How Much Longer?

"Keep coming, Hulk."

"It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real fight with someone."

Tony watched Hulk lie motionless beneath the dirt and rocks from the collapsed hillside, a smile appearing on his face.

He was completely incapable of defeating opponents who were too strong, like Harvey or the Ancient One.

During the previous Destroyer invasion, that monster had been absurdly powerful too. Even when he went all out, he had failed to break its defenses. Otherwise, he would not have called Harvey for help.

Setting aside the few people on Earth whom he absolutely could not defeat, there were not many people on Earth capable of fighting him.

As for Thor, Tony had wanted to fight him, but after Thor left last time…

This time, Thor had come to help Earth fend off the Chitauri army’s invasion, so even if Tony wanted to fight him, the timing was not right.

But now that Hulk, with his powerful physical defenses, had arrived, Tony could finally stretch his limbs a little and release the battle lust that had been building inside him for so long.

He could also use this to warm up before joining a real war.

With a boom, Hulk rose from the pile of rocks and mud, clenching both fists as he stared at the enemy before letting out an enraged roar.

"That’s more like it. Let me warm up, and while I’m at it, teach you what a strong person is."

"Stop acting like some weakling in front of me."

"Now that other civilizations in the universe have discovered Earth…"

"You may choose not to use power, but you cannot be without it. I’ll make you understand that."

Seeing that Hulk’s waist had merely bent slightly from his attack rather than leaving him unable to stand, Tony said with a smile.

Hulk charged forward furiously and threw a heavy punch.

With a light jump, Tony appeared directly behind Hulk. His legs became a blur, and in an instant, more than a dozen whip kicks lashed across Hulk’s back.

Even with his astonishing defense, taking attacks that felt like being struck by enormous whips could not be ignored, even if they failed to fully break through his defenses.

Hulk was sent flying again, but this time Tony did not hold back. With a flash, he crossed dozens of meters in an instant, unleashing a constant barrage of fists and kicks against Hulk.

The sound of bang! as huge rocks were crushed beneath his feet rang repeatedly through the rubble-strewn island.

Hulk’s body was constantly sent flying through the air several meters above the ground.

Every time Hulk felt pain, he could only let out impotent, furious roars. Though he was enraged, Hulk could also tell that he could not defeat the man before him.

So Hulk retreated, and his body reverted to Banner’s form.

When Tony saw Hulk change back, he immediately gave Jarvis an instruction.

Piece after piece of armor descended from the sky and reattached itself to Tony’s body.

Having returned to Banner’s form, he lay on the ground.

Banner had been too angry, so even after transforming into Hulk, he had watched the battle from within his consciousness.

In the past, whenever he transformed, even if he had no awareness at the time, he could still see through the news after waking up how much destruction Hulk had caused.

Yet the powerful Hulk had been unable to use his strength against Tony Stark and had been utterly dominated.

As a result, Hulk had voluntarily returned control of the body to him in such a short time.

Lying on the ground, Banner felt a faint pain coming from his back, and his face could not help but crease into a frown.

Of course, there were no wounds on his back. After transforming into Hulk, Hulk would always restore his body to its best condition, so the injuries Tony had inflicted had already healed.

But the piercing pain Hulk had just endured seemed to have faintly imprinted itself upon his nerves.

"You won this fight, Tony Stark."

Banner looked at Tony as he slowly approached and spoke.

"Dr. Banner, at most, this could be considered a spar. It did not count as a battle at all."

"Because I would not kill you, and you were not in a desperate life-or-death situation."

"But in the war that will follow, when we face an attack from the armies of other civilizations in the universe…"

"If the enemy has the ability to kill you, they will not hesitate to do so."

"The vast majority of humans on Earth can only run when faced with an invasion by the Chitauri army from the universe. It is not that they do not want to fight, but that they do not possess the strength to fight back."

"So they can only flee in order to keep themselves alive."

"Although your original body is also that of an ordinary person, you possess Hulk’s power and still have the ability to fight."

"Do you understand? Hulk’s power gives you more options when you face difficult situations."

"That is the difference between you and everyone else. So do not let me see that idiotic look again, where you possess power yet still regard yourself as weak."

"If you do, I won’t just beat Hulk. I’ll beat you too."

"I’ll keep beating you until you realize how fortunate it is to possess power, instead of treating it as a curse and choosing to run away from it."

Tony Stark looked at Banner and spoke slowly, then extended his hand at the end.

Banner looked at Tony’s outstretched hand and took it. Tony pulled him to his feet, and after hearing Tony’s words, Banner wanted to say that Tony had already beaten him too.

"I’ll think about it carefully."

But seeing that someone could truly subdue Hulk by force had opened Banner’s eyes, and he spoke.

"I’m not doing this purely for your sake. You could even say that I’m being rather inconsiderate of your feelings."

"But I have no choice, because Earth’s current situation is far from optimistic. We are in desperate need of strong people to protect it."

"You possess that kind of power, so I hope that in the war we are about to face…"

"You can fight alongside me and end this war with as few casualties as possible."

Hearing this, Tony patted Banner on the shoulder and spoke.

He also knew that what he had done was not particularly righteous. If anything, he had deliberately bullied Banner.

But he had no choice. Even if he called Renoli and the others over, along with Thor…

He was confident that they could win the war, but it would definitely take longer.

And the longer it dragged on, the greater the casualties would be. So he needed more helpers to completely drive back the Chitauri.

"How much longer until that war arrives?"

Banner was shaken by Tony’s heartfelt words and asked.

"Loki, according to your original plan, how long did you intend to take before bringing the Chitauri here?"

Hearing Banner’s question, Tony called into the air.

"If it drags on for too long, they will be dissatisfied with me."

"So according to the original plan, it will happen within a week."

"Even if I cooperate with you, that plan will not change."

"Otherwise, they will not take the bait."

Having witnessed Tony’s strength, Loki had become much more well-behaved. Hearing the question, he explained.

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