Cosmic Cube: Phase Two

Sif’s shield vanished from her left hand, and the one-handed sword vanished from her right.

In their place appeared a double-headed greatsword over two meters long, looking exactly like the epic greatsword "Hatred" wielded by the Abyssal Lord Azzgaloth.

Of course, it looked prettier and somewhat slimmer.

It was hardly strange for Asgardian divine artifacts to possess shapeshifting abilities.

Odin’s magic had fused the sword and shield into one, making it even more powerful.

Rip!

With thirty tons of force behind it, plus the impact of the fall from high altitude, the double-headed greatsword plunged deep into the Destroyer’s neck and pierced straight through it!

The tremendous impact forced the Destroyer to bend over. It was nailed to the ground by the double-headed greatsword, and the blazing fire within its body went out.

"It worked!"

Volstagg shouted excitedly, while a satisfied smile appeared on Sif’s face.

So this was all the Destroyer amounted to?

A trace of confusion appeared on Captain America’s face.

Director Wang had deployed so many people and even requested the Iron Soldier Legion and missile systems, yet the enemy had been dealt with just like that?

Using a cannon to kill a mosquito?

"It’s not that simple." Old Wang shook his head.

Captain America froze.

Sif’s smile instantly stiffened.

The Destroyer moved again.

The flames inside its body ignited once more, burning even more fiercely than before.

Its body twisted in an incredibly bizarre fashion. Its back became its chest, its chest became its back, and it rotated one hundred and eighty degrees to face Sif directly.

Its faceplate opened, and flames laced with red light burst forth.

Destroyer, Version 2.0, activated!

"What the f—"

Sif had no time to pull out her sword. She leaped away and rolled across the ground.

The flames blasted out, destroying everything around them.

The double-headed greatsword automatically vanished, turning back into a sword and shield in Sif’s hands. Asgard’s fiercest female warrior did not hesitate for a second before turning and running.

You had to be kidding!

The original Destroyer had already been difficult enough to deal with. If not for the divine artifact Odin had bestowed upon her, whose Odin-derived magic canceled out the magic on the Destroyer, she would never have been able to breach the Destroyer’s defenses, even with an artifact forged from Uru!

From the very beginning, the Three Cannon Fodder… the Warriors Three had only been there to draw its attention.

In her eyes, aside from Thor’s Hammer, the only thing on Earth capable of defeating the Destroyer was her sword and shield. Not even Director Wang could do it.

That was the real reason she had not asked the people of Midgard for help and had instead chosen to face the Destroyer with the Warriors Three. There was no need for Asgardians to die for nothing, especially since those people were on fairly good terms with Thor.

But now?

The original Destroyer had already been terrifying enough. Even having its neck pierced through had not killed it, and it could heal itself automatically.

Now, it had clearly received even more Asgardian divine power and unlocked higher-level authority.

How was she supposed to fight that?

The Destroyer chased after Sif, continuously spewing fire.

Sif became more and more bedraggled.

Seeing that even Sif had been defeated, the Warriors Three felt like crying.

H-How was this thing even more terrifying than Laufey, King of the Frost Giants?

Seeing that he was too fat to run fast and that the Destroyer was about to catch him, Volstagg gritted his teeth and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Help!"

Bang!

The Vibranium Shield blocked the Destroyer’s flames at exactly the right moment. After a series of complex, precise ricochets, it returned to Captain America’s hand.

"Avengers, move!"

Holding the Vibranium Shield, he charged forward.

Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two alloy arrows struck the Destroyer. One emitted an electromagnetic pulse of up to forty thousand volts, while the other exploded instantly with terrifying power.

However…

It was useless!

Looking at the Destroyer without even a white mark on it, Hawkeye silently put away his compound bow.

It had at least a hundred tons of strength, defenses comparable to Vibranium, automatic healing even when injured, and a body that could rotate and twist at any angle in any way, completely defying human anatomy.

God, how were they supposed to fight this?

Why not come down and try it Yourself, old man?

Black Widow also quietly withdrew.

Hawkeye still had decent long-range attack capabilities. Aside from the pistol at her waist and the little gadgets in her Widow suit meant for dealing with ordinary people, she only knew close-quarters combat…

Question:

How was a young woman who had only received ordinary physical enhancement supposed to deal with a high-temperature, high-strength chunk of iron that could move and breathe fire?

Waiting online. This was urgent!

Captain America tried a few times and discovered that his only option seemed to be using the Vibranium Shield to block the Destroyer’s flames. As for harming the Destroyer, that was not even worth considering.

Holding it off without losing was still possible.

But winning?

Absolutely impossible!

"Director Wang, the Iron Soldiers are in position. Seven Tomahawk Cruise Missiles have locked on. Shall we deploy them immediately?" Coulson’s voice came through.

"No!" Old Wang refused again.

As he spoke, Tony took Captain America’s place and blocked the Destroyer.

But it was still useless.

The famous Iron Man armor had already been upgraded to Mark 9.

However, it had inherited the tradition established since Mark 2: prioritizing mobility and versatility. In terms of pure destructive power…

It was not even as strong as a Jericho Missile!

Against a Destroyer that could tank, heal, and deal DPS, keeping it occupied was no problem.

But winning?

"Looks like I need to make anti-Destroyer armor, or maybe just anti-Asgard armor!" Tony thought as he fought.

"Thor, hurry up and awaken."

Old Wang sighed. After all that, I still have to do it myself.

He raised a hand, and more than ten bolts of Jade Lightning crashed down.

Watching the Destroyer remain completely unscathed beneath the Jade Lightning, Old Wang frowned slightly.

Odin’s magic, Asgardian craftsmanship, Runic Symbols covering its entire body, and the endless supply of Asgardian energy—everything combined to raise the Destroyer’s magic resistance to a terrifying level.

Old Wang had only felt this kind of near-immunity to all magic from the Five Dragon Kings.

In terms of resistance alone, the Destroyer was second only to the indestructible chromatic dragon Chromatus. Its metal shell was on the same level as Deathwing’s Elementium Armor, and only legendary weapons could barely harm it.

Aside from Loki’s little dagger, Old Wang’s only legendary weapon was the Crimson Magic Belt.

That thing could not beat Gungnir, so it definitely could not beat Version 2.0 of the Destroyer.

This bastard…

Was a little difficult to deal with!

"I just hope the one at the nursery awakens soon."

Old Wang stepped through the air.

Time to move!

Seeing the scene on the screen, the leaders of nations around the world wore complicated expressions.

At least a hundred tons of strength, the ability to manipulate the atmosphere, abundant energy, Vibranium-level defenses, and nearly one hundred percent magic resistance.

The Destroyer was definitely ten times more troublesome than Abomination or Hulk in his normal state.

To them, Hulk and Abomination were nothing more than problems. If they truly took them seriously, they would certainly find ways to deal with them—more than one, at that.

But the Destroyer left them completely helpless.

According to Director Wang, Asgard had quite a few beings stronger than the Destroyer, not to mention the Nine Realms.

Not to mention the entire universe.

The threat of aliens had always existed.

But the aliens who had come to Earth in 1995 had not frightened them, and they had never seen the Kree Empire Accuser Corps Fleet stationed beyond Earth.

Now, things were different.

The Asgardians had truly arrived, and with the Bifrost, they could come at any time. They also possessed countless ways to destroy the entire Earth, and that made them feel the threat of death.

Although Director Wang had said that Earth had its own protectors, no one wanted to entrust their safety to unfamiliar outsiders.

Those outsiders even included Director Wang.

Powerful individuals were uncontrollable. Only powerful weapons held in one’s own hands could provide true safety and confidence.

"How is the Cosmic Cube research progressing?" the female member of parliament from the United Kingdom suddenly asked.

"There have been too many things to study lately: the Sky Carrier, Iron Man armor… Tony placed the Cosmic Cube, the most difficult project, at the very end." Egghead answered.

The female member of parliament nodded. "I propose that we immediately launch the Phase Two plan."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

The other members of parliament nodded one after another.

"I will move Cosmic Cube research to the highest priority and assign the finest scientists to assist Tony." For once, Egghead did not argue with the members of parliament.

The Avengers Initiative was ultimately only an emergency response team.

The strength of an entire civilization was what gave humanity the confidence to stand among the civilizations of the universe.

The Cosmic Cube represented endless energy and limitless possibilities.

It was time!