Chapter 288: Asking for Monthly Tickets at Month's End
In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil supports the vast Nine Realms. Among them, Asgard, the dwelling of the Norse Gods, is a small planetary body. Like the Heaven Dimension and the Greek Divine Pantheon's Mount Olympus, it exists in another Dimensional Plane, with an area roughly equivalent to the Federation Territory.
It is not spherical like Earth, does not rotate on an axis, nor does it orbit the Sun. It is a flat, planetary substance with gravity similar to Earth's surface.
Among the Nine Realms, aside from Earth, which is called Midgard, the other eight worlds do not exist in the Solar System as people imagine, but are located in other Dimensional Planes.
Earth is called Midgard because it is located in the central area of the Nine Realms. It's like nine fruits hanging on a large tree, with the most central one existing in the Reality World. This is also why countless Dimensions refer to Earth as the Reality Dimension.
There are two ways for other Dimensional Realms to come to Earth. The first is to directly find Earth's coordinates and descend directly into the Current World through a magic array or some kind of holy descent ritual.
However, Earth has the Sanctum Protective Formation set up by Master Ancient One. Some scattered Demons, or Michael's holy soul descent, can bypass the Sanctum Protective Formation's detection.
The Sanctum Protective Formation is like a fishing net covering Earth. The mesh of the net is neither too large nor too small. Some small fish and shrimp can freely pass through the mesh, but a massive Angelic Legion cannot possibly pass through this magic array.
Another method is to descend outside of Earth, like Michael's nearly thousand-strong guard Legion. Similarly, Earth is located at the core position of Yggdrasil. If the Angelic Legion doesn't come in large numbers, Odin can turn a blind eye.
If the Angelic Army from the Heaven Dimension wants to invade Earth, they must pass through the Nine Realms. But tens of millions of angels, even if Odin were senile or insane, he would not allow them to enter Yggdrasil, the territory of the Nine Realms.
A Heaven's Gate with sides several thousand kilometers long stands in Space, its radiating light forming a platform tens of thousands of miles wide and long. Teams of Angels flew out from Heaven's Gate, flapping their wings, and lined up in formation in Space.
For these artificial puppets created on Paradise Mountain, ordinary cosmic rays, low temperature, and oxygen-free vacuum environment were no problem at all.
Tens of millions of Angels flapped their wings, the holy light emitted by their pure white wings like fireflies lighting up in Space, instantly illuminating the entire Space with scattered points of light.
These white streaking lights converged into a torrent, surging towards the opposite side.
Confronting Heaven's Gate was a massive ash tree branch spanning unknown distances. Yggdrasil, the World Tree in Norse Mythology, a great existence between the illusory and reality, was manifested by the God King of Asgard, blocking in front of Heaven's Gate.
The branch fork blocking Heaven's Gate still carried some tender leaves, the nearly transparent green tender leaves were hundreds of miles in area.
Standing on them were tens of thousands of long-eared, handsome Elves wearing light armor and holding longbows. With golden long hair and faces so handsome they were indistinguishable from females, their entire bodies seemed to be emitting golden light. They were the Light Elves from Alfheim.
Tens of thousands of Elf Legion lined up in a single row in front of Yggdrasil's tender leaves, facing the Angels surging forward like a tide.
These Elves drew their longbows, golden energy gathered on the bowstrings, converging into a golden light arrow.
"Buzz!"
"Whiz!"
Under the shroud of Yggdrasil, even the vacuum environment between the cosmic Space ceased to exist. The simultaneous sound of bowstrings vibrating rang out.
Tens of thousands of golden lights pierced through the bodies of tens of thousands of Angels, blasting transparent holes the size of washbasins in their bodies.
The bodies of tens of thousands of Angels paused slightly in the Void Space for a few seconds before immediately disintegrating. Countless white feathers fluttered in the air, messy like a chicken coop that had just been hit by a heavy artillery shell.
Everywhere in the Void Space were the white light masses and feathers left after their bodies disintegrated. The scene was horrific.
"Buzz!"
"Whiz!"
As these Light Elves continuously drew their bowstrings, golden light arrows were endless, raining down on the Angelic Legion surging towards them. In terms of force, the destructive power of each of these Light Elves' arrows was at least equivalent to the force of a standard issue energy rifle shot.
Wave after wave of arrow rain shot out.
These Angels, however, seemed to be missing a screw in their heads, foolishly facing the deadly golden light without knowing to counterattack.
Beside the leaves occupied by the Light Elves was a group of Dwarves wearing heavy armor with beards reaching their chests. The weapons on their bodies were varied and diverse.
Magic firearms similar to standard issue energy rifles, shooting out metal pellets that came with explosive effects. Each shot was no less powerful than medium to small missiles on Earth.
Often, a single pellet could take down dozens of Angels.
However, the rate of fire of these magic firearms did not seem very high. Fortunately, thousands of Dwarves formed a volley fire formation, which increased the rate of fire of the magic firearms.
Behind the Dwarves firing in volleys, some Dwarves were busily operating their mechanical weapons.
Ballistae with a range reaching dozens of miles, their chilling ballista bolts as thick as an Ordinary Person's thigh, covered in magic runes.
Some Dwarves looked through the single-barreled scopes on the ballistae, searching for targets in the vast expanse of white. Their targets were the Angels with four wings or more.
Once they were locked onto, firing ballista bolts with built-in tracking, often when an arrow was fired, an explosion of holy light would erupt within the Angelic Legion.
The Dwarves from Nidavellir are the most famous weapon manufacturing masters in the entire Nine Realms, and even the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
Even King Odin's Gungnir and Thor's Mjolnir came from their hands.
The magic weapons carried by these conscripted Dwarves were incredibly varied and diverse. Besides magic firearms and ballistae, there were also magic cannons and airships. The artillery shells fired by dozens of magic cannons, each shot was no less powerful than small nuclear tactical missiles on Earth. With each artillery shot, at least thousands of Angels turned into nothingness in the artillery fire.
For a time, the Angelic Legion attacking the Nine Realms suffered heavy losses.
In front of Heaven's Gate, as the initiator of this battle, Gabriel did not seem to care about the Angelic Legion's casualties. Behind him, dense Angelic Legions still continuously filed out.
If thousands of Angels fell every second at the forefront of the battlefield, then tens of thousands of Angels poured out of Heaven's Gate every second.
As the Angelic Legion, also known as Cosmic Locusts, their troop numbers were enough to make any influence tremble with fear.
Gabriel's eyes shot out faint silver light, looking towards Asgard shrouded by Yggdrasil.
Above Asgard's Rainbow Bridge / Bifrost, a thousand-zhang tall phantom stood tall, white long hair fluttering behind his head like waves.
In his deep eye sockets were azure blue eyes, emitting lightning-like radiance; a dignified and majestic face, a full beard that appeared incredibly unrestrained and straightforward; a body as sturdy as a mountain, only wearing a small animal skin apron, his snow-white skin covered in light golden ancient patterns, containing an elegant mysterious power within.
Fine electric light slowly moved over his body, his entire being like a deity of thunder and lightning, filled with a domineering aura. Several crisp crackling sounds, 'Chila', rang out, and several blue electric snakes rushed up to his head, forming a crown phantom, and then immediately disappeared.
Strange golden divine statues faintly appeared, emitting pressure that made one incredibly uncomfortable.
"King Odin!"
Gabriel looked fearfully at the phantom leaning on a long spear. Odin, in the mythological pantheon, was an existence no less than the Lord.
King Odin's divine power was far beyond what he could compare to. This was also the reason Gabriel had been standing in front of Heaven's Gate. If King Odin truly personally joined the battlefield, then he would retreat into Heaven's Gate without a second thought. And above Asgard's Rainbow Bridge / Bifrost, aside from using Gungnir to summon the phantom of Yggdrasil, King Odin showed no intention of personally participating in the battle.
In Norse Mythology, King Odin ruled the Nine Realms, but in reality, Asgard did not completely rule the Nine Realms; it was considered the suzerain state of the other eight worlds.
Just like the Great Ming and Goryeo back then, or the Great Tang and Japan, aside from Earth, this special world, the other seven worlds were not exactly subservient to Asgard, and even launched rebellions every so often.
Just like the Dark Elves, the Giants of Jotunheim, and the Fire Demons of Muspelheim. In the original Marvel plot, the former two caused no small amount of trouble for Asgard. As for the latter, Surtur, the Lord of Muspelheim, even personally destroyed Asgard.
However, most of these matters occurred after Odin fell into Ragnarök.
In the current Nine Realms, after Odin issued the conscription order, even the unruly Frost Giants and Fire Demons had no choice but to send troops to participate in the battle.
To avoid leaving the dying Odin an excuse for conquest.
It's just that each of their forces numbered at most several hundred thousand, some as few as tens of thousands. Even if all added together, compared to the tens of millions of Angelic Legion, it also seemed like a drop in the bucket.
In the Hidden Void, the enormous three-headed dragon King Ghidorah hovered in mid-air. Its enormous heads were covered in countless scales.
Each scale was half a meter in area.
The scales were covered in runes like flowing fire, and sharp barbs were also distributed on them.
Tang Song stood on the middle of the three dragon heads, overlooking this erupted great battle between the Heaven Divine Pantheon and the Asgard Divine Pantheon.
Relying on their immense numbers, the Angelic Legion completely disregarded casualties, quickly piling up human lives to reach Yggdrasil. Tang Song watched a familiar figure wielding Mjolnir, leading hundreds of thousands of Asgard and Vanir troops to block in front of the ranged attacking Light Elves and Dwarves.
On the other side, the Frost Giants and Fire Demons, also under the leadership of their respective leaders, engaged in melee with the angels of the Angelic Legion, fighting in close combat.
"Asgard's military is indeed good. I thought you Aesir wouldn't fight anymore ever since you put away your weapons and let your horses graze?"
Tang Song slightly tilted his head. On another of Ghidorah's dragon heads, a white-robed old man had appeared at some unknown time.
"Tang, this is trouble you Earthlings provoked! But now you're making us Asgard bear it!?"
Odin's single eye scrutinized Tang Song, somewhat not understanding his intention in provoking the Heaven Dimension.
"What exactly is your purpose?"
Tang Song looked at Odin and asked a question: "How much time do you and the Ancient One have left?"
Odin was silent for a moment: "According to your Midgardian saying, I have one of your standard years left before falling into eternal slumber!"
Tang Song clasped his hands together and tapped them: "Then Master Ancient One's time is also about the same. Once the Nine Realms lose you two Guardians, the situation won't be good. Not to mention anything else, once you enter Ragnarök, do you think Thor and these Asgardian Soldiers can keep these guys in check?"
Odin followed Tang Song's gaze, looking at the fighting Frost Giants, Fire Demons, and even the Vanir, who have a good relationship with Asgard.
Odin sighed inwardly. He knew this human before him was right. Once he enters Ragnarök, Asgard's decline is inevitable.
This Heaven Dimension invasion, his issuing of the Nine Realms conscription order, wasn't without the intention of using the Angelic Legion to eliminate dissidents and weaken the strength of the various realms.
If the strength of the other several worlds in the Nine Realms suffers losses in this war, then after he is gone, Thor might be able to stabilize the current situation of the Nine Realms.
But whether it's Laufey of the Frost Giants or Surtur, how could they be easy to deal with? Judging from the manpower of the Military they sent, they are clearly deliberately preserving their strength.
Like a viper lurking in a hole, waiting for the day Asgard becomes weak.
"So?" King Odin looked at Tang Song questioningly.
"We'll just talk here?" Tang Song retorted.
"In ancient Earth, there was a monarch. Before his son ascended the throne, fearing his son couldn't rule the vast territory, he cleared the thorns that would hinder his son's rule in advance!"
Inside Asgard's Golden Palace, Tang Song held a golden cup and spoke eloquently to Odin!
"Since Your Majesty is about to enter Ragnarök in one year, why not pave the way for Thor in advance!?"
King Odin looked at Tang Song, somewhat understanding Tang Song's intention: "You want me and the Ancient One to help you sweep away the hidden dangers threatening the Nine Realms before I enter Ragnarök!"
"No, Your Majesty is protecting Asgard, protecting the Nine Realms. Mephisto is already dead, Lucifer, who coveted Earth, suffered severe injury and won't recover for several hundred years, posing no threat to Earth and Asgard. Who else is left? Dormammu, or those Hell Lords? I have a method, they temporarily cannot pose a threat!
Oh right, there's also Heaven! We join forces, and give them a..."
Odin's single eye stared at Tang Song, silent for a long time. "Human, I now somewhat doubt the Ancient One's judgment. You are a terrifying fellow. I don't even know now if it was right or wrong to indulge you by listening to the Ancient One back then—"
"I saved your queen, and in the future, I will also save Asgard, so it can avoid Ragnarök!" Tang Song toyed with the golden cup in his hand, meeting Odin's gaze without showing any weakness.
"Without me, how good can Asgard's ending be? The entirety of Asgard will turn to dust, the Aesir will self-merge and perish with Earth."
"One condition," Odin shook his head: "I need a guarantee, a guarantee for Asgard's safety!"
"What kind of guarantee does Your Majesty want?" Tang Song asked.
"In Asgard, there is an Army of the Dead, invincible in battle! I want to leave them to Thor, to protect the safety of the Nine Realms!"
Tang Song put down the golden cup in his hand, looking at Odin playfully: "You plan to release Hela!? Is Your Majesty not afraid of the prophecy of falling into Ragnarök!"
Hela's strength is definitely Skyfather level. But after releasing her, it's hard to say who this blade will cut towards.
If it were him, being imprisoned for several thousand years, after he came out, if he didn't kill until blood flowed like a river, he wouldn't be worthy of his surname.
Odin glanced at Tang Song, and slowly nodded.
"After I enter Ragnarök, the seal sealing Hela won't last much longer. I heard the Ancient One say, the Mind Stone is in your hands!"
Tang Song's gaze towards Odin narrowed. This is asking him to use the power of the Mind Stone to control Hela. Confirmed with a look, this is a ruthless person.
(end of chapter)