From the golden gate, countless Buddhas flew out, stopping in front of the helicarrier. The one leading them was surrounded by an even brighter golden radiance.
"Master Upali, what should we do now?"
As one of Shakyamuni's ten great disciples, Upali frowned deeply. Rescuing Loki was a mission that had to be carried out — without him, their entire follow-up plan would collapse.
They had originally planned to appear suddenly, overwhelming the S.H.I.E.L.D. with their divine presence — whether by force or intimidation, they would take Loki with them without issue.
But…
They had never expected lin to be there. Not only lin, but also the awakened God of Thunder, Thor, and two Gold Saints. Their rescue plan was essentially ruined.
According to the usual Buddhist way, they should have fled imdiately. But Upali was different — unlike so of his peers or even his teacher, Shakyamuni, he disdained running away. Even if they had to retreat, they could not do so without putting up a fight.
"Eighteen disciples, form the Eighteen Arhats Formation! Hold them off! The rest of you, attack that ship directly! I don't believe they'll just stand by while their people die! As soon as there's an opening, rescue Loki and retreat!" Upali ordered.
"…Yes."
Although Upali held a high status among the Buddhist ranks and was known as the foremost keeper of precepts, many monks disliked his recklessness. Knowing they were walking into certain death, why not just run? Didn't he understand that old saying, "as long as the green hills remain, there'll always be firewood to burn"?
So while they appeared to obey, several Buddhas secretly began retreating toward the golden gate, hoping to flee.
The next mont, their hope was shattered.
"Scarlet Needle!"
"Lightning Plasma!"
Golden thunder beams struck the gate, cracking it open. Fourteen scarlet needles streaked like teors into the widening fractures.
With a series of sharp cracks, the golden gate exploded, collapsing in a rain of radiant shards — their escape route was gone.
"Leo… Scorpio…" Upali growled, glaring at the two golden warriors floating before him.
Though he was one of Shakyamuni's most powerful disciples, his strength and status far above most Buddhas, Gold Saints personally trained by lin were not to be underestimated. In terms of Cosmo, neither Aiolia nor Milo fell short of him.
"Formation!"
"Yes!"
At Upali's command, eighteen disciples moved into position. A mysterious golden array appeared, and an enormous Arhat projection materialized above them, towering even higher than the helicarrier. Without a word, it brought down a colossal fist.
"Bigger doesn't an stronger."
From beneath the descending blow, Aiolia's voice rang out, and a blinding thunder beam pierced the giant's arm, detonating it from within.
The soldiers aboard the carrier erupted in cheers — not only out of relief, but awe at the Gold Saints' might.
But their joy froze in an instant.
The shattered light fragnts of the arm reassembled themselves rapidly, forming a new one exactly like the old. Aiolia's strike hadn't hard it at all.
At that mont, alarms blared. Apart from the eighteen monks forming the array and Upali himself, hundreds of Buddhas sward toward the helicarrier.
"Quick! Launch all fighter units! Activate full defense protocols!" Fury barked, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He knew it was too late, but he had to do sothing.
In the chaos, he didn't notice a few key people missing from the bridge.
"Director! We've detected new energy signatures on the deck — four of them!"
"It's the Captain! Captain's on the deck! And Iron Man too!"
"Ohhh!"
The appearance of the superheroes once again ignited hope among the crew. Even if they weren't sure whether Tony and Steve could stand against the Buddhas, their presence alone rekindled courage in the face of despair.
"That's… Thor!"
"And who's that? That armor looks incredible! Is he a Saint too?"
The remaining two energy sources were confird — the lightning-wreathed Thor, and lin in his divine armor.
…
Tony dodged energy blasts while firing at full power, ignoring his suit's energy limits.
He had studied Howard's research notes carefully — the ones on Cosmo, Cloths, and the nature of gods. They'd opened his eyes to a whole new field and massively advanced his armor design. But…
There just hadn't been enough ti. Against terrorists or soldiers, Tony could annihilate them easily — but against beings like these Buddhas, his firepower barely made a dent.
Right now, all he could do was buy ti.
"Bone-Crushing Spiral Strike!"
A tornado roared up from the deck, swirling around Tony and dragging in the attacking Buddhas. Though it only inflicted minor damage, it gave him room to retreat.
"Be careful, Tony! These enemies aren't like the ones you've fought before!" Steve shouted.
"You don't say! Damn it! If I just had a little more ti, my armor— Steve! Behind you!"
Steve's instincts flared; he spun and raised his shield just in ti.
Before he could even see the enemy, a golden palm imprint smashed into his shield, the imnse force blasting him off the deck and sending him plumting toward the ground.
"Captain!"
The crew scread as they watched him fall, their brief spark of hope fading with him. But they forgot — the helicarrier wasn't only protected by Steve and Tony.
Mid-fall, Steve suddenly felt the weight vanish, and in a blink, he was back on the deck.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine… didn't expect these monks to pull sneak attacks." Steve muttered wryly. He had overestimated them — so much for 'compassionate Buddhas'; they were nothing but hypocrites.
"Heh, what can't they do?" lin sneered.
A bolt of lightning weaved through the enemy ranks, Buddhas turning to charred husks as black ash fell like rain.
"So weak… these bald bastards still haven't— what the hell!?" Thor's voice rose in shock. The bodies of the Buddhas he'd just killed weren't falling; they floated, shrouded in dark energy. Their blackened skin peeled away, revealing pale flesh beneath, but the golden aura was gone. Their once-pure robes were now tainted black and violet, emanating death.
"Death is only the beginning! The Buddha didn't lie to us!"
"Hahaha! New power! The power of death! Transcending life and death — I've done it!"
"What are gods to us now? We, beyond life and death — even gods must fall! The era of the Buddhas has co—"
Before they could finish boasting, a rainbow-hued slash cut through them all. Within seconds, their new bodies turned to ash, their souls erased.
"You let your guard down, Thor. This is the right way to destroy them," lin said.
"What the hell is going on?" Thor asked, landing beside him.
"The Buddhists allied with Hades. They've gained the power of the Underworld. To kill them, you must destroy both body and soul." lin spoke calmly, his sword never stopping. Dozens of rainbow slashes tore through the air, annihilating enemies before they could resurrect.
"Those damned monks… how dare they!?" Thor roared, enraged. His body beca lightning again as he dove back into the enemy horde, unleashing divine thunder that obliterated both flesh and spirit — returning them to atoms.
anwhile, in the shadows, one Buddha slipped quietly into the helicarrier.
lin noticed — but said nothing. He wanted Loki to escape.
If Loki didn't flee, how could the Buddhists' next phase begin? And if they didn't act, how could he flush them all out and destroy them in one move?
…
In his cell, Loki's eyes lit up with relief when a rescuer appeared. With Thor and lin here, his original plan was worthless — escape seed impossible.
"You—"
"Shh. Quiet. I'm here to take you out. Don't alert anyone."
"Alright…"
Silently, the Buddha crushed a strange bead in his hand. Space warped around them, and both vanished from the helicarrier.
…
Outside, the Buddhas instantly received word of Loki's escape and began retreating at top speed.
Their sudden withdrawal imdiately raised suspicion.
"Damn it! Check if Loki's still there!" Fury snapped.
Monts later, the report ca in — Loki was gone.
"Damn it!" Fury slamd the console in rage. After all that, Loki had escaped right under their noses.
Outside, lin looked at the fleeing Buddhas, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.
"The ones who needed to leave are gone. The rest of you… can't."
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