In the backyard of the estate, Cassius walked slowly onto the lawn.
As far as the eye could see, the grounds were surrounded by a thirty-meter-high wall. The fifty-acre backyard was large enough for him to race cars to his heart's content.
Its luxury was arguably the best in all of New York. A swimming pool, soccer field, basketball court, and golf course were all there. Not far away, a separate lot had been built to park vehicles and better manage the backyard.
In the center of the backyard stood a huge stone statue of a giant horse rearing up on one foot, its head tilted toward the sky.
Originally, the surrounding wall was less than five meters high, but Cassius had it raised to thirty meters so he could experiment with the rewards the system gave him. The wall was also six meters thick! Even a cannonball striking it head-on would leave it completely unscathed.
"Since even Wanda is working so hard, I should also familiarize myself with my own abilities!" Cassius stretched and yawned with a lazy expression.
The past few days had been filled with intense "exercise," and he hadn't had a chance to properly train his abilities.
This was the perfect opportunity to practice while Wanda was studying.
He also hadn't had the chance to properly study the reward he received last time, so he would use this time to do so. Looking at the endless sky and the beautiful scenery of the backyard, his mood was instantly lifted.
"Fire Elemental Power!" Cassius simply thought the words to himself, and the system panel instantly appeared before him.
[Fire Elemental Power]: The possessor has supreme control over the fire element! The more developed this ability is, the stronger the control over the fire element!
"This is a pretty good reward!"
He couldn't help but feel that completing the Minotaur mission had really given him a good thing.
The God-Tier Magic Talent gave him the ability to learn magic faster, and now having Fire Elemental Power meant he could easily control this power. Although it couldn't compare to the Phoenix Force, it was still one of the natural elements and could be of great use in a fight.
Snap!
Cassius raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. A flame, like a slithering snake, ignited on his index finger. The flame wrapped around his fingertip, and with a single thought, it darted out like a fiery serpent.
This showed that his control over the flame was incredibly precise. Don't underestimate this small detail; it was crucial in combat.
"Fire Lotus!" Cassius thought to himself and opened his palm. The small fiery snake instantly exploded, forming a lifelike lotus made of flame in his hand. With a single thought, the fiery lotus began to churn and shrink into a fireball the size of a fingernail.
The elemental flame was compressed, and although it looked small, it contained a terrifying amount of energy. If Cassius were to fire it now, the explosion would be no less powerful than three cruise missiles.
Next, he put his hands together, and the fireball floated into the sky and slowly scattered, forming individual characters. A scorching heatwave instantly swept toward him. Even though the flames were floating in the air, the grass on the lawn below bent, yellowed, and began to wither.
"Burst!" With a single thought from Cassius, the characters instantly exploded. At the moment of the explosion, the space around the flames began to twist due to the rapid rise in temperature. A scorching heatwave rolled forward, and the powerful force even ignited the withered grass on the ground.
"I should also be able to use it like this." Just as he thought this, the flames had already followed his fist and wrapped around his body. Strangely, the flames didn't affect his clothes or hair at all. But from the feedback from the surroundings, the flames only didn't affect Cassius.
This was the terrifying thing about having precise control over flames. If he wanted to, he could even make an enemy stop in their tracks a thousand feet away.
After a series of attempts, Cassius waved his hand and the flames dissipated. He had to admit, the flame was much more interesting than he had imagined. Because he had Fire Elemental Power, he could change it into various forms.
For example, he could make flames erupt at a specific location, a feat that would already put him above most mages. However, his control over the fire element was still too low for him to be able to continuously generate fire.
"I'll practice more later." Cassius shook his head, not intending to continue playing with fire. Although this reward was good, it was still far from the Phoenix Force. He was now ready to properly practice the Phoenix Force.
Although his research on the Phoenix Force was much deeper than Wanda's on Chaos Magic, he had never taken the time to practice it carefully; he had only ever practiced in actual combat.
"Phoenix Force!" Cassius looked at the entire backyard, and an orange-red light appeared in his eyes. He raised his right hand, and a mass of terrifying energy shot out from his palm. It was a stream of energy with dark red lines, and you could faintly see the energy jumping on the lines.
The next second, this energy drilled into the ground. Once the energy entered the earth, it spread rapidly, as if it were an infection. In Cassius's perception, he could use this small amount of Phoenix Force to devour everything.
Rumble!
The clear, cloudless sky suddenly became incredibly overcast. The bright sunlight also disappeared without a trace, and the gentle breeze instantly turned into a terrifying hurricane. With a roar, the sky was covered in dark clouds, and streaks of purple lightning flashed, thunder echoing through the heavens and the earth.
For a moment, it felt like the apocalypse had arrived. If you looked up, you could even see the dark clouds pressing down. The surrounding trees groaned from the violent hurricane, their leaves torn away. Countless leaves danced in the sky with the hurricane, a terrifying sight. Even the water in the backyard swimming pool began to surge and roar, as if it had seen something incredibly terrifying.
The statue, the fence, the pool, the basketball hoop, and the trees all began to change in an extremely bizarre way. One by one, they began to shatter, and gray-black dust flew into the sky with the hurricane. Not even the lush green lawn was spared. The earth lamented as the lawn also began to crack and turn into countless tiny particles that flew into the air. Cracks instantly appeared in the ground, as if a giant had reached in and ripped the earth apart.
Crack!
The next second, countless cracks rapidly spread, and the shattered pieces of land were even devoured by the Phoenix Force. What followed was the collapse of the earth. The once peaceful-looking backyard was now nothing but a huge sinkhole. Looking at the massive sinkhole, even Cassius couldn't help but sigh.
"Is this the essence of the Phoenix Force? To annihilate all things in the world?" Cassius could even feel that this energy had not reached its limit; the energy inside his body was still churning and surging, as if it were urging him to unleash his true power. The violent energy felt like it could destroy everything.
"Since you want to destroy, then I'll give you destruction!" Cassius opened his arms, a faint smile on his face, and looked at the sky. The terrifying energy also spread rapidly at that moment.
At the same time, inside the house, Wanda, who was looking at the Chthon Scroll, suddenly felt her hair stand on end. She could clearly feel the terrifying power coming from the backyard. This power sent a chill down her spine.
"Cassius!" Wanda couldn't care about anything else. She grabbed the leather scroll and rushed toward the backyard. But the moment she ran into the backyard, she stopped.
The scene before her was too terrifying and beyond her comprehension. The sight of the world changing, the cracking earth, and the storm roaring with the wind all proved how terrifying this power was.
And even though there wasn't much sound, a huge sinkhole had appeared on the ground. It was as if something had devoured a piece of the earth out of thin air; even the cut surface of the large rocks underground was incredibly smooth.
And Cassius was floating above this huge sinkhole. His hands were open, as if he were a god descending from the heavens. He brought with him only an indescribable terror and an unspeakable despair.
"Cassius, what's going on?" Wanda looked at Cassius with a horrified expression. The more she looked, the more shocked she was by the power inside him. She thought her Chaos Magic was powerful, but it was nothing compared to Cassius's power.
She was also very sure that the power Cassius was releasing now was much stronger than when he fought the Minotaurs. Or perhaps, Cassius's control over this power had become incredibly refined, so this time, he was only controlling the energy to prevent it from causing more destruction.
But that just made it even more terrifying.
The more terrifying the power inside you, the harder it is to control it precisely. It was like an adult trying to chop wood with a ten-pound axe versus a child trying to chop wood with a ten-pound axe. The control of force would be very different. It was for this reason that this power was so frightening.
What was even more terrifying at this moment was that this power had not stopped. Instead, it was spreading outwards like a desert that devours all life. Wherever it went, trees and land would be shattered into black dust by this power.
No matter how hard something was, it couldn't escape this power's devouring force. When the range reached the tall wall, the wall quickly collapsed and shattered.
"Cassius, are you trying to tear this place down?" Wanda shouted in an urgent voice, seeing that the house was almost gone. She didn't even dare to get close to Cassius now, because the source of this power was him. If she carelessly got close, she didn't know if she would also disappear into nothingness with these other things.
But Cassius didn't pay any attention to Wanda in the distance. He slowly closed his eyes and felt this power with a faint smile on his face. This power was like an addictive drug. He could even feel that he could become the most powerful being in the world with this power.
"Heh, interesting. This is just too interesting!" After letting go, Cassius's mouth curled into a smile. Even though his eyes were closed, he could clearly feel the changes, annihilation, and disappearance of all matter around him.
It was a very strange feeling.
He could even feel that he could make everything around him disappear with his thoughts. He could also clearly feel the flow of this power.
To further control the Phoenix Force, Cassius once again shot a stream of energy from his fingertips. As this energy was injected, the speed at which everything around him shattered increased.
"This guy... he really doesn't want the house anymore!" Wanda looked at Cassius from a distance, a helpless look on her face. All she could do was wait quietly. The terrifying energy was constantly surging and spreading. There was no way she could stop it now.
Meanwhile, at the Avengers Compound.
"Rhodey, don't you get bored playing with those things all day?" Natasha lay on the sofa, nonchalantly putting her legs on the expensive table. In her left hand, she was holding a handful of sunflower seeds. She wasn't sure if Tony had infected her, but lately, she also enjoyed passing the time by cracking sunflower seeds.
"This is to advance scientific research." Rhodey carefully assembled the weapon in front of him. After all, no one knew what kind of danger the world would face next.
Beep, beep, beep...
Rhodey's hand trembled, and the weapon he was assembling fell to the floor. He looked back with an impatient expression and saw the machine Tony had developed flashing continuously.
"Why is this thing going off?" Rhodey quickly walked over to the detector. When he saw the reading on the screen, his pupils instantly constricted.
The energy value displayed on the instrument was rising rapidly, and the speed was getting faster and faster. The current energy fluctuation was already comparable to "Little Boy."
For a moment, he wondered if another country had thrown something terrible at the United States.
"How is that possible? This power is way too strong!" He widened his eyes, even starting to wonder if the instrument was malfunctioning.
"Natasha, go get Tony!" Rhodey turned and roared at Natasha, his eyes filled with urgency. If the instrument wasn't malfunctioning, they were in big trouble this time. This power was much stronger than all of them combined.
Natasha couldn't be bothered to eat anymore. She threw the sunflower seeds onto the table and rushed toward Tony's office.
"What?! The value is still rising?!" Tony's face changed dramatically when he heard the news. He had a lot of confidence in the research he had done. The instrument had provided a lot of help before, but now it had reached this value.
He ran to the lab in the compound. The moment he pushed open the door, all the Avengers who were in the compound were already there.
"A huge energy field fluctuation has been detected?!" Tony looked at the display, his expression becoming extremely serious. Since he had developed this energy fluctuation detector, nothing like this had ever happened.
"Tony, can you find a way to locate the source of this energy fluctuation?" Steve looked at Tony in front of the instrument with a serious expression. Since something so serious had happened, no matter what the situation was, they had to get there as soon as possible.
"Wait!" Tony waved his right hand in the air, and a virtual keyboard appeared. He quickly typed in the air. The moment he pressed the enter key, everyone's eyes were fixed on the instrument in front of them. The panel quickly searched and finally found a general area. It was clearly in an area outside of New York City!
"This location...!" Tony's face changed dramatically when he saw the location!
"What's wrong, Tony?" This was the first time Steve had seen Tony look so nervous.
"My friend's house is in this area." Tony's expression was grim. This was the area where Cassius's house was!
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