Odin stared into Lucci's calm, confident eyes, then at the divine sword resonating with the laws of the universe, and was moved. He also wanted to see for himself what kind of power this "Path of Flame" could unleash.
"Very well," Odin nodded. "Let Heimdall teleport you to the border battlefield!"
"No need," Lucci shook his head. "Why bother with them... Just watch the battlefield for yourself."
As Odin watched with suspicion, Lucci lightly slashed the void with his sword.
The next instant!
An almost invisible ripple of sword energy flowed from the blade-less sword, silently vanishing into the void.
When it was done, Lucci returned the Path of Flame sword to his sea of consciousness, the whole process as easy as swatting a fly.
Odin was dumbfounded.
Was that... it?
…
At the same time, billions of miles away, on the border battlefield between Asgard and Jotunheim.
The immense Frost Giant army advanced like a blue tide toward the gold-armored heroes of Asgard. War cries, drumbeats, and beastly roars filled the air. The Asgardian warriors were brave, but with the enemy's overwhelming numbers, tension mounted!
But just as the lines were about to clash—
A shadow of sword energy appeared in the dim sky.
What a sword aura! It covered the sky and sun, crossing the skyline of the battlefield, so vast it could not be measured!
It was transparent, yet reflected the flow of causality, like a blade of judgment thrown out by fate itself!
Silent, yet emanating the Path's rhyme of "death," shaking the soul of all living things!
The Asgardian warriors were frozen in terror, minds blank at the sight of the enormous sword energy overhead.
The Frost Giants, too, instantly lost their ferocity and madness, replaced by confusion when they saw this sword energy.
But before anyone could react.
The sword aura, covering the sky like a cosmic river, silently swept through them...
And then it spread.
No explosions. No screams. Not even blood.
In the stunned eyes of all the Asgardians, every Frost Giant—vanguard, generals, even the massive beasts—wherever the sword energy passed, tens of thousands of enemies... vanished. As if erased from the world with a rubber eraser, silently dissolving into the air.
As if they had never existed.
Just a moment before, the battlefield was thunderous; the next, it fell into deathly silence.
The Asgardian warriors stared at each other, dumbfounded, shock on every face.
"Just now... what happened?"
…
At the same time, in the palace of Jotunheim, forged from ten-thousand-year ice. Frost King Laufey stood before a massive ice mirror, prideful as he watched the battlefield reflected within. The mirror, condensed from his frost magic, showed him the unfolding battle, albeit with a slight time delay.
He watched as his invincible army advanced like a blue tide, breaking through Asgard's defenses. A cruel smile of victory already played on his lips.
"Odin! Your time is over! When I destroy your Asgard, I'll turn your golden palace into an ice sculpture gallery!" Laufey howled in triumph.
Yet the next moment, something strange appeared in the mirror.
Every unit on the battlefield—soldiers, beasts—seemed to freeze, all looking up at the sky.
"Huh? What's going on?" Laufey frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his chest.
The next instant, through the mirror, he saw the transparent sword aura covering the sky and sun. The sword aura was so vast and magnificent that the mirror couldn't capture it all. Even across this magical distance, its Path sent shivers through Laufey's soul.
"What... what is that?!"
Before he could react, the sword aura swept past.
And then...
Nothing.
The image in the ice mirror instantly became empty and dead.
His massive vanguard, elite warriors, and monstrous beasts—all vanished in an instant, as if they'd never existed.
Only the stunned Asgardians remained in the mirror.
Laufey was dumbfounded. He rubbed his eyes, thinking something was wrong with the mirror. He adjusted the angle, searching for his army.
But there was nothing. No corpses, no debris, not even residual energy. The battlefield was as clean as if his army had never appeared. The great assault felt like a dream.
No! It wasn't a dream! That sword aura! It was real!
A terror colder than Jotunheim's ice seized Laufey's heart, spreading to his limbs.
What was that power? He felt no familiar magical fluctuations, no elemental force. Its arrival and departure were silent, but it brought absolute destruction. It was neither battle nor magic... it was... harvesting!
As if death itself had descended upon the battlefield, reaping all marked lives at once!
Laufey's body trembled uncontrollably, his pride and cruelty shattered before the sword energy.
"It wasn't Odin... Odin's power is violent and divine, never such silent destruction..."
"Nor was it Asgard's army... they have nothing like that..."
"Then... what is it?"
"A demon? Or some ancient cosmic existence delivering divine punishment?"
Laufey, terrified, collapsed onto his frost throne, clutching the Casket of Ancient Winters with trembling hands, hurriedly dismissing the soul-draining ice mirror.
The palace was shrouded in deathly silence, broken only by Laufey's ragged, fearful breathing.
He had lost. Lost inexplicably, incomprehensibly. He didn't even know who the enemy was.
…
Asgard, Royal Palace of Valaskjalf.
Odin's single eye still contained lingering shock. Through the shared vision with Heimdall, he had witnessed the miraculous scene at the border.
A sword, just a sword! An elite army of tens of thousands of Frost Giants had been silently erased from the world.
He turned to Lucci with a monster-like expression.
"Just now... what happened?"
Odin's voice was dry.
As a All Father-level powerhouse, he could also annihilate armies. But he had to go to the battlefield in person, invoke Odinforce, summon storms and lightning, and only after an earth-shaking battle could he accomplish such a feat. For Lucci to stand in the palace, lightly wave his sword, and have the enemy simply "vanish"—this was beyond comprehension.
Lucci saw Odin's shocked expression and smiled, calmly explaining.
"Father, this is the power of Path of Flame."
"The sword aura of Path of Flame contains the power of causality. What I did was project the sword aura across space to the battlefield, severing the cause of their existence."
"I defined the Frost Giants' existence as meaningless. Once this definition is established, the laws of the universe automatically correct and erase the cause. Thus, they disappear from existence itself."
Odin half-understood, but grasped the key point.
"Defined as 'meaningless'? Erase the 'cause'?"
He had previously thought Path of Flame's power was limited to small-scale effects. But now he realized he was gravely mistaken! Path of Flame's power of causality could operate on such a massive scale! This wasn't just about power anymore—this was revision of the very operating rules of the universe!
"This ability is... invincible? As long as you don't define something, any enemy can be erased directly?"
If so, that was terrifying! Lucci essentially possessed the right to "instant kill"!
Lucci shook his head and explained, "That's not it. The power of causality is not omnipotent. It follows the most fundamental laws of balance."
"In this world, everyone and everything is entangled in large or small lines of causality. The greater the impact on the world, the heavier their causal bonds. Conversely, the smaller the impact, the lighter the causal chain."
"The causal sword aura is best used on enemies with little causality—like ordinary Frost Giants. They barely affect the universe, so their causal lines are easily severed."
"But against someone stronger, the effect is greatly weakened. That's why Path of Flame needs continuous strengthening and evolution. Only when my own Great Path comprehension deepens and my mobilized causal power grows strong enough, will all living things truly be equal before one sword."
Hearing Lucci's detailed explanation, Odin was left speechless. Seeing Lucci's serious face, still thinking "I'm not strong enough, I must work harder," he couldn't help but twitch his lips.
To wipe out a Frost Giant army with one sword—was this power still "too small" in your eyes? Do you misunderstand the meaning of "powerful"?
But at least, knowing the principle and limits of this artifact, Odin found some peace of mind.
At that moment, Lucci glanced towards Jotunheim and respectfully asked Odin for instructions.
"Father, the border threat is resolved, but the Casket of Ancient Winters remains. It's the source of Jotunheim's power. If it stays in Laufey's hands, it will remain a disaster."
"I request permission to go to Jotunheim and retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters myself."
Odin hesitated slightly, but recalling Lucci's terrifying sword strike and his own primordial flames, he realized letting Lucci handle it was the safest, most effective way.
Odin nodded, "Go then. But Lucci, just retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters. As for the Frost Giants—leave them a path to life."
A king does not slaughter all.
Lucci nodded in understanding. Then, his figure disappeared from the palace, heading straight for Jotunheim.
…
With Thor stripped of power and Lucci heading to Jotunheim, in the shadows, someone quietly turned the wheel of fate.
Taking advantage of everyone's distraction by the border war, Loki quietly slipped into Odin's treasure vault. The place was empty.
Loki strode to the deepest part of the vault, face twisted with fanaticism and a sneer, stopping before the Destroyer.
"Thor is banished... Lucci has gone to Jotunheim... Father is exhausted over Thor..."
"Now is the perfect time to execute my plan!"
His eyes glittered with madness.
First, he had to completely destroy Thor's remains! On Earth, without divine power, Thor was merely a strong human. Against the Destroyer, Asgard's most powerful war machine, he would be helpless!
As for Lucci... remembering Lucci's unfathomable strength, Loki couldn't help but feel a chill.
"That guy... he's a monster! Far too powerful to confront directly. I'll have to find his weakness over the long term!"
With that, Loki wasted no more time. He raised his scepter at the Destroyer.
"Awaken, servant!"
As divine power poured in, the Destroyer's empty eyes suddenly burned with orange light!
Rumble—
The heavy metal armor moved, screeching with a chilling sound. The aura of slaughter, tyranny, and fear instantly filled the vault!
Loki watched his war machine with a cold, triumphant smile.
"Still, I prefer this! My tricks have gotten better."
"Go, head to Midgard, find Thor... and kill him!"
"Dear brother, I hope you enjoy this gift!"
…
Meanwhile, in Jotunheim.
Lucci's arrival was silent. He appeared directly in the grand hall of Laufey's ice palace.
None of the Frost Giants noticed his arrival. So-called sentries and defenses were meaningless before him.
"Laufey, hand over the Casket of Ancient Winters."
Lucci's calm voice suddenly echoed through the hall.
Laufey, still in shock on his throne, jumped at the sound. He saw the young man in the center of the hall—black and gold battle armor, handsome and indifferent... the Fourth Prince of Asgard, Lucci!
"You... how did you get in?" Laufey shouted, clutching the Casket of Ancient Winters, which spewed out cold air in an attempt to freeze Lucci.
But when the terrifying cold got within a few feet of Lucci, it struck an invisible barrier and melted away, not even leaving a wisp of white mist.
"Enough with these tricks before me." Lucci pinched his fingers, and golden flames were born from the air—the Origin True Fire.
The next instant, the temperature in the hall soared! The walls and throne of ten-thousand-year ice melted visibly, dripping like water!
Laufey felt his power crazily suppressed!
"It was you! You destroyed our border army!"
Realizing it wasn't Odin or Thor, Laufey understood the mysterious figure before him could only be Lucci. He stared at Lucci in terror.
...
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