Chapter 384: The Trio Battles Dark Phoenix!
After years of silence, the Ghost Rider, executing his own brand of justice from the shadows, unexpectedly appeared in the X-Men universe.
Upon his arrival, he immediately joined the battle without a second thought, teaming up with Wanda and Mantis...
The trio against the Dark Phoenix! The addition of the Ghost Rider significantly relieved the pressure on the Avengers' side. Although his hellfire wasn't as overpowering as the Phoenix Force, it was not entirely without resistance against it. With his participation, Mantis and Wanda, who had been heavily oppressed by the Phoenix Force, felt a great reduction in pressure.
Below the battlefield, Quicksilver, who had been worried about his sister, saw the new reinforcements on her side and, noting their effectiveness, he felt a sense of relief. He then shifted his focus away from his concerns and, with a flash, entered the fray among the mutant army, unleashing a flurry of rapid punches and kicks.
His sister was bravely fighting the Dark Phoenix, and as her brother, he couldn't appear weak.
As the saying goes: In martial arts, nothing is invincible, only speed is unbeatable!
Quicksilver's powers might not be the strongest, but for those not at a certain level, he was an unsolvable enigma.
In the blink of an eye, this speedster had charged through the mutant ranks back and forth, where none could stand against him.
Every movement of his enemies seemed like slow motion to him, posing no threat whatsoever.
He wanted to show everyone that the Maximoffs were no weaklings!
While he was reveling in his prowess, planning to knock down more enemies to alleviate his comrades' burden, a foot, moving with a speed comparable to his, suddenly blocked his path. This unexpected interference tripped him up, causing him to lose balance and tumble forward, crashing into several mutants before coming to a stop.
Turning his head, he saw a youth with white hair like his own, though noticeably thinner, smiling at him. As Quicksilver looked his way, the youth provocatively gestured with a beckoning finger, then vanished in a blur, sprinting a hundred meters away.
The message from the youth's expression and gesture couldn't be clearer.
Come on, catch me if you can! If you can catch me, then...
Who is Quicksilver?
He's a man who faces challenges head-on! Seeing the white-haired youth daring to taunt him like that, how could he possibly endure it? His super-speed kicked into overdrive instantly, and he became a blur, chasing after the white-haired youth.
As Quicksilver and the equally fast youth left the scene, the situation once again turned disadvantageous for the Avengers' side.
Quicksilver's actions were swift, but perhaps too lenient, as the mutants he had knocked down weren't killed and soon rejoined the battle against the Avengers.
Meanwhile, another astonishing event unfolded on the battlefield.
The sword atop the guarded tower, which emanated a fearsome aura and was fiercely protected by the Avengers, suddenly vanished into thin air.
The disappearance of the oppressive aura overhead momentarily lightened the hearts of the combatants on both sides. However, confusion and shock quickly followed.
The mutants were baffled, unable to understand the play of these "extraterrestrial demons."
The Avengers were shocked. Once the Heavenly Sword was combined with its keystone, even they couldn't approach it, and the only one in all the multiverse who could remove it was Clark!
The removal of the Heavenly Sword indicated that Clark's situation might be as dire as theirs, or perhaps worse.
Some began to wonder, with the Heavenly Sword gone, what was the point of continuing to fight to the death here?
Only Captain America, the team leader, maintained his firm conviction. As a commander who had fought in World War II, he knew that at such a moment, only the brave could win when paths cross. Whichever side showed hesitation would pay a devastating price.
Thus, the moment the sword disappeared, his voice rang out clear to every comrade present: "Protect the keystone!"
With Captain America's rallying cry, the Avengers' fighting spirit was reignited. To the sound of "The Avengers," they shouted along with him, "Protect the keystone!" unleashing their formidable combat power once again.
...
In the Dark Quadrant, the battle seemed even stranger than the blood-fueled clashes on Mount Everest.
Every individual there bore the appearance of a superhero, and what they were doing was... fighting themselves!
Indeed, everyone was furiously unleashing their strongest attacks against themselves.
The enemy's tactics were too sophisticated, so much so that even AIs like Eris and Friday couldn't discern the true from the fake. Nevertheless, Tony's team of Avengers still managed to identify some of the enemies using their wits.
For example, Tony couldn't tell which of the seven Peppers was real or fake.
But one thing was certain: anyone
who looked exactly like him was definitely a fake!
Since they couldn't determine the authenticity of other enemies, the next best thing was to eliminate the confirmed fakes—there was no mistake in that.
And those disguised as superheroes had no choice but to cooperate, attacking only their own disguised targets, thus creating the bizarre scene where several identical superheroes were brawling with each other.
Suddenly, a sword beam shot up from Eris's position, piercing the sky and then disappearing from everyone's sight.
It was the Sky Piercer!
Tony was startled by this and immediately commented, "The Sky Piercer has been taken by Clark, which means he's also in trouble. We must resolve this battle quickly and secure the keystone!"
But as he was briefly distracted, a fake Tony launched a punch towards him. Tony, caught off-guard, was just about to raise his arm to block when he found his attacker ensnared by a web. Taking the opportunity, Tony blasted the imposter with a palm pulse cannon, chilling him to the core.
The enemy he killed transformed upon hitting the ground, taking on a grotesque appearance resembling a dried-up tree or a mummified corpse.
Turning towards Spider-Man, Tony saw the young man he treated like a son, managing to fend off attacks from all directions with his iron spider legs while saying, "My spider-sense can distinguish these guys' true nature!"
Tony couldn't help but smile in relief, "Really? That's great!"
...
Like the situations faced by Tony and Captain America's teams, the swords in Daisy's team, Captain Marvel's team, Hulk's team, and Natasha's team also vanished at the same time.
Everyone guessed that if Clark needed to use these six divine swords to face the enemy, the situation must be incredibly dire.
They understood that Clark's battle against Dormammu in the extradimensional space was merely to buy them time. If all six teams could perfectly execute their plan to construct the keystone, Clark could instantly return the six swords to their places and complete the final step of the Heavenly Sword Array.
Once the array was activated, it would protect their universe from further infiltration of Dormammu's dark forces and prevent him from manipulating the dark energy floating in the air of the extradimensional space.
Furthermore, with the array's formation, they could mobilize the universe's original energy to purge the dark energy completely, ensuring the cosmos remained untainted.
And Clark would no longer need to engage in a disadvantageous battle with Dormammu in the extradimensional space; he could retreat to the single universe and wait.
If Dormammu dared to follow him into the single universe, then the tables would turn...
For Clark, bolstered by BGM, the single universe was his home turf! Not even Dormammu, nor higher beings like devourers of stars, could escape defeat under Clark's might in his own universe.
Moreover, as Clark had explained, Dormammu's situation was even more peculiar than other demonic beings.
In the single universe, his combat strength might only match Thor or Daisy at best; even Doctor Strange could have a chance to prevail.
Now, their task was to swiftly construct the keystone, resolving any worries for Clark...
...
"Swallowing wind and kissing rain, burying the setting sun without hesitation, bullying the mountain, pursuing the sea, trudging through snow without despair, picking flowers, holding wine, bending the world to one's will, with these eyes and a hundred arms or a thousand hands cannot defend, the vast sky stretches wide, who else sails with me, the sand rolls, the water wrinkles, laughing and frolicking, indulging in a moment of joy teaches that long-held love should be buried..."
In the extradimensional space, Clark faced a far worse situation than anyone could imagine, as he was not only dealing with Dormammu.
Besides Dormammu, he also had to contend with an even more formidable opponent a hundred times trickier—Phoenix itself!
At this moment, Clark's opponents were two established multiversal entities. If not for the BGM's advantage, each was a tier above him in rank and strength.
Dormammu was manageable since he was only at the mid-phase of the multiversal level, only slightly stronger than Clark.
But Phoenix was a different story. She was a terrifying entity in the Marvel universe, second only to the Living Tribunal, against whom even the cosmic entities would not guarantee victory.
The amplifying effect of the BGM was indeed powerful, but it had its limits.
Like Chief Joe, who could single-handedly fight Murong Fu, You Tan Zhi, and Ding Chunqiu when the music played, making a grand display. But if you replaced his opponents with Wu Xing Yun, Li Autumn Water, and a Sweeping Monk, not even "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" would help!
Clark's current predicament was similar; the enemies were simply too strong, and even BGM couldn't bridge the gap between their powers.
If that were the only issue, he wouldn't need
to recall the six divine swords.
Doing so undoubtedly signaled a critical situation to the Avengers, which was detrimental to maintaining morale.
But misfortune never comes alone. Just as Clark was struggling against both Dormammu and Phoenix, barely holding on and trying to buy time for the Avengers, his so-called BGM suddenly encountered a problem.
The music playing smoothly suddenly changed...
"Wind gathers the sand, clouds turn to rain, heroes surge from all directions, the righteous spirit of humanity endures through the ages. Swords shuttle swiftly, emotions entwine the heroic form, tears accompany wine across the earth, soaked in blood, writing the past..."
The long-missing BGM suddenly resounded again, but Clark was far from pleased.
"Storm Riders 2"
Level: 1 (Non-upgradable)
Effect: Has a chance to trigger when the host faces a life-threatening crisis. Once successfully triggered, the host can temporarily wield one of the three great powers from "Storm Riders" for a certain period.
"Storm Riders 2" BGM triggered successfully, activating one of the three great powers: "None Beneath Me!"
"None Beneath Me": After the current battle ends within one day, the user can declare "None Beneath Me" towards an opponent, forming a curse that rapidly diminishes the opponent's abilities in one aspect, potentially forever.
None Beneath Me! Again, None Beneath Me! At such a critical moment, this twist was the last thing Clark needed.
Right now, as they were fighting desperately, such a time-dependent ability could only complicate matters. Even a "One Strike Force" would have been more useful!
The sudden change in background music also made the two enemies attacking him pause momentarily. Phoenix, with a slightly eerie tone, asked, "Kid, the previous music was quite energizing, why the sudden change?"
Sighing deeply, Clark summoned the six divine swords with his mind while asking the system internally, "What does the system consider the end of combat? Does pausing like this count?"
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