Chapter 87 Ridiculous Challenge
Meanwhile, in the Asgard Observatory.
"Boom!!!"
The energy burst from the Tesseract finally subsided.
The pillar of light that pierced the sky reached its peak, then rapidly retracted, finally extinguishing with a hum.
The Tesseract returned to calm, quietly suspended on its pedestal, as if the World-destroying energy storm just now was merely an illusion.
But the observatory was a mess.
Cracks covered the walls, and expensive star-chart instruments were all reduced to charred debris.
"Thor!!!"
Jane Foster cried out in worry.
Thor was knocked down by the residual energy, crashing heavily to the ground, with mjolnir lying beside him.
He struggled to get up, seemingly unharmed.
His Asgardian physique allowed him to withstand the energy impact.
But his mood at this moment was worse than being directly hit by the Destroyer.
"What... what have I done?"
The light in Selvig's eyes faded as he looked blankly at his hands, then at the surrounding ruins.
Fear instantly enveloped him.
He couldn't recall what had just happened.
It was as if he had blacked out from drinking and woken up to find he had set his house on fire.
"Jane? Thor? Did I do this?"
"Erik! You almost killed us!" Jane shouted, still shaken.
Thor ignored Selvig's repentance.
He strode over, grabbed Selvig by the collar, and roughly pinned him against the wall.
"What did you do to the Tesseract?!" Thor's rage was almost erupting.
He had failed.
As the Thor of Asgard, he had actually allowed a mortal to activate the Tesseract right under his nose!
This was dereliction of duty! A great humiliation!
Leon's smiling face already appeared in Thor's mind.
He seemed to hear Leon saying to him in an arrogant tone.
"Oh, my dear brother. It seems your hammer isn't just for fighting, but also for trashing places?"
"Damn it!"
Thor punched the wall next to Selvig's ear, leaving a deep crater in the wall.
He had never feared his father's wrath, but rather Leon's disappointment.
"Father..."
No sooner had he uttered the name than a majestic voice echoed through the observatory.
"Thor!"
Odin's figure did not appear, but his voice came from all directions, carrying an impending fury.
"Immediately! Take your mortal friends and get back to the Golden Palace!"
Thor's body stiffened.
He knew this trouble was serious... Asgard, Golden Palace.
Odin sat high on his throne, his single eye tightly closed.
He gripped Gungnir, veins bulging in his arm.
Frigga stood beside him, her face full of worry.
"Odin, don't be too harsh on Thor. That power was Loki's trick, Thor he..."
"Foolish!"
Odin suddenly opened his single eye, fury burning within it.
"This isn't about power! It's arrogance! It's negligence!"
Odin's anger was not just because the Tesseract had been activated.
It was also because of the anticlimactic nature of this farce.
He had expected Heimdall to report a massive fleet, a long-planned invasion.
Then, he could at least mobilize Asgard's soldiers and wash away the shame with a glorious victory.
But Heimdall's report was of nothingness.
They had opened a door in Asgard using the Space Stone, only to find nothing on the other side?!
This was practically performing a mockery of the All-Father in front of the entire Universe.
This humiliated him more than a defeat!
"Father!"
Thor's heavy footsteps approached.
He escorted a distraught Selvig and a terrified Jane into the Golden Palace.
"I..." Thor knelt on one knee, lowering his head.
"I failed."
Odin looked down at him coldly.
"You failed."
Odin's tone was majestic.
"You, Thor of Asgard! Let a controlled mortal stage a farce in the Asgard!"
"Father, I..."
Thor wanted to argue, but he had nothing to say.
Odin ignored him, his gaze falling on Selvig.
"Loki's trick." Odin's voice was filled with weariness.
"He didn't even bother to act personally. He just used a small mental contamination to render you, Thor of Asgard, helpless."
"You disappoint me, Thor."
Thor's head dropped even lower.
Odin's disappointment pained him.
"And you, woman of Midgard." Odin turned to Jane Foster.
Jane quickly lowered her head.
"Your thirst for knowledge almost destroyed the World you love."
"I didn't know it would be like this!" Jane weakly responded.
"Of course you didn't know." Odin leaned wearily on the throne.
"You mortals are always playing with forces you cannot comprehend. Then, you wait for the gods to clean up your mess."
Odin fell silent.
The atmosphere in the Golden Palace became oppressive.
He now missed his eldest son, Leon, immensely.
If Leon were here, none of this would have happened.
Leon might be more arrogant than Thor, but he was meticulous and ruthless.
He would never allow a mortal to cause trouble on his territory.
Leon would politely invite Dr. Selvig into the laboratory, then use gentle methods to extract all the secrets from his mind and Loki's contingencies, draining him completely.
Not like Thor, who takes mortals on tours of the observatory.
"Seal the Tesseract." Odin gave the order.
"Heimdall, from today onwards, the Bifrost Bridge is strictly forbidden from accessing Midgard. Unless I personally order it."
"Father!" Thor suddenly looked up.
"Jane and Erik, they..."
"They stay." Odin coldly interrupted him.
"Until the threat is neutralized, until Loki's plot is uncovered, they are not allowed to go anywhere."
"This is your punishment, Thor."
"You must witness firsthand the imprisonment your recklessness has brought upon your friends."
...Earth.
Leon reclined on the sofa on the terrace, the moonlight casting a soft halo around him.
He swirled red wine in his hand, the crimson liquid rotating in the glass.
Just now, a powerful spatial energy fluctuation came from the other end of the Universe.
The fluctuation was brief but intense.
Leon smiled slightly.
Asgard.
The Tesseract.
Leon chuckled.
"It finally began, didn't it?"
Either Loki had tampered with it, or... he didn't even need to guess.
It must have been Selvig, controlled by Loki, who naturally came into contact with the Tesseract.
"Then, with a bang."
Leon took a sip of wine.
"A signal broadcast to the entire Universe."
"Loki, that fellow, well done. He sits in his cell, and credit comes from the sky."
Leon knew very well that Loki must have somehow connected with Thanos through some other means.
This broadcast was the navigation signal.
The great war officially entered its countdown.
However... a hint of disdain flashed in Leon's eyes.
"Exposing coordinates?"
He almost laughed out loud.
Asgard's coordinates are the least secret secret in the entire Universe.
The peak of the Nine Realms, the top of the World Tree.
He, Leon Odinson, the Sun god of Asgard, the future All-Father.
Two thousand years ago, he campaigned across the lands, and his name and the flames of the divine sword Surtr have long been etched into the bloody history of thousands of civilizations.
In the Universe, who doesn't know where Asgard is?
Loki and Thanos's broadcast wasn't an exposure, but a challenge.
A ridiculous challenge.
....
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