Throwing Mud

"Haha, Loki, I’m serious. You can learn a lot in the Chinese military. When we get back, I’ll suggest to Mother that she send you to train in the Chinese military too. Really!"

"…"

Thor looked smug as he patted Loki on the shoulder. "Heimdall told me earlier to bring you back to Asgard this time. He said China has a way to send us home."

"…"

Loki’s face darkened, and he could not help cursing inwardly. You want to join the military, but I don’t!

Looking at the group of muscular men wearing nothing but briefs, Loki shuddered.

The Chinese military… did it have to be this hardcore?

It looked terrifying!

He recalled the way those two units had appeared. They had either been wearing tiny shorts or oversized boxers. What kind of heavenly army was this?

He glanced at Thor. This guy was still wearing camouflage shorts!

If he joined that military too, would he have to dress like that as well?

No! Loki had lived an honorable life. He was the renowned First Mage of the Nine Realms. Did Thor really think he was suited for that sort of thing?

Of course, this had been an accident. When Chen Mu opened the portal, he had not known that the unit Thor was in was out on a training march, shirtless in the snow. If he had known, he would have chosen another unit.

In any case, any Chinese unit could now boast terrifying combat power. Armor and Thor’s Spear were standard issue.

"No. Loki committed monstrous crimes on Earth. You cannot take him away!"

Hearing Thor’s words, Nick Fury looked thoroughly displeased. He stepped forward and stared at Thor. The Tesseract had not even been found yet. How could he possibly let Loki leave so easily?

"What did you say?"

Thor turned around and glared at Nick Fury in irritation. "Blackie, I didn’t like the look of you last time either. What, you have a problem with me taking Loki away?"

It had to be said that they truly were brothers who had stood by each other for a thousand years. Even the way they addressed Nick Fury was exactly the same.

Thor looked displeased as he raised his hand. With a sharp whistling sound, Mjolnir flew through the portal and landed in his grasp.

As Thor’s Hammer arrived, lightning flashed in Thor’s eyes. Amid crackling currents, his personal armor covered his body.

Thor, the God of Thunder, officially appeared before Nick Fury.

"…"

Nick Fury found it hard to breathe. Damn it, I went through so much trouble to capture Loki, and now Thor could just take him away because he said so? Did I have no dignity at all?

But Nick Fury truly had no solution. Among his people, there seemed to be no one capable of fighting Thor.

Setting everything else aside, not one of the Avengers currently aboard the Helicarrier could stand against Thor.

Captain America did not even need to be mentioned. Nick Fury had lost confidence in him. Loki had knocked him down in just a few moves. What combat power could he possibly have?

As long as the enemy was not taunted by his shield, Captain America really could not beat many people.

And Black Widow’s Kirin Armor seemed inferior even to the armor worn by the Chinese military. She wanted to fight Thor? Just look at the Destroyer armor back then—it had not been Thor’s match. What could Black Widow use to fight him?

Who else did the Avengers have?

On the Helicarrier, only Crossbones Rumlow remained. He was merely a somewhat more capable agent. He was probably not even a match for Captain America, so how could he fight Thor?

As for Tony Stark?

Please, that guy had been watching the show the whole time. Expecting him to help S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Was that even possible?

There were two more candidates for the Avengers, both still on their way.

Ivan Vanko did not even need to be mentioned. He relied on an army of machines. The robot army he had previously built for S.H.I.E.L.D. had been wiped out by Loki with ease. How powerful could his own machine army be?

As for Abomination? That guy was an idiot, with the intelligence of a five- or six-year-old. The strength he could bring out was truly limited. Still, perhaps they could try him and see whether he could threaten Thor.

Of course, that was assuming Chen Mu and the other Chinese people did not interfere.

"Huh? I only just noticed. Where is that gorgeous golden hair of yours?"

Loki looked at Thor strangely. He knew Thor treasured his long hair dearly. Normally, Thor was afraid of getting even a speck of dust on it, yet now he had simply shaved it off and turned it into short hair?

Had they not agreed that heads could be severed and blood could be spilled, but hairstyles could not be messed up?

What had happened?

"Ahem. To fit in better with the group, I cut my hair."

Thor spoke stiffly. His whole body went rigid as he forced out an awkward smile.

Could he really say that Wang Wei and several soldiers had pinned down his hands and feet before forcibly shaving his hair?

He had not wanted to change hairstyles either, but he could not withstand Wang Wei’s forceful persuasion!

"…"

Loki’s expression said, Yeah right, as if I’d believe that!

Still, seeing Thor’s hair shaved off filled him with secret delight.

To be honest, Loki had envied Thor’s gorgeous golden hair more than once. Now that it had been shaved off, he almost wanted to sing aloud in celebration.

"Loki killed several hundred people on Earth…"

Nick Fury watched the two brothers chatting away while ignoring him, and could only say stiffly, "This is a desecration of our Earth. Loki must stand trial."

"So what if they died? They were just a bunch of irrelevant people."

Thor waved his hand impatiently. He did not care much about whether Earthlings lived or died.

"Right, there weren’t any Chinese among them, were there?"

However, Thor still turned to Loki and asked.

They truly were brothers. They had even reached a consensus on this matter.

"Uh, I had the Chinese leave in advance."

Loki blinked, then realized what was happening and glared at Nick Fury in displeasure. "When did I kill several hundred people? What kind of joke is that?!"

Although Loki looked down on Earthlings, there was no need for him to go on a killing spree. Counting everyone, fewer than ten people had died by his hand, and nearly all of them had been S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. Well, there was also that unlucky fellow whose eyeballs had been gouged out.

"…"

Nick Fury looked embarrassed. His excuse for shifting responsibility had slipped out before he realized Loki himself was still standing right there!

Still, with Nick Fury’s thick skin, he decided to keep clinging to Loki no matter what.

"If you hadn’t controlled them, the robots definitely wouldn’t have started firing at random!"

He would simply insist on that point. The mud had to be thrown, or S.H.I.E.L.D. would be in serious trouble.

"What about that pilot? Surely I wasn’t controlling him too, was I?"

Even Loki, who had lived for a thousand years, was surprised by Nick Fury’s shamelessness. He then asked teasingly.

"Who knows? Maybe you really did control him?"

No matter what, Nick Fury had now started playing dumb.