Nick took the opportunity to extract some information from Thor and inquired about the situation in the Nine Realms. He couldn't help but be concerned. After all, if Asgard, the barrier, fell, the Dark Elves would definitely not let go of the other Nine Realms, including Midgard.
Thor didn't think there was anything worth hiding about this information. After all, he came here looking for reinforcements, so given his personality, he would definitely explain the situation clearly. Nick didn't even need any words to reveal the information.
Although the intelligence contained a lot of Thor's complaints and strong personal emotions, after filtering it, Nick still obtained a lot of valuable information about the battle situation and came to a worrying conclusion.
For example, Asgard is under tremendous pressure right now.
The God King Odin is very powerful, but the several kings of the Dark Alliance are enough to restrain him and even hurt him on his home turf.
After Asgard's Rainbow Bridge was destroyed, its advantage plummeted. Asgard lost its powerful pinpoint delivery capabilities and the deterrent power of the Rainbow Bridge. This meant that when the Dark Elf Alliance occupied one of Asgard's territories in the other Nine Realms, Asgard could no longer deploy its forces as quickly and promptly as before.
This forced Asgard to use its long-unused mothership transport system, but by the time they arrived on their hastily built motherships, the battle was often over. The enemy had already assembled a large number of soldiers and prepared barriers, waiting for their arrival at a leisurely pace.
Even if Thor and his men painstakingly recaptured the lost territory, the damage had already been done, and everything that needed to be plundered had been taken. Furthermore, the Nine Realms were vast, and Thor and his men, acting as firefighters, couldn't stay stationed in a single territory for long. If they separated, the enemy would gather and conquer them one by one.
What's more, Asgard doesn't have that much combat power to deploy right now. Asgard also has its own alliance, but the alliance can't provide much help to the Asgardians.
For example, the dwarf who was responsible for the creation of Asgard's equipment?
In Odin's eyes, the humans of Midgard were weak and could not help much.
The Vanir are not good at fighting.
Only the light elves of Alfheim can help.
The lips and teeth are interdependent.
Nick understood this principle. So, he had no particular objection to Thor coming to seek reinforcements. However, regarding the question of whether Midgard should participate in the war, he believed that consensus needed to be reached internally first.
Of course, Luke's inclinations certainly played a significant role. After all, when Thor came here, he was primarily looking for reinforcements, followed by his S.H.I.E.L.D. and his fellow Avengers.
"Where are you going? I need to see Luke first." After Thor complained about his stress, he finally remembered his father's instructions. He looked at Nick and asked.
"We have changed course and are heading towards Heberon." Nick comforted Thor.
"That's good. We've received news that Malekith has been searching for an artifact that once belonged to the Dark Elves. Once they obtain it, they will launch a general attack and conquer the Nine Realms.
The Asgardian soothsayers have roughly pinpointed a time: the upcoming nine-planet alignment, which occurs only once every few thousand years. During this time, Malekith will finally get what he wants. Thor, as if suddenly remembering something, revealed another crucial piece of information.
"Artifact?" Nick was a bit sensitive to the word now. After all, he had just learned a lot about artifacts. He knew that they were exclusive equipment with great power and magical properties. Even a powerful artifact, if wielded by a mortal, could kill a god.
Although Nick still firmly believed in his mind that it was a powerful technological weapon made with unknown technology! It was just that the manufacturing process and techniques were different from what he knew.
"The Aether is said to be a very dangerous weapon. After defeating the Dark Elves, my father took this artifact and sealed it in a secret space within the Nine Realms. The alignment of the Nine Stars will cause the space between the Nine Realms to become fragile and active, greatly weakening the seal's effectiveness. Over time, Malekith will eventually sense its sealed location.
At that time, due to spatial activity, the Nine Realms will partially overlap, and some creatures from other realms might be transported to Midgard, much like the dragons in your legends. Malekith and his men might seize this opportunity to send forces to conquer you. Thor frankly repeated his father's words from his own perspective, reminding Nick to prepare early.
Not surprisingly, Nick, who had originally been merely concerned about the situation in the Nine Realms, suddenly saw his blood pressure soar. He asked seriously, "Is there an exact time for the Nine Stars Conjunction?"
"It's probably not long. You can observe. If there are unusual fluctuations in space somewhere, that should be the beginning." Thor couldn't give an exact time, so he could only speak vaguely. Seeing Nick wanted to ask something else, Thor suddenly had an idea and suggested, "You can also have your scientists observe and study it, or simply have Luke build you an instrument to detect the spatial fluctuation index."
Seeing Thor couldn't give a precise time, Nick didn't press further. But his mood inexplicably grew subdued. Although he knew that if Asgard fell, Midgard would sooner or later face the same catastrophe, the sudden weight of the sword of Damocles hanging over his head still made him feel a sense of urgency.
The only consolation is that this time he obtained a lot of useful and valuable important information from Thor, which will not put him in the embarrassing situation of being unprepared and unable to focus when the time comes.
At the same time, he also thought it was time to reconvene Captain and Stark and a group of people to discuss a response plan.
They arrived at the Heberon Industrial Park in silence. Nick had contacted Luke on the way and informed him of Thor's arrival, so when they landed, they saw Luke and his head bodyguard waiting to greet them on the lawn.
After a few brief greetings, Nick and Thor gave a general explanation of the situation, and Thor conveyed the words of the God King Odin.
"In other words, you need my support?" Luke had listened to the two people's explanations along the way. After entering the conference room and taking their seats, Luke put his hand on the conference table and asked Thor next to him.
"Yes. My father knows that you have strong mechanical manufacturing capabilities. As long as you want, you can quickly create a powerful mechanical army. This can make up for the shortage of combat power in our Asgard. Of course, if you have better ones, we will be happy to accept them." Thor rubbed his butt on the chair twice, straightened his body, and then said.
"A large mechanical army isn't a problem; the problem lies in the resources required to manufacture it." Luke didn't object. "The better the materials, the more powerful the mechanical forces. This is a huge resource consumption."
"All expenses will be borne by Asgard. And Asgard is willing to open up the resource mining rights of a certain area in the Nine Realms to you on this basis. Of course, you can also make requests if you have any." Thor is not good at negotiation. If his brother Loki came over, he probably would not be so honest in stating his bottom line.
Nick saw a wealth of business opportunities. Even though he wasn't particularly business-savvy, he knew exactly what Thor's offer could bring them! At the very least, if S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government could get involved, it would be like finding a steady source of income. Even if it wasn't a gold mine, it would at least be a stable source of revenue!
Of course, the premise of all this is that they and Asgard are the winners!
Despite a turbulent stream of thoughts, Nick maintained a calm expression, patiently awaiting Luke's response. After all, it was clear that the God King Odin only valued Luke in this request for assistance. In other words, Luke was the only person at the center of this deal with Asgard. Besides Luke, the God King Odin might not recognize them, even if his S.H.I.E.L.D. was a partner.
Who made him and his SHIELD the least noticeable among their partners, with almost no presence?
After several encounters, Nick had long since accepted Luke's leadership in extraterrestrial affairs. As for the other Midgard leader, the Sorcerer Supreme? His personality was far too aloof, and Nick couldn't connect with him. But from the few words the Mage King had spoken to him, it was clear that the brainwaves of these mages weren't aligned with his own.
In comparison, although Luke is black-bellied, at least he helped S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I can accept it, but resources are resources, and technology is technology. You'll need to spend money on it." Luke nodded in agreement at Thor's surprise. Business was like this, and since Asgard had come to him, there was no reason to turn it away.
It's true, Asgard has quite a bit of good stuff. Especially Odin's treasure trove! In his youth, Odin, a war-mongering warrior, conquered countless realms and the universe. Just imagine, he's handled three or four Infinity Stones. Putting aside the Cosmic Stones, the weapons and equipment seized from the defeated by Odin, the victor, are truly captivating.
"No problem." Thor stepped forward, pulled Luke up, and hugged him tightly. His rough hands patted his back vigorously, and he happily agreed to Luke's request. Money and resources were not important to Thor, but Luke's willingness to support him without hesitation touched the still honest Thor deeply.
"After the war, I can take you to see our father's treasury. I think you can pick out a few collections from it." Thor solemnly assured him after letting go of Luke.
"If necessary, you could also bring Mephisto along. Loan him a large sum of money for the war in the name of God-King Odin. Then, he'll have to worry about whether his loan is going to go to waste." Luke didn't mind dragging Mephisto along, but he offered the suggestion jokingly. He wasn't sure how the war would turn out if Mephisto were involved. Old Mephisto was probably happily lending money while desperately harvesting high-quality souls from the Nine Realms as a creditor.
After all, the Nine Realms have their own soul destinations and circulation systems, such as Valhalla and the kingdom of the dead, Hell.
As long as he could guarantee that Asgard would be the ultimate victor, he was sure to win. Not only would the energy bank open, but his Hell dimension would also expand.
"Mephisto? He's too cunning." Thor instinctively shook his head. Even though Mephisto was a collaborator of Asgard, Thor, including Odin, did not trust him highly due to past experience. He was far less trustworthy and worthy of investment than Luke.
There is certainly a reason for this. After all, in Odin's opinion, Luke is too young. Even though his strength is growing rapidly, he has not yet developed the thinking and behavior style of the ancient dimensional demon.
For example, Odin would never seek help from Mephisto or the Sorcerer Supreme. One has lived for who knows how long and is a representative example of cunning and treacherous dimensional demons. The other, while not as long-lived as them, has shamelessly exploited them, leaving many dimensional demons trembling with fear and avoiding him. How brave would he be to invite a wolf into his house?
It would be fine if Asgard and the other nine realms didn't have these two things, but it was precisely because they had the souls of the nine realms and the magical elemental power that Asgard was filled with.
If Odin gave these two a chance, he had no doubt that while he was still around, he could barely keep it together. But after he died, his foolish son would probably be completely drained of his blood by these two, and would be perfectly content. His second son was smarter, but he was too ambitious to be successful. If he tried to play tricks on these two scheming bitches, he would die without knowing how he had done it.
Only Luke, despite his less-than-ideal character, is a paragon of virtue compared to the other two! He also has a good relationship with his own son, having fought alongside him. His strength also derives from knowledge, technology, and resources. Furthermore, he's willing to share his newly created energy for a mutually beneficial outcome, demonstrating his own vision.
"Then sign the order. I believe that the God King Odin should have prepared a cooperation list for you. You can take it out now so that we can discuss it." Luke sat down again and said directly without hesitation.