The sound of the Destroyer being hammered to pieces finally allowed Li Feng to relax completely: Thankfully, the outcome remained the same as in the original plot, with no deviations despite the Destroyer's significantly enhanced defenses.
If the Avengers didn't have Thor, the Ancient One would probably come looking for trouble with me…
As the battle concluded, Thor strode out from the thick clouds of dust, holding Mjolnir in hand, draped in a red cape, and clad in gleaming silver armor—a truly majestic sight.
Watching Thor's vigorous stride, Li Feng couldn't help but mutter, "A real man never looks back at an explosion."
Coulson gave Li Feng a puzzled glance, then turned to look at Thor. With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, he made it clear he had no interest in dealing with Li Feng's nonsense and quickly walked toward Thor alongside Jane to greet the victorious god.
Before Coulson could even begin sizing up Thor, Jane—already utterly charmed by Thor's dashing appearance—blurted out, "Is this how you usually dress?"
"More or less," replied Thor, who had now regained his divine power and was no longer the lost mortal he had been.
With his princely status restored, so too were the responsibilities he had to shoulder.
This meant he needed to return to Asgard as soon as possible to defend it from the threat of war.
On top of that, Thor had plenty of pent-up frustration to vent. After answering Jane's question, he straightforwardly declared his intention to go home and "spank Loki's ass."
"Want to see the Rainbow Bridge I told you about?" he added.
Li Feng noticed that Thor showed no sign of cleaning up the Destroyer's wreckage. His eyes kept darting toward the remains, his intentions obvious even to the blind.
Sif glanced at Li Feng, then at the Destroyer. Given their earlier cooperation in battle, she felt obliged to remind him not to push his luck.
After a moment's thought, she stepped in front of Li Feng and said, "Mage, don't get any ideas." She pointed at the Destroyer. "Even though Thor smashed it to pieces, if the All-Father wills it, no matter where it is or what state it's in, it will instantly return to him fully restored. That's why we don't care if the Destroyer is left behind on Earth."
Pausing, she eyed Li Feng's satchel and added, "If you just want a few materials from the Destroyer for research, the All-Father might overlook it—given how you helped Thor earlier. But if you're thinking of taking the whole thing? Forget it."
Li Feng nodded awkwardly, inwardly debating just how much "a few materials" meant in Sif's book. Surely not just a single toe—that would be taking advantage of an honest man.
As for research? Ha! What he really wanted was to forge a Magical Artifact. How could research scraps ever be enough?
Seeing the "honest man" Li Feng's crestfallen expression as he instinctively glanced at his satchel, Sif roughly guessed his thoughts. Hesitating, she asked, "What do you want the Destroyer for?"
"Magical Artifact," Li Feng said, spreading his empty hands. "You saw it yourself—I fought barehanded earlier. So I was thinking of using a section of the Destroyer's leg to forge a weapon suited for me."
His face fell as he continued, "But from the sound of it, even if I turned the Destroyer's leg into a weapon, the moment King Odin wanted to use it, my weapon would just revert to a metal leg and fly back to him?"
"I'm not sure. To be honest, everything I know about the Destroyer comes from others. This is actually the first time I've seen a fully functional Destroyer," Sif said, then seemed to recall something. She tilted her head toward Li Feng with a raised eyebrow, her tone laced with skepticism. "You can melt the Destroyer?"
Feeling like the greatest potential benefit of this trip was slipping through his fingers, Li Feng sighed dejectedly and nodded, admitting that he did indeed have a way to forge a Magical Artifact from the Destroyer's leg. What was the point of admitting it now? Damn it, after all this effort, he hadn't gained a single thing—instead, he'd even lost a bull. What a terrible deal.
Li Feng's straightforward nod made Sif eye him with surprise. She patted his shoulder and said, "Perhaps—and I'm just saying perhaps—Father Odin might not summon the Destroyer."
Hesitating for a moment, Sif lowered her voice and explained, "Father's physical condition no longer allows him to return to the battlefield, so the Destroyer is just a guardian for his collection now." Halfway through, she suddenly felt like she was betraying Father Odin and Asgard's interests. Glancing at Thor, she added, "Mage, I'd still advise you to trade that Destroyer leg with Thor for some materials—or even directly exchange it for a staff from the Celestial Palace's collection."
Li Feng curled his lip. The idea of trading for a staff wasn't bad, but could someone first tell him which staff in Asgard was dark-aligned and suitable for time, space, fire, and soul magic?
"Forget it. I'd rather melt the Destroyer and forge my own Magical Artifact," Li Feng shrugged, his tone taking on a gambler's edge. "Like you said, King Odin is semi-retired now. Maybe I'll get lucky and never run into him using the Destroyer in my lifetime."
Just as Sif was about to say more, Thor approached with Jane and his companions, casually asking Sif, "What were you two talking about?"
"Nothing."
Sif's expression clearly suggested she had more to say, but… the straightforward Thor completely missed the hint and ignored it, turning to Li Feng instead. "Austin, open another portal for us—back to where the Rainbow Bridge was activated."
"My honor, Prince of the Asa. However—" Li Feng had no idea where Sif and the others had originally landed on Earth. Even if he wanted to open a portal, he couldn't without a reference. Fortunately, someone present had the answer.
"Coulson, do you have photos of the landing site where the lovely Lady Sif touched down?"
"One moment," Coulson replied with a smile, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. "Send me a photo of the markings left by the Rainbow Bridge—the large circular pattern with alien script on the ground."
The moment Coulson ended the call, his phone chimed with a notification. He opened the message, glanced at it, and handed the phone to Li Feng, musing, "Last time, when we went to Carter Slade, you also needed a photo to open a portal. It's the same now." Li Feng took the phone and flipped through the photos while mentally mapping out the location, casually remarking, "You guessed right—the other end of the portal has to be a place I know."
Before long, Li Feng waved his hand and opened a portal while still staring at the photos.
As the portal shimmered into existence, Li Feng leaned slightly toward Thor and gestured politely. "Your Highness Thor, may I accompany you to Asgard?"
Thor, holding Jane's hand, was about to step through the portal when he paused and turned to Li Feng. "Normally, having a friend visit Asgard would be a joyous occasion, but..." He hesitated before continuing honestly, "As you can see, my home is currently in turmoil. Would you mind waiting until I settle family matters before welcoming you to Asgard?"
Li Feng scratched his brow. Then I might be waiting a while.
His desire to visit Asgard wasn't just idle talk. Initially, he had planned to browse the libraries of Asgard first, learn some magic, and then head to Xandar to inquire about the Cosmic Orb's location on some abandoned planet.
The problem was, while Li Feng had watched Guardians of the Galaxy, he'd been too busy enjoying the popcorn and the spectacle to imagine he'd ever end up in the Marvel universe. As a result, he couldn't remember which planet the Cosmic Orb was on.
This left Li Feng, who sought the Infinity Stones, with no choice but to scout Xandar's Black Market first, hoping luck would shine on him and he'd uncover leads on the Power Stone within days.
If possible, he also wanted to ask about the Soul Stone. Beyond knowing that Red Skull was stranded with it on some desolate planet, he had no clue where it was either.
This is what happens when you only care about how cool a movie is.
But with Thor refusing outright, Li Feng couldn't exactly blurt out that the Rainbow Bridge would soon be shattered by his hammer. He could only reluctantly accept the situation while silently praying that Peter Quill wouldn't go after the Cosmic Orb just yet—otherwise, he'd have to resort to thievery on Xandar.
Seeing the blatant disappointment on Li Feng's face, Thor hesitated, feeling that such a blunt rejection might be unfriendly.
As he stepped through the portal, Thor wondered if Li Feng had urgent business in Asgard and asked curiously, "Austin, do you have something important to do there?"
Li Feng, who stepped through the portal right after, shrugged and said, "Nothing much, just wanted to learn some of Asgard's magic." Scratching his head, he added somewhat sheepishly, "You might not know this, but aside from a few ridiculously powerful mages on Earth, the rest are pretty weak in my eyes. So I don't usually interact with them. As for those top-tier mages, well... I'm just a poor wandering sorcerer with no resources to exchange for the knowledge or materials I need."
As he spoke, Li Feng did his best to appear destitute and pitiful, leaving Coulson beside him momentarily stunned. Coulson couldn't help but wonder if S.H.I.E.L.D. had been taking advantage of this "honest man" by making him work for free all this time.
Then, shaking his head, Coulson banished the image of "honest man" Li Feng from his mind. If time and circumstances allowed, I bet Austin would even throw his cloak on the ground and stomp on it to make it look as tattered as possible, just to cry poverty to Thor.
So much for an honest man—this guy's just a scoundrel of a mage who jumps at any opportunity for gain, or even fabricates one if it doesn't exist.
After Li Feng's heartfelt performance, Thor couldn't help but look sympathetic. Patting Li Feng's shoulder, he said, "I understand your thirst for knowledge now. Don't worry, my friend. In a few days, I'll not only bring you to Asgard but also gift you some books. They're just basic spellbooks, but with a solid foundation, your casting speed and spell potency will improve."
Li Feng forced a grateful smile and thanked Thor, though inwardly he grumbled: I don't mind basics, but why not throw in some advanced books too? It's not like I'm some clueless rookie mage.