While Fury was still brooding over how to protect the Statue of Liberty, Li Ming had already realized he had backup—air support, in fact. Like the Iron Eagles perched atop the Empire State Building in Manhattan. There were several of them up there.
Back when Li Ming was still a rookie, his first magic mentor—the 777th-level Wizard Basto from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"—was a hardcore guy who would casually take the Iron Eagles out for joyrides.
Watching Basto's carefree antics had filled the then-greenhorn Li Ming with envy. Now, Li Ming was determined to experience controlling an Iron Eagle for himself.
It was just too damn cool. As for Fury's feelings about the Iron Eagle's appearance, what did that have to do with me? Besides, we were in the middle of a battle—who cared whether the Iron Eagle aligned with public morals?
It wasn't like I was going to use it and discard it anyway. I'd return it eventually.
With that thought, Li Ming waved his hand and opened a Teleportation gate, awakening the decorative Iron Eagles atop the Empire State Building one by one. He then ordered them to patrol the battlefield, hunting down and eliminating Chitauri soldiers wherever they found them.
With fearless, indestructible aerial support joining the fray, the Chitauri invasion turned into a complete farce—or rather, New York became Li Ming's personal stage to flex his might.
First, the Teleportation gate was completely overwhelmed by Li Ming's army of Dementors. No matter how many Chitauri soldiers came through, they died just as quickly.
And once the Chitauri stopped deploying individual soldiers, the Dementors would swarm the Leviathans, feasting on them. This caused the Leviathans to crash to the ground the moment they emerged from the gate, crushing the Chitauri soldiers inside into paste.
Because of this, the Chitauri commander had no choice but to send out individual soldiers as sacrifices to the Dementors. And sending too few wouldn't work—because if Wangcai (the Dementor leader) saw that the food supply was insufficient, he'd leave a small group of Dementors behind and redirect the rest back toward the Leviathans.
Helpless, the Chitauri captain could only twitch in frustration as he sent wave after wave of soldiers to their deaths, just so the Leviathans could successfully land on Earth.
But even though the Leviathans were troop carriers, how many soldiers could they really transport? And that wasn't even considering the slaughter waiting for them on the ground.
The genuine Statue of Liberty guarding Li Ming was a given—standing at 46 meters tall, the Leviathans were nothing more than small fish to it, the kind it could crush with a single slap.
The two smaller Statues of Liberty might have seemed weaker, but their spiked clubs were absolutely brutal. Any Leviathan that got too close to Stark Tower was smashed to the ground in just a few swings.
Then there was the Hulk, who had been rampaging near Stark Tower the entire time. The Chitauri soldiers were dumbfounded—their weapons couldn't kill him, only enrage him further, turning them into punching bags he hurled around like ragdolls.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Stark Tower was the safest place in the entire battlefield.
As for the Chitauri soldiers who landed far from Stark Tower, they didn't fare much better. Stark and his Iron Eagles had outright claimed the skies of New York—wherever the Chitauri gathered in numbers, they would appear.
Sometimes, when Steve arrived with Natasha and Barton to back up Stark, all they'd find were streets littered with paralyzed Chitauri soldiers.
Trying to compete with flying units on foot? Yeah, good luck with that.
After a while, Li Ming realized he couldn't keep meditating on spatial energy—because he noticed that in the two blocks closest to Stark Tower, S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives in combat gear had mysteriously appeared.
No doubt about it—their presence here was almost certainly due to the warning he'd given Fury earlier about Loki targeting Stark Tower. Although these field agents were also killing Chitauri soldiers, who knew if the enemy was secretly observing them as well?
Moreover, the time for delay was almost up. If they dragged it out any longer, Stark would surely grow suspicious.
Just as Li Ming reluctantly gave up on comprehending magic, took the Mind Stone from his necklace, wrapped it around his scythe, and prepared to shut down the Tesseract, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
Li Ming picked up the phone, glanced at the caller ID, and said in an annoyed tone, "Stark? I was just about to close the Tesseract."
Before Li Ming could finish, Stark urgently shouted, "Don't shut it down! Fury just informed me there's a tactical nuke heading our way. I know where to dump this thing."
A nuke? Li Ming glanced at the battlefield, where barely any Chitauri soldiers remained, and an inexplicable fury surged within him: Can't they see we're about to win?
Or are they so afraid of my power that they're trying to blow me up here?
Do they really think I'm easy to push around?
The more Li Ming thought about it, the angrier he became. Swinging his scythe, he shut the Teleportation gate, threw off his invisibility cape to expose himself to satellite surveillance, and spoke into the phone with icy coldness: "Tony Stark, I've already closed the Teleportation gate. Bring that nuke to me. I need to have a good talk with Nick Fury."
"What?" Stark was momentarily stunned by Li Ming suddenly using his full name. But when he heard the chilling tone in Li Ming's voice, he realized things had taken a serious turn.
Glancing at the shrinking Teleportation gate, Stark gritted his teeth and forced himself to fly the nuke into space. As for bringing it to Li Ming? No way. This was a nuke. If Li Ming messed up, New York would be uninhabitable afterward. His tower had just been built—destroying it would mean losing a fortune.
But Stark underestimated the extent of Li Ming's current rage.
Then again, if the Chitauri invasion had succeeded, launching a nuke out of desperation might have been understandable. But now? Even an idiot could see the Chitauri had lost. Dropping a nuke at this point was clearly aimed at the Avengers.
Who else but Hydra would pull such a stunt? Besides, Li Ming hadn't forgotten Hydra's previous attack on him. If he didn't take this chance to teach them a lesson, he'd never swallow his anger.
He wasn't some weakling who could be bullied anymore.
Seeing Stark flying away instead of toward him, Li Ming sneered and opened a Teleportation gate above Stark, instantly transporting both him and the nuke right in front of himself.
Then, Li Ming cast another Teleportation gate, positioning the exit and entrance vertically, less than two meters apart, creating a surreal scene where the nuke's warhead chased its own tail—or rather, where the flames from the nuke's exhaust seemed to burn its own tip.Still clutching the nuclear bomb, Stark's face turned pale as he let go and flew out of the Teleportation gate, landing beside Li Ming. Furious, he shouted, "Austin, do you have any idea what you're doing?"
Li Ming coldly glanced at Stark, pulling a communicator from his pocket and placing it on his ear. His voice devoid of any emotion, he said, "Nick Fury, deliver the bastard who ordered the nuclear strike to me. As for the time—"
Li Ming turned his head toward Stark, his tone icy as he asked, "How many seconds until this bomb detonates?"
His message was clear: if Fury handed over the World Security Council members who ordered the strike before the bomb exploded, then all would be well.
On the other end of the communicator, Fury replied with equal indifference, "There's not enough time. The distance is too great."
Li Ming: "Distance isn't an issue for me. I have a Teleportation gate. If you refuse to hand them over—well, they wanted to nuke New York, didn't they? I'll grant their wish. And after that, I'll personally drop fireballs on every single city in the U.S., one by one."
"Don't doubt my capabilities. I can hide beneath the Atlantic, open a Teleportation gate right in the middle of your cities using just a photograph, and then gift you a few fireballs—free of charge. Let's see if your rapid response teams can outpace my gate-opening speed."
"One more thing—I'm a wild mage with no attachments, no family to worry about. I can leave the U.S. anytime. Maybe follow Thor to Asgard. If that doesn't work, I'll just wander the cosmos. Or settle on Xandar—I hear their snails are a galactic delicacy."
As the Teleportation gate closed and the Chitauri soldiers collapsed like unplugged machines, Steve, Hawkeye, Thor, and the others rushed to Li Ming's location.
Seeing the self-propelled nuclear bomb counting down to detonation in under a minute—and Li Ming's expression, as if he'd already secured an escape—they could only feel helpless. Except for Thor and Banner.
Banner wasn't sure if the bomb could kill him—probably not, since the Hulk was born from gamma radiation, and cosmic gamma rays were produced by stellar fusion. A nuke wasn't that terrifying to him.
Thor, however, was different. He had no clue what the bomb even was. Asgard simply didn't have such primitive weapons. So he just stared at it curiously.
When Li Ming mentioned Xandarian snails, Thor instinctively licked his lips and nodded. "Xandarian snails—truly a renowned delicacy across the universe."
Unfortunately, Thor's comment only earned him exasperated glares from the others—especially Loki, who was restrained nearby. Rolling his eyes hard, Loki said with a shudder, "My dear brother, perhaps your focus should be on the nuclear bomb in front of us. If that thing goes off, even you won't walk away unscathed at ground zero."
"Nuclear bomb?" Thor swung Mjolnir, looking ready to smash it flat. "If it's that dangerous, then let's dismantle it."
Damn it, you muscle-brained oaf.Stark was immediately startled and stepped in front of Thor, saying irritably, "If you swing that hammer, it'll blow up right away."
Steve rubbed his forehead in frustration. Although Li Ming had contributed the most in the previous battle, taking out the majority of the Chitauri soldiers, threatening New York with a nuclear bomb now was crossing the line: "Austin, let's talk after dealing with the nuke first. You'll become New York's criminal if you keep this up."
Li Ming stiffened his neck. "I didn't launch this thing."
Loki, standing nearby, twitched his lips and said dryly, "So you're stealing someone else's property to threaten others? That's hardly heroic behavior."
Li Ming turned to glare at Loki and Thor, sneering, "What, you two planning to just stand by?"
He pointed at Loki. "Maybe your dad will grit his teeth and endure the pain of losing a son if you die invading Earth."
Then he pointed at Thor. "But you—as the future ruler of Asgard—if you die by human hands, do you think your dad will just make another heir with your mom, or will he rain blood down on Earth in revenge?"
Thor and Loki exchanged glances: How old is our dad anyway? Does he even still have the equipment to reproduce?
Li Ming's words had made it clear to Thor: Someone wants you dead.
Thor wasn't stupid, nor was he a stranger to warfare. Anyone who had experienced this so-called Chitauri invasion would know such a laughable war didn't call for weapons of mass destruction.
In fact, Li Ming's overwhelming display of power had left Thor feeling like he hadn't even gotten to fight properly.
After a moment of silence, Thor pulled Loki to stand behind Li Ming, adopting a stance that demanded Fury hand over whoever ordered the nuke. He wanted to see just who dared try to wipe out two Asgardian royals with a nuclear bomb.
Fury, listening through the comms, had also heard Li Ming's words. It wasn't that he hadn't considered the consequences of Earth being responsible for Odin's lineage ending—but what could he have done?
He wasn't the one who ordered the launch. He'd even shot down the other fighter carrying a tactical nuke, sacrificing a pilot in the process, and immediately alerted Stark.
What more could he do?
Fury stared at the nuke's countdown timer and said helplessly, "Austin, you're not giving me enough time. Get rid of the nuke first, and I'll arrest the culprit right after."
Barton, who had regained his free will thanks to Li Ming's help, should have thanked him upon seeing him again. But given the current situation, he found himself unable to say a word.Hearing Fury's seemingly compromising tone over the comms, Barton cautiously reminded, "Austin, Fury's right. Even if you want him to hand someone over now, he needs time." Glancing at the nuclear missile with lingering fear, he added, "There's less than a minute left. Fury's on the helicarrier—how could he possibly deliver anyone? Capturing someone takes time too. At most, he'd only have time to rattle off a few names."
Natasha quickly chimed in, "Exactly, there's not enough time. This will just force Fury to scapegoat someone at random."
"Ha, a scapegoat?" Li Ming sneered before turning to Loki. "You're a Wizard too. How much do you know about spells that extract memories?"
Before Loki could answer, Li Ming ignited Hellfire on his scythe and grinned ominously. "I can not only extract memories but also—"
"Souls," Loki gulped, finishing the sentence.
Earlier, Loki hadn't noticed anything unusual. But when Li Ming's scythe blazed with Hellfire, revealing the skeletal Cat Soul within, coupled with the soul-devouring Dementors from before, Loki realized the Wizard standing before him was undeniably a master of soul manipulation.
Damn, are Earth's Wizards this ruthless? Daring to meddle with souls so freely! Aren't they afraid of angering Hell or the Lady of Death?
Fury wasn't unfamiliar with Li Ming's soul extraction—after all, Coulson's soul had been retrieved by Li Ming himself. So he understood perfectly well that Li Ming's claim wasn't directed at him but meant to be relayed to the World Security Council, the ones who had authorized the nuclear strike. It was a warning to those bureaucrats not to try passing off some random patsy.
But Fury knew these officials all too well. They lacked the self-sacrifice to protect New York's citizens, let alone face the prospect of having their souls toyed with by a Wizard after death.
On one hand, reviving Coulson required Li Ming's help—no one else could retrieve Coulson's soul from the gourd and reintegrate it into his body. Fury couldn't afford to offend Li Ming.
On the other hand, the World Security Council oversaw S.H.I.E.L.D., acting as its de facto superiors. Crossing them would ruin Fury's career.
Now, Li Ming's ultimatum forced Fury to pick a side: revive his trusted ally Coulson or defy his superiors and face professional ruin.
As Fury agonized over how to persuade Li Ming within the minute, the veteran Steve couldn't stay silent any longer.
Steve stepped forward, his expression stern. "Austin, war should never involve civilians. You shouldn't use innocent New Yorkers as leverage—"
Before Steve could finish, Li Ming impatiently cut him off. "In an avalanche, no single snowflake is innocent. When a flood comes, no drop of water is blameless. If someone wants to nuke New York, then sorry, but that's how it is."
"Besides, this nuke isn't mine. Feel free to check for fingerprints—you won't find mine on it."
Then, his eyes narrowed slyly as he added, "Captain, you were a soldier once. Tell me—""Tell me, what is the duty of a soldier?"
"To defend the homeland," Steve replied firmly, though somewhat puzzled by Li Ming's question.
"Right, to defend the homeland," Li Ming said with a grin, his tone eerie. "But now that aliens have invaded Earth, even firefighters and rescue teams have arrived. Where are America's soldiers? All I see are cops fighting with their little pistols."
Spreading his hands, Li Ming sneered, "If you say the Army is stuck in traffic, I'd believe that—after all, New York is a metropolis, and the flood of cars fleeing the city is enough to cause a massive jam. But—"
Li Ming's tone suddenly shifted as he coldly scanned the ruined surroundings. "What about the Air Force? Are their planes supposed to block traffic mid-air? Or did the bomber carrying the nuke just run every red light to get here? When I moved the Statue of Liberty, someone called Fury immediately. But now the military skips regular missiles and goes straight to nukes—and none of you bother questioning those bureaucrats? Why are you blaming me instead? Got nothing better to do?"
"Lastly, Fury claims he'll arrest people, but has he actually sent anyone to do it? The time he spent arguing with me was more than enough to set up an arrest. So I don't believe for a second he'll follow through."
Steve froze, about to speak, but Li Ming yanked him aside and said, "We're down to seconds before the nuke detonates. Everyone, get behind me. I'll open the Mirror Dimension to avoid the blast. As for what happens to New York—who cares? Not my problem."
Li Ming wasn't bluffing. He genuinely didn't care about New York's fate in the nuclear blast. With the Mind Stone already in his possession, the remaining Infinity Stones had little to do with the city.
First, the Space Stone—it would inevitably be taken back to Asgard by Thor. Li Ming wasn't foolish enough to challenge Odin for it now. He could wait until Asgard's destruction to make his move. The Space Stone wasn't going anywhere.
The Time Stone was in the Ancient One's hands, and Li Ming wasn't reckless enough to steal it—unless he wanted to be skinned alive. He'd have to wait until the Ancient One stepped down and Doctor Strange took over. By then, Li Ming would likely have the power to borrow—or outright seize—the Time Stone.
The Reality Stone hadn't surfaced yet, but it would eventually end up with the Collector. Li Ming wasn't sure how strong the Collector was, but he already had a plan.
If the Collector was weak, he'd take it by force. If the Collector was strong, he had plenty of unique magical artifacts to trade. Getting home was the priority—losing artifacts was a small price to pay.
As for the remaining Power and Soul Stones, they were still drifting in the cosmos, ownerless.
Li Ming would have to reach Xandar to track down the Power Stone.
As for the Soul Stone, that was Gamora's domain. Li Ming remembered that Star-Lord's lover knew its location.
Besides, Li Ming had backup plans for collecting the Infinity Stones. Stark, Banner, Shavig, and the yet-to-be-met Pym—together, they could surely build a time-traveling machine.
Even if he messed up collecting the Stones, he could always go back in time and try again.
So, no, he really didn't care about New York.
With mere seconds left before the nuclear detonation, Stark and the others stood silently behind Li Ming, ready to enter the Mirror Dimension for refuge—when suddenly, a Teleportation gate materialized in front of him.While puzzled, Li Ming saw a woman dressed in monk's robes with a hood covering her bald head step out of a teleportation gate. She spoke to him in a relaxed tone, "Throw away the nuclear bomb."
"Yes, Master," Li Ming replied with an extremely aggrieved expression, not daring to bargain at all. With a wave of his hand, he teleported the nuclear bomb into space.
One moment, Li Ming had been glaring fiercely at Fury, and the next, he was acting like an obedient child in front of this bald woman. The sudden shift left everyone present dumbfounded.
Except for Loki. He faintly sensed the dark aura emanating from the Ancient One and also guessed who she was. This made him instinctively retreat behind Thor while inwardly feeling relieved that the Chitauri hadn't succeeded in invading Earth. Otherwise...
Heh, this woman was someone who could beat up Dormammu. His frail body wouldn't even withstand a single punch from her.
Seeing the nuclear crisis resolved, Steve and the others sighed in relief while exchanging glances, silently asking each other: Who is this lady? Such an imposing presence!
As for Li Ming, he acted like a bullied child now tattling to a parent: "Master, they bullied me."
The Ancient One's lips twitched. Her appearance before everyone was actually quite reluctant.
Originally, the Chitauri invasion had already concluded with the closing of the teleportation gate, and the Ancient One had no intention of revealing herself to the public.
But Li Ming had wanted the nuclear bomb to detonate in New York, forcing her to intervene—because, damn it, there was a Sanctum in New York!
If the Sanctum were destroyed, Earth's defenses would develop a vulnerability in a short time. And the time needed to repair that gap would be more than enough for Dormammu and other extraterrestrial beings coveting Earth to breach the remaining two Sanctums.
Then Earth would face real trouble—one misstep, and the planet could be gone.
Using magic to protect the Sanctum from the nuclear blast wasn't impossible, but doing so would inevitably reveal to the world that there was a Sanctum in New York and that Wizards existed.
At that point, the Ancient One figured she'd be so harassed that she'd retire before even finishing Doctor Strange's training.
"I know," the Ancient One said, clasping her hands behind her back as she gazed into the distance. "But you shouldn't have endangered New York."
With that, she glanced at Stark, waved her hand to open a teleportation gate, and stepped through. As she turned away, she said to Li Ming over her shoulder, "Nice necklace."
Li Ming understood the implication of "nice necklace" perfectly—if he dared to keep acting recklessly, the Ancient One's "compliment" would mean she had her eyes on it, demanding he obediently hand it over.
But what did she mean by warning him not to endanger New York?
After a moment, Li Ming smacked his forehead: The only thing significant enough to draw the Ancient One's direct intervention was matters related to maintaining the dimensions, and the New York Sanctum was tied to the dimensions...
How could I have forgotten that?