Floating in the cold depths of space, Thanos watched the holographic projection of his Outriders completely swallowing the Asgardian squad on the planet below.
However, there was no joy on his face; instead, his expression turned grim.
These were merely ordinary Asgardian foot soldiers, yet their raw combat strength was roughly four or five times greater than that of a standard Outrider.
Before falling, each warrior had managed to take down a dozen of his beasts.
It seemed this war was going to be a much harder fought battle than he had originally anticipated.
Having gauged the baseline strength of the Asgardian military, he switched off the projection and resumed his training, gripping the Mind Stone tightly in his hand.
After more than a year of relentless practice, he had completely overcome the stone’s psychic backlash.
He could now wield its power without suffering any side effects.
He had to admit, as a mutant Eternal Titan, this body’s latent potential was simply absurd.
Aside from a relatively weaker Spirit stat, he had virtually no shortcomings.
This specific flaw was obvious enough in the Avengers movies.
In Infinity War, the original Thanos had actually been temporarily subdued by Mantis.
If Star-Lord hadn’t thrown that furious punch and knocked him awake, there probably wouldn’t have even been an Endgame.
But now, with the Mind Stone in his possession, his mental fortitude was growing at an explosive rate.
That glaring weakness was officially a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, down on the surface, Ebony Maw witnessed the Asgardians’ impressive strength and decided to personally join the fray.
His current telekinetic power was vastly superior to what he had displayed in the movies.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he split the earth wide open, instantly swallowing several resisting Asgardian warriors into a crushing abyss.
With his direct intervention, all resistance on the planet was swiftly eradicated.
Whether they were Asgardians or native Rhinocians, anyone who dared to fight back was slaughtered without mercy.
Once the bloodbath concluded, Maw ordered the fleet’s resource vessels to descend and begin strip-mining the planet.
Iron, copper, silver—they took it all.
If they were going to establish a long-term foothold in the Milky Way, hauling every single scrap of material from their home territories was completely unfeasible.
Harvesting local resources would drastically cut down their supply lines and logistical strain.
…
At the same time, near the center of the Milky Way, existed a miraculous landmass.
That’s right—a landmass, not a planet.
Driven by sheer extravagance and an arrogant need to flaunt their absolute supremacy, the Asgardians had long ago flattened an entire planet.
Using a seamless blend of hyper-advanced technology and ancient magic, they forged a massive, flat continent floating in the void.
This was the realm of Asgard. This story is hosted at g.com.
Covering roughly two hundred million square kilometers, Asgard was dominated by the gleaming golden spires of the royal capital, surrounded by eight lesser satellite cities.
These eight cities represented the other major races of the universe and served as living monuments to Odin’s monumental achievement of conquering the Nine Realms.
Right now, Odin was indulging in his daily royal pleasures within the grand palace.
He lounged casually on his throne, surrounded by a gaggle of stunningly beautiful attendants.
Some peeled exotic fruits for him, while others continuously topped off his golden goblet with fine wine.
Out on the floor, a troupe of dancers in revealing silks swayed gracefully to the music.
If the mood struck him, Odin wouldn’t hesitate to pull one of his attendants or dancers close to engage in more intimate entertainment.
Everyone present accepted this as entirely normal; in fact, many of the women actively vied for his attention.
After all, earning the All-Father’s favor was a massive point of pride.
And on the off chance one of them actually managed to get pregnant, her status would instantly skyrocket.
Unfortunately for them, bearing Odin’s child was nearly impossible.
Even if one managed the impossible, she’d have to survive long enough to actually enjoy her new status.
Queen Frigga, Odin’s legitimate wife, was no naive pushover—she was an incredibly powerful witch.
It was safe to say Odin was living at the absolute pinnacle of existence.
But to be fair, he had every right to be proud.
While Asgard had always been a major player in the galaxy, they hadn’t always ruled it.
When Odin first inherited the throne from his father, Asgard’s influence had actually been in sharp decline.
Humanity, the Dwarves of Nidavellir, the Dark Elves, and the Frost Giants were all formidable rivals.
It was Odin who had employed ruthless cunning to trick the Dwarves into forging weapons exclusively for Asgard for generations.
It was Odin who sealed away the ancient ancestors of humanity, banished the Dark Elves, and brutally subjugated the Frost Giants.
Through fire and deceit, he unified the Nine Realms, cementing Asgard as the undisputed overlord of the Milky Way.
Although the galaxy contained over two hundred billion stars, only a little over a hundred million could support life, and an even smaller fraction ever birthed intelligent civilizations.
Odin hadn’t even bothered keeping an exact count.
To him, primitive worlds and weaker planets weren’t worth any real attention.
Asgard simply swung by every few years to strip-mine their resources, knowing full well the natives lacked the strength to fight back.
If any civilization showed signs of advancing too quickly, Asgard immediately crushed them into the dirt.
Before Odin’s absolute rule, only nine major factions had successfully advanced into the cosmos to become interstellar powers.
That was the true origin of the title “Ruler of the Nine Realms.” By subjugating those nine factions, Odin had effectively conquered the entire galaxy.
Yet, even at the peak of his power, Odin was not entirely without his headaches.
Loki, whom he had raised strictly as a political hostage, had somehow uncovered the truth of his Frost Giant heritage and begun showing dangerous signs of treason.
Left with no other choice, Odin had used Thor as a proxy to blast Loki into a cosmic wormhole, permanently severing that loose end.
However, Loki’s banishment had stirred up the long-pacified Frost Giants.
King Laufey had been making some suspiciously bold moves recently.
Just as Odin was casually debating whether he should simply use the Bifrost to obliterate Jotunheim once and for all, an Asgardian warrior sprinted into the grand hall, looking completely frantic.
“All-Father!
We have an urgent report from the tribute collection fleet!”
Hearing this, Odin snapped out of his thoughts.
However, he maintained his lazy, relaxed posture, accepting another piece of peeled fruit from a beautiful attendant.
“What is it?” he asked casually.
Having ruled the galaxy for over a millennium, his long, comfortable life of absolute luxury had completely dulled his edge.
So, when he heard there was a ‘situation,’ his immediate assumption was that some pathetic group of primitives was acting up again.
Not that it mattered.
He had Thor to handle such trivialities, so he felt zero urgency.
Thinking of his eldest son, however, brought a weary sigh to his heart.
Thor’s combat prowess was undeniable, but the boy was a total meathead.
He hadn’t inherited a single ounce of Odin’s brilliant cunning.
The kneeling warrior naturally had no idea that the All-Father was currently lost in his own thoughts.
“Squad Thirty-Seven descended to Planet Lingxi for the annual tribute,” he reported anxiously, “but we have suddenly lost all contact with them!”
Odin looked completely unimpressed.
“It’s likely just another mutation among the natives—a few new super-powered primitives acting out,” he said dismissively.
“Send Thor to deal with it.”
To him, unless an emergency report came directly from Heimdall, it was a minor annoyance that had no business interrupting his entertainment.
Seeing the All-Father’s utter lack of concern, the warrior gave a helpless nod and prepared to retreat.
But right at that exact moment, a towering, two-meter-tall dark-skinned man with piercing, feline-like golden eyes strode briskly into the hall.
It was Heimdall, Guardian of the Bifrost, and Odin’s absolute most important set of eyes across the galaxy.