Thor's questioning, or rather, his accusation, echoed over the silent, massive crater.
Coulson stood in the distance, not daring to breathe, quietly watching the show.
God, what kind of family drama was this?
The younger brother publicly accusing the older brother? And neither of them were ordinary people!
Leon looked at his almost collapsing younger brother, the smile on his face gradually receding, replaced by indifference.
"So?" he asked indifferently.
"So I'm going to duel you!" Thor roared, charging at Leon like an enraged bull.
"Even without divine power, I am still a warrior of Asgard! I will use my fists to reclaim my dignity!"
Thor's body had been tempered for a thousand years; even without divine power, he was several times stronger than the top athletes on Earth.
One punch from him was enough to easily punch through a steel plate.
However, as his fist was about to smash into Leon's face, it was casually caught by a hand.
Leon didn't even change his posture; he simply raised his hand casually and firmly gripped Thor's fist.
Thor's pupils suddenly constricted; he felt his fist sink into mud, the other's palm unmoving.
"Dignity?" There was no ripple in Leon's eyes as he looked at Thor and slowly spoke.
"Thor, what you call dignity, in my opinion, is nothing more than the wailing of the weak."
He yanked Thor forward, then kicked him directly, controlling the force precisely to ensure Thor wouldn't be sent flying.
Thor suffered a heavy blow, feeling as if he had been struck by a large hammer, instantly bending over and kneeling on the ground, his face grim.
Leon squatted down, a slight smile on his lips, and gently patted Thor's face.
"My foolish younger brother, after all these years, you're still so impulsive. Have you forgotten how I used to defeat you?"
Thor stared intently at Leon, as if Leon had stolen his wife.
He was unconvinced, unconvinced why Leon was so powerful?!
He had no objection to Leon acquiring all this power; it was what he deserved.
He and Loki had questioned Leon's attitude, but they had never questioned Leon's strength!
What he couldn't understand was why Leon was so powerful without doing anything?!
And what about himself? He had diligently served Asgard, always thinking of fighting for the realm and expanding its territory!
But what did he get in return?
His father's misunderstanding, Leon's lack of support, Loki's mockery!
He just wanted to ask one thing now: what exactly had he, Thor, done?!
Leon chuckled, observing Thor and watching his expressions change.
Tsk tsk, look at those little eyes.
Thor, oh Thor, if Asgard were truly in your hands, that would truly be the end!
It seems I, as his older brother, need to teach him a lesson!
Without further thought, Leon smiled slightly, then slowly raised his right hand under Thor's terrified gaze.
"Leon?! What are you doing?!" Thor cried out in terror.
"What am I doing? You'll know soon enough." Leon smiled, but his actions didn't stop.
Slap!!
A hard slap landed on Thor's face, but Leon controlled the force, leaving no mark.
Thor came to his senses, and just as he was about to say something, Leon's other slap already arrived.
Slap!!
"You're Thor, right!"
Slap!
"You're power, right!"
Slap!
"You're glory, right!"
Slap!
"You're a slacker, right!"
Slap!
"You're a duel, right!"
Leon raised his right hand again but didn't bring it down; Thor instinctively dodged.
He lowered his hand and shook his head.
"You're too weak, Thor."
Leon's other hand formed a hand-knife and precisely struck the back of his neck.
"Bang!"
Thor's vision went black, his consciousness instantly blurred, and then he softly collapsed.
"Don't you understand yet?"
Before his consciousness completely faded, Leon's voice echoed in his ear.
"The gap between you and me has never been about divine power, nor about this hammer."
"It's here."
Leon extended his finger and gently tapped his own temple.
"You think with your muscles, and I, with this."
Thor wanted to say something, but he was no longer able.
Leon looked at the unconscious Thor and shook his head.
Fighting a mortal who had lost his divine power was too demeaning.
However, as he had just said, as an older brother, it was necessary to discipline a disobedient younger brother.
He raised his foot and gently kicked Thor's backside.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Thor was kicked away like a ball, sliding over a hundred meters on the ground, finally stopping when he hit the crater wall.
"Are you awake now?"
Leon's voice echoed in Thor's ears, though he could no longer hear it.
After doing all this, he turned and walked towards Coulson, a gentle smile returning to his face.
"Agent Coulson, it seems my younger brother needs a little extra care."
He pointed to the humanoid imprint embedded in the crater wall in the distance.
"Please, take him away."
Coulson:... He looked at the humanoid imprint and the unconscious Thor in the distance, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
Hallelujah!
No matter what, at least he was still alive.
He picked up the walkie-talkie, his voice returning to its usual calm, but his heart was pounding.
"Calling headquarters... Yes, Officer, we might need a medical team and an engineering team."
...Ten minutes later
S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters, highest command room.
Black Nick Fury, Motherfucker Hero
Nick Fury pressed one hand to his temple, his single eye bloodshot.
On the holographic screen in front of him, satellite images of the New Mexico desert were looping.
In the center of the image was a giant crater over a kilometer in diameter, like an ugly scar, branded on the surface of Earth, and branded on his heart.
"Yes, Officer, the entire Base, along with all equipment and personnel, has vanished," Coulson's voice came through the encrypted communication.
"Preliminary assessment is that it was evaporated by instantaneous high-temperature energy."
Fury's fist quietly clenched under the table.
Evaporated? That word was used very casually.
But behind it lay the sacrifice of dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. elite Agents, and billions of U.S. dollars worth of high-tech equipment reduced to nothing.
"The target?" Fury's voice was deep.
"Target Leon has left, destination unknown. Target Thor has lost all abnormal energy reactions and is currently unconscious. We are preparing to take him back to a temporary medical point."
"Bring him back to the Base, rebuild one," Fury interrupted Coulson.
"Use the highest security measures. Also..."
He paused, his single eye fixed on a screenshot of Leon leisurely sitting in a lounge chair on the screen.
"Elevate Leon's threat level to maximum. All field units are prohibited from any form of contact with the target unless they receive my direct order. Repeat, any form!"
This order made Coulson on the other end of the communication frown.
The highest threat level was the code name reserved for world-ending disasters like alien fleet invasions.
And now, that code name belonged to one person.
Fury hung up the communication, leaning back in his chair, exhausted.
He felt as if he had never been so powerless.
His entire life, he had tried to control everything, to bring all threats into his calculations.
But now, two chess pieces he completely couldn't understand had suddenly appeared on the board.
No, they weren't chess pieces; they were beings who could flip the board at any time.
"Sun God, Leon," Fury muttered to himself, a ruthless glint flashing in his single eye.
"I don't care what kind of god you are, this is Earth. This is human territory!"