In Earth's outer space, the Four Realms' allied fleet was spread out.
On the Frost Giant flagship, Laufey received Asgard's message and couldn't help but become furious.
Thor's action was undoubtedly a provocation, rubbing salt in his wounds. But he was helpless, because—
"Damn it, it's only been less than a month, how did these mortals establish a planetary defense system? And why are their weapons so destructive? Our warships' energy shields can't withstand them at all."
"If this continues, we won't be able to land even after three days."
The Angel Queen wondered, stating her guess via video link, "These weapons of theirs are very similar to those of the Dark Order. Could it be that Midgard has sided with the Dark Order?"
Laufey retorted, "Impossible. Although Odin is senile, he is not incompetent. He can allow Midgard to develop on its own, but he would never stand by and watch Midgard submit to other forces."
The Angel Queen argued, "Then where did these Dark Order weapons come from? It can't be that Thanos kindly gifted them, can it? That Mad Titan, though not old, is not to be underestimated. It's not impossible for him to defeat Odin and seize Midgard."
She had long been annoyed with Laufey, Surtur, and Sindr. If it weren't for needing to use them against Asgard, she would have already turned hostile.
"Alright, everyone stop arguing." Sindr stopped the two, but neither paid attention to her.
Laufey said, "I've also heard of that Mad Titan's deeds. Angel Queen, you only have wings, you're not a real bird-person. Use your pitifully small brain and think. If he attacked Midgard, it wouldn't be to make Midgard surrender, but to slaughter half of its population."
"Laufey, you're being presumptuous. Do you want to try the sharpness of my sword, just like Sindr did?!"
The Angel Queen drew her sword to retort.
Sindr's face darkened upon hearing the Angel Queen's words, and she no longer tried to mediate.
"Leaders."
At this moment, the Dark Elf extra, who had been largely unnoticed, cautiously said, "If a frontal assault won't work, why not try sneaking in?"
"Our Dark Elf warships have excellent stealth capabilities, even Heimdall of Asgard would find it difficult to detect them. This mortal world's defense system should also have difficulty detecting them."
Laufey and the Angel Queen stopped arguing. After discussing it with Sindr for a while, they decided to try the Dark Elf's suggestion.
Soon, a small Dark Elf fighter jet flew out. After leaving the main fleet, it suddenly became invisible. Neither the naked eye nor various radars could detect it.
A moment later, a message was transmitted from within Earth—Login mission successfully completed!
"The experiment was successful. Let's also go down and prepare to land on Midgard."
"We've caught a big fish."
— — —
In Kamar-Taj, Nepal, under a small tree in the Ancient One's courtyard, a rocking chair creaked.
A young man lay half-reclined in the rocking chair, dressed in a plain white robe, holding a bamboo fishing rod as if casting a line.
"Lucas, are you fishing? The small pond in the courtyard won't yield big fish. If you want to catch big fish, you'll have to go to the sea."
The person fishing in the courtyard was Lucas.
After returning to Earth via the Bifrost Bridge and agreeing to meet Thor for battle in two days, he had left with the others.
The Ancient One approached and asked, but after a long silence, she walked around to Lucas's front. Only then did she realize that from a distance, Lucas appeared to be fishing, but in reality, he had long since fallen asleep.
"Oh, you…"
The Ancient One chuckled and shook her head, then pulled over a table and chairs and sat down beside Lucas, making and sipping tea by herself.
About half an hour later, the fishing line in Lucas's hand suddenly twitched, waking him. Startled awake by the hooked fish, Lucas was a bit groggy, instinctively flicking the bamboo rod upwards.
With a splash, violent ripples spread across the pond's surface, and a giant red dragon burst out of the water.
"Roar!"
The red dragon roared in pain and anger, its gaze falling upon Lucas and the Ancient One by the pond as it struggled.
The red dragon opened its mouth, scarlet energy condensing in its throat, dragon breath poised to strike.
Just then, the fishing rod in Lucas's hand shimmered, transforming into a silver longsword. Though the longsword was silver, dark energy spread across its blade. The aura of this dark energy was even more evil than that of the red dragon, a dark creature.
Lucas's finger moved, and the longsword followed, piercing the red dragon's upper and lower jaws in a flash, interrupting its breath attack.
"So, you were fishing for dark creatures."
Only now did the Ancient One understand that Lucas wasn't fishing for fish, but for dark creatures lurking outside the Universe.
"But what exactly is this sword of yours? Why does it possess such a chilling evil, as if an ancient demon slumbers within it?"
The Ancient One asked, looking at the longsword that Lucas used as a rod, line, and bait, all in one.
"Master, your feeling is correct. This sword is called the sword of light. Sealed within it is Knull, the embodiment of the Abyss and darkness, the God of Symbiotes, the King in Black."
This sword was precisely the sword of light that sealed Knull.
Although Knull was sealed, his instinct to absorb dark energy could not be stopped. As long as he existed, unowned dark energy would unconsciously gravitate towards him. And the gathered dark energy was undoubtedly the best bait for fishing dark creatures.
After Lucas explained the situation to the Ancient One, the Ancient One lowered her head in thought.
First, he broke into the Flickering Realm and fought Chthon to a draw, then he sealed Knull, the embodiment of the Abyss and darkness. He even shattered the Abyss.
Only two or three years had passed, yet she completely failed to understand this disciple anymore.
Just a while ago, she could still barely glimpse his back.
After a moment of contemplation, she spoke, "Since this is a sword that seals darkness, rather than completely eradicating it, it should be named 'Sword of Dawn'."
"After dawn, there will be dusk and night. This can warn the world that if the seal is not carefully maintained, darkness will return."
"Sword of Dawn?"
He nodded, agreeing with the Ancient One's suggestion.
The name Sword of Dawn was indeed better than the Sword of Light. The Ancient One's naming skill was indeed better than his own.
Thinking of names, Lucas remembered that he also had a new Symbiote, Venom.
Should he ask the Ancient One to help him change its name too?
Thinking this, Lucas softly called out, wanting to summon Venom. Then he suddenly remembered that he had left it behind in a dimensional fragment.
At that time, Lucas and Knull gazed at each other across countless Universes, and Venom, overwhelmed by Knull's aura, had fallen from Lucas's shoulder. Lucas, rushing to confront Knull, had forgotten about it.
'Symbiotes don't eat or drink. It shouldn't starve to death in half a month, right?'
Lucas reached into the void, and ripples appeared in the air. A portal opened, and he pulled Venom out of it.
At this moment, it was a limp lump, weak and listless.
"Hungry, hungry."
Feeling the familiar aura, Venom regained a bit of vitality, transforming into a long snake and attempting to climb up Lucas's arm.
"Don't do that."
Lucas shivered, unable to help but shake his hand, flinging it away. This was an instinctive discomfort with snake-like creatures.
Seeing Venom flung away, the Ancient One reached out and caught it.
"What is this? A Symbiote?"
"That's right. But it might be a little different from other Symbiotes. It hasn't completed substantial parasitism, but rather grows by absorbing my energy."
"I see. Can it eat other food normally then?"
The Ancient One was curious and immediately began to act, taking various foods and starting to test them. However, Venom was indifferent to most foods, showing no desire to eat them actively.
"Can you eat?"
Seeing this, Lucas asked directly.
Venom had the intelligence level of a 4 or 5-year-old child half a month ago, so even if it hadn't grown during this time, it could still communicate normally.
"Yes." It replied.
"Then what do you like to eat?" Lucas continued to ask.
"Like to eat, like to eat."
Venom repeated twice, not knowing how to explain, and simply pounced on Lucas.
"Oh, you like to eat energy."
Lucas understood, catching it. Luminous white energy condensed on his fingertips, and he asked while feeding it, "Besides energy, what else can you eat?"
"Anything."
Lucas: "…"
"Lucas, ask him what kind of food is good for him. For example, what can make him stronger, and what can sustain his life." The Ancient One reminded him.
"Oh."
Lucas responded, repeating the Ancient One's question.
Venom clung tightly to Lucas's finger, devouring energy for a good while, then pondered seriously for a long time.
"I… I don't know."
"Lucas, why don't you let me test it?"
The Ancient One suggested, her eyes bright with a longing for unknown knowledge.
Lucas thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement and cautioned, "Alright. But it's intelligence is currently equivalent to that of a human 4 or 5-year-old child. When it encounters external things, its intelligence will grow rapidly until it matures."
"Master, please pay attention to its education, and don't let it go astray."
After all, it was a 'person' who called him 'Dad', so Lucas was very concerned about it's education. It's just that he didn't want to teach it himself.
Now, with an opportunity to hand it over to the Ancient One to teach, he couldn't be more pleased.
"I see, no problem. I'll take care of it for a while, and then start testing once it matures." The Ancient One immediately agreed.
"By the way, lend me your Sword of Dawn to study as well. I'll research it before this Symbiote matures."
(End of Chapter)
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