The arrival of the Dark Elves drew a brief glance from Adam, but nothing more.
"Trying to use the Dark Elves to disrupt my bond with the Yggdrasil to achieve your coveted goal? You think I claimed the Yggdrasil's power so carelessly? Even if you aid those Elves, you won't succeed."
Adam's expression remained serene, infuriating Knull.
Nothing irked him more than a god facing him with smug assurance, a blend of arrogance and the ultimate slight against him.
Worse, Knull loathed admitting that Adam, an ant not long ago, had skyrocketed to a Celestial capable of matching him head-on.
If there was a difference, Knull was a born Cosmic Being, while Adam had ascended through myriad means. That Adam could rival him only underscored Knull's "failure."
Knull unleashed his rage, his sharp claws swatting aside Adam's Necrosword, attempting to reclaim it. But the blade, now etched with eerie divine runes, bore Adam's mark inside and out, resisting Knull's command and struggling fiercely.
Enraged, Knull struck, unleashing a darkness as deep as a black hole, targeting the Yggdrasil to sever its connection with Adam.
"Gods reliant on dimensional power? I've seen plenty and killed my share! You're no different!"
Knull's malevolent eyes glared, taking in the Yggdrasil, radiating boundless divine light, as if woven from countless luminous points.
He watched as nearly every minute branch extended an unyielding divine chain, anchoring directly to Adam.
Even as ancient as Knull was, he couldn't decipher the mechanism. It was as if the Yggdrasil had suddenly birthed a consciousness, purposefully channeling its vast divine reserves into Adam.
But how could that be? The Yggdrasil developing a will was as absurd as an entire universe coming alive.
Knull's actions weren't aimed at destroying the Yggdrasil.
Even a Cosmic Being would expend immense effort to destroy its vastness, and other Cosmic Beings might intervene, unwilling to tolerate such a reckless act that could fracture the universe's framework.
Knull sought to disrupt the bond between the Yggdrasil and Adam, creating an opening for the Dark Elves.
As Adam predicted, Knull couldn't fully sever their mysterious connection, but he aimed to use the Dark Elves to siphon a portion of the Yggdrasil's power.
The Dark Elves mobilized their entire race, every member aboard their warships, launching a massive assault.
"We're back, finally back. The Yggdrasil, our cradle… Yet it's too radiant, not ours, more suited to those Light Elves."
Malekith, the Dark Elves' Skyfather, stared expressionlessly at the colossal entity before him.
The Yggdrasil, made starkly visible by the clash of two Cosmic Beings, had never been so clear.
The Yggdrasil was both tangible and an amalgamation of rules and divine energy. Even for a Skyfather, glimpsing its full scope was arduous.
But now, Malekith saw it, though not through his own power.
"Cosmic Beings… I thought Odin's death removed our greatest obstacle. All we needed was to methodically return to the Yggdrasil and reclaim what's ours. But who'd have thought a Celestial would emerge within it?"
Even Malekith found this exasperating.
Peak Odin never breached the Cosmic Being tier, relying on artifacts like the Destroyer Armor, blessed by pantheon kings, to merely challenge one.
Odin remained a strong Skyfather, never breaking the ultimate barrier.
Yet Adam had, a human who unified a terrifying, unheard-of race mere years ago, waging grand wars and growing at breakneck speed.
"A man who thwarted Dormammu and Knull is too dangerous. Thankfully, I contacted Knull beforehand to pave our way. If we'd tried returning to the Yggdrasil on our own…"
Malekith gazed at the violent tremors rippling through the solar system and nearby stars.
Each flash, rivaling a supernova, marked the brutal exchanges between these Cosmic Beings.
Fortunately, their battle raged within the Yggdrasil, in Midgard, the heart of its most resilient domain.
Elsewhere in the cosmos, such a clash would have shattered stars and triggered mass extinctions.
Malekith issued orders: all ships were to invade the solar system, eliminating all opposition, especially Asgardians.
Though his alliance with Knull was one of mutual exploitation, when Knull commanded, Malekith had no choice but to lead his Dark Elves into a desperate fight. He lacked the power to defy a Cosmic Being.
The Yggdrasil, spanning countless worlds, quaked with spacetime fluctuations.
Under Knull's forceful interference, the divine chains showed signs of instability, Knull's gift to Malekith.
"Disrupt Adam's bond with the Yggdrasil? No, more accurately, Knull wants me to probe Adam's control over it. Any slight lapse, and Knull will unravel its mechanics."
Malekith, ever cunning, saw through Knull's intent.
Cosmic Beings were terrifying, their mastery of information far surpassing a Skyfather's limits.
"Dark Elves!"
"Those obsessive lunatics, following Knull and betraying the Yggdrasil?"
"Damn it, they're using Knull to seize the Yggdrasil's power! Malekith's on the move!"
Skyfathers from other realms were stunned. After so long, the long-vanished Dark Elves reappeared, a depth charge shocking many.
Thor roared, ready to charge and blast down several Dark Elf warships.
But these warships plunged headfirst into the symbiote black tide, wrapped and covered by a large number of symbiotes, suddenly gaining a powerful barrier.
Malekith completely ignored Thor and the others. Under Knull's intentional guidance, he reached for the divine power surging from the Yggdrasil.
"Finally, after so long, I've finally got you again."
Malekith's face showed intense excitement as he felt the immense divine power that he had never personally experienced before, nor even heard of. He was both shocked by Adam's ability to make the Yggdrasil reach such a level and envious that such a young Midgardian had accomplished what countless Celestials could not. But since Adam could wield such vast divine power, he, Malekith, could also gain a part of it.
"Malekith has touched the Yggdrasil."
"That's normal. With Knull paving the way for him, if it were me, I would also consider whether I could become the next cosmic deity. In terms of origin, actually, we who are of higher birth than humans or Xenomorphs are more suitable to bear the power of the Yggdrasil."
Many Celestials were watching across dimensions, and various ambitious individuals were getting restless.
"Get ready. If Malekith makes progress, we'll also deploy troops."
In Muspelheim, the world of fire, Queen Sindr, daughter of Surtur, issued the order.
A large number of fire giants, rock giants, fire spirits, and other divine races gathered. But the strong from each tribe were somewhat hesitant.
"Adam is currently resisting Knull and the Dark Elves. If we attack him now, it might lead to Knull's side gaining victory..."
"Idiot, what are you thinking? Our mortal enemy is Asgard, not Midgard. How could I lead Muspelheim to attack Midgard's forces and let Knull benefit? This madman is infamous throughout the universe. If he rules the Yggdrasil, where will there be a place for us?"
Queen Sindr, with flames burning on her body, drew her whip and lashed it violently: "If Malekith can gain the power of the Yggdrasil, we will prioritize attacking the Dark Elves, and at the same time, I will also draw power from the Yggdrasil to surpass my father."
The many Celestials of the Yggdrasil, to say they hate and fear Knull is true, but to say they are not at all envious of Adam's authority, that would be false. Naturally, some would think that since Adam, who is not of divine origin, can do this, then they, the orthodox Celestials of the Yggdrasil, could do it even better. It's just that they haven't mastered the method and principle of controlling the Yggdrasil.
Muspelheim took action, and other worlds also moved. The Light Elves of Vanaheim were the most active, following the Vanir gods, fearlessly attacking the Dark Elves' cosmic warships.
Looking at the situation within the Yggdrasil, it can almost be said that apart from the battle where Odin led the Council of God-Heads against the Celestials and suffered a crushing defeat, no other war can compare to the scale of the current one.
Everyone was watching Malekith's actions, even Knull was paying close attention.
Boom!
Adam split open the darkness, using massive runes to pave the way, engraving eerie patterns on Knull's body.
"Distracting yourself in front of me isn't a good habit. Even if you're ancient, if you're killed, you'll die. You're not death itself."
Adam was completely unaffected by Knull's series of actions. He was always so composed and steady that even if the world shattered or the universe rebooted, it couldn't shake his heart in the slightest. He would only seize every opportunity to achieve his goals, continuously injuring Knull.
"Even Cosmic Beings need to accumulate power. You rely on the Yggdrasil, suddenly entering this domain, completely unaware of how omnipotent true Cosmic Beings are," Knull said, looking at the numerous rapidly flickering runes on his body. The more that hit his body, the more clearly he could feel that the Yggdrasil's suppressive force on him was strengthening, with each rune consuming and weakening him. But it doesn't matter; this situation is about to reverse.
"The Yggdrasil couldn't have become your greatest support for no reason. You're not of divine origin; even if you are, you must have used some method to achieve this. I only need to take a look to understand how you did it."
Knull's anger intensified, his endless rage quickly turning into piercing cold, his eyes fixed on Malekith, hoping that this ant could pave the way for him and bring some unprecedented new discoveries. I can do it too, that's what Malekith thought, and that's what Knull thought; no one would think they have too much Cosmic Level power.
Malekith came into contact with the Yggdrasil and began trying to gain more divine power. Normally, Celestials can only receive a limited amount of divine power support from the Yggdrasil. What Malekith was doing was to break that limit, using Knull's help to seize more divine power, thereby creating an opening for Adam. But when Malekith was about to accept more divine power, risking bodily harm, with a snap, the Yggdrasil suddenly forcibly severed its connection with him, even suppressing the part of divine power that originally belonged to him.
Malekith, feeling the suddenly disappearing divine power, was stunned, his face showing intense disbelief as he exclaimed, "This is impossible! How can the Yggdrasil act like a living thing and specifically refuse me, a Celestial?"
"I'll tell you the reason; it means you're not qualified!"
Queen Sindr led her army and charged over, heading straight for Malekith. But Malekith's actions had already allowed Knull to see the key things.
"I understand now; indeed, there is something secretly helping you... I see those guys lurking in the darkness, sneaking around, though I haven't seen them clearly..."
Knull was also very astonished; on the Yggdrasil, in the shadows that even he was too lazy to look at twice, there was actually a group of peculiar rats hiding? But no matter how hidden, they were formless before him, the ancient evil god born from darkness.
"As long as I kill those few rats, they won't be able to use the Yggdrasil to transmit divine power to you. Then, even if you're still at the level of a Cosmic Being, without the Yggdrasil's supply, you won't be my match."
Knull let out a mad laugh, his laughter shaking the surrounding cosmic vacuum, causing dense cracks to appear. This evil god was ready to shake off Adam, willing to be consumed of more power by Adam, and personally plunge into the shadows. In an instant, he could grab those few rats and squeeze them to death one by one.
Adam still showed no sign of panic; he calmly said, "You're completely wrong. My true means to deal with you isn't the Yggdrasil at all; this is just a way to weaken you, to lay the foundation for my next plan. Most importantly... even if I successfully kill you in this form, what can I do? I disdain becoming such a Cosmic Being reliant on the Yggdrasil. This level of power, I don't even take it seriously."
At this moment, after weakening Knull, Adam finally brought out the means he had carefully prepared for Knull.
"Moira, it's your turn."
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