#746 - surrender

The violent surge of furious energy shot along the blade's tip into Laufey's body. Fortunately, sensing the danger, he had preemptively coated a layer of solid ice beneath the skin of his shoulders; otherwise, he would have been gravely wounded and fallen by now.

He also benefited from the Frost Giant physiology, which differs greatly from ordinary humans. Otherwise, no matter how skilled he was in ice magic, simply freezing the area under his skin would have been fatal.

Laufey cursed inwardly. The climate of Midgard was truly unfavorable for their race. He could sense that the strength of this being before him far surpassed his current level. If they continued to fight, he would suffer greatly, even if he didn't die.

Thus, he hastily mobilized the last of his strength, using every ounce of power to force Blood Butcher back, and then decisively discarded his weapon.

"I surrender."

Laufey was straightforward. He threw down his weapon, then sat cross-legged on the ground, appearing indifferent to whether he lived or died. However, his opponent was no ordinary being. Blood Butcher's fame didn't come from its fusion with a Lantern or a Lantern Corps member; it was famous for being mindless.

Even Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lantern Corps, wouldn't transform into Blood Butcher unless in extreme danger. One must understand that, unlike other Lantern beasts, Blood Butcher resided on him most of the time.

Even in life-threatening situations, Atrocitus wouldn't willingly become Blood Butcher, illustrating how difficult it was to control. Transforming into it almost always resulted in a bloodbath.

As expected, Frank couldn't understand Laufey's words. A mindless Blood Butcher didn't care about surrenders or mercy. He took a large step forward, raised his axe, and slashed down at Laufey.

Laufey was stunned. This wasn't how he expected things to go.

Seeing the axe blade drawing closer, Laufey, having lost the initiative, didn't even have time to raise his weapon in defense. He could only try to turn death into serious injury.

"Clang!"

Laufey looked up, his forehead covered in a layer of fine ice crystals as he stared at the axe blade just centimeters away.

A blue wall, radiating a soft light, stood between him and the axe blade. This wall acted as an insurmountable barrier, separating the two and saving Laufey's life.

"That was a close call."

Unnoticed in the corner, Franklin, with his Blue Lantern ring on his left hand, slowly entered the scene. Clearly, that blue wall was his creation.

Under normal circumstances, a Blue Lantern without a Green Lantern nearby couldn't create a barrier capable of withstanding Blood Butcher's attack. However, the person wearing the ring was Franklin, and for him, nothing was impossible.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Blood Butcher immediately emitted a frustrated roar. Franklin, seeing this, immediately raised his left hand, releasing an even more brilliant blue light from the ring, almost filling the entire gymnasium.

The dazzling yet incredibly gentle blue light gradually converged towards Blood Butcher. This bloodthirsty beast surprisingly stood still, its breathing gradually becoming calmer, and the overflowing rage slowly subsided.

"Buzz!"

Under the illumination of the light of hope, even the eternally enraged Red Lantern would gain a moment of peace. With Franklin's efforts as a human-shaped Lantern battery, Frank quickly separated from the Lantern beast.

"Ugh, my head." Frank clutched his head. "Thank you, Franklin. It seems my training is still insufficient."

"Harby warned you, don't fuse with the Lantern beast unless absolutely necessary, especially your Red Lantern." Franklin shook his head.

"If it weren't for me, you might not have come back."

"It won't happen again." Frank promised, but who knew how much credibility that statement held.

"Never mind." Franklin sighed, then shifted his gaze to Laufey. "Let's take care of the most important thing first."

As the center of attention, Laufey, now that his life was no longer in danger, resumed his composed demeanor, sitting cross-legged on the ground, unconcerned as if the terrified person from before wasn't him.

...

The Frost Giant invasion came and went quickly, perhaps because S.H.I.E.L.D. happened to be there. The entire battle lasted less than an hour.

Coupled with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s swift response, the evacuation of personnel was extremely fast, and almost no one was injured, with only a few suffering abrasions and other minor injuries due to pushing and shoving.

There was only one person who was seriously injured.

After saluting, the agent stepped aside, allowing Yang Le to board a transport plane, flanked by Franklin and Frank.

The transport plane was filled with people, including the Han Yamei team and medical personnel wearing Red Cross uniforms. These medical personnel were busy trying to save one person's life.

Xue Xi, the world-renowned K-pop idol, was lying in a capsule-like glass chamber, which Yang Le guessed was some kind of life support device.

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Through the transparent cover, Yang Le could see that Xue Xi was covered in blood, with many areas showing bloody wounds and some places even covered in frost.

"We were one step late."

As soon as Yang Le entered, Han Yamei, who was standing nearby, explained, "By the time we arrived, the giants had already caught up with Tony Stark. Those giants were fighting like madmen, disregarding the consequences."

"Tony Stark was quickly defeated by this style of trading blows for blows. Two fists are no match for four hands, especially since he was carrying a helpless little girl."

Yang Le looked up and saw Tony sitting in a chair closest to the life support pod. If he wasn't afraid of interfering with the treatment, he might have thrown himself onto Xue Xi.

"By the time we arrived, Tony Stark had already put the armor on Xue Xi, probably wanting to protect her and keep her alive." Han Yamei looked pained. "However, the Frost Giant's magic seemed to have reacted with the armor's reactor."

"The reactor, stimulated by the magical energy, began to overload. Although Tony Stark reacted quickly and ordered the armor to eject the pilot, it was too late, and Xue Xi was caught in the explosion."

"The doctors said..." Zhu'er leaned against the wall, with many bandages wrapped around her body. "Fortunately, the remaining energy in the armor wasn't much, otherwise that girl might have been completely obliterated."

"Even so, Xue Xi was seriously injured." Danbi sat on the side hugging her legs. Judging by her eyes, she must have cried, her voice sounding hoarse and soft.

"The doctors are now doing their best to treat her, but they also say not to have too much hope. They can only do their best."