Once the entire street had returned to normal, Ancient One, who had been standing on the rooftop of a building in downtown New York, glanced at the location of Stark Industry Building not far away.
Finally, he sighed silently and stepped into the magical portal that had just appeared in front of him, disappearing from sight.
In fact, Ancient One had already noticed the presence of Kaecilius and the traitorous sorcerers when they appeared. However, at that time, he chose not to intervene immediately.
On one hand, Ancient One wanted to see what these guys could stir up this time. On the other hand, he also wanted to see if Earth’s emerging protectors could hold their ground.
While observing the situation from the tall building, Ancient One was tempted to act three times. The first time was when Kaecilius and his followers were constructing the Mirror Dimension.
Ancient One knew that once the Mirror Dimension was complete, there would be no need for SHIELD and the League of Defenders superheroes.
However, when Ancient One noticed Lin Rui rushing in at the last moment, he restrained himself from intervening. It was because Ancient One saw something extraordinary in Lin Rui. He had the ability to create miracles, and perhaps he could do so this time as well.
The second time was when a dark aura emanated from Kaecilius. Ancient One was well aware that it belonged to the Dark Dimension and Dormammu’s power. Ancient One also knew that under the influence of that dark aura, Lin Rui would not be able to withstand Kaecilius’ attacks.
However, just as Kaecilius’ sword was about to strike Lin Rui’s head and Ancient One was preparing to save him, Lin Rui unleashed a Psychic Power that repelled Kaecilius. This surprised Ancient One greatly, and he held back from interfering.
The final time was when Kaecilius attacked Lin Rui, who had lost any means of resistance, emerging from the explosion. This time, Ancient One was certain that Lin Rui had no chance to fight back.
However, with the appearance of a magical portal in the Mirror Dimension, Ancient One knew that he didn’t need to intervene. Lin Rui’s friends had arrived.
As the message Lin Rui sent before rushing into the Mirror Dimension managed to escape, people in the outside world might not have sensed the appearance of the Mirror Dimension, but they knew that their reality was no longer connected to their current target. Unless they found a way to break the Mirror Dimension, their efforts would be in vain.
While Lin Rui battled the traitorous sorcerers and Kaecilius alone in the Mirror Dimension, Peter and Harry, who were originally stationed outside the Sanctum as part of the SHIELD team and the League of Defenders, were extremely anxious and worried. Tony, upon receiving the message, immediately led his Iron Man squadron to rush over.
However, the method mentioned by Lin Rui in the message to use the Magic Cube to break the Mirror Dimension was not currently in New York. It was being studied by senior researchers at the Washington SHIELD headquarters.
Even if Captain Rogers rushed over with the Magic Cube, it would still take some time. And during this delay, whatever was supposed to happen inside the Mirror Dimension had surely already occurred.
Therefore, when Lin Rui was left to face Kaecilius alone, the ones he could rely on the most were the sorcerers of Earth. The Mirror Dimension could keep all of Lin Rui’s allies and companions outside, but it couldn’t stop the sorcerers who could also create the Mirror Dimension.
If they had acted immediately, Lin Rui would not have faced Kaecilius alone and suffered the consequences.
Of course, Rick, who was guarding the Sanctum in New York, had already sent out a distress signal at the first opportunity.
However, the support from the sorcerers was taking a long time to arrive, and Rick could only do his best to keep the Sanctum in a defensive posture to withstand the relentless attacks from the four traitorous sorcerers.
Although Rick also wanted to go out and save Lin Rui, protecting the Sanctum was more important to him.
If the Sanctum was breached, the protective magic barrier around the entire Earth would be compromised, and Dormammu would have a chance to invade. Rick couldn’t take that risk. So he could only watch helplessly as Lin Rui was beaten by Kaecilius.
Just as Rick was about to give up on protecting the Sanctum and rush out to save Lin Rui, he suddenly noticed reinforcements from the Himalayas. A magical portal appeared near Lin Rui, and Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the others quickly rushed out.
Outside the Sanctum, several magical portals appeared, and a few powerful sorcerers rushed out. While Tony and the others frightened Kaecilius away, these sorcerers fought against the four traitorous sorcerers. With the arrival of Iron Man and the others, the battle quickly came to an end.
After scaring off Kaecilius, Tony and the rest left with Jack’s help. They had initially entered with Jack’s a.s.sistance.
When Jack received Lin Rui’s message in the Himalayas, he immediately set off. However, despite Jack’s significant growth in magic recently, he still hadn’t fully grasped the intricacies of Mirror Dimension, an advanced magic art.
So, they were delayed outside for quite some time until the other sorcerers arrived. It was only then that Jack, along with Spider-Man and Tony, finally located the Mirror Dimension and rushed in.
This is also why their faces looked grim when they left the Mirror Dimension because the response from the Earth’s sorcerers was clearly inadequate.
To Tony and the others, it seemed like the Earth’s sorcerers were intentionally dragging their feet. Even if they themselves didn’t want to deal with the traitorous sorcerers, they shouldn’t have remained inactive after Tony and the others had all arrived.
Upon entering the Mirror Dimension, Tony and the others saw Lin Rui lying on the ground in a pitiful state. If it weren’t for Peter’s quick reaction, rushing forward to repel Kaecilius, they would have helplessly watched the blade pierce Lin Rui’s chest.
Although Ancient One would eventually intervene at the critical moment, Peter and the others were unaware of this, causing them to change their perception of the Earth’s sorcerers.
If initially Tony and the others’ understanding and perception of the Earth’s sorcerers came from Lin Rui’s introduction, now the actions of the sorcerers towards Lin Rui’s plight had deeply disappointed them.
Originally, Lin Rui had immense trust in the Earth’s sorcerers, or else he wouldn’t have gathered all his allies to help them.
However, now, when Lin Rui was on the verge of death at the hands of the traitorous sorcerers, they didn’t make a move. Regardless of Lin Rui’s opinion and att.i.tude towards them, Tony and the others couldn’t accept it.
……
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