Chapter Twenty-Two: Battle Against the Destroyer

“How can you guardians of Midgard be so powerful?!” Sif and the Three Warriors of Asgard stared at Yang Xin and the others in astonishment.

“Save the compliments for after the battle,” Yang Xin replied with a cold wave of his hand, exuding an air of aloofness.

Despite the earth-shattering might of the trio’s assault, Yang Xin harbored no hope. The Destroyer was simply too strong.

As expected, Coulson, transformed into the era’s warrior K’sae, found his laser saber utterly ineffective against the Destroyer’s defenses. Even targeting its knee joint, the blade that had never failed him before could not pierce the armor. Realizing this, Coulson swiftly retreated.

Natasha’s Diamond Star Fist, far from reaching absolute zero, could only slow the Destroyer’s movements but inflicted no meaningful damage.

As for Nick Fury, his muffled groan made it clear that even the Kamui space of the Mangekyo Sharingan had failed to harm the Destroyer. Fortunately, it was only a grunt; no blood seeped from the corner of his eye.

“Second wave, advance!” Yang Xin commanded with another gesture.

“Grant me strength, for I am He-Man!”

“Grant me strength, for I am She-Ra!”

Frank the Punisher and Hill transformed into He-Man and She-Ra respectively. The Punisher, astride the Battle Cat, charged forward at lightning speed. Dodging the Destroyer’s energy blast, the Battle Cat scrambled up its shin, and at the knee, He-Man delivered a fierce sword strike.

Hill, riding Swift Wind, soared through the air, evading the deadly energy beams, and aimed straight for the Destroyer’s neck, swinging her blade in a swift arc.

“Is that an Asgardian Valkyrie? How could a Valkyrie appear in Midgard? Impossible! All the Valkyries perished in battle!” Sif gasped. In her memory, riding a winged horse and wielding a sword were the hallmarks of Asgard’s Valkyries.

“A Valkyrie is just a title,” Yang Xin replied coolly at her side. “Whether she is or isn’t, let’s deal with the Destroyer first.”

“It’s pointless. Valkyries are no match for the Destroyer. Only someone at Thor’s level could hope to defeat it,” Sif shook her head, unconvinced by Frank and Hill’s prospects.

And indeed, as Sif predicted, the combined might of the Punisher and Hill left not a scratch on the Destroyer; any damage they dealt was instantly restored.

“Third wave, go!” Since the second team had failed, Yang Xin sent in the third.

Suddenly, with a thunderous crash, a giant foot descended from the sky, sending the Destroyer stumbling. Onto the battlefield strode a towering figure, blue and red—none other than Captain America transformed into Diga Ultraman.

“Well, at least now we’re matched in size and strength,” Yang Xin muttered. “If the transformation to 120 meters lasts only three minutes, at this size—fifty-something meters—he should hold out for at least ten or so. Let’s hope we can last that long…”

Yang Xin was at a loss. Odin clearly intended to use Loki and the Destroyer to force Thor’s awakening. The Destroyer was overwhelmingly powerful; only Captain America could stand toe-to-toe with it.

In Yang Xin’s original plan, Coulson, Natasha, and Nick Fury in the first wave would cripple one leg, Frank and Hill in the second wave would take out the other, and then all would pile on for the final assault. But he hadn’t expected that neither the first nor the second team could even break its defenses.

“Where’s Thor? Did my motivational speech wake him up? Was all we did for nothing—are we back on the old path?” Yang Xin muttered.

“What old path?” Nick Fury asked suddenly.

“The usual cliche: Thor learns the virtue of sacrifice, offers himself to halt the Destroyer’s slaughter, and in the moment of death regains his power and destroys the foe,” Yang Xin said with a wry twist of his mouth.

“Cliche, maybe—but it works on that musclebound overgrown infant, doesn’t it?” Nick Fury gazed up at the Destroyer from a forty-five-degree angle.

“Indeed it does. What can you do when the overgrown infant has a god-king for a father? I just hate to see all my efforts go to waste,” Yang Xin admitted glumly.

“Of course they weren’t wasted—this is invaluable combat experience.” Nick Fury answered calmly, adding, “Now back off a bit. As soon as Steve’s transformation ends, it’s my turn. Time to show Asgard what Earth can do.”

As soon as Captain America’s transformation ended, Nick Fury’s Mangekyo Sharingan spun violently. “Susano’o!”

“You mean show them your own strength, not Earth’s…” Yang Xin retorted quietly.

A storm of blue chakra whirled around Nick Fury, the same hue as the energy radiated by the Cosmic Cube. Yang Xin and the others could sense the spatial attribute carried by this chakra.

“Is that chakra transformed from the Cosmic Cube? Has Nick Fury made it into a perpetual engine?” Yang Xin speculated.

The storming blue chakra roared, forming arms and ribs around Fury, then took the shape of a skeleton. Soon, veins and flesh layered over the bone, and finally, ancient armor from the realm of Yamato encased the body. A giant clad in this armor rose, wielding a chakra longsword, and brought it down upon the Destroyer in a mighty slash.

A spine-chilling screech echoed as the two giants let out earth-shaking roars, clashing fiercely.

“Kamui Shuriken!”

Stalemated, Nick Fury unleashed a barrage of Kamui Shuriken at the perfect moment. The spinning blades easily shredded the Destroyer’s arm and whisked it away to the Kamui dimension.

Yet the next moment left them all stunned. They had expected the Destroyer to become a one-armed relic, but in the blink of an eye, its arm was restored.

The company fell silent. How could they fight such a battle? No matter what they tried, the enemy could recover in an instant—how could anyone hope to win?

“Don’t panic, I could keep this up all day!” Nick Fury’s voice rang from within Susano’o.

“Are you sure you’re Nick Fury and not Captain America?” Yang Xin shouted.

Without so much as a glance, Nick Fury charged at the Destroyer once more, Susano’o blazing.

Watching Fury’s retreating form, Yang Xin was finally certain: Fury had brought the Cosmic Cube and was using it as an inexhaustible chakra reservoir.

“A fight like this really could go on all day,” Yang Xin muttered to himself.

And so, they returned to square one. The Destroyer could not breach Susano’o’s defenses, and Nick Fury, little more than a half-trained ninja, knew nothing but Susano’o and its innate powers. The battle became a war of attrition.

At that moment, the once-clear sky erupted in thunder and lightning. Thor, prompted by Yang Xin’s impassioned words, finally awakened. Mjolnir soared into his hand, golden armor and a scarlet cape appearing on his body.

“Violence cannot solve everything! With great power comes great responsibility! Father, now I finally understand your intent. Let this end here.”