Chapter 174: The War between Humans and Demons

Chapter 174: The War between Humans and Demons

Thor and his companions, Tony Stark, and the X-Men reached a mutual understanding during the battle and began fighting against the demon army.

The battle was intense, yet no one noticed a figure standing quietly on an icy mountain peak nearby.

Clad in a brown coat with his hands in his pockets, the figure's coat tails fluttered gently in the wind, and his gaze was as sharp as a torch, looking ahead.

Despite the lively battle scene, his expression remains unchanged.

In the mirror dimension, Pietro and Bella were fighting Kaecilius and two dark sorcerers.

One must admit, Kaecilius was quite the genius.

He managed to find the Hulk and, by using soul magic, took over Hulk's body.

Kaecilius, as a dark sorcerer of his level, excelled in manipulating souls. Bruce Banner was just an ordinary soul, and Hulk had only recently emerged. There was no way they could compete with someone like Kaecilius; their souls were imprisoned in no time.

The Hulk is a unique existence in this universe.

His special body mutated under gamma radiation, turning him into a monstrously powerful being.

Most notably, Hulk's strength increases infinitely with his anger, having no upper limit. However, there is a limitation: although he becomes angrier and stronger, if the opponent's strength is overwhelmingly superior, Hulk can be defeated instantly.

A prime example is Thanos. According to the original timeline, Hulk was nearly beaten into submission by Thanos.

And this was when Thanos only used pure fist and combat skills.

Hulk's characteristic of infinite anger and strength wasn't even fully utilized.

Kaecilius, using the dark energy granted by Dormammu, further stimulated and transformed Hulk, maximizing his potential. Thus, Hulk's strength was greater than in the original timeline, especially when paired with a sorcerer of Kaecilius's caliber.

This combination was a true fusion of magic and martial prowess, challenging even Pietro, who found himself at a disadvantage.

The downside was that without Hulk's soul, his characteristic of infinite anger and strength couldn't be fully expressed, essentially trading immediate combat power for this trait.

Kaecilius was shrewd. He seemed aware of Wanda and Pietro's existence. He had his dark sorcerers absorb a large amount of dark energy almost to the point of self-destruction, temporarily enabling them to contend with Wanda.

He then pulled the three into the mirror dimension, creating a standoff.

However, he hadn't accounted for Bella's presence, which forced the dark Sorcerers to split their forces against her.

Originally, Kaecilius aimed to kill Wanda and Pietro but ended up only delaying the three.

Ultimately, the goal was to fully open Hell's Gate and allow the Hell lords to enter. Kaecilius planned it well; with the Ancient One occupied by Dormammu, and only Bi Xiao and a dying Odin left, Earth was left wide open.

With even a hint of greed, the outcome was inevitable.

Would those Hell lords not be greedy?

Of course, they would. Previously, without the opportunity, they sought every way to smuggle onto Earth. Now, with the door wide open, they would certainly seize the chance.

The only outcomes for Bi Xiao were either to face the onslaught of Hell lords or to flee, while Kaecilius would then attack the Sanctum Sanctorum, breaking the magical barrier that protected Earth, allowing Dormammu to descend.

For Kaecilius, it was a win-win situation either way.

Kaecilius planned well, but unfortunately, he and Dormammu underestimated Bi Xiao. Kaecilius, a minor figure compared to Dormammu, couldn't possibly fathom the extent of Bi Xiao's power.

As for the minor skirmishes before him, Bi Xiao paid them no mind.

Kaecilius and Dormammu ignored Bi Xiao because they believed that once the Hell's Gate was opened, Bi Xiao would be attacked by the Hell lords if he tried to close it.

While the Hell lords might be cautious and not immediately intervene, they would never allow Bi Xiao to easily close the gate.

Bi Xiao understood this but was already several steps ahead.

Would he close the gate to Hell? Not likely. He preferred to keep it open and let the Hell lords come through.

Whoever emerged first would have to face his wrath.

He was waiting to see which unlucky one couldn't resist.

Bi Xiao wasn't just standing there watching; he was preparing as well, setting up offensive spells or trap spells quietly.

He wasn't afraid of the Hell lords' attack but worried that if he killed a few too quickly, the rest would flee.

"It appears the Midgardians are not as backward as I imagined."

Backward civilizations are evaluated comprehensively, including factors like lifespan, cultural heritage, and weaponry, among others. Asgard's previous disdain for Midgard stemmed not only from its outdated weaponry and weak military but also from its short lifespans. Humans reproduce abundantly, much like pigs, but does that make them useful? Pigs are merely considered food.

Asgard’s view of Midgard was similar: weak military, short lifespans—barely reaching a century—and extremely fragile, prone to premature death from illness or accidents.

A typical backward civilization.

Even with powerful guardians like Bi Xiao, comparable to Odin, and exceptional warriors and mages like Wanda, Pietro, and Bella, they couldn’t change Thor and the others' perceptions.

However, the explosive power of those aircraft missiles in this battle was truly formidable.

At least, their basic military strength was somewhat decent.

Of course, just decent. To gods like Thor and Loki, those aircraft were mere toys.

But with aerial support, it did ease Thor and the others’ burden.

Loki wielded his spear, launching a blazing fireball like a meteor into the demon army, incinerating hundreds of demons. He commented, "Those Midgardians are too fragile."

"The aircraft are not very effective against those demons; they can break through in a single wave."

Just as Loki described, despite the concentrated fire from the assembled air forces of various countries, the low-level demons were simply brutes using sheer numbers, falling like harvested wheat. However, the more intelligent demons were different.

They were not mere targets; they used black magic, moved with incredible speed, and knew how to dodge and defend.

Soon, the demon army broke through the air forces' firepower, rushing forward and tearing apart the formations.

Fireballs burst like fireworks, signifying the loss of many lives.

“Damn.” Tony, who had retreated to the X-Men for repairs, saw the entire air force annihilated and his expression darkened immediately.

Scott and Storm couldn’t hold back either, unleashing laser beams and devastating lightning, sweeping through the demon army, but soon found themselves surrounded by the demons.

They were now truly in a crisis.

Scott and Storm fought desperately, while Tony used his particle pulse cannon to kill the approaching demons. However, while the cannon could penetrate flesh, it only knocked the steel-skinned demons away.

The demons, slightly dazed, shook it off and continued their assault.

“We might need support. Do you have any solutions?” Tony shouted to the X-Men as the demons surrounded them completely, the sheer number of demons filling the sky and ground, triggering anyone’s trypophobia.

Tony was not ready to risk himself for Earth; he was merely here for combat data. Unexpectedly, he was quickly surrounded and anxiously shouted at the X-Men.

In fact, he wondered why the famous Professor X hadn’t intervened yet.

Given his telepathic powers, he should have been able to control the battlefield directly.

“Professor can’t use his telepathic powers here. This area is heavily contaminated. Using his powers would result in immediate contamination and damage,” Jean explained, as if reading Tony’s mind.

Though she had telepathic abilities, she refrained from using them, instead relying on telekinesis to fend off demons.

The area was special, with an invisible force that burned any telepathic probe, potentially harming the user’s mind.

Thus, Professor X hadn’t come.

“Damn it.” Tony cursed, especially seeing the rapidly depleting energy on his screen, knowing he couldn’t last much longer.

Once the arc reactor’s energy was exhausted, only the backup power remained, which wouldn’t suffice.

They needed to break through the encirclement to escape.

The projected screen showed the skies over Greenland Island, where air and naval forces, and land soldiers were supporting the battle against the demons.

The fight was fierce.

But the casualties were mounting. The demons' iron-like skin could only be pierced by 20mm cannons or higher; missiles caused damage but the demons kept coming in waves.

Tony foresaw that if the situation worsened and the defenses were pushed back, a nuclear strike would be inevitable.

A nuclear strike was tolerable, but he would be caught in it.

He wouldn’t survive a nuclear blast.