Watching Peter single-handedly suppress the Destroyer, the Warriors Four almost stared their own eyeballs straight out of their sockets on the spot.
What kind of joke was this? That was the Destroyer! Even if it could only exert about a fraction of its true combat power due to its controller being Loki—who possessed absolutely zero combat experience—it still wasn't an existence that ordinary Asgardian warriors could contend with.
Yet now, that Midgardian was capable of single-handedly suppressing the Destroyer to the point where it couldn't even stand up.
It was simply too absurd!
Among everyone present, only Thor furrowed his brows completely into a deep crease. Something was amiss—exceptionally, completely amiss! As a son of Odin, he had been permitted to enter and leave the Asgardian vault freely since childhood. Therefore, he naturally understood the Destroyer's background.
Did this thing even have joints? It was essentially a massive, humanoid set of building blocks forged from Uru metal.
Not only could it twist its body at will without being restricted by joints, but it could even temporarily split its body apart to evade an enemy's assault, and then reassemble the separated parts through the divine power circuit connection.
So, as long as Loki wasn't an idiot, it was impossible for him to just let the Destroyer be pressed against the ground and rubbed by this Midgardian powerhouse!
Then the question arose: was his younger brother an idiot? Quite the contrary. This scheming younger brother of his wasn't just stupid; he was actually holding back a belly full of bad ideas!
Therefore, Thor was absolutely, definitely, and positively certain that Loki was brewing some sort of wicked scheme again!
The moment this thought struck him, Thor grit his teeth, ultimately biting the bullet to open his mouth anyway:
"Midgardian, don't be careless! Destroying the Destroyer is not as simple as you think!"
Even though Peter had not been welcoming toward him from the very beginning of their meeting, and had even snatched away his Mjolnir, the kind-hearted God of Thunder still did not plan to watch a powerful warrior die by a despicable ploy.
Therefore, he didn't just open his mouth to warn Peter; he was even prepared to fight side-by-side with him:
"Give Mjolnir to me! As long as I reclaim my strength, I can help you sever the connection between Loki and this troublesome fellow!"
Hearing these words from Thor, Peter couldn't help but look back at this guy. Not bad; this big dummy was finally willing to put down his posture as the future King of Gods?
Peter's personality had always been to return a favor tenfold if someone respected him a fraction. Therefore, seeing Thor choose to disregard past grudges to warn him, and even wanting to fight side-by-side with him on equal footing, he likewise gave Thor a slightly better countenance.
He casually tossed Mjolnir right toward Thor's feet. The hammer crashed against the pavement, causing Thor to subconsciously take half a step back from the tremor.
"What are you doing?" Thor was dumbfounded, for a moment unable to figure out whether Peter wanted to strike him with the hammer or return it to him.
"You still don't understand?" Peter shook his head, looking exactly as if he were dealing with unteachable rotten wood. "The fact that you can't lift the hammer has absolutely zero relation to whether I use it or not."
"The reason you can't lift it is that you haven't passed the hurdle in your own heart yet! You still haven't met your father's expectations!"
Hearing this, Thor's expression shifted a few times, implicitly agreeing with Peter's words in his heart. But... to have him immediately transform his deep-rooted concepts—a thing like that was easier said than done.
And at the exact split second Peter and Thor were conversing, Loki on the throne of Asgard had a pair of eyes lighting up like lightbulbs. He didn't care what Peter said to Thor.
Because this was precisely the opportunity he had been waiting for all along!
In the previous combat, he had gradually realized that given his own battle experience, even while manipulating the Destroyer, it would be exceptionally difficult to exact revenge on Peter.
Therefore, he had consistently been waiting for Peter to slacken and become careless, and to launch a fatal strike right when that moment arrived!
"Arrogant Midgardian, it's time to pay the price for your haughtiness!"
Accompanied by this loud shout from Loki, the Destroyer—which had previously been completely pressed against the ground and ground down by Peter—suddenly moved.
The components across its entire body spun frantically, and it weirdly flipped its front and back sides right on the spot while its main form remained completely stationary!
The front face that had been hidden underground all along was exposed, and within the hollow faceplate, the laser that had accumulated to the absolute limit erupted in a flash!
The blinding laser gushed out, completely swallowing Peter in an instant.
The entire arena fell into a dead silence. Everyone stared with wide eyes, unable to believe that the situation could completely reverse within the blink of an eye.
"Peter!"
Natasha was the first to react. Terrified by this sudden scene, she slumped flat onto the ground in a flash, her face visibly turning deathly pale.
Accompanied by a dull, thudding sound, a charred torso dropped out from the laser, crashing against the ground and remaining completely motionless...
Natasha lunged to Peter's side, picking up that lump of form that seemed to have completely carbonized, her tears rolling down incessantly like a broken string of pearls.
Her fingers trembled as she reached toward Peter's body, and the tactile sensation transmitted from her fingertips—which didn't resemble flesh at all—caused her frame to shudder violently.
This is impossible... That Peter, who could easily rescue me under the hands of gods, who could resolve the entirety of New York's crises while talking and laughing, and whom even the President had to bow and scrape before—how could he be gone just like that?
Sif and the remaining Asgardian warriors were likewise dumbfounded. A powerhouse who could crush the Destroyer just a moment ago was gone just like that? Furthermore... this lady finally had her heart stirred once more with great difficulty, yet you make me lose this thoroughly?!
Looking at the unbelievable expressions of everyone present on the scene, Loki couldn't resist laughing delightfully on the throne, laughing so hard he could barely keep his waist straight.
"Lowly and arrogant Midgardian, to dare offend the King of Asgard—this is your end!"
"I originally wanted to let Laufey deal with you, but I didn't expect you to be so lack-sighted as to insist on meddling in the affairs between Thor and me!"
"But rest assured, I will ensure your corpse is put to grand use!"
"Your sacrifice will accomplish the supreme, grand undertaking of the new King!"
After laughing heartily, Loki looked toward Thor with a sinister expression, subconsciously licking his lips: "The fellow who jammed up the situation has already been settled! So next up, my dear older brother, it's your turn!"
As his words fell, he manipulated the Destroyer to take heavy steps, marching toward Thor step by step.
Thor's eyes were red as he tried desperately to grab Mjolnir near his feet. But at this moment, his heart was completely filled with the guilt of "I caused the death of a great warrior"; how could he possibly lift Mjolnir, which could only be raised by those of absolute sincerity and steadfastness?
Just as the Destroyer drew closer and closer, and right as everyone's hearts were about to drop completely to the absolute bottom...
Crack...
A minute sound of fracturing appeared exceptionally abrupt at this moment.
Loki's laughter came to a screeching halt, his eyes locking onto the screen in disbelief. Natasha likewise subconsciously ceased her sorrowful crying, looking toward the man in her arms expectantly yet cautiously.
They saw that the charred "outer shell" on Peter's body had cracked open with a fracture line at some unknown point. Within that fracture line, a blinding golden light faintly exposed itself.
Crack, crack!
Under the watchful gazes of countless individuals—either in shock or in anticipation—the charred outer shell shed away layer by layer.
And then...
Bathed completely within golden light, his hair standing entirely on end like a Super Saiyan, Peter rose up from Natasha's embrace. He first reached out a hand to pinch the cheek of Black Widow, whose eyes were red and swollen, subsequently turning his head to look at the Destroyer manipulated by Loki as he delivered that classic, famous meme:
"Surprise, motherfker~"
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