The entire Greenland Island was engulfed in flames of war. Thor, Sif, and others showcased the bravery of Asgardian warriors. Thor, in particular, demonstrated why he was known as the God of Thunder.
Among everyone present, his level had reached an unbelievable extent.
His strength, speed, and mastery of thunder were completely overwhelming, no matter the demon he faced. Even those demons attempting to ambush him were struck down with a single blow.
He moved through the demonic hordes as if playing a mowing game, transforming into lightning and darting among them.
Although Sif and the Warriors Three fought valiantly, their efficiency was not as high. Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. 's Nick Fury and Pierce were coordinating efforts, and various national armies continued to launch missiles, causing significant damage to the demons.
The nations had become wiser; after losing their air forces earlier, they realized that conventional weapons like machine guns were not particularly effective. Only missiles could inflict substantial harm.
To avoid unnecessary losses, they provided long-range support by firing missiles, not wanting to throw away lives recklessly.
Moreover, with Thor and others on the front lines, the nations were curious about their origins.
However, the most important issue at hand was the Hell Gate, so they temporarily set aside these questions.
For the time being, the battle was at a stalemate.
Under the relentless bombardment of missiles, the beautiful environment of Greenland Island was almost completely destroyed.
Loki, using his magic vision, tracked the ancient artifact that opened the Hell Gate. Suddenly, he frowned and focused on the Hell Gate, which continuously spewed out demons.
The gate had expanded to over ten thousand meters, with more and more demons emerging.
Loki wasn't concerned about these; his focus was on the other side of the Hell Gate.
"This is troublesome."
After searching around, Loki couldn't find the ancient artifact. Such an obvious item couldn't have escaped his tracking. If it wasn't here, the only possibility was that it was on the other side of the Hell Gate.
Loki knew this would be a problem.
That artifact contained immense energy, making it impossible for an ordinary person to close the portal. Even Loki himself was not confident; he might need to team up with his foolish brother to have a chance.
But the artifact was in Hell.
Given Asgard's previously domineering style, Loki had no doubt there were Hell lords in Hell who held grudges against Asgard or Odin.
Odin had beaten more Hell lords than one could count on one hand.
If he and Thor ventured into Hell, some Hell lords would be thrilled. In Asgard or the Nine Realms, those Hell lords wouldn't dare make a move because they were Odin's territory.
In Hell, however, those Hell lords wouldn't be weakened.
They could capture him and Thor, making it impossible for Odin to save them without embarrassing Asgard.
Odin would be left with two choices: act for honor, which in his state would have dire consequences, or not act and reveal Asgard's decline to everyone.
Once Odin fell, a swarm of greedy eyes would be ready to carve up Asgard.
It was a perfect trap.
This was why Loki and Thor had never ventured into Hell, or rather, why Odin had never allowed them to.
Aware of this, Loki immediately dismissed the idea of going to Hell.
But if they didn't destroy the artifact, the Hell Gate would continue to expand.
That's why Loki found it so troublesome.
The mastermind behind the Hell Gate was indeed meticulous.
Loki then glanced at the silent Jean behind him, his eyes flickering.
The host of the Phoenix Force was undeniably powerful, even with an incomplete Phoenix Force. However, Loki knew that the beings in Hell would recognize her power as well.
She could destroy the artifact but might end up trapped in Hell, with dire consequences.
Loki never saw himself as a good person; he would sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals, especially someone he had just met.
But upon reflection, he rejected this idea.
Firstly, Thor would never agree, and it might provoke the wrath of Earth's guardian, Bi Xiao, as Jean was human.
To be opposed by someone of Odin's level, especially a young one, would not end well.
He had to think of another way.
Boom!
With a casual wave of his spear, Loki unleashed terrifying electric chains, destroying countless demons. He slowly spoke, "Thor, I know where the artifact is."
His voice reached Thor, who was fighting in the distant sky.
Thor continued his slaughter but replied.
"Where is it?"
"Bad news, it's on the other side."
Boom!!
Thor's hammer swept in a circle, burning demons within a radius of several thousand meters to ash. Standing tall, his cape billowing, he looked down at the enormous, grim Hell Gate.
"Loki, do me a favor."
Without hesitation, Thor prepared to charge in, but Loki's urgent voice stopped him, "No, no, no! Don't even think about it, Thor. Have you considered what will happen if you go in?"
Thor paused his hammer's spin.
Previously, his pride would have driven him forward.
Hell or no Hell, he would have charged in.
Now, he understood the need for caution, aware of beings in the universe far stronger than him.
Hell, being a powerful dimension, housed innumerable mighty demons. Thor immediately grasped why Loki refused.
"Damn it, Heimdall, can the Bifrost destroy this portal?"
Thor thought for a moment and let out a thunderous roar.
"Thor, you know only by Odin's command can we do that."
Heimdall's deep voice echoed in his mind, causing Thor to choke.
"Then what should we do?"
Thor was at a loss.
Boom!
As he pondered, a sound like shattering glass echoed from the distant horizon. A pitch-black figure broke through space, colliding with missiles launched from afar. Amidst the explosions, the figure streaked past Thor and plummeted towards the ground.
Thor glanced instinctively, raising his eyebrows.
Boom!
The figure hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and creating a massive crater.
A familiar voice reached his ears again.
"Hey, Thor."
A flash of white lightning stopped in front of Thor, standing on a magical circle.
"Pietro?"
It was indeed Pietro. And not only Pietro, but also Wanda and Bella appeared.
"Wanda, Bella."
"Thor."
Wanda glanced at the approaching demon horde, her eyes gleaming red. She extended her right hand and clenched it suddenly.
Boom!
The whole world seemed to be within Wanda's grasp. The immense pressure caused the swarming demons to explode into dust, their blood and gore bursting like macabre fireworks.
This brutal method made the X-Men and Tony Stark below flinch.
"Holy sh*t." Storm couldn't help but curse.
The scene was too intense.
Tony remained silent, sweating profusely. If he could, he would have returned to his villa immediately, regretting ever coming to this place.
Wanda's power cast a long shadow over him.
After easily crushing the demons, Wanda turned her gaze, and the thousands of incoming missiles vanished in an instant, completely obliterated.
This shocking scene left countless onlookers speechless.
In the joint military command center of various countries, all the uniformed commanders stared blankly at the big screen. The camera zoomed in, capturing Wanda and the others standing tall, especially Wanda, whose god-like power was beyond belief.
"What?"
"Is that girl even human?"
"Our missiles, just gone? Disappeared?"
"Who is she? How did she do that?"
The commanders were shaken. Thousands of missiles, capable of destroying a city, were nullified by a single glance. Though they didn't understand how, Wanda's nonchalant expression suggested it was effortless for her.
One of humanity's most powerful weapons, rendered useless by a mere look.
This left all the commanders speechless. They promptly ordered a halt to missile launches.
After all, from the girl's actions, any further missile launches would be futile.
It was better to save the missiles, considering their high cost.
Moreover, they feared provoking the girl, worrying she might obliterate their armies too.
Wanda's mere glance intimidated the world's mightiest military forces.
But she felt no ripple in her heart.
At this point, Wanda was far beyond ordinary human levels.
"What is that creature? It feels very evil."
Thor wasn't overly shocked, knowing Wanda's power, but was curious about the ugly creature climbing out of the crater.
It seemed formidable.
"That is a sorcerer possessing that monster's body. He is a follower of the dark lord Dormammu. This plot is his doing, aiming to bring Dormammu to Earth," Wanda explained briefly.
Thor realized, his expression turning serious.
The dark lord Dormammu was a renowned top-tier being, even stronger than his father Odin.
He hadn't expected this crisis to be orchestrated by Dormammu's followers, which explained its difficulty.
"What should we do? To close that thing, we need to enter Hell first," Thor said, troubled.
"Why close it?"
Bella suddenly spoke.
Thor looked over with a face full of confusion. Bella shook her head and whispered, "Have you forgotten about Shaw?"
"Shaw? What about him?"
Thor still hadn't figured it out.
Loki's disdainful voice came through: "My foolish brother, haven't you noticed that Shaw has never appeared?"
Thor turned his head and saw Loki standing beside him, though he hadn't noticed when Loki had arrived.
He thought for a moment and immediately found it strange: "Yes, in such a major crisis, why hasn't Shaw, as the guardian of Midgard, shown up?"
It was because Thor knew Earth had a guardian like Xiao that he didn't bring his own guard.
With Loki's hint, he suddenly realized. Although on the surface Midgard is under Asgard's rule, Shaw's presence actually makes it completely independent of Asgard.
Bi Xiao might not care about these matters, but Thor couldn't casually lead an army to Midgard without Bi Xiao's consent. Such an act would be seen as provocative.
In some sense, this is a form of mutual understanding. Bi Xiao might not care, but Thor had to be considerate, especially as he was the prince of Asgard, representing Asgard. His every action was significant.
Yet, in the face of this crisis, Bi Xiao, the guardian, hadn't shown up.
"Don't you think this feels more like a game?" Bella said with a smile, while Loki, helpless, added inwardly that his foolish brother was indeed clueless and would be ridiculed if he became king in the future.
Loki was more determined to outperform Thor and gain Odin's favor to become the king of Asgard.
"A game, you mean?" Thor finally understood.
"Exactly."
Seeing Thor finally get it, Loki rolled his eyes.
Bi Xiao, at his level, wouldn't care about the demons pouring out from the gates of Hell. For him, Wanda, Thor, Loki, Pietro, and Bella could easily deal with them. Perhaps only the high-level demons that would come later might pose some challenge.
For someone like Bi Xiao, those demons were merely fodder.
The real game was whether the big players in Hell would step in and when. Bi Xiao had to consider this.
Loki couldn't guess many of Bi Xiao's thoughts, but he suspected that Bi Xiao's absence meant he was waiting, possibly setting a trap for those Hell lords. If they showed up, it would lead to an epic battle.
This was the core of the current crisis.
If those Hell lords stepped in, the war with Bi Xiao would determine the resolution of the crisis. Closing the gates of Hell wasn't the issue; the outcome of this war was.
If the Hell lords didn't show up, the crisis would pass quickly. If they did, and the war broke out, Midgard's safety would be at stake, and Odin's involvement would be in question. This was Loki's concern.
"Alright, it seems the key isn't with us. All we can do is hold off these demons here?" Thor understood the key point and didn't lose heart.
"Leave it to Loki and me."
Wanda spoke, then glanced down at Kaecilius, who was grinning wickedly at them. "You must hold him off and keep him from disturbing us."
"Hey, leave it to me."
Thor waved his hammer, eyes filled with excitement.
"Don't underestimate him, Thor. With Dormammu's support, he's terrifyingly strong. If Wanda hadn't seized the Mirror Dimension, we would have struggled to get out," Pietro reminded him, knowing their opponent was thorough.
Without Bella's appearance, they might have been stuck in the Mirror Dimension.
Fighting Kaecilius, Pietro noticed his opponent's tenacity. His speed, strength, and reflexes matched Pietro's super speed, and he could use various dark magics and curses.
Pietro had a tough time. Even if he hit Kaecilius, the body's defense was so strong it wouldn't be harmed, and if it was, it healed instantly.
Pietro felt that if it were a one-on-one fight, it would take days to determine the winner, with a high chance of his own loss. However, Kaecilius would also struggle to kill or defeat him due to his Speed Force.
"Kaecilius can draw unlimited power from the Dark Dimension without burden due to his powerful body," Wanda added.
"So, if we can't kill him instantly, he can keep fighting indefinitely?" Thor raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly." Wanda nodded.
"That makes it even more interesting, doesn't it?" Thor became even more excited, finding such an opponent worthy.
Sif and the Warriors Three arrived on their Pegasus, full of fighting spirit after hearing the situation.
~~~
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— Completed (Chapter 277: Finale)