Those time travelers that year

"Your answer is so informative, I don't even know what kind of expression to make!"

244. Asgard (4)

A prison riot and a prisoner escape—this momentous event abruptly disrupted the victory celebrations held that evening. The citizens of Asgard were astonished that everything had been fine that morning, but in the blink of an eye, the situation had drastically changed. Especially after the prisoners finally broke through the prison guards' lines and stormed out of the prison…

The Asgardian soldiers, belatedly realizing what was happening, hastily assembled and rushed towards the prison. At the same time, the victory celebration was cancelled, and without exception, every single Asgardian chose to take up a weapon for self-defense. This was a nation where everyone was a soldier; even ordinary citizens who seemed powerless could become excellent soldiers once they held a weapon.

The number of prisoners who escaped from those prisons has now reached tens of thousands, not just the few rabble depicted in the movies. Moreover, they are not merely defeated prisoners captured in the previous war, but also many far more dangerous monsters imprisoned there over much longer periods. These prisoners from hundreds, even thousands of years ago, are clearly far more hostile to Asgard. They basically attack any Asgardian they encounter upon breaking out of the prison. Among them are even some prisoners who are close to, or even at the level of, planetary gods. Although their strength has been greatly diminished due to years of imprisonment, and they can basically be described as weakened and barely alive, they still possess the characteristics of a boss. Therefore, initially, the Asgardian reinforcements were forced to retreat steadily.

Of course, the situation quickly reversed. After Thor, along with the warriors who had also attended the victory celebration that evening, and a few Valkyries joined the battle, the tide turned dramatically. No matter how arrogantly these prisoners charged out, facing the elite soldiers' battle formation, plus a large group of fully-fledged planetary gods and near-planetary demigods, the prisoners were soon doomed.

However, the feng shui of Asgard doesn't seem so good. Just as the situation was improving, other troubles arose. This time, it was the Dark Elves, who had ruled Asgard for thousands of years. This race, once the dominant species in the universe and almost wiped out by Asgard, still retains some strength. At least the careless Asgardians didn't anticipate the existence of these remnants, nor did they expect them to dare invade Asgard.

Even the gatekeepers hadn't anticipated this. When the small aircraft carrying the dark elves bypassed Asgard's outer space defenses and landed through subspace invisibility, the gatekeepers, who should have been able to see through anything invisible, didn't detect a single trace.

It wasn't until several dark elf landing craft landed that the gatekeeper sensed something was amiss. Remembering how Loki had recently concealed his vision, the gatekeeper had become extra vigilant. So, when the dark elf landing craft began their descent, the gatekeeper finally realized what was happening.

In an instant, the gatekeeper rushed off the Rainbow Bridge, gripped his divine sword tightly, and relying on his intuition, leaped into the air. Golden divine power coiled around the blade, and he slashed through the air. A beam of sword light swept across the sky, and then, in the previously empty space, a strange, jet-black flying machine appeared. This machine was instantly cleaved in two by Heimdall in mid-air, plummeting into the sea below amidst explosive flames.

However, these are not the only enemies.

Just as the gatekeeper had severed a spacecraft and landed back on the Rainbow Bridge, a shadow loomed over the light from behind. Turning around quickly, the gatekeeper saw a massive warship that had pierced through the unsuspecting outer space defenses. And seemingly realizing that the cloaking device was ineffective, one after another, spacecraft identical to the ones Heimdall had just destroyed detached from the warship, soaring into the sky and heading straight for Asgard's core—the Asgardian Palace.

"Intruders, damn them!" Heimdall stared at the scene before him with a grim expression. Regardless of the circumstances, failing to detect the intruders' arrival in time, and even allowing them to infiltrate Asgard, was undoubtedly his dereliction of duty. Enraged, golden dawn power emanated from Heimdall, transforming into a soaring sword light that, under his control, once again slashed down one flying machine after another.

However, this was to no avail; more aircraft evaded Heimdall's attack range. A god at the pinnacle of planetary deities was beyond their capabilities. Similarly, Heimdall lacked the ability to intercept all the aircraft at once.

Woo~ woo~ woo~ woo~ woo~ woo~

Heimdall blew his horn, and the sound echoed throughout Asgard. The next moment, the once silent Asgard suddenly erupted into chaos. The Asgardians, who had initially thought it was just a prison riot, immediately realized that this was likely more than just a prison break.

Lightships, defensive turrets, and Valkyries riding winged horses urgently took off and rushed towards the invaders who had already entered Asgard. Laser cannons, photon beams, and all sorts of magic bombarded the invading aircraft from Asgard's counter-offensive forces. On the other hand, the Dark Elves' landing craft, lacking aerial weapons, relied solely on their shields and more agile tactics to ruthlessly perform aerial scalpel maneuvers.

Some of the aircraft that could not be intercepted crashed directly into the buildings on the Asgard grounds. Immediately afterwards, the landing ships opened, and hordes of dark elves, armed with weapons, charged out fiercely.

Just then, golden light shone from the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Heimdall, the gatekeeper, returned to the control room of the Rainbow Bridge and channeled his power into it, activating Asgard's defensive barrier. Instantly, a golden light curtain extending from the edge of Asgard enveloped the sky. Those flying vehicles that couldn't avoid the light curtain in time exploded in mid-air upon contact with it.

As Heimdall raised his defensive light barrier, the warship that had initially only deployed landing craft finally took action. The red glowing spot atop the warship, hovering in mid-air, began to blaze with blinding light. The next moment, a massive red beam of light roared out from the warship, slamming into the light barrier Heimdall had raised.

……

While Asgard was passively repelling the invaders and simultaneously suppressing escaped prisoners, in the central area of ​​the palace, two 'Valkyries' with identical hair but different eye colors were hurriedly running towards one place. Soldiers and Asgardian citizens alike passed by without suspicion, simply because an unknown number of Dark Elf landing ships had already descended upon the ground.

In an instant, sporadic battles erupted in every corner of Asgard, catching the invaders completely off guard. However, the Asgardians, gradually recovering from their initial shock, began a full-scale campaign to wipe out the invaders.

The two Valkyries hurriedly ran towards the depths of Asgard, which the Asgardian soldiers and citizens thought was to fight the enemy. Coincidentally, a landing craft had just landed nearby.

"Speaking of which, if that warship's attack lands, a lot of people here will die!" The 'Valkyrie' with dark gold eyes looked up and saw the warships' main guns clashing against Asgard's defensive barrier in the sky. She then said, "Moreover, Asgard's defensive barrier looks pretty terrible!"

“Heimdall’s activation of the defensive barrier was a little slow…” Another blue-eyed 'Valkyrie' glanced up, then continued walking forward without turning her head, replying as she went, “The barrier hasn’t reached its maximum defensive capacity yet, and that warship is bombarding us with its main cannons without regard to the cost… But don’t worry, even if that main cannon were twice as powerful, it wouldn’t be able to penetrate the barrier; at most, it would only delay the barrier from closing completely.”

"However, we need to hurry. Once the barrier closes, the spatial shield will be fully opened, and it won't be so easy to leave then."

245. Asgard (5)

"Why can't we just fly there? Or just give me the coordinates and I'll teleport you with me."

"Don't forget, Mimir's Well is a forbidden area on Asgard, even more heavily guarded than the Vault of Asgard. Normally only Odin can enter and exit; even Tyr and Thor are not allowed in!" the blue-eyed 'Valkyrie' replied. "You think such an important place won't be subject to spatial interference? Naive!"

“Alright! It seems we’ll have a bit of trouble if we continue…” The 'Valkyrie' with dark gold eyes paused, then glanced at the corpses scattered across the palace floor. These were all Asgardian soldiers, but now, these once proud soldiers lay on the ground, blood streaming down their faces, their weapons lying in disarray.

It seems there was a skirmish here not long ago. The invading attackers ran into the Asgardian soldiers who came to surround and kill them. The attackers' fighting strength exceeded the Asgardian soldiers' expectations, and the hunter became the hunted.

Now, these hunters, who had just slaughtered their prey, stood before the two of them. They wore black coats and pale, bone-like masks. There were at least a hundred of them, and each of them held a strange gun that was also painted black.

In the middle of this group of invaders, a guy dressed differently from the soldiers around him walked step by step to the front, his eyes fixed on the 'Valkyrie' with her dark gold eyes.

"He came looking for you?"

"No, I don't know this guy with such an unconventional style of dress!"

"I am Malekith, woman!" This unconventional-looking guy said in a gloomy tone to the two 'Valkyries' in front of him, "I've come to take back what's rightfully mine... You..." He looked at the 'Valkyrie' with dark gold eyes and said in an unquestionable tone, "Hand over the Aether particles obediently."

"...A planetary god?" However, the two scheming individuals ignored this seemingly boss-like figure, instead observing everything before them with great interest. Then, the 'Valkyrie' with dark golden eyes asked the person beside her, "Why does she seem...much weaker than Thor!"

"I'm also quite puzzled. How could they possibly succeed?" another Valkyrie said with a smile. "A bunch of stray dogs, actually dared to launch a sneak attack on Asgard, and they actually succeeded! Do they think they can survive Odin's wrath with such mediocre strength?!"

However, the two men's arrogant attitude clearly enraged Malekith. How could anyone dare speak to him, the King of the Dark Elves, in such an offensive tone? He was the King of the Dark Elves, a ruler of the same era as the previous Asgardian king; even Odin was only his junior in terms of seniority.

"You took what you shouldn't have taken." Suppressing his anger, Malekith spoke, "And since you want to die, then..." He waved his hand, and the dark elf soldiers beside him raised their laser guns, aiming them at the two in front of them. "I'll grant your wish... kill them."

"Idiot!" x2

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Above, dark elf aircraft clashed with Asgard's defenses, tearing apart their ships in the flames before they plummeted to the ground. However, the dark elves were clearly more frenzied, gradually suppressing Asgard's air forces. It was a joke that Asgard, with its home-field advantage, was being overwhelmed by the invading forces. But higher in the sky, the defensive light barrier controlled by Heimdall was locked in a stalemate with the main cannons fired by the dark elf warships.

Faced with a main cannon barrage capable of leveling a city in a single blow, it's clear that not everyone possesses the courage to continue fighting without fear of death. Indeed, if the Dark Elf warship's main cannon were to breach the defensive barrier and strike, the entire Asgard would be razed to the ground in an instant. Such an attack, if it landed on Midgard, would be enough to destroy the entire city of New York, and even tear apart the earth's crust, impacting the entire American continent.

Compared to that, the Iron Man Tony Stark's Iron Man armor is a joke. The energy emitted by the main cannon every second is enough to kill hundreds of the new Arc Reactors he created. The destructive power of a nuclear bomb is just a larger firework compared to the main cannon of a warship.

However, what firmly blocked the main cannon was a seemingly thin barrier of light. No matter how dazzling the red light of the main cannon was, it could not break through the golden barrier's defense. It was as if two different worlds had been separated—Avalon, Asgard's defensive barrier. Even so, the undisguised, violent energy fluctuations from the warship's main cannon were enough to make every Asgardian soldier below turn pale. Only the crazed dark elf invaders would carelessly engage the Asgardian guards, or rather, drag them all down to hell.

Although it was clear to everyone that the golden light barrier was gradually gaining the upper hand as time went on, and the warships' main cannons could only delay the barrier's closure without penetrating it, the blow to Asgard's morale was considerable.

As the ruler of the Nine Realms, how many years has Asgard, with its illustrious reputation, ever felt so humiliated?! It was ambushed and attacked on its own doorstep, and caught off guard by these invaders, the flames of war spilling directly over the palace itself. This was a fatal threat to Asgard's prestige, especially at a time when the Nine Realms had just experienced a rebellion, and the armies of fire giants and Tyr's forces were on the verge of a major war…

For Odin, the de facto ruler of Asgard and the war-hardened god-king, this was an even greater provocation. For many years since Jotunheim's defeat at his hands, neither Asgard nor Odin himself had endured such humiliation of being attacked on their doorstep.

And then, in the next moment, Odin, the Father, made his move!

A divine power, like a vast ocean, roared forth from the very top of Asgard, transforming into a dazzling, boundless golden light that spread to every corner of Asgard. Everyone—asgardian soldiers and citizens, as well as the dark elves who had suddenly invaded Asgard—instinctively raised their heads at that moment, looking towards the place where the sun seemed to be rising.

The golden light was dazzling yet not blinding. Everyone on Asgard could see that figure at that moment: riding a magnificent steed as imposing as a mountain, its body clad in heavy, intricately patterned metal armor, its white fur shimmering with crystalline light. Eight powerful legs dug their golden hooves into the ground, emitting a thunderous neigh.

On this steed named Sleipnis, sat the tall and imposing figure of Odin, the Father of Gods. He wore dark gold armor, a dark blue cloak like the night sky, a golden helmet, and had one eye. He held a spear called Gungnir, the curve of which resembled the trajectory of a shooting star across the sky.

With unparalleled power and an oppressive aura, this god-king, who hadn't made a move in over a thousand years, gripped his divine spear and pointed it at the sky. Then, Gungnir was released from his hand, transforming into a golden bolt of lightning that hurtled towards the dark elf's warship.

A golden streak of lightning appeared in the sky, as if an invisible brush had drawn a line with golden paint. However, faced with this man-made astronomical spectacle, probably no one would be interested in appreciating it.

Because that golden crack pierced through the indestructible light barrier in the first instant, the energy torrent from the Dark Elf warship's main cannon—enough to flatten New York and tear apart the American continent in an instant—was sliced ​​apart like butter and then completely annihilated. Finally, Gungnir, with a meteor-like trajectory, blasted through the distant warship and plunged into the vast cosmos.

Second update!

246. Asgard (6)

Red laser beams shot from the dark elf soldiers' guns. These laser beams, powerful enough to pierce the special psionic armor of the Asgardian soldiers and penetrate energy shields, hurtled towards the two people in front of them like a torrential rain.

Then, a large amount of ice shards bloomed in mid-air. The blue-eyed 'Valkyrie' coldly raised her arm forward, spreading her five fingers. All the laser beams aimed at the two men exploded into ice flowers upon impact, as if an invisible wall of frost had blocked their way. Immediately afterward, she clenched her hand sharply towards the dark elf soldiers. A chill, seemingly from nowhere, surged from the soles of their feet. Before the dark elves could react, the chill rapidly formed a thin layer of ice on their feet. This ice, like multiplying bacteria, froze their soles even faster and spread rapidly upwards along their knees.

Splash~ Splash~~

In a short while, nearly half of the dark elf soldiers were reduced to shattered ice fragments. The entire battlefield fell silent. The dark elves, who had been pointing their laser guns at the enemy, stared dumbfounded at the scene. Malekith, the king of the dark elves, was equally stunned.

Of course, the Dark Elf King was dumbfounded not only because one of his opponents had effortlessly wiped out nearly half of his subordinates, but also because he was horrified that he could no longer contact the Aether. As a former user of the Aether, logically, no one else could surpass his familiarity and control over it. This is evident in the movie's plot, where the Dark Elf King easily extracted the Aether that had merged with Jane.

However, being a user of the previous generation of Aether particles cannot mask the fact that he was utterly incompetent. That's right, just moments ago, during that torrential barrage of laser beams, Malekith, the Dark Elf King, began attempting to regain control of the Aether particles using the same secret techniques he had employed before…

However, the Aether ignored him, or rather, under the control of another, more powerful being who also possessed the Mind Staff, the Aether shamelessly chose to disregard its previous user's calls. Instead, it very ethically responded with a 'get out' message.

So, these Infinity Stones are really some very ethical GM items. Whoever uses them will have a great time, and whoever loses them will be unlucky.

However, the unfortunate Malekith was thus abandoned by the Aether. But he could not accept this reality. The humiliation of defeat and escape, the hatred of the destruction of his race and nation, the ambition to rebuild the Dark Elf Empire and plunge the universe into darkness for his permanent rule, all depended on one thing: reclaiming the Aether.

But now it seems that his daydream, which he has been pursuing for thousands of years, is on the verge of collapse.

"No, this is impossible!" Malekith roared, his face pale—well, already pale, now even more like a dead man's—"Why, why would the Aether recognize you..."

“Oh! I think it’s probably…” The 'Valkyrie' with dark golden eyes thought for a moment, then said seriously, “You’re a piece of trash! After all, the essence of the aether is to tamper with the rules of reality. The more tolerance a user has, the more real-world laws they can tamper with and override. However…”

"Enough! Kill them! The ether doesn't need to be intact; extract it from their corpses!" Malekith roared. The next moment, the loyal dark elf soldiers raised their guns again, aiming forward. At the same time, some dark elf soldiers threw grenades hanging from their waists. These were space bombs; once detonated, they would create a silver sphere of light, similar to a singularity. This sphere would rapidly shrink until it disappeared completely, generating a powerful gravitational pull that would draw in all matter within a certain radius.

In the movie, the corrupted dark elf soldier was unlucky enough to be tricked by Loki with an illusion, which allowed him to secretly activate the space bomb and be instantly killed. Incidentally, the illusion also sentimentally fooled the naive Thor…

However, judging from this, the corrupted dark elf soldiers in reality possess combat power comparable to planetary gods. Combined with their corrosive dark energy, they would be enough to overwhelm even planetary gods. A bomb that appears to be mass-producible, capable of instantly killing a planetary god, is actually quite a bargain.

However, things were different today. The space bombs did indeed explode. All three space bombs flew in an elegant parabola before exploding right in front of the two people opposite them... Then, a hand pressed down in mid-air, a flash of eerie blue light, and the space bombs became duds.

Immediately afterward, the hand that had extinguished the space bomb in mid-air made a sweeping motion with a finger from left to right, and a streak of azure light appeared in the air before vanishing. Then, the hissing sound of the laser beams completely disappeared, and the remaining dark elves were sliced ​​in half at the waist by invisible blades, falling to the ground amidst splattering blood, except for Malekith, the Dark Elf King, who remained standing unharmed.

"So, this is the difference between us!" He withdrew his outstretched hand, his dark golden eyes filled with mockery and disdain as he looked at the Dark Elf King who had once competed with the previous Asgardian God-King. "Without the Aether, you are merely a planetary god, and the weakest of them all, ill-suited for combat. Moreover, when you use the Aether, you cannot fully withstand its backlash, completely unable to unleash its true power. I am different; I can withstand the backlash of the Aether..."

"No matter how you put it, the truth is you're just a complete weakling!"

“I don’t think it should be described as so tragic…” Another blue-eyed ‘Valkyrie’ added cruelly with a smile that could heal the soul, “In fact, this… King of the Lost Dogs, although he holds the title of a planetary god, in reality he might not even be able to defeat a demigod in Asgard. At least Siegfried and Beowulf would definitely not be able to defeat him.”

"No, no, it can't be..." Malekith trembled as he backed away little by little, completely unlike the villainous boss he was in the movies.

It's understandable, though. For the sake of entertainment and artistry, the movie plot had this character leading the last of the Dark Elves wreaking havoc on the Aesir's territory. But in this real-life scenario, is Asgard really considered the weaklings portrayed in the movies?! In reality, it was only because Asgard's defenses were complacent after their recent suppression of a rebellion, and because there hadn't been any invaders capable of threatening Asgard's homeland for millennia, leading to underestimation and carelessness, coupled with the element of surprise, that the Dark Elves were able to break in and wreak havoc.

"Impossible!" Malekith roared in despair. "How..."

But his words trailed off as a terrifying, ocean-like divine power reverberated through Asgard, instantly drawing the attention of the last three remaining. Ignoring the obstruction, at this moment, everyone could see the imposing figure of Odin, the Father of the Gods, riding his eight-legged steed Sleipnis, appearing at the highest level of Asgard, and witnessing him hurling Gungnir.

The golden spear pierced the sky, directly annihilating the main cannon attack that tore apart the dark elf warship. The energy torrent, powerful enough to flatten cities and rip apart continental shelves, was destroyed in the final blow, blasting through the only remaining warship of the dark elves after the fall of their kingdom, sending it hurtling into the vast cosmos.

However, Gungnir's power did not diminish in the slightest. Reflected in his dark golden eyes, which burned with the color of dusk, the famous divine spear plunged into the sea of ​​stars, carving out a safe tunnel through a large meteorite cluster. Finally, it pierced through a planet the size of the moon before exhausting all its power and disappearing.

After shooting down the Dark Elf's warship with Gungnir, Odin, riding on Sleipnis, waved his hand, and a stream of light appeared in his hand, and Gungnir returned to his grasp.

The unfortunate planet disintegrated into meteorites of varying sizes.

I'm updating twice a day, so I can't back down! Let's down this bowl of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), and whoever chickens out is a coward! KUMA~

247. Asgard (7)

Odin's intervention stunned everyone, from the dark elves and Asgardian soldiers fighting outside to the three men with ill intentions present. With a single strike, he annihilated the main cannon of a dark elf warship, blasted down a relic representing the dark elves' last glory, cleared a safe path for a meteor shower in outer space, and finally obliterated an unfortunate planet.

This time, Odin demonstrated the true meaning of power. No wonder that even without a GM like a universal god, the Heavenly Father, a VIP diamond player, could be so dominant among all races in the universe. Attacks that can easily pierce through a warship and blast through a planet are something no one could handle! He doesn't even need to engage in a warship duel; he can simply obliterate your planet with a single strike from across an area and be done with it.

At least for now, the Dark Elves' suicidal attack on Asgard—a slap in the face—can be considered over. No one believes these Dark Elves have any chance of survival. After Odin blasted down their last warship, they couldn't even leave Asgard. Awaiting them is a fierce and enraged encirclement by the Asgardian soldiers, and this time, as before, no prisoners will be taken. In other words, the Dark Elves can be declared utterly exterminated on this day.

However, whether the Dark Elf lives or dies has absolutely nothing to do with the two people here. In fact, rather than paying attention to this guy who was already eliminated but still wanted to turn things around with some kind of cheat, Shire and Loki, disguised as 'Valkyrie', were more focused on the power Odin had just displayed.

However, for Loki, Odin's revelation of his power truly shocked him, rendering his previous expectations of the Heavenly Father utterly futile. Odin was that terrifying, capable of easily defeating him and Thor combined countless times. At least for now, Loki seriously doubted whether all the planetary gods of Asgard combined could even fight Odin. After only a moment's thought, Loki came to a conclusion: No! The gap between the planetary gods and the Heavenly Father was too vast; even if all the planetary gods of Asgard were combined, they would absolutely be no match for the Heavenly Father.

"Are you confident?" Thinking of this, Loki asked Shire with a grim expression. His miscalculation of the Heavenly Father's strength was enough to affect his plans. After all, they were still planning to deal with another Heavenly Father, Surtr, who was far more powerful than Odin, who was already on the decline.

"Well, that's hard to say!" Charles withdrew his gaze and replied seriously, "Without the Aether Particle, even ten of me would be instantly killed. But with the Aether Particle and the Mind Scepter, it's not that I'm not capable of fighting the Father God. At least I'm confident that I won't be defeated."