Crack, crack...
Led by Elektra, Thor and the others finally found the place with the law fragments.
"Um, the last time we came to scavenge for supplies, we saw those fragments inside that clay pot. I can't remember exactly how many there were, but there were definitely at least a dozen or so."
Elektra pointed to a clay pot buried beneath a tree stump not far away as she spoke to Thor.
When Thor heard there were a dozen or so fragments, he grew even more excited. He flashed over to the stump and snatched up the clay pot. But when he saw that it was empty, his excitement turned to disappointment in an instant.
Seeing that something was wrong with Thor's expression, Elektra walked over, took the pot, and peered inside.
"Sorry, Thor. I brought you all this way for nothing."
Thor's expression grew grave. He could sense traces of Cassandra's psychic power and residual spatial fluctuations left by Azazel.
Damn it!
That evil bald woman had actually dared to steal his things!
She had a way to die!
Betsy noticed that Thor's expression was off and asked, "Thor? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. That bastard Cassandra sent someone to steal my things before I got here. I'm thinking about how to settle the score with her."
Emma Frost stood nearby, leaning gracefully against a small tree. She held little Groot by the head and played with him. His little face had completely fallen, his displeasure and reluctance plain to see, and he complained helplessly.
"I am Groot-!"
"Sylvie, can the Thor you remember make plants grow and teleport?"
Mobius moved closer to Sylvie and asked quietly. What he had just witnessed was still too shocking for an ordinary man like him; he had yet to recover from it.
He wanted an answer from Sylvie. After all, didn't Thor usually control lightning? Those two abilities just now had looked completely unrelated to lightning!
"Mobius, you should ask Loki, not me. Have you forgotten that the TVA has been hunting me since I was little?"
The thought of the damned Time Variance Authority irritated Sylvie, but she was also curious about the strange Thor variant before her.
Not only did he know about her and Loki, but the abilities he possessed were far stronger than those of the Thor she knew.
If she could win him over, would it be a little easier to overthrow the Time Variance Authority?
Everyone present had their own thoughts, and for once, none of them spoke. The only sounds were their footsteps on the soil and the rustling of dead branches and fallen leaves beneath their feet.
As Thor walked, he expanded his senses. He could now detect the energy emitted by law fragments within a five-kilometer radius.
Unfortunately, after dozens of minutes had passed, they still hadn't found a single law fragment, even after reaching the cave where Elektra, Laura, and the others had once rested.
While the others rested, Thor flashed away to search the surrounding area for law fragments. Yet even after he had practically turned the entire valley upside down, he couldn't sense any energy fluctuations from them.
Instead, he found traces of Cassandra's psychic power every now and then. That streak of mad, evil psychic power was unmistakable. Only a lunatic like her would be so brazen, leaving a trace of it wherever she went, as though she were afraid others wouldn't know she ruled Knowhere.
Thor's assessment was that this bald woman was fucking fragile inside. Her psychological resilience was comparable to that of a three-year-old.
Just how starved for love do you have to be to do this stuff?
Wait, she really was starved for love, wasn't she? She'd never known what love was like since the day she was born, had she?
He remembered that Cassandra had apparently tried to kill Charles while they were still fetuses, only to be killed when Charles instinctively fought back. Then she was thrown into Knowhere.
If he remembered correctly, Cassandra didn't seem to have a physical body at all. She was a being formed entirely from psychic energy. He wondered whether a strand of the Law of Oblivion could finish her off.
Thor searched for law fragments as he pondered. Just then, a cluster of multicolored lights suddenly appeared in his perception, only about two kilometers away.
It seemed his efforts had paid off. Perhaps after absorbing this batch of fragments, he would be able to return to his peak.
The original strength of his body was roughly at the peak of Highfather Level, or perhaps it could be called Quasi-Single Universe Level. Now that he had heaven-defying comprehension, perhaps advancing another step was no longer a dream.
The next moment, Thor vanished and appeared near the cluster of law fragments he had sensed.
As soon as he landed, Thor sensed that something was wrong. Having absorbed so many law fragments, he couldn't have been more familiar with the energy fluctuations they emitted.
The cluster of law fragments he sensed before him looked identical to the real thing, and even its law aura was the same, but it was hollow inside. Someone had used some method to fake the law fragments and lure him here.
Thor felt a rare surge of anger. Which son of a bitch dared to fool me with fakes?!
Multicolored lightning instantly appeared in Thor's eyes, and slender arcs of electricity coiled around his body. The sky darkened in an instant for five kilometers around him.
But before the world-shattering lightning could strike the earth, an aged, urgent voice came from behind him. "Wait! Thor! Don't attack! It's me, Loki!"
The divine power gathered throughout Thor's body didn't completely dissipate. He kept it ready to unleash at any moment.
He turned around to find that a large tree that had been behind him had disappeared, replaced by four Lokis of different ages and species.
The one who had just told him to stop was Classic Loki, dressed in gold and green robes resembling his comic-book outfit. He was the true greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms.
To his left was an alligator wearing Loki's crown. To his right was a child of about seven or eight, holding a longsword and wearing Loki's distinctive crown as well.
Behind the three Loki variants stood an ordinary Loki in a white shirt and suit trousers.
Before any of them could speak, Thor had roughly guessed what they wanted. The remarkably lifelike cluster of law fragments had clearly been Classic Loki's work.
"So? Old Loki, the illustrious greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms, what do you want, luring me here with a trick like that?" Thor fixed his gaze on Classic Loki, ignoring the other three. As far as he was concerned, the other three Lokis were no different in combat strength from one by the roadside.
At best, they had the strength of one Captain America.
Seeing that Thor paid him no regard, the crowned Kid Loki stepped forward with his longsword in hand. His small body stood ramrod straight, his face full of arrogance and defiance, and his tone dripped with undisguised contempt.
"Thor? You're nothing but a loser I killed with my own hands. How dare you put on airs in front of me?"
"In Knowhere, the strong make the rules. You'd better understand-"
Before he could finish, Thor merely cast him a faint sideways glance.
There was no roar, no attack, and he didn't even truly unleash his divine power.
Yet that glance carried the pressure of Highfather Level, the chill of law power, and the killing intent of someone who had fought on countless battlefields, crashing down like a mountain!
The arrogance on Kid Loki's face froze. It was as though a pair of invisible hands had clamped around his throat, choking the rest of his words off.
"Enough." Classic Loki stepped forward and pulled Kid Loki back. A wave of divine power no weaker than Thor's, perhaps even stronger, spread from him, effortlessly shielding Kid Loki from the terrifying pressure.
"Kid, get one thing straight. You were able to kill the Thor from your universe because he was stupid. I won't make a mistake that basic."
The divine power coiling around Thor gradually subsided as he cast Kid Loki a disdainful glance.
What the hell? He dares act that arrogant toward me without the strength to back it up?
Thor's gaze then fell on the ordinary Loki at the back, who looked perfectly ordinary.
"Well, well! Isn't this my foolish brother, Loki, God of Assassins, the most pathetic in the Nine Realms? Did you come looking for me because you want to see your little girlfriend?"
Loki froze for a moment at those words, but quickly recovered. Without dwelling on the details, he looked at Thor and spoke with great sincerity and seriousness:
"Thor, I need your help."