redvbooks #680 - Eternal Flame
#680 - Eternal Flame
When the energy infusion reached its limit, Liang Yue subconsciously moved the Space Stone, which he had been holding in front of his chest, away. With a thought, a layer of gravitational shield immediately appeared around him.
The next moment, unable to find a target, the Space Stone stopped on its own, ceasing to output energy.
Turning his head, he saw Thor, Natasha, Hawkeye, Captain America, and the others waiting nearby.
In the distance, Stark was flying over in his Iron Man armor, jerking and surging.
Clearly, due to Liang Yue's intervention, the Chitauri invasion ended too quickly, a standard anticlimax.
The group of valiant Avengers didn't even have a chance to show their skills before the space portal was shut down directly.
Captain America, standing beside him, probably only saw the wreckage of uncontrolled Chitauri soldier speeders when he stepped out of the elevator downstairs~
He was probably troubled by Loki's absence~
And so, after sitting at the bar, slowly drinking a few cups, and chatting for a while, the distracted Avengers finally steered the conversation onto the right track.
The one who took the lead was Natasha, the only woman present.
“…Just now, Director Fury relayed an order to me. He wants me to take the Tesseract back.”
After saying that, Natasha shrugged, then looked at Liang Yue with anticipation.
Hawkeye, standing next to her, was clearly in the same camp as Natasha, with the same expectant expression.
On the other side, Steve Rogers should have been on the same side as S.H.I.E.L.D., but for some reason, the Captain seemed hesitant, with a somewhat complicated expression.
Presumably, the argument on the Helicarrier had left some lingering effects in his mind.
“Regarding the Space Stone, it's best not to leave it in the hands of you humans, because as long as it's there, the Chitauri won't give up invading Midgard.
Let me take it back to Asgard; that's the best choice.”
At this time, Thor seemed to remember his mission and, after pulling himself together, joined the discussion.
If Liang Yue remembered correctly, Thor's purpose seemed to be to use the power of the Space Stone to repair the Rainbow Bridge, which had been destroyed not long ago.
Of course, that was only one aspect of the reason.
“You Asgardians also want this cube?”
Steve asked Thor with some surprise.
“That cube is actually the Space Stone, one of the most powerful treasures in the universe, as I told you before. In short, wherever it is, trouble will follow.
Many great figures in the universe have been searching for it all their lives. The Chitauri and the ambitious figure behind them are just some of them. With your current strength in Midgard, you are not strong enough to keep it.
Of course, Liang Yue's power is also very strong, but he is just one person.”
Thor was trying to use some high-sounding reasons to increase the credibility of his words, but he was clearly not a very good persuader.
At least Natasha and Hawkeye weren't very convinced.
“As far as I know, there's more than one such gem on Earth.”
At this time, Stark interrupted from across the bar, glancing at Liang Yue as he spoke, and then continued.
“When I was on a cosmic adventure with Liang Yue, he once obtained one. Also, I heard that there's another one on Earth, kept by that group of mysterious mages.”
“More than that~”
Feeling everyone's gaze, Liang Yue then embellished.
“This time Loki came, he also brought us another one.”
As he spoke, Liang Yue flipped his hand, instantly taking out Loki's scepter from the stronghold world, and then, under everyone's gaze, he snapped off the gem embedded in the scepter.
“This is the Mind Stone. Maybe Loki got it himself in the universe, or maybe someone else gave it to him. In short, there are now four Infinity Stones on Earth.”
Looking at the crystal-clear object lying quietly in Liang Yue's palm, everyone present widened their eyes, speechless for a moment.
“…So, considering that I've made some contributions to your Midgard, how about letting me join you?”
Just then, an abrupt voice suddenly came from a corner of the room.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that near a bookshelf used for decoration, a flash of light suddenly appeared, and Loki's figure appeared there.
At this time, the self-proclaimed God of Mischief from Asgard was tugging at the corners of his mouth, standing there with a sincere smile, as if he wasn't the one who had caused the previous chaos.
“Loki~!”
Upon seeing his brother's figure, Thor, who had been somewhat listless, suddenly perked up and immediately leaped up, rushing towards him.
“Hey~ Stop! Stop! I'm here to surrender~!”
“You bastard! You're in big trouble this time!”
“I know, I know, but considering that I've made some contributions~”
“Get over here!”
“I'm planning to surrender to you now, and I've brought a lot of valuable information.”
“Shut up! What awaits you is a trial from Father!”
…
So, about a dozen seconds later, Loki's hands were bound by a special pair of handcuffs, and under Thor's pulling, he came before everyone.
“I'm going to take him back to Asgard for trial.”
Thor said, looking around at everyone with a refreshed expression.
“Ahem, in fact, we don't want to interfere in your family affairs~ Thor, but please be careful in dealing with such a dangerous person as Loki.”
Liang Yue glanced at the weakling standing aside, feigning guilt and submission, and then looked at Thor.
Seeing this, the others hesitated slightly, but ultimately didn't say much.
After all, although Loki had indeed brought some trouble to Earth this time, it seemed insignificant compared to the overall cooperation between humans and Asgardians.
Especially with Liang Yue's intrusion, which caused the space portal to be closed prematurely, preventing the Chitauri army from invading on a large scale.
“Of course! This time when we go back, he'll be locked up directly in a high-security prison, and he won't be able to get out for several hundred years~”
Thor said with a confident expression upon hearing this…
“By the way, there's also the matter of the Space Stone~”
“There are now four Infinity Stones on Earth, which is indeed very dangerous. If we're not careful, we might become the target of various cosmic criminals. Fortunately~ apart from the Space Stone,
The other three gems haven't been exposed yet.”
After hearing the God of Thunder's words, Liang Yue blinked subconsciously.
“Are you saying you want to send the Tesseract away?”
Hawkeye asked hesitantly.
“I agree. Although there are indeed some unknown powerful forces on our Earth, most countries on this planet are not yet prepared to face cosmic threats.
Since this gem has been exposed to others' eyes, sending it out as bait is also a good choice.”
Captain America said with a solemn expression.
Listening to his words, Stark on the other side also nodded thoughtfully.
“Great, after we get the Space Stone back, Asgard will immediately release the news to the outside world. Before long, most of the universe will know that it's in our hands.
But don't worry, no one dares to act presumptuously in front of our Asgard!”
Seeing the reaction of the crowd at this time, Thor immediately patted his chest and guaranteed…
Liang Yue then threw the Mind Stone and the scepter in his hand back into the stronghold world, and instead took out the Space Stone and placed it on the bar, looking at Thor and saying.
“Don't rush, I actually want to exchange it for something with you.”
Thor asked in confusion: “What thing?”
Liang Yue said with a solemn expression at this time: “The Eternal Flame.”
Thor was somewhat surprised when he heard this: “That thing? No problem!”
Liang Yue confirmed upon hearing this: “Huh? Are you sure? You don't want to reconsider?”
Thor spread his hands indifferently and said: “When we were young, Loki and I often used the Eternal Flame to make grilled meat. Now that thing has been kept in my father's vault, and no one cares about it at all.
Don't worry~ I'll personally send it to you in a while~!”
“Then there's no problem.”
Liang Yue said upon hearing this, and immediately pushed the Tesseract in front of the other party.
Thor immediately took out a glass container inlaid with magical runes, carefully put the gem in, and then smiled at Liang Yue, looking like everyone was happy~
Everyone: “……”
……