Fighting Thor

Apocalypse offered no further explanation and drifted away.

Afterward, Coulson had people cordon off the area and disperse the onlookers.

By the time they returned to town, night had fallen.

Apocalypse went to check on Thor and found that he had sobered up. He was grilling outside the RV and chatting with Jane.

In Jane's eyes, Thor had definitely rattled his brains. He kept claiming he was Thor from the myths, babbling about the World Tree and the Nine Realms traveling through the World Tree's chakras.

But Thor was simply too handsome. Even handsome idiots were still handsome. As she listened to him earnestly spout his "nonsense," she gazed dreamily at his striking face.

Apocalypse did not reveal himself. Thor was mortal now and could not detect him.

Not a single word Thor said escaped Apocalypse's ears.

When others heard him talk about the World Tree, they assumed it was just another myth. To Apocalypse, however, it was worth pondering.

Thor, who traveled across the universe, could not possibly be unaware that common celestial bodies such as Earth orbited stars through the void.

If the World Tree truly existed, what form would it take?

In the original storyline, Apocalypse had seen something similar.

Star-Lord's biological father—Ego the Celestial—had planted his roots across life-bearing planets throughout the universe, intending to assimilate every planet into his own living body.

If he succeeded, a planet would be no more than a fruit on his map, and the entire universe would be incorporated into his living network.

From that perspective, wasn't that another kind of World Tree?

Then was the World Tree Thor spoke of something similar? Or perhaps an even higher form?

Had it once existed, or had it been there all along?!

Apocalypse could not figure it out. He would ask Thor when he had the chance.

On Thor's side, there was a beauty, a handsome man, a campfire, and delicious food. The atmosphere grew increasingly intimate as their gazes met more and more often, gradually turning hazy...

Apocalypse decided to leave, lest he hear sounds unsuitable for children.

The RV rocked all night, and Jane and Thor did not sleep a wink.

The next day, Thor woke up refreshed, leaving Jane still sound asleep.

He made his way to the bar like he knew the place well, only to find Apocalypse already waiting for him.

"Looks like someone had a very good night," Apocalypse teased.

"Hehe, not bad," Thor said. "I came to Earth and made a friend like you, then met a woman I like. This trip was well worth it."

"I ordered you breakfast. Do you want milk or hard liquor?"

Thor said, "What kind of man drinks milk? Hard liquor, obviously."

"Fine."

Over breakfast, the two of them downed several more large glasses of hard liquor, making the other patrons stare. Drinking hard liquor so early in the morning—what kind of people were these?

After eating and drinking their fill, Apocalypse said directly, "Thor, fight me."

Thor froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, Tang, you really are my kind of guy! Come on, come on. I've been wanting to stretch my limbs these past few days."

Thor had suffered a string of setbacks these past few days, and frustration had long been building up inside him. For a muscular brute like him, what could vent it better than a fight?

But Thor was not Loki. He was kind by nature and would not casually pick on passersby. Now that Apocalypse had proposed it himself, it suited Thor perfectly.

The two walked out into the street and put some distance between themselves.

Thor said carelessly, "Tang, I may have lost my divine power, but I'm still not someone ordinary Earthlings can withstand. You'd better be careful."

Apocalypse was speechless. This guy truly had no idea how to hide anything. He went around all day claiming to be Thor and talking about losing his divine power. No wonder Jane thought he was crazy.

"You should be careful too. Whoever loses has to drink three glasses as punishment."

The two exchanged a glance, then rapidly closed in.

Apocalypse started with some wild flailing punches, casually trading a few direct blows with Thor.

After confirming that Thor's strength was merely at the limit of an ordinary human, roughly on the level of Black Widow or Hawkeye,

he adjusted his strength and began testing various techniques, trading blows with Thor evenly.

Apocalypse forcibly pulled off moves that existed only in wuxia novels and films, relying on his boundless brute strength.

There was no need to mention lightness skills. Apocalypse could leap hundreds of kilometers with a single jump, and staying suspended in midair over short distances was as easy as playing around.

As for aerial maneuvers and techniques that defied Earth's gravity, Apocalypse simply used his immense strength to blast the air apart, abruptly changing direction with the recoil from the air explosions.

For a time, the sounds of "bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang" rang out without end through the street.

Apocalypse fluttered up and down like a butterfly, circling Thor as he attacked.

It drew the attention of people nearby on their way to work.

"Holy shit, that's the Eastern guy who was drinking yesterday. Kung fu really exists!"

"Dad, come out and look! Jackie Chan!"

A seasoned kung fu enthusiast immediately retorted, "Jackie Chan isn't this powerful. I think those moves look more like Bruce Lee's."

"Do you people even understand kung fu? Could Bruce Lee fly? This has to be the legendary lightness skill."

"So those slapping sounds when they throw punches are real! Kung fu can really make that kind of sound. I always thought it was added in post-production for movies."

Many people immediately agreed. "Exactly, exactly! We've been fooled for so many years."

"Our Western boxing isn't bad either. That Eastern guy can't knock down the handsome blond."

"I think the handsome blond guy has just been getting beaten up..."

This spectacular kung fu battle quickly drew over more than half the town, forming a dense circle around them.

Although Apocalypse had restrained his strength, he had not held back in technique. Yet he genuinely could not take Thor down.

Thor's thousand-plus years of combat experience were no joke. He had traveled throughout the Nine Realms enforcing rule and had encountered countless strange fighting styles from alien worlds.

Eastern kung fu was unusual, but it was still within the realm of comprehension.

Without divine power or Thor's Hammer, he could not perform the exaggerated aerial movements Apocalypse did. So he simply rooted himself firmly to the ground, planted his legs steadily, simplified the complex, and countered every move as it came.

Thor could see through the key points of many of Apocalypse's complicated and flashy moves at a glance. A simple punch or block was often enough to neutralize them.

Of course, Apocalypse did not truly understand wuxia martial arts. He was merely forcefully imitating them with brute strength.

They looked impressive, but against an expert like Thor, they were not very useful.

Apocalypse had challenged Thor not to bully him, but because he wanted to see whether Asgard had any cultivation methods.

His own power came from Hulk's blood. It had been forcibly enhanced, and its potential had already been exhausted.

He did not possess Hulk's innate talent for endless growth.

He could only seek another path.

Among the current developments, Thor and Asgard were the closest opportunities available to him.

A legendary realm from mythology had to have some secret cultivation manuals or something, right?

After fighting for a while, Apocalypse realized that Thor relied entirely on abundant combat experience to defend against him. There was no obvious trace of any cultivation method.

He could not help saying, "Thor, is that all you can do? Did you use up all your energy in the RV last night?"

Thor had been under constant assault and was fighting miserably. His pride flared up as well. "Damn it, if I hadn't lost my divine power, I would've flattened you with one hammer blow!"

"Hmph, all you know is how to boast. Don't you have any signature techniques?"

Thor blocked one of Apocalypse's attacks with both hands, exerted force to knock him back, and used the opening to say, "What signature techniques? I rely on bloodline talent. I don't learn that flashy nonsense."

Apocalypse said, "Is it because you can't learn them? Loki can even use illusions. Why can't you do anything?"

"As long as my bloodline fully awakens, I can become invincible throughout the Nine Realms. I don't care for things like illusions."

Thor was actually telling the truth. In the original storyline, when Hela had just emerged from her seal, he had not been able to withstand a single exchange with her.

Later, after ending up on Sakaar and awakening several times, he returned to Asgard and was actually able to trade blows with Hela.

Although he still lost in the end, his strength had improved by a massive margin.

"Hahahaha, then let's see what you think of my illusions."

With a bang, Apocalypse accelerated, leaving behind streak after streak of afterimages. In an instant, he created a large mass of them, as though more than a dozen people were attacking Thor at once.

The bystanders cried out in alarm. The various wuxia techniques from before had already been outrageous enough; they had not expected afterimages bordering on fantasy to appear as well.

A young man immediately said, "Dad, I want to go to the East tomorrow to learn kung fu."

"You idiot! Do you think you'll find a true master just by going there? And even if you find one, do you think the master will teach you? There's an Eastern man right in front of you. Instead of begging him, you want to run all the way to the East?"

As soon as he said that, the people around them suddenly understood.

There was a kung fu master right in front of them. Why travel far when they had one so close? Their gazes instantly turned fervent as they stared at Apocalypse without blinking.

People in the West were bold and tough by nature, and they were naturally fond of fighting arts.

Furthermore, kung fu stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li had wielded enormous influence in Hollywood, and many people longed for the mysterious martial arts of the East.

Even the various martial arts sects in China had more or less taken in some foreign disciples.

Now that they had seen a legendary kung fu master, they could hardly wait to rush forward, kneel like in the movies, and call out, "Master!"

Strictly speaking, Apocalypse had already used strength far beyond Thor's to create more than a dozen afterimages.

At last, even the most careful person could slip up.

"Ah..." Thor cried out as he took a punch to the eye.

"Tang, you dare hit me in the face?!"

"Ah..." His other eye took another punch.

Thor's handsome, charming eyes immediately turned into panda eyes.

Thor roared in fury. "What kind of ability is it to use these tricks? If you've got the guts, stand still. One punch each. Let's see who falls first."

"Fine!"

The afterimages vanished, and Apocalypse suddenly appeared in front of Thor.

Without even thinking, Thor threw a punch at Apocalypse's face. With a smack, Apocalypse took a punch to the eye as well.

Apocalypse controlled his strength and returned the favor with a punch of his own.

And so, they traded punch for punch, flailing wildly as both sides screamed continuously.

Of course, Thor's screams were real.

As for Apocalypse, he had to give Thor some face and cried out a few times in cooperation. If he did not make a sound at all, would Thor not think he felt nothing?

Huh? There seemed to be something wrong with that thought.

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. "What are you doing? Stop it right now!"