The original intention of Odin was to send a few people who understood the Outer Gods over to coordinate with the God Clan and drive this guy away. Although it would indeed add some trouble, it would not affect the overall battle situation.
But the problem was that what came was not an Outer God, but a mass of frenzied berserk energy, which conveniently opened a passage for the other two empires. In other words, what they were facing was not just one Demon God, but the full-scale attack of the main armies of the other two empires.
Though the armies from the two empires that had come before were large in number, they couldn't be called an all-out mobilization. It's not that they didn't want to or lacked resources; on the contrary, they were so abundant in resources that it was all they had left.
After all, they had ruled a whole Individual Universe for thousands of years, and even using the dumbest mining methods, they had mined enough ore to fill several Star Systems. Moreover, their level of robot manufacturing was very high, not resource-intensive, allowing them to produce as many as they wanted.
They didn't flood with troops not because of a shortfall, but because the crevices they could open on the barrier of the Nine Major Kingdoms had limited flow capacity, so amassing more troops would be useless if they couldn't get through.
But if they could open a larger passage, they'd love to throw in everything they had. It wasn't just about destroying Asgard; if they could eradicate the civilizations within the Nine Major Kingdoms, they could monopolize the World Tree.
The World Tree had nurtured the God Clan, even though it sowed the seed of Ragnarök, but the World Tree was a unique treasure in the cosmos. If they could claim it, perhaps after thousands or tens of thousands of years, they too could become a God Clan. How could they not fight desperately?
To prevent them from succeeding, Asgard must spare no effort to protect the World Tree. Odin was not the type to be overly confident; he had extensive experience and rational thinking. He knew very well that if help wasn't called for at this moment, it might all be over.
"Contact Earth," Odin said again, "Tell them about the current situation and make sure they come to support us."
Having said that, he and Thor went to the battlefield together.
Left behind, Loki was not in a good mood either. He knew that as soon as the request was made, the human race would definitely send people, but the issue was that: if told the real situation, even more people would come.
After all, it was the out-of-control mutants that caused the current situation, and humans, out of a sense of compensation, would increase their reinforcements too.
"Batman definitely counted on this," Loki thought as he walked back, "On one hand, increasing the defensive pressure on Asgard, forcing them to seek aid; on the other, exerting moral pressure on humans, forcing them to send major forces over. But this way, the frontline base on their side might not hold up."
Still, Loki had a nagging doubt: was Batman's aim really just the frontline base? He didn't think it was that simple, but for the moment, he couldn't figure out what the other party's real motive was.
Reluctant as he was, Loki still sent out the request for help. When the command center received the message, it was in upheaval.
They had been investigating what happened over at Cygnus, only to receive a message from Asgard stating that Scarlet Witch and Magneto had transformed into an extremely violent energy form and were persistently assaulting the Nine Major Kingdoms' barriers, leading the main forces of the two empires inside. This was truly the worst possible scenario.
The command center had no choice but to urgently notify the mutants to support Asgard, albeit with the thought of "you made the mess, you solve it," but also because mutants, whose attack range is large, are well-suited for dealing with such sieges; sending those with single-target attacks would take an eternity to cause any significant damage.
This time, both Magneto and Scarlet Witch from the Central Universe went, even taking three of the four little demons with them; except for Thomas, who was still in his infancy, the other three went.
Stark also went, essentially using the form of the Iron Demon God to combat the mechanical army opposing them; even Shiller joined too, under the guise of Fog Guest, because of his area attack capability, so he was sent along too.
The remaining members of the Fantastic Four also went, mainly because Human Torch could attack over a wide area, and Mr. Fantastic could attempt to hack into the opponent's system or directly strike at the Supreme Wisdom to disrupt their combat capabilities.
The mutants this time could be said to have emptied their nest, with everyone capable of area attacks going: Polaris, Iceman, Pyro, Cyclops, Phoenix, Quake, Quicksilver, Sunspot...
Even members of the Sinister Six from the Central Universe who could go did so: Sandman, Electro, Doctor Lizard, and even Mysterio, pulled out from prison, was thrown onto the battlefield. These people had no revival slot, though they could be fished out later from the Realm of Death, they knew they couldn't be revived but still decided to go, which wasn't easy.
Then there were the local deities on Earth, like those Animal Gods from the African God System, the authentic Moon Knight, and Yemengade, who was thrown out of the High Tower.
This force assembled to support Asgard could be called luxurious, to the point that when Loki saw them, he was simply stunned.
Had humanity gone mad? Had they left only The Avengers, perhaps adding Doctor Destruction, while sending the rest, old and young, over to Asgard?
It would be impossible not to be moved, but Loki was more worried about whether those left behind could really hold the frontline base. If they couldn't, would humanity really retreat back to Earth?
Though Earth had the Magical Defense Network for protection, perhaps safer than the hastily constructed frontline base, it was filled with ordinary people, and dragging so many civilians onto the battlefield posed an incredibly high risk.
It wasn't just Loki; essentially, no Asgardian who saw such a powerful support lineup from Earth was entirely happy. They were filled with concern but had no choice.
While contemplating strategies, Loki organized the intelligence data. At that moment, he felt a familiar presence and turned to see Hela standing behind him.
"Why are you back?" Loki asked.
"I was a bit uneasy," Hela, who was clearly just withdrawn from the battlefield, said, "most of the Fairy Palace's trusted aides have been redeployed. Now it's basically just you Lokis remaining. You're so weak that if you get captured as hostages, both Odin and Thor would lose it."
"I can ascend, they can't do anything to me," Loki said. "The front line battlefield is severely understaffed right now. You should leave quickly."
"Do you think I wanted to come back?" Hela's tone was unfriendly, he said, "The Father of All Gods ordered me and the Undead Army to guard the Fairy Palace. We all know, I'm not here to guard this crumbling palace. A military order is above me, what can I do?"
Loki scratched his head in some irritation. He knew Thor and Odin must be worried about his safety, which is why they sent Hela over.
On a deeper level, they knew there was a possibility that the Fairy Palace might not be safe anymore. This so-called backfront was likely to turn into the frontline, which is why they brought Hela back in advance.
The reason it was Hela and not someone else is because she controls the Netherworld. If someone really broke in, she could immediately send Loki to the Netherworld. That place is remote and far away, with its own barrier, practically a safe house.
Even if Loki was unwilling to leave, Hela could take him away. Loki really wished his father and brother were pure brutish fighters who forgot everything else during battles. At such a critical time, how could they still think of making him an escape route?
Loki wasn't planning to stay put obediently. He knew he had to find a way to deal with that raging energy that opened paths for the two Great Empires. Otherwise, even with human help, they wouldn't hold out for long against the two empires.
But with Hela's arrival, he couldn't run. What about that energy then? Who else could solve it?
Loki was pacing anxiously, but seeing the countless Undead Guards outside the Fairy Palace, he was at his wits' end. Returning to his bedroom, he angrily and dejectedly swept the vase off the table and onto the floor.
It was then that a head poked in from the doorway. Loki's eyes lit up, and he called out: "Helen! You're back!"
Helen smiled and slipped inside. She said, "Of course, I seem to have come just in time."
"Exactly!" Loki said very happily. Helen's timing was perfect. While the raging energies were deadly to others, to Helen, who munched on neutron stars daily, they were nothing, akin to a crunchy snack, two bites and it was gone.
Loki briefed Helen on the situation, to which she nodded and said, "Alright, I'll head over, should be back in no time."
"Wait," Loki shouted, "I'll go with you."
Helen was a bit surprised, but she quickly shook her head firmly. "No, you can't come with me. If anything happens to you, it would be trouble."
"You don't know, that thing carries spiritual pollution," Loki quickly emphasized, "I'll go there, but I won't intervene. I'll just use magic to protect your spirit. Otherwise, if you get infected, we're truly done for."
"Spiritual pollution?" Helen was somewhat perplexed. Although she didn't think anything could corrupt her spirit, seeing Loki's expression, she nodded, "Alright, but keep some distance, so you don't actually get affected."
The two flew towards the mass of raging energy together. They hadn't even gotten close yet when Helen reverted back to her original form, and Loki used magic to shield his spirit. She quickly saw the mass of raging energy stuck on the barrier, went over, and with an "Awooo," devoured it. With a few more bites, a few beams of white light flashed, and the out-of-control Scarlet Witch and Magneto returned to the Battleworld.
But the damage was already done. The fissure that had opened was too large, with the mechanical army pouring in like mad. Even with Helen blocking the entrance and eating, it was impossible to consume much, and the crack's healing process was very slow, taking several days to recover completely would be considered fast.
Under such circumstances, the number of mechanical army influx would be very terrifying, enough to fill up not just Asgard, but potentially filling three or four of the Nine Major Kingdoms.
Fortunately, with the main culprits resolved, the fissure would not continue to expand. If they could hold out for a few days, though it wouldn't turn defeat into victory, things would improve greatly.
Returning to the Fairy Palace, Loki had just taken a breath when he saw Hela rushing out. He hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Something's happened on the front line," Hela said, "Thor was ambushed from behind and got injured. I've got to step up. You must stay with Helen, don't move a single step, I'll be back soon!"
Loki was shocked, immediately opening communication to ask Thor what was going on. Thor's voice was a bit hoarse as he then said, "Nothing much, just someone from the Avengers infiltrated the reinforcement. Loki, be very careful… bzzt… bzzt…"
"Thor! Thor!! Damn it!"