Initially, Odin's mind hadn't quite caught up.
But soon, the overlord of the Nine Realms instantly saw through Emrys' little scheme!
Was this helping them?
No, this kid had a huge appetite; he wanted to annex all of Asgard! What was this about changing 'slave owners'? It sounded nice, but in reality, wasn't it just escaping the tiger's mouth only to fall into a pack of wolves?!
What good would it do the Asgardians?
"Ah, so this was your intention all along!"
Odin's robes rippled with his anger, and the entire temple surged with air currents. His single eye was full of fury as he stared, astonished and enraged, at the audacious young man before him.
"I considered you a friend; is this how you treat 'friends'?!"
"Great Odin, you don't need to be angry." Facing the furious Odin, Emrys remained very calm.
He retreated a few steps, and under that terrifying pressure, still spoke with ease.
"I said, this is just one method. If you are unwilling, we can also abide by our previous agreement."
"Do you think—I can still trust you?!"
From his throne as the God-King, the white-haired Odin's expression flickered, and a chilling murderous intent flashed in his sunken eye socket.
"After I die, how can I ensure—you won't do this?!"
Yes, how could he guarantee that this kid would still abide by the original agreement after his death?
With this kid's ambition, methods, and cunning, if he truly wanted to annex Asgard and turn its people into "slaves," who could stop him?
Would it be Thor?
Forget it. Odin knew his son's character perfectly well; Thor would probably be sold by this kid and still thank him for it!
Loki?
Even worse. He seemed to have a bit of cleverness, but in reality, he was not even as good as Thor; he'd be played so thoroughly that he'd tell them the color of his underwear in minutes!
Thinking this, it seemed that the vast Asgard had no one capable of taking on the heavy responsibility.
Odin felt a bit of despair.
"You might have misunderstood me a little." Emrys' eyes were clear and bright as he looked at the enraged Odin.
He said calmly.
"If I truly intended to do that, I wouldn't have told you the plan beforehand. Anyway, once you're dead, the remaining people will be mine to do with as I please, won't they?"
Odin felt a bit choked up, but he couldn't refute it.
It was truly like that. After he died, the entirety of Asgard would practically be this kid's plaything. His two sons were both more useless than the other!
"Tell me, what exactly do you mean?" Odin seemed to deflate, slumping into his chair.
Gone was the spirited aura of the God-King who once conquered the Nine Realms.
Whose fault was it that his sons were stupider than the last?
The four words "no successor" made Odin deeply realize that there were things in the world he was powerless to change.
If only one of those two was like Emrys, would he be in this state?!
"Actually, you don't need to be so resistant."
Seeing that Odin seemed to be softening, Emrys seized the opportunity to press harder, coaxing.
"Joining us is not a bad thing. Look, am I not also a subject of the Imperium of Man? The Imperium of Man is not like that thing, exploiting you without limits, treating you as poultry, and harvesting you regularly."
Odin frowned, feeling something was amiss, but couldn't quite pinpoint what the problem was.
"I only spoke in a metaphor just now," Emrys continued. "Think about it carefully: instead of being treated as caged poultry here, why not join the harmonious and loving embrace of the Imperium of Man?"
"The Imperium of Man—is it really that good?"
Odin was also a little swayed. From the previous war, he knew that the Imperium of Man was an extremely vast nation.
Its people worshipped the 'Emperor' as their deity.
And the authority of this deity was far greater than his. From the perspective of faith alone, how immense must the faith of trillions of beings be?
"Of course!"
Emrys praised without reservation.
"The Imperium of Man is the savior of humanity, both the dawn of the future and humanity's only God. Under its protection, the Imperium of Man has endured into the forty-second millennium. Without the Imperium of Man, there would be no humanity!"
"He healed the divisions and fragmentation of humanity since the Age of Darkness; he led the declining human race back to the glorious peak; she, in humanity's most critical and darkest hour, at her own cost, illuminated the dawn of the Imperium of Man!"
"Praise the Emperor!"
This barrage of information left Odin a bit dazed, but his inherent caution still made him somewhat suspicious.
He rebuked.
"Don't just tell me the good things and none of the bad—do you think you can hide your intentions from me?"
He wasn't an idiot!
From Emrys' repeated requests for troops, it seemed this so-called 'Imperium of Man' was also in a dire predicament, a deep water and fire situation!
Otherwise, why would they be fighting wars every day?
"There are disadvantages, of course." Emrys smiled, not at all worried, and said directly.
"You saw it last time; I'm not lying to you—wars of that magnitude are almost constantly happening in the Imperium of Man. We have many enemies, more than you can imagine, but even so, the Imperium of Man will not abandon any human. Our Imperium of Man is a territory forged in blood!"
"It sounds like I'd be better off agreeing with—them." Odin sneered.
That intensity of war could wipe out all of Asgard in one go, yet from Emrys' mouth, it was just an ordinary, everyday occurrence, showing that things weren't so good over there either.
"Yes, but we have dignity and freedom!"
Emrys smiled, looking at Odin, and said meaningfully.
"In the Imperium of Man, within the Imperium of Man's territory, humanity is supreme. We will not be kept as slaves by other entities."
Undeniably, the Imperium of Man's system was indeed backward.
But even the darkest Imperium of Man was a thousand times brighter than during the period of fragmentation, or regions under the control of chaos!
Despair was indeed the eternal keynote here.
But don't forget, even in this dark future, countless humans still transformed into the weakest sparks of fire to fight against this desperate future!
Courage was the anthem of future humanity, and their enduring hope!
Humanity, supreme!
This was also the principle and ideal that the Imperium of Man, a skeleton crushed by ten thousand years of suffering on the Golden Throne, had always upheld: Humanity endures, civilization endures, hope—endures!
Odin fell silent.
"Everywhere is hell," Emrys said frankly. "It just depends on how you choose: to become livestock to be harvested, or to rise up and fight under the banner of humanity!"
"Are—we human?"
Odin suddenly felt a little lost.
"Yes." Emrys nodded.
"From the purity of the skull, Asgardian are pure-blooded humans—even purer than me."
"That 'Imperium of Man' you speak of—can he really do it?" Odin took a deep breath, a little hesitant.
"Don't worry."
Emrys gave a mysterious smile.
"Besides the Imperium of Man, I can also bring you someone who perfectly fits the mindset of Asgardian warriors. I'm sure he will really like you.