"Steady! Hold the valve!"
"Damn it! Energy overflowed by — percent! Close the seventh restraint ring!"
"Report to the king! The internal structure of the uru divine iron is becoming unstable!"
Suddenly, panicked shouts erupted below.
Just now, the neutron-star beam's abnormal tremor caused an immediate imbalance in output. In an extremely precise forging process, this was a catastrophe.
The uru divine iron fragment on the anvil began showing irregular twisting and cracks—announcing the forge had completely failed.
Worse still, to forcibly end forging, dwarf craftsmen had to urgently close all energy channels. The massive energy shock threw the furnace core's circulation system into chaos.
Only a dull brrrmmm sounded as the guiding core's light—once the energy source—rapidly dimmed.
To activate self-protection, the neutron-star furnace forcibly shut down.
The entire core area fell into an uneasy silence. Only the clicking sound of cooling metal and the dwarves' heavy breathing remained.
"Failed… failed again!"
"That's the third time this month!"
"To restart the furnace, we need at least three days to overhaul and recalibrate all apertures! And don't forget the huge backup energy needed to ignite the core…"
The craftsmen gathered gloomily, discussing with grief and frustration. Fatigue and irritation filled their faces.
King Eitri's face also turned ugly—blue with rage—as he clenched his massive fist.
To make such a mistake in front of an Asgardian prince while showing off his proud craft… was a tremendous humiliation.
Lucci watched and pinched the bridge of his nose.
To him, that small energy fluctuation just now was nothing. He hadn't expected it to affect dwarf forging so severely.
"Three days… too slow."
"I'll do it."
Lucci looked down at the chaotic dwarves and spoke.
Hearing this, Eitri frowned. Already furious, Lucci's "mocking" words only choked him further.
"Slow? You say that lightly! Do you even understand what this means?"
"It means weeks of our work have been wasted!"
Eitri said bitterly. "Do you think forging is an Asgardian feast—where you say 'start' and it starts immediately?"
Lucci ignored the anger and stated calmly, "Redo it. It won't take that long."
He extended his finger and pointed at the extinguished furnace core.
"Leave it to me."
The instant those words fell, the space went deathly silent.
Whether craftsmen or guards, every dwarf stared at Lucci like he was insane. Many didn't even know his true identity; they only assumed he was a normal Asgardian.
After a brief silence, laughter exploded.
"Haha! What did I just hear? He said he'll do it?"
"This Asgard kid didn't get his brain roasted by the heatwave, did he?"
"Does he even know what he's saying? Does he think restarting the furnace is like turning a faucet?"
Eitri laughed with fury.
"Do you know what it takes to restart the furnace?"
"All restraint apertures must be opened! The most primal and violent neutron-star beam must strike the furnace core directly and ignite it again!"
"That beam's energy can evaporate a planet in an instant! This entire process cannot tolerate even 0.01 seconds of error! If the energy guidance deviates even slightly, don't blame yourself—blame all of us! The whole of Nidavellir will be burned into cosmic dust in an instant!"
Even after hearing this, Lucci's expression remained calm, unchanged as if carved for thousands of years.
He understood that language was often the least efficient means of communication.
So he activated divine power and flew toward the furnace core console.
His deep eyes stared at the dead core as he spoke lightly—his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching every dwarf's ears:
"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't."
"In my view, igniting it is no different from lighting a candle."
The dwarves fell into complete panic.
"No! What is he doing?"
"Stop him! He's really going to restart it!"
Eitri felt his heart leap into his throat. He wanted to rush forward, but Lucci was too fast.
He could only watch that small, solitary figure stand before an enormous steel construct, drawing ever closer to the most dangerous place.
"It's over… it's all over…"
Eitri's mind went blank, as if he already saw an apocalyptic vision of Nidavellir being swallowed by a neutron-star beam in the next instant.
…
Meanwhile—far away in Asgard, at the Bifrost control center.
Heimdall, obeying Odin's orders, had been watching Lucci's every move in Nidavellir with his all-seeing eyes.
When he saw Lucci fly toward the furnace console, the bronze face that hadn't changed for ten thousand years finally twitched violently.
"This is bad!"
Heimdall's expression changed drastically. Not daring to miss a single detail, he immediately reported the critical situation to Odin in the God-King's chamber through their divine connection:
"Your Majesty! Prince Lucci… he wants to restart Nidavellir's neutron-star furnace alone!"
Odin, handling state affairs, nearly dropped his scepter at the report. He sprang from the throne, shock and disbelief in his eyes.
"What? Restart the neutron-star furnace with bare hands?!"
Odin's heart shot straight into his throat.
As ruler of the Nine Worlds, he knew the terror of Nidavellir's furnace better than anyone. It was not merely a forging tool—it was an ultimate weapon capable of destroying realms.
Lucci's action was like a mortal trying to embrace the sun!
But after the initial shock, Odin remembered Lucci's unfathomable power—those repeated, heaven-defying miracles.
Especially Lucci's terrifying physique, which had astonished even Odin in the great arena.
"Maybe…"
A thought flashed through Odin's heart—one he couldn't even fully believe. His emotions swung violently between extreme worry and a faint, absurd hope.
In the end, reason and trust in Lucci forced him to calm down slightly.
"Heimdall!"
Odin's voice carried unquestionable authority.
"Immediately share the vision of Nidavellir with me!"
"At the same time, use your authority to relay my order: have all healers in the Asgardian palace rush to the Bifrost at once—stand by with the highest level of treatment measures and the most precious miracle medicines!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Even if Lucci might not be doing something dangerous, Odin's first reaction was to prepare perfect backup. He chose to believe—yet also prepared to face the worst.
In the next instant, a curtain of light unfolded before Odin.
Within it, the scene of Nidavellir appeared clearly.
He saw that slender, solitary figure hovering before the enormous, fully extinguished furnace aperture console.
He also saw countless dwarves below—centered on King Eitri—tilting their heads up with faces filled with despair and terror, mouths wide open as they screamed to stop Lucci.
The panicked atmosphere at the scene, like a tsunami, still pounded at Odin and Heimdall even through silent imagery.
They had witnessed Lucci's countless "defying the heavens" actions and held unshakable trust in him.
But this scene truly shredded nerves.
Because this was the neutron-star furnace!
Odin's one eye stared at the light curtain. His hand clenched the Eternal Spear so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He held his breath, waiting with Heimdall for an unknown fate.
...
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