Thor, the God of Thunder from Norse mythology?
From the ferocious aura emanating from him, it was clear this man craved one thing—battle.
Of course, it wouldn't be accurate to call him a bloodthirsty killer.
He purely sought opponents who could give him a good fight, someone who could let him revel in the thrill of life-and-death combat.
Upon seeing his arrival, though there was a flicker of surprise in his expression, it was just that—a flicker.
In the eyes of this Thunder God, the man before him clearly lacked the strength to provide a true battle worth enjoying.
But that was to be expected.
After all, the version of him summoned here was purely in a human physical state.
Though he had slain demons in this form before, those creatures were worlds apart from the Thor standing before him now.
Gripping his spear tightly, he twisted his body slightly.
In the next instant, channeling all the force in his body through the twist of his waist into his arm, he poured it into the spear.
And hurled it!
In a flash, an orange-red beam streaked through the air and struck its target.
Crack—!
Like porcelain smashing against iron, the spear—heavy enough to crush an ordinary human instantly—shattered into pieces in the blink of an eye.
"Wh-what just happened?"
"Did Xiang Yu attack first?"
Most humans, and even some gods, couldn't immediately comprehend what had occurred.
All they knew was that after Xiang Yu swung his arm, a beam of light struck Thor, followed by an intense shockwave of distorted air erupting from Thor's position, obscuring the sight of the spear shattering upon impact.
The resulting shockwave was so powerful it swept through the audience closest to the arena like a gale, strong enough to knock people off their feet if they weren't holding on tight.
"Hah?"
"Was that attack just tickling Lord Thor?"
The divine spectators burst into mocking laughter.
Meanwhile, the human audience, who had just begun to stir with excitement at the astonishing strike, froze in place, their expressions quickly darkening with despair.
"Sister Brunhilde, the gap is too huge! There's no way!"
Göll exclaimed, her voice tinged with despair.
That had clearly been Xiang Yu's full-powered strike, yet his weapon shattered instantly, while Lord Thor stood unshaken, without a single scratch.
Wait—no.
There was a tiny wound, but it was so minor—like a human pricking their finger on a needle—just a speck of blood.
Hmm?
Göll noticed her sister's expression hadn't soured at all from Xiang Yu's near-futile attack. Instead, she looked even more delighted.
What was going on?
"If he can wound Thor like this, he can win!!!"
Instead of responding to her youngest sister, Brunhilde spoke these words with palpable excitement.
Why would she say that?
Because the weapon Xiang Yu had just used was nothing more than an ordinary mortal spear.
Even though it only caused such a negligible wound to Thor—like a mosquito bite—it was still remarkable.
For an ordinary divine soldier, this single strike would have been fatal.
Thus, purely through human martial prowess, such a weapon could achieve this much.
If divine artifacts were used, the power would be amplified beyond measure.
And if combined with the Valkyrie's divine weapon forging and the state of human-god unity, the strength would skyrocket even more unpredictably.
"Oh?"
From the seat of the chief gods, Zeus slightly raised his right eyebrow, revealing his seemingly hollow eye.
The human Brunhilde had chosen had indeed given him a small surprise.
To injure a god of Thor's caliber with nothing but human physical strength was truly extraordinary.
In a way, calling it god-slaying wasn't an exaggeration—ordinary divine soldiers would stand no chance.
But was this all?
If this was all, it was far from enough. What other secrets were hidden?
There had to be more to it. Otherwise, Brunhilde wouldn't be foolish enough to send a human into battle like this—it would be no different from suicide.
He allowed himself a small anticipation—what surprise would Brunhilde bring to the gods? Hopefully, something to amuse them.
"Hmph, so you managed to prick Thor-sama's skin a little."
"But that's all."
"Now you're dead. Prepare to be smashed into paste."
"Smashed into paste!"
The ravens perched on Odin's shoulders screeched.
"Uncle Odin, do you think Brunhilde has any other tricks up her sleeve?"
The one who asked was a man who exuded a gloomy aura—Loki, the Norse god of mischief.
Knowing Brunhilde as he did, this woman would never act so recklessly.
Since she dared to initiate the [Ragnarök] war, she must have something that gave her confidence.
But so far, nothing he could think of seemed sufficient to justify her actions.
Thus, he could only turn to the supreme god of Norse mythology for answers.
Yet, his question was met with only a sidelong glance—no words were spoken.
"How boring. I'll go check out the other side then."
He headed toward the Greek pantheon, where the crowd was livelier.
With his hands behind his head and a carefree swagger, he was about to leave when a sudden shift in the arena's atmosphere made Loki pause.
Oh-ho!
Thor's previously calm demeanor had changed.
Could it be that Thor was taking this slightly seriously now? Treating his opponent as a minor challenge?
Had something happened? The human, now wielding a new spear, exuded a presence vastly different from before.
Interesting.
"What's this?"
"Could it be—?"
On the battlefield, Thor raised his Mjölnir high, bending backward so far it seemed he might lose balance and fall.
"Is he impatient now? Ready to end the game?"
"For a mere human, dying by this move would still be an honor."
Those gods who recognized Thor's stance believed the match was about to conclude.
There was no way the opponent could survive this strike.
"Sister Brunhilde!!!"
Göll's voice turned shrill, her face drenched in cold sweat.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine!"
That's what she said, but Brunhilde wasn't entirely confident either.
In the next instant, as Thor's body arched back, the thunder hammer came crashing down with tremendous force.
At that moment, a terrifying pillar of lightning descended from the sky.
The blinding light instantly swallowed the entire arena. Were it not for the protective measures in place, ordinary humans would have been instantly blinded by the radiance of such lightning, with their skin suffering severe burns.
Yet the flash came and went just as quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the sky returned to its clear, cloudless state.
The fighting platform showed no signs of destruction from the lightning strike, as if the seemingly apocalyptic pillar of divine punishment had been nothing but an illusion.
Nothing had happened.
"What—!"
"This guy!"
"This is really—!"
The gods who understood what had occurred were all stunned.
That human had thrust his spear skyward a fraction of a second before the lightning struck, the resulting shockwave dispersing the pillar of divine punishment.
Was this some kind of joke?
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