Chapter 75: Dammit, Switching Accounts for a Skyfather Host!
In truth, the war had only been going on for a few months, far from what could be called long and drawn-out.
But for Du Wa, the fact that a victor had yet to be decided after several months of fighting was unacceptable. If not for his goal of capturing more Frost Giants, he would never have let the war drag on like this.
After all, the main combatants were the God Race, not races like the Skrulls or the Kree with populations in the tens of billions. The God Races within the World Tree's domain were generally sparsely populated. Take the Asgardians, for example. Even if you added up all the garrisoned troops from every planet and all the ordinary people, what was the total population? A few tens of thousands? A hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand?
It was pathetically small.
If it weren't for their ability to wield divine power through their connection to the World Tree, the leadership of Skyfather-level powerhouses, and their extremely long lifespans—which grew even longer after some cultivation of divine power—a race with such a small population base would have easily been driven to extinction by one major event after another.
But even so, to be honest, these God Races were still a far cry from being "God Races" in the truest sense.
Even someone as strong as Odin, who had reached the pinnacle of the Skyfather level, had a lifespan of only a few million years. Compared to cosmic beings like Ego, the Grandmaster, or the Collector, whose lives spanned billions of years, it was hardly worth mentioning.
But it didn't matter. Du Wa wasn't picky. He warmly welcomed anyone who could be of use to him, anyone who could aid him on his path of Dimensional Ascension.
For instance, right now, he couldn't wait to get his hands on the Frost Giant captives.
"Welcome to Asgard, my brother."
Before Loki could speak, Thor's booming voice rang out as he strode forward, his face alight with excitement.
This made Loki curl his lip, sneering inwardly. Thor looked as if he were seeing his own father. When Odin was around, Thor had never been this affectionate with him.
"It's an honor to be here. The moment I set foot on this land, I feel my blood begin to boil."
Du Wa was surrounded by a large group of Xenomorphs, the Mjolnir in his hand particularly eye-catching. His very first words made Thor pause, unsure of what to say.
Thor's gaze unconsciously shifted to Mjolnir. It was only then that he suddenly remembered: theoretically, Du Wa was now also wielding his bloodline. Of course, it would feel like coming home.
The man before him had obtained his bloodline via a Xenomorph, acquired his hammer, and could now command such a massive army.
If it could truly end the war, then everything was worth it.
Loki watched Du Wa with a displeased expression, his eyes quickly scanning the Xenomorphs behind him. The more he looked, the more his heart pounded with terror.
Their sheer numbers were one thing. Many in this army were the lowest-ranking Xenomorphs that moved on all fours, and this batch was, on the whole, inferior in quality to the previous ten-thousand-strong Xenomorph force. Many of those had been bred using vampires as hosts, each one a formidable individual nearly three meters tall and capable of walking upright.
What truly made Loki dread them was the group of Xenomorphs standing directly behind Du Wa. Every single one of them radiated a dangerous aura.
Yes, a group. Seeing so many of them, Loki was cursing wildly in his mind.
He wouldn't even mention the hosts Reynolds and Lady Deathstrike. There was also an Abomination Xenomorph, a Speed Xenomorph, an Ajak Xenomorph, a Gilgamesh Xenomorph, a Thena Xenomorph, a Sprite Xenomorph, and a group of Mutant Xenomorphs.
There were also about a dozen Deviant Xenomorphs, all powerfully built, having clearly absorbed a rich supply of nutrients. They were far, far stronger than they had been in their initial adult stage.
But what truly drew the eye was a group of Xenomorphs that were completely identical, down to the most minute movement.
There weren't too many of them, about forty in total, but any single one of them exuded an extremely dangerous aura that was impossible to ignore.
Even in Asgard, each one would undoubtedly be a battle-hardened super-soldier. While they might not reach the level of the Warriors Three, they wouldn't be far off.
And there were over forty such Xenomorphs.
Loki was completely numb.
He remembered clearly that not long ago, when Thor had just been exiled to Earth, he had made a special trip there. The Xenomorph army he saw then had nowhere near this many formidable individuals.
How much time had passed? Why had so many appeared, and in such great numbers?
Loki put himself in Du Wa's shoes. If he were Du Wa, he would definitely not bring his entire military force to the battlefield at once. At the very least, he'd leave a contingent to guard his home base. Therefore, he predicted that even more powerful Xenomorphs might appear in the future.
Just think about it. Dozens of formidable beings who could almost rival the Warriors Three—what did that even mean?
What if their numbers grew even larger?
One of the Warriors Three could easily take down two or three of these powerful Xenomorphs, but what about four or five? Victory would not come easily. What about seven or eight? Perhaps it would be an even match, but one misstep and the odds of survival would be slim.
"This guy's growth rate is just too fast, it's unbelievable. How on earth did he do it...? The Xenomorphs at the very front can be explained by the Eternals and Deviants, but how were those identical ones behind them created?"
Loki couldn't figure it out at all. Those Dracula Xenomorphs were completely identical, even their auras were the same.
This was simply outrageous. There were so many of them, and their individual strength was absurdly high. Where did they come from? And the hosts? Who were the hosts?
Of course, the other Asgardians present also began to notice what Loki had. They started whispering among themselves, discussing the origins of these Dracula Xenomorphs, but none of them asked Du Wa.
If this were the past, given the blunt nature of the Asgardians, they would have asked without a second thought upon meeting Du Wa. But things were different now.
Judged by Asgardian culture, Du Wa, who could field an army of tens of thousands, was not just their brother or friend. Right now, Du Wa was the king of a mighty faction.
Moreover, he was the king of a warrior race that stood with Asgard, ready to fight and die for them. They had to show a high degree of respect and reverence for such a king; they certainly couldn't be as casual as they once were.
"These Xenomorphs are also vampires? Oh, you mean the Blood Xenomorphs you mentioned, the absolute core of your army... I can vaguely sense a similar aura from them, yet it's also completely different."
Thor observed the group of Dracula Xenomorphs with great surprise. Of all the Asgardians, he had delved deepest into the study of the Xenomorph language. He spent his days with the creatures, striving to understand everything about them, including the meaning behind all their words and actions.
The moment he saw these Dracula Xenomorphs, he felt an immediate affinity, but also a surge of confusion.
"I always thought the vampires of Midgard were a relatively weak race, but I never imagined they had so many powerful individuals among them. I have once again made the mistake of being arrogant and conceited," Thor immediately began to critique himself.
"It's not what you think, although the result is more or less the same..." Du Wa thought for a moment and offered a casual reassurance.
It made sense. In effect, it was as if dozens of Draculas had suddenly appeared on Earth, with more to come in the future. Anyone would be stunned.
Of course, if you picked any one of these Xenomorphs to fight the real Dracula one-on-one, it would be blasted to smithereens in minutes.
These Xenomorphs did not possess Dracula's immortal body.
"Regarding the war's progress, both sides are currently in a truce because Dormammu invaded Midgard and was subsequently repelled by you." Loki gripped the Eternal Spear tightly, fantasizing countless times about whether he could pierce this guy if he struck him hard with it now. But his words were humble. "The problem now is that we need to formulate a new battle plan."
"My plan is to attack Jotunheim directly. We have the Rainbow Bridge, which they do not. Why not give up the fight over the border planets and lead the grand army to fight on Jotunheim's home turf?" Du Wa said.
"Excellent. This is the result I was hoping for. I'm glad we are in agreement on the battle plan," Loki said.
Du Wa glanced at the guy. Sure, but it was useless if just the two of them formulated the plan. Odin was probably watching everything that was happening here from somewhere. If he intervened to stop the war from escalating fully, that would be troublesome.
He had no idea what Odin was thinking.
Du Wa, on the other hand, was an agent of chaos. To put it bluntly, even if countless planets in the Nine Realms were smashed to pieces, it wouldn't stop him from capturing a large number of Frost Giants as hosts.
Right now, the only thing Du Wa coveted was Laufey's body.
"Odin can still act at least one more time..." Du Wa suppressed this thought.
Before long, all of Asgard began to mobilize for war.
The resentment from being relentlessly attacked on the battlefield by Jotunheim for so long erupted with tenfold, a hundredfold the force. Every Asgardian's heart was filled with fury. They were the proud and confident Asgardians, especially now that they stood alongside the Xenomorphs.
But before taking action, Du Wa first went to the dungeon where the captives were held.
"So many Frost Giants. This is wonderful."
Without any hesitation, Du Wa immediately began the process of parasitism on these Frost Giants.
Amidst the furious roars and curses of the Frost Giants, their only fate was to be subjected to a chestburster.
During the process, some Frost Giants of course tried to beg for mercy, but that was of little use against Du Wa. He had no need for surrendering divine beings; he only needed their flesh and bloodlines, nothing more.
Soon, more than six hundred peculiar, pale-blue Xenomorphs appeared before Du Wa. Their average height was nearly four meters, and the strongly corrosive blood within them had been replaced with Frost Blood that brewed a terrifying chill, a clear inheritance of the Frost Giant's racial genes.
This reminded Du Wa of the Ice Xenomorph from the Alien comics, whose blood was a super-low-temperature liquid nitrogen.
"Genes alone aren't enough. Let me see how well you can channel the divine power of the World Tree..."
Du Wa immediately perceived the state of these Xenomorphs. As expected, having perfectly fused with and inherited the most superior Frost Giant bloodline, the ability of the Frost Giants to connect with the World Tree had also been obtained by Du Wa.
The greatest characteristic of the World Tree Divine Race was using their bloodline as the core of their inheritance to connect to the World Tree, thus achieving generational succession.
Otherwise, why was it that only these God Races were born with the qualification to cultivate the World Tree's divine power, while ordinary humans on Earth were not? Unless one could lift Mjolnir or use a divine artifact, it was primarily because of the bloodline.
The bloodline of the God Race was bound to the World Tree.
But how was Du Wa supposed to find the physical entity of the World Tree?
"I remember Rune King Thor hung himself from a branch of the World Tree for seven days and seven nights, obtaining immense divine power transmitted from it and advancing to a single-universe-level powerhouse."
Du Wa stroked his chin.
Thor was of a proper and pure lineage. In some universes, he was even the offspring of Odin and Gaea, one of the four second-generation gods.
But these six hundred Frost Giant Xenomorphs before him couldn't compare to Thor. Leaving aside their origins and bloodline level, the most fundamental issue was that these six hundred Xenomorphs were ultimately imitators and thieves of a native God Race, not the God Race itself.
"I wonder if the World Tree of this universe has an ancient god hiding behind the scenes, looking down upon its changes from on high... Perhaps Dormammu would know. When he brazenly intruded into the World Tree's domain, he must have sensed something with his strength."
Du Wa looked at these several hundred Xenomorphs, who could wield some divine power in battle, and pondered. If he relied on these Xenomorphs to cultivate diligently and continuously temper their divine power, there was no telling how long it would take for them to reach the level of their original hosts.
Divine power was a means to expand one's own strength, with genes and bloodlines as the entry threshold, but it wasn't something that could be directly inherited and transferred like genes.
But it was fine. Du Wa just needed to find a backup plan. It was only at this moment that he had finally grasped the two paths of magic and divine power.
As for finding the World Tree's physical form, and whether he would send these six hundred Xenomorphs to swarm and gnaw on it, or even, in the future when he was strong enough, make a bargain directly with the numerous ancient gods who may or may not exist—just like Rune King Thor did, paying a price to receive a greater infusion of divine power—that would be Du Wa's personal choice.
"Let's go."
Du Wa walked out of the underground prison with the six hundred Frost Giant Xenomorphs and said softly.
Just that one sentence sent countless Asgardians into a frenzied roar. At a glance, it was as if Du Wa were the king of Asgard.
This made Loki's face turn pale with anger. He truly wanted to ally with Laufey and kill Du Wa first, but the thought that Odin was not yet dead made him deflate again.
Before Dormammu's attack on Earth, Loki might have held onto a sliver of hope that the slumbering Odin was unaware of his actions. But when he saw that even Dormammu had been repelled and Odin still showed no signs of waking, he immediately knew that Odin was, in fact, already awake.
As an old god-king with millions of years of combat experience, who was extremely proud and conceited, how could he possibly be unaware of an invader at the single-universe-level like Dormammu?
No movement was the biggest movement. It meant he was already awake and had probably made the worst-case preparations to face Dormammu at any moment.
Moreover, from Asgard's standpoint, Jotunheim was the enemy, and Laufey was the enemy's leader, not Midgard or Du Wa.
Heimdall opened the Rainbow Bridge, continuously teleporting the massive army directly to Jotunheim.
The forces of Jotunheim naturally reacted quickly, with numerous Frost Giants grabbing their weapons to prepare for battle.
They were old rivals of the Asgardians and knew all too well how disgusting a weapon the Rainbow Bridge was. In their perception, there was probably no place in the entire Nine Realms that the Rainbow Bridge couldn't reach.
But they soon discovered that the numbers of the Asgardian expeditionary force were not right. The Asgardians themselves were one thing; a full-scale deployment probably meant they were launching a surprise attack.
But why were there so many Xenomorphs, an absurdly large number!
Laufey showed no sign of surprise at this. He knew this moment would come.
Ever since he learned that the person on Midgard who was likely the Xenomorph master had joined forces with the Sorcerer Supreme to successfully repel Dormammu, his heart had sunk to the bottom. He knew the war would not end.
Would a person who brazenly issued announcements to the entire universe tolerate an endless war between two of the Nine Realms? Would he allow the Xenomorphs sent to the battlefield to die continuously, eventually perishing alongside the Asgardians?
The Xenomorph master would come knocking sooner or later. It seemed that day was today.
What Laufey didn't understand, however, was why the imposing, powerfully built man surging with golden might was standing behind another Midgardian.
"Loki, my offspring, you have truly given me a great gift. This is a most unusual move. Our original plan wasn't this, and you gave me no prior notice."
Laufey's mind raced. His azure eyes swept fiercely across the opposing side, lingering for a moment on Du Wa before finally settling on Loki.
This pair of father and son, each with their own ulterior motives, had minds full of insidious thoughts.
This caused some agitation among the Asgardians.
Offspring? Their new God-King, Loki Odinson, was Laufey's son? How was that possible?
"Plans change. React too slowly, and reality will mercilessly leave you behind. Wouldn't you agree?"
Loki raised the Eternal Spear, pointing it at Laufey from a distance, his expression uncertain.
"I can see that a group that should not have been involved has been dragged into the battle between our two worlds. But I think you'd better have done what you promised me," Laufey sneered.
If he could incite a civil war among these Asgardians with just a few words, it would be perfect.
What, Loki's life might be in danger? If he died, he died. Only those who survived the chaos were valuable partners. The dead were utterly worthless.
As expected, some Asgardians couldn't hold back.
"Loki, what is going on? You've been in contact with him all along? Is what he says true, are you his son? But why? King Odin clearly..." Sif's face was filled with fury.
Every single straightforward Asgardian was in disbelief.
They felt a sense of betrayal, and from their own king no less. Even though many of them didn't particularly like Loki—his penchant for conspiracies and tricks didn't fit the Asgardian aesthetic.
But it didn't matter. Since Loki was king, they were willing to obey.
But what was this? It was as if they were on a hunt, on the verge of success, when their own hunt leader suddenly jumped over to the prey's side and excitedly announced that he was on the same faction as the prey.
"Loki..." Even Thor looked bewildered. He had wanted to laugh out loud at Laufey for using such a low-level provocation, but seeing that Loki's expression was extremely off, his heart skipped a beat.
Thor was getting better at using his brain now. He had already realized what was happening.
Du Wa spoke up: "If I were you, I wouldn't care about these minor details. Why don't you think about it? Could Odin be unaware of Loki's origins? Even if Loki really is a Frost Giant, Odin himself doesn't care, so what are you all getting worked up about? Or do you think you are greater than Odin, that your will is above his?"
What he said was right. They were not stronger than Odin, nor were they in the role of Loki's father who had raised him from childhood. They had no need to do anything extra beyond what Odin had already approved.
"To be honest, you're less of an eyesore than ever before. At least you're no longer so detestable," Loki said, looking at Du Wa with a complex expression.
He never expected that, in a situation where he was being questioned by everyone, the one who stood up to speak for him would be the person he detested the most, Du Wa.
Du Wa met his gaze with a sincere expression. "If you truly feel my sincerity, then why not offer up your body as well and contribute to my divine power force?"
You son of a bitch.
Loki felt that the flicker of remorse and guilt that had just risen within him had been fed to a Flerken.
Everyone heard the conversation between the two and confirmed that Loki's true identity was, in fact, a Frost Giant.
Loki stopped pretending. The color of his body began to change, and even the divine power he wielded now carried a frosty chill, causing the Asgardians around him to back away hastily, eyeing him with wary vigilance.
"A Frost Giant, he's really a Frost Giant!"
"We actually chose a Frost Giant to be our king of Asgard! I can't accept this!"
"No, we can't think like that. Since King Odin approved of him while he was alive, what reason do we have not to? At least he's a competent king, isn't he?"
"We should have chosen Thor to be king! If not for Thor, and relying solely on Loki, it would have been impossible to maintain the war at this level. We might have already suffered successive defeats and had the Frost Giants invade the royal palace of Asgard."
Loki wouldn't have cared about the other words, but all the Asgardians would internally compare the two sons of Odin, Thor and Loki.
It was now confirmed: Loki was adopted, which meant Thor was the rightful king.
This completely shattered Loki's defenses. He had worked so diligently, yet he was still no match for a mortal Thor?
Even Odin hadn't openly disdained his origins, so what right did these bastards have?
Loki sneered, a fierce light glinting in his eyes, and his resolve hardened.
If he was going to be king, he would be a thorough one. In any case, no matter what he did, Odin was still alive, and Thor was still alive. Asgard wouldn't fall to ruin.
Only he himself would ultimately be a homeless tragedy, lacking any identity recognition.
The war began.
There were no flashy things like dense bombardments of energy cannons or missile carpets. The two sides engaged in a large-scale charge, like ancient human armies, but the intensity far surpassed an ordinary person's imagination.
Of course, this was just the fighting style of the common grunts. Those of a slightly higher caliber were already using personal high-tech weapons, divine power, and magic.
The most excited of all was Reynolds. He howled wildly, transforming into a golden light and rampaging across the battlefield. Even powerful Frost Giants couldn't break his skin; they could only be shattered on impact.
The other powerful Xenomorphs also made their moves. The Speed Xenomorph played a significant role. Relying on its incredible speed, it was everywhere on the battlefield, intentionally avoiding Frost Giants who had mastered large amounts of divine power and magic, and concentrating on using its immense speed to hunt down the mid-to-lower-tier Frost Giants.
For the Speed Xenomorph, every passing second was enough to throw hundreds or thousands of punches. If this Xenomorph was determined to play it safe, only fighting favorable battles and steamrolling weaker opponents, it proved that many Frost Giants were helpless against it.
Should they use large-scale magic for area denial? But that would mean killing a large number of their own Frost Giants as well, and the situation hadn't deteriorated to that point.
Laufey slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield, once again astonished by the power displayed by the Xenomorphs.
The King of the Frost Giants was also puzzled. How much time had passed? Why had so many powerful Xenomorphs appeared again?
As he pondered, Lady Deathstrike had already charged forward, brandishing her claws. More than a dozen Dracula Xenomorphs precisely surrounded him, launching a coordinated attack.
"Pathetic. You think trash like you dares to strike at me, a king? Have your king come himself!"
Laufey snorted coldly, ignoring Lady Deathstrike. It was the large group of Dracula Xenomorphs that made him look twice.
He couldn't help it. Even the king of a world had never seen such identical creatures. He had no idea what was going on with their hosts. Were they identical too? It couldn't be a single, eternally living host that had incubated so many highly similar things with identical auras.
But it didn't matter. He just had to kill them all.
Without even blinking, Laufey faced the Adamantium claws about to pierce his skull. He opened his mouth and blew, creating a fierce cold stream that froze Lady Deathstrike's body solid.
With his other hand, he swung a giant sword with an absurdly high frequency, blowing up the heads of more than ten Xenomorphs in an instant.
But these Dracula Xenomorphs weren't completely dead. Even without heads, they were still rapidly regenerating.
"This blood of yours is useless against me." Laufey was splashed by the Xenomorph blood but remained completely unharmed.
*CRACK!*
Lady Deathstrike violently broke free from the thick ice encasing her, only to be met by a heavy, impatient blow from Laufey.
With one downward slash of the sword, a piercing metallic screech rang out.
Laufey's expression froze. He had failed to slice Lady Deathstrike in two. A giant sword was stuck in her shoulder.
It had only managed to cleave through half her shoulder before being stopped by bone.
"What is this metal skeleton? I've never seen it before." Laufey was clearly curious about this Adamantium alloy, born on Earth in the last century.
He was even more surprised by the woman before him, who had replaced her own skeleton with this metal.
Don't think that Lady Deathstrike nearly having her shoulder chopped off was something shameful. Don't forget, the one attacking her was Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants, a veteran Skyfather-level powerhouse!
Although he couldn't compare to strong Skyfathers like Odin or Surtur, Laufey's strength was still respectable within the Skyfather sequence. Otherwise, he wouldn't harbor the ambition to conquer Asgard and, like Odin of old, the Nine Realms.
What surprised Laufey even more was his keen perception that the severed bone of this Midgardian woman was slowly regenerating, although this rate was far slower than her flesh's regeneration.
But considering the ridiculous strength of the Adamantium skeleton, it meant that no matter where you put Lady Deathstrike, she would be a subordinate that everyone would favor and be satisfied with.
For example, right now, she could actually go head-to-head with a veteran Skyfather and survive a few rounds without dying. Lady Deathstrike might not be able to defeat a Skyfather, but she wouldn't be easily killed by one either. That was truly remarkable.
At this moment, Reynolds flew over as a golden light, knocking away dozens of Frost Giants, and sent Laufey flying hundreds of meters with a vicious punch. He then casually picked up the giant sword from Lady Deathstrike's body.
"Hmm, can't use it. Looks like it's a weapon made of Uru, driven by divine power. It's not much use in my hands."
Reynolds had also crammed some knowledge before coming. He now looked at the weapon with regret; even the strongly corrosive blood within Lady Deathstrike couldn't damage its structure.
He immediately dropped the weapon and turned to excitedly chase after Laufey.
A series of heavy punches rained down on Laufey. The Abomination Xenomorph and Gilgamesh Xenomorph followed close behind, both using their powerful physiques to swing arms that seemed capable of lifting a mountain, crashing them down on Laufey's body. But it was obvious that this wasn't even enough to break through Laufey's defense.
Instead, Laufey casually grabbed the Gilgamesh Xenomorph and crushed it, leaving it deader than dead.
"Too weak. Especially you. I remember you're the guy who teamed up with the Sorcerer Supreme to repel Dormammu, right? Why do you only have this much strength?"
Laufey had been extremely nervous at first, cautiously maintaining a defensive posture. But when Reynolds' combo punches had no real effect whatsoever, it left Laufey shocked and confused.
This was the mighty warrior who beat Dormammu?
Even if he was just assisting the Sorcerer Supreme, he shouldn't be at this level. Moreover, it wasn't just assistance. Laufey had sensed from afar that the person who delivered the final blow, forcing Dormammu to retreat, was precisely this shining golden man.
But why? Why was the disparity so huge?
Was he trying to say he had become incredibly strong overnight, strong enough to challenge Dormammu single-handedly?
Laufey was greatly perplexed and even suspected it was a conspiracy devised by Loki, but he quickly confirmed it wasn't, which in turn bred a sense of shame.
"Loki, give me the Casket of Ancient Winters!" Laufey sent Reynolds staggering with a slap.
The golden energy protecting Reynolds was almost dispersed, and the entire world of Jotunheim seemed to tremble for a moment.
This sent a deep chill through Reynolds. His intuition told him that if he continued to clash head-on with this giant, he would die a miserable death.
Instantly, Reynolds whipped around to face Du Wa, his gaze filled with hope, frantically signaling for Du Wa to get in the game.
But Du Wa didn't do so immediately. Instead, he turned to Loki.
"As we discussed, it's your turn now. If you show any weakness, I'll take you down along with them."
(end of chapter)