He wore an eyepatch over one eye, but in his remaining eye, there was a wisdom and serenity that had seen through the vicissitudes of time.
"Father..."
Thor looked at the old man, his voice trembling slightly.
Odin looked at Thor, who was covered in wounds, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
"You look terrible, my son."
Thor stumbled forward and knelt before Odin.
"Father... I failed." Thor lowered his head in pain. "I couldn't protect Midgard, and I couldn't even protect the woman I love. I lost mjolnir... I don't have the strength to defeat that monster."
Odin reached out and gently placed a hand on Thor's shoulder.
"Thor, tell me, are you the God of Hammers, or the God of Thunder?"
Thor was stunned, and he looked up at his father in confusion.
"That hammer, mjolnir," Odin guided Thor calmly, "it was never the source of your power. It is merely a tool, a tool to help you control and concentrate the power within you."
"When you rely too much on a tool, you forget who you truly are."
"The power within you comes from the blood of the Aesir, from your determination to protect what you love, not from a piece of metal."
"But Father... that monster is too powerful..." Thor was still somewhat hesitant.
"Listen to me, son. A true god is not someone who cannot be knocked down."
Odin turned his body and looked out toward the vast sea.
"It is the moment he stands back up for everything he cherishes after being knocked down that he truly becomes a god."
Odin withdrew his gaze and looked back at Thor, a proud smile on his face.
"You are stronger than I am, Thor. You have simply forgotten how to release it."
"Now, go and feel the storm flowing in your blood, and listen to the roar of the heavens!"
Thor slowly closed his eyes, and the confusion in his heart began to dissipate...
The actual battle did not stop for even a moment just because Thor had entered his inner World.
Seeing Jane in danger, the Vought Heroes in the rear could no longer maintain their composure.
"Bastard! Let her go!"
Jessica gave a furious shout and flickered directly to Jane's side.
Homelander did not stop her, allowing her to take Jane Foster away.
"Everyone, attack together! Don't give him a chance to react!"
Seeing Jane out of danger, Steve immediately instructed everyone to launch an attack.
He was the first to throw the Vibranium shield in his hand. The shield carved a sharp arc through the air, heading straight for Homelander's throat.
"Veronica!!"
Tony let out a loud roar, and dozens of massive mechanical components quickly dropped from the sky.
The components precisely attached themselves to Tony's armor in mid-air with a series of clicks, and in the blink of an eye, they assembled into an Anti-Hulk Armor nearly four meters tall.
Banner let out a furious roar as his body rapidly expanded and turned green, transforming into the Hulk and charging forward with heavy strides.
All the heroes simultaneously launched a siege on Homelander.
Facing the combined attack, Homelander was completely unconcerned.
Seeing the incoming Vibranium shield, he swatted the edge of the shield with a backhand slap.
"Vring—!"
The shield let out a sharp, vibrating hum and was swatted back several times faster than it had come, slamming heavily into Steve's chest and sending him flying.
This was only because Homelander had held back; otherwise, another Captain America would have been split in two.
"Taste this!"
Tony's Anti-Hulk Armor had already rushed close, engines at full throttle. A heavy hydraulic ram spewing propulsion flames headed straight for Homelander's face.
Facing the whistling iron fist, he neither dodged nor evaded, catching the Anti-Hulk Armor's massive fist with casual ease.
"Crick-crack!!"
A sound of twisting metal rang out.
Homelander's fingers sank deep into the armor's alloy shell, and he ripped it violently.
Veronica's two arms were torn off by force, leaving thick cables exposed and sparks flying everywhere.
"Warning! Arm armor severely damaged! System offline!" Jarvis alerted Tony frantically within his helmet.
Homelander did not stop; he closed in, and the thick alloy armor was torn to shreds like cardboard.
Tony was ejected from the back of the armor in a disheveled state.
None of the other heroes who rushed up could last a single move against Homelander, and the battle line collapsed in an instant.
This green-skinned alien was practically a Great Demon King!
Steve struggled to get up from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of bloody foam.
Seeing his comrades fallen all around him, he suddenly roared, "This won't work! We must fight to the death! Everyone, use T-VEX!"
Hearing Steve's command, Tony ejected from his armor and injected a syringe filled with green liquid into his body.
The other heroes followed suit, plunging the needles into their necks without hesitation.
"Jarvis! Activate Mark TX!"
"Received, sir."
In the sky, a streamlined, dark red metal pod fell rapidly.
The metal pod disintegrated in mid-air, turning into metal components that quickly covered Tony's body.
This was a new generation of armor Tony had specifically developed to adapt to the massive physical enhancement after injecting T-VEX.
It had no extra firepower peripherals, but it pushed melee kinetic energy to the limit.
Feeling the explosive power within him, Tony turned and threw another precisely measured, diluted version of T-VEX toward the roaring Hulk in the distance.
"Hulk! Catch! Remember, don't go crazy!"
Hulk opened his massive maw and caught the syringe, chewing it up along with the casing and swallowing it down.
The original dose of T-VEX would cause Hulk to completely lose his mind and attack his allies, but this diluted version could push his strength to another peak.
"Hraugh—!!!"
Hulk let out a wild, violent roar.
His body expanded again at a speed visible to the naked eye, his skin turning a deep emerald green, his muscles bulging like rocks, and his veins popping out.
"Round two... Vought Heroes! Assemble!"
Steve picked up his fallen shield and strapped it tightly to his arm.
The other heroes also charged toward Homelander once more, like wild beasts released from their cages.
The battle began again!
"Boom—!"
Hulk was the first to strike. He kicked off the ground, his body curling up like a bowling ball as he slammed into Homelander with terrifying kinetic energy.
Seeing this familiar move, Homelander imperceptibly showed a fatherly smile.
He raised his fist and punched back at the incoming Hulk.
"Bang!"
The two ultimate physical forces collided violently in mid-air.
A white sonic boom ring expanded outward with the two at its center, filling the air with sand.
Hulk's rolling momentum was stopped dead, but he did not pause.
He used the rotation to bleed off the counter-shock of the collision, forcefully twisted his body, and exerted sudden power from his core.
An uppercut, a Rising Dragon, was thrown from below!
Homelander tilted his head back slightly, calmly evading the face-slapping strike.
Then he closed in and swatted Hulk's cheek with a backhand slap.
"Slap!"
The green giant was sent tumbling through the air for several rotations.
"Nice move, big guy," Homelander commented unceremoniously. "But your lower body is too unstable! When you exert force, your feet aren't fully gripping the ground. You've leaked at least thirty percent of your power and speed!!"