Foreplay Is Important

The surging energy rapidly dissipated, annihilating itself in the air! Once again, reality proved that the Positron Cannon was only good for blasting Angels and Gundams. On any other battlefield, it truly would not accomplish much.

Having temporarily halted the slaughter, Duke’s crimson eyes calmed down. Only then did he realize that he had become so immersed in killing that he had nearly lost himself and fallen into the swamp of power.

Duke silently called it a close one and hurriedly circulated his True Essence through the eight extraordinary meridians. Only then did his mind clear considerably. Unlike in other worlds, Duke possessed too many powers in the Marvel World, and they were far too varied. He had gone from an ordinary person to a cosmic-level powerhouse in too short a time. In fact, he had simply lain down and taken a nap.

Looking across all the worlds, Duke in the Marvel World could be called the strongest. In this world, where there was practically no upper limit, he could use any power without restrictions.

That led to a problem: if Kamehameha could solve it, why bother using his brain?

That made perfect sense, but if he brute-forced every problem with raw power, how was he any different from a puppet of strength?

That was why so many powerhouses were always falling to the dark side. Their strength could destroy heaven and earth, but their state of mind was nothing special—fragile as a soap bubble. The death of a pet could send them into madness. This was especially true in worlds like American comics. They could leave home as justice-driven superheroes, then return from a trip to the supermarket ready to become Great Devils bent on destroying the world.

Were eggs no longer on sale, or had toilet paper gone up in price again?

Destroying the world over rising prices was indeed a bit childish… Could it be a law of the Marvel World, that everyone who lived in Marvel had to go dark at least once?

Duke felt that he might have seen through the truth.

Though they said, "Washing clean weakens you by thirty percent; going dark doubles your strength," Duke kept his distance from darkening and had little interest in destroying the world. Today’s restless state of mind had reminded him that, whether it was a Marvel law or not, as his power system grew increasingly complicated, he needed a powerful heart capable of fully controlling all that power.

Other worlds might not matter, but he could not afford to be careless. If Marvel truly had some epidemic called darkening, it would be far too late for regrets.

The Chitauri who had pulled back launched another charge. Duke snorted coldly, unwilling to waste any more time on them. Including his clones, the Ice Dragons beneath them all let out low growls and raised their heads toward the dark clouds, exhaling ten columns of bone-chilling cold air.

Flooded with enormous amounts of cold air, the dark clouds immediately sank. Their color shifted from black to blue, and even their rolling slowed considerably. The next second, fierce winds swept through New York City. A raging Category 10 hurricane carried frost and snowflakes across the sky, ravaging the city from above.

The gloomy world was filled with thick snow and hail. Howling gales tore madly between towering buildings, dyeing the mighty city white in an instant. The plummeting temperatures wrapped everything in a thick coat of ice. Even the Hudson River before the Statue of Liberty crackled as its surface froze solid, while citizens hiding indoors shivered and complained bitterly.

The Chitauri riding their aircraft were like duckweed without roots, swaying amid the snowstorm. The raging blizzard froze them into ice pops, and they fell from the sky like dumplings. For a time, the ground was filled with endless crackling sounds of shattering ice.

The Avengers hid inside a bar by the roadside. Before such a natural disaster, even they did not dare show themselves casually.

"Want to play a round of Texas Hold’em? Relax, guys. I don’t think there’ll be any stragglers." Stark pulled out a deck of cards from behind the bar and poured himself a drink to warm up.

No one paid him any attention. They stared at the sky beyond the windows, seemingly trying to see through the layers of white and discern what was happening above.

"If we don’t shut down the Tesseract, the Chitauri army will keep coming endlessly. He can’t kill them all by himself." Thor spoke with deep concern. The crown prince had fought countless campaigns in his life, but he had never heard of anyone defeating a powerful army head-on. Not even his father, Odin, could do that.

"Exactly. No one knows how many Aliens there are. A million? Ten million? Or hundreds of millions?"

"We have to do something!"

"Let’s go to the top floor of Stark Tower and shut down the Tesseract. We can’t let the Aliens keep running wild."

"If you don’t mind, count me in!"

"And me. I’m going too."

"Ice Storm!"

"Ice Beam!"

"Absolute Zero Freezing Air!"

"Frost Breath!"

"Freezing Strike!"

"Frost Nova!"

"Frozen World!"

"…"

Ten Dukes stood amid the frozen landscape, choosing only powerful ice-element attacks. With the environmental boost, the might of those techniques was amplified without limit. The Chitauri had their limbs frozen stiff by the cold air and became living targets that could only take hits, with no chance to fight back. They fell from the clouds in wave after wave.

There was not the slightest joy on Duke’s face. Like the Avengers, he felt that continuing to kill was not a solution. If the enemy was determined to disregard casualties, they could exhaust him to death through sheer numbers.

Closing his eyes to sense the surroundings, Duke saw Loki and his lackey, Dr. Erik Selvig, inside the top floor of Stark Tower. An idea came to him. His clones stayed behind to continue attacking, while his main body rode the Ice Dragon toward the two of them.

On the top floor of Stark Tower, Loki stood before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows. The vast white curtain of snow obscured his vision. He could see nothing, but he could guess that the Chitauri had suffered grievous casualties and might even be considering retreat.

Thor was not the only Asgardian prince who had fought across the realms. Loki, too, was battle-hardened. He had his own measure of the Chitauri and Duke’s respective strength, and he knew that his dream of conquering Earth had gone up in smoke.

As long as Duke remained on Earth, he could never establish a kingdom here. He had come in high spirits only to leave in disappointment. The ambitious prince was utterly depressed, as if he had eaten a bowl of cold, overnight shit. His expression was terrifyingly ugly.

If he had known that Duke’s interference had spared him from being violently thrashed by Hulk, he might have felt a little better. After all, for a god, that would have been far too humiliating—a true black mark in history.

"Bang!"

"Crash—Crash—"

With a thunderous boom, the floor-to-ceiling windows shattered violently, scattering glass across the floor. The massive head of the Blue-Ice White Night Dragon smashed through the reinforced concrete wall. Its icy-blue dragon eyes locked onto Loki, radiating waves of dim blue light.

Duke jumped down from the dragon’s head and floated in midair. Approaching the panicked Loki, he said, "Your Highness, Frost Prince from the land of giants—Jotunheim—can you tell me how to close the Space Portal?"

Loki’s pupils shrank sharply, and cold sweat covered his forehead. "I’m Asgardian, not from Jotunheim!"

Duke smiled faintly and waved one hand, scattering a sheet of cold air. Intimidating frost enveloped Loki, immediately revealing his blue face with savage fangs.

"Since when did the Frost Giants join Asgard?" Duke shook his head and sneered. Then he continued to the ashen-faced Loki, "Tell me how to close the Space Portal."

In truth, Duke had seen the original work, so of course he knew. But as an outstanding professional performer, he firmly believed that one had to see an act through to the end. Foreplay, especially, occupied so much of the page for a profound reason!

Having his secret exposed right from the start, Loki was both furious and terrified. Duke’s threat level in his mind rose rapidly, firmly taking second place beneath only Thanos. But fear was fear; the God of Lies had never been one to tell the truth. He said, "It’s useless. No one can close it."

Duke sneered and raised Dr. Erik Selvig into the air with one hand. A massive burst of mental power shattered Loki’s control over him.

Dr. Erik Selvig groaned a few times, then rose while clutching his aching head. Panting heavily, he said, "The scepter… Loki’s scepter can shut down the Tesseract. I made a failsafe device. As long as the scepter touches the cube, it can stop it."

"What? You made a failsafe device, and I didn’t know?" Loki looked utterly incredulous. The God of Lies felt that he had been deceived.

What happened to your loyalty? Earthling, you were clearly kissing my boots, so why stab me in the back?

"It was merely scientific prudence!" Dr. Erik Selvig replied with a solemn expression, nearly choking Loki to death.

Loki had wronged Erik. The latter had been under his control and could not have betrayed him. But every scientist, out of caution, would leave a backdoor in their research results or products. It was simply an occupational habit.

"Where is the scepter?" Duke turned to ask Loki.

Loki gave a bitter smile and spread his hands. "Thor knocked it away earlier. I don’t know where it is either!"

"The scepter is here!"

The doors were pushed open, and the Avengers rushed in. Natasha held the scepter and said, "We found it downstairs in the tower. We thought it might be useful."

The golden scepter had an exceptionally sleek design. Magical patterns were carved into its shaft, while its pointed blade gleamed with cold light. Yet the most eye-catching part was still the dazzling gem.

Duke took the scepter and lightly tapped the gem with a finger. He did not find anything unusual. His mind had not been struck, nor had his mental power been amplified. Unable to stop himself, he frowned and asked Loki, "When Thanos gave you the scepter, did he not tell you anything?"

Loki was greatly alarmed. "You know that person? Wait, is there something wrong with this scepter?"

Duke gave a light laugh and pointed to the gem on the scepter. Mockingly, he said, "This gem is called the Mind Stone. Like the Space Stone outside, it is one of the universe’s greatest treasures. Thanos gave you the gem, yet did not tell you how to use it… It seems you are merely a pawn as well!"