"Strange, what happened here? The two Ultron squads that were surrounding us suddenly scattered and fled." Thor asked.
Gaea and Atum had just left when they returned.
Ultron escaped?
And two squads!
The Watcher, who had been silent, changed his expression dramatically.
He hurriedly looked at Lucas, unable to help but say, "Sorcerer Lucas, this..."
Lucas gave the Watcher a look, and at the same time explained to Strange, "Don't worry, I noticed it early. Not a single Ultron escaped."
Run?
Once Lucas marked them, even if Ultron ran for years, he wouldn't escape.
Gaea, who had just rushed back, heard this and silently turned around and walked back.
She had underestimated Lucas, his actions were trustworthy.
"So, this crisis has been resolved?" Thor confirmed with Strange.
Strange looked at Lucas, and after seeing Lucas nod, he also nodded.
"Yes, that's right. The crisis is resolved, and the Sorcerer Supreme has once again protected reality."
Thor followed Strange's gaze to Lucas and smiled. He suggested with a smile, "That's great. Let's have a celebration feast."
A hearty battle, a difficult victory, must be accompanied by a grand feast.
However, most of the gods who returned with him refused him, even Odin was no exception.
Thor and Odin both returned alive, only suffering minor injuries.
Most other pantheons suffered heavy losses.
Many pantheons even lost their Skyfathers, and the power within the pantheon was imbalanced, requiring a new leader to be re-elected through competition.
Seeing that the gods did not respond, Thor could only seek out Strange.
Strange couldn't refuse him.
Lucas agreed.
From the male Ancient One, Lucas learned that Ragnarok had already occurred in the 616 Universe.
Thor had also successfully discovered the existence of the Shadow Gods and severed the threads of fate.
As a direct participant, he might have a deeper understanding of the Ragnarok event and the impact of severing the threads of fate.
...
At the Sanctum Sanctorum of Earth-616, a grand banquet was being held.
To make the banquet even livelier, Thor also invited Tony, Steve, Peter, Sif, The Warriors Three, and others.
In addition, the male Ancient One also called Wanda over. He said he wanted Wanda to learn more from the Scarlet Witch of the 616 Universe, but what he was really thinking was best left unsaid.
Lucas, on the other hand, called Strange.
He wasn't just there to see the two Strange look at each other.
Strange was crucial to his plan to hook Gaea.
He planned to hold a grand sorcerer gathering with Strange on Earth-616.
At the meeting, they would discuss some powerful, forbidden magic.
—Devouring magic.
Lucas believed that Gaea and Atum would definitely be very interested in this kind of magic.
Golden sparks flickered, a portal opened, and Strange stepped out of it.
Upon seeing Strange in front of him, he greeted him with a normal expression, "Good evening, Strange."
Strange retorted, "It's morning now."
Strange replied, "My apologies, it's evening where I am at."
Strange and Strange exchanged a few jokes before going their separate ways.
Strange continued to greet the various superheroes attending the banquet, explaining why it was a celebration.
Strange, on the other hand, walked over to a table, picked up some refreshments and drinks, and found a quiet corner to sit down and pour himself a drink.
From time to time, he would lower his head in deep thought, his brow furrowed, as if pondering something important. He seemed out of place at the banquet.
"Strange, want to play some card games?" A voice startled Strange from his contemplation.
He looked up in the direction of the voice, it belonged to an old man with a neatly trimmed white beard.
Not far behind the old man was a table.
Lucas was already sitting at the table, craning his neck to look over.
"Alright."
Strange nodded in agreement.
"Oh, we just need one more person." The male Ancient One said excitedly, rubbing his hands.
"Then master, just pull someone else over. There are quite a few guests now, so it should be easy to find someone." Lucas said casually.
"We can't just pick anyone. What if they're too bad and don't know how to play? Wouldn't that ruin our game experience?" The male Ancient One refused.
He believed himself to be a master, and playing with a novice would be meaningless, even if he won.
"Cards? How about I join you?" A hearty voice rang out.
The newcomer was a burly man with a lion-like mane of golden hair.
It was Thor.
"Thor?"
The male Ancient One muttered, a hint of disdain in his voice.
"Thor will do." Lucas said.
Thor's strength and bravery left too deep an impression, but he was actually both wise and brave. Most Thors across the Multiverse were like this.
"Alright then." The male Ancient One nodded, reluctantly agreeing.
After Thor took his seat, the four agreed on the stakes.
Thor suggested drinks as the stake, with the loser having to drink.
The male Ancient One, however, proposed a harsher stake: the loser would have to pull out a strand of hair.
This stake momentarily stunned Thor.
That lion-like golden hair was a major guarantee of his good looks. Although it could grow back, it wouldn't be as natural.
Soon, the male Ancient One was exposed by Lucas.
"Master, you are currently in a spiritual state, so pulling out hair will have no effect on you."
The male Ancient One then had something else to say. He didn't care for himself. In his spiritual state, alcohol and meat passed through him without leaving a trace.
But Lucas and Thor had powerful physiques, with much higher alcohol resistance than Strange. A drinking wager would be unfair to Strange.
So Strange seized the opportunity to propose, "How about the winner ask the loser one question?"
Lucas saw through Strange's little scheme but still nodded in agreement.
On the other side, the male Ancient One also nodded thoughtfully.
He had also figured it out.
Strange simply wanted to ask questions about reshaping the Universe.
Seeing that all three had agreed, Thor also nonchalantly accepted.
Soon, the game began.
To ensure fairness, the male Ancient One suggested that the four of them entwine their divine powers (mental energy) and cover the table. This way, anyone attempting to peek would be discovered.
With the possibility of cheating eliminated, the male Ancient One was full of confidence.
First round.
"Master, my apologies, I've won."
The male Ancient One glanced at Lucas, his expression unchanged.
Just luck!
"What question do you want to ask, Lucas?"
"Let's settle everything after the game ends," Lucas said, waving his hand.
Second round.
"Master, my apologies, I've won too."
The male Ancient One glanced at Strange.
Not bad, played quite methodically.
Third round.
Fourth round.
The male Ancient One's expression grew increasingly grim as he played.
Several times, he had good hands ready to win, only for Lucas and Strange to win first.
Lucas and Strange's skill wasn't as good as his, but they had good luck, getting miraculous draws. If it weren't for their divine powers covering the table, he would have thought they were peeking at the tiles.
"Ahem! Master, a scientific style is a dead end, you know." Lucas said in a low voice, seeing his expression.
"Yes, Master, you rely too much on calculated probabilities and neglect your own perception. Even without peeking at the tiles, our extraordinary perception can guide us to make the right choices." Strange also reminded him, feeling a bit embarrassed about winning so much.
He gently pointed at the back of the male Ancient One's cards, guessing each one.
"Seven of hearts, eight of diamonds, nine of clubs..."
Combining the visible information with the help of his extraordinary perception, Strange easily guessed male Ancient One's hand.
The male Ancient One sighed.
He, in turn, reminded Lucas and Strange.
"Magic is magic, and life is life. If you can't separate magic from life, and you become increasingly reliant on magic in daily life, you'll move further away from being 'human'."
The male Ancient One practiced magic to seek truth, not to achieve transcendence. This was where he differed from Lucas and Strange.
Lucas and Strange fell silent after hearing him.
Powerful sensory abilities were certainly a good thing, making them almost omniscient and omnipotent in daily life. But they also lost many surprises.
"Master, I understand."
Lucas nodded, actively suppressing his extraordinary perception.
In an instant, he felt the world blur for a moment, but he quickly adapted again.
Strange also nodded, following suit.
He was also indifferent to this. His daily life, his world, had long since ceased to exist.
The game continued, and the male Ancient One started to win, though he still lost more than he won.
After an unknown amount of time, a voice interrupted the four.
"Teacher, Lucas, you're here."
The newcomer was Strange.
Behind him followed a man in his thirties, with a slight potbelly and a look of defeat and weariness on his face.
"Sorcerer Spider-Man, it really is you."
No sooner had Strange finished speaking than the voice of the defeated man behind him rang out.
The defeated man's voice was full of disbelief.
"Long time no see, Spider-Man." Lucas looked at the defeated man and smiled.
The man was Peter B. Parker.
The two had met on Earth-65.
With Lucas's help, they thwarted Kingpin's evil plan on Earth-65.
"How can there be such a powerful Spider-Man?" Peter muttered to himself.
(End of Chapter)
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