Chapter 162

[1000PS REACHED!! Next Goal: 1500PS]

Syd used his enhanced vision to observe the events unfolding in the distant square. He watched as Loki smiled, pleased with himself as the crowd knelt before him. With a self-satisfied tone, Loki began to speak, "Is this not how you were meant to be?"

"This is the unspoken truth of humanity. The lure of freedom has deprived you of the joys of life," Loki said, walking among the kneeling people. "You frantically chase after power, after status, but deep down, you crave subjugation."

"Your very nature is that of slaves; you will eventually bow to your ruler."

In response to Loki's words, an elderly man dressed in gray with white hair stood up and defiantly said, "But not to someone like you."

Loki, slightly displeased by the man's defiance, nevertheless smiled and said, "I am unique."

The old man glared at him and replied, "There are plenty of people as shameless as you."

Loki's smile grew wider at the old man's remark.

Fixing his gaze on the elderly man, Loki raised his scepter and pointed it at him, addressing the crowd, "Look at this old man. He is your example!"

The next moment, the gem on Loki's scepter began to glow, signaling an imminent energy blast. Just as Loki was about to make an example of the old man, a figure clad in a stars-and-stripes uniform, wielding a shield with a star emblem, leapt into action, positioning himself between the old man and Loki.

Bang!

The shield absorbed the blue-white energy blast without sustaining any damage. In fact, the energy blast rebounded off the shield and struck Loki, knocking him to the ground—a perfect example of overconfidence leading to an immediate downfall.

Although Loki wasn't injured due to his Asgardian physiology, he was furious. He glared at the newcomer, Captain Steve Rogers.

As Loki got back on his feet, Captain America approached, saying, "The last time I was in Germany, a man stood above everyone else. He ended up defeated."

Loki caught the sarcasm in Steve's words.

"You must be a soldier?" Loki sneered, "An outdated man."

As Steve got closer, he replied, "The outdated man isn't me."

At that moment, a jet appeared in the sky, piloted by Black Widow. The jet's guns extended, aiming directly at Loki.

"Loki, drop your weapon and surrender!" Natasha's voice boomed through the loudspeaker.

Loki raised his scepter and fired another energy blast, but Natasha skillfully evaded it with the jet.

Seeing an opening, Steve threw his shield at Loki.

Bang! The shield struck Loki in the chest.

Steve then dashed forward to catch his rebounding shield.

Enraged, Loki engaged Captain America in combat with his scepter.

"Run!"

"Ah..."

As the fight escalated, the frightened crowd seized the opportunity to flee.

Once most of the crowd had escaped, the battle between Loki and Captain America reached its conclusion.

Bang! Loki swung his scepter, knocking Steve's shield away.

Despite Steve's enhanced physique from the super-soldier serum, he was no match for Loki's Frost Giant strength.

Loki approached the fallen Captain, pressing his scepter to Steve's head. "Kneel!" he commanded.

"Dream on!" Steve shouted, pushing the scepter aside and delivering a kick to Loki's head.

Unfortunately, Loki's non-human resilience meant he wasn't fazed by the attack. He quickly regained his footing and began overpowering Steve.

In that critical moment, a red-armored figure soared through the sky—Iron Man, Tony Stark.

Boom!

Iron Man blasted Loki, sending him flying and once again to the ground.

From a distance, Syd watched the scene unfold, his expression twitching with mild exasperation.

"Is Loki really a sorcerer?" Syd mused, slightly speechless.

Loki, known as the first sorcerer of the Nine Realms, certainly didn't fight like one. Instead of using magic, he relied heavily on physical combat, only occasionally employing illusions or his weapons, like when he tried to stab Thor with a dagger.

But upon further thought, Syd realized the situation made sense.

If Thor were without his hammer, he'd likely face a similar predicament, relying solely on brute force. Without the power of the thunder god, Thor wouldn't fare much better than Loki.

In the end, Thor was fortunate to have Mjolnir, which made him appear stronger and somewhat fitting of his thunder god title.

No wonder Loki was so fixated on that hammer, even attempting to lift it several times.

Syd thought that if he were in Loki's position, he might have done the same.

In a nutshell, Loki could be summarized as:

A warrior pretending to be a sorcerer!

Of course, Loki's apparent lack of magical prowess might stem from a lack of magical power. If he had it, his skills could rival or surpass Doctor Strange's.

Syd believed Asgard's collection of magical knowledge far exceeded that of Kamar-Taj.

Rubbing his chin, Syd pondered whether he should lend Loki some of his light power, allowing him to have a proper showdown with the Avengers.

Otherwise, Loki's current performance was tarnishing the divine image—people might start thinking gods were this weak.

While he contemplated, the scene in the distance continued.

"Don't move, or your reindeer's head is going to get blown off!"

Iron Man landed, his various weapons extending from his Mark suit, all aimed at the prone Loki.

Captain America, still catching his breath, walked over.

Seeing the situation, Loki seemed to have a change of heart. Without resisting, he raised his hands in surrender.

The group led Loki to the waiting jet.

Soon, the jet took off, heading for the 9,000-meter-high Helicarrier.

Watching the black jet fade into the distance, Syd's mind stirred, and he began to hover in the air.

Boom! He quickly caught up with the jet, trailing it from a distance.

As the wind whipped around him, Syd mulled over his options.

"Should I seize the Mind Stone scepter now?"

After some thought, Syd decided to leave it with the Avengers for now, to avoid creating unnecessary complications.

He wasn't keen on dealing with such issues.

Meanwhile, aboard the jet.

"Something's not right," Steve said, glancing at Loki and speaking quietly to Tony.

Tony Stark responded, "What, you think the rock star surrendered too easily?"

(End of Chapter)