Marvel's whitewashing cop, you want me to save the world?

Chapter 166 The Battle of New York (Part 7)

From the golden, circular opening, a bald woman in a yellow monk's robe stepped out from the inside.

Her hands were behind her back, her posture was upright, and her steps were calm and steady.

After she had completely stepped out, the golden halo behind her silently closed and disappeared.

Only a few sparks remained in the air, slowly drifting down, not yet completely extinguished.

She turned to face Li En, walked step by step to him, slightly raised her head, and a very faint smile appeared on her lips.

Her voice was soft, her tone calm and patient: "What kind of help do you need? Since you've found me, you must know I can't use too much of my power."

"What's going on? How did this person appear? What exactly is that golden halo?"

Tony's voice practically exploded inside the helmet, but luckily he reacted quickly enough to turn off the external speakers beforehand, so only Jarvis heard what he said.

He stared at the slow-motion footage Jarvis had just played on the helmet's head-up display.

The entire process of golden sparks appearing from nothing and a circular portal taking shape in mid-air.

If his physical intuition is correct, the properties of this thing are almost identical to the spatial rift torn open by the Cosmic Cube above his head in terms of underlying principles.

However, the Cosmic Cube opens the spatial channel thanks to the energy device built by Dr. Selvig and the enormous energy output of a Cosmic Cube.

That system, just the auxiliary equipment alone, took up an entire floor of Stark Tower.

The bald woman in front of them simply made a gesture in the air.

Is there no reasoning involved?

The Ancient One suddenly turned her head and looked at Tony.

Her gaze pierced through the faceplate of Mark's armor, through the gold-titanium alloy shell, and landed directly on Tony's face.

She smiled and spoke, as if answering a question that no one had asked before: "That's right, what I just used was magic—to open a portal."

As for whether it is scientific or not, in my opinion, it is very scientific.

Our magic system also has its own theoretical framework, it's just a little different from the one you're used to.

She paused for a moment, then the smile in her eyes deepened.

"Furthermore, I would also very much like to welcome Mr. Tony Stark to Kamar-Taj to study magic."

Tony was silent for a few seconds.

Then he turned on the external speaker, and his voice returned to its usual pace and confidence.

But there was an unprecedented solemnity in his words: "I will definitely pay a visit after this incident is over."

"Karmar-Taj welcomes you anytime, Mr. Tony."

Gu Yi smiled and nodded at him, then turned her gaze back to Li En.

At this moment, Thor seemed to finally snap out of his daze.

He looked at the Ancient One's calm and composed face, then glanced at his companions who were still looking at each other in bewilderment, and suddenly took a step forward.

He held Mjolnir in his right hand, hammerhead down, his left hand on his chest, and leaned forward slightly.

That's a courtesy used by the Asgardian royal family when dealing with beings of higher or greater status.

He lowered his head, his tone so respectful it seemed unbelievable coming from the impetuous Thor: "Revered Sorcerer Supreme, I have heard of your deeds from my father, who told me to remember that Midgard is not without its protectors."

Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Barton all turned to look at Thor, their expressions more interesting than the last.

Thor, son of Odin, the king of Asgard, and lord of thunder in the nine realms wielding Mjolnir, bows to an Earth mage.

How many ruthless people are still hidden on this planet that they have no idea about?

The Ancient One simply nodded slightly in response to Thor's greeting, without saying anything more.

Li En didn't let this unexpected reunion drag on for too long.

He turned to Tony, switching his tone back to operational mode: "After this incident is over, you first research the spaceship for me, then think about learning magic."

Moreover, that thing is extremely dependent on talent; no matter how much effort someone without talent puts in, they'll never reach its ceiling.

"It seems Mr. Lee knows us very well."

The Ancient One's tone carried a hint of inquisitiveness, but she did not linger on the topic.

"So what exactly do you need me to do?"

Li En took a deep breath.

He looked into the Ancient One's calm, still eyes, quickly went through the entire plan in his mind, and then said it out word by word: "I will use the thrusters that Tony prepared to pass through the space portal, enter outer space, steal a complete Chitauri spaceship, and fly back."

If everything goes well, you may not need to take action.

But if something unexpected happens—my demon form can only last for a maximum of fifteen minutes in outer space.

When that time comes, I will need you to take me back to Earth.

"Understood." The Ancient One nodded, offering no comment on the plan's audacity.

She thought for a moment, then added another sentence.

"But there is one thing you must understand: the power barrier of our mages is set up along the outermost edge of the Earth's atmosphere."

I have no way to open a portal outside the barrier's range, that is, in outer space.

So you have to hold on until you're close enough to the atmosphere for me to catch you.

Upon hearing this restriction, Li En not only showed no disappointment but also laughed.

He certainly knew that the Ancient One's actual abilities went far beyond that.

She could easily send people back to Earth from outer space, or even pull them back from the other side of the universe.

But the fact that she was willing to show up and agree to step in and rescue people at a critical moment is already a great help.

The other party's stance has always been to protect the Earth, but what he is doing right now, from a certain perspective, does indeed deviate slightly from the conventional definition of the word "protect".

"Thank you for your help."

Lee En turned around, faced Tony, and threw out a sentence: "Take out your half-finished anti-Hulk and anti-Lee En products."

Before Tony could even open his mouth, Steve, Natasha, Barton, and Thor all turned to look at him at the same time.

Steve frowned, his eyes saying, "So you really are doing this stuff."

Natasha and Barton didn't show any particular expression.

In their view, it's probably not news that Tony comes up with any countermeasures.

Thor paused for a moment, then suddenly revealed an eager expression that seemed to say, "I'd like to see just how strong your armor is against me."

But I swallowed the words back; now is not the time to talk about this.