Odin, as usual, gave the warriors a brief rallying speech.
Very brief, and without much passion.
It wasn't that he didn't value the war, but Asgard, though long without a large-scale battle, had small skirmishes almost daily.
Conflict was constant in the Nine Realms, except for Midgard, Jotunheim, and Nidavellir.
The rest of the Nine Realms were almost always at war.
Asgard's warriors lacked no combat experience, but Odin himself was the one who took this battle most seriously.
He hadn't fought personally in far too long.
Especially since the opponent in this battle was his younger son.
The adopted child he didn't like but still cared for deeply!
At this thought, Odin mounted Sleipnir and flew into the flagship reserved for him and the legion commanders.
Asgard wasn't purely a martial civilization; their technology was equally advanced, especially in the application of rune magic and light-energy technology, which were among the best in the universe.
After all, no other empire followed the same technological path.
Entering the flagship, Odin stepped into the command room and looked through the viewport at the vast fleet ahead.
Asgard's small fighter crafts typically required only two to seven operators.
Each group of three fighter crafts formed a combat unit, paired with at least one Berserker to ensure ground combat strength.
Imagine: over two hundred thousand Asgardian warriors, excluding the flagship's support personnel, meant countless fighter crafts and medium-sized warships were patrolling Asgard's skies.
The sight was breathtaking.
Just then, Sif, standing not far from Odin, saluted and asked softly,
"Your Majesty, why isn't Thor participating in the battle? He…"
"He's in Midgard. He'll arrive with us shortly!"
"Yes."
Sif's face lit up with a hint of a smile, and her youthful innocence at just over sixteen hundred years old, full of anticipation and shyness for love, brought a rare smile to Odin's face.
With that smile, he gently raised Gungnir.
In the next instant, endless rainbow-colored light erupted like a river, swiftly engulfing the entire fleet.
Meanwhile, in Midgard, at Heisenberg's nightclub in New York.
Thor was boasting to his gang members while enjoying kisses from a young admirer!
Of course, Thor wasn't the initiator; he loved Jane Foster.
But the admirer took the initiative, and Thor, though uninterested, had no right to stop her, right?
But in that moment, Thor suddenly sensed a familiar power.
The next second, he pushed the admirer away and was instantly enveloped by the descending rainbow light, vanishing at high speed.
Only a circular, scorched mark remained on the nightclub floor.
Staring at the mark, the surrounding crowd suddenly snapped awake.
They looked at each other, almost in unison gasping in disbelief.
"I only just realized I've been drinking with a god for two days!"
"I kissed a god! Ahhh, so thrilling!"
"We've actually chatted with a god!"
"Wait, this god isn't even as strong as our boss!"
"So working for our boss means we're basically warriors of a god?"
"Hahaha, I like that title! To the god's warriors, cheers!"
"Cheers!!!"
The atmosphere in the nightclub instantly heated up, the noisy voices merging into a roar that even Heisenberg in the New York temple couldn't help but notice.
Listening to his subordinates' cheers, Heisenberg turned to the projection created by the Ancient One.
On the projection, opposite Loki's Chitauri fleet near the Moon,
a golden, extravagantly flashy Asgardian fleet suddenly appeared!
Seeing this, Heisenberg muttered,
"Odin takes Thanos's forces seriously. Thor's been recalled. I hope the guy still has the heart to wield his hammer with that extra imprint!"
"Wait, is that really the Asgardian fleet? It's unbelievable!"
Hill responded absentmindedly, sounding like a disengaged straight man.
Because right now, all she wanted was to leave and focus on dealing with the Chitauri invasion.
She could already imagine the chaos Earth's nations would be in!
But the more anxious she became, the more her casual questions annoyed Heisenberg.
Heisenberg frowned, giving Hill and Natasha a deep look.
"Asgard possesses highly advanced large-scale spatial teleportation technology. How could a civilization millions of years old not have an interstellar fleet?
Clearly, your mind isn't in this room right now.
You're desperate to do something about the war, but you don't realize that nothing you do will affect its outcome.
So, since you're powerless against these alien invaders, why not calm down, listen quietly, and patiently watch this war that surpasses Earth by at least a thousand years?"
As he finished speaking, Hill realized her casual attitude wouldn't work in this conversation.
Because neither Heisenberg nor the Ancient One intended to let the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. leave!
But that didn't mean she'd accept her fate. She looked seriously at Heisenberg and said,
"I'm sorry, I was foolish. But my heart can't stay here.
The alien fleet is just beyond Earth, and the fate of all humanity hangs in the balance. Whether or not I can fight back, I must return to my post. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs me!"
"But the real issue is, no one needs your damn S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
Heisenberg ruthlessly interrupted Hill, pointing to Odin's flagship in the projection and continuing,
"That's Odin's flagship. As the current King of Asgard, Odin has protected the Nine Realms—including Earth—for over five thousand years.
Before humans even existed, Odin's ancestors, like him now, maintained rule over the Nine Realms and repelled invaders.
So you must admit, in this war, your arrogance and pride are utterly useless.
Yes, you're the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Even after Hydra split from you, S.H.I.E.L.D. remains among the top three non-state armed groups on Earth.
But let me give you a reality check, Hill: you can't contribute anything to this war!"
As he spoke, Heisenberg raised his right hand.
In an instant, a bottle of opened bourbon appeared—his favorite drink.
Why bourbon? Because before his transmigration, he loved the John Wick series starring Keanu Reeves.
And John Wick's favorite drink was bourbon.
Taking the drink, Heisenberg smiled and exchanged a glance with the Ancient One, then pointed to Wanda and Pietro.
"The kids should have something to drink too."
"Hmm."
The Ancient One nodded, and instantly, two bottles of Wahaha appeared in the children's hands…
Unable to read, Wanda and Pietro naturally couldn't understand the Chinese characters on their drinks.
But they were very familiar with straws.
After a brief moment of excitement, the two children obediently sipped their Wahaha.
The scene… was oddly harmonious.
Even Heisenberg smiled.
After smiling enough, he pointed to the projection again and said to Hill,
"I'm telling you clearly, Hill, you and S.H.I.E.L.D. must join my team.
Don't think I'm being overbearing. Offering you this chance is the greatest mercy I can show.
If you ask why, look at the Chitauri fleet in the stars!
Relying solely on Earth, you'd need until 2120 just to support humanity's first steps off this planet.
By the time you could sustain a fleet of this scale, it would be another hundred, or even several hundred years!
And now, do you realize the opportunity I'm giving you by bringing you here?"
Heisenberg paused, finishing the bourbon in one gulp.
Then, he smiled mysteriously at Natasha and Hill.
"Look around you, friends. This is the Ancient One's temple, a guardian organization over two thousand years old!
It's an ancient Earth protector capable of rivaling Asgard, even wresting Midgard's autonomy from Odin!
It's an ancient sanctuary that divides responsibilities with Asgard: Asgard handles threats from the Nine Realms, while the Ancient One's temple deals with dimensional demons!
Within this temple, countless dimensional demons have met their end!
And such an ancient, noble organization offers you a chance to see and accept reality!
Yet you only want to return to your own turf, contact your equally backward and weak kin, and experience the tragic heroism of futile resistance and sacrifice?"
"I…"
"Shut your mouth, Director of so-called S.H.I.E.L.D. While you claim to protect Earth, you can't protect anything!
Even now, you don't understand why this war started, do you?
Or maybe you've thought of it but refuse to admit it!
So let me tell you, great Director!
The Tesseract is the Space Stone, something you've learned from Captain America and Iron Man from the future.
Your research and exploitation of the Space Stone broadcast its signal across the universe!
Activating the Space Stone's power on Earth means Earth is ready for war—you've declared war on the entire universe!
Tsk tsk, this is S.H.I.E.L.D.? Playing with the most precious treasure in the universe before even leaving Earth.
You lack ability but have enormous audacity. I'm impressed!"
At this, Heisenberg sneered coldly, his expression making Hill and Natasha even more embarrassed.
If they'd known the Tesseract could bring such consequences, they would never have touched that damn hot potato!
But isn't that humanity's nature? Until they truly feel pain, they remain stubborn, obstinate, confident, and unstoppable—never turning back until they hit a wall.
Even now, Hill hadn't decided to bring S.H.I.E.L.D. into the Justice League.
Though worried and hesitant, she still wanted to preserve S.H.I.E.L.D.'s independence and autonomy.
It seemed freedom and independence were humanity's most cherished values!
But in today's human society, where was any true freedom or independence left?
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