Chapter 151: Jax: Transcendental Technique

Volstagg very shrewdly ducked his head and backed away from the center of the arena, leaving Thor and Jax standing face to face.

"Uhm..." Thor scratched his head, "I am the God of Thunder, the Thunder God of Asgard!"

Cheers erupted all around. Amidst the clamor, Olaf shifted forward to ensure he could leap down at any moment for the second round.

"Earth, Clock Tower, Weapon Master, Jax." Jax remained completely calm, entirely unaffected by the cheering.

Oww-oo-oo-oo!

Olaf waved his arms and forcefully overpowered the shouting of the thousands of Asgardians.

The corners of Jax's twitching mouth tightened; he was almost driven to a breakdown by his own teammate—Olaf was simply a blockhead who had no concept of social embarrassment!

"Earth... Midgard?" Thor pondered for a moment before remembering what Earth represented, "Are there warriors in Midgard?"

Jax's face darkened; it was time to teach Thor a lesson.

"Uhm... No..." Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Thor quickly corrected himself, "I mean, are there actually warriors in Midgard who can fight?!"

...

It seemed one lesson would not be enough; at least two were in order!

Swish! The streetlamp in his hand whistled as it cleaved through the air. Jax lowered his posture and beckoned to Thor with a finger.

"Enough talk. Let's begin, God of Thunder."

There was a hint of mockery in Jax's voice. Thor was far weaker than the thunder deities of the heavenly celestial ministries.

"Um... Are you sure you don't want to change weapons?"

Thor felt it would be unsportsmanlike to win this way, but Jax ignored his sentiment entirely.

With no other choice, Thor raised Mjolnir.

A bolt of lightning plunged from the sky, coiling around Thor's body in tandem with the hammer.

Immediately afterward, Mjolnir lashed out fiercely, kicking up a blinding sheet of lightning that surged toward Jax.

Jax looked indifferently at the thunder dragon, his fingers hooking around the lamppost to spin it in a circle.

Just as the lightning reached him, the spinning streetlamp drove directly into the heart of the thunder dragon, hoisting the entire beast up.

Guided by the streetlamp, the thunder dragon circled once in mid-air. With a flick of his wrist, Jax added a little extra force and flung the thunder dragon right back the way it came.

Before the astonished Thor could react, he was blasted straight backward by his own lightning.

Ahhh! Bam!

Having underestimated his enemy, Thor was sent crashing directly into the wall surrounding the arena.

Oww-oo-oo-oo-oh!

Cheers rang out across the arena. Amidst the uproar, an Asgardian nudged his companion.

"Didn't Thor just get blown away? Why is everyone cheering so enthusiastically?"

"Don't you think this is amazing?!" his companion shouted back. "Besides, you don't actually think the prince is going to lose to a Midgardian, do you? No way, absolutely no way! This is just a minor accident!"

Whoosh! Thor rocketed out of the billowing smoke. He conceded that this Midgardian had a few tricks up his sleeve, but he was the Asgardian God of Thunder! He would not lose!

"I will uphold the glory of Asgard!" Shouting, Thor began circling around Jax, firing bolts of lightning that rained down upon the stationary Jax with every orbit.

Tsk... Jax shook his head, feeling somewhat disappointed in Thor.

Counter-Strike!

The single lamppost in Jax's hands seemed to multiply into countless afterimages, its shadows appearing at every corner around him in an instant, effortlessly deflecting the incoming lightning bolts each and every time.

Under Thor's repetitive assaults, a swirling sphere of thunder seemed to form around Jax. The crackling energy pulsing within the sphere caused the Asgardians in the stands to involuntarily recoil.

Counter-Strike—Phase Two!

Jax's figure paused, and the trapped thunder sphere instantly shattered.

Gouts of violent energy cascaded downward. Amidst the downpour, an unremarkable streetlamp pillar battered them away one by one.

Thor executed an emergency evasive maneuver, darting erratically through the air. Yet Jax seemed to be running a prediction cheat, every single blast of energy accurately tracking and striking the airborne Thor.

Whack, whack, whack! The onlookers could only watch as Thor twitched continuously in mid-air, looking precisely like a tennis ball being batted back and forth by countless rackets.

Hah! Jax swatted away the final cluster of energy. The energy mass traced an eerie arc through the air and smashed Thor directly down into the ground from above.

The surrounding arena fell into absolute silence. This no longer looked like an accident...

Olaf showed zero surprise in the stands. Jax could bat his own axes right back at him, let alone the attacks of that little Thunder God. Even Ryze wouldn't dare hurl spells haphazardly in front of Jax, lest he be taught a lesson in a matter of seconds.

Cough, cough! Thor scrambled up from the ground, his head spinning slightly, though he had sustained no real injury.

Only then did Jax's impression improve slightly. Technique, power, and offensive output were all mediocre, but the guy was remarkably sturdy.

Aaaaaaah! Seizing Mjolnir, Thor charged blindly forward. Since ranged attacks were useless, it was time for a brutal, hand-to-hand brawl!

Olaf didn't even want to watch anymore. Yet another suicidal move.

Just as he anticipated, the streetlamp in Jax's grip seemed possessed of a life of its own, effortlessly deflecting Thor's every strike before returning blows directly onto Thor's body.

The moment Thor entered close-quarters combat in pursuit of a meat-grinder battle, he completely lost all mobility. He was simply battered back and forth without even a moment to catch his breath.

Thwack! Boom! A massive surge of energy erupted from within Thor's body, and roiling thunder flooded the entire sky.

Wishing to see what ultimate techniques Thor still had left, Jax withdrew his lamp and let Thor ascend into the firmament.

The thunderclouds in the sky gathered thicker and thicker, and Thor's eyes turned entirely purple, radiating the power of the Thunder God.

Down below, Jax sighed once more. Who taught this guy? When your strength is suppressed and you have no teammates, you take this long to channel a spell?

He had originally wanted to witness Thor's ultimate move, but if he kept waiting any longer, his own IQ would drop to Thor's level.

Leap Strike!

Jax bounded into the air and brought his weapon down squarely on Thor's forehead.

Empower!

Jax unleashed a full combo upon the dazed Thor, the frequency of his swinging streetlamp accelerating faster and faster.

It became so fast that the blows blurred together, appearing as though countless lampposts were hammering into Thor simultaneously.

Grandmaster's Might!

Jax took a single, small step backward. All the afterimages left behind by his previous attacks converged into his weapon, which he then brought down with crushing force.

Boom!

The arena floor cracked outward in a massive circle. Thor lay unconscious right at the center, his divine thunder armor fractured inch by inch under the relentless onslaught until it shattered entirely into pieces.

Utter stillness! Not a single sound echoed in the arena, as though everyone present had perished.

Clap, clap, clap. Odin began to applaud once Jax landed back on the ground.

Instantly, cheers shook the heavens.

Jax offered a slight bow, hoisted Thor over one shoulder, picked up Mjolnir with his other hand, and leapt back up into the stands.

Frigga stepped forward, a look of distress on her face as she took Thor and led him aside for treatment.

Odin, however, kept his gaze fixed on Jax—or more precisely, on Mjolnir resting in Jax's grasp.

Failing to understand the intent, Jax placed Mjolnir on the ground beside Odin and jammed his streetlamp back into its original position.

"I have made a fool of myself," Jax said softly to Odin.

"Think nothing of it. I shall honor the wager just made," Odin said, turning his gaze toward Olaf.

Olaf was already growing restless in his seat. Receiving a nod from both Odin and Jax, he leaped high into the air and crashed heavily into the exact center of the arena.