As he sat down, the Eternal Spear was placed beside him, leaning obliquely against the edge of the table, and the golden light on the shaft flowed faintly, like some kind of slowly beating pulse.
“Everyone.” Odin spoke, his voice tinged with fatigue, but retaining its majesty, “Thank you for your timely aid.
Asgard will remember the kindness of the Nine Realms Allied Forces.”
Laufey let out a low chuckle, his laughter carrying a certain indescribable irony: “There is no need to mention kindness, Odin.
We certainly didn’t come for the sake of your kindness.”
The Fire Giant immediately chimed in, his voice as coarse as flowing magma: “That madwoman Hela almost wiped out Muspelheim’s army.
Do you think we are here to help you?
We are here to protect ourselves!”
Eitri was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice low and steady: “Those black monsters under Hela—what are those things?
Odin, do you recognize them?”
This question made the atmosphere in the council chamber suddenly turn heavy.
Everyone was looking at Odin, and even the Sorcerer Supreme, who had been resting with eyes closed all along, slightly opened her eyes.
Odin fell silent for a few breaths, then shook his head.
“I do not know.” He said, his voice calm, “Those black soldiers do not belong to the Nine Realms, nor to any civilization known to me.
Where Hela got them from, and how she drives them, I do not know.”
A low murmur of discussion sounded in the council chamber.
Laufey’s brow furrowed even tighter: “You don’t know?
She is your daughter!
She holds an army in her hands that even the Nine Realms Allied Forces could barely stop, and you’re telling me you don’t know where she got them from?”
The Fire Giant continued closely: “The ones we destroyed were just the ones she brought out.
If she has more hidden elsewhere—if they aren’t sealed away, the borders of all our races will face a huge threat!”
The spear-wielding warrior from Wakanda spoke from the corner, his voice thick and steady, carrying a calm befitting his physique: “If the number of those black soldiers really exceeds three thousand, and if there are more such beings waiting outside the Nine Realms, then that is not a threat that any single one of us can handle alone.”
The trident warrior of Atlantis nodded slightly, showing agreement.
The Sorcerer Supreme was suspended mid-air.
She had not spoken until now, but at this moment her voice came from above, calm and clear: “I tested those black soldiers with spatial magic during that battle.
Their composition involves an energy equilibrium state I have never seen before, with matter and antimatter being forcibly constrained within a stable structure.
This technology—pardon my frankness, Your Majesty Odin—cannot be found with any relevant records even in your millennia of ruling the Nine Realms.
They definitely come from outside the Nine Realms.”
Odin’s single eye narrowed slightly.
The words of the Sorcerer Supreme confirmed his most worried suspicion.
When he previously declared those black monsters as “Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons”, part of it was based on a ruler’s prudence.
Now, after confirmation by the Sorcerer Supreme, that suspicion was basically verified.
“They indeed come from outside the Nine Realms.” Odin slowly spoke, his voice carrying a heavy weight.
“The person behind Hela—or those existences—comes from a broader stellar region outside the Nine Realms.
They master technology and power completely unknown to us, and have already extended their tentacles into the Nine Realms, toward Asgard.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over every face present one by one.
“In tonight’s battle, everyone witnessed firsthand the power of those black soldiers.
They are only the first batch, merely the vanguard.
Although Hela has been exiled, the manipulator behind them has not yet appeared.
That existence—whom I temporarily call the Demon Lord from Beyond—is still lurking in the darkness outside the Nine Realms.”
The Fire Giant King’s crimson-gold pupils violently flickered: “You mean, the ones that came tonight…
are just an advance party?”
“Highly likely.” Odin said.
The council chamber fell into a brief silence.
Laufey’s ice-blue pupils flickered with some complex thoughts.
His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the stone chair, making a slight clicking sound.
His silence lasted for a long time, so long that the surrounding air seemed to freeze into ice.
“…You are right.” He finally spoke, his voice much lower than before, “If there are more of that kind of black soldier behind, and even stronger existences, then this threat is indeed worth us dealing with it jointly.”
The Fire Giant let out a heavy snort, and magma-hot steam spewed from his nostrils: “Jointly?
We just suffered heavy losses to help you, and you want us to continue joining hands?
Odin, what are you plotting?”
Odin turned to look at the Fire Giant King, his single eye showing no intention of dodging: “I am plotting to save the Nine Realms.
I am well aware of the rift between Muspelheim and my Asgard, but at this moment, those rifts can be put aside for now.”
He paused, then continued: “You have seen the strength of those black soldiers.
Do you think your respective magic defenses can block them?
Do you think your respective divine barriers can stop them?
If the Demon Lord from Beyond leads an army in person—who do you think will hold out longer?”
The Fire Giant’s mouth opened, as if wanting to refute, but in the end he said nothing.
Because what Odin said was the truth.
In tonight’s battle, the Void Rangers, with a mere three thousand in number, turned the Nine Realms Allied Forces upside down.
If the so-called Demon Lord from Beyond had thirty thousand, three hundred thousand, or even three million such soldiers in his hands…
the entire Nine Realms combined wouldn’t be enough for them to fight.
“So.” Eitri finally spoke, his voice carrying a metallic texture, like an iron block just off the forging table, “We have to find a way to counter them.”
“We need intelligence.” The representative of the Vanir followed closely, her voice gentle yet powerful.
“About the intelligence of the Demon Lord from Beyond, about the origins, weaknesses, and numbers of those black soldiers—any information is fine.
Right now we don’t even know who the enemy is.”
Odin nodded slightly, a gleam of approval flashing in his single eye: “I have already arranged this.
Starting today, Asgard will send more scouts to the stellar regions outside the Nine Realms to gather intelligence, while strengthening the defense forces of the Bifrost Bridge.”
“We will establish a Nine Realms joint intelligence-sharing mechanism—any party that obtains intelligence regarding the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons must notify all other parties at the first instance.
At the same time, all parties should also strengthen their own defenses, especially in the border areas.”