On the icy plains, wind and snow howled past.
Loki, maintaining his stealth, was preparing for a strategic retreat to leave this damned place when a piercing sonic boom suddenly erupted overhead.
He suddenly raised his head.
The swirling snow was violently torn apart, and two steel figures, one red and one gold, descended from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ice in front of him.
With a loud bang!
The ice layer shattered in all directions, and large swaths of snow were blown away by the Shockwave.
Tony slowly stood up, and the thrusters on his back transformed into two cannons, blocking Loki's retreat.
Loki stopped in his tracks, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.
How did this guy find him?
His invisibility spell not only conceals his physical form, but also hides his voice, aura, and magical fluctuations.
Not to mention the mortals of Midgard, even the veterans of Asgard who had fought for many years would find it difficult to see through his tracks.
But this Iron Man in front of him was clearly coming for him.
Tony did not fire immediately.
He raised his hand, and a red projection shot out from his palm, landing directly where Loki was.
In the projection, the pale ice field was deserted.
But in the infrared imaging, a huge humanoid energy source was standing there, radiating a blinding green light.
Tony looked at it for two seconds and couldn't help but laugh.
" JARVIS, I retract my previous assessment."
"Sir, which one are you referring to?"
"This is not invisibility."
Tony activated the armor's external loudspeaker, his voice echoing across the entire icy plain. "Hey, Mr. Horned in the green suit, do you have some misunderstanding about invisibility?"
Loki's face instantly darkened.
Tony continued, "From a normal person's perspective, you've indeed disappeared. But to my sensors, you're now like a human-shaped Green Lantern stuck in the snow."
"Oh, by the way, just a heads-up, those two horns on your head are glowing too."
"..."
Loki slowly tightened his grip on the scepter.
"Ignorant mortal, you have no understanding of the mysteries of magic."
"You call this magic?"
Tony raised his hand to zoom in on the green image, and jokingly commented, "If you ask me, even street magicians are better at hiding pigeons than you. At least they don't run around with two glowing antlers on their heads when they perform."
Loki's temple throbbed with a vein.
antlers?
He wore the helmet of Asgard royalty, a symbol of noble status and supreme power.
This lowly mortal actually called it deer antlers?
"Mortal! How dare you insult a true god! You're courting death!"
Loki ceased the spell, a flash of green light appeared, and his figure reappeared in the snowstorm.
His magnificent robes billowed in the wind, and the scepter in his hand glowed with a deep blue light.
"Very well, your third-rate magic tricks are finally over."
Tony raised his hands, and his palm cannons began charging. "Now we're moving on to the weapons testing phase. Hopefully, your performance will last a little longer."
Kneel down!
Loki roared and slammed his scepter heavily onto the ice.
In an instant, a large amount of cold air spread along the ice layer.
Dozens of sharp ice spikes shattered the ground, piercing Tony in mid-air from different directions. At the same time, three energy beams shot out from the tip of the scepter, completely sealing off his escape route.
Tony simply smiled confidently.
JARVIS.
"Attack model matched, sir."
The armored thrusters changed direction instantly.
Tony flipped sideways, grazing past the first energy beam. Ice spikes shot out from beneath his feet, and he used his shoulder thrusters to ricochet back, tracing a clean arc in mid-air.
The second beam grazed the breastplate without leaving a trace.
Before the third attack could land, Tony had already changed his altitude and passed through the ice spikes.
Loki's pupils constricted slightly.
The enemy knew exactly how he would attack; those puppets were indeed a test!
"Raise your left hand, pull the scepter back, attack range of twenty-seven meters, seventeen ice spikes, three rays, and one invisible attack."
Tony hovered in the air, deliberately amplifying JARVIS's analysis. "Mr. Antlers, your spellcasting animation is too obvious, and your skills are mediocre. Next time, remember not to strike a pose before casting a spell."
Loki swung his scepter violently.
A beam of eerie blue light flew past Tony's head and shattered a distant ice hill.
"See? You guessed right again."
Tony spread his hands. "Need me to recommend a few acting teachers? Don't worry about tuition; Stark Industries offers student loans."
Loki was utterly enraged.
"You incessant chattering reptile! I'll tear your tongue apart!"
He gripped the scepter with both hands, unleashing his full magical power. The ice field began to tremble violently, countless ice spikes shot into the sky, and beams of energy swept towards Tony's location.
But these attacks still had no effect.
The unmanned combat suits on the front lines had already been used dozens of times and were now worn out, allowing them to figure out most of Loki's attack habits.
Every time JARVIS raises his hand, every time he turns around, even the angle at which the scepter tilts, it has been recorded in the database.
Tony kept changing direction, narrowly escaping the gaps in the attack several times.
It looks dangerous, but it's all within the scope of calculation.
The performance has ended.
Tony abruptly stopped in mid-air.
Both palm-sized cannons were aimed at Loki simultaneously, and the Arc Reactor on his chest also emitted a blinding light.
Loki's expression changed slightly, and he immediately raised his scepter to shield himself.
The next second, the full-power energy cannon exploded.
"Boom!"
The blazing white beam struck the scepter head-on, and the terrifying impact instantly sent Loki flying.
His body smashed through several ice spikes, rolled along the ice surface for dozens of meters, and finally crashed heavily into a glacial crevasse.
The ice layer continued to collapse, with large chunks of ice falling into the depths.
Tony flew above the rift and glanced down.
"Gods?"
He tapped the visor lightly. "To be honest, I don't see any difference between you and an ordinary person."
There was no response from the depths of the fissure.
Tony, however, remained vigilant.
According to the scan results, the target's vital signs remained stable. Although the shot was powerful, it was far from enough to kill the target.
In the darkness, Loki knelt on one knee on the ice.
His robe was torn, and there was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
He looked down at the drop of blood on the back of his hand, and the anger on his face gradually disappeared.
An ordinary person.
It actually made him bleed.
Loki reached into his robe and retrieved a treasure wrapped in golden cloth from a hidden compartment.
These were things he secretly took from the vault before leaving Asgard.
Originally, he didn't plan to use it so soon.
But now, all he wanted was to tear that damned Iron Man to shreds.
The golden fabric slowly slid down.
A terrifying surge of energy erupted from the depths of the fissure, causing the surrounding ice to tremble violently.
Inside the mask, JARVIS's voice abruptly distorted into a grating electrical hum.
"Warning! High-energy reaction detected!"
Tony's expression remained unchanged. If the alien had fallen so easily, he would have been more worried that it might be a trap.
Deep within the rift, Loki, clutching the treasure, slowly floated up, his tattered robes fluttering wildly in the energy.
He raised his head, a chilling, extremely brutal smile spreading across his lips.
"Now, kneel before the venerable God-King!"