The captain gave the order.
Ryan immediately grabbed Strange who was walking forward.
"Why?" Strange's tone was filled with confusion and reluctance.
"Do you want to hear a nicer explanation or a tougher explanation?" Ryan said calmly as he watched the battle sorcerers in front of him enter the abandoned building one after another.
"What do you mean?" Strange asked after a moment of silence.
"The nice way to put it is that because you're a newcomer, your safety must be guaranteed," Ryan explained.
"The tougher way to put it is that for everyone's safety, it's better not to have a newcomer involved."
Ryan rubbed the sling ring on his finger, looked at the dark building, and said calmly.
Strange stopped responding after hearing this.
To put it bluntly, they still didn't trust him and thought he was a burden.
Seeing that Strange seemed to be in a low mood, Ryan tried to comfort him: "Don't think too much. Look at the environment inside. There's probably a trap."
"Although you have good combat ability, you haven't accumulated much actual combat experience. In the eyes of the enemy, you're the weakness of the entire team."
"In such a dangerous environment, it's best to be able to protect yourself. If you can't protect yourself, you'll easily drag others down."
"Wait for the next simpler task. Then you can accumulate experience step by step."
Hearing Ryan's comfort, Strange nodded silently without saying anything more.
He finally understood why Master Arnold refused to allow him to enter the Dimensional Gap when he proposed to do so.
If a combat mission like this in the normal world was considered dangerous enough to exclude him, what more for frontline battlefields like the Dimensional Gap.
To be fair, Strange was introduced by the Ancient One and was a well-known genius.
Otherwise, just for making such a request, he would have been scolded for overestimating his capabilities.
Ryan nodded slightly when he saw Strange's expression gradually returning to normal.
He served as Strange's introducer, and there was also an element of supervising the sorcerer.
As everyone knew, geniuses were often arrogant, and for someone like Strange, it was even more obvious.
Well, his talent was impressive, but his arrogance could be deadly.
As Strange's introducer, one of Ryan's most important tasks was to temper Strange's arrogance.
Even having Strange wait outside this time was something Ryan and Captain Stern had discussed beforehand.
Now it seemed that things were at least moving in a good direction.
Soon, Ryan squinted his eyes and looked deep into the building, clearly feeling the chaotic energy fluctuations inside.
Strange was still chatting with another sorcerer who was guarding outside.
But after chatting for a while, they stopped talking.
He stood outside and waited silently, inferring what the battlefield inside was like based on the energy fluctuations he sensed.
The dark energy was very chaotic and agitated, and it seemed that it had suffered a lot of damage and was trying to counterattack.
The magical energy fluctuation seemed a little weak, but it was continuous, suggesting it was mainly melee combat.
Soon, the energy fluctuations gradually subsided, and Captain Stern walked out, followed by other slightly disheveled team members.
It was just a mess, with a little blood at most, but no missing personnel.
A faint smile appeared on Ryan's face.
It seemed that the enemy wasn't difficult this time.
However, he did not regret keeping Strange outside. There was no such thing as luck on the battlefield.
If you wanted to survive by chance on the battlefield, then death would definitely be the final outcome.
Only the brave, those who dared to fight for a chance of survival in the face of all kinds of dangers, would have a chance to survive.
This was Ryan's life experience.
As with previous missions, Captain Stern briefly talked about the situation inside: Hell demons had coincidentally passed through the Dimensional Gap.
Then he reviewed the battle and pointed out some issues to alert everyone.
Then, the space fluctuated slightly, and everyone opened portals and left.
But what no one knew was that Strange, who was the last one to open a portal, turned to look at the abandoned building with a strange look in his eyes.
Time passed slowly, and soon, the sunset completely faded.
The afterglow of the setting sun disappeared completely and was replaced by darkness.
The bright moonlight gradually enveloped the dilapidated building.
It was late at night, and the wild cats and dogs nearby seemed to sense the safety of this place and gradually returned to their former home.
The sounds of birds, beasts, and crickets gradually began to sound.
Suddenly—
Buzz!
A red flame-colored halo appeared, startling the wild cats around and sending them running away quickly.
The next moment, a figure wearing a red Cloak of Levitation walked out.
It was Doctor Stephen Strange!
Buzz!
As soon as he appeared, Strange immediately waved his hand to form a shield and looked around cautiously.
He didn't seem to sense any danger as he released his mental power.
With his eyes relaxing slightly, he walked toward the dark and dilapidated building.
The red flame-colored magic shield light dissipated the nearby darkness, reflecting Strange's serious face.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Footsteps sounded in the silent building, and Strange's expression became increasingly odd, as if he felt something unusual.
Buzz!
Suddenly, Strange waved his sling ring, and several bright and dazzling light orbs appeared and flew around.
The entire floor was instantly illuminated, revealing walls full of cracks, black and green smelly blood on the ground, and broken stones.
But these didn't seem to attract Strange's attention.
He raised his head and focused his eyes on the ceiling, seeming to see beyond it to higher places, or into deep space.
On the ceiling, various lines and symbols were painted, and the traces of battle damage were vaguely visible.
Whisper! Resonance!
It felt like the intimacy and familiarity of a family member, the desire and heat of a lover.
At this moment, Strange was both fully aware yet somehow not himself.
He knew very well that something was wrong with this state, but he couldn't hide the desire in his heart.
This kind of awareness actually fueled the inner desire.
Chaos Magic!
This was the Chaos Magic he had been searching for, the Chaos Magic that could potentially elevate one to godhood.
The emotion of longing seemed to stir up the magical energy in his body, and the Cloak of Levitation seemed to sense that something was wrong with its master's state.
It started flapping, as if ready to take Strange away from this place.
However, just as it was about to leave, suddenly—
The sound of the wind disappeared, the mood suddenly became calm, and the magical energy settled.
All of this stunned the Cloak who was about to whisk its master away, as if what had just happened was all an illusion.
The Cloak gently rubbed Strange's cheek, seeming to ask some questions.
And Strange stroked it gently, seeming to comfort and relieve the Cloak's anxiety.
But his eyes had a distant look, which seemed to indicate that he was thinking about something.
Invitation!
This was a magical invitation from an unknown force.
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