"What's going on?" Thor asked.
The sound of gunfire from the coast caught his attention.
"Could it be that the combined forces of the Four Realms reneged? No, that direction is where the Earthlings were observing the battle."
"Let's go, we'll know if we go and see. It should be your sister, Hela."
To avoid alerting the enemy, Lucas did not extend his senses, but he still had a guess in his heart. At this point in time, the one causing trouble was almost certainly Hela.
"Alright."
Thor responded, swinging mjolnir, and was about to fly over.
"A portal, quickly."
Lucas stopped Thor and drew a line in the void with his finger.
Golden-yellow sparks flashed, and a portal opened.
The two stepped forward, just about to pass through the portal to investigate.
A spike suddenly shot out. Thor, quick-eyed and quick-handed, blocked the spike with mjolnir.
"Why is mjolnir in your hand? Who are you?" Hela's voice sounded from the other side of the portal.
"I am Thor."
Lucas and Thor passed through the portal. This time, Hela did not block them.
"Thor? Thor Odinson?" Hela looked at Thor and suddenly smiled.
Although Thor hadn't said his relationship with Odin yet, Hela had already guessed it.
"You and that old man are really alike. Of course, not in appearance, but in demeanor."
"You are Hela? My sister?" Thor asked.
"I am Hela, Odin's eldest daughter, commander of Asgard's army, the rightful heir to the throne, the Goddess of Death." Hela glanced at Thor, slightly raising her chin.
"Odin is dead, and I am now the King of Asgard. Now, kneel and greet your queen."
"I don't think so."
Thor swung mjolnir and hurled it towards Hela, testing her with a probing strike.
He had consecutively defeated Surtur, Sindr, and the Angel Queen.
Although the Thorforce had entered dormancy, and his Thunder Power and stamina were severely depleted and not yet recovered, his state of mind, will, and aura were all at their peak. No matter what kind of opponent he faced, he never lacked the courage to fight.
Mjolnir tore through the air, bringing with it a series of whistling sounds that cut through the atmosphere, but this sound abruptly ceased.
Hela held out her right hand, catching mjolnir with one hand, just as Cul had done back then.
Except for her feet.
After Hela caught mjolnir, her feet couldn't help but retreat half a step to absorb the force. She wasn't as relaxed as she appeared.
Through mjolnir, Hela felt Thor's will. His strength was decent, but he was exceptionally overconfident.
In Hela's view, this was like a frog at the bottom of a well, lacking proper discipline.
She didn't know Thor was in a weakened state at this time.
"You are a little stronger than I imagined. But you simply don't understand what true power is."
A smirk appeared on Hela's lips, and she suddenly exerted force with her hand, divine power surging into mjolnir.
Crack... Crack...
Silver light burst forth and mjolnir shattered again.
Throughout the entire process, Thor seemed to be in a daze, making no reaction whatsoever.
Hela was very satisfied with this, while Lucas was very surprised.
Although they were two different people, how could Thor fall for the same trick twice?
Also, losing focus in battle is a privilege for the big shots. Thor, you're still a bit lacking.
Lucas nudged Thor, and as he made contact, he suddenly heard a series of calls.
"Thor!"
"Thor!"
"Thor!"
Odin's voice.
No wonder Thor suddenly zoned out during the battle.
But did he find the Loom of the Fates so quickly?
"Do you see, brother? This is the power of the King of Asgard. Surrender to me, join me, and embark on a great journey with me. I will lead Asgard to reclaim its glory." Hela's voice interrupted Lucas's contemplation.
She smiled and gracefully walked towards Thor.
She saw Lucas blocking Thor's path and, with a flick of her hand, shot out a spike.
Someone who couldn't even withstand one of her attacks, even if he was Thor's friend, wasn't qualified to speak with her. At most, she would show mercy and spare his life for the sake of her convenient younger brother.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, Lucas took out Sword of Dawn, held it horizontally, and deflected the spike.
"Hela, your father Odin's corpse isn't even cold yet, and you're in such a hurry to fight with your brother over family property?" Lucas teased.
He wasn't worried that Hela would disrupt his plans.
Although he couldn't unleash too much power, with his sensory advantage, he felt it wouldn't be difficult to take down Hela.
"Is that so? Take me to see him. I'd quite like to see how he died."
Seeing Lucas draw his longsword, Hela's hunting instinct was piqued, and divine power surged within her, forming a longsword.
She stomped on the ground, pouncing towards Lucas, her longsword slashing diagonally, with tricky and unpredictable angles.
Lucas parried with Sword of Dawn, meeting Hela's longsword.
As the two swords clashed, Lucas noticed that Hela was underestimating him and wasn't using much power, so he also only used a similar amount of strength.
Clang!
Both of their hands vibrated, and the two swords parried, causing their upper bodies to lean back slightly.
Lucas seized the opportunity, using the backward momentum to quickly kick out sideways, striking Hela's abdomen.
With a thud, Hela flew back, tumbled a few times on the ground, and then slid a distance with her longsword plunged into the earth before stopping.
"Not bad, you do have some skill."
"You're not bad either. You felt quite good to kick."
Hearing Lucas's taunt, Hela sneered and charged at him with her sword.
Although she had suffered a loss in their initial exchange, she still used roughly the same amount of power as before. She was unwilling to overpower him and wanted to win with skill. Lucas was also happy to play along with her.
With tacit cooperation, both of them controlled their speed and strength to the same level.
The two fought for a moment, and history repeated itself.
Lucas once again kicked Hela in the abdomen, sending her flying. He glanced at Hela's abdomen. Beneath her torn clothes, a bruise was forming.
He chuckled. "You don't seem to be in very good shape. Can't you even squeeze out enough energy to heal your injuries?"
Hela responded coldly, "My swordsmanship alone is enough to defeat you."
As the commander of Asgard's army, she prided herself on her combat skills being second to none.
Healing injuries with energy?
She disdained such a method of winning by simply out-tanking. It would not be too late to recover after defeating and subduing her opponent.
"Since you're so eager to fence with me, then let's go."
The two charged, once again engaging in close combat.
Slashes appeared on Hela's body, but she stubbornly refused to use divine power to heal them, continuing to fight Lucas with her battered body.
After fighting for a long time, Hela had already realized that her opponent's swordsmanship was superior to hers.
But his sword had a big problem: it lacked killing intent.
Hela believed that if she dragged it out, she would be able to wait for the right opportunity to deliver a decisive blow and turn the tide.
However, before the opportunity Hela was waiting for appeared—
In the sky, several missiles broke through the air at several times the speed of sound.
On the ground, the armored division had finished calibrating, and after the others evacuated, they opened fire with full force, covering the area with artillery.
For a moment, from the sky and the ground, a barrage of projectiles came.
Seeing this, Hela flicked her cape, using it as a shield in front of her. She prepared to use this specially made cape to block the overwhelming artillery fire.
The fencing match was interrupted, and Lucas was pleased rather than angry.
In this situation, he was in a playful mood.
He took a step forward, lowered his head, and swung his sword upwards.
In an instant, strong winds surged, and an invisible current of air rose from the ground, forming a wall of air above Lucas and Hela's heads.
Bullets, cannonballs, missiles, and even energy beams, upon colliding with this wall of air, all vanished into nothingness, without even a ripple.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Elsewhere, artillery fire raged, but where Lucas and Hela stood, they were safe and sound.
Having not felt the bombardment for a long time, Hela pulled back her cape.
She saw Lucas helping to block the barrage, but she wasn't grateful, instead saying coldly, "You held back just now."
Lucas shrugged and spread his hands in one fluid motion, retorting, "Didn't you hold back too?"
As Lucas released his grip, the wall of air slowly dissipated, and the barrage from the sky fell.
Hela was about to settle accounts with Lucas, but seeing the cannonballs falling, she ignored him.
Anyway, these attacks couldn't kill her. At most, they would deplete some of her energy.
Amidst the overwhelming artillery fire, the two clashed again.