Ch. 279 The Overly Serious Thor

Those who harbor illusions are gamblers!

Although Russell didn't mind occasionally taking on some small challenges, he hadn't gone mad enough to gamble with his own life.

After confirming that Loki intended to cast the seventh-level Necromancy spell, Finger of Death, he deliberately slowed down the descent of the lightning storm that was about to strike and suppressed the lightning rolling in the thunderclouds.

Although the lightning storm hadn't officially descended, the royal guards who were observing around the training ground had already sensed that something was amiss.

Without anyone suggesting, upon seeing the thundercloud hovering over the training ground, these guards silently retreated dozens of meters, and some even retreated directly into the Golden Palace.

Being heavily injured by the aftermath of the battle was not a good thing.

Although these royal guards didn't quite understand why Russell and Loki were fighting, they knew that both Russell and Loki's strengths far surpassed theirs.

Loki, in particular.

Although Loki's direct combat abilities couldn't compare to Thor's, he was, after all, the second prince of Asgard. These royal guards were well aware of their second prince's strength and character.

As for Russell, they didn't know much about him, but just by looking at the thundercloud in the sky and the rolling silver-white lightning within it, they could tell that Russell's magical prowess was by no means inferior to Loki's.

At this moment, neither Russell nor Loki paid any attention to the royal guards who were watching. They were both focused on the upcoming magical showdown.

After waiting for Loki for a few seconds, Russell finally sensed the aura of death about to be released by the Finger of Death.

Although he couldn't see Loki's presence, as a mage, if he couldn't perceive such a strong aura of death, he would be truly inadequate.

After sensing the deathly aura emanating from the Finger of Death, Russell didn't hesitate. He raised his right hand and swung it down with force.

Boom!

The lightning storm, which had already been prepared, descended from the sky with dazzling light and a deafening roar, instantly enveloping the entire training ground in brilliant silver-white lightning.

At the moment Russell unleashed the lightning storm, Loki, who was in stealth mode, finally took action.

In an open space less than twenty meters away from Russell, Loki, with a golden horned helmet on his head and wearing golden armor, revealed his figure.

However, what was most eye-catching at this moment was not Loki's reappearance in stealth but the dense, almost substantial greenish death magic on his right index finger.

A seventh-level Necromancy spell!

Finger of Death!

After dispelling his invisibility, Loki didn't hesitate. He pointed his right index finger at Russell from a distance.

As Loki's finger pointed at himself, Russell, controlling the lightning storm like a natural disaster, directed all sizes of silver-white lightning towards Loki.

'So, you want to play? I'll play with you!'

After controlling the lightning storm to strike Loki, Russell stood in place, intending to use his Kryptonian physiology to resist Loki's Finger of Death.

Both lightning and Finger of Death were incredibly fast.

The lightning storm and Finger of Death hit their respective targets simultaneously.

The silver-white lightning, carrying the terrifying power to destroy everything, struck Loki.

And at the same time, Russell experienced the strange sensation of the instant death effect of the Finger of Death, even though it couldn't be observed with the naked eye.

His vigorously beating heart involuntarily paused for a moment.

Although his heart stopped for less than a second, during that fraction of a second when his heart stopped, he felt what was called the sensation of imminent death.

However, before he could fully experience this so-called sensation of imminent death, the unusual feeling brought about by the instant death effect of the Finger of Death completely disappeared.

Is that it?

Russell knew that his Kryptonian physiology was incredibly resilient, but he hadn't expected that the instant death effect of the Finger of Death would be so easily exempted.

It shouldn't be!

This was the famous Finger of Death!

While it should have made Russell happy that his Kryptonian physiology had exempted him from the instant death effect of the Finger of Death, he couldn't find any joy at the moment.

His current feeling was somewhat like making a long-awaited reservation at a restaurant, finally arriving at the restaurant he had been longing for, waiting for a long time, and finally eating the signature dish prepared by the chef.

In the end, he found that the chef's signature dish was no different from the dishes at roadside eateries.

Disappointed!

To be precise, it was an extraordinary disappointment!

Right now, Russell felt like he had just engaged in a mental battle with thin air, considering many possibilities and making extensive preparations, only to realize that he didn't need to think so much or prepare in advance. All he needed to do was use his Kryptonian physiology to withstand Loki's Finger of Death.

Loki had pinned his hopes on the Finger of Death to turn the tide and decide the outcome, but Russell was disappointed.

However, the lightning storm cast by Russell brought a great "surprise" to Loki, just as Russell had anticipated.

As expected, Loki, who had grown up with Thor since childhood, believed that his resistance to lightning was quite good.

After all, he had personally experienced the taste of lightning many times while sparring with Thor.

However, just as individual constitutions varied, not all lightning was the same.

The lightning storm cast by Russell was not only powerful in appearance and visual effects but also lived up to its spectacular appearance in terms of power.

When the first lightning bolt struck him, Loki still had some disdain.

Because the lightning that struck him was far from the level of Thor's lightning summoned by Mjolnir.

But when the second and third lightning bolts struck him, he sensed that something was wrong.

The lightning bolts targeting him were getting stronger one after another.

When more than ten lightning bolts struck him, Loki's face revealed an uncontrollable expression of pain.

What was even worse was that it wasn't just ten lightning bolts; there were hundreds of them.

The lightning storm was originally a large-area attack magic.

When Russell controlled all the lightning to strike the same target, the power of the lightning was not as simple as adding one and one together.

Upon realizing that the subsequent lightning bolts were getting stronger, Loki didn't dare to hold back any longer and consecutively cast defensive magic.

Mage Armor, Magic Barrier, Anti-Magic Force Field, Stone Skin, Spirit Wall, Outstanding Resistance, Energy Damage Buffer...

Regardless of whether they were useful or not, Loki cast all the protective magic he had learned one by one, and magic lights of various colors continuously shimmered around him.

However, even so, he still felt the numbness and pain caused by the strong electric currents passing through his body.

Damn it!

Loki, who had always considered himself civilized, couldn't help but swear as he was struck by lightning one after another.

Just as Loki began to doubt whether he could endure Russell's lightning storm, he saw a familiar figure.

Elegant and stylish golden long hair, handsome and robust appearance, powerful and muscular physique, the silver Mjolnir and red cape...

Rapidly flying out of the Golden Palace and landing in front of Loki on the training ground was none other than the God of Thunder, Thor!

Upon seeing Thor's figure, Loki found himself looking forward to Thor's appearance like never before.

After landing on the training ground, Thor cast an unsatisfied glance at Russell.

Then, he raised Mjolnir in his hand.

Thor couldn't use magic, so he chose a simple and crude way to disrupt it.

Using lightning to counter lightning!

Bolts of lightning shot out from Mjolnir and sped toward the thunderclouds in the sky.

At the same time, the gloomy thunderclouds, influenced by Thor's divine power, began to dissipate rapidly.

Although Thor hadn't fully awakened his Thor's power and still needed to control his divine power through Mjolnir, it didn't affect his ability to break Russell's lightning storm with lightning.

The lightning fired from Mjolnir clashed with the lightning descending from the sky.

Under the influence of Thor's divine power, the thunderclouds that had given birth to the lightning storm dissipated at a visible speed.

At this point, Russell had no intention of continuing.

With a thought, he voluntarily dispelled the lightning storm.

Without his control and maintenance, the already dissipating thunderclouds vanished in an instant, as if they had never appeared.

The pitch-black thunderclouds disappeared, but Russell's formidable image was firmly established.

It wouldn't be long before the news of him single-handedly overwhelming Loki on the training ground spread throughout all of Asgard.

While it may not be the best way to establish one's reputation by stepping on Loki's face, Russell didn't care at all.

Loki was not Odin; occasionally losing a bit was not a big issue.

Moreover, losing to Loki wasn't something to be particularly embarrassed about.

After everything had calmed down, Thor took a few steps forward, helped Loki up from the ground, who was half-kneeling.

After inquiring about Loki's condition, he turned to Russell with an unhappy expression on his face.

It was not surprising that Thor had this expression, considering he had a strong attachment to his younger brother.

After glancing at Russell for a few moments, Thor approached him with Mjolnir in hand, his face serious. He said, "Mr. Bradley, my father invited you to Asgard with the hope that you would quickly enhance your strength to meet the requirements of the Space Stone Guardian, not for you to show off your prowess in Asgard!"

"Show off my prowess? Your Highness, have you misunderstood something? This spar was initiated by the Second Prince."

"As a guest, refusing a proposal from the host is considered impolite, isn't it?"

Russell replied earnestly.

Although this world's Thor was much more mature than in the movie universe, his attachment to his younger brother had not changed.

"Initiated by Loki?"

Thor furrowed his brows slightly.

Although he had inquired about Loki's condition earlier, he hadn't had the chance to ask them why they had started fighting.

"Of course, Your Highness. If you don't believe me, you can ask the Second Prince!"

Russell continued.

"No need. Since Loki initiated it, then I misunderstood you. I apologize for my tone and attitude earlier."

Thor took a half step back and said to Russell with a serious expression.

Uh...

Isn't he being a bit too serious?

After seeing Thor's behavior, Russell was a bit surprised.

Although he knew that this world's Thor was much more mature, he hadn't expected him to be so mature and composed.

If it weren't for Thor's youthful appearance, he would have suspected that the Thor in front of him had entered middle age or old age.

Although the average lifespan of Asgardians had reached five thousand years, it didn't mean that they could maintain their youthful appearance indefinitely. When they got older, wrinkles and gray hair were natural.

Odin was a good example of this.

"Your Highness, you're too kind."

While Russell was somewhat surprised by Thor's attitude, he quickly adapted to it and replied in a friendly tone.

"Since Mr. Bradley is not seriously injured, I won't accompany you back."

"Very well!"

As soon as Russell finished speaking, Thor returned to Loki's side.

Then, he grabbed Loki's shoulder, swung Mjolnir, and flew towards the Golden Palace with Loki.

There was no need to ask; he was taking Loki to receive medical treatment for his injuries.

After Thor and Loki disappeared from view, Russell sighed softly and walked slowly toward the Golden Palace.

Guided by the maid Luna, he returned to his residence.

After all the maids, including Luna, left the residence, he sat down on a chair and began to contemplate the situation of his fight with Loki.

First of all, through this battle with Loki, he had a clearer understanding of his Kryptonian physiology.

In simpler terms, spells of level seven and below couldn't cause him much harm.

Even a seventh-level spell like Finger of Death, which had a terrifying instant death effect, couldn't affect him much.

Secondly, by releasing the Lightning Storm, he indirectly confirmed a certain fact.

That fact was, for Thor and Odin, the Lightning Storm, a seventh-level spell, was not much of a threat.

At least in their eyes, the power of the Lightning Storm was limited.

Otherwise, Thor wouldn't have waited until Loki was struck by so many lightning bolts before rushing to the training ground.

For Thor, who could fly with Mjolnir, if he wanted to stop Russell, he could have arrived at the training ground before the Lightning Storm was officially released.

Finally, by observing how Thor dispersed the thunderclouds and countered lightning with lightning, Russell realized that Thor's strength was a bit higher than he had imagined.

Attacks of the same element could indeed cancel each other out, but only if both were on the same level.

Thor effortlessly used Mjolnir's lightning to block the Lightning Storm, indicating that the offensive strength of a seventh-level spell was not much different from a regular attack in his eyes.

No wonder Thor had defeated Knull, who had possessed Grendel's body. The Thor in this world was indeed very powerful.

If compared to the Thor in the movie universe, this Thor, who was close to becoming the "Axe-wielding Thor" with fully awakened divine power and possessing the Stormbreaker, was quite similar.