Scathach vs Norse Gods (II)

Under the sky bathed in hazy purple light, an ancient and elegant castle hung upside down from the vortex, enclosing the space within a radius of a thousand kilometers, emitting a mysterious and vast aura.

Tyr, Thor, Loki, Frey, and Freya—these five prominent gods from the Norse pantheon now appeared remarkably battered. Their armor was in tatters, and their bodies were covered in disheveled wounds, with streams of fresh blood constantly flowing.

"Dammit, this woman is way too strong!" Thor wiped the blood from his mouth. "I can't help but feel that even the old man in his prime might not be her match."

"You could actually drop the 'might'..." Loki grinned. "If he really came here, without destroying this castle and the influence of this realm, he would never defeat the Queen of the Land of Shadows."

"Bastard, if my authority were still intact, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

Thor, frustrated, looked at Loki, whose clothes were relatively intact, then glanced at his own chest, resembling a canvas slashed by a thousand knives.

"Strange, why do you have fewer wounds than me?" Thor asked with confusion.

"Of course, that's because every time that woman attacked me, I hid behind you." Loki shrugged nonchalantly. "Since you always charge in without thinking, I thought why not make good use of this meat shield?"

Thor's face turned crimson with anger as if flames sprouted from his head, and he summoned a thunderbolt toward Loki.

"I'll kill you first, you damn bastard!"

Loki skillfully dodged the thunderbolt and hastily said, "Calm down, big guy. I've actually figured out a way to break this deadlock!"

While summoning another thunderbolt, Thor stopped abruptly and looked at Loki skeptically.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course." Loki showed a sincere smile. "But I need to prepare in advance. I'll trouble you to keep that woman busy and not let her disturb me."

Thor's eyes flickered with uncertainty while his face showed a hint of hesitation.

"I advise you to make a decision sooner rather than later. Otherwise, Frey and Tyr won't hold out much longer." Loki said calmly and pointed to the two significantly weakened gods who were retreating under the increasingly fierce attacks of Scathach.

Thor clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"If you dare to deceive me again this time, I'll twist your head off!"

Having said that, Thor lifted his hammer and rushed to the battlefield, assisting Frey and Tyr in resisting Scathach's onslaught.

"Why only you, where's Loki?" Tyr asked while frowning.

"He said he had a way to break this deadlock but needed us to buy him time." Thor replied and swung his hammer with all his might, attempting to deflect Scathach's spear. However, his strength had dwindled significantly. Not only did he fail but his shoulder also got pierced by the spear.

On the side, Freya hurriedly cast healing magecraft on Thor. She wasn't a goddess skilled in combat, so her role was limited to buffing the three male gods.

Frey glanced back and looked toward Loki's figure after hearing Thor's explanation.

Loki was floating above a huge and intricate magic circle, a pattern he had never seen before. However, judging from the slightly distorted void around it, the power of this magic circle was undoubtedly powerful.

"At this point, we can only trust him..." Frey sighed slightly, lifting his sword to face Scathach.

Ten minutes later.

"How much longer?!" Thor, covered in injuries, roared at Loki.

"It's almost done! Just hold on a little longer!"

Half an hour later.

"Are you done?!" Thor, now resembling a bloodied figure, shouted again.

"Almost there! Almost there!"

An hour later, the four gods who confront Scathach were utterly exhausted. Soon after, her spear sent them flying to the ground, creating four large craters.

Thor had no strength left to even lift Mjolnir. He struggled to raise his head and glared at Loki in midair.

"You bastard... Still not done?"

"Ahh, all done..." Loki replied with a smirk. He snapped his fingers, and four pitch-black tentacles quickly surged from the magic circle, binding the four gods.

These tentacles continuously absorbed the power of the four gods, making Thor and the others appear increasingly feeble. In contrast, Loki's aura kept skyrocketing like a rocket.

"Loki, you damn bastard! What the hell are you doing?!" Thor shouted in anger.

Tyr seemed to have anticipated this scene long ago, showing no change in his expression.

"You're still the same as before, Loki..." Frey muttered and sighed, feeling immense shame for the trust he had just placed in Loki.

As for Freya, with the weakest power among the four, she couldn't even muster the strength to scold Loki and just lay on the ground like a stiff fish.

"Since you guys are useless now, why not transfer your power to me? At least this way, there's a higher chance of success. Don't worry; I'll carry on with your wishes." Loki said with a smile.

"Loki! Just you wait! The next time I see you, I'll crush your head without hesitation!" Thor roared in anger, and soon, his figure dispersed into countless particles of light.

The other three also quickly vanished, their power flowing through the tentacles into Loki's body. This sudden influx caused an overwhelming and mountainous aura to erupt from him.

Loki clenched his fists and felt the relentless surge of power within him.

"Finally got back that old feeling..." Loki said with a delighted tone and nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to Scathach, who watched him not far away. "I thought you might try to stop me."

"Whether it's one or four, it makes no difference." Scathach said indifferently, lifting her Gae Bolg, ready to attack him.

"Oho? Really?" Loki's mouth curved into a charming smile. "Are you sure about that?"

He reached out his hand, and with a wave, a battered and unconscious man appeared in his hand.

Seeing the unconscious man, Scathach's pupils shrank abruptly, forcibly stopping her steps.

"It seems my guess was right. This guy, Cu Chulainn, should hold a special meaning for you, right?"

Loki lightly patted Cu Chulainn's cheek, then turned to Scathach with an innocent smile.

"Since that's the case, how about we discuss some demands?"