Marvel: Hunter

Nick didn't go to the front lines, though.

But his battle in the rear was no easier than the battle at the front. If he could, he'd rather be in Manhattan killing aliens than dealing with these difficult congressmen here.

Blaine and the others were fighting on the front lines, while Nick was buying them time in the rear.

Don't worry about getting tired.

Forget everything from before—right now, these stupid congressmen still wanted to throw a "big baby" at New York.

If the "big baby" could solve the root of the problem, it wouldn't matter what they said; Nick would've made up his mind to order the Avengers to retreat and personally drop that "big baby" himself.

Unfortunately, the "big baby" could only treat the symptoms. Not to mention that the alien mothership couldn't be bombed—even if it could, the space wormhole would remain open unless it was closed directly.

However, given the current situation, it really seemed impossible not to use the "big baby."

Because of that, Nick couldn't find any solid reason to refute the group of congressmen, leaving him looking a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, the incoming video arrived just in time, letting him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Video?"

The Council members frowned suspiciously.

The white-haired old man with the most authority said, "You've got one minute."

"No problem."

Nick doubled the playback speed, pointed the tablet toward the camera in front of him, and played the footage for the congressmen.

It showed Blaine unleashing his power to clear Manhattan.

The meteorite flames ignited.

The downpour from the skies ceased.

It sounds like a long sequence, but in reality it was barely a minute—and with Nick's double speed, it finished even faster.

The members of Congress suddenly fell into existential doubt.

WTF?

Never mind these "super genetic warriors" showing up.

Thor appearing was one thing.

But now, after aliens had already exhausted their spirits, here was another magician?

"This is the hunter I hired for tens of billions of dollars," Nick said, closing the tablet cover. He spoke with full confidence. "Now, the aliens in Manhattan have been cleared, and the aliens outside the wormhole are temporarily contained. As long as they're given a little more time, they'll definitely solve this problem. What do the members of Congress think about this development?"

How to think?

What else could they think?

Obviously, they should let Blaine and his team figure it out.

The congressmen might be cowards, but they weren't complete idiots. Blaine's two massive magic circles had essentially the same effect as the "big baby." Since the effect was already achieved, there was no need to use the weapon they'd prepared. For now, those "small actions" could be put away.

As for whether Nick was trolling them…

Impossible. They could verify everything through satellite imagery, and they had people watching Manhattan in real time.

Nick wouldn't dare fake this.

Still, Nick was cautious by nature.

There was no way he'd place all his hopes on Blaine and the Avengers.

He had one final trump card he hadn't mentioned—his ultimate contingency, reserved for the moment Earth was truly on the brink of destruction.

Meanwhile, during this short window when everyone was still on the move…

There was a small incident at Tony's rooftop bar.

Blaine had just added two more arrows to the lightning field overhead, extending its lifespan by a few minutes.

Then, he landed on the Stark Tower rooftop bar, looking around.

Aside from the bar itself being intact, the scene was almost exactly the same as when he'd last been here.

Oh, and Loki.

Blaine glanced indifferently at Loki, who had just woken up, dazed.

Patter.

His footsteps caught Loki's attention.

At the moment, Loki was in an extremely sensitive—and volatile—state.

He rubbed his temples, blinked at Blaine in confusion, then suddenly realized where he was. He shot to his feet, glaring furiously.

"You bloody bastard."

"Using people's money to clean up other people's messes."

Blaine shrugged with mocking indifference. From Loki's perspective, given their opposing sides, Blaine probably did deserve to die.

But Loki didn't take the bait—he actually smiled.

"You're scarier than the aliens. Do you think they'll let you go? You're the chief culprit who destroyed Manhattan."

Loki wasn't a fool. He had nearly broken the Avengers before, and in some ways, he was even sharper than Tony Stark.

He'd seen the destructive might of Blaine's meteorite flame circle—almost all of the Chitauri in Manhattan had been wiped out.

But Loki also realized the meteorite flame was indiscriminate. The surrounding buildings had already caught fire before he was blasted away.

So he tried to use that destruction to turn Blaine against those detestable congressmen.

"Some people on this planet don't care what you've saved," Loki said smoothly.

"They only see the damage you've done."

"When that happens, will there still be a place for you on Earth?"

His tone turned seductive. "I can help you."

…

Blaine stared at him like he was an idiot, sighed, and shook his head. "I suggest you look out the window."

Look out the window?

Loki immediately stepped to the floor-to-ceiling glass and peered out. His expression froze.

What was going on?

Why wasn't the city in flames?

Loki almost gagged.

He felt like a complete fool for what he'd just said.

Because his attempt to sway Blaine relied on one condition—if that condition didn't exist, his words were meaningless.

That condition was that Blaine had destroyed Manhattan while killing the Chitauri.

But what did reality show?

Aside from a few scorched patches, there was no sign of devastation. In fact, puddles of water still dotted the streets.

Loki's face turned ashen.

"Honestly," Blaine said, "you're stupid. Your stupidity was exposed the moment you came to Earth."

"It's not wrong to be stupid."

"What's wrong is turning stupidity into your personality—being so self-righteous that you think, in my eyes, you're… smart?"

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