When it came to Asgardians, Bant didn't hate them, but he didn't like their arrogance either.
Now, hearing Hogun's rude remark, he immediately fired back. With one large hand, he grabbed the unconscious Thor by the head and lifted him up like he was picking up a chick.
The warriors of Asgard had never seen Thor in such a miserable state. For a moment, they all rushed over.
"Thor!" Sif's face twisted with pain. She quickly took Thor from Bant's hand and held him tightly in her arms.
After a while, Thor slowly regained a bit of consciousness in her embrace.
"Sif… my friends… why are you here?" His vision blurred, and for a moment he thought it was an illusion. Only after a long pause did he realize it wasn't.
Sif gently stroked his cheek. "We came to take you home."
But Thor shook his head, forcing down his grief as he spoke.
"I'm not going back. Father died because of me. I'm a sinner of Asgard. I have no face to see Mother…"
Hearing that, the Asgardian warriors exchanged glances. Clearly, they also realized Thor had been tricked by his "good" little brother again.
Before they could explain, Thor continued, "But I still want you to help me stop Loki."
His expression was heavy, as if he'd matured overnight. The growth brought by sixteen hundred years seemed to pale compared to what Loki's lie had made him understand.
"I've thought it through… If I hadn't started the war on Jotunheim, maybe Father wouldn't have died. Now Loki wants to destroy Midgard. He's repeating my mistake!"
Tears trembled in Thor's eyes, his lips shaking. Admitting his own fault was never easy. What was even harder was that it often came with a brutal price.
Only…
"What are you talking about? The All-Father is still alive!"
"What?" Thor jerked his head up.
So the four Asgardian warriors told Thor what had happened during this time. Odin had only fallen into the Odin Sleep. He had not died. After Loki became acting king, his actions turned strange. He frequently went in and out of the vault, then concealed himself and traveled to Jotunheim.
"Heimdall suspects he's colluding with the Frost Giants. We have to stop him."
"That's impossible." Thor shook his head, a clear stupidity flashing in his eyes.
He was furious that Loki had deceived him, but he absolutely refused to believe Loki would collude with the Frost Giants and endanger Asgard.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Bant couldn't help saying. "Loki's goal is to kill you and Odin. Only then can he secure the throne as Asgard's new king."
Seeing that Captain America couldn't do much to the Destroyer in the short term, Bant planned to pull the Asgardian warriors into the fight.
Having seen the movie, Bant naturally knew Loki's plan. He added fuel to the fire. "Maybe right now, the Frost Giants' army has already broken into Asgard and is slaughtering people in the Realm Eternal."
At that, whether it was Thor or the other four Asgardians, none of them looked good.
Thor still had doubts. He truly couldn't imagine the brother who grew up with him doing something like that.
But the others didn't view Loki nearly as kindly.
"That despicable wretch!" Volstagg, the oldest and strongest of the Warriors Three, slammed his right fist hard into his left palm as he roared. "I knew he was no good!"
"Come on, Thor!" "We'll defeat the Destroyer, then rush back to Asgard and drag Loki off that throne!"
A glimmer flashed through Thor's eyes, but it quickly dimmed again.
He lowered his head and laughed at himself. "But I've already lost my divine power. I'll only hold you back."
Without his power, he knew he was practically useless.
He looked at the four warriors, then turned his gaze toward the distant battlefield. Over there, the situation suddenly changed.
A dazzling rainbow beam fell from the heavens, and space itself twisted under some overwhelming force.
That light, like a sword, shot straight toward Captain America, who was fighting the Destroyer!
Boom!
The violent power instantly blasted both Captain America and the Destroyer away.
Within the radiant glow, a tall, thin figure walked out coldly.
"The Bifrost?" Thor cried out in shock.
"Who came?"
"Who else could it be but Loki?" Sif said. "He ordered Heimdall not to open the Bifrost. Only he can come to Midgard openly."
Just as Sif said, the newcomer was indeed Loki.
"Loki actually came down himself?" Bant was a little surprised.
The original Loki should have stayed in Asgard, waiting for the right moment to let the Frost Giants in. Now it seemed he hadn't let them enter at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared leave Midgard unattended.
Loki wanted to follow the plan.
But the Destroyer's steady retreat made him realize he couldn't keep watching like this.
Otherwise, forget conquering Midgard. That Midgardian holding the hammer might end up smashing his way straight into Asgard.
Now, Loki was no longer satisfied with injecting power into the Destroyer through astral projection. This armor forged for Asgardians never moved smoothly for him.
"I can't bring out the Destroyer's true power," he murmured, "but I know what weapon suits me best."
He rose from the throne, loosened his grip on the Gungnir spear, crossed his hands before his chest, then opened them. A blue cube appeared in his palm.
The Casket of Ancient Winters!
The sacred relic of the Frost Giants. Ever since Odin defeated them, this weapon had been stored in Asgard's vault.
But after Loki learned the truth of his bloodline, he took it out.
At first, he planned to use the Casket to trade with the Frost Giants, luring them into killing Odin. But in truth, Loki never intended to hand this weapon over.
Knowing his origin didn't mean Loki planned to return to the Frost Giants' embrace. If anything, he still saw those giants as savage beasts and enemies.
They were nothing more than tools for the God of Mischief. Once Odin died, it would be time to eliminate them too. And now, Loki would use this treasure in advance to completely erase that Midgardian who had lifted Mjolnir!
His shadowed gaze locked onto Captain America, who had been thrown back by the Bifrost's force. A smile curled on Loki's face.
"Midgardian, why is it only you? Where's the other damned beast?"
But the next second, a sharp crystalline projectile stabbed in like a cannon shot, slamming into Loki's face and carving a bloody cut across his skin.
Thud!
Bant dropped from above, landing heavily, his voice cold with ridicule.
"Pretty sharp tongue, bastard spawn of Jotunheim."
Captain America, still gripping Mjolnir, flicked his gaze between the two of them. Panting, he said, "Language."
/-\
~ PLEASE! don't forget to leave a REVIEW!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally.)
/-\
~# Keep the chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 50 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter