This Is Surrender?

"You know nothing about power, yet foolishly dream of challenging the strong. So who exactly is being arrogant?"

Loki looked at the american soldier, who had shed the force of the blow and risen to his feet again, his hands trembling uncontrollably. A smile appeared on Loki’s face.

"I…"

Just as Steve was about to say something,

the multiple illusions Loki had released surrounded him directly.

When his illusions faced his brother Thor, their low defensive power rendered them largely useless.

But against a weakling like Steve, who could only be considered above average among ordinary people, illusionary clones were enough to handle him.

More than twenty clones surrounded Steve, immediately plunging him into a bitter battle.

His attacks could harm those clones, but after the clones were destroyed, new ones would quickly appear. He could only barely hold them off as he was driven back step by step.

Steve could not help but feel a sense of helplessness rise within him.

It was not that he did not want to save America and help its countless people.

It was simply that his proud physique and strength were utterly insufficient against a monster that had far surpassed common sense and entered the realm of magical fantasy. He could not even withstand the enemy, much less stop him from acting as he pleased.

Just as Loki toyed with the american soldier, a laser descended from the sky and shot straight at Loki.

The explosive force failed to injure Loki, but the resulting shockwave sent him flying backward.

At the same time, the sky seemed to bloom with fireworks. Beams of light descended one after another, directly destroying every illusion Loki had released.

Steve was pulled out of danger.

A trail of thruster flames streaked clearly through the air, and when it landed on the ground,

Iron Man dropped to one knee before rising to his feet, making a classic superhero entrance.

"That old man was beyond saving. What would it hurt to let him rant a little longer?"

"As long as no one provoked him again, he probably wouldn’t have attacked."

"Instead, you charged in and put yourself in danger."

After straightening up, Tony looked at Steve and spoke.

"…He’s strong, and he knows magic. Be careful."

Steve could not refute him, so he could only share the intelligence he had gathered during the fight.

Seeing that Steve had not argued back, Tony knew Steve had taken quite a beating.

"Make your move, Bambi."

So Tony did not keep mocking Steve. Instead, he looked at Loki, who had gotten back on his feet, and spoke.

His strength had grown even greater now. So long as he did not run into a monster like the Destroyer, he could give anyone a few hard hits.

Tony did not take this alien, who could easily defeat Steve, seriously.

After all, Steve seemed no different from an ordinary person in front of him.

Hearing the nickname Tony Stark had casually given him made Loki somewhat angry.

However, he had seen Tony Stark’s full strength before and knew he would not gain much of an advantage in a fight against him.

So Loki withdrew his magic, returned to his usual appearance, and raised both hands to signal his surrender.

Though it would not be easy to defeat Tony Stark head-on, as long as he infiltrated the Avengers Initiative,

then used the Mind Stone to control Tony Stark, his side’s combat power would increase tremendously.

"You’re surrendering just like that?"

"Looks like you know who I am?"

Tony was somewhat surprised. This man had emerged unscathed from his attack, yet chose to surrender.

If the man did not know him or understand his methods, there was no way he would have willingly surrendered so quickly.

At the very least, if it had been Tony, he would have fought first before considering whether to surrender and seek another chance at survival.

Loki said nothing. He merely placed the Mind Scepter in his hand on the ground, making a show of surrender.

This made Tony suspicious, but he said nothing and picked up the scepter.

After Natasha’s fighter was damaged, she immediately had headquarters send another one.

It then landed in front of the three of them and picked them up.

"Ms. Romanoff, you’re as impressive as ever."

Inside the fighter’s cabin, Tony smiled and greeted Natasha.

"Thanks to you."

Natasha found it strange that Tony Stark still had no intention of taking off his armor, but upon hearing his greeting, she thanked him.

She knew that Harvey, that devil, had been willing to spare her partly because Tony had spoken up for her.

"You should thank Coulson more."

"He’s the only guy in S.H.I.E.L.D. Harvey has even a slightly favorable impression of."

"As for me back then, I simply didn’t want to see any blood."

Tony smiled as he spoke.

At the time, he had only just learned that Harvey possessed powers similar to superpowers and had not yet come into contact with the Void.

He had spoken up only because Pepper would definitely have been frightened if she saw a corpse in the lobby.

"Back then? So you mean that if you saw it again now, you wouldn’t speak up for me?"

Natasha caught the implication in Tony’s words and asked meaningfully.

"Ms. Romanoff, you are indeed beautiful, but you should know that beauty cannot always be your shield."

"Conducting yourself with humility and caution is the best shield for you—or for all of you."

"I am willing to cooperate with you for the sake of protecting Blue Star."

"But that does not mean I am willing to cooperate with a group of people who are weak without knowing it and arrogant by nature."

Tony replied calmly.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Stark. I will remember it and pass it on."

Natasha realized that her beauty had absolutely no effect on the notoriously flirtatious Tony Stark. Instead, it had drawn his displeasure. Her heart tightened, and she no longer dared to flaunt her charms.

When Tony saw that Natasha had stopped deliberately acting seductive, he did not pursue the matter.

"You two knew each other before?"

"Why didn’t Nick Fury tell me?"

"Wasn’t this supposed to be the first assembly?"

Steve asked in confusion after hearing their conversation.

The intelligence only stated that Black Widow and Hawkeye had worked together before.

But as for himself, Tony Stark, and Dr. Banner, this was supposed to be their first time gathering and working together.

"You were a popsicle for so long that there’s a whole lot you don’t know."

"Your strength may not be much, but it’s enough for wiping out some terrorists on Blue Star and running errands for those idiots in S.H.I.E.L.D."

"As for stronger enemies from the universe, certain people on Blue Star, including me, will find a way to deal with them."

Tony glanced at Steve and spoke slowly.

"Certain people?"

"You mean there’s more than one person about as strong as you?"

Steve caught the key point in Tony’s words.

"Didn’t you watch the videos about me?"

"Do I really need to say it?"

Tony looked at Steve as though he were an idiot and spoke.

"…"

Steve immediately recalled the blond handsome man and Harvey from the videos. The strength those two had displayed indeed surpassed Tony’s.

Tony’s willingness to admit that he was weaker than others left Steve speechless.

Second update delivered.