Odin nodded, then looked toward his two daughters.
Mavuika had already gripped the sun-blaze thousand suns, the flame runes on the blade lighting up one by one, while Hela shouldered mjolnir, as Death Divine Power burned around her like emerald-green flames.
"Father, we are going with you." Mavuika's voice was calm, but her eyes were filled with worry. "The soldiers need healing, and the defensive line needs to be stabilized."
"I'm going to smash Laufey's bones with my own hands." Hela grinned; it was the excited smile of a Hunter who had finally spotted her prey. "They've been holding back for a year, and now they've delivered themselves right to us."
Odin took a deep breath, and the Eternal Spear gungnir appeared in his hand, thunder beginning to gather at its tip. "Then, let the Nine Realms remember today, let them remember how Asgard responds to aggression!"
He strode out of the hall, his voice resounding like war drums. "Order the entire army! The Valkyrie Legion and the Death Guard shall be the vanguard; follow me into battle!"
Mavuika and Hela followed closely behind.
As she stepped out of the hall, Mavuika looked back. Queen Frigga stood at the boundary of light and shadow, holding Thor. The Queen nodded slightly to her, her eyes filled with worry, but even more so with trust.
"Sister, hurry up!" Hela urged from the end of the corridor, the head of mjolnir already beginning to release arcs of electricity involuntarily.
Mavuika tightened her grip on the sun-blaze thousand suns; a warm pulse came from the hilt, as if responding to her determination.
She turned, her long golden hair whipping up in the corridor as her pace quickened from a fast walk to a run.
Outside the Golden Palace, the alarm bells rang through the clouds.
Warships rose from the harbor, and warriors assembled in the square. Within ten minutes, all of Asgard switched from celebration mode to a state of war.
In the direction of the Bifrost Bridge, ice-blue light could be faintly seen colliding with golden divine power. The sound of explosions was barely audible even from across the realm.
Odin boarded the bow of the main warship, with Mavuika and Hela standing on either side.
The God-King raised the Eternal Spear high, and thunder tore through the sky.
The fleet, like a swarm of golden meteors, streaked across the night sky toward the battlefield. Behind them, atop the highest tower of the Golden Palace, the newborn Prince Thor seemed to sense something and suddenly burst into tears. His cries, like faint thunder, echoed within the Protective Array.
War had never truly been far away.
Above the battlefield of the Bifrost Bridge Fortress, the Asgardian fleet blanketed the sky like a golden cloud of vengeance.
When the iconic Eternal Spear gungnir at the bow of the main ship reflected the cold light of the sun, the Frost Giants still fiercely attacking the fortress's defensive line all paled.
"Retreat!" the leading Frost Giant general hissed and roared, his voice a mix of resentment and terror.
He saw clearly that although Heimdall was covered in blood and wavering, he still stood like an immortal statue rooted to the base of the Bifrost Bridge. Every swing of the greatsword in his hand claimed the lives of several giants.
Even more terrifying was the golden barrier shrouding the fortress. It was the final line of defense Heimdall had constructed by having his own divine power resonate with the Bifrost Bridge. Though riddled with cracks, it had stubbornly withstood the Frost Giants' assault.
Their original plan was a lightning raid to destroy the Bifrost Bridge hub during the window when the Queen was giving birth and the garrison was relaxed, cutting off Asgard's ability to rapidly deploy troops regardless of spatial distance.
For this, Laufey had even used a treasured Space Rift Scroll, a relic left over from ancient times that could briefly open a passage between Jotunheim and Asgard.
But they had still underestimated Heimdall's tenacity. The surrounding garrison had been routed, yet Heimdall had actually managed to hold back the Frost Giant raid squad single-handedly.
"Cough, cough..." Heimdall coughed up a mouthful of blood flecked with ice crystals, an unyielding fire Burning in his golden eyes.
He gripped his sword with both hands, and the blade lit up with a blinding radiance.
Then, with a single swing, the sword light poured out like a golden waterfall, cutting three Frost Giants in half just as they were about to jump into the Space Rift.
But more giants had already leapt into the shrinking blue fissures. Through the other side of the rifts, the icy barrens of Jotunheim were faintly visible.
"Stop them!" Heimdall roared to the remaining guards, while he himself charged toward the largest rift, which the Frost Giant leader was about to step into.
"Heimdall, your tenacity is admirable." The Frost Giant leader turned, his Ice Battle-axe erupting with a bone-chilling blue light.
"But it ends here!"
Axe and sword collided, ice and golden light exploding outwards.
Heimdall was already exhausted; the Impact sent him stumbling back three steps until he fell to one knee.
The Frost Giant leader sneered, about to deliver the finishing blow—
From the heavens, a gold-and-red meteor tore through the clouds, trailing a hundred-meter-long tail of fire as it crashed down with the force of a falling star!
"Boom!!"
The point of Impact was precisely between Laugson and Heimdall.
The Impact kicked up a ten-meter-high wave of ice and rubble, and the scorching air instantly Vaporize all the frost within a thirty-meter radius.
The Frost Giant leader was blown away, his Ice Battle-axe flying from his hand, while a gentle fire barrier rose in front of Heimdall, blocking all the Impact.
As the dust settled, Mavuika slowly stood up from her kneeling position.
The sun-blaze thousand suns was thrust into the ground beside her, the blade buried half a foot deep, with the surrounding ice and snow Melt into steam at a visible rate.
Her pale golden hair fluttered in the heat wave, her amber eyes scanning the battlefield before finally landing on Heimdall.
"Sorry, we're late." Mavuika stepped beside the Guardian, her left hand supporting his staggering form.
"Are you alright, Heimdall?"
Heimdall felt that pure Fire of Life dispel the cold poison within him, and his pale complexion eased slightly. "You arrived just in time, Your Highness Mavuika, but... most of them escaped."
"Whoosh—"
Another figure landed, even more violent than Mavuika's descent.
Hela's feet shattered the ground as she landed, mjolnir shouldered, the emerald-green death aura swirling around the hammer head dimming the surrounding light.
She glanced at the Frost Giant corpses scattered across the ground and the closing Space Rifts, her brow furrowed.
"These Ice Blocks sure run fast," Hela spat, her gaze following the backs of the last few giants leaping into the rifts.
"They don't even have the courage for a head-on fight; do they even deserve to be called warriors?"
She looked up at the sky.
Odin's main ship now hovered directly above the fortress. The God-King stood at the bow, overlooking the mess of a battlefield below.
The base of the Bifrost Bridge had multiple points of damage. The corpses of guards were mixed with the remains of giants, and the melting ice and snow merged with blood to form pale red streams.
Although the fortress had not fallen, the humiliation of being attacked on their own doorstep caused every wrinkle on Odin's face to be etched with thunderous fury.
"What now, Father?" Hela asked loudly, her voice echoing across the empty battlefield. "We've been attacked at our doorstep; we certainly can't just let it go, right?"
All the surviving guards, the warriors who had just landed, and the soldiers on the ships—everyone's eyes were focused on Odin.
The God-King remained silent for three seconds.