For the next two days, Lucas commuted between Kamar-Taj and New York, spending time with Gwen and Venom.
Although teaching Venom himself put a lot of pressure on Lucas, as he worried about not doing a good job, he still made sure to provide all the necessary companionship as a 'father'.
Two days passed in a flash.
The Norwegian Sea, located northwest of Norway, between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is also the battleground where Asgard and the Four Realms would clash.
At this moment, the Norwegian Sea was covered in ice and the entire ocean had frozen solid.
In the center of the ocean, two teams of fifty stood facing each other.
One team looked normal, mostly clad in armor, arranged in neat formation. They all had the appearance and height of ordinary humans.
The other team had varied appearances and a disorganized formation. They consisted of Frost Giants, Fire Demons, and Angels, but no Dark Elves.
Among them, Surtur was several miles tall, towering above the rest.
Laufey was thirty feet tall and massive, a stark contrast to his emaciated appearance two years prior when he was holed up in Jotunheim.
From afar, Laufey's gaze locked onto a man dressed in a plain white robe on the opposite side—Lucas.
His eyes were cold, a mix of resentment and apprehension.
"It's a pity that we were intercepted by these mortals from Midgard and couldn't land first to secure the battlefield location."
"These damned Midgardians!"
At the mention of Midgard, Sindr couldn't help but curse aloud.
Three days ago, they arrived outside Midgard before the Asgardians, but were intercepted by Midgardian weapons and unable to land.
A Dark Elf suggested they take Dark Elf warships, using their stealth advantage to smuggle themselves in.
During testing, the Dark Elf warship succeeded in its first attempt, completing the infiltration. Midgard's defense system was completely unaware.
But when they officially attempted to infiltrate, they discovered it was a trap. With forethought against unpreparedness, this infiltration operation resulted in heavy losses for the Four Realms and less than one-tenth of their elite warriors survived.
As a result, those accompanying them to battle now were mostly a motley crew.
"No matter. Once we defeat Asgard, we'll make the Midgardians pay." The Angel Queen said coldly.
Her Angels could fly, so they avoided becoming easy targets in the air. Their losses were smaller compared to the other three realms, but still extremely heavy.
"Although this battle is fifty against fifty, the ultimate outcome will still be decided by the top-tier combatants." Surtur said in a booming voice, his words deafening.
"We have four top-tier combatants, while Asgard only has two. As long as the four of us don't make any mistakes, the Asgardians will have no chance of winning."
As Surtur's voice rang out, although the Asgardian formation remained unmoved, a few warriors couldn't help but show a flicker of worry in their eyes. Their morale subtly weakened considerably.
Lies don't hurt, but the truth is a sharp knife.
Whether Surtur intended it or not, this psychological warfare was remarkably effective.
As Surtur said, while it appeared to be 50 against 50, in reality, everyone except the top-tier combatants was just there to make up the numbers.
Surtur just didn't know that the true top-tier combat was not 4 against 2, but 0 against 1.
"Fire Demons, Angels, Dark Elves, Frost Giants."
Thor recited the names of the four races one by one.
"An alliance of losers will only embrace failure in the end. In the past, my father and grandfather were able to lead Asgard to defeat you. Today, I too can lead Asgard to defeat you."
"Long live Asgard!"
"Long live Asgard!"
"Long live Asgard!"
First, the forty-odd Asgardian warriors near Thor, then the thousands of Asgardian warriors further behind Thor, one after another, together with Thor, shouted, "Long live Asgard!"
For a time, only the shouts of "Long live Asgard!" echoed across the Norwegian Sea.
The rest was just noise.
On the coastline, high-ranking officials from various countries, accompanied by their nation's super-powered individuals and elite troops, watched the scene from afar.
"Although that big guy said it seemed like the Four Realms alliance had a greater advantage, looking at their morale, Asgard doesn't seem to be without a chance of winning." An Asian man said.
"Director of S.P.E.A.R., modern warfare relies on technology, on science. Even with supernatural powers, it remains so. Morale? What good is that?"
"Director of S.W.O.R.D., seeing is believing. We'll just watch and see if morale is useful or not."
The Asian man was Xian Zheng, Director of S.P.E.A.R.. He smiled, seemingly unconcerned.
"Then let us see for ourselves." Director Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. also smiled.
Although both displayed an air of indifference, they were in fact at odds.
Half a month ago, the capital of the United States was attacked, and various domestic infrastructure facilities were also destroyed, significantly weakening the nation's power.
This tragedy stimulated countries around Earth, promoting international cooperation. In a very short time, countries integrated resources and completed outer space defense deployments.
This was a good thing for Earth, but undoubtedly a bad thing for the United States. The most direct point was that due to the decline in the United States' national power, S.W.O.R.D. lost its leading role in the establishment of the outer space defense system and was replaced by S.P.E.A.R..
Tony also seized this opportunity to recommend Ultron to various countries. After a series of complex restrictions, countries accepted Ultron.
Ultron thus took over the highest authority for Earth's extraterrestrial defense facilities.
And two days ago, despite technological shortcomings, through data comparison and analysis, Ultron discovered the Dark Elf stealth fighters, creating favorable conditions for a great victory.
"I'm very curious what conditions Asgard promised to make you agree to hold their battle here." Tony grumbled, expressing his dissatisfaction,
"With Ultron coordinating global weapons, we could drive them all off Earth."
Although Tony had a good relationship with Thor and Loki, personal friendships were personal, and business was business. He strongly opposed Asgard and the Four Realms choosing Earth as their battleground.
"Mr. Stark, you don't need to worry about that." Abigail Brand said.
Although both he and Tony were from the United States, their interests were not aligned, their positions were different, and they were not on the same side. He also had to prevent Tony from using Ultron to seize his power.
"Mr. Stark, if you want to know, I can tell you about the conditions Asgard promised us. However, such confidential information cannot be casually overheard by unrelated people."
Unlike Abigail Brand, Xian Zheng was enthusiastic. He had long coveted Tony, this genius.
"How about we set a time and talk privately?"
Just as the crowd on the shore chatted, the two sides in the center of the ice officially began their battle.
"Asgard, victory!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The shouts from the clashing sides in the middle of the Norwegian Sea interrupted the conversation of Tony and the others on the shore.
They looked over to see the Asgardian squad and the Four Realms mixed squad, armed with various weapons, charging at each other.
"What era is this? They're still using cold weapons." A disdainful sneer suddenly sounded from the crowd.
Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals.
Thor, wielding mjolnir, leaped high, actively engaging Surtur. A continuous flow of divine power surged from his body, converging into mjolnir. Mjolnir was wreathed in thunder, flashing with crackling electricity.
Facing Thor's proactive attack, Surtur remained unhurried, swinging his massive Twilight Sword like swatting a fly, aiming for Thor.
Mjolnir and Twilight Sword collided. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder roared deafeningly.
A massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky, a lightning dragon carrying immense power, striking Surtur.
The Eternal Flame on Surtur's crown blazed, instantly erasing the silver trace left by the lightning. Immediately after, fire spread to the Twilight Sword in his hand, erupting and rushing towards Thor.
Boom!
In an instant, thunder and fire, Thor and Surtur, decided the victor, and Mjolnir and Twilight Sword separated with a single touch.
Thor, enveloped by flames, was sent flying backward by the aftershock of their colliding powers, crashing heavily onto the ice, creating a hundred-meter crater.
The flames scattered, landing on the Asgardian warriors, burning fiercely.
A towering red glow illuminated the entire battlefield, and within a few seconds, the smell of roasting meat wafted through the air.
Divine Domain!
Seeing this, Loki, holding Gungnir, stomped it on the ground, and a green magic circle spread out, creating a magical force field. Within the magical force field, the flames on the Asgardian warriors gradually extinguished, and their injuries rapidly healed.
"Thor, are you alright?"
After quelling the effects of Surtur's flames on the Asgardian warriors, Loki looked at Thor.
"I'm fine. I can fight him for another three days and three nights." Thor nimbly climbed out of the giant crater.
Although he looked a bit disheveled, with his hair singed and curled, he was thick-skinned and actually fine.
"I'll be more careful next time and move our fighting position to avoid affecting other warriors."
Apart from the top-tier combatants, the rest of the soldiers were mostly there to make up numbers and boost morale. But Thor wouldn't carelessly squander their lives.
"Surtur, if you dare, follow me!"
Thor provoked Surtur, and the two tacitly moved their battlefield to a distant location.
Away from the center of the squad's engagement, Thor and Surtur went all out.
Their battle grew increasingly intense, with thunder and flames spreading, each claiming a portion of the sky, painting the distant sky in silver and red. Their movements were swift and fierce, every clash of hammer and sword triggered thunderous roars and fiery eruptions.