Thunder God of War, First Battle Against the Chitauri!

Boom—!!!

A thick bolt of lightning, like the sword of divine punishment, brutally tore through the growing panic and smoke over New York City!

Lin Ye's figure suddenly solidified near the top of Stark Tower, floating high in the air. Violent arcs of electricity coiled around him, crackling with a heart-pounding sound and bathing him in light like a thunder god descending upon the world. The powerful energy fluctuations spread instantly, even temporarily disrupting the control systems of the Chitauri Chariots below and causing a small burst of chaos.

His appearance immediately drew the attention of nearly everyone on the battlefield.

"What is that?!" Tony Stark had just put on the Mark 7 Armor and rushed out from the tower platform, while high-risk energy warnings flashed wildly across JARVIS's faceplate display.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha, piloting a Quinjet as she struggled to evade laser fire, saw the dazzling figure through the window, her green eyes filled with shock and suspicion.

Captain America Steve Rogers, who had just finished clearing out the foot soldiers on an entire street, raised his shield and looked skyward, his expression grim. "Fury, an unidentified high-energy entity has appeared in the air!"

"I see him..." On the Helicarrier, Fury stared at the main screen with his single eye. "It's him... Thunder! He really showed up!"

Meanwhile, Loki, the instigator behind it all, stood at the edge of the hole atop Stark Tower, enjoying the opening act of chaos. When he saw Lin Ye, his wicked smile stiffened slightly. From that bolt of lightning, he sensed a powerful force not at all inferior to his brother Thor's—perhaps even purer and more destructive!

"Another Midgardian guardian here to meddle?" Loki snorted coldly and struck his scepter against the ground. "Swarm! Tear him apart!"

At his command, the vast number of Chitauri Chariots that had been scattered throughout the city immediately changed direction like sharks scenting blood. Dozens of engines roared as their mounted energy weapons lit up with dangerous glows, swooping toward Lin Ye like a swarm of bees!

"Perfect timing!"

Lightning blazed in Lin Ye's eyes. Rather than retreating, he charged straight at them!

"Twenty Million Volts: Ten Thousand Thunders!"

He spread his arms, and countless lightning bolts as thick as arms erupted from his body. Like living thunder serpents, they blasted precisely toward every approaching Chitauri craft!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sky instantly became a hell of lightning! Explosions erupted one after another! Those seemingly advanced Chitauri craft were utterly helpless before the absolute might of nature. They were easily torn apart and detonated by lightning, becoming countless flaming fragments that rained from the sky like a shower of metal fire!

In a single exchange, the vanguard Chitauri flight squad was completely wiped out!

"JARVIS! Energy readings!" Tony asked urgently as he used his repulsors to pick off Chitauri soldiers on the ground.

"Unable to measure precisely, sir! The energy signature vastly exceeds the Mark 7 Armor's peak output! It is presumed to be a combination of biological energy and natural lightning, with astonishingly high efficiency!" There was a rare hint of urgency in JARVIS's reply.

"Damn it!" Tony muttered, though his hands never stopped moving. He blasted apart a Chitauri soldier attempting to ambush civilians. "But... nice work!"

On the ground, Captain America was directing police officers and agents to establish a defensive line. Seeing the overwhelming scene in the sky, he could not help pumping his fist. "That's the way!"

Natasha swung the Quinjet into a beautiful tailspin, mowing down a squad of enemies with its cannons. "Looks like we've got a powerful temporary ally, Captain," she said over the comms.

After clearing out a section of airspace, Lin Ye did not pause for even a moment. His Mind Network expanded fully, and combined with his perception of the Tesseract, instantly locked onto the energy flows and enemy positions across the entire battlefield.

"Remy, mark all large targets and energy concentration points."

"Marking complete. Three large transport ships detected emerging from the space portal."

"Prioritize eliminating large units!"

Lin Ye transformed into lightning once more and instantly appeared above a Chitauri Transport Ship that had just squeezed through the portal! The monster resembled a massive whale of metal and flesh, enormous in size, with thick armor that appeared impregnable.

The energy turrets on the transport ship immediately turned and opened fire on him.

Lin Ye easily avoided them by turning elemental, then passed directly through its outer armor and charged inside!

"One Hundred Million Volts: Thunderstorm Hell!"

Rumble—!!!

An unimaginable, terrifying high-voltage current erupted wildly within the transport ship's cramped interior! From the outside, the massive beast suddenly stiffened, then countless blinding bolts of lightning burst from every gap in its body, its cannon ports, and even its eyes!

The next second, the entire transport ship exploded from the inside out! It became an enormous fireball and a sky full of debris! The shockwave even sent several nearby craft flying!

"Holy..." Tony nearly forgot how to fly. Only when a fragment grazed past his faceplate did he snap back to his senses.

A gigantic transport ship that could leave an entire city block's military forces helpless had just been instantly destroyed?!

[ Ding! Host has efficiently killed a large enemy unit, greatly altering the local battle situation. ]

[ Combat choice triggered: ]

[ Option One: Continue eliminating large units, rapidly reduce enemy forces, and maximize immediate results. Reward: [Rumble-Rumble Fruit Development Increased], [Battlefield Deterrence Greatly Increased]. ]

[ Option Two: Prioritize protecting civilian evacuation zones, intercept stragglers, and reduce casualties. Reward: [Observation Haki Range Increased], [Public Gratitude (Hidden Attribute)]. ]

[ Option Three: Strike at the heart of the enemy and attempt to assault the space portal, disrupting its stability. Reward: [Slight Increase in Spatial Energy Affinity], [Loki's Focused Attention and Hatred]. ]

In the midst of the fierce battle, the options appeared. Lin Ye did not hesitate.

"Option One!" In the early stages of war, reducing the enemy's numbers as quickly as possible was the only way! Protecting civilians? That was Captain America's and the police's job! Disrupting the space portal? The time was not right yet!

[ Choice confirmed. ]

Insights from the reward instantly flooded into him, and his control over the Rumble-Rumble Fruit became even more precise.

He transformed into lightning again and pounced toward the second transport ship!

Loki stood atop the building, watching Lin Ye destroy his forces as easily as chopping vegetables. At last, he could no longer maintain his elegance and composure.

"Trash! A pack of trash!" he snarled furiously, raising the Mind Scepter. Its sickly yellow light aimed at the lightning ravaging the sky. "Stop him!"

A powerful psychic shockwave, invisible and intangible, instantly crossed space and slammed toward Lin Ye!

Yet just as the shockwave was about to touch Lin Ye—

The arcs of electricity dancing around Lin Ye brightened slightly. The psychic power seemed to crash into an invisible barrier formed from a pure electromagnetic field. With a faint hum, it was greatly weakened and deflected away!

[Psychic Resistance Greatly Increased] (a hidden reward from previously choosing to let Loki go) activated!

Lin Ye only felt a slight dizziness before instantly regaining clarity. He abruptly turned his head, his icy gaze piercing through the battlefield and locking precisely onto Loki atop Stark Tower!

"You picked the wrong fight, antler boy!"

Lin Ye abandoned his attack on the second transport ship. With a flash, he shot toward Loki at near-teleportation speed!

"What?!" Loki's expression changed drastically. He had not expected his psychic attack to be ineffective! He hurriedly raised his scepter to block!

Boom!

Lin Ye's fist, coated in Armament Haki and wrapped in terrifying lightning of hundreds of millions of volts, smashed viciously into the Mind Scepter!

Clang—!!!

A deafening explosion of metal striking metal rang out! A tangible shockwave spread in a circle, instantly shattering the glass curtain walls atop the building!

Loki only felt an irresistible force mixed with violent lightning energy surge through the scepter. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and his entire arm went numb! He screamed as though struck by a speeding train, flying backward and smashing through several walls before crashing into Stark Tower's interior, his fate unknown!

The Mind Scepter flew from his hand, spinning as it fell through the air.

With a gesture from Lin Ye, lightning generated electromagnetic force and pulled the scepter steadily into his hand.

He weighed the scepter embedded with the Mind Stone, sensing the power within it—power that shared the same origin as the Tesseract, yet possessed a different nature.

"Loot +1."

He casually threw the scepter toward Captain America, who was fighting bitterly below.

"Captain Rogers! Catch! This thing might come in handy!"

Captain America instinctively caught the flying scepter and froze for a moment. When he looked up, he saw only Lin Ye transforming into lightning once more and charging toward the third transport ship.

"Thanks!... Uh... Mr. Thunder!" Captain America called out. He had no idea what the scepter did, but it felt important.

Tony flew over, looking at the huge hole in the rooftop and Loki's disappearance. His expression beneath the faceplate was indescribable. "All right... he tore apart my roof and punched that god of theater into orbit... should I thank him?"

Natasha's voice came through the comms. "The important thing is that he's helping us clear out those big ones! Tony, stop staring!"

In the sky, Lin Ye had already used the same method to turn the third transport ship into a spectacular firework display.

The skies above New York were suddenly clear!

However, the Chitauri Mothership beyond the space portal seemed to have been enraged. More craft and transport ships surged forth like a tide, seemingly endless.

Lin Ye hovered in the air, lightning still blazing brilliantly around him as he stared at the massive space portal and licked his lips.

"Warm-up's over... time to get serious."

His gaze turned toward that deep spatial passageway, from which enemies continued pouring out.

The real battle was only beginning.