Chapter Four: Accelerated Plot 1
"Surtur, I thought you were a fearless warrior. Why did you cower in fear of that savage giant?"
Nidhogg mocked the giant, his words harsh. Seeing his former enemy now cowering in a comical manner, the black dragon's mood instantly brightened.
"Nidhogg, I thought you were a mindless beast. Instead of baring your teeth at Ymir, you're tucked your tail between your legs and fleeing your territory. You're the one who should be ashamed!"
Surtur retorted without hesitation. Facing the black dragon's mockery, his lava-covered face showed no shame, but rather a hint of pride as he said, "Facing an invincible enemy, hiding is also a form of resistance. Nidhogg, you've sheathed your scales and claws, transforming into this little thing. Isn't that because you're afraid of Ymir? In that case, what's wrong with me being afraid of Ymir?"
"..."
The black dragon remained silent. It had originally thought Surtur was the kind of reckless brute who wouldn't back down in the face of a threat and would fight to the bitter end. It hadn't expected him to be so cowardly.
However, this showed that Ymir's power was indeed formidable; even Surtur dared not confront him directly.
Instead of reflecting on its own actions, it was better to shift the blame to someone else. 1
Nidhogg raised his head, patted the hilt of the sword he was standing on with his cat paw, and said, "Surtur, Ymir's birth is inextricably linked to you. If you hadn't been constantly wielding your sword, causing the flames of the Land of Fire to rise, the evaporating water vapor wouldn't have covered the Kinggalon Abyss. You're responsible for this!"
Surtur was not to be outdone. Facing the black dragon's attempt to shift the blame, he countered with a swift retort: "Nidhogg, you malicious attacker! If you hadn't rested at the Unending Spring, causing your wings to cover the spring's source and the waters of the twelve great rivers to overflow and form glaciers, how could Ymir have been born?"
Good heavens, he hadn't expected the other party to be just as shameless as himself!
Faced with this shameless fire giant, the black dragon was at a loss. If the two sides clashed, and the aftershocks of the battle attracted Ymir's attention, that savage frost giant would likely come and tear them both apart.
The black dragon's venom caused Ymir to cough up blood, thus forging a deep-seated hatred between them.
Surtur is a fire giant, and frost giants naturally abhor fire. The mindless Ymir will inevitably attack him.
Therefore, there's only one answer.
"Let's form an alliance!"
Nidhogg and Surtur spoke simultaneously, a hint of embarrassment in their eyes.
Before Ymir's birth, they were enemies, but there are differences between enemies. One was an evenly matched opponent, someone they only met once every few millennia, a reclusive shut-in; the other was a newly born giant who could crush him with one hand, now restless and anxious, traversing the King's Gap, even overturning the Land of Mist.
The choice of ally is obvious.
"Since that's the case, let's put aside our previous hatred and devise a plan to kill Ymir!"
The black dragon swished its tail, raised its claws, and commanded Surtur: "Quickly, use your invincible divine sword to stab him to death!"
Surtur's flaming greatsword had given it no shortage of trouble; wherever the blade sliced, the air would rise, and even sand would turn to glass. The black dragon had no doubt that this divine sword could pierce Ymir's heart.
Of course, whether Surtur would be killed by Ymir before that was another matter entirely.
Surtur exhaled hot breath, the scorching heat instantly breaking through the black dragon's spell, scorching its fur and turning it yellow, clearly dissatisfied with the black dragon's proposal.
"Alright, alright, let me think about it seriously... what should we do..."
The black dragon raised its hand and pressed down, signaling Surtur to quiet down.
Currently, there are only four living creatures in the entire world: the black dragon Nidhogg, the fire giant Surtur, the frost giant Ymir, and the cow Odumbra.
Of these, Ymir is the most powerful, followed by Nidhogg and Surtur. The cow is merely large in size; her actual fighting strength is not strong.
The black dragon's venom or the fire giant's divine sword could either kill this cow.
Surtur's idea was to kill the cow first.
"No, no," the black dragon quickly shook his head, rejecting the proposal.
The milk produced by the cow Odumbra is Ymir's food. Ymir eats and sleeps, sleeps and eats, and is most restless when hungry after waking up.
If Ymir's food source is cut off, the black dragon and the fire giant will be facing the perpetually volatile and perpetually lucid frost giant.
As for whether Ymir will starve to death without food?
Heh.
Since its arrival in this world, the black dragon hadn't eaten. Even now, emaciated, hunger wouldn't affect its condition in a fight.
Mythical creatures are irrational.
They do get hungry, but they don't starve. In fact, their size increases daily.
Just a few days later, Ymir showed signs of growing larger again, its power increasing exponentially.
The black dragon had to find another way.
"Odin will kill Ymir, but when will that be? This thing will soon have searched the entire Land of Mist. When it comes to the Land of Fire, oh dear, its enemy is with another little snack. It can chew them both up for a treat!"
"What to do? What to do? Buri, come save her!"
"That's it, Buri!"
The black dragon had a flash of inspiration, remembering this being.
Legend has it that the cow Odumbra, after giving birth, licked the snow day and night, constantly searching for salt frost.
One day, while it was diligently licking some salt from an ice cube, it suddenly licked out some hair from under its tongue. It continued licking, and the next day, a complete head appeared; by the third day, it had licked out a living human form.
Thus, Buri, the progenitor of the gods, was born.
Buri was a tall, handsome male god, strong and powerful yet gentle in nature, and therefore unable to coexist with the rude and ferocious giants. A long and protracted struggle ensued between them.
Buri and Ymir each gave birth to their own offspring, and the long war between the gods and the frost giants began.
"Even if Buri's power is not as great as Ymir's, he is still a considerable asset!"
Nidhogg thought to himself.
Currently, Norse mythology is still in a hazy, chaotic state; all the gods have not yet been born. Why not accelerate these events?
Ymir was born prematurely because of his and Surtur's actions!
Wouldn't it be reasonable to let the gods be born prematurely as well?
"It's just salt, isn't it? I have claws to dig it up!"
The black dragon looked at the flaming divine sword beneath its feet; its light melted everything in its path.
Besides, there was something even more efficient here.
Thinking this, the black dragon couldn't contain itself any longer.