earth after discovering it.
They were well aware that the entire Universe followed a massive "law of the jungle" and "Dark Forest" principle.
Without strength, one could only become nourishment for others.
Therefore, for Earth to hold its current equal status in the hearts of Asgard, it had to rely on Earth's most powerful Superhero, God Karl!
So Earth absolutely could not lose Karl, just as the West cannot lose Jerusalem... However, what they didn't know was that Loki had craftily shown them historical records from when Asgard was at its peak.
Today's Asgard was actually no longer what it used to be in many aspects.
Odin himself had excessive divine power within his body, and most of his energy had to be used to suppress it, so he simply couldn't use his full strength.
The Gods of Asgard had also been almost completely wiped out in the civil war between the two main Gods of Light and Darkness; nowadays, there were very few Gods in all of Asgard who could hold their own.
Even the quality of Asgard's army was far inferior to what it once was.
The most elite legion, the Valkyrie Legion, had been completely wiped out by Hela.
The second most elite legion was the Necro Army led by Hela, but also due to Hela's rebellion, they had all died out along with the Valkyrie Legion during the civil war.
The remaining legions were all very ordinary troops, completely incomparable to the Valkyrie Legion and the Necro Army.
The average warrior in the legions was only a bit stronger than an ordinary soldier on Earth, with a physique at most similar to Captain America's, perhaps even weaker, and their numbers were completely incomparable to the size of Earth's armies.
The only thing that far surpassed Earth was actually their level of technology.
Although Asgard appeared on the surface to still be in an ancient European era, its technology actually far exceeded Earth's; it not only possessed Planet-killing weapons like the Bifrost Bridge, which combined teleportation and attack, but also had a large number of spaceships and energy weapons.
So in reality, Asgard's overall strength was not nearly as exaggerated as Loki described; in Loki's description, it seemed as if even conquering the Universe would be an easy task for Asgard.
However, Karl didn't expose Loki's boasting, instead allowing Loki, dressed in a suit, to brag to the leaders of Earth about how powerful Asgard and he himself were.
After all, to control someone's heart, one must first let them get carried away... the carrot and the stick is the best way to handle people.
And now that the carrot had been given, it was time for the stick... While Loki was still boasting, Karllooked at his back, took a sip of tea, and a mischievous smile played on his lips.
After the meeting with the leaders of the Five Great Powers ended, all three parties expressed great satisfaction with the results.
The Five Great Powers gained priority assistance from the Justice League, represented by Karl, and Asgard, represented by Loki.
And Karl gained various benefits from the Five Great Powers, including but not limited to money and privileges, which provided him with a lot of room for maneuver.
Finally, Loki received a level of respect he had never felt in Asgard, being revered by the leaders of other Planets in his capacity as a king!
Walking out of the conference room, Loki looked like he hadn't had enough, and asked Karl with a face full of smiles:
"To be honest, I used to look down on Midgard, a realm of mortals that couldn't even achieve unification, but now I find myself liking this place a bit!"
"Not only are there respectable powerhouses like you here, but the mortal leaders here also speak much more elegantly and pleasantly than those brutes in Asgard. Talking to them feels like being back at home—no, it feels even better than home!"
"So where are we going next? Are we going to enjoy more worship from the mortals, or continue cooperation talks with other national leaders? I am very happy to be of service in these matters!"
Karl glanced at Loki beside him.
Heh, is this kid getting addicted to showing off?
Karl smiled slightly and shook his head: "No, Your Highness the Second Prince, matters in the mortal realm of Earth have basically been handled. There's no need for us to personally deal with the remaining trivialities; my subordinates will naturally take care of them."
"Oh, I see..." Hearing this, Loki nodded with some disappointment, regretting that he couldn't continue showing off.
"That's fine. My time in Midgard is almost up. My father's health is declining day by day, and Asgardcannot be without a ruler for a single day, so I should head back."
Loki finally reached out his hand to Karl with a smile: "It was a pleasure collaborating with you, Mr. Godof Midgard."
Since he couldn't continue showing off, Loki naturally had no reason to stay on Earth anymore. Thus, he intended to take his leave and return to Asgard to report back, fulfilling the promise Odin made to temporarily hand over the throne to him if he handled this matter well.
But Karl didn't take Loki's outstretched hand.
Loki had finished eating the carrot; did he think he could leave without taking the stick?
No such luck!
Under Loki's puzzled gaze, Karl said calmly: "It wasn't easy for the Second Prince to visit; why be in such a hurry to leave?"
"Now that matters in the mortal realm of Earth are handled, doesn't the Second Prince want to come with me to see the other side of Earth?"
Loki was stunned and instinctively asked: "The other side? What other side? Isn't Midgard just a realm of mortals?"
In his impression, according to Asgard's records, Midgard had always been the most unremarkable mortal realm among the Nine Realms. Aside from its population, it could be said to have no racial advantages in the Nine Realms.
Meanwhile, other realms more or less had their own racial uniqueness.
For instance, the Aesir and Vanir tribes, who possessed powerful physical bodies and some of whom could inherit a Godhead.
The Dark Elf race and Light Elf race, who brought darkness and light.
The Fire Giant race and Frost Giant race, who possessed elemental powers.
Helheim, composed of the undead and resentment.
And finally, Nidavellir, the Dwarven realm skilled in forging divine artifacts.
The creatures that ruled the lands in these realms all possessed their own special talents.
Only Midgard was a mortal realm purely ruled by mortals, without any special abilities.
Chapter 130 After the Sweet Date, the Stick Falls!
So when Karl mentioned the other side of Earth, Loki was genuinely shocked.
Could Midgard still hide a face unknown even to Asgard?
Seeing the curiosity spark in Loki's eyes, Karl smiled faintly:
"It seems His Majesty Odin never told you—Earth is home mostly to ordinary people, yet it is no mere mortal world. It also shelters the greatest bastion of magic in the Universe and its mightiest mage."
"Ha?" Loki's brows knitted, disbelief written across his face.
Karl claiming Earth was no simple Planet—he could accept that.
After all, he'd personally watched Karl lift an entire landmass into space; such power, save perhaps for his father Odin, no god in Asgard could match.
That was precisely why Loki respected Karl.
No other reason: raw strength.
But to call Earth the foremost magical sanctuary in the Universe—he wouldn't swallow that!
How could he, the acknowledged first mage of the Nine Realms, not know?
The true cosmic number-one sanctuary was in the home of his mother's people, the Vanir!
And to name Earth's mage the strongest was even more ridiculous!
If anyone deserved the title, it should be himself—Nine Realms' premier sorcerer—or at worst his mother, Queen Frigga!
What claim had Earth, a realm of mortals?
By sheer headcount?
Seeing Loki's defiant glare, Karl merely turned, beckoning casually:
"Don't believe me? Come, then. I'll show you what a real arch-mage looks like—unlike someone who styles himself Nine Realms' first after a few parlor tricks."
Naturally skeptical and Unconvinced, Loki followed Karl deep into the Justice League Base, arriving at a grand hall in the core sector.
Within stood six metal platforms, each supporting a doorway.
These were no ordinary doors but fixed spatial portals.
They linked respectively to Kamar-Taj and the Five Great Powers.
Part of the mutual-aid pact between the Five Powers and the Justice League.
Only League members and top Five-Power officials knew of them.
Moreover, save for the Kamar-Taj gate, which allowed two-way travel, the rest were one-way: League operatives could enter any Five-Power territory, but the reverse was impossible.
All these fixed portals were the handiwork of the Ancient One.
Besides being a master of magic, she was a master artificer; Kamar-Taj's relics and these fixed gates were forged and erected by her personally.
Busy wrapping up the Skrull incident, Karl hadn't visited, so the Ancient One, with time to spare, installed a portal in the Base leading back to Kamar-Taj—freeing her from waiting and letting Karl find her at will.
Karl's eyes had glinted at the news; he promptly asked her to add several more gates—gifts to the Five Great Powers.
The gesture proved immensely welcome!
Learning they now possessed such swift, cost-free access, the Five Powers thanked Karl warmly, feeling genuinely valued.
Yet… the free lunch often costs the most.
Five gates able to reach any point within the Powers could serve rescue—or conquest—but Karl had no such design yet; HYDRA's infiltration wasn't deep enough, and forced unification would ignite global war.
All that, however, lay in the future.
The gates were merely an ace planted ahead.
This time Karl led Loki through the two-way portal to Kamar-Taj.
The instant Loki saw the gate, his heart lurched—he sensed trouble.
Spatial magic ranked as advanced sorcery Universe-wide!
Not even his mother Frigga had mastered it.
If Earth wielded spatial arts, its arcane attainments might indeed surpass both Vanir and Asgard!
Still, Loki clung to a shred of hope—perhaps it wasn't magic at all, merely spatial tech.
After all, while spatial sorcery was rare, spatial technology was common; any star-faring vessel mounted jump drives.
Maybe the principle was similar… With that hope, he stepped through—and arrived amid ancient buildings wreathed in snow.
Yet the moment he set foot in Kamar-Taj, thick magical ambience struck him like a wave.
Tracing the source, he instinctively recoiled.
Good gods—on the plaza rows of mages practiced dazzling spells!
Gleaming whips of force, tower-tall shields, and—most stunning—casual spatial portals opened by mere apprentices made him gasp.
More outrageous: a limbless old mage shattered space before him and strolled inside!
What in the Hel was this?
These were spells even the "first mage of the Nine Realms" couldn't perform!
Loki's pupils shook; he was starting to believe Earth was far from simple.
Perhaps the true sanctuary of magic really was here!
Yet he consoled himself: these flashy conjurings might not equal his own practical sorcery—surely he remained the mightiest!
Watching the prince's confident grin fade into pale shock, Karl's lips curved:
"Come along, Second Prince. These are only Kamar-Taj's apprentices—nothing special. Let me introduce you to the actual strongest mage in the cosmos."
Loki's eyes snapped wide, staring at Karl in disbelief.
You jest—those prodigal spellcasters are mere apprentices?
By Odin! What apprentice could burn power so freely?
Do they even need to conserve mana?
Even the self-proclaimed first mage of the Nine Realms dared not squander divine force like that!
Most of his own repertoire were illusions and low-cost utility spells!
And for that question, Loki would soon query the generous Lord of the Hell Dimension—Mr. Mephisto!