Summoning a shield in front of him, Thor blocked the spell that slammed into it, skidding back across the ground as a result of its explosive force. Lowering his arms, he glared out at the figure who had attacked him, an older man, skeletal almost in appearance and draped in robes and expensive garbs.
Magic wafting around his hands.
Gripping his axe tightly, Thor rushed forwards, his genetically enhanced soldiers matching his charge and converging upon the sorcerer from all sides. They didn't all have weapons, but they were fast, strong and durable, more so than any human; perfect specimens.
Yet they proved little match for the sorcerer, a fog of magic rushing from his hands and engulfing them all. They didn't cry out, but their movements went still, the connection Thor shared with their mind disappearing as they dropped dead to the floor.
Firing a blast of energy from his hands, Thor came up close, Kulan Garth summoning a shield of his own to protect against the attack. Thor followed up with a powerful downward swing of his axe that actually cut into the shield much to the surprise of the sorcerer who stumbled back in reflexive shock.
Another blast slammed into the shield, shattering it as Thor tensed his muscles, the downward swing carrying through and actually cutting into the sorcerer slightly. However, a blast of magic struck into his stomach, launching Thor back across the ship.
Slamming into the side of the wall, Thor dropped to his knees and stared up at the sorcerer, numerous magical attacks already being fired his way. Rolling to one side to avoid a few, Thor summoned a shield to protect his back as he ran, circling around the sorcerer and coming back in for a charge.
Kulan Garth floated up into the sky, avoiding the axe swing that would have cut him in half. But with pure strength alone, Thor was able to revert the trajectory of his swing, something no human would have been able to do. Kulan Garth had not expected the axe to suddenly change directions and come swinging up, removing one of his legs.
The pain of missing a limb caused his flow of magic to become disrupted, he dropping to the ground as Thor came after him. Axe swung back down intending to embed it deeply into his head.
But he was quickly forced to cross his arms, barely able to summon a shield that shattered upon impact as a cutting spell rushed at him. Despite the shield shattering upon impact, it managed to dissipate some of the spells force, Thor left with only deep cuts in his arms rather than them being removed entirely.
For most, this would be a devastating moment, the muscles cut so deeply that wielding a weapon would be impossible. But Thor by this point had already undergone the genetic manipulation process, and while the cuts didn't heal, a flexing of his muscles caused the cuts to close up as he once more began to march upon Kulan Garth.
"You would be a worthy servant to the Great Serpent," Thor muttered, feeling the presence and interest of Set as it gazed upon Kulan Garth. The Elder God could sense the magical power within the sorcerer and wanted such power for himself. If he could have him, it would more than makeup for the soldiers Thor had lost in the course of this battle. "Surrender and accept the enlightenment of the Great Serpent dawn upon you."
Kulan Garth grit his teeth. "Never!" Vast quantities of magic exploded from within him and he unleashed it all upon the ship.
A blinding light engulfed them all.
-X- Line Break -X-
Blinking, Thor lowered his arms, finding Kulan Garth gone, the disappointment of his master, Set clear upon the link they shared. It was of no consequence though, he could hunt down the sorcerer and force him to submit in the future. Right now, however, he needed more power, that fight had proved he wasn't yet strong enough.
It was then the connection he shared with the ship that alerted him to something being wrong. Moving to the side of the ship, a hatch opened up allowing him to see the outside. The ship was on the ground, no longer capable of sustaining its flight, one of its engines damaged during the course of the fight. The emergency protocol had been activated though, an assimilation of the ship to make it blend in with its surroundings.
But that wasn't what worried Thor.
No, what worried him was the change in surroundings. They were no longer floating above a huge crater, surrounded by the mountains. Now they were within a huge forest, the sun beating down upon them and in the distance, he witnessed a Dragon flying into the air.
'This is not Hyboria.' Thor thought to himself, the hatch closing behind him as he made his way back into the ship. 'Do a scan of the surroundings, dispatch the Plodex Wolves to capture some specimens for assimilation.'
Assimilation was a process that meant genetically modifying and connecting them to the hivemind, giving Thor total control of them. The stronger the will and the species, the longer the process so it was not always a hundred percent guaranteed, like in his case. His telepathic powers, granted to him by Set enabled him to overwhelm and force the Plodex ship to bend to his will. Since then, the Plodex colony on board had effectively become his slaves.
He had since manipulated their shapes, forming different types of warriors. The main force of his future army would be the genetically modified humans he found. But the Plodex's would be his secret weapons. However, in his battle against the sorcerer, he barely had any humans left.
The Plodex Wolves, like their name suggested, were Plodex's that had taken the form of quadrupedal creatures that bore a passing resemblance to wolves. Though a type of wolf bigger than even a horse, almost comparable to a bear in structure as well. But they were fast and dangerous, perfect for scouting and collecting materials to further experiment with.
'Hmm, so we are no longer upon Gaea.' Thor thought to himself, the scan performed by the ship ending in failure. That knowledge earned more displeasure from Set however, Thor could recognise this as a further opportunity to expand.
His ship would assimilate with the surroundings, becoming unnoticeable. He would then gather information and materials, build his army and then take over this world. Once that was done, he would find a way to return to Gaea and conquer that as well.
All for the glory of the Great Serpent.