I had wondered how Asgard would move such a large army and so many ships. A brilliant light burst from the Bifrost, creating a massive gateway in the air, through which the ships began to move.
Well, without technology like this, moving an army of this scale would be impossible.
As expected, Banner, the scientist, observed the scene closely with a look of fascination.
"Such a large wormhole..."
Just then, Volstagg of the Warriors Three spoke to us.
"It's our turn. The battle could start as soon as we arrive, so stay alert."
Pietro, looking nervous, was lightly bouncing in place, loosening up.
"Everyone, when this is over, I'm treating you all to a one-week, all-inclusive trip to Disney World. So don't you dare die!"
Hearing that, Captain Arica, surprisingly delighted, said,
"I've heard of it! Disney World is the most famous amusent park in the world, right? We didn't have anything like that in my day. I'd really like to go soti. Let's all make sure we survive!"
Everyone laughed at Captain Arica's words and steeled themselves. It wasn't anything particularly special, but his words helped everyone relax and renew their determination. It reminded why he was the leader.
Soon, it was our turn. Heimdall wished us luck.
"Friends, may fortune favor you."
Captain Arica nodded at Heimdall's words and stepped onto the Bifrost. We followed him through the Bifrost to Svartalfheim. Svartalfheim was still a desolate land with a gloomy atmosphere.
As soon as we arrived, a fierce battle was already underway. Fortunately, whether out of consideration from Heimdall, we landed slightly behind the front line. Thor was already fighting hard at the front, and ships were engaged in intense combat both on the ground and in the air.
"Let's join them."
At Captain Arica's words, we imdiately ran out and joined the battle. I put up a magical shield to block incoming lasers. Wanda used her telekinesis to deflect incoming small black hole grenades as we advanced.
Pietro moved quickly on his own, subduing Dark Elves one by one. He was so fast he was nearly invisible.
"Steve! Jin! Everyone!"
"Thor!"
As we ran to the front line where Thor was, he greeted us with a bright smile, clearing away enemies with Mjolnir. After exchanging brief greetings, we focused on the fight.
Captain Arica advanced, blocking enemy attacks with his shield, subduing Dark Elves with punches and kicks. Banner, in the Hulk Striker, used his large size to knock enemies aside and fired repulsor blasts. Wanda blocked incoming grenades and supported the battle by gathering and releasing energy. Jessica, using the martial arts she had learned, quickly closed in on and subdued enemies.
Jessica was different now. Seeing her defeat enemies with systematic and powerful movents, she had clearly been training hard on her own. I focused on flying through the air and using [Energy Bomb] to shoot down enemy ships.
Having been severely defeated in the past, the Dark Elves did not seem to have a large army this ti. It seed like we would be able to clean them up quickly. But suddenly, Malekith's shout was heard from the Dark Elf camp.
"Everyone, use the stones! We will crush the army here and destroy Asgard!"
Malekith finally seed to be going to use the cursed stones. The fact that he hadn't used such a powerful ability earlier suggested there were significant side effects. I had no idea what those side effects were, but one thing was clear: Malekith and the Dark Elves were staking everything on this war.
The Dark Elves hesitated for a mont, then took out small stones from their pouches, clutched them in their fists. Their bodies began to glow red and emitted shockwaves. They started to grow massively in size. From then on, the Dark Elves threw away their firearms and charged with swords and spears.
"Here they co!"
At Thor's shout, the Asgardian soldiers and all of us tensed, bracing for the impact. Each of the cursed Dark Elves looked quite threatening. The Asgardian soldiers tried to stop them with their spears, but the cursed ones knocked the spears aside and began grabbing the soldiers one by one. Pietro tried to stop them by attacking them multiple tis at high speed, but the cursed elves ignored his attacks and continued to advance.
"Damn! My attacks aren't working!"
Pietro returned with a troubled expression. Just then, Banner drove the Hulk Striker and began grappling with one of the cursed elves. Even the Hulk Striker seed to be struggling; its tal components groaned.
Creak! Crreeeak!
"I'll hold him! Everyone, attack!"
At Banner's signal, the mbers concentrated their attacks and finally managed to defeat the first cursed elf.
"Haah, haah... How many more of these can we take down..."
Jessica looked exhausted. Looking around, many cursed elves were still fighting the Asgardian army. The Asgardian army was also in a bad way; only Thor and the Warriors Three seed to be barely holding their own.
"There's no ti! We're losing. Let's take down as many as we can, the sa way!"
Captain Arica encouraged the mbers. Watching from above, I saw that this wasn't working. I took a vibranium sword from my inventory and threw it to Pietro.
"Pietro!"
"Huh? What's this?"
"Use that to target their ankles and cut them quickly. It's made of the sa material as Cap's shield. With your speed, you should be able to cut them. Just target the ankles!"
"Got it! I'll try."
I also descended from the air, took out my orichalcum cane sword, and ran toward the cursed elves, focusing on cutting their ankles. Fortunately, the Dark Elves had a similar body structure to humans, and the cursed ones began to fall or stumble when their ankles were cut.
"Now!"
At my signal, everyone attacked the fallen cursed elves. Pietro not only cut the ankles of the cursed elves near us but also quickly cut the ankles of those attacking the Asgardians. His practice in the backyard was paying off. However, since Pietro had never handled a sword before, his cuts were sowhat shallow. Many cursed elves continued to move even after being cut, but even so, it seed enough to turn the tide.
The Asgardian soldiers also gathered together and began stabbing the fallen cursed elves with their spears, taking them down one by one. Pietro was making a huge difference. I also began taking down the cursed elves one by one.
Just then, Malekith gave an order to one of his cursed subordinates. The subordinate suddenly ran forward and jumped high. Looking at his position, he seed to be aiming for where Pietro would move. I urgently warned Pietro.
"Pietro!!"
Crash!
"Gah!"
Crash!
Pietro narrowly avoided a direct hit thanks to my warning, but was caught in the shockwave and tumbled across the ground. The cursed elf who attacked Pietro was different from the others. Judging by the horn on his head, it was Algrim, Malekith's adjutant, who had transford.
Algrim approached the fallen Pietro to attack him, but I quickly intervened, throwing energy bomb cards to keep him at bay. In the anti, everyone, including Wanda, ran over to protect Pietro.
Fortunately, Pietro regained consciousness and stood up, so he didn't seem seriously hurt. In the original story, he died and shattered Wanda's ntal state. I couldn't let that happen here, as I wanted to prevent Wanda from going berserk.
Algrim, deciding to target instead of Pietro, fixed his gaze on , ran up, raised both arms, and brought them down.
Thud!!!
"Hmph!"
I didn't dodge; I blocked it, confident in my strength. But I was surprised by the force transmitted through his arms. This guy was definitely stronger than Thor, almost on par with the Hulk. I couldn't fathom what the cursed stones were, that they could make a being this powerful.
Ordinary, non-cursed Dark Elves had strength far exceeding humans, but they were still weaker than a Super Soldier. The sudden change from holding a single stone was absurd. It was like a human suddenly transforming into the Hulk. When the war was over, I definitely needed to obtain one and study it.
Anyway, Algrim also seed surprised that I had blocked his attack. Whether out of pride, he tried to push down with sheer force. Just then, Thor's Mjolnir flew in, struck Algrim, and returned to Thor. Thor caught it and, leaping, struck Algrim with a lightning-infused blow.
Crash!!!
But unfortunately, Algrim sensed it and dodged to the side, so Thor only hit the ground.
With Thor joining the fight, I had a mont to look around. Most of the cursed elves seed to have been dealt with. Thor urged Algrim to surrender.
"It's over. Give up."
At Thor's words, Algrim didn't hesitate for a mont.
"Our race's future ended the mont we used the cursed stones. Even if we end like this, we will make sure Asgard cos with us!!"
Algrim shouted and charged at us. I took my stance and began deflecting Algrim's attacks. When an opening appeared, Thor swung Mjolnir to strike Algrim. I had deliberately guided him, and Thor and I worked together well.
Thump! Smack!
"Graagh!"
As the battle continued, Algrim's wounds accumulated, and he grew weaker. Suddenly, a loud explosion ca from the Dark Elf formation. A massive figure ca flying toward us, so I quickly stepped back with Thor.
"Crash!!!"
Dust and rocks flew in all directions, montarily obscuring our vision. As it cleared, we saw a cursed elf even larger than Algrim standing in the spot where we had been fighting.
"My King!"
Algrim calling him 'King' ant that Malekith had also used a cursed stone and joined the battle. The pressure from Malekith, having used the cursed stone, was imnse. I couldn't be sure without fighting him, but I sensed he was far stronger than Algrim. The cursed stone's power was said to increase with the user's potential.
"This looks dangerous."
"Tell about it."
Thor, also tense, broke into a cold sweat. Even Algrim had been formidable. With an even stronger foe appearing, he must have felt the situation was quite dire.
"I'll hold him off. Take care of that one quickly and co help."
When I proposed this plan, Thor, having no other ideas, agreed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'll just buy so ti."
"Good! Let's do it."
I tried to move slightly away, but Malekith noticed and followed.
"Thank you. I could have just fought you here."
"You're clearly not Asgardian. Why are you helping Asgard?"
"I am a Midgardian. Many of my people died in your sneak attack."
"So you ca for revenge? But I recall Midgardians being a weak and feeble race."
"You've only killed innocent civilians in sneak attacks and run away without ever facing our warriors. How can you judge our strength? You made a mistake. You've made too many enemies!"
"I see. I admit it. It was a miscalculation that such powerful warriors exist on Midgard. But since I have chosen to beco cursed, that is all aningless!"
Thud, thud, thud!
Malekith, finishing his words, quickly ran up and threw a punch aid at my side. I blocked it, wanting to gauge his strength.
Thud!!
"Ugh!"
I slid sideways from the force of the blow. This guy was definitely stronger than the Hulk. His attack was strong enough that even I would take damage if I were hit directly. I didn't know how strong Thanos was, but judging from the original story where he fought the Hulk, I thought this guy might be a bit stronger in terms of brute force.
And the problem was, his movents were clearly structured. He wasn't just relying on brute strength and charging in. Having lived long, he knew how to properly use his power.
While being pushed back, I glanced at Thor's situation. Captain Arica and Jessica were now supporting Thor, and they were fighting well. I had worn down Algrim, and they seed to be handling him. So I decided to focus on my own fight.
"Phew... I'll have to get serious too."
"This guy! He was holding back!"
Malekith, like Algrim, had tried to end it in one blow, but seed a bit flustered when I held my ground.
"Then, now it's my turn to attack."
Reviews
All reviews (0)