Chapter 302

Dimensional Trader In Marvel

Josh raised the Broken Steel Sword in his hand, golden energy crackling like lightning around his body, and met Thor’s hammer head-on.

As the two weapons officially clashed, a massive burst of energy erupted, forming a powerful shockwave that spread outward. Even the mirror dimension they were in began to show signs of instability.

Clearly, Josh’s precautions had been wise—and thankfully they were in the mirror dimension—otherwise, just that one impact would’ve required a full renovation of the Schönbrunn Palace square.

However, the Ancient One was not flustered in the slightest. With a wave of her hand, the slightly unstable mirror dimension was instantly restored to its original state—and even reinforced.

These two kids were strong, sure, but as long as Josh didn’t use the Power Stone, they were nothing the Ancient One couldn’t handle.

“Good, good, good! Again!” The fierce impact forced both Josh and Thor back several steps. Rather than being angry, Thor was delighted.

His past experiences of easily crushing opponents had nurtured pride and complacency, but due to his fundamentally straightforward nature, he deeply craved a true opponent he could battle with.

And in Josh, he had finally found that feeling of a real fight.

He immediately charged forward again with an excited swing of his hammer.

Although their strengths were roughly equal, anyone observing from another space could clearly see that, compared to the battle-hardened Thor, Josh’s combat techniques were still a bit lacking—he seemed a bit raw, and this left him slightly at a disadvantage.

This was understandable. Since acquiring his powers, Josh hadn’t exactly been idle in battle, but most of his victories had come from sheer overwhelming power.

Add to that a cadre of powerful subordinates—he rarely needed to act personally.

Even when sparring occasionally with his men, they would never go all out against him.

Back on Xandar, Josh had already noticed this issue.

Despite having an absolute advantage in power, it had still taken him several minutes to take down a wounded Starhawk.

In contrast, while Thor hadn’t faced many overwhelming opponents either, he had lived for over a thousand years and had far more combat experience than Josh.

He also routinely fought enemies numbering dozens or hundreds more than himself.

Even though it appeared Thor had the upper hand, this fact alone astonished the Warriors Three and Sif.

After all, Thor was a mighty warrior who had dominated the Nine Realms for over a millennium.

And who was Josh? They had never even heard of him.

Yet now, this unknown Josh was going toe-to-toe with Thor!

To the Warriors Three and Sif, this was genuinely shocking.

No wonder Odin had so solemnly reminded them to stay humble before they departed.

Turns out Earth was hiding such a formidable presence.

They could even tell that while Josh’s technique looked unpolished, he was rapidly improving as he exchanged blows with Thor.

Clearly, Josh was using Thor to train himself which meant he probably wasn’t going all out!

Of course, in their minds, Thor probably wasn’t either.

But standing quietly off to the side, Loki knew the truth: Josh was holding back.

In his view, if Josh used the power he had displayed on Xandar, Thor wouldn’t last more than a few moves but now, as Josh’s hidden agent, Loki could only keep all of this to himself.

“Prince Loki, who do you think will win—my father or your brother?” A clear female voice suddenly sounded beside him.

“Your Majesty!” Loki looked over and saw that Carol had appeared next to him without him even noticing.

Damn, he’s this powerful, and even his daughter is no slouch! Loki thought, half preparing to bow and half grumbling internally.

Carol had approached him, and he hadn’t noticed a thing.

“Please, Prince Loki, no need to bow. This isn’t a formal occasion,” Carol quickly stopped him.

Seeing Carol wave him off, Loki went along with it and simply gave a slight bow in return.

“Does Your Majesty need something from me?” Loki asked, puzzled as to why she sought him out.

“Nothing much. I just wanted to thank Prince Loki for yesterday,” Carol said warmly.

As one of Josh’s secret operatives, only Margot and a few key subordinates like Carter knew Loki’s true role. Carol didn’t know, so she was here to thank Loki for kneeling in public the previous day.

Although Josh had told her to treat the Asgardian delegation like any other foreign one, to Carol, Loki—being the legendary Prince of Asgard—had absolutely no need to kneel.

Not even a knight’s half-kneel done out of respect for a woman.

Thor, for example, hadn’t done it!

So Carol was very grateful to Loki. It had been a proud moment.

“Your Majesty flatters me,” Loki quickly understood that Carol had misunderstood, but there wasn’t much he could say, so he returned the gesture respectfully.

He could only keep grumbling in his mind—if it weren’t for Josh, who the hell would bow to you?

Still, up close, the girl really was quite pretty.

“Prince Loki, you’re completely different from the rumors!” Carol said with a gentle laugh.

From yesterday to today, Loki had behaved like a gentleman in every situation, showing great respect to her as queen. His demeanor was completely unlike the legendary god of lies and mischief, and Carol had developed a good impression of him.

Hearing this, Loki could only force a smile, unsure how to respond.

Should he say that a lot of the legends were actually true? Like the time he cut Sif’s hair, among other things—even worse than what was in the stories?

But unlike the tales where Sif supposedly cried for days, the real Sif had spent the next few decades punching him every time she saw him!

That wasn’t something he could admit—Loki had pride too!

——————————————

Speaking of Sif, she and the Warriors Three were on the other side, discussing the battle between Josh and Thor.

“Hard to believe that just a few hundred years away from Midgard, and such a powerful being has appeared! But still, Thor is stronger,” Sif sighed.

The Warriors Three all nodded in agreement.

“No, my father is the strongest! But I’ll be even stronger than both of them one day!” a discordant voice suddenly chimed in nearby.

The Warriors Three and Sif all glared angrily in unison—then relaxed as they saw the speaker.

It was just a child standing not far away.

“Hello, I know you. You’re Ben Kane—the Queen’s younger brother,” Sif looked at the child kindly and greeted him with a warm smile.

That’s right—the speaker was none other than Josh’s third son, Ben Kane.

Though the Warriors Three and Sif were hot-tempered as warriors, they weren’t about to get angry at a child.

“Hello, I know you too—Goddess of Harvest, Sif. My mother told me stories about you… You’re even prettier than she said!” Ben blushed slightly, his former bravado vanishing as soon as Sif greeted him.

“Hahaha, thank you for the compliment, child! Come here!” Delighted by the praise, Sif immediately waved Ben over to her side, even forgetting to keep watching the fight between Thor and Josh.

Women all like being praised for their beauty, especially when the one doing the praising is a child who doesn’t know how to lie!

That’s right, children don’t know how to lie—Sif firmly believed this!

Facing Sif’s summons, Ben hesitated slightly and glanced at Margot not far away.

Margot just smiled gently and said nothing.

Seeing this, Ben no longer hesitated and walked over to Sif.

“How old are you this year?” Sif pulled the child into her arms and then asked.

“Ten years old!” Sif’s affectionate gesture clearly left Ben a little at a loss, and he quickly responded.

“Haha, such a shy child. If you want to become a strong warrior like Thor and your father, being so shy won’t do!” Seeing Ben’s reaction, Sif immediately found it amusing.

“I’m not shy. I will definitely become a warrior even stronger than them!” Stimulated by Sif’s words, Ben immediately became excited and shouted loudly.

Ben’s shout startled Sif and the Three Warriors, but they all laughed heartily afterwards.

“Yes, child, you will surpass everyone and become the strongest one!” No decent person would mock a child’s dream, and neither would Sif and the Three Warriors. Instead of being offended, they found Ben’s bold words full of ambition.

After a brief hesitation, Sif drew a short sword from the back of her waist. It was her secondary weapon, which had accompanied her for over a hundred years. However, since she usually favored her standard sword and shield, she rarely used this short sword.

“Take it, child. A warrior must not be without their own weapon!” Regardless of whether Ben could lift it, Sif directly placed the sword into his hands. After all, Uru steel was not as lightweight as vibranium.

Fortunately, Josh’s children, like their mother, had received Tiamut’s blessing. Though the blessing didn’t grant them immense power, their physiques were exceptional. Although Ben still felt the short sword was a bit heavy, he held it steadily.

“Thank you, I will take good care of it!” Ben said softly as he accepted the short sword.

“Oh no, a warrior’s weapon isn’t meant to be merely kept well, but to be used in battle…Keep it up, child. When you become powerful in the future, I can say, look, the weapon of that mighty warrior was a gift from me!” Sif laughed and gently ruffled Ben’s golden hair as she spoke warmly.

“I definitely will!” Ben nodded firmly.

“Alright then, go back!” Sif ruffled Ben’s short golden hair several more times.

Ben nodded and jogged back to Margot, showing off the short sword Sif had given him with a proud expression.

Margot was also quite surprised that Sif had given her son a short sword, and she responded with a kind smile.

Seeing Margot’s smile, for some reason, Sif was reminded of Frigga.

“What a pity!” At this moment, Hogun suddenly remarked.

“What?” Sif asked, puzzled.

“This child has great potential, but just like that daughter, they’ll probably hold high positions from a young age and won’t likely participate in actual combat. Your short sword is destined to go unused!” Hogun spoke a likely truth.

“No matter. It’s just a child’s dream. Whether it’s realized or not is another matter! Who hasn’t had dreams? Don’t tell me all your childhood dreams came true?” Sif replied with a carefree laugh.

“You’re right!” Hogun was stunned for a moment at her words, then responded with relief.

At this moment, the battle between Josh and Thor on the other side of the Mirror Dimension had also ended.

“That’s it for today!” Josh said, slightly out of breath.

The battle was intense, but there was no decisive outcome.

Just as Loki had secretly complained, Josh had been holding back.

After all, it was just a sparring match. Josh only needed to display some of his strength—not to intimidate Asgard.

A good fight was enough.

In contrast, Thor felt a bit unsatisfied but he wasn’t someone who didn’t know his limits. After all, he was a guest in someone else’s home. If he kept pressing, it would be unseemly for Asgard.

“A most satisfying fight! If there’s another chance, I’d love to spar with you a few more times. Or, if you ever visit Asgard, I’ll be sure to give you a grand welcome!” Thor patted Josh on the shoulder as he spoke.

Though the battle had no winner, the strength Josh had shown was enough to earn his respect.

Thus, the sparring match, enjoyed by both host and guest, came to an end.

Seeing this, the Ancient One also lifted the mirror magic.

By this time, Carol and Loki had already parted ways, so Josh didn’t see his daughter chatting happily with Loki.

Otherwise, he would probably have struck first and eliminated Loki as a potential threat.

Later, both sides enjoyed a lavish banquet at Schönbrunn Palace at noon. Afterward, Thor, representing Asgard, bid farewell and returned to Asgard via the Bifrost.

With this honored guest gone, Schönbrunn Palace quickly returned to its usual tranquility.

While Schönbrunn and Austria remained peaceful, the outside world was in chaos.

The meteoric rise of the United Kingdom of Austria had too great an impact on the global landscape.

All the major powers needed to adjust their strategic plans.

Originally, none of this would have affected Josh but then came an intelligence report brought by Carter that caught Josh’s attention.

The report was submitted by a subsidiary of the IMF. According to normal procedure, it should have been sent to the White House.

But since the IMF leader Carter had fully pledged allegiance to Josh, she intercepted the report and delivered it directly to him.