The Creator's initial purpose in creating the Elder Gods was to have them replace the Celestials and become the actual rulers of the Multiverse?
Madness!
Absurd!
Even with Chthon and Set's extensive knowledge, hearing such news for the first time deeply shocked them, making it hard to believe.
"Heh, hard to believe? Then you might as well think, how many races in the Multiverse, in adulthood, have an average strength comparable to the Elder Gods?" The Creator chuckled softly, posing another question.
This question, even with Chthon and Set's experience, was impossible to answer.
"Think about it carefully. The Elder Gods and the Celestials are fundamentally incompatible."
"In the past, the reason the Celestials didn't directly act against the Elder Gods was simply because they were wary of me, and your threat had become too low to be worth their attention."
"But if you take another step forward, believe me, the Celestials will then try every means to kill you."
As the Creator revealed this bloody truth, Chthon and Set fell silent.
Chthon and Set exchanged glances simultaneously. In their intersecting gazes, they reached an agreement.
First, agree to the Creator, then investigate carefully themselves. They didn't completely trust the Creator, but they certainly wouldn't completely distrust him either.
"Okay, I agree."
— — —
"I disagree!"
Several more days passed, and the fierce battle between Thor and Hela in Asgard concluded.
Just as Lucas expected, Hela, with stronger recovery abilities and smaller recovery costs, successfully wore down Thor, winning the battle.
But even so, Thor still refused to withdraw from the throne contention and hand Asgard over to Hela's rule.
"A nation, however great, will perish if it loves war. Asgard, though powerful, will sooner or later bring about its own destruction through continuous warfare. A wise King should not actively provoke war."
Hela countered, "A nation, however peaceful, will be in danger if it forgets war. I don't know if a wise King would actively provoke war, but I know a qualified King must have the strength to defend the kingdom. And now, you've lost, brother."
Compared to verbal sparring, Hela was more adept at and preferred combat.
But at this moment, with countless Asgardians watching, she didn't mind using words to undermine her competitor's prestige.
In the square in front of the Palace.
All around her was a scene of devastation, almost completely destroyed by the aftershocks of her battle with Thor, with smoke and dust swirling.
Even with the help of Asgard's power constantly healing her injuries, Hela looked quite disheveled at this moment. But her eyes were incredibly bright, and her aura was even more soaring.
Hela slowly floated up, rising to the sky. "I, Hela Odinson, Odin's eldest child, the rightful heir to Asgard, have enough strength to protect Asgard! I have enough determination to lead Asgard back to glory! I am Asgard's savior!"
Carrying the lingering might of having just defeated Thor, Hela's aura reached its peak.
The people of Asgard below were all awed by her presence, and for a moment, no one dared to make a sound.
"Kneel, and greet your King!"
From the high sky, Hela cast her gaze down.
At this moment, the intangible aura transformed into tangible pressure.
Wherever Hela's gaze fell, the bodies of Asgardian subjects swayed, seemingly on the verge of collapsing to their knees at any moment.
Only those battle-hardened warriors could still stand firm, holding their weapons and staring straight ahead. But even these warriors merely stared straight ahead, not daring to raise their weapons against Hela.
As previously stated, after months of speeches, Hela's identity as one of Asgard's legitimate heirs to the throne had deeply resonated with the people.
Even if Asgardian subjects preferred Thor to succeed as King, they could not openly oppose Hela's claim to the throne.
They could only pray that Thor would emerge victorious in this battle for the throne.
But to their disappointment, Thor had already been defeated.
Thump!
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Gradually, some people couldn't withstand the pressure of Hela's gaze. Their knees weakened, and they fell to the ground.
This seemed to trigger a chain reaction like falling dominoes, instantly causing a large group of people to kneel.
"All-Father, it seems only you can stop Hela now."
"Sorcerer Lucas, why should I stop Hela?"
In a corner of the square, two figures dressed in plain white robes were watching this scene from afar.
They were Lucas and the deceased Odin.
Seeing Odin's inexplicably smiling face, Lucas couldn't help but press on, "Hmm? Didn't you prefer Thor to succeed as King?"
Odin nodded. "That's right, I did prefer Thor to succeed as King of Asgard."
He picked up a cup of mead, took a small sip, and said, "However, I don't oppose the current Hela succeeding as King. Hela is right, the King of Asgard needs sufficient strength to protect Asgard and uphold it's glory. And both Hela and Thor possess this strength."
Although Thor was defeated in his battle with Hela, Odin was not dissatisfied with Thor because of this.
Thor's defeat to Hela was not due to a lack of strength, but because the authority of the God of Thunder was not as great as the God of Death on the land of Asgard.
The blessings Asgard bestowed upon Hela were the key factor in Thor's defeat.
If the battle had not taken place in Asgard, the outcome between the two would be unknown.
After a pause, Odin continued to explain, "Originally, I worried that Hela's ambition would drag Asgard into the abyss. At that time, she only knew conquest and slaughter."
"That's why I dispatched the Valkyrie to stop her, ordering her to withdraw her troops. I just didn't expect Hela to defy my orders and slaughter the entire Valkyrie army."
"To give the people of Asgard an explanation, I had no choice but to seal her. Now, thousands of years have passed, and Hela has become more mature. She has learned how to use schemes and words to achieve her goals."
Seeing Odin's relieved expression, Lucas understood.
Odin had always been worried about the Hela who only knew brute force conquest. If Hela hadn't changed her ways, in Odin's eyes, she couldn't become a qualified King. Asgard, under her leadership, would only decline.
But when Hela began to use wisdom, playing with language and schemes, Odin, on the contrary, felt reassured about her. Even if Hela's ruling philosophy at this time was still different from Odin's, in Odin's view, this was already a good start.
'It seems Hela's opportunistic power grab is going to succeed this time.' Lucas looked at Hela in the high sky, lost in thought.
The battle that had erupted between Hela and Thor attracted the attention of all Asgardians. This implicitly set the stage for Hela's power grab.
'I wonder if Hela had planned this long ago, or if it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Never mind. No matter what, this is Asgard's internal affair and doesn't concern me much.'
Lucas shook his head, clearing these distracting thoughts from his mind.
Although he had been running to Asgard to watch the show whenever he had free time these past few days, this time was different. This time he had serious business, not just watching a show.
Lucas had originally planned to find three helpers for Strange, but in the end, only Mephisto was able to help.
Loki had originally promised Strange to bring a team of people back to Asgard. But in the end, he was delayed by the sudden outbreak of the struggle for the throne between Thor and Hela.
Tony, on the other hand, had other important matters. He believed that most of the work should be handed over to Ultron, and after being reminded by Strange and Lucas, he had recently been busy patching Ultron.
Therefore, although Strange's work pressure had slightly eased, his increasingly deepening dark circles reminded Lucas that even the Sorcerer Supreme, with magic at her disposal, needed a balance between work and rest.
After bidding Odin farewell, Lucas approached Loki, who was watching from a corner.
Perhaps because he saw that Asgard's successor to the throne was about to be decided, Loki seemed a bit downcast at this moment.
Lucas believed that if Loki had a bottle of liquor at hand, he would definitely choose to drown his sorrows in drink.
In this situation, Lucas couldn't bear to bother Loki with serious matters.
Taking a pot of strong liquor, Lucas poured a full cup for Loki. "Do not ponder endless worldly affairs. Rather, exhaust the finite cups of life."
"Drink!"
"Drink!"
But drawing a sword to cut water only makes it flow more, and raising a cup to drown sorrow only makes sorrow deeper.
Loki, oh Loki, the King of Asgard, this position is beyond your grasp.
...
Only the clinking of glasses was heard, followed by a slightly dull "bang" in the next moment.
"Drink!"
Without many words, a few people tilted their heads back and drained their glasses.
Yes, a few people, not just two.
Lucas and Loki's drinking session, which initially involved only two, now had five additional members.
Thor, and accompanying him, Sif and The Warriors Three.
The location had also changed from Loki's secluded tavern to Thor's palace.
Today, Loki was not the only one feeling down. Thor, who had lost the battle for the throne, was also in low spirits.
At this moment, these two brothers were once again fighting side by side. Their enemy was the seemingly endless bottles of wine before them, as if they were Hela's stamina bar.
Cup after cup, how many cups were there?
Thor drank from morning till night, only stopping when the taste of mead in his mouth gradually turned from sweet to bitter.