Dimensional Trader in Marvel

Josh raised the Broken Steel Sword in his hand, and golden energy swirled around him like lightning, meeting the Mjolnir in Thor's grasp.

As the two weapons made contact, a massive burst of energy erupted, creating a powerful shockwave that spread outward, even shaking the mirror space they were in.

Clearly, Josh's precautionary measures were right. If this had happened outside the mirror space, the entire plaza would have had to be rebuilt.

However, for Ancient One, this was no cause for concern. She simply waved her hand, and the slightly unstable mirror space instantly returned to its perfect state, becoming even more solid.

These two kids were strong, but as long as Josh didn't use the power stone, they were nothing special to Ancient One.

"Alright, alright, let's go again!" The violent shockwave caused Josh and Thor to stagger back several steps. Thor, however, wasn't angry but rather even more excited.

His past experiences of overpowering weaker foes had made him proud, but because of his straightforward nature, he desperately desired a worthy opponent. Josh had given him that true sense of battle.

Excited, he immediately swung his hammer again.

Josh didn't hesitate either and once again engaged Thor in fierce combat.

Though both were equally powerful, those watching from another space could easily see that, compared to Thor, who had a wealth of battle experience, Josh still lacked in combat technique. He appeared somewhat clumsy and inexperienced, giving Thor a slight advantage.

This was understandable. After gaining his power, Josh hadn't really fought much. Most of the time, he relied purely on his overwhelming strength to crush opponents. Plus, with so many powerful subordinates, he rarely needed to fight himself.

While he would occasionally spar with his subordinates, they would never go all out against him.

Josh had already realized this problem during his time on Xandar. Despite his overwhelming strength, it took him several minutes to defeat a wounded Starhawk.

In contrast, though Thor hadn't faced many strong opponents, he had lived for over a thousand years and had much more battle experience. He had often fought against enemies vastly outnumbering him.

Although Thor seemed to have the upper hand in this battle, the three warriors of the Asgardian palace and Sif were still quite shocked.

Thor had dominated the Nine Realms for over a thousand years, but who was Josh? They hadn't even heard of him before.

Yet, here was Josh, an unknown, holding his own against Thor in combat!

This was definitely surprising to the Asgardian warriors and Sif. No wonder Odin had warned them to remain humble before departure. It seemed Earth held such a formidable figure.

They could also tell that, although Josh's combat skills seemed a bit unrefined, with each exchange with Thor, he was rapidly improving.

Clearly, Josh was letting Thor take the lead!

This likely meant that Josh still had some reserves of strength!

Of course, in their view, Thor probably wasn't using his full strength either.

Only Loki, who stood alone in the distance, knew that Josh was holding back.

In his view, if Josh used the power he had shown on Xandar, Thor wouldn't be able to last more than a few moves under Josh's strength.

But as Josh's spy, Loki had to keep this knowledge to himself.

"Prince Loki, who do you think would win: my father or your brother?" At that moment, a clear female voice asked from beside him.

Loki turned to see Carol had somehow appeared beside him.

Well, Master's strength is impressive, but his daughter is no slouch either! Loki thought to himself, about to bow, but secretly muttering in his mind.

Carol had appeared next to him, and he hadn't even noticed.

"Prince Loki, please don't, this isn't a formal occasion. There's no need for such formalities!" Carol quickly stopped him as he started to bow.

Seeing Carol stop him, Loki decided to simply nod respectfully.

"Is there something you need, Your Majesty?" Loki asked, not understanding why she was seeking him out.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to thank you for what happened yesterday," Carol said warmly.

As a spy, only a few key people like Margaret and Carter knew Loki's true nature. Carol didn't know, so she came to thank him for kneeling in public the previous day.

Although Josh had told him to treat the Asgardian delegation like any foreign delegation, Carol thought that, as the legendary Prince of Asgard, Loki had no need to kneel, even if it was just a half-kneel out of respect for a woman.

For example, Thor never did that!

So Carol was very grateful to Loki, as this had been a very impressive gesture.

"You are too kind, Your Majesty!" Loki understood Carol had misunderstood and quickly bowed respectfully again.

He could only mutter to himself—if not for Josh, who would make such a grand gesture?

But still, when he took a closer look, the girl wasn't bad-looking at all. (TL/N: calling 911..)

"Prince Loki, you're not at all like the rumors!" Carol laughed lightly when she saw Loki bowing to her repeatedly.

From yesterday to today, Loki had behaved like a perfect gentleman, showing the queen great respect. His image was completely different from the god of lies and trickery, which made Carol think very highly of him.

Hearing this, Loki could only smile awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.

He couldn't really say much—Loki cared about his pride!

...

Meanwhile, over on the other side, Sif and the others were discussing Josh and Thor's battle.

"I can't believe, just a few hundred years since we last visited Midgard, and now such a powerful figure has appeared here! But Thor is still a bit stronger!" Sif remarked.

The three warriors nodded in agreement.

"No, father is the strongest. But in the future, I will be stronger than them!" A voice suddenly broke in from the side.

The three warriors and Sif glared angrily at the speaker, but their expressions immediately softened when they saw who it was.

The speaker was just a child standing not far away.

"Hello, I know you, Ben Kahn! The Queen's brother!" Sif greeted the child with a warm smile.

Yes, the one who spoke was Josh's third son, Ben Kahn.

As warriors, the three of them and Sif had fiery tempers, but they wouldn't get angry with a child.

"Hello, I know you too, Goddess of Harvest Sif! My mother has told me stories about you... You're even more beautiful than she said!" Ben, who had just proudly declared that he would be stronger than Thor and Josh, became shy when he saw Sif greeting him.

"Haha, thank you for the compliment, kid! Come over here!" Hearing Ben's praise, Sif was delighted and stopped watching the battle between Thor and Josh. She called Ben to her side.

Women love being told they're beautiful, especially when the one saying it is a child who doesn't lie!

Yes, kids don't lie, and Sif believed this wholeheartedly!

Ben hesitated for a moment, glancing at Margaret, who was nearby.

Margaret only smiled slightly and didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Ben stopped hesitating and walked over to Sif.

"How old are you?" Sif asked as she pulled the child into her arms.

"Ten!" Ben hurriedly answered, feeling a bit flustered by Sif's affectionate gesture.

"Ha, you're such a shy kid! If you want to become a strong warrior like Thor and your father, being shy won't do!" Sif found Ben's shyness amusing.

"I'm not shy! I will become a stronger warrior than them!" Ben, fired up by Sif's teasing, declared loudly.

His sudden outburst startled Sif and the three warriors, but they all laughed heartily afterward.

"Yes, kid, you will surpass everyone and become the strongest!" No one with a normal heart would mock a child's dreams, and neither would Sif or the other two warriors. Ben's ambitious words didn't offend them but made them think the child had great ambition.

After a moment of hesitation, Sif drew a short sword from her waist. It was her secondary weapon, one she had carried for over a hundred years. Though she usually relied on her shield and sword, she rarely used this short sword.

"Here, take it, kid. A strong warrior must have their own weapon!" Without worrying about whether Ben could handle it, Sif placed the sword into his hands. After all, Uru steel wasn't as light as vibranium.

Fortunately, Josh's children, like their mother, had been blessed by Tiamat. While they hadn't been given immense power, their physical condition was top-notch. Ben, although still feeling the weight of the short sword, held it steady.

"Thank you, I'll take good care of it!" Ben said softly as he accepted the sword.

"Oh, no, a warrior's weapon isn't meant to be just cared for, it's meant to be used in battle... Good luck, kid! When you're strong, I can say, 'See that warrior's weapon? I gave it to him!'" Sif gently ruffled Ben's golden hair with a smile.

"I will!" Ben nodded firmly.

"Alright, go on now!" Sif gave Ben's golden hair another ruffle.

Ben nodded and quickly jogged back to Margaret, proudly showing her the short sword that Sif had given him.

Margaret was also surprised when Sif gave her son the short sword and immediately returned Sif's warm smile.

Looking at Margaret's smile, Sif couldn't help but think of Frigga.

"Such a pity!" At that moment, Hogan spoke up from the side.

"What?" Sif asked, confused.

"This child has good potential, but just like that daughter, they'll probably hold high positions from a young age and won't likely participate in battles. Your short sword is bound to be neglected!" Hogan stated a very likely possibility.

"It doesn't matter. It's just a child's dream. Whether or not it comes true is another story! Who hasn't had dreams?" Sif laughed casually.

"You're right!" Hogan paused for a moment, then relaxed and agreed.

At this time, the battle between Josh and Thor on the other side of the mirror space had also ended.

"That's enough for today!" Josh said, breathing slightly heavier.

The fight had been exciting, but there was no clear winner.

As Loki had secretly thought, Josh had held back.

After all, it was just a sparring match. Josh only needed to show a little of his power, not to intimidate Asgard.

Once it seemed like enough, he stopped.

Thor, on the other hand, felt like he hadn't had enough.

But he wasn't the type to be inconsiderate. After all, he was a guest in someone else's home. If he kept pushing, he would lose Asgard's dignity.

"That was a great fight! If we get the chance, I'd love to spar with you more. Or, if you ever have the time, come to Asgard as my guest. I'll make sure you're well taken care of!" Thor patted Josh on the shoulder.

Although there was no winner, the strength Josh displayed had earned Thor's respect.

And so, their enjoyable sparring session came to a close.

Seeing this, the Ancient One lifted the mirror magic.

At this point, Carol and Loki had already parted ways, so Josh didn't see his daughter chatting happily with Loki.

If he had, he would have likely acted first, eliminating Loki as a threat.

After a luxurious lunch at the Palace, Thor, representing Asgard, bid farewell and returned to Asgard via the Bifrost.

Once Thor, the honored guest, had left, the palace returned to its usual tranquility.

However, while the Palace and Austria were calm, the outside world was in chaos.

The rise of the Austrian United Kingdom had a massive impact on the global balance of power.

All major countries had to adjust their strategies.

Normally, this wouldn't affect Josh, but soon, a piece of intelligence brought by Carter caught his attention.

This intelligence had come from an IMF-affiliated agency. According to the usual protocol, it was supposed to be sent to the White House.

But since the leader of the IMF, Carter, had fully sided with Josh, she intercepted it on the way and sent it directly to him.

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