Chapter 386: Unreliable Hammer

Facing Sif's question, Thor had no intention of answering. Hydra warriors, when executing their missions, were under no obligation to explain their actions to their targets.

Thus, without a word, Thor swung his battle axe at Sif's figure. His eyes, however, sparkled with excitement, showing that he cared a great deal about this battle.

This was the first time since becoming a member of Hydra that Thor felt so exhilarated in combat, even exerting his full strength without truly gaining the upper hand; the two remained evenly matched.

After all, the strength of the previous trio from the palace had been somewhat lacking, at least weaker than Sif's current level. Aside from his earlier fight with Hogan, when he lacked a weapon, Thor had not expended much effort against Fandral and Vostagg.

At this moment, the battle between Thor and Sif was serious enough that even Tohru watched with gravity, as their combined strength with the enhancement of their weapons was nearly on par with his.

Although Sif was slightly less skilled in combat tactics, with the Asgardian sword enhancing her strength, her offensive capabilities were even more lethal than Tohru's!

"This is interesting. Why does it feel like their combat power has improved even further after they started fighting?" Tohru squinted, watching their duel. After all, they were potential threats to him, how could he not care?

While Thor and Sif were expected to become his subordinates, the issue was that brainwashed agents were not immune to losing control. Thor was manageable; even after the super soldier serum injection had inexplicably boosted his strength, Tohru was confident he could handle him.

But Sif was different. Her strength was already formidable, and if she could benefit from the super soldier serum, her power would become overwhelming, making her a match for Tohru himself!

Perhaps the day Sif successfully receives the super soldier serum would be the day Tohru loses his title as the top super soldier.

However, not to administer the super soldier serum to Sif seemed wasteful, as a warrior of her caliber had never appeared under Tohru's command before. If Sif were captured and not enhanced, it would be a squander of potential...

Thus, Tohru was truly conflicted. Without a means to counteract it, he wasn't keen on having such a powerful subordinate, especially one susceptible to losing control.

But if he could truly control Sif, such a powerful subordinate could help Tohru accomplish much, even avenging his former boss Valon was not out of the question!

Remember, not all of Thor's missions for Hydra were solely MacCarthy's; many were aimed at Tohru's enemies.

In a backward-developing situation, Tohru's branch needed to expand by encroaching on others' interests, and the best method was straightforward robbery.

With extraordinary forces in play, Hydra wasn't the only faction. Thor hadn't met a match only because his assignments were just beginning and MacCarthy was mediating. If Thor continued on missions, he might eventually clash with other Hydra branches...

And even without conflicts with other Hydra branches, Tohru was determined to avenge Valon. Despite significant changes in his demeanor, failing to avenge a former leader could undermine Tohru's position and provide other Hydra branches with a pretext to attack him.

After all, compared to other long-established Hydra branches, Tohru, who rose through the ranks mid-career, was bound to cause some dissatisfaction...

"Clang!"

"Bang!"

While Tohru pondered, the fight between Thor and Sif progressed, their weapons clashing again. Sif then kicked Thor in the abdomen, sending him flying. This was the first time Thor had been hit since arriving on this battlefield. While Thor's combat skills were superior, Sif's raw strength was formidable!

As the battle continued, Sif realized that Thor was no longer the one she remembered, and also suspected that the trio from the palace had likely met with misfortune. Thus, like a desperate survivor, she unleashed all her divine power.

When Sif's divine power surged, her sword became sharper, her strength greater, and her speed faster, momentarily overwhelming Thor...

Even with superior combat skills, Thor couldn't turn the tide if he was outmatched in both speed and strength.

Combat skills can determine the outcome between evenly matched opponents, but when the gap widens significantly, skills become less influential.

"Pfft!" Thor, somewhat disheveled, got up from the ground, spitting out blood, but his expression was not of defeat but of excitement as he charged at Sif again.

This was the first time Thor, post-brainwashing and successful super soldier serum injection, had been injured in combat outside of sparring with allies to hone his skills.

When Thor had reached a certain level of combat proficiency, he had no equal within Hydra. Even if he enjoyed

 fighting and didn't regard Asgardian deities highly, he still respected Tohru. As a subordinate, he couldn't just challenge his boss daily.

Realizing Sif was stronger and had injured him, Thor was not deterred but more thrilled, rushing back into the fray. He was determined to show Sif that he was not to be underestimated, that he could still improve his strength in battle, Asgardian divine power be damned!

"Clang!" The next moment, Thor's battle axe and Sif's sword collided again, sparking different yet similar glows from the two weapons.

"Boom!"

The ground beneath Sif shattered instantly, dust billowing into the air, obscuring the surroundings so much that even Tohru, watching from a distance, couldn't see the fight.

But the sounds of their clashing weapons continued within the dust cloud...

As the battle wore on, more and more of the ground around them broke apart, and the dust showed no signs of settling. Thor's battle axe felt increasingly right in his hand.

Previously, while wielding Mjolnir, Thor hadn't felt it was particularly suited to him—it was better than a longsword, but once he held the battle axe, he promptly discarded Mjolnir, feeling the axe was more befitting.

Even so, at that time, Thor still felt that a pure hammer suited him better...

But now, Thor felt differently. As the battle progressed, he increasingly found the battle axe to be a good fit, as if he was born to wield it, becoming more adept the longer he fought.

"Hum!" Unbeknownst to Thor, at the border of Kansas and Missouri, Mjolnir trembled lightly in Peter Parker's hand, as if sensing something, trying to break free.

"Hmm?" Peter Parker, surprised, quickly tightened his grip on Mjolnir, looking puzzled at those around him.

The Earth's temperature had just started to recover, but relaxation was far from Peter Parker and his companions' minds. Although the natural disaster had passed, human-caused troubles continued.

With the cold threat abated, some people who had barely survived the freeze or who were initially set on wreaking havoc but had been stopped by the weather, began to plot anew.

Thus, Peter Parker and his companions were still in action, paying no further attention to the weather since Robert had informed them that the frost giants and weather issues were resolved.

Now, all Peter Parker and his companions needed to do was handle some man-made disasters around Missouri and Kansas. As for other areas, others would take care of them.

For instance, Tony Stark, who had significantly boosted his visibility during this disaster.

At this moment, many places in America had mechas in action, not just those of Tony Stark. In a short period, it was impossible for other forces to replicate the complete Ivan mecha, but creating some inferior versions to handle ordinary people was feasible.

Especially since each state had its own security forces. Though not numerous, combined with military and mecha forces, their combat capabilities were strong. After all, against ordinary criminals armed with little more than firearms, these mechas' bulletproof capabilities far exceeded those of bulletproof vests...

"What's going on?" Barry Allen, who was acting with Peter, asked curiously.

"Mjolnir just twitched a bit, but then it stopped. Could it be that Robert and the others need to use Mjolnir?" Peter hesitated for a moment before explaining to Barry.

In Peter's view, the only ones capable of using Mjolnir were Robert, Kara, Clark, and himself. Now that Mjolnir had acted up while in his hands, according to previous experiments, it was likely that Robert and the others were summoning Mjolnir...

"Hmm? No way, what situation do you think they'd use the hammer for, especially if they haven't encountered any enemies?" Barry was startled, then shrugged, questioning Peter.

"Even if they've encountered enemies, do you think Mjolnir would really be of any help to them? Maybe for Kara, Mjolnir could be somewhat helpful, but Robert and his brother's strengths don't require the hammer..."

"Hmm? That's true. What could it be, then? Hmm? Could it be that so-called Thor?" Peter couldn't help but murmur, quickly thinking of Thor, Mjolnir's original owner.

At this point, Peter even knew more about Mjolnir than Robert, as after Robert had fought in Asgard, he hadn't touched Mjolnir again or sensed its changes.

But Peter had always held Mjolnir. He could clearly feel that a barrier had formed between himself and Mjolnir, though he didn't understand why. Now, sensing Mjolnir's twitch, Peter keenly thought of Thor, after all, Thor was Mjol

nir's true owner!

"Is the hammer still acting up?" Barry's gaze sharpened as he looked at Mjolnir in Peter's hand.

"It's not acting up anymore, but I feel the barrier between it and me has become more apparent..." Peter carefully sensed for a while, faintly discovering some changes in Mjolnir, and frowned as he spoke.

"Should we try to find out what's going on?" Barry was silent for a moment before suggesting to Peter.

"Maybe we should!" Peter didn't hesitate much, quickly nodding and slightly loosening his grip on Mjolnir, which seemed to sense his thoughts and trembled lightly, as if guiding something.

The reason Mjolnir had previously acted up was still related to Thor, but not because Thor had regained Mjolnir's approval. Rather, it was because Thor had begun to sincerely appreciate the battle axe as a weapon.

As a sentient artifact, Mjolnir could sense such things. Even though it now had several users, Mjolnir did not want Thor to switch his affections to another weapon.

After all, if Thor truly fell for another weapon, Mjolnir might indeed lose all hope of returning to Thor's hand...

And for Mjolnir's behavior, it could only be described with one term: unreliable hammer.

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