Wanda's expression became more and more distorted. Her bright smile grew increasingly terrifying, the corners of her mouth rising uncontrollably as her lips became deeper and deeper red, almost blood-red.
Her pupils suddenly widened, bloodshot veins spreading across her eyes. She seemed to be laughing, her expression filled with sarcasm and disbelief.
"You... are actually planning to resist me?" She turned in a circle, because the Avengers had surrounded her from all four directions. They were like tigers covered in scars. The more pain they endured, the more fiercely their fighting spirit was aroused.
They didn't care about any of it. They were the Avengers and the protectors of Earth. They only wanted to tear the arrogant woman before them to pieces and send her to hell to atone for everyone who had died because of her.
They all carried the hopes of others, and each person's body was like a blazing torch held high in the dark, bleak night. Even the brilliance of the stars seemed dim beside them.
There was no point in talking nonsense, and everyone knew it.
The three of them spread out in a formation, giving the central position to Hope. Only the Phoenix Force could fight against the power of Chaos, and only Hope could fight Wanda.
The girl was only sixteen or seventeen years old, her body not yet fully developed. Black flames radiated from her like a true phoenix, and she cried out in anguish. Even the crimson sky seemed to split beneath her cry, revealing the evening sky beyond.
Moonlight leaked through the tiny crack, and Mark felt his entire body fill with energy. The power of Moonlight Knight reached an unprecedented peak.
He looked at his hands, then into the distance with his shining silver eyes. His gaze settled in the direction of Egypt.
"Kong Su, you're very generous."
Hope stepped forward, her slender body shooting toward Wanda like a bullet. The black flames of the Phoenix and the aura of Chaos intertwined, and even Wanda felt troubled for a moment as she flew backward.
If she was caught, she wouldn't be able to escape!
Wanda felt an inexplicable throbbing in her heart. This girl's strength was no weaker than that of the three-gem Renzo.
The two women chased each other through the battlefield. Mark and Frank could barely follow their movements, their bodies unable to keep up with their speed. All they could do was watch the battle from a distance.
Sif raised Mjolnir and swung the hammer wildly, driving Wanda back.
As one of the strongest women on the battlefield, Sif had long since proven herself worthy of Mjolnir. She was even stronger than Volstagg and Balder. She was also the only person present who could keep up with Wanda's movements.
"Odin's beard! Asgard, give me power!"
Sif descended from the sky like an unstoppable goddess of war. Wanda was focused entirely on dodging Hope's black-flame attacks and didn't expect Sif to strike from another direction. Caught off guard, she was smashed squarely in the face by Mjolnir.
"Ah!"
Sif roared, pouring all her strength into the hammer. Lightning flashed around it, carrying overwhelming divine power as it crashed down from above and struck Wanda's body.
Boom!!!
The earth-shaking impact sent Wanda's body beneath the ground. Everyone lowered their heads in surprise as the earth suddenly split open, forming a massive circular crater like a sinkhole. The surrounding fifty meters of terrain collapsed into an endless abyss.
"Women are really scary!"
Mark couldn't help but shudder at the sight. He vowed never to get married in the future, and even if he did, he would never make a woman angry.
"You'll understand when you're older."
Frank dug a small motorcycle out of the rubble. The Ghost Rider's skull twitched slightly as he looked at it, then he sighed and decided to let it go.
"We aren't needed in the current battle. Move the wounded farther away. As for the dead..."
Hum.
The motorcycle ignited with Hellfire, and a skull emblem appeared on the front.
"Find somewhere to bury them. Be careful... don't get caught in the crossfire. There are still many infected people hiding in the darkness. I can sense their souls. I'll find them. Take care of yourselves."
Mark watched Ghost Rider ride away on the battered motorcycle. Then he looked toward Sif and Hope and silently joined the search for the wounded.
"I remember Peter was somewhere in that direction..."
On the other side, the battle between the three women was reaching a fever pitch.
Wanda would not die from a lightning strike. Although she looked battered, an attack of this level could only cause her minor injuries.
The woman raised her head, apparently still slightly dazed from the violent hammer blow. Her beautiful face had been dented, and her skull had been completely reshaped, unnaturally flattened.
Wanda stared at the two women standing above her with widened eyes. She looked utterly miserable, as though she had been run over by a truck, while the two women above her smiled brightly like flowers.
If not for the enormous red mist rising from her body, one might have mistaken her for an ordinary beautiful young woman.
"Recovery."
Her appearance instantly returned to normal. Thunder flashed overhead, black flames rose around her, and a tremendous murderous aura pierced through her like thousands of steel needles.
This was the first time Wanda had felt such bone-chilling fear.
Even the fear Renzo had given her was weaker.
"Transfer."
Sif remained extremely vigilant and instinctively distanced herself from Hope beside her. The girl had a ferocious expression, covering her head with her arms and bending over as though enduring tremendous pain.
Sif could sense the enormous and uncontrollable power within the girl. The pressure she released was no weaker than Odin's a thousand years ago—and might even surpass it.
There were not many Odin-level powerhouses in the entire universe.
Sif opened her mouth in disbelief. In such a short time, she had encountered three God-King-level warriors on Earth, along with countless other superpowered beings. She couldn't understand how so many extraordinary individuals could exist on such a small world. Even Odin's strength was enough to rival three Asgardians of comparable power.
Sif was stunned for a moment, remembering what Balder had once told her. He would always take a sip of beer and praise Earth as a wonderful place, where he could meet beautiful girls and find like-minded friends. Whenever Balder talked about Earth, his eyes were always filled with anticipation and nostalgia. It was difficult to imagine that a prince of Asgard could feel such affection for this world.
Sif had once accompanied him and taken a sip of wine, tilting her head curiously. Earth's wine wasn't very strong and had a strange flavor, completely different from Asgardian wine. Sif wasn't accustomed to the taste, but it had its own appeal. She and Balder had drunk one bottle after another, smashed one glass after another, and filled the tavern with their laughter and noise before eventually falling asleep.
Gods didn't get drunk. They only became drunk when they wanted to.
The smile that had once filled Sif's heart with warmth had been shattered not long ago.
"Come down!"
The witch's body suddenly appeared behind the two of them. Sif felt an inexplicable power descend upon her body. The concept of "falling" suddenly appeared in her mind and spread through her nerves like an order.
Sif was horrified to discover that Wanda's words had actually infiltrated her mind. They felt completely natural, as though they were her own thoughts.
The commands Wanda gave became commands from her own brain, and her body instinctively obeyed them.
"Is it a conceptual-level ability?"
Sif landed carefully. Mjolnir absorbed much of her momentum, allowing her to land safely.
Hope didn't move at all, as though Wanda's command had no effect on her.
Wanda had actually wanted to say the word "death," but she didn't dare. That word had already failed once against Renzo, and it might not work against either of these two women. Even if it succeeded, the momentum and power of the two women would cause an unbearable backlash, and Wanda would likely die from it.
Wanda hesitated.
Hope was extremely decisive, and her unstable mind made it difficult for her to do anything rational. The fact that she could restrain herself enough not to destroy the world was already evidence of her extraordinary willpower.
Soul-devouring black flames shot into the sky, heading straight for the Scarlet Witch.
Scarlet Chaos covered the sky and blotted out the sun. The black flames were like a sharp arrow in the morning light. The Phoenix cried out, and countless birds seemed to bow before it as it carried overwhelming divine power and collided with Wanda's spell.
"Break!"
Wanda shouted.
"Transfer!"
The witch's body disappeared instantly. Hope's black-flame arrow exploded at the same moment, swallowing all the chaotic energy rushing toward her. Hope's momentum increased slightly, and the taste of Chaos made her already unstable mind even harder to control.
A sphere of crimson energy shot out, and Wanda teleported behind the girl. At such close range, Hope didn't even have time to dodge before the attack struck her hard in the back.
The girl's spine broke under the impact. Her straight waist suddenly bent, her body folding backward like an old-fashioned flip phone snapping shut.
Before Wanda could celebrate, the sound of thunder and lightning erupted behind her. She immediately lowered her head as Mjolnir grazed the back of her skull, narrowly avoiding the thunderous strike.
Sif's hammer missed, but her extensive combat experience and instinctive reflexes allowed her to force the hammer around and alter its trajectory. Mjolnir, which had been traveling horizontally a moment ago, was violently redirected downward.
Wanda couldn't dodge and was struck hard in the face again. This time, not only was her face damaged, but her neck was knocked crooked as well.
Sif exhaled and smiled triumphantly.
Suddenly!
A pitch-black chain shot from the ground and wrapped tightly around Sif's body.
"Frank?"
Sif was shocked and furious. Wasn't this man on her side? Why was he attacking her?
Even the powerful physique of an Asgardian could not break free from the chains of Hellfire. Frank was more suited to becoming Mephisto's earthly emissary than Robbie Reyes, practically synonymous with anger and violence. He brought the power of the Spirit of Vengeance to its fullest.
The woman was yanked downward and slammed hard into the ground.
"What are you doing? Do you want to betray the wise Valkyrie?" she shouted, her neck raised and her face flushed with anger.
"Shut up, you idiot!"
Frank struck Sif on the head again with another chain. Although the blow wasn't heavy, it still sent her sprawling.
"Look carefully! What are you doing?"
Frank lifted Sif and forced her eyes open. The power of the Eye of Judgment activated, and Sif felt as though something had been erased from her mind.
When she looked up again, Wanda had disappeared.
Only Hope's slender body remained on the ground, lying mutilated and alone, her waist and neck broken, her back facing the sky and her head twisted unnaturally.
"You were mesmerized by that damn illusion!" Frank shouted angrily, clearly furious at Sif's carelessness. It was absurd that a mighty Asgardian could be deceived by an illusion.
Sif stared in disbelief.
"Impossible. I was clearly fighting the witch, and I broke her neck!"
She struggled to rise. She was a high-level god. How could she, an Asgardian, be bewitched by an illusion just like everyone else? No sorcerer in the Nine Realms should have been able to interfere with her mind so easily.
Sif had grown up under Frigga's care. The queen was a witch herself, and her strength was unfathomable. She was likely one of the strongest beings beneath Odin, perhaps even more powerful than the crown prince.
As a female warrior who had trained under Frigga, Sif had often been subjected to illusions and magic to improve her resistance to spell-based attacks. She had long since reached the point where ordinary illusions could not frighten her. Even the magic of the Vanir should have struggled to affect her. Even a powerful sorcerer should not have been able to interfere with her so easily.
That was also the source of her confidence.
"Stupid woman!"
Frank couldn't be bothered to argue with such an arrogant fool. It was beneath him.
Hellfire instantly enveloped the two of them. At the moment it closed around them, Chaos transformed into a crimson python, its jaws opening ten meters wide as it swallowed them both.
"Grandma..."
Mark crouched down and raised a hand to shield himself from the flying sand and rocks, his face filled with horror.
"Kong Su, bless you. If I don't die, you'll die. If I don't die, you'll die."
A huge sinkhole appeared as the crimson python smashed through the ground. The two craters connected, and Mark stood at the edge, looking downward. He couldn't see the bottom.
He hurriedly backed away.
The ground beneath his feet suddenly shattered, and he plunged toward the abyss.
"You're the only one left, little mouse."
Mark suddenly turned around.
The witch's gorgeous figure appeared behind him, with only half a meter between them.
Mark was startled. His feet slipped over empty air, and he nearly fell into the abyss.
"Don't get so excited, little mouse. Weren't you very energetic just now?"
Wanda smiled playfully and reached out to grab the crescent moon emblem on Mark's chest.
"Kong Su... I met him a few days ago. I left an unforgettable mark on him, and I still remember the look on his face when he was scared out of his mind."
"Why? You dare to come out now? Feeling brave?"
Wanda's eyes gradually darkened. Mark trembled all over under her gaze. Even Kong Su behind him was trembling uncontrollably.
This woman was someone he would never forget for the rest of his life.
"Ha!"
Wanda smiled disdainfully, released her grip, and Mark's body fell into the abyss.
"Hello. Do you need a call from the same city?"
Another strange voice suddenly sounded inside Mark's head, its tone filled with cruelty and amusement.
"If you fight in the same city, you're guaranteed to win!"
Deep within his memories, an image slowly emerged from the darkness—a man who looked exactly like Mark.
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