I really didn't want to burn it.

Whose goddess is such a glutton?

Anyway, Li Ang believed that anyone could be involved in conspiracies and tricks, but the possibility of Thor, that simpleton, being involved was zero.

Mash muttered, "So, once we enter Asgard, we need to keep an eye on everyone who jumped ship during Thor's reign?"

"Hmm... more or less."

In fact, Li Ang already had someone in mind.

This person wasn't someone Loki suggested, but rather someone Li Ang deduced from the words of the Valkyrie Gershkogur.

Loki has been away from Asgard for too long and is far less aware of the current state of the kingdom than the Valkyries.

Although the Valkyries don't have a high status, they still know who is in charge and who makes the decisions.

Skadi, Leon's wife, is currently Asgardritor's second-in-command.

"What should I do if it really is Skadi?"

Li Ang rubbed his temples in frustration, his face full of helplessness and hesitation.

Ritsuka and Mashu noticed that Leon was in a bad mood, so they didn't press him for details. The three of them continued walking through the snow.

For the rest of the monotonous journey, the three of them silently crossed the canyon outside the village, with tall pine trees covered in snow on both sides.

Perhaps because the environment was too quiet, none of the three spoke, and all they could hear was the howling of the cold wind.

It wasn't until the three of them left the canyon that Ritsuka, feeling exhausted, begged Li Ang for help.

"If this is how we're going to get to Asgard, I hope we can take a break for now."

Ritsuka leaned against a tree, panting as she spoke.

[Gudako who hasn't explored North America on foot is such a loser.]

"Shut up."

Li Ang flicked the pop-up window away with his finger.

He glanced at the sky, then walked over and squatted down in front of Ritsuka.

"Hey?"

Ritsuka was startled by Li Ang's actions.

"This... let's skip it..."

Li Ang said, "Come on up. We must get to the lake before noon. It's too dangerous to travel by boat at night."

"Um... well... thank you for the treat."

Ritsuka shyly climbed onto Li Ang's back.

Although she was hesitant at first, when Ritsuka leaned over Li Ang's back, she naturally wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Then, I'll have to trouble Mr. Li Ang."

"OK, Li Ang's No. 11 bus has departed."

With a joking tone, Li Ang carried Ritsuka on his back and headed towards the lake along the snow-covered path.

"Okay! Let's go, let's go!"

Ritsuka, feeling playful, squeezed Li Ang's waist with her legs.

"Hey, hey, don't move around."

Li Ang gave a wry smile.

"Don't worry, I'm very well-behaved."

Ritsuka peeked slightly from Li Ang's back, looking at the road ahead. But just as she said, after making that gesture, she didn't move again.

"With his whole body pressed against her back, he must be able to feel his senior's body curves... They have such a good relationship, don't you think? Fufu."

Mashu, watching the two laughing figures from behind, curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

"Fufu!"

Fou froze completely, swearing she had definitely heard it—the sound of Mashu cracking the shield handle.

Chapter 256 A Mouth That Has Been Blessed

After Li Ang carried Ritsuka across the snowfield, they were blocked by a frozen lake.

The lake is larger than one can imagine; one cannot see the other side at a glance.

If Ritsuka hadn't known beforehand that it was a lake, she would have mistaken it for a coastline.

“It’s so quiet.”

Ritsuka rested her chin on Li Ang's shoulder, gazing at the boundless frozen lake with a sigh.

"Shall we go boating? The whole lake is frozen over."

Li Ang wasn't worried at all: "It's alright, we can put runes on the boat and oars later and then we should be able to row."

“The problem is, do we even have a boat and oars?” Mash retorted.

“No problem, Loki said they’ve prepared something for us at the dock.”

"That dock?"

Ritsuka leaned against Li Ang's back, her hand resting on her right side. There, a lonely dock stood.

"Where... is the ship?"

Mashu felt that the god of deception was playing tricks on her.

"It must have been hidden using rune magic."

As Li Ang said this, he carried Ritsuka on his back and headed towards the dock.

However, he was wrong.

This lonely dock really has nothing but the dock itself.

No matter what method Li Ang used to search, he could not find the ship that Loki had mentioned.

"This is troublesome," Li Ang said, rubbing his chin in frustration. "What are we going to do without a boat?"

Asgard and Midgard are separated by magic, and can only be reached by a few paths.

The most commonly used bridge is the Rainbow Bridge, but Heimdall, the gatekeeper of Asgard, watches over it all day long.

Without knowing the other party's stance, Li Ang didn't want to be discovered.

After Loki and Jersikkörgul's conversation, Leon suspected that a major upheaval had occurred in Asgard, and it was likely completely different from the divine realm he was familiar with.

"It's really troublesome."

Li Ang kept poking at the frozen lake surface with a tree branch, seemingly trying to break the ice.

“How about we try walking across the lake?” Mash suggested. “The lake looks pretty solidly frozen.”

"What if the ice in the middle is too thin? Should we just go into the water and feed the goldfish?"

Li Ang's lips twitched; he thought of the Tongtian River in Journey to the West.

Mashu smiled and said in a cute way, "How about you freeze the lake water again with ice?"

"What if this road is very long? Are you trying to exhaust me to death?"

Li Ang said coldly.

Although he has regained some of his magic, he is still far from being at his peak.

Walking across the icy lake in this state, where the conditions were unknown, made Li Ang feel uneasy.

Mashu put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "Then what do we do? Just stand here and watch? Or go back and settle scores with some bastard god who tricked us?"

"Walk back? Forget it."

Ritsuka got off Li Ang and squatted on the snow, complaining, "We finally made it this far, and now we have to walk back? My legs are going to break."

"Senior, you've only gone halfway."

Mashu said with a look of disdain.

Li Ang glanced at Little Eggplant: "You're a bit irritable today."

"It's all because of that damned god!"

As Mashu said this, her gaze remained fixed on Leon.

Li Ang didn't mind Mashu's little temper; every girl has her restless days. Although Mashu was a cyborg who had been forced to mature, her current body was undoubtedly that of a teenage girl, so it wasn't strange that she would have relatives visiting her regularly.

As an elder, Li Ang felt he should be tolerant.

He squatted on the ice of the lake, observing the ice layer, which seemed to be of unknown thickness, as if he were calculating the freezing situation of the lake water, or perhaps observing the topography of the lake bottom.

"It would be nice if a Nordic father and son rowing a boat passed by."

Li Ang stood up and complained.

[The God of War and his illiterate old father?]

The system immediately became interested; once the topic of complaining came up, it was wide awake.

[It's a pity you just came from Atreus's house, otherwise you could have borrowed his father's twin blades to play with~ Hahaha~]

Although it was just text, Li Ang felt as if he heard an unpleasant laugh.

"Shut up."

"Hey, that's not our shouting."

Ritsuka said with an innocent look on her face.

"Ok?"

Li Ang realized that he wasn't hallucinating; there really was something making a horrible roar.

thump!

thump!

Five monsters covered in black fur, walking upright on two legs, with long faces and mouths full of sharp teeth appeared on the snowfield.

Sensing the monsters' hostility, Mash immediately pointed her shield at them.

"They...look just like the ones from legends..."

"Werewolf."

Li Ang said coldly, taking out the longbow he had asked Loki for from his waist with one hand and drawing an arrow from his quiver with the other.

"Mash, you're up ahead."

Li Ang issued the battle order.

"Ready."

As Mashu answered, Leon nocked an arrow into his bow.

Seeing Li Ang preparing to shoot an arrow, the werewolves roared and charged forward, attacking them in a swarm formation.

Without hesitation, Li Ang shot an arrow through the head of the werewolf leader.

thump.

The werewolf fell to the ground as easily as it had appeared.

"Drink!"

Mashu ran toward the monsters with her shield raised, leaping over the corpse of the dead leader werewolf and knocking one away with a single blow.

Then, Mashu made a stylish turn and slammed the head of another werewolf that was approaching her into the snow.

Li Ang fired another arrow, eliminating the werewolf who was about to ambush Mash.

Boom!

Mashu eliminated the last remaining werewolf with a precise shield spin slash.