The saying, 'Brothers fight within the walls, but unite to resist external aggression,' not only describes the relationship between Thor and Loki, but is also very apt for Hela and Thor.
Before the Ragnarok crisis was resolved, Hela, though desiring to seize Asgard, had always shown restraint.
Once the Ragnarok crisis was over, she could no longer hold back and wanted to enforce her demands with force.
Hela swept her hands, gathering her hair and donning the thorny, horned helmet.
"Come, brother, let us fight to decide who is the King of Asgard."
Thor said, "Sister, I told you the King of Asgard is not a spoil of war. Believe me, I don't care who the King of Asgard is. I even wish someone would take my place to govern Asgard. But that person cannot be you, not until you prove yourself."
"Really?"
No sooner had Thor finished speaking than a questioning voice rang out.
The owner of the voice, however, was not Hela.
Loki, standing beside Thor, turned sideways and looked at Thor with an expectant expression.
"Brother, I would be very happy to govern Asgard for you."
Thor: "..."
"No need, I was just kidding."
"Come, Thor, do not be a coward who fears battle and disgrace the honor of the Asgardian royal family. The crown is not a spoil of war, but only the strong can defend Asgard's honor."
On the other side, Hela continued to press forward.
Hela had had enough of these days of endless speeches with little effect.
The God of Death of Asgard, who once conquered countless civilizations for Odin, was never skilled with words. She was skilled at expanding Asgard's territory with the sharp blade in her hand, and leading her soldiers to glory with the sharp blade in her hand.
Now, she intended to reclaim the Asgardian throne with the sharp blade in her hand.
Hela slowly walked towards Thor, holding a sharp blade. Her steps gradually accelerated, first becoming a jog, then a sprint, finally leaping high and bringing her sword down from above.
"A wise King never proactively incites conflict."
With that, Thor could only helplessly swing his Mjolnir to meet her attack.
Hammer and sword clashed, the Thunder Power collided with the Death Power, and the next instant, blinding silver light erupted.
Electric light flickered, and lightning snakes danced as the two figures at the center of the collision separated as soon as they touched.
After just a brief exchange, both Thor and Hela frowned in unison.
In his brief skirmish with Hela, Thor clearly felt that Hela's power had grown stronger after returning to Asgard for some time.
In her brief skirmish with Thor, Hela also found that Thor's power was significantly stronger than their last encounter, and he was no less powerful than she was at this moment. This left Hela somewhat puzzled.
Neither Thor nor Hela knew that, during their first encounter, the other was in a weakened state.
Thor had just fought three consecutive battles then.
Surtur, Angel Queen, and Sindr—each of them had caused him to expend a large amount of divine power and stamina.
Hela, at that time, had just emerged from her seal. Her injuries were not yet healed, and her divine power was running low.
Now, both sides had recovered their full strength, and their divine power and physical power were comparable.
Seeing this, Lucas pulled over another set of tables and chairs and sat down, preparing to watch the show seriously.
He did not intend to intervene in this battle for the throne. He also had no standing to intervene.
Although his power now far exceeded the total power of Asgard, out of respect for his allies, he would not interfere in Asgard's internal affairs.
Of course, if the situation escalated and the dispute between Thor and Hela turned into a battle to the death, that would be another matter. At that time, Lucas would not hold back when it was time to take sides.
But with Frigga buffering in the middle, it was unlikely that things would escalate to that point.
What Hela wanted was always to rule Asgard, not to destroy Asgard.
Unlike Earth-199999.
Hela of Earth-199999 immediately returned to Asgard with bloodshed. Before understanding Asgard's national conditions, she caused countless massacres, which ultimately led to her rule not being accepted by Asgardians.
However, Hela of Earth-404 had lived in Asgard for several months prior. After months of speeches, although the Asgardians still did not believe in Odin's eldest child and preferred Thor to succeed as King, subtly, they had also accepted the premise that Hela was the rightful heir to the Asgardian throne.
And Hela also understood one thing: once she started a massacre in Asgard, the people of Asgard would never submit to her.
That is why she repeatedly provoked Thor, hoping to force Thor to withdraw from the throne contention by defeating this rival for the throne.
As long as Thor withdrew, she would be the sole heir to the throne.
Even if the people of Asgard did not acknowledge her, they would have to accept her rule.
However, Hela's idea was beautiful, but its implementation ran into some problems.
She had previously underestimated Thor's strength, and now she was forced into a bitter battle.
"Want a piece?"
"Thanks."
Lucas picked up a slice of watermelon and handed it to Loki, who thanked him and took it. Then, the two of them munched on watermelon while commenting on Thor and Hela's fight.
"Thor's turn just now should have been faster. That way, he could have dodged Hela's returning counterattack with her blade."
Lucas looked at Loki with a teasing expression and asked with a smile, "No, the main problem is that mjolnir's handle is too short, making it inconvenient to block. By the way, why is mjolnir's handle so short?"
Loki replied calmly, his expression unchanged, "I don't know, maybe the dwarf King Eitri made a mistake when forging mjolnir, or perhaps Thor prefers short-handled hammers."
Lucas said, implying something, "Really? How come I heard that someone caused trouble, which made mjolnir shorter?"
His gaze was fixed on Loki, the implication clear.
The 'someone' he referred to was Loki.
"Lucas, where did you hear that? I don't know anything about it." Loki, however, replied with a surprised expression.
Lucas carefully observed Loki's expression, it didn't seem fake.
Lucas had heard from 616 Thor that Loki's meddling had caused mjolnir to become a short-handled hammer. But it seems that on Earth-404, this was not the case.
"Enough, you two. Mjolnir has always been a short-handled hammer."
It was Hela who answered Lucas and Loki.
She forced Thor back with a swing of her sword and took a moment to say, "The head of Mjolnir was forged in a dying star, while the handle was made from the wood of the World Tree. It is the exclusive divine weapon of Asgard's executioner."
"Due to the scarcity of World Tree wood, mjolnir was made into a short-handled hammer. You two idiots, do you understand now?"
"Sister, how do you know so much?" Thor asked.
Seeing Hela stop to explain and not taking the opportunity to sneak attack, he also paused.
"Of course, it's because mjolnir was once my weapon."
Thor stopped, but Hela had no intention of stopping. She suddenly reached out and pulled, contending with Thor for control of mjolnir.
Thor, caught off guard, stumbled from mjolnir's pull.
"Hey, son, I'm the daddy." Thor quickly spoke to appease mjolnir.
But before he could regain control of mjolnir, Hela had already charged forward with her sword. Forced to react hastily, Thor's movements were stiff, revealing an opening.
With two swift slashes, Hela's sharp blade opened two wounds on Thor's body. As the blade cut, two sprays of blood flew out.
"You can't even fully control your own weapon, brother. What do you have to contend with me?"
"You'll see, sister."
These two wounds would be fatal on an ordinary person. But on Thor, they weren't even considered minor injuries.
The wounds on his body had already healed and stopped bleeding shortly after the blood splattered.
"Then you'd better prove it to me quickly!"
Clang!
Hammer and sword clashed again, and Thor and Hela were once again locked in battle.
"Lucas, who do you think will win?" Loki asked in a low voice.
Upon hearing the question, Lucas suddenly stood up and walked away.
Loki was puzzled but quickly followed, asking again, "Lucas, who do you think will win, Thor or Hela?"
Lucas did not look back and continued walking out of the hall but his voice sounded from afar.
"The outcome of this duel will be decided by the art of drawing the sword."
Loki said, "Thor doesn't use a sword."
"Oh, I used the wrong word."
"The outcome of this duel will be decided by recovery ability. Even if divine power, strength, and skill are equal, the ability to recover endlessly by drawing on Asgard's power versus only being able to recover through one's own physical body."
"There will be a significant difference between the two in a prolonged battle."
In the center of the battle, Thor and Hela clashed fiercely. Both left scars on each other from time to time.
However, compared to Thor's rapid healing and powerful physical recovery, Hela's recovery ability was even more terrifying. The damage Thor inflicted on her often disappeared without a trace in an instant.
While in Asgard, as long as the enemy's power did not exceed Asgard's limits, Hela was invincible. No matter how severe the injury, she could recover quickly without any cost.
Thor also realized this but he showed no sign of weakness.
As he himself said, he never feared any battle.
Although Hela was confident of victory, she couldn't take down Thor immediately. This was destined to be a prolonged battle.
(End of Chapter)
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