Though Thor's words made Coulson realize the severity of the situation, his role was merely that of an agent, not the president.
Moreover, even the president couldn't haphazardly order the evacuation of a town's residents without any clear information—doing so would earn him opposition votes in the next election. Although the votes from a single small town wouldn't affect re-election.
But in a country like the U.S., which prides itself on citizens' right to know, the townsfolk would likely use this as grounds to stir up trouble.
So now, Coulson himself was completely in the dark. What reason could he possibly give to convince the townspeople to leave obediently? It was absurd.
"Lord Thor," Coulson asked nervously, "Could you tell me what's happening?"
Thor looked bitterly toward the Rainbow Bridge. "The energy fluctuations caused by Sif and the other three traveling via the Rainbow Bridge were minimal. Besides indicating that Heimdall, the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, had opened it, it also showed that the four of them had relatively low energy levels."
"But now, the disturbance from the Rainbow Bridge's activation is too great. This means it wasn't opened by Heimdall—otherwise, there wouldn't be such excessive energy fluctuations. At the same time, it suggests that whoever is coming possesses immense power themselves."
Hesitating, Thor lowered his head in dismay and said, "To my knowledge, the only ones capable of causing such energy leakage are my father when he's angry... and Asgard's most formidable weapon of war—the Destroyer."
Thor's words were laced with deep sorrow. It was no surprise—as a self-proclaimed doting older brother, learning that his beloved younger brother had sent the Destroyer to kill him naturally left him heartbroken.
But at the moment, Coulson, who knew nothing about the Destroyer, was at a loss: "Aside from telling me the damn thing's name, what about how it operates? Is it radio-controlled, or does it require a pilot like Stark's Iron Man suit?"
Without any clear information, how am I supposed to deal with the Destroyer?
Nearby, Li Feng noticed Coulson's predicament. After a moment's thought, he quietly leaned over and whispered an explanation about what the Destroyer was.
However, Li Feng himself didn't know much about the Destroyer. He only knew that, according to legend, it was a suit of armor created by Odin to protect Earth.
Rumors said the Destroyer was forged from Uru metal, unique to Asgard, and enchanted by Odin's magic, making it even more indestructible than Uru metal itself—nearly impossible to destroy.Moreover, it operates in an autonomous combat mode or can be controlled by others through magical power or mental commands.
In terms of combat capability, it possesses immense strength—forget tearing apart tanks, it can even treat a spaceship like a hand-rolled pancake, folding and devouring it however it pleases, crunching it down with a satisfying crisp.
Its built-in weapons are terrifyingly powerful. Its face can fire sustained high-temperature beams that can melt almost any substance, even magical shields.
As for any other weapons, the movie didn't cover them, and Li Feng admitted he wasn't sure either.
Lastly, it can transform at will. Turning its chest into its back is child's play—it might even tuck its head between its legs and blast you with high-temperature beams. Fighting it with close combat techniques is practically asking for a beating.
It's like struggling to chokehold the Destroyer and pin it to the ground, only for it to morph and say, "Sorry, you were actually locking my ankle," before sprouting a fist the size of a cooking pot from where its head should be and punching you into an existential crisis.
After hearing Li Feng's explanation, Coulson wondered if he should stock up on hair conditioner. Facing demons and gods every day, the few remaining strands of his hair would surely succumb to stress and bid him farewell sooner or later.
With a pained expression, Coulson was about to ask Li Feng something when his phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
"It's the base. Hopefully, they have good news," he said apologetically to the group before stepping aside to answer. "This is Coulson."
A moment later, Coulson returned, rubbing his temples, and sighed. "The base detected a robot delivered by the Rainbow Bridge." He paused, looking at Sif and Li Feng. "Can you handle the Destroyer?"
Li Feng shrugged, glancing at Thor and Sif. "If Thor could lift Mjolnir, maybe. Right now? I don't know about Sif and the others, but I'm not facing the Destroyer alone. That thing could easily beat the crap out of me."
Sif gave Li Feng a surprised look, wondering if this Earth mage knew too much about the Destroyer.
But now wasn't the time for questions. After a moment's thought, she said, "Perhaps we still have a chance."
She looked around at her companions, who seemed confused, and explained, "Everyone, if the All-Father were controlling the Destroyer, we'd stand no chance. But remember—right now, it's Loki in command. He'd be lucky to wield half of its power."
Thor's eyes lit up. That's right—Loki couldn't even defeat me, let alone compare to Father.But then Thor thought of something and deflated, saying, "Coulson, if we don't evacuate the town's residents now, it'll be too late." He then turned to his four companions and Li Feng, adding, "Everyone, please try to lure the Destroyer outside the town to avoid harming the innocent."
Thor's words made it clear he wasn't in the mood for battle, which Coulson and Li Feng understood.
However, Sif and the others, who had gone to great lengths to bring Thor back to Asgard, were baffled. They were even more surprised: Thor giving up a fight? What was going on? Had the humans of Midgard tampered with his brain? Give us back the Thunder God who'd raise his hammer at the slightest provocation!
"Thor, won't you fight with us?" Sif asked in confusion.
Thor raised his hands before him, clenching his fists with a sigh. "I'm just a mortal now. Fighting alongside you would only hold you back. I—" He glanced at the bewildered townsfolk in the streets. "I should help them evacuate as quickly as possible."
Only then did Sif remember that Thor's banishment hadn't been lifted yet. She paused, forcing a smile. "Alright, be careful."
With that, Sif drew her sword, twirled it deftly, and led her three companions toward the Destroyer without hesitation.
Li Feng tilted his head in thought, then waved his hand to open a portal. "Thor, maybe you should think about how to lift Mjolnir." He paused, glancing at Coulson. "Coulson believes you were banished because your father thought you didn't understand how to be a king. Perhaps you could try following that line of reasoning—maybe then you could lift Mjolnir."
Feeling he'd given enough hints, Li Feng draped himself in his invisibility cloak, transforming into a wisp of black mist as he followed Sif, leaving Thor staring blankly through the portal at Mjolnir.
Perhaps because it was Loki's first time controlling the mighty Destroyer, he seemed unfamiliar with it, making the Destroyer advance toward the town at a leisurely pace.
Fortunately, by the time Li Feng and the others confronted the Destroyer, it had only just reached the town's outskirts, striding forward with invincible steps.
Before the battle, Li Feng stroked his chin and mused, "Everyone, if I were to trap the Destroyer in a sealed pocket dimension, would Loki still be able to control it?"
"Absolutely do not do that," Sif immediately countered. "Under Loki's control, the Destroyer is somewhat sluggish in its attacks, giving us at least some time to react."
"But in a sealed environment, if the Destroyer breaks free from Loki's control, it would automatically switch to autonomous combat mode. Then it would only carry out the last command Loki gave it."
"Care to guess what that command was?" Sif glanced at Li Feng floating in the air. "Trust me, you don't want to face a Destroyer fighting at full power.""Guess whether I can guess Loki's orders or not," Li Feng scratched his head and asked persistently, "What if we trap the Destroyer in another dimension?"
Sif glanced at Li Feng curiously, sensing the amount of magical energy within him before scoffing dismissively, "I doubt your alternate dimension could hold the Destroyer. Unless your power reaches the level of the Allfather."
Heh, though my name has one more word than Odin's, if I had his strength, I'd have long since left Earth to hunt for Infinity Stones.
Great, now one of my strongest spells—Mirror Dimension—is completely useless. I'm starting to hate the Destroyer. Hope the rewards later make up for my wounded pride.
As he grumbled internally, Li Feng, feeling like he was covered in bad luck, spat to rid himself of the misfortune before asking, "So what now? Any tactics?"
Sif thought for a moment, unconsciously slowing her pace, and said, "You distract it."
With that, she quietly moved aside, preparing to flank the Destroyer and ambush it from behind.
Seeing this, Li Feng shrugged and quietly prepared his spell: Hope my magic actually does something this time.
What followed was just like in the movies. The Warriors Three—Fandral and Hogun—first threw the bearded Volstagg like a baseball at the Destroyer, both to draw its attention and in hopes that Volstagg could cleave it apart with his axe.
Unfortunately, the three clearly overestimated their own strength.
Just as Volstagg swung his axe mid-flight toward the Destroyer, before he could bring it down, the Destroyer backhanded him away like a fly.
However, this distraction meant the Destroyer, focused on Volstagg, failed to notice Sif leaping high behind it, dual blades in hand.
By the time Sif landed on the Destroyer's back, her twin blades had already pierced through the gaps in its armor, pinning it to the ground.
Sif's attack briefly immobilized the Destroyer. Seizing the opportunity, Li Feng's eyes lit up—Now's my chance!
"Scatter!" Li Feng shouted, startling Sif into rolling off the Destroyer. She glared up at him, about to snap, "Anyone who dares scare me like that deserves a horrible death!" when she saw him fling a surge of water that enveloped the Destroyer.
Li Feng knew full well that his strength was far too lacking against either the Destroyer or Loki. So before the Destroyer could break free from the time spell, he intended to dismantle it with magic.
I refuse to believe a Destroyer reduced to spare parts can recover so quickly.