"Loki, I just remembered, the All-Father entrusted me to inform him immediately once there's a result."
Back in the Palace, Lucas and Loki parted ways, with Lucas heading towards Odin's recovery room. Loki was left alone to explain the battle arrangements to Steve and the others.
Loki's lips twitched. He knew both Lucas and Odin were being cryptic and definitely had other plans.
Loki shook his head with a helpless smile and continued walking towards the Palace's side hall.
After Loki had walked far enough, Lucas's figure appeared, letting out a low chuckle as he followed from a distance.
Soon after, suppressed arguments erupted from where Steve and his group were staying.
"Why is the battlefield on Earth?" Steve asked, his voice laced with anger.
A battle involving fifty people might not seem large, but what if those were fifty super soldiers?
Especially when several of them were super soldiers akin to gods.
Their battle could very well turn Earth upside down. And it would once again shatter the already fragile balance between super-powered individuals and ordinary people on Earth.
What if, after the battle, the losing side refused to accept the outcome and started a full-scale war?
"Laufey suggested it. We originally wanted to place the battlefield on the Plains of Vigrid."
"He suggested it, and you agreed?"
"It wasn't me who agreed, it was…"
Before he could finish, Loki suddenly understood why Lucas had left halfway. It turned out he knew there was a trap waiting for him here.
However, this trap was something Thor, Loki, and the Asgardians hadn't taken seriously.
Nothing else, in the eyes of the Asgardians, the mortal world of Midgard had always been a vassal state of Asgard. It was just that Asgard had been too lazy to bother with it before, letting it govern itself.
But times had changed. Midgard was no longer that backward world with no technology and no supernaturals.
After a moment of hesitation, Loki still didn't expose Lucas. He was the God of Mischief, not the God who repays kindness with enmity.
The life-saving grace, the time magic, the Space Stone.
Any one of these could make countless people willingly take the blame once.
"It was father who agreed."
In the end, Loki chose to throw his father under the bus.
"You know, as the old man gets older, his memory declines, and sometimes he gets confused. Father probably got confused and thought Earth was a direct territory of Asgard."
"How about this? Asgard will negotiate with the Earth government. Asgard will compensate for all losses caused by this battle."
"Alright." Steve sighed.
Though dissatisfied, he was helpless. He could only hope the battlefield would be in an uninhabited area and that the Asgardian side would win. And that the Four Realms' allied forces, after losing, wouldn't renege on their agreement and launch a decisive battle on Earth.
"Oh, right, tomorrow morning at 8 AM, Thor will activate the Bifrost Bridge to lead the army to Earth. You can go to the Bifrost Bridge then and return together."
Seeing everyone's increasingly displeased expressions after hearing this, Loki gave an awkward smile and fled in a hurry.
"How infuriating. These Asgardians are just like the Dark Elves, looking down on Earth."
After Loki left, Natasha grew angrier the more she thought about it and couldn't help but speak up.
"I originally found Thor and Loki quite agreeable. They look just like Earthlings, and I thought Asgardians should be different from other aliens. But it turns out they're all cut from the same cloth." Gwen was also very displeased.
They had supported Asgard time and again, yet Asgard had actively brought the war to Earth.
"Exactly." Wanda echoed.
"Weak nations have no diplomacy. To protect Earth, we must rely on Earthlings ourselves. If it weren't for us super-powered individuals, as well as Lucas and Kamar-Taj, Loki wouldn't even need to notify us. He could simply start a war on Earth. Just like what the Frost Giants and Asgard did in Norway a thousand years ago." Bruce also spoke.
"Once the various nations of Earth fully grasp the technology from the Dark Order's battleship that Lucas brought back, Earth won't be so weak. It's just that…"
As Steve spoke, he seemed to suddenly think of something, his expression conflicted.
"With over two hundred political entities on Earth, if they can't coordinate, they'll only hinder each other."
The others also looked dejected upon hearing Steve's words.
"Oh, why are you all in the living room? Are you going out to eat together?"
After everyone had finished complaining, Lucas, pretending to know nothing, pushed open the palace door and entered the living room.
"Lucas, you're back. Let me tell you…"
Lucas had been careless. He had intentionally waited for them to finish complaining before entering. He didn't expect them to complain again once he came in.
After patiently listening to Gwen ramble on, complaining about Asgard, especially Odin, Lucas forced a smile.
After apologizing to Odin in his heart, he joined the chorus of condemnation against Asgard and Odin.
He had been too careless. He had thought it didn't matter where the battlefield was, as he could easily control the situation, and had forgotten to consider Gwen's feelings.
While complaining about Odin, Lucas secretly made a resolution in his heart.
He would beat up Laufey once again.
Why change the battlefield when it was perfectly fine as it was?
After venting their emotions, the group began to pack their belongings, preparing to return to Earth tomorrow. Though, there wasn't really much to pack.
...
Seventh floor of Lucas Bookstore, New York, Earth.
A soft white light flickered, a portal opened, and Lucas, holding Gwen's hand, stepped out.
Walking out of the portal and looking at the familiar yet slightly strange room, Gwen asked, "Lucas, you can come back directly from Asgard? Why didn't you bring Wanda and the others with you?"
"We have to save Asgard some dignity, don't we? Gwen, think about it, if someone's home can be entered and exited freely by another person, can that person still live there peacefully and comfortably? So, even though I can freely enter and exit Asgard, I try not to do so openly." Lucas explained as he pulled Gwen to sit down.
Although the battle with Knull was easy and pleasant, the battle duration still lasted over ten days. He was psychologically hungry after not eating for ten days.
Before in the tea house, it was mainly Knull who was eating.
Soon, the table was filled with various dishes.
Lucas and Gwen sat together, slowly eating and sharing what they had seen and heard over the past ten days.
A day's time passed quietly.
The next morning, after changing clothes, Lucas and Gwen returned to the Palace's side hall on time to meet up with everyone and head to the Bifrost Bridge.
When they arrived, a well-equipped combat legion was already assembled on the plaza in front of the Bifrost Bridge.
Leading them was Thor.
Seeing them arrive, though Thor was in the battle formation and couldn't move freely, he still raised mjolnir, winking and waving a greeting.
The Asgardian army behind him, seeing Thor raise mjolnir, chanted rhythmically.
"Asgard!"
"Victory!"
"Asgard!"
"Victory!"
"Asgard!"
"Victory!"
However, compared to the enthusiasm of Thor and the Asgardian army, Steve and the others seemed a bit cold. They merely forced a smile in response to Thor, then walked to the side of the formation. After that, they waited silently for the Bifrost Bridge to activate and teleport them back to Earth.
Lucas also stood with Gwen in the plaza. He pretended not to see Thor's questioning gaze.
A moment later, Balder, Thor's deputy for this battle, finished counting the numbers and reported to Thor.
Thor gave the order, and Skurge, the new Bifrost Bridge's guard, theatrically plunged his longsword into the control panel, activating the Bifrost Bridge.
The Bifrost Bridge control panel rotated to face the plaza, and a massive rainbow light shot out.
Boom!!!
The rainbow light enveloped everyone, opening a spatial aisle and heading towards the depths of the Universe.
"Your portal feels more comfortable, Lucas." Gwen whispered into Lucas's ear.
As soon as she spoke, she realized that sound could not travel in the spatial aisle.
But before Gwen could react and try another way to communicate, Lucas's voice had already reached her ear.
"Of course, there's a difference in spatial teleportation."
Within the rainbow light, a soft white glow circulated, enveloping Gwen and Lucas, and the discomfort of the Bifrost Bridge's teleportation disappeared.
Gwen continued to complain, "I should have known to have you send us back yesterday, or had Loki send us back with the Space Stone."
"I just lied down today and hadn't even fallen asleep yet, and you woke me up again."
"Hmm, oh right. Why didn't we have Loki send us back yesterday?" Lucas also suddenly thought of this question.
If Loki had heard Lucas and Gwen's question, he would have answered.
The reason was that Asgard was currently using the Space Stone's energy to repair the Bifrost Bridge. At this time, every activation of the Bifrost Bridge would delay its repair speed. Taking the Space Stone out for use would do the same.
Boom!!!
A moment later, the rainbow light traversed an infinite distance, teleporting Lucas and the others, along with the Asgardian army, to Tønsberg, Norway.
This was where Asgardians and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim had clashed a thousand years ago.
Thor said, "Send word to Laufey. Asgard has arrived in Tønsberg. Ask them when they will arrive. Here, I will defeat them, just as my father did a thousand years ago."
"Yes."
The guard acknowledged and operated the instrument to send a message to the Frost Giants.