Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

Chapter 189 The Vanguard Force to Annihilate the Zerg

"Annihilate the Zerg?"

Li Ai frowned. He didn't recognize the name, but judging from the suffix "Zerg," it was a cosmic race that excelled at swarm warfare.

"Someone, take Fandral to get treatment first." Frigga's expression was solemn, and several Asgardian maids immediately helped Fandral to get treatment.

"Prepare warships for me; I cannot let my friends fight alone."

Thor, who had just been eating with his mouth full of oil, seemed like a different person. He spread his right hand, and Mjolnir flew into his hand, instantly transforming back into the majestic God of Thunder.

“Then we’ll need to mobilize an army,” Frigga said seriously. “That’s the Zerg, known for their numbers and bloodlust, Thor.”

“Let me go with Saul, Mrs. Frigga.”

Li Ai took the initiative to challenge them, saying he wanted to investigate the Zerg's background so that he could be prepared in advance if Earth were attacked by them.

“I think this is an excellent suggestion, Mother.” Saul looked at Li Ai with gratitude in his eyes, then turned to Frigga and said:

"Moreover, you are also aware of the nature of the Annihilation Clan. Even if Asgard has no conflict with them, the Annihilation Clan will launch wars against every civilization without any scruples."

To wage war against every civilization? Li Ai noticed the key words in Thor's words.

“I’ll go with them,” Sif volunteered. “The three of us can act as the vanguard and buy time for the army to be deployed.”

Frigga knew she couldn't persuade these young people, so she sighed and agreed:

"Go find a warship and set off first; the Asgardian army will arrive shortly after."

“Okay, Mother,” Saul said with a smile, turning to pat Li Ai on the shoulder and thanking her.

"Thank you for your kind help, friend."

“If the Annihilation Zerg are truly going to wage war against all civilizations as you say, then my actions are not only helping Asgard, but also gathering intelligence for Earth in advance,” Li Ai said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Let's go, I'll pilot the warship." Sif strode towards the exit of the small banquet hall.

The three then arrived at the place where Asgard stored warships, where the mechanics had already prepared a warship for them.

Like the architecture of Asgard, their warships used to travel through the universe are also golden, and their design is somewhat similar to ancient ships from Nordic countries on Earth, but their interiors are more technologically advanced.

Sif stood before a device resembling a ship's wheel, began setting the destination, and said to Li Ai:

"In order to get to Nidavellir quickly, we must use wormhole jumps multiple times in succession. People experiencing this for the first time may feel a little uncomfortable, but it will not affect a strong person like you."

After saying this, Sif piloted the ship away from Asgard. Before actually activating the wormhole jump, Li Ai asked Thor:

"Wormhole jumping? Are there many people in the universe who use this technology?"

Based on Sif's description of how wormhole jumps can cause discomfort to the human body, Li Ai subconsciously recalled that the Guardians of the Galaxy's ships would also experience this when making multiple jumps, thus making the connection.

“It’s not just a lot, it’s practically a universal technology,” Thor explained.

"Universal? I don't believe that civilizations that don't speak the same language can reach a consensus on technology," Li Ai said skeptically.

"You're right. The current wormhole technology actually originated from a powerful being from an ancient era. He single-handedly revolutionized the way all life in the universe communicated." Thor spoke of this past event with a hint of longing in his eyes, saying:

"Legend has it that he had a star-shaped mark on his chest and wore a pair of bracelets with mysterious power on his hands."

"To change the cosmic order single-handedly? That's truly an incredibly powerful being." Li Ai nodded, feeling awe for this powerful being who existed in the primordial era of the universe, and then asked:

"By the way, what exactly is the origin of the Annihilation Zerg? I want to know their origins."

"Let me think about it..." Thor didn't know much about this, and he looked troubled. Fortunately, there was another person there.

Sif, who had just set her goal, sighed and said helplessly, "I'll go ahead and say it."

“Thank you for your help, Ms. Sif,” Li Ai said.

“According to the wisdom of Odin, the King of the Gods, the Annihilation Clan is not a race that evolved normally. Their origin is in a special dimension called the ‘Negative Zone.’ A civilization once discovered the Negative Zone and placed some cells there, allowing them to evolve freely. Eventually, these cells evolved into insect-like creatures,” Sif explained to Li Ai.

Upon hearing this, Li Ai frowned and couldn't help but complain, "There must be countless people in the universe who hate that experimental civilization to death."

“It’s a pity that even if everyone wanted revenge, they no longer had the chance,” Sif sighed. “The civilization that gave birth to the Annihilation Race disappeared for some reason. Their technology even became a springboard for the Annihilation Race, making them the enemy of the universe.”

"There's nowhere to get revenge..." Li Ai said helplessly.

"That's all for now, time to start the wormhole jump." Sif glanced at the countdown timer on the ship's wheel.

The next moment, a square-shaped hole appeared in front of the warship that was moving at full speed. Li Ai only felt several bright, multicolored lights flash before his eyes. After jumping dozens of times, the three of them finally arrived at their destination, Nidavi.

Li Ai and his two companions stood on the deck of the warship, observing Nidavi's situation.

At the center of Nidavellir is a neutron star, around which the skillful dwarves have built rings, renowned for forging all sorts of top-quality artifacts.

Asgard and the dwarves entered into a pact, with the former providing military protection and the latter providing a continuous supply of superior equipment.

At this moment, Nidavellis was shrouded in a hazy 'black mist,' but there were still flashes of light beneath the mist.

“That’s the dwarves rebelling.” Thor swung Mjolnir, silver and blue lightning dancing around him.

“There are more insects here than the total population of Earth.” Li Ai frowned slightly and began to think about which capsule to use to deal with the Annihilation Zerg.

“This is just the advance team,” Sif said solemnly. “You guys help me draw the attention of these bugs while I go find the teleportation wormhole they use to get close to Nidavellir. Once we close the wormhole, we can ruin the plan to annihilate the Zerg.”

“Okay.” Thor nodded in response, then flew away first.

Li Ai, directly exposed in space, held a purple capsule in his hand. Looking at the dense swarm of insects, he murmured:

"This mission is: Pest Control, HenShing!"

【Gravity!】

Awaken! Awaken! Awaken!

【Good Morning! Rider! Z?Z?Z! Gravity! 】

Chapter 190 Is a 1.9-meter-tall humanoid creature considered a 'dwarf'?

Li Ai spread his arms, releasing purple anti-gravity waves from his palms, propelling him towards Nidavi's direction.

The Zerg surrounding Nidavi appeared to have spotted Li Ai and Thor, and they split into two swarms that charged toward the two.

Thor's response to the onrushing swarm of insects was quite simple: he lifted Mjolnir above his head and spun him around, then charged through the swarm like a drill, turning everything in his path into charred fragments.

Li Ai, who fought in gravity form, simply turned the capsule on her chest.

【Gravity!】

"Supergravity." Li Ai murmured to himself, and a purple gravity ball the size of a basketball formed in his hand. Facing the ferocious swarm of insects that was about to pounce on his face, he gently handed over the gravity ball.

The insect at the very front had just opened its gaping maw, a look of surprise flashing in its scarlet compound eyes, when it was captured by the gravity ball. Its body was rapidly flattened by supergravity. In the cosmic environment where sound was hard to transmit, the insect didn't even have time to let out a scream before it completely disappeared from the world.

One after another, the insects were crushed by the gravity ball, turning into grains of cosmic dust. Li Ai's speed in eliminating the insectoids was even faster than Thor's.

This isn't Earth, and it's quite a distance from Nidavellis, so Li Ai's concerns about using Gravity Mode have lessened considerably.

After more than ten minutes, the number of insects decreased significantly.

But Li Ai was still a little dissatisfied. He raised the gravity ball high with his right hand and threw it towards the place with the most insects.

The gravity ball turns the insects into cosmic dust, and even those that are not crushed are pulled by gravity and cannot escape.

【Gravity Vanish! Z?Z?Z!】(Gravity Vanish! Z·Z·Z!)

A gravity ball the size of a truck formed beneath Li Ai's feet. He 'stepped' on the giant gravity ball and propelled it toward the swarm of insects.

Faced with the giant gravity sphere, the swarm of insects was like cockroaches on the road encountering a heavy truck, all powerless to resist being crushed into cosmic dust.

Finally, the giant gravity sphere began to shrink rapidly, but its power increased rather than decreased, gradually forming a rudimentary shape resembling a black hole.

At that moment, Thor, who had just smashed hundreds of insects to pieces, couldn't help but look in Li Ai's direction. His eyes reflected a shadow resembling a black hole, and he sighed:

"Is this the destructive power he displays when facing enemies? It's astonishing, but won't this affect Nidavellir and the dwarves?"

Li Ai was certainly aware of this possibility.

Once the nascent black hole appeared, Li Ai concentrated and detonated the nascent black hole beneath her feet.

In an instant, a super-strong gravitational wave ignored the difference in strength between friend and foe, encompassing all the creatures in the universe. All the insects on the scene were killed in one blow, and even Thor couldn't help but cough.

Li Ai noticed Thor's situation and couldn't help but feel a little worried. He switched to his wing form and flew to Thor's side at supersonic speed. He pointed in the direction of Nidavi, who understood immediately, and the two flew towards Nidavi together.

The interior of the star ring was recreated by dwarven artisans using their skills to simulate a natural environment, and sound was finally able to be transmitted normally.

Li Ai looked at Thor and asked, "That attack just now didn't affect you much, did it?"

"It's alright, I'm fine." Thor thumped his chest, smiled broadly, and even praised him:

"Speaking of which, your purple appearance just now was really impressive; it cleared out all those annoying bugs in one go."

“But it’s also easy to accidentally hurt friendly forces and the environment, so I usually prefer to use another, more powerful form.” Li Ai spread his hands, his tone slightly heavy.

“Friend, you are truly kind, no wonder my father speaks highly of you,” Thor said with a smile.

There are still some insectoid creatures roaming inside Nidavellir, but the Asgardian soldiers and dwarves stationed there can handle them.

Sif closed the teleportation wormhole, and Li Ai only deactivated her transformation after the worm plague was resolved.

Hogan and Volstagg, both battered and bruised, were sent for treatment and will be returned to Asgard once their injuries have healed.

Li Ai and Thor, on the other hand, met Atreus, the dwarf king of Nidavellir. He looked down at them and spoke to them in a deep, resonant voice like a war drum:

“Prince of Asgard, powerful one who has come from afar, thank you very much for eliminating the threat of the swarm to Nidavellir. My name is Aetre, and I am the king of this land.”

Looking at the 'Dwarf King' who was a head taller than herself, Li Ai felt a mix of emotions.

The 'dwarves' here have an average height of over 1.9 meters, which is in stark contrast to their tribal name.

Can a humanoid creature that is 1.9 meters tall really be called a 'dwarf'?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Atreus.” Li Ai smiled politely.

“Aitrie is the best craftsman in the Nine Realms,” Thor said casually, twirling Mjolnir in his hand. “My hammer was forged here.”

That's absolutely true. Aetry's forging skills are indeed superb. Besides Thor's Mjolnir, his most famous works include the Infinity Gauntlet and the Stormbreaker.

The Infinity Gauntlet was able to control the power of the Infinity Stones, allowing Thanos to snap his fingers and wipe out half of all life, while Stormbreaker, in conjunction with Thor who had awakened his divine power, severely injured Thanos after he had collected all six Infinity Stones.

“Sol is right, I am absolutely the best craftsman you know,” Aetry said confidently, then added.

"By the way, wouldn't you like to pick out a weapon before you leave? After all, you did help Nidavi."

“The Nidavian have no shortage of weapons,” Thor said with a smile. “If you really can’t find satisfactory equipment, you can ask Atriti; he’s the best craftsman.”

Thor was still upset that Li Ai's Lightning Explosion Greatsword had lost to Mjolnir in the sparring match, and he wanted to give Li Ai an equivalent weapon so they could fight again.

“Then let’s go take a look,” Li Ai replied.

Afterwards, Aite led Li Ai and Thor to the warehouse where weapons were stored, which was filled with equipment made of Uru metal.

"Pick anything you like and take it with you, a powerful traveler from afar," Aite said generously.

Upon hearing this, Li Ai walked deeper into the warehouse, picking up one weapon after another and testing which one suited him best.

“This center of gravity doesn’t suit my habits.” Li Ai put down a battle axe and picked up a spiked club instead. “This one is the same.”

"No, no, no... it still won't work."

Greatswords, longswords, rapiers, warhammers... all sorts of weapons passed through Li Ai's hands, and he felt like a monkey asking the Dragon King for weapons.

Seeing this, Aite stroked his beard and said generously, "Just state your request, and I'll personally forge a weapon for you."

"Let me think about it," Li Ai said, rubbing her temples in distress.

Chapter 191 Triple Explosive Weapon - Prototype

If we limit the range of weapons to the ZZZ Driver series, the Lightning Blast Greatsword is actually the ultimate melee weapon that Li Ai can refer to.

In Li Ai's mind, his next weapon should be the 'Triple Cannon' in its Calamity form.

The crucial point is that Li Ai still doesn't know how to unlock the Calamity form, let alone obtain the weapon.

Moreover, the Triple Cannon is a weapon geared towards long-range combat, so its advantage in close combat is not significant.

However, Li Ai, who had already modified a lot of equipment and capsules, felt that he did not need to follow Wan Jinmo's evolution path completely. He had so many knight predecessors to refer to, and he did not need to put all his eggs in one basket.

Li Ai envisioned a weapon that could be used at both close and long ranges, with sufficient power output and room for expansion.

After thinking about it for a while, he actually remembered a weapon, namely the Faiz Burst from Kamen Rider 555.

The Faiz Demolisher's standby mode is presented as a briefcase, which can be operated to switch between two modes: 'Destruction Cannon' and 'Smash Giant Sword'. This structure greatly pleased Li Ai.