Ch. 278 Battle Between Loki and Russell

Seeing the Lasso of Truth speeding towards him, Loki didn't hesitate for a moment. He quickly moved and began to swap places with the illusions he had created.

Although he didn't know the full extent of the Lasso of Truth's abilities, the shimmering golden light radiating from it made it clear that it wasn't an ordinary weapon.

Loki dared not test the Lasso of Truth's abilities with his own body. In the blink of an eye, Loki and the six lifelike illusions completed a dazzling swap.

If Loki were facing someone else, his illusionary tactics might have been effective. However, he was up against Russell, who possessed superhuman vision.

While Kryptonian physiology didn't grant Russell the ability to see through illusions, he didn't need to decipher Loki's illusion magic. He just needed to lock onto Loki's true self.

As for the illusions identical to Loki, they could be ignored entirely. While others might not fully understand Loki's illusion magic, Russell was well aware of its intricacies.

Despite the realism of Loki's illusions, they lacked real attacking capabilities. The dizzying swaps between Loki's true self and the illusions held no significance for Russell, who could lock onto targets even at high speeds.

Loki had assumed that Russell would need some time to distinguish between his true self and the illusions after the swap. However, he hadn't anticipated that, no matter how he swapped, the Lasso of Truth continued to accurately assault him with its shining golden light.

How was this possible?

Seeing Russell completely unaffected by his illusion magic, Loki couldn't help but reveal a trace of shock.

It was worth noting that even Thor, who had grown up with him, couldn't see through his illusion magic. In Asgard, aside from Odin, Frigga, and Heimdall, Loki's illusion magic had never been exposed.

However, today, Russell, who had just arrived in Asgard from the backward Earth, easily saw through his illusion magic.

Had Loki not witnessed it himself, he would find it impossible to believe.

Although the truth was somewhat unbelievable, he had to face it now.

After realizing that Russell was completely unaffected by his illusion magic, Loki decisively abandoned the idea of continuing to deceive Russell with illusion magic.

He quickly put away his dagger and began to weave magical gestures with both hands.

Since illusion magic was ineffective, he decided to directly launch magical attacks.

Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, lightning...

In the blink of an eye, Loki cast several relatively low-level attack spells. While these spells weren't exceptionally powerful, being able to cast several different spells in a short time demonstrated Loki's proficiency. At least in terms of spellcasting speed, Loki could earn a high score.

However, to Russell, these spells posed no threat whatsoever.

Russell casually waved the Lasso of Truth in his hand, effortlessly blocking the fireballs, ice spikes, and other attacks that flew toward him.

Furthermore, while using the Lasso of Truth to fend off Loki's magic attacks, Russell took the opportunity to dispel the magical illusions that were trying to divert his attention.

After realizing that ordinary elemental spells posed no threat to Russell, Loki began to cast spells from other schools of magic.

For instance, spells from the curse and illusion schools of magic.

Loki first cast an invisibility spell on himself, making himself disappear from Russell's sight.

Then, he employed a summoning spell from the curse school of magic.

Fire Spiders!

In the spacious training field, numerous spider-shaped fire elementals suddenly appeared.

In just two or three seconds, there were over two hundred fire spiders on the training field.

Upon summoning these fire spiders out of thin air, Russell finally began to cast his own magic.

Wasn't it just magic? I can do it too!

Russell put away the Lasso of Truth in his hand. When the fire spiders charged toward him, he rapidly formed magical gestures with his hands.

Seventh-level Protection Spell!

Advanced Demon Banishment Barrier!

As Russell cast the spell, an imperceptible hemispherical force field instantly expanded around him, with a diameter of over ten meters.

Although it was invisible to the naked eye, when the fire spiders summoned by Loki rushed into the area covered by the banishment barrier, a phenomenon occurred.

These sprinting fire spiders disintegrated into pure fire elementals at a visible speed as soon as they entered the hemispherical force field, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

As the name suggested, the Advanced Demon Banishment Barrier was a banishment spell. Its effect was simple: any living creature or object passing through the area of the force field would have its magic dispelled.

Regardless of whether the creatures Loki had summoned were real fire spiders or merely illusions, once they entered the banishment barrier, their magic was dispelled.

Loki, realizing that Russell had cast the seventh-level spell Advanced Demon Banishment Barrier to neutralize his fire spiders, couldn't react in time to give them new instructions.

He could only watch helplessly as the army of fire spiders he had summoned with significant magical energy transformed into pure elemental fire and dissipated into the air like smoke.

Damn it!

After witnessing this scene, Loki couldn't help but curse inwardly.

He knew that Russell was a student of the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, but he didn't believe that Russell, as an Earthling, could possess such formidable magical abilities. From any perspective, the magical talents of Asgardians far exceeded those of Earthlings. From a racial perspective, Loki's assessment wasn't entirely wrong.

Indeed, Earthlings weren't known for their magical prowess compared to Asgardians or even Vanir.

But that doesn't mean that Earth's mage are inferior to Asgard's mage.

Even the smallest and weakest of species can produce top-tier individuals.

Moreover, Earth humans have a tendency to create miracles from time to time.

In terms of lifespan and physique, Earth humans are indeed far inferior to the people of Asgard.

Compared to the people of Asgard, the humans on Earth are as weak as babies.

Or, you could say that the maximum lifespan of Earth humans is not even enough to pass through what Asgardians call the "infant" stage.

But underestimating Earth's people would be a big mistake.

Not to mention the mysterious and important position Earth holds in the universe, just the hidden big shots on Earth can elevate its status by several levels.

Of course, because these big shots are mostly in seclusion or hiding, Earth may seem a bit weak to other planets and civilizations.

After using the Advanced Demon Banishment Barrier to dispel Loki's Fire Spider, Russell didn't hesitate and began casting his second spell.

The Advanced Demon Banishment Barrier he had just used was a level seven protective spell in the protection category. Now, he intended to cast a level seven spell in the spells category.

If he remembered correctly, the Fire Spider magic Loki had just used was a level six spell in the spells category.

As a self-proclaimed decent mage, Russell naturally needed to reciprocate.

For example, by casting higher-level spells.

Level Seven Spells!

Lightning Storm!

Russell completed all the casting gestures in the blink of an eye, and a massive dark thundercloud rapidly gathered in the once clear sky.

He was casting a Lightning Storm in Asgard, near the Golden Palace. Russell's actions had a hint of provocation.

Others might not perceive the full power of a Lightning Storm, but Odin and Thor could certainly sense it.

Even if the Lightning Storm had not yet been fully unleashed, just sensing the thundercloud in the sky allowed them to accurately judge its power.

The dark thundercloud began to shroud the sky, turning the once sunny day into a cloudy one.

Loki furrowed his brows once again.

Who is this guy?

He's casually casting a level-seven spell!

This isn't normal magic!

Of course, Loki also knew the Lightning Storm, a level seven spell. But he was well aware that he couldn't cast it as effortlessly as Russell did.

At that moment, he remembered Odin's words about Russell.

Divine Power!

Russell not only possessed a power that most Asgardians couldn't awaken, but he also treated it as the source of his magic.

Recalling Odin's words, Loki began to understand why Russell could easily cast the level seven spell Lightning Storm.

The reason was simple: Russell had bypassed certain restrictions within White Magic.

Russell didn't need to borrow magic from other magical experts; he could simply tap into his own divine power and convert it into magic power.

Although this was only an energy transformation, for a mage, it meant that he could fulfill all the requirements for spellcasting in the simplest way.

If Russell hadn't also needed to perform spell gestures to cast spells, Loki would have even suspected he could cast spells instantly or silently.

Damn it!

How did this damn Earthling obtain divine power!

Loki cursed Russell once again in his mind.

However, this wasn't the right time to silently curse Russell, as the Lightning Storm cast by Russell was about to take shape.

While still in stealth mode, Loki looked up at the thundercloud overhead and quickly made a decision.

'You forced me!'

'Don't blame me!'

Before the Lightning Storm could strike, Loki made his final desperate move.

He also cast a level seven spell.

But this time, it wasn't in the curse spell category, nor was it in his specialty, illusion magic. Instead, it was a forbidden necromancy spell in Asgard.

Necromancy Level Seven!

Finger of Death!

Though this was just a friendly sparring match, Loki was clearly getting carried away.

Or you could say he was losing his sanity.

If he had maintained basic sanity at that moment, he would have realized the severe consequences of casting the Finger of Death, a notorious level seven necromancy spell, right under Odin's watchful eyes.

Especially since he intended to cast the Finger of Death, which could kill any living being.

Russell had originally planned to use the Lightning Storm to reveal Loki from his stealth and to test Odin and Thor a little.

But as he was about to unleash the Lightning Storm and force Loki out with a "lightning cleansing," he sensed a strong aura of death magic.

What is this?

While Russell didn't know many necromancy spells, sensing this overwhelming aura of death magic brought a particular spell to mind.

Could it be?

Is he really playing it this big?

At this point, Russell couldn't see Loki's figure, but his intuition told him that Loki was indeed casting the infamous Finger of Death, a level seven necromancy spell.

In the blink of an eye, several thoughts raced through his mind.

Then, he abandoned the idea of adding magical protection for himself.

Although the Finger of Death was a notorious necromancy spell with an extremely potent instant death effect, it wasn't a spell that couldn't be resisted.

There were two simple ways to resist the instant death effect of the Finger of Death.

The first was to have a much higher magical level than the caster. For example, a common mage casting the Finger of Death would most likely not kill a legendary mage and would have most of the damage negated.

The second was to possess an incredibly robust physique, allowing one to forcibly resist the Finger of Death's instant death effect with their immense physical strength.

While Russell wasn't sure about the extent of Loki's magical prowess, judging from the spells Loki had previously cast, his magical level didn't seem significantly higher than his own.

Furthermore, Russell was curious about whether his Kryptonian physiology could withstand the Finger of Death's instant death effect.

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

In any other situation, Russell wouldn't dare to gamble with his life like this.

However, considering Loki's magical level, his own Kryptonian physiology, and the fact that they were in Asgard, Russell felt that resisting the Finger of Death with his Kryptonian physiology wasn't an overly reckless move.

Even if something went wrong, with the All-Father Odin present, he didn't have to worry too much about his safety.

Apart from the risk of tarnishing Odin's reputation, his incredible Kryptonian physiology should be enough to resist the Finger of Death's instant death effect.

With these considerations in mind, Russell quietly brought out the Space Stone from his system space while no one else was aware, holding it in the palm of his left hand.