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Chapter 21: Deep Calculations
With a loud boom, Lance Ryder grabbed Emil Blonsky and slammed him over his shoulder into the ground.
The impact cracked the pavement, spreading fractures across the street and even reaching the base of buildings dozens of meters away.
Television helicopters circling above captured the entire moment.
Lance simply lifted his head and glanced at Blonsky as the monster quickly stood up again.
To be honest, although Blonsky was powerful, he was still far inferior to the Hulk.
He looked terrifying and moved with greater agility than the Hulk, but his strength had a clear upper limit.
And by now, he had already reached that limit.
If Lance truly wanted to end the fight, he could have done so long ago.
In fact, he had already identified the critical weakness in Blonsky's transformed body.
If Lance exploited it, Blonsky would die instantly.
But that wasn't Lance's goal.
He had no intention of revealing his true strength.
Instead, he needed to establish the illusion of a powerful threat—one the U.S. military could claim credit for defeating.
The real opponent Lance wanted to highlight wasn't Blonsky.
It was the Hulk.
There was another reason as well.
Perhaps the most important one.
Lance needed time to adapt to the level of power he could use on Earth.
After all, he had only recently returned from Jotunheim, and the two worlds were drastically different.
In Jotunheim, frost covered everything.
Water could only exist briefly under special conditions before freezing instantly.
Lance had achieved the rank of legendary mage largely because of that environment.
The endless cold of Jotunheim had allowed him to refine his ice magic to extraordinary levels.
If he ever wanted to regain that legendary level of power, focusing on ice magic would be the fastest path.
But that path carried risks.
Behind the power of ice stood the shadow of Odin himself.
Because of that, Lance had no intention of walking that road again—at least not openly.
Instead, he chose a related but safer alternative.
Water magic.
Water was the closest elemental form to ice.
It allowed him to use similar techniques while concealing the true extent of his abilities.
Casting water magic in public also served another purpose.
It would mislead potential enemies.
If they believed water was Lance's primary power, they might overlook his real capabilities.
One day, that misunderstanding could become his greatest hidden weapon.
And against Blonsky—
He didn't even need to reveal his full water magic.
Blonsky, of course, understood none of this.
As soon as he stood up again, he rushed toward Lance's water-formed body with another furious attack.
But this time, Lance dodged easily.
In an instant, he closed the distance.
His fist struck Blonsky directly in the chest.
The blow froze the monster's body for a split second.
Then Lance grabbed him again and threw him over his shoulder once more.
Blonsky crashed into the street for the second time.
Both the Hulk and the Abomination shared a common trait.
Their incredible durability.
Their bodies could withstand immense punishment and recover almost instantly.
For Lance, this was perfect.
It meant he could continue demonstrating his power for the entire world to see.
Again and again, Blonsky charged forward.
And again and again, Lance threw him back down.
With each passing moment, more water flowed into Lance's control.
His strength steadily increased.
Lance couldn't help imagining how this scene might appear on television in the future.
After all, in another timeline, the Hulk had once treated Loki in much the same way.
Lance glanced briefly toward the sky.
By now, at least three television helicopters were circling above the street.
Police and FBI helicopters had also arrived.
And the helicopter carrying General Ross, Betty Ross, and Bruce Banner hovered unusually low.
Perhaps…
It was time for the Hulk to enter the stage.
When Lance grabbed Blonsky once again and hurled him forward, he subtly changed the direction of the throw.
Blonsky rolled across the pavement like a giant ball and slammed into a utility pole beside the street.
Despite being a mage, Lance's close-combat abilities were far from weak.
His years in Jotunheim had forced him to fight constantly.
The Frost Giants there rarely held back.
Although they rarely caused permanent injuries, the repeated beatings had been humiliating.
Those countless battles had sharpened Lance's fighting skills dramatically.
By the time he reached the level of a legendary mage, even ordinary Frost Giant warriors could no longer defeat him in physical combat.
So dealing with Blonsky in close quarters was no challenge at all.
Blonsky slammed into the utility pole and grabbed it immediately.
With a violent pull, he tore the pole straight out of the ground.
Sparks exploded as high-voltage cables snapped.
The broken wires fell across the street, striking cars and sending arcs of electricity flying everywhere.
Within seconds, the entire street—and even nearby buildings—plunged into darkness.
Fortunately, several helicopters above quickly switched on their searchlights, illuminating the battlefield again.
But to see clearly, they were forced to fly lower.
Blonsky swung the utility pole like a weapon and hurled it toward Lance.
The water giant stood motionless.
Some viewers watching the broadcast gasped in horror.
Others realized immediately—
Lance had done it deliberately.
The pole pierced straight through the water giant's body.
For a moment, it seemed as if Lance had been split in half.
If his true body had been visible inside the water form, people might have assumed he had vanished entirely.
The scene left many viewers stunned.
If their assumption was correct—
Then Lance possessed a form of physical immunity.
That possibility was far more frightening than anything else.
Most conventional weapons would become useless against him.
Fortunately, the public quickly remembered something.
He was wearing a U.S. military uniform.
Otherwise, some officials might already have begun planning ways to counter his abilities.
Lance didn't care about any of that.
Because a rope of water had already formed in his hand.
As the utility pole passed through him, the water rope wrapped around it instantly.
Then the rope began spreading toward Blonsky's hands.
Blonsky sensed the danger.
He pulled the pole back sharply, then released it entirely to avoid being caught.
The pole spun through the air—
And struck one of the helicopters above.
The metal shaft pierced straight through the aircraft.
The scattered cables struck another helicopter nearby.
General Ross's helicopter and a CNN news helicopter had both been caught in the disaster.
Ross's helicopter suffered heavy damage.
The control system for its rotors was partially destroyed.
Although the aircraft began descending uncontrollably, the pilot still managed to maintain some control.
A crash landing was possible.
The news helicopter was not so fortunate.
It began plummeting toward the ground.
Just before the crash—
Bruce Banner broke free from the soldiers restraining him.
Then he jumped.
Betty Ross screamed.
"Bruce!"
"Be careful!" General Ross shouted as he grabbed his daughter.
He watched Banner fall with a grim expression.
Ross knew the truth.
Banner wasn't jumping to save the people in the crashing helicopter.
He was trying to escape.
Even if Banner transformed into the Hulk midair, saving the helicopter would be nearly impossible.
If anything, the Hulk might cause even more destruction.
But Lance Ryder had already anticipated everything.
The moment Banner jumped, Lance transformed into a rushing stream of water.
He surged upward toward the falling news helicopter.
At the last possible second, he created a five-meter-thick cushion of water beneath it.
The helicopter crashed into the cushion.
Even with the water absorbing most of the impact, the passengers were left dizzy and shaken.
Fortunately, the helicopter had not been flying at full altitude.
If it had fallen from a greater height, even water might not have saved them.
Before the crew could fully recover, the water cushion dissolved again into flowing streams.
The water rushed toward Ross's damaged helicopter.
This time, Lance didn't create another cushion.
Instead, he stabilized the aircraft directly, guiding it gently toward the ground with the help of its remaining rotor power.
The helicopter landed safely.
Moments later, Lance reappeared beside General Ross.
"General," Lance said calmly.
He nodded once.
Then he glanced toward Betty Ross.
But Betty wasn't looking at him.
Her attention was fixed on the center of the street.
Because at that very moment—
The Hulk had arrived.
And he was already fighting Blonsky.
Unfortunately, Banner had injected the experimental antidote earlier.
Even though he successfully transformed into the Hulk, his power was greatly reduced.
Blonsky was beating him badly.
Betty instinctively stepped forward.
Then she suddenly turned back toward Lance.
She grabbed his arm desperately.
"Lance… please save him!"
If Lance had truly been in love with Betty, this moment might have been unbearable.
Saving Banner would mean helping his rival.
Refusing would make him appear petty.
But fortunately for Lance—
His feelings for Betty were never that deep.
Instead, he turned toward General Ross.
"General?"
Ross nodded calmly.
"Go."
"If we wait any longer, the Hulk will fully recover his strength."
Lance rushed forward immediately.
Behind him, Betty stared at her father in shock.
"You… planned this?"
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