Sudden Change

"Tony, hang in there for a little longer. I’ll go check on Steve first. Everyone else, once you’ve completed your own tasks, provide reinforcements immediately."

"Qianhuan, you and Doctor Hulk are responsible for reinforcing Tony!"

"Carol, once you’ve completed your mission, reinforce Steve at once."

"Daisy, once you’ve completed your mission, stand by. Wherever there’s danger, reinforce them immediately."

After rapidly issuing a string of orders, Li Congxin blurred and arrived at the Himalayas, at the site where Kamar-Taj’s temple had once stood.

This was the main reason Li Congxin had scattered his strongest fighters despite knowing that the final two locations were the most dangerous. Li Qianhuan, Carol, and Daisy were all highly mobile fighters. The first two in particular could rapidly lead their teams to reinforce any battlefield. As for Daisy, she only needed to reach the battlefield in time herself; the others didn’t matter…

Received Impression Points from Rocket Raccoon...

Received...

...

The other members of Daisy’s team, along with every member of the Black Widow team—whom Li Congxin had completely overlooked—developed a sense of abandonment and felt deeply dejected.

Was he seriously not taking us along?

Was it our fault that we weren’t strong enough?

Actually, it really was… Weakness was the original sin!

Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the magnificent Kamar-Taj Sanctum stood tall, the Himalayas in the X-Men Universe were a barren stretch. Everywhere one looked, there was nothing but black rock and white snow.

Compared to the teams carrying out missions on other planets, Captain America’s team could be said to have had the easiest assignment. The other teams had been given an entire planet to choose from, while the team operating on Earth had been restricted to a single location in the Himalayas.

Choosing a target location on a planet was obviously not the same as searching through a mountain range.

In fact, on any planet, there was more than one place suitable for installing the "Cornerstone." On Earth, for example, besides the Himalayas, there were three other places no less suitable: London, New York, and Hong Kong. They were also the locations of the four Sanctums in the Marvel Universe.

The situation was roughly the same on the other planets. However, when making the specific choice, they still had to take actual circumstances into account. Thus, Li Congxin had only given them an algorithm. The exact locations for placing the "Cornerstone" and the divine sword still had to be decided by each team according to the situation.

Earth was the only exception.

Besides the Himalayas, the other three locations were all famous bustling urban areas. Suddenly creating a landmark structure the size of the Statue of Liberty in such a place would simply be asking for trouble.

Because they had a clear target, Captain America’s group determined the Cornerstone’s location before the other teams and completed its installation first.

Installing the Cornerstone was not complicated.

Everything was already prepared. Based on the framework designed by Li Congxin, the Avengers’ scientists had made further improvements, making the process even more convenient and efficient.

After Captain America used a remote control to enlarge the Pym Particles-shrunken "Cornerstone" into a futuristic metal tower, the tower floated in midair under the power of its own engine. Doctor Strange then directed the operation on-site while the little genius Shuri controlled it remotely, steadily placing the tower on a rock that had already been cleared.

Right afterward, the engine beneath Mindy’s feet activated. She rose into the air and flew straight to the top of the tower. She casually drew the Sky Cutter Divine Sword from her back and threw it toward the tower. The sword and tower seemed to attract each other like the two poles of a magnet. Under the force of gravity, the sword flew directly above the eight pillars atop the tower and hovered there motionless.

As the divine sword fused with the "Cornerstone," an incomparably sharp energy burst from its blade and shot straight into the heavens!

Even the clouds in the sky were cleaved in two by the sword energy. The energy Dormammu was using to devour this Parallel Universe was forced back completely, unable to advance another step!

At the same time, a special energy shield formed around the entire tower, protecting it completely. Even Mindy, who was relatively close, was blasted backward by the energy. She flew a great distance before relying on her suit’s propulsion system to stabilize herself.

Seeing the mission completed without incident, the Avengers immediately erupted into excited cheers.

However, Mindy, hovering in midair, suddenly sensed something. She hurriedly warned the others in a low voice, "Everyone, be careful. I sense killing intent!"

Almost the moment Mindy finished speaking, the Avengers suddenly saw a purple spatial portal appear out of thin air. Unlike Doctor Strange’s Any Door, which was a perfect circle, the purple portal before them was highly irregular. It looked as if a drop of ink had fallen onto paper and naturally formed an uneven shape.

At first, it was quite small, large enough for only one person to pass through. However, it kept expanding outward, like a hole burned through paper with a cigarette. Its edges spread irregularly in every direction, faster and faster, until the portal reached a diameter of ten meters and finally stopped.

Through the portal, they could see a completely enclosed cavern on the other side. Lamps flickered around the cave, and under their light, the silhouettes of several hundred people densely filled the space.

Just from their bizarre appearances, these people gave off an extremely dangerous impression.

Standing at the very front of the group was a young woman wearing a beige cloak. She had fiery red hair and attractive features, but her face was covered with faint, crystal-red lines, as if her veins had bulged beneath the skin. Merely standing there, she radiated a thick aura of hostility, as though she had some deep grievance against everyone in existence.

She truly carried layers of murderous intent in every glance and gesture, with an imposing presence extending a hundred paces around her!

Beside the woman stood two middle-aged men in their forties. They wore crimson cloaks and red helmets, and their eyes were filled with the same heavy hostility. The other was a bald man seated in a wheelchair. Although he was disabled, the fact that he could stand at the front of the opposing formation meant he possessed an aura that could not be ignored.

Behind these two, over a hundred people stood in two clearly separated columns.

Some of them merely had somewhat flamboyant appearances, while others were visibly different from ordinary humans. Every one of them glared at the Avengers with ferocious, murderous eyes.

The entire group emerged from the portal in a mighty procession, immediately putting the Avengers on edge. Captain America, at the head of the group, was rapidly considering a countermeasure when Li Congxin’s voice suddenly came through his earpiece.

"The situation is somewhat unfavorable. Dormammu has probably made preparations already. Everyone, be extra careful. How are things on your end?"

Hearing Li Congxin’s question, the other team leaders responded one after another. Captain America alone looked helplessly at the densely packed army of Mutants before him and replied bitterly, "Clark, I seem to have run into a little trouble here."

Meanwhile, Tony’s group was moving slightly slower than Captain America’s, though not by much.

This was Tony’s first time in the Dark Dimension, but there were several experienced guides in his team who knew the way by heart.

Both Gamora and Xing Hua had grown up here. Unlike shut-ins who could get lost even in a city they had lived in their entire lives, the two sisters had undergone all kinds of harsh survival training from childhood. They might not know every inch of the planet like the backs of their hands, but they were certainly extremely familiar with it.

With the two of them leading the way, along with the super Artificial Intelligence Eris carrying out calculations immediately, they found the optimal location for installing the "Cornerstone" almost as soon as they arrived in the Dark Dimension and began clearing the site.

By the time Captain America’s team had completed its mission, Tony’s team had already cleared a sufficiently solid patch of ground to the accompaniment of Star-Lord’s portable BGM. Just as Tony was preparing to take out the "Cornerstone" and begin the final installation, Li Congxin’s voice suddenly sounded through the communicator. When Tony heard that Captain America had run into trouble, he was frantic inside, but he still mocked him viciously aloud. At the same time, as his gaze swept over the team members, he had already begun considering their tactics for the upcoming reinforcement operation.

Little Pepper had to stay by his side. Although the battle suit she was wearing—personally designed and custom-fitted by Tony—still gave her formidable combat power, Tony would only feel at ease if he kept her close.

Eris was the one he least needed to worry about. As an intelligent life-form, although her main body’s combat power had been greatly reduced after losing the Mind Stone, she had once again regained the unique ability of intelligent life-forms: infinitely duplicating herself. As long as the hardware was powerful enough, her computing capacity was virtually limitless.

On the surface, Eris currently looked like nothing more than a youthful girl with twin ponytails. But who could have imagined that her body was made entirely of Adamantium, Uru Metal, and vibranium? Moreover, she had more than twenty different models of "Queen Knight" battle suits hidden within her! Once she entered combat mode, she could form a formidable iron army at any time.

More importantly, before arriving in this Parallel Universe, Eris had already made a backup of herself. Even if an accident truly occurred, the only thing sacrificed would be a pile of materials.

Tony Stark lacked many things, but money was not one of them!

Next came Ava, one of Li Congxin’s beloved treasures. It would be better to let her remain on the spaceship, so Little Spider could stay behind to protect her.

Xing Hua and Gamora were both space pirates. Their combat power was merely average, but they had abundant combat experience, so it was better to bring them along together.

As for Star-Lord, whatever. Whether he was there or not made little difference…

And there was also Xing Hua…

Wait!

Tony hurriedly turned to look at Xing Hua standing beside Gamora, then turned to look at Xing Hua silently walking toward Ava. A very bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

Why were there two Xing Huas!?

Wasn’t Nebula on Daisy’s team?

Before Tony could figure out what was happening, the other Xing Hua had already arrived beside Ava. Taking advantage of Ava’s lack of preparation, she suddenly grabbed Ava by the throat!