Chapter 654 655: Battle of New York (Continued)

Meanwhile, back to Tony, who had arrived at the top floor of Stark Tower ahead of time, where he found Loki guarding the Tesseract.

Loki held the Mind Stone scepter, looking very difficult to deal with.

So, Tony chose to use his wits.

After dismantling his Mark 9 and hiding it in the stairwell, he quickly made himself a cocktail before smiling and walking towards Loki.

"Hey, I heard you're Thor's brother, but you don't look much alike…" Tony, with one hand behind his back and the other holding a drink, gestured, "Want a drink?"

Watching Tony slowly approach, Loki coldly snorted, showing no intention of speaking.

At the same time, he quietly tightened his grip on the Mind Stone scepter.

With the enhancement of the Mind Stone, the Mind Stone scepter possessed the power to control people's minds.

In other words, not only did Tony's mechanical hand hidden behind him want to ambush Loki, but Loki was also waiting for Tony to get closer so he could use the Mind Stone scepter to control him.

The two individuals, each with their own ulterior motives, instantly made the atmosphere subtly tense.

"That's a very nice cocktail recipe."

It was at this moment that Mike, who had gone to the bar to make himself an Iron Man-style cocktail, came over with his drink, standing not far from the two, looking as if he was enjoying a good show.

"Hmm?"

Loki, who hadn't noticed a third person approaching, was startled, but his face still maintained a cold expression.

Tony's reaction, however, was completely opposite to Loki's.

Not sensing any malice from Mike, he smiled and raised his glass, saying, "I've seen you before. I had a premonition that handsome people like us usually have good taste…"

Just as Tony was sweet-talking, Loki seized the opportunity and quickly thrust the Mind Stone scepter against his chest.

He wanted to use this to control Iron Man.

"Ding—"

Unfortunately, Tony's heart had long been converted into an Arc Reactor, making him a semi-mechanical life form.

Without a heart, the Mind Stone scepter naturally couldn't take effect.

Loki, momentarily stunned, foolishly poked him twice more.

Amidst the "ding, ding" sounds, the two men, standing extremely close, met each other's gaze.

The atmosphere gradually solidified…

"Well, you know how it is, performance issues and all..." Tony was the first to break the awkward silence.

Then he gracefully downed his cocktail and didn't forget to nod at Mike, who was watching the show.

The whole process was incredibly smooth.

Then, to Loki's disbelief, Tony suddenly extended the mechanical hand he had hidden behind him and fired a laser cannon.

"Bang—"

Such a close-range sneak attack left Loki with no escape, and he was blasted away by the laser cannon.

He rolled embarrassingly to the side, overturning countless tables and chairs.

"Despicable human!!!"

Loki, known as the God of Magic and Mischief, was protected by magic, so a single laser cannon naturally couldn't harm him.

However, he, who had always been the one to trick others, was now being tricked himself, and his anger had reached its peak.

So, Loki, returning with the Mind Stone scepter in hand, instantly unleashed a powerful surge of magic, also sending Tony flying.

He crashed through the glass and plummeted out of Stark Tower.

[Technology Research (Experience)]… [Superman Strength (Trait)]… [Superman Endurance (Trait)]…

[Energy Core * Energy + 80m]…

…

[Super Physical Fitness (Trait)]… [Illusion Ability (Trait)]… [Transformation Ability (Trait)]… [Mind Control (Trait)]…

[Frost Giant bloodline * Energy + 100m]…

…

[Thought Manipulation (Trait)]… [Memory Rewriting (Trait)]… [Mental Power Enhancement (Trait)]… [Dimensional Mental Net (Trait)]…

[Mind * Energy + 20 billion]…

On the other side, Mike, who had just watched a good show, unsurprisingly obtained many trait traits.

Especially the Mind Stone, it truly lived up to its name as an Infinity Stone.

While providing Mike with powerful mental energy, it also brought him a massive amount of energy value.

Two hundred billion energy; if Mike wanted to collect this much energy through the Power Of Faith from the populace in the Middle-earth, it would take him at least several decades.

Indeed, going out and exploring more often was the right choice.

"Next, it's your turn—"

Over there, Loki, after repelling Iron Man, turned his gaze to the other human present.

Then, the Mind Stone scepter once again unleashed magic, striking towards Mike.

However, the magic that could send Tony flying instantly became like a gentle breeze when it reached Mike, causing no ripples whatsoever.

"How is this possible? Who exactly are you?" Loki's face showed surprise again upon seeing this.

Then, not believing it, he cast several more spells in quick succession.

However, these attacks were all like the first, like a spring breeze brushing his face, not even rustling Mike's clothes.

"Don't bother, you're not my opponent," Mike kindly explained to Loki.

How to put it, Loki, known as the God of Mischief, mostly focused his magic abilities on the mental plane.

And Mike had just absorbed the [Mental Enhancement] trait from the Mind Stone, raising his mental level from [Excellent] to [Exceptional].

This naturally gave him an invisible shield on the mental plane.

Loki trying to harm Mike with the Mind Stone scepter was like him fighting himself with his left and right hands.

He couldn't break through his defense at all…

Of course, this might also be related to Loki's own insufficient strength, preventing him from fully utilizing the Mind Stone scepter's capabilities.

"How can a mortal like you have stronger mental power than me, an Asgardian prince? I don't believe it…" Loki, with his strong self-esteem, still couldn't accept his weakness.

Especially Mike's nonchalant attitude, which he saw as a humiliation.

Just as he was about to lose his temper and continue attacking, Tony, who had fallen outside the tower and summoned his full Iron Man suit, flew back in a heroic landing pose.

"Our business isn't over yet!"

As Tony's voice rang out, two repulsor cannons successively blasted Loki.

"Damn it, you've really angered me this time!!!…"

With a formidable enemy at hand, and being sneak-attacked and sent flying again, Loki's mood became incredibly irritable at this moment.

When he turned to look at Tony, his eyes quickly turned red.

"What's wrong with him?" Tony, noticing Loki's emotional distress, looked at Mike in surprise.

This guy who called himself a "god" was clearly a cool boy before, so how did his style become so violent in such a short time?

Tony certainly wouldn't believe that nothing happened in between.

Therefore, the best way to know the answer was to ask the third person present.

And Mike, the third person present, shrugged and showed no intention of explaining.

"Alright," Tony, who had made a fruitless attempt, didn't feel embarrassed.

And soon, he no longer had time to focus on that question's answer.

Loki, full of pent-up frustration with nowhere to vent, had once again shifted his target and launched an attack on Tony.

As the descendant of the King of the Frost Giants and raised by All-Father Odin, Loki's combat prowess, when serious, was actually not bad.

At least not worse than Tony in his Mark 9.

Of course, Tony's high-tech suit also had its merits.

So the two evenly matched opponents, one using magic and the other using laser cannons, fought from the top floor all the way into the sky.

It was truly a back-and-forth battle…

[Space Teleportation. Dimensional Level (Trait)]… [Space Manipulation (Trait)]… [Energy Supply (Trait)]…

[Space * Energy + 20 billion]…

Meanwhile, Mike, after finishing his cocktail, leisurely made his way to the Tesseract.

He once again gained a large number of trait traits and a massive amount of energy value.

It could be said that his objective for this trip was largely complete.

In the sky, Loki, who was locked in a fierce battle with Tony, noticed Mike approaching the Tesseract, and his emotions became even more agitated.

Having come with Thanos's mission, he was very afraid that the wormhole space would be closed, leading to the failure of his mission.

So, unleashing his potential, he finally knocked down the annoying Iron Man again, and then hurriedly flew towards Mike.

"No matter who you're, you cannot ruin Thanos's plan!" Loki, knowing that his magic could not harm Mike, chose to use a physical attack this time.

He used the Mind Stone scepter in his hand as a spear, thrusting it towards Mike.

"I told you, you're not my opponent." Mike, skilled in various combat techniques, defeated Loki with just one kick.

Loki tumbled and fell at the Hulk's feet.

Over there, the Hulk, who had defeated the Leviathan, was also closing in on the Tesseract.

"What are you looking at, big guy! Haven't you seen a god before?…"

Loki, having been humiliated by Mike again, was now like a prickly hedgehog, annoyed by everyone he saw.

Let alone the menacing Hulk.

"Hulk!!!"

The Hulk's beast-like combat instincts made him feel intense malice from Loki.

He then grabbed Loki and swung him around like a toy.

After all, he was a mischievous kid; he would do whatever was fun.

"Oh, I hope he doesn't get broken by the Hulk…"

Iron Man, who had flown back to the rooftop, watched the tragic scene not far away with a schadenfreude smile.

"Stop watching the show, we must close the wormhole immediately—" Next to him, Captain America, who had painstakingly climbed up Stark Tower with his bare hands, noticed that the overall battlefield situation was not optimistic.

Although the previous Leviathan had been smashed by the Hulk, thousands of alien warriors had already been deployed onto the battlefield by the Leviathan.

Thor and Black Widow below clearly couldn't handle so many alien warriors.

What was worse, two more giant Leviathans emerged from the wormhole above, looking as if they could join the battle at any moment.

"Don't get agitated, I'll figure something out, Tony, realizing the urgency of the situation, was no longer in the mood to laugh at Loki.

He went to the Tesseract and began contacting his AI butler, Jarvis, to analyze the protective shield around the Tesseract.

"This shield is very difficult to crack, I need some time…" Tony, placing his hand on the light screen shield, said to Captain America, "Before that, don't let anyone disturb me."

"Copy that." Captain America took off the alloy shield from his back and walked to Tony's side.

His eyes occasionally glanced in Mike's direction, as if he was on guard against something.

…

"Pfft— What a weak god!!!"

On the other side, the Hulk, realizing Black Widow was in danger, finally let go of Loki, who was smashed into the concrete ground.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to spit on him.

As for Loki, lying like a rag doll in the rubble pit, he had paid a heavy price for his sharp tongue and now wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

He just wanted quiet…

"Tony, how much longer until you can close the wormhole… Someone has already suggested using a nuclear bomb to deal with the alien threat in New York…"

Just as Tony was analyzing the protective shield on the Tesseract, Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., suddenly spoke in his earpiece.

Monitoring the battlefield remotely, he clearly brought the worst news to everyone.

"Wait, although the battlefield situation is still unclear, it's not bad enough to require a scorched-earth policy…" Tony's face changed drastically.

Having once owned a weapons factory, he knew too well the power of nuclear weapons.

Next to him, Captain America, who had roughly understood the situation from Tony's words, quickly put on his earpiece and persuaded, "Fury, you can't use nuclear weapons. New York has millions of people; if you use nuclear weapons, they'll all be gone…"

"I know, I'll try my best to buy you time. Of course, I mean if, if New York ultimately cannot be saved, you must evacuate quickly… before the nuclear weapons are deployed…"

Nick Fury's warning sounded again in the earpiece.

"I won't give up!" Tony, unable to listen anymore, directly hung up the call.

"For the people of New York, I will also persevere until the last moment!!!" Captain America declared his resolve and then took off his earpiece.

And Black Widow and Hawkeye, who had heard everything on the same channel, also took off their earpieces one after another, united against the common enemy.

It seemed they were ready to fight to the death, to live or die with New York.

Instantly, a tragic emotion spread, weighing heavily on the hearts of the Avengers members.

Of course, there were exceptions; Thor and the Hulk, who had not worn earpieces from beginning to end, had no such worries at this time.

Because they were only focused on the thrill of battle and had no idea what was happening.

Back on the rooftop of Stark Tower, Tony and Captain America, who had originally been worried, suddenly noticed that Mike, who had been watching the show all along, had flown high into the sky at some point and was heading towards the wormhole outside the atmosphere.

"Can people now fly into outer space with just their bare bodies?" Captain America, with his strong body but inability to fly, had an indescribable envy in his voice.

"No, he should be the first." Tony looked up for a moment, then quickly lowered his head to focus on cracking the Tesseract's outer shield.

Compared to being surprised, closing the wormhole and thus protecting New York from being wiped out was clearly more important at this moment.

On the other side, Mike, who wanted to see if he could collect Thanos's ability traits all at once, was blocked by two giant Leviathans after passing through the wormhole.

Further in the distance was Thanos's fleet.

Compared to the alien forces that had invaded New York, the number of alien warriors deep in space was clearly much greater.

"High-tech barrier, I didn't expect the Purple Sweet Potato to be quite cautious…" Mike looked at the light shield surrounding the distant fleet and shook his head speechlessly, "But it's not that easy to stop me."