That Was Just a Hammer

You want me to be your savior?

Loki thought Ben must have gone mad.

Although he had longed since childhood to become such a character, like Thor, to shine in the war and be the one who turns the tide.

But to be honest, it was nothing more than his dark illusion.

Even Loki himself didn't think it would all become a reality. To be honest, he knew he wasn't cut out to be a hero.

If he were truly in danger, he would immediately turn and run; not betraying him outright would be considered loyalty.

Although he always felt that his Divine Realm was not respected, he himself knew that he was not a powerful warrior.

Loki knew his weaknesses better than anyone else.

He didn't feel capable of shouldering such a great responsibility.

But Ben handed Loki the Casket of Ancient Winters and the Cosmic Cube, Loki was actually somewhat tempted.

He felt the Bingbing, blue blood of the Frost Giant within him begin to boil.

This was the first time he had been entrusted with such an important task.

In the past, no one would have believed that he could do something like a hero.

Even Thor didn't think he could accomplish anything.

But Ben is different.

Loki looked into Ben's eyes and realized that the other man wasn't joking, but genuinely believed he could do it. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

He felt an unbearable stinging sensation in his eyes, as if a whole onion had been stuffed inside.

For a fleeting moment, even he himself felt that perhaps he could actually do it, even if it meant sacrificing his life.

For no other reason than that someone believes in me.

He looked at Ben, opened his mouth, but it took him several seconds to utter a broken sentence.

"... Do you believe me?"

Loki shook his head.

"I've already betrayed you once, not to mention... I'm just a coward... Maybe, just maybe I'll take these things and hand them over to Thanos, if he's willing to let me go."

Do you know how?

Loki shook his head; he wasn't sure, but it was definitely something he would do.

But Ben said, "I believe you, Loki."

Upon hearing this, Loki laughed self-deprecatingly, "Even I don't believe myself."

"But I still believe in you, just like I did back on Sakaar."

When Ben brought Loki back to Sakaar with a single sentence, it was Ben believed in him and removed the shackles from his body.

"Look at those who are fighting; none of them possess great strength, but none of them have given up."

Are you prepared to be a coward, or are you prepared to become a true king?

Ben asked the question again.

"Do you really think I'm qualified?" Loki asked somberly. "Perhaps I'll never be able to lift that hammer, let alone be qualified."

Instead of answering his question directly, Ben turned the question back on himself.

Who do you think should decide on this qualification?

"A hammer?"

Ben looked at him, then shook his head and said, "Maybe you can't lift the Hammer of Thor, but you can decide what you want to do, and what kind of person you want to become."

Do you think I can lift that hammer?

Before Loki could answer, Ben immediately shook his head. "I can't!"

"But I am still the King of Sakaar."

"Because the people of Sakaar trust me, because I have saved and protected the people of Sakaar."

"Because I brought them hope and life."

"This is the true meaning of 'king'."

"Isn't that why you chose to stay with the Galactic Plumbers?"

Loki froze, stammering, "I... I just... didn't know what to do that made me stay..."

Ben did not refute this.

He smiled slightly and then said, "Loki, what kind of king or god needs the hammer's approval?"

"It's just a hammer, be a hero."

After saying that, Ben looked at Loki, who was still in a daze, and said nothing more.

He believed Loki would understand.

Send me to Jotunheim.

He said it in a way that left no room for refusal.

Loki was startled by his roar. His mind went blank, and he instinctively did as Ben had instructed.

He took the Cosmic Cube, and the next moment, a portal opened in his hand.

The Tesseract's energy formed an arc like Nebula, and in an instant, the icy cold currents of Jotunheim swept in!

Ben resolutely walked into the wind and snow.

Loki was left alone on the satellite.

He was lost in thought, his mind still replaying Ben's words, and he still didn't know if he could do it.

But sometimes you don't need to think about all that.

All you need to do is do it.

"Hacker?"

"Hacker!"

"Ben Parker!"

Tony's voice sounded like his butt had been set on fire.

By this time, almost all the heroes had evacuated from space.

Tony, huddled inside Veronica, a mere sphere, was like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey, drawing the enormous Chitauri Beast closer to Earth's atmosphere.

However, the massive Chitauri Beast's body has now passed halfway through the designated location of the Planetary Shield, and the scheduled activation time should be now, but there is no movement from the satellite.

He was worried that Ben would mess things up again, so he yelled at the top of his lungs.

The sound awakened Loki.

He patted his head, then gritted his teeth and stuffed the Cosmic Cube back into the machine, before making a call into the communication channel:

"There's no Ben Parker here, only Loki."

"Bambi?"

Tony was taken aback.

Then, assuming Ben had been betrayed by Loki and attacked him, he immediately questioned:

What did you do to Ben?

Loki ignored Tony; he simply took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind and just do it.

He then exhaled a heavy breath and said, "Hold that thing off for another five seconds, Midgardian."

Immediately afterwards, Loki resolutely pressed the activation button for the Planetary Shield.

The next moment, the Tesseract's Cube's energy was fully released!

Boom!!!

A dazzling beam of light instantly shot out from the satellite beneath his feet!

Infinite energy began to spread, a surging torrent crashing against the satellite's body, and energy patterns began to spread outward from the core machine.

The blue light expanded outwards in layers, Loki felt as if he were standing on the shore, with waves crashing against his body.

He saw abundant energy flowing into the pipes.

It must be said that Ben Parker was indeed a genius.

The Asgard studied the Tesseract for so long before fully mastering its uses, while the other side only took a few days to invent a technology that could utilize the Tesseract's energy.

They even knew exactly how much damage the energy released by the Tesseract would cause when the Planetary Shield was activated, and this modified satellite was right at the critical point.

This is the limit that can be achieved in a short period of time.

At this moment, we are near the Earth's atmosphere.

Before Tony could understand what Loki meant, the next moment, he saw a strong blue light burst forth from the satellite where Ben had been, shining with an ancient brilliance like the Xing Yi in the night sky.

Immediately afterwards, the light shot out in three different directions like Xing Yi.

The Planetary Shield has been activated!

He breathed a sigh of relief, but also realized that he now had to delay the Chitauri Beast's advance as much as possible.

It will take some time for the energy to reach the four satellites and connect with each other to form a plane.

"Slow it down as much as possible!"

Tony yelled.

But at this moment, there are not many heroes left who can still act.

Once they entered Earth's atmosphere, everyone was captured by Earth's gravity. Although they were able to fly while wearing armor, it was extremely difficult to complete their work accurately at such an altitude.

Not to mention the countless Chitauri still besieging them, protecting the behemoth.

Peter and Venom crashed to the ground completely unprotected.

The immense acceleration made it difficult for them to control their bodies, and the high temperatures generated by friction also made Venom feel extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, they managed to steal a Goblin Glider, and with Peter's helpless roar, Venom smashed the Chitauri's head and rejoined the battle.

But all they could do was deal with the Chitauri warriors.

"Who can hold it back?!"

Black Panther shouted.

Meanwhile, inside the Chitauri Beast, Natasha was deathly pale. The feeling of weightlessness from the rapid fall made her feel as if she were trapped in a runaway elevator.

Tony felt he had no other choice.

But at that moment, Norman connected to the channel.

"Let us do it."

On the ground, or rather, not on the ground.

On the Helicarrier, Norman had already prepared a large amount of firepower, ready to face this battle on the second line of defense.

Countless missiles were launched under his command.

In an instant, Tony and the others in the sky seemed to see a meteor shower shooting upwards from the other side of the horizon.

"Retreat!"

Tony yelled.

Immediately afterwards, everyone accelerated and plunged towards the ground.

Boom!!!

In an instant, the entire sky seemed to have become a bombing zone.

If it weren't for the fact that Natasha was among the giant Chitauri Beast, Norman might have even resorted to nuclear weapons.

Even so, the intense bombardment did slow the Chitauri's advance.

At this point, the Planetary Shield finally began to expand.

Like a bubble gathering, the massive energy backflow slowly converged.

It's said to be slow, but in reality it's very fast.

Like a ripple, it flashed by, and in the next instant, the enormous Chitauri Beast was instantly cleaved in two from its belly!

In an instant, the monster completely lost its life.

Half of its body plummeted toward the ground, while the other half remained on the protective shield, slowly turning to dust under the intense heat!

Seeing this, everyone was thrilled and relieved at the same time.

But some people know that the battle has only just begun.

For example, Peter and the others who saw the War Lord standing atop the falling behemoth, and Loki, who was currently in the Space Station, holding the Casket of Ancient Winters, turning around to await the arrival of the Black Order.

The real battle begins now.