Strange had been busy these past few days, so busy he hadn't even finished the red wine he opened a few days ago.
That was red wine from Château Cheval Blanc, produced in 1947, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a bottle.
However, thinking about the several other bottles still in the cafeteria cabinet, Strange felt relieved again.
"A little bit of water can't defeat the great God of Thunder and Strength. Even if you throw me into battle right now, there won't be any problem." Thor thumped his chest, assuring him.
But the strong smell of alcohol emanating from him made Strange unable to believe his assurance.
Strange sighed, feeling only exhaustion.
"Thor, Loki, you two rest for two days first, and get familiar with the Kamar-Taj sorcerers' work procedures. And then, wait for the Asgardian army to be stationed before you start working."
"Familiarize ourselves with the work procedures? No need." Thor waved his hand, declining Strange's kind offer.
Seeing Strange frown, Thor explained, "Loki and I studied at Kamar-Taj before, and we are quite familiar with the sorcerers, so we can start working now."
Strange: ?
Strange's gaze lingered on Thor and Loki, his expression uncertain and surprised.
Seeing this, Lucas explained, "Strange, this Universe might be a bit different from your Universe. Just get used to it."
Strange nodded blankly.
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.
The close relationship between this Universe's Earth and Asgard was probably also inseparable from Lucas.
In his Universe, Thor had never asked the superheroes of Earth for help with matters happening in Asgard.
Of course, Kamar-Taj also never asked Asgard for help when facing Dimensional Lord invasions.
"Since you think there's no problem, I'll take you to see it now."
Strange stood up and walked to the front, leading everyone towards the main hall.
Passing through pavilions and halls, the positions of the group subtly changed. Unbeknownst to them, the somewhat impatient Thor had walked to the front.
Strange fell silent again.
Thor's familiarity with Kamar-Taj's architecture...
Clearly, what he said earlier about having studied at Kamar-Taj for a period was not a humble remark.
Before the group even approached the main hall where the magic array was controlled, Wong's voice sounded from afar.
When Hela left earlier, Wong had accompanied her on a tour of Kamar-Taj. Coincidentally, they also arrived here at this time.
"This is the Kamar-Taj magic array control panel, mainly used to monitor supernatural power fluctuations outside Earth. Once an extradimensional being approaches, the control panel will issue a warning, reminding the Kamar-Taj sorcerers to intercept it."
"Sounds pretty good." Hela said with a cold expression.
"Mm, but it's not always effective." Wong nodded.
He continued, "In addition, through it, we can remotely control the magic arrays of the three Sanctum Sanctorums. When necessary, we can summon the power of the three Sanctum Sanctorum magic arrays to resist extra-dimensional beings."
"The three Sanctum Sanctorum magic arrays only activate when a powerful extradimensional creature is detected approaching here. Normally, they are in standby mode, otherwise the energy consumption would be too great."
Hela pointed casually and asked, "Look, isn't it activated now?"
Wong's gaze followed Hela's finger, and his pupils contracted.
The next moment, he said to the apprentice beside him, "Quick, go notify Sorcerer Lucas and Strange."
After instructing the apprentice, Wong didn't remain idle. He ignored Hela and hurried forward to take over the control panel's operating authority.
As one magic seal and incantation after another took shape, the three Sanctum Sanctorums, which had been in standby mode, were rapidly awakened.
The apprentice had just walked out of the main hall entrance when he ran into Lucas and his group.
Nodding to the apprentice, Lucas walked into the main hall.
"No need, we're here. Wong, what happened?"
Seeing Lucas and Strange arrive, Wong breathed a sigh of relief and slowly said, "A powerful energy fluctuation is approaching. Judging from the energy fluctuation, it is a powerful Dimensional Lord."
"A powerful Dimensional Lord?"
Upon hearing this, Hela, Thor, Loki, and Mordo all frowned involuntarily.
Lucas and Strange, however, raised their eyebrows in unison, looking calm and composed.
"You or me? Although the magic array can resist this unknown Dimensional Lord, the array's recent consumption is too great, and there's no need to use it in such a place."
Strange's voice rang out, drawing glances from Mordo and Wong.
Aren't magic arrays meant to resist powerful Dimensional Lords?
From Strange's tone, it sounded like he intended to abandon the array and take the offensive himself.
Seeing Mordo and Wong's confusion, Strange didn't bother to explain.
Hearing is believing, seeing is knowing.
Before Lucas could answer, he smiled and said, "I'll do it."
With that, Strange formed hand seals, adding protective spells to himself. Then he pointed his fingers through the void, and as golden sparks flashed, a spatial portal opened.
Strange, pulled by the cloak behind him, actively flew towards the source of the powerful energy.
Seeing this, Lucas nodded to the others and said, "Let's go take a look together."
Hela, Thor, and Loki readily agreed.
They were also very curious as to why Strange would abandon the magic array.
Wong and Mordo, left with no choice, could only follow, ready to provide support at any moment.
However, as they flew, Mordo suddenly remembered something.
When Strange first arrived on Earth-404, the intensity of the energy on him seemed to be much higher than that of the unknown entity Wong had just judged to be a powerful Dimensional Lord. The two weren't even on the same magnitude.
...
Beyond the reality lies the bizarre Superflow. Here, the concepts of time and space don't even exist.
Therefore, although Wong and Mordo only departed a beat later, by the time they arrived, the battle was already nearing its end.
They only saw the three red giant dragons summoned by Strange, tightly entangled with an octopus-shaped creature, biting it fiercely.
Under the tearing of the three red giant dragons, the octopus became enraged. It tried to use its tentacles to entangle the three giant dragons in return, but it found it difficult to succeed.
Whenever it made some progress, Strange, not far away, would point his fingers across. A silent golden light would appear, like an incomparably sharp blade, easily severing the octopus's tentacles.
After several such instances, the few people understood.
Strange summoned the three dragons to fight, not because they were his trump card. It was simply more convenient this way. He himself was much more powerful than these three dragons.
However...
"Why didn't Strange just kill this octopus?"
Mordo was puzzled, so he asked this question.
Strange still didn't answer, he just smiled mysteriously.
A moment later, almost all of the octopus's tentacles were severed, and it was powerless to resist, only able to endure the tearing of the three dragons.
At this moment, Strange suddenly raised his hand and recalled the three dragons.
Seeing the fat meat about to reach their mouths fly away like that, the three dragons turned and roared at Strange, energy faintly gathering in their mouths.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Three whip cracks sounded.
Strange's energy condensed into a crimson chain, and he lashed each of the three dragons once.
The three dragons immediately had their skin and flesh torn open, as if suffering heavy blows, and collapsed weakly, no longer daring to roar at Strange.
Seeing this, Strange waved his chain and threw half of the octopus's severed tentacles over.
Give a stick, then a carrot.
Strange might not have heard this saying, but he understood the principle.
After disciplining the three dragons, Strange turned his gaze to the trembling octopus.
He didn't bother to ask the octopus's name, merely reprimanding it coldly, "In the Universe ahead, Sorcerer Supreme Strange presides. Dimensional Lord, stop here, understood?"
The octopus nodded, trembling.
If he had known there was an even more terrifying monster here, he would have fled in another direction.
"Since you understand, then you can die in peace."
The Octopus's expression froze.
He had thought Strange's words just now meant he would let him off.
Then, before the Octopus could react and flee, he was pulled by a terrifying suction, unable to move.
The next instant, several golden streaks of light flashed, tearing several tiny gaps in the Superflow.
The Octopus's body also froze. His massive body split into several pieces, falling in various directions.
Strange's power surged quietly, recording this piece of information and silently broadcasting it into the depths of the Superflow.
Strange also dealt with the Octopus's corpse, rendering it useless to ensure it wouldn't attract other dark sorcerers and demons to steal it.
After that, he left the Octopus's corpse to float outside Earth-616's reality.
Thus, Mordo and Wong understood Strange's intention.
Slaying the Octopus was not Strange's goal, giving a warning was.
Strange was fearless against various Dimensional Lords, but he was constantly bothered by the countless extra-dimensional beings of varying strengths.
What a terrifying sorcerer.
Hela withdrew her gaze from Strange. She quietly decided in her heart that when she succeeded as the King of Asgard and reconquered the Nine Realms to reclaim past glory, she would temporarily skip Midgard.