Chapter 441: Negotiation, Coercion
In the Asgardian Golden Palace, as King Odin raised Gungnir, a translucent green light began to flicker in the starry sky. It was the concept of Yggdrasil gradually manifesting throughout the Solar System.
Earthlings looking up at this moment would be astonished to find a constellation resembling a giant tree appearing in the starry sky at some unknown time. Even in broad daylight, the dazzling starlight emanating from this great tree was visible.
Under the night sky, the Moon shone with exceptional brilliance, like a fruit adorning the green canopy of Yggdrasil! Outside the Solar System, after Superman flew through a Romulan battleship, letting the spaceship disintegrate under the pressure of space, he abruptly stopped his attack on the Romulans scattering like rabbits. He turned around and looked behind him... Facing that immense Yggdrasil, even this God Among Men had a face full of astonishment at this moment. He looked back at the alien invasion battleships scattered far away, numbering less than a thousand, and after a moment of thought, he turned back and flew towards Earth.
He needed to figure out the reason for this sudden anomaly and whether Earth was currently safe.
"Bruce Wayne, what's the situation on Earth now?"
As Superman flew towards Earth, he contacted Bruce Wayne on Earth via the quantum communicator modified by Tony Stark.
However, judging from his cold tone, Superman was still holding a grudge against Bruce Wayne, the culprit who had caused his death.
Earth, New York City, in a street alley near the United Nations Headquarters Building, inside a bookstore selling comic merchandise and magazines.
Bruce Wayne, in a sharp suit, was flipping through the latest issue of DC Comics in his hand while answering Superman's question through a wireless earphone.
"Plan A failed, the enemy's numbers exceeded our imagination. Plan B worked, Thor and Diana's trip to Asgard seems to have gone smoothly. That giant tree you saw should be Yggdrasil from Norse mythology!"
"Plan failed! How is that possible? The enemy has been routed by me! They're collapsing and fleeing!" Superman questioned.
"You only intercepted a small fleet of the enemy; they bypassed you!" Bruce Wayne looked at the sky outside the store under the gaze of the fat store owner who looked at him like he was crazy. "Clark, the enemy's numerical superiority far exceeds our imagination!"
The enemy's numbers indeed exceeded their imagination. Clark, who was flying at sub-light speed, suddenly stopped, staring blankly at the steel torrent before him.
Outside the Solar System, countless battleships were neatly arranged in the dark starry sky, like asteroids that had been floating in this space for a long time. However, this asteroid belt was simply too vast, so much so that this ring-shaped shadow could be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
A steel torrent composed of millions of alien battleships. As Superman looked at them, he had the illusion that these battleships could even encircle the entire Solar System. In the space in all directions, battleships were still continuously joining this indescribably massive fleet. For a moment, Clark, this God Among Men, experienced a sense of powerlessness once again, following that strange Black and White World.
"Is this your declaration of war, Asgard? Odin!"
On the Sanctuary (ship), Thanos stood in the Great Hall of the spaceship, looking through the viewport at the expanse of green, a sinister smile on his face.
"Target Yggdrasil before us, fire a concentrated volley! Let this aging Deity recognize reality!"
"Yes, Master!"
Millions of battleships, with over a hundred thousand on the front line directly facing the Solar System. At Thanos's command,
A hundred thousand battleships simultaneously activated their attack modes. Various energy cannon fire streaked across the sky like meteors, instantly illuminating space like daylight! These energy attacks, capable of destroying a planet, landed on the massive Yggdrasil. The Rune symbols forming the branches and veins on Yggdrasil emitted a dazzling green light—
Various blue, white, and red energy beams rained down into that misty green light, instantly forming a giant energy explosion that spread in all directions.
The storm unleashed by this exploding energy blast even instantly blew away thousands of battleships closest to it. Yggdrasil's trunk also trembled under such dense energy cannon fire. Before the green light on Yggdrasil's trunk could dissipate, more energy cannon fire targeted the obstructing trunk for another volley! Corvus Glaive thoroughly carried out Thanos's demand; if he said one volley, it was one volley. The energy cannon fire from nearly four million battleships was enough to turn anything daring to obstruct them into ash.
Asgard, Odin stood on the walkway in front of the Golden Palace gate. He looked down at the location of the Rainbow Bridge in the distance, where two bursts of colorful light erupted...
The tall Odin, although dressed in plain clothes, showed no sign of old age.
His thick silver hair, combined with his sharp, one-eyed gaze, made him look like a vigorous old lion watching over his territory.
However, this old lion looked up at the constantly shaking Yggdrasil. Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew he was old after all. Otherwise, how would Thanos have the audacity to step into the Nine Realms?
"Relax, in the future I've seen, we still have hope of winning..."
The Ancient One, dressed in a bright yellow Mage robe, walked out of the Void Space, looking at Odin's back with a serene smile.
Odin turned back and glanced at the Ancient One. His gaze lingered on the Ancient One's gentle face for a moment, and he said with some emotion, "I've always wanted to ask you, what does it feel like to see the future..."
The Ancient One strolled to Odin's side. She leaned relaxed against the railing on the walkway, looking around leisurely. "It was fresh at first, but as time passed, everything around me felt like a novel I'd read countless times. Knowing the ending so early made me feel detached from everything, like no one would miss a piece of chewing gum chewed countless times!"
The Ancient One casually reached into her sleeve, and a piece of chewing gum appeared in her hand. She handed it to Odin.
Odin took the chewing gum from the Ancient One's hand, tore open the wrapper, put the chewing gum in his mouth, and began to chew, as if wanting to know the Sorcerer Supreme's view of the world.
"Do you think that Guest from the Parallel Universe can invite reinforcements?"
"Zeus and the Greek Gods were first defeated by Yahweh, and then we two jointly expelled them from Earth. Most of the Earth Deities in the Pantheon are hostile to us. If the Pantheon were to intervene, the final result might be even worse."
Saying that, the Ancient One looked towards the direction of the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard and said with a smile, "Earth now has a new trump card. Don't worry, we might not lose. In fact, isn't this an opportunity for you Asgard? An opportunity to escape Ragnarok!"
Odin's single eye flashed with sharp light, watching the Ancient One, who was calm and composed, wanting to confirm the truth of her words.
For Odin, who prided himself as the protector of the Nine Realms and the King of the Gods, the approach of Thanos's army was nothing short of humiliation.
Once, Yggdrasil covered the Nine Realms, and the Gods of Asgard were invincible.
If not for that internal strife, which left Asgard with only a tenth of its top combat power, and even Odin's most trusted Einherjar and Valkyrie warriors were almost completely lost during the campaign against Hela.
He himself was also afflicted by the curse of Ragnarok, having to enter a state of slumber periodically to suppress the rampaging divine power within his body. If Asgard had been in its prime, how could Thanos's fleet have dared to come here?
However, Odin was now constrained by the curse of Ragnarok, and he could not abandon the people of Asgard. After all, under the prophecy of the Goddess of Fate, Asgard would ultimately face destruction.
Odin did not want to yield to so-called fate, but the future was gradually becoming reality, bit by bit, along the Loom of the Goddess of Fate.
The issue of succession had also been troubling Odin. Thor's recklessness and Loki's cunning made them seem like unqualified successors...
He had to expend more effort on Thor, trying to change his personality.
Perhaps this invasion by Thanos was an opportunity. If the Ancient One's prediction was correct, then Asgard could completely use this victory to prove to the entire Universe that Asgard was still glorious.
On the other hand, the news brought by Thor from a Parallel Universe ignited a flame of hope in the aging Odin's heart.
In another Parallel Universe, Asgard escaped the fate of Ragnarok, the Aesir were still the co-rulers of the Nine Realms, and even Hela returned to the Aesir.
Although in that Universe, he also fell into Ragnarok, in Odin's heart, wasn't this the ending he had always dreamed of?
For Odin, time was running out. If he didn't do something now, there might truly be no opportunity in the future...
"What should we do now? Team up and take down Thanos!"
The Ancient One smiled at the imposing Odin, shaking her head and saying, "As I said from the beginning, neither of us can be tied down by this. Otherwise, those old friends will be unable to resist showing themselves..."
Saying that, the Ancient One took two steps forward and stood side by side with Odin. She looked at the magnificent yet beautiful scenery of Asgard and said with a smile:
"Let the Earthlings take the lead in this war..."
Odin was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "Are we two just going to act as bystanders here?"
Facing the surprised Odin, the Ancient One said with a light chuckle, "Haven't we already built the Platform for them!"
A sparking Space Gate appeared before the two of them. On the other side of the Space Gate, Thanos, who was looking at the Blue Planet through the viewport, turned around and looked at the two through the Space Gate.
"Let's go, accompany me to meet this Cosmic Overlord. Although we can't be tied down, we still have time for a little chat!"
Inside the Great Hall of Thanos's flagship, the Sanctuary (ship), Thanos sat on the Throne, hands clasped, looking down at the Ancient One and Odin. From the double-edged battle axe placed beside the Throne, it was clear that this Cosmic Overlord was not as relaxed about the arrival of the two as one might have imagined.
Around the Ancient One and Odin, the Black Order were dispersed, surrounding the two. Further away, hundreds of mechanical Soldiers, fully clad in armor, had their energy pulse guns subtly gathering energy.
At the Dome of the spaceship, some fist-sized alien species resembling octopuses and jellyfish floated.
Thousands of alien octopuses had their tentacles connected to each other. Beneath their nearly transparent skin, their brains could be clearly seen flashing with flowing light. That was the fluctuation of mental power interfering with reality. The mental power of these alien octopuses, individually, could move heavy objects, possessing what humans called telekinesis.
Furthermore, billions of years of focused evolution and brain-based mental power research allowed their mental power to connect like a hive mind.
It was only because this species was sparse in population and overly specialized, evolving to abandon their bodies in pursuit of stronger mental power, that they hadn't focused on technological development. With their level of brain development, they wouldn't have been reduced to Thanos's subordinates. Thousands of "octopus people" gathered in one place, waiting only for Thanos's command to unleash a mental storm capable of annihilating everything.
Compared to the watchful, tense, and wary Thanos and his Black Order subordinates, the Ancient One was playing with her fan, and Odin was chewing gum, looking around casually, appearing as if they were tourists, completely lacking any sense of tension in the enemy's base camp.
"Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, God King of the Nine Realms, Odin, have you come to stop me?" Thanos looked down at the two, a hint of undisguised ferocity flashing in his eyes. "I have received your declaration of war!"
"We are here to negotiate! Mr. Thanos from a Parallel Universe!" The Ancient One saw Thanos's hand reaching for the double-edged battle axe beside him. Her fan snapped open with a swish, and she gently fanned herself as she spoke.
"Negotiate!?" Thanos's hand reaching for the double-edged battle axe paused. He wasn't surprised that the Ancient One knew his origin; after all, having coveted the Infinity Stones for a long time, he deeply understood the power of the Time Stone.
Otherwise, the Ancient One, who possessed the Time Stone, wouldn't have been someone he had long been wary of. He just hadn't expected the Ancient One's intention to be negotiation.
"Hohohoho... Negotiate? What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me?!" Thanos spread his arms wide, speaking arrogantly, "I have five million battleships here, over a hundred thousand of which are equipped with planet-destroying cannons and black hole weapons. With just one command from me, the entire Solar System, the entire Nine Realms will turn into cosmic dust!"
"If you destroy the Solar System, then you, the loser, will only be trapped in this Universe!" The Ancient One's calm remark instantly enraged Thanos.
"Loser" immediately reminded Thanos of his crushing defeat and the figure holding Death in his arms.
The enraged Thanos grabbed the double-edged battle axe beside him and directly threw it towards the Ancient One!
Where the whistling double-edged battle axe passed, it tore a black Space rift directly on the Sanctuary (ship). A Guard standing in front of the Ancient One, completely encased in silver mechanical armor, was affected by this black Space rift and instantly cut in half at the waist, revealing the true form of the Guard inside, a worm-like creature wailing in pain.
Thanos's attack was like a signal. The brains of the octopus people above them all flashed with light, and then an extremely powerful mental storm swept towards the Ancient One and Odin.
Behind Odin, Proxima Midnight raised her hand. The divine spear in her hand instantly disappeared, and when it reappeared, this divine spear with a guaranteed hit property was already close to Odin's back, about to pierce him through.
"Crackle—"
An extremely faint blue electric arc flickered on Odin's body. Just when everyone thought it was an illusion,
The next second, countless lightning bolts appeared around Odin and the Ancient One, swirling around them like living things, forming a giant lightning vortex.
Crackle—
Under the powerful lightning voltage, the entire Sanctuary (ship) crackled everywhere for a moment. The divine spear thrown by Proxima Midnight didn't even touch Odin's back before it was filled with billions of volts of lightning, causing the entire spear to tremble uncontrollably and spark.
Ebony Maw, the Black Tongue Advisor among the Black Order, lifted a finger the moment Thanos attacked. The unlucky fellow accidentally injured by Thanos was directly twisted by him into a blood-dripping alloy spear and shot towards the Ancient One.
However, under Odin's lightning domain, this spear was instantly incinerated by the high temperature of the lightning.
Compared to Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw, the three unlucky ones—Corvus Glaive, Black Dwarf, and Supergiant—who wanted to rush forward and gang up on the Ancient One and Odin were much more miserable.
If Odin hadn't intended to kill them, the vast lightning torrent in his surrounding lightning domain alone would have been enough to turn the three into charcoal. Even so, Corvus Glaive and the other two were electrocuted, twitching and falling onto the Deck of the Sanctuary (ship).
Corvus Glaive was twitching all over. At this moment, he desperately wanted to beat up Loki. Your father is so powerful, why didn't you say so earlier?
At this moment, the double-edged battle axe thrown by Thanos had arrived before the lightning vortex. Crackle, crackle, crackle! Countless lightning bolts struck the double-edged battle axe, but they didn't affect its speed at all. The Space cracks torn by the battle axe even continuously devoured the lightning.
Seeing the whistling battle axe about to reach her, Master Ancient One calmly fanned herself, showing no intention of summoning a Space Gate or casting a magical barrier.
Odin, however, stepped forward. The surrounding lightning vortex was absorbed into his body at this moment. He directly reached out and grabbed the battle axe spinning towards him.
Countless lightning bolts converged in his Palm. Odin tightly gripped the double-edged battle axe, his single eye looking at Thanos.
"I am War God Grim, the One-Eyed God, the Truth Seeker, I am Grimnir, the Cloaked God! I am the All-Father, the God of the Scepter! I have countless names just as I have countless titles, and Death has countless ways. I am King of the Gods Odin!"
With every word Odin spoke, the divine power around him grew stronger. Each of his sentences represented one of his divine duties, one of his God Domains. By the time he spoke his last sentence, King of the Gods,
Outside the Sanctuary (ship), a giant phantom figure, ten thousand meters tall, composed of storm and lightning, suddenly appeared. He rode an eight-legged steed, announcing his arrival to the countless battleships around him...
"Odin! Be as arrogant as you like, your days are numbered!"
Earth, Federation New Jersey State, outside an alley near a Bar, an elderly white man in a black leather trench coat, wearing a scarf, and leaning on a cane, looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "Asgard without Odin is a tiger with its teeth pulled out, and without Asgard's support, how long can you, the Sorcerer Supreme, stop us!"
Screams of agony echoed in the dark alley illuminated by firelight. These screams of burning souls brought an extreme pleasure to the old man's face, as if he were listening to beautiful music.
"Kill to your heart's content! My Knight!"
"Bang!" Mephisto closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasure brought by the wailing souls, when a big foot solidly kicked him in the butt.
Mephisto was directly kicked over ten meters from behind, landing in the Small Alley.
Ghost Rider, who was holding a gangster by the throat and using his Penance Stare on him, lowered his head, his upper and lower jaws opening and closing, looking in astonishment at Mephisto suddenly lying at his feet, feeling completely bewildered at this moment.
"Who is it?"
Mephisto crawled up from the ground and looked angrily towards the Back Alley Exit. He saw two dark figures walk in from the Exit, cracking their knuckles.
"Mephisto, long time no see!"
"Clang!" On the Sanctuary (ship), Odin casually threw the double-edged battle axe in his hand onto the ground. With a flick of his foot, the charcoal-like divine spear landed in his hand.
"Nice spear, but unfortunately far inferior to my Gungnir!" Odin glanced at the divine spear in his hand, then threw it aside dismissively.
Looking at her beloved spear thrown on the ground, Proxima Midnight almost lunged at him to fight, if Corvus Glaive hadn't held her back.
"Can we talk now?" The Ancient One looked at the gloomy-faced Thanos and issued the negotiation invitation again.
"How do you want to talk?" Thanos suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice.
"Odin and I guarantee we won't intervene in this war, but your battleships also cannot cross the Solar System. Let Yggdrasil be the Battlefield. You can use any means outside of your battleships. If you can win, you can naturally take what you want!" The Ancient One said, her hands behind her back, stating her conditions.
"My battleships are enough to easily turn the entire Solar System into dust!" Thanos threatened with a gloomy face. "I don't believe the two of you can stop me!"
"Yes, if the Solar System turns into dust, we might not be able to stop you, but you will also never get what you want!" The Ancient One said with a smile.
"Are you threatening me!"
"This is just a kind suggestion! Whether you listen or not is none of my business!" Saying that, the Ancient One waved her sleeve, and a sparking Space Gate appeared out of thin air inside the Sanctuary (ship) Cabin.
The Ancient One and Odin walked towards the Space Gate as if no one else was there.
Odin took one step, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Ptooey!" He spat out a wad of chewing gum he had been chewing for who knows how long, then stepped forward, following the Ancient One's pace.
"Master Ancient One, you're right. Chewing gum for too long does make you want to spit!"
"Your declaration just now sounded familiar. It seemed like a line from a TV show!"
"Master Ancient One, you watch TV too?"
"Kamar-Taj isn't as backward as you think. We've had electricity and internet for a long time. I just didn't expect you, God King, to be interested in TV shows from the Human World!"
"Master Ancient One, you know I spend a few days in Norway every year. Sigh! Hela still resents me..."
As the Space Gate closed, the Sanctuary (ship) fell silent. The Black Order, knowing their place, all knelt on one knee on the ground, not a single one daring to look up.
The air inside the Sanctuary (ship) seemed to freeze.
Thud! Thud! Thud! In this atmosphere where every second felt like a year, one after another, the heads of the exploding octopus people fell onto the Deck before them. Each thud was like a blow to everyone's heart.
"Get up, all of you! Corvus Glaive, Black Dwarf, go and relay my command. Everyone prepare for ground combat!"
"Yes, Master!"
Corvus Glaive and Black Dwarf rose upon receiving the order. Everyone present finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Thanos speak.
(end of chapter)