Asat Pramad nodded, seemingly completely unsurprised by Hela’s skepticism.
“Of course, words alone are not enough,” he said.
“How about this?
As a token of sincerity for our first meeting, I’ll give you a gift.”
“A gift?”
Asat Pramad raised his right hand, palm facing upward, and a swirling mass of purple energy materialized in his palm.
The energy continuously condensed, compressed, and morphed in his hand, ultimately transforming into a pitch-black figure.
“What is this?” Hela stared at the pitch-black figure, her gaze filled with both curiosity and vigilance.
“Void Rangers,” Asat Pramad said.
“The basic combat units of the Antimatter Legion; you can think of it as the most basic soldier under my command.”
Under Asat Pramad’s enticement, Hela had just wavered slightly, and in response, Asat Pramad gained the corresponding Villain Points.
Therefore, to give Hela more bargaining chips, Asat Pramad exchanged for a Void Ranger, which was this one right here.
Although it was only a low-ranking Antimatter Legion soldier, its bizarre state of matter-antimatter particle balance and annihilation effect still caused Hela’s pupils to constrict slightly.
She could sense the terrifying power concealed within that pitch-black figure; without proper restraint, it would likely explode at any moment.
Using such a thing as a soldier was undoubtedly quite dangerous, but similarly, an army composed of such things would undoubtedly be quite powerful.
“How many of these things are there?” Hela asked.
“The quantity might exceed your imagination,” Asat Pramad’s tone was as relaxed as if he were giving away a box of pastries.
Although the Void Rangers Asat Pramad could currently exchange for with his Villain Points were limited, this didn’t prevent him from making grand promises to Hela.
After all, he transmigrated as Asat Pramad, not the Maker, so he had no way of crafting Void Rangers by hand and could only rely on the system for exchanges.
But now, with Asat Pramad’s involvement, as long as Hela and Odin broke ties completely, he would obtain a massive amount of Villain Points.
By then, just as he said now, the quantity would definitely exceed Hela’s imagination.
Hela looked the motionless pitch-black figure up and down, remaining silent for a good while.
Asat Pramad wasn’t in a rush either; he just stood quietly across from her, waiting for her decision.
“I need time to think,” Hela said.
“No matter how sweet your words sound, I won’t make any decisions based on just a single meeting.”
“Of course.”
Asat Pramad took a step back, adopting a standard farewell posture as he bowed slightly with his right hand pressed against his chest.
“I will visit again at an appropriate time.
Before that, you are free to ponder my proposal and verify whether what I said is true or false.”
He straightened up and turned to leave.
Asat Pramad’s figure began to blend into the shadows, just as naturally as when he had stepped out of them.
His white tailcoat gradually became transparent, and his purple hands and dice turned into specks of light that dissipated into the air.
In less than three seconds, Asat Pramad completely vanished from Hela’s sight.
Hela stood in place as Fenrir walked over to her, rubbed its massive head against her shoulder, and let out a puzzled low roar.
“I don’t know either,” Hela said softly, gazing in the direction where Asat Pramad had vanished, her green eyes reflecting the sky of Asgard.
“I don’t know what he is, where he comes from, or what his true purpose is.”
She tightened her fingers, her nails scraping subtle sounds against the surface of her armor.
“But there is one thing I am certain of.”
“What he talked about is precisely what I want!”
The wind on the plain began to blow once again, sweeping past the branches and leaves of the ancient trees and making a rustling sound.
Hela vaulted onto Fenrir’s back and patted the giant wolf’s neck.
“Let’s go, Fenrir.”
The giant wolf let out a low roar, its four paws exerting force, and its massive body bolted across the plain, galloping rapidly toward the direction of the golden palace.
Hela rode on the wolf’s back with her long hair fluttering in the wind.
Her expression returned to sternness, but deep within her eyes, a hint of a different light emerged.
That light looked like the first flicker of a flame reignited.
Meanwhile, on a cliff at the edge of the Asgard continent, Asat Pramad’s figure re-formed.
He stood at the edge of the precipice.
Beneath his feet was a bottomless abyss, at the bottom of which roared the eternal sound of waterfalls plunging into the void.
He watched Hela riding Fenrir as her figure gradually grew distant, the purple light on the dice slowly flowing.
“The fish has taken the bait,” he muttered to himself, his voice nearly inaudible amidst the roaring of the waterfall.
“No, I should say the wolf cub has taken the bait.”
Every word chosen, every shift in tone, and every subtle pause in the conversation just now were the result of his meticulous calculations.
Hela’s personality, situation, and psychological needs had been thoroughly analyzed by him long before he decided to manifest.
Revealing cooperation intentions too easily would disgust her; being too arrogant would make her disdainful.
One had to find a balance between understanding and guidance, strike the right note between resonance and distance, and make her feel that she was making an active choice rather than being persuaded.
And for someone from modern society who deeply understood human sophistication, this wasn’t all that difficult.
He withdrew his hand and looked toward the direction of the golden palace.
In that palace, the All-Father Odin probably didn’t know yet that his daughter had just encountered a Lord of Annihilation from another World, and that the Lord of Annihilation represented a power far beyond the recognition of the Nine Realms.
“The first step has been taken,” Asat Pramad said.
“Next, it’s time to get acquainted with this World.”
His figure once more melted into the shadows, disappearing at the edge of the Asgard cliff.
The roaring of the waterfall continued, covering all traces as if he had never appeared at all.
Meanwhile, within Asat Pramad’s consciousness, the system light screen quietly lit up.
[Villain Action Record: Successfully incited Hela’s ambition, planting the seeds of division within the Asgard royal family.
Action Nature: Manipulating human hearts.
Scope of Influence: Nine Realms-level.
Expected Long-term Consequences: Extremely severe.]
[Villain Points + 80,000]
Asat Pramad looked at the jumping numbers on the light screen; the crack-like symbol on the face of the dice seemed to become a bit clearer.
“Eighty thousand points,” he murmured inwardly.
“Not much, but as a flying start, it’s satisfying enough.”
He exited the system interface and refocused his attention on the land of Asgard.
This continent suspended deep within the Universe, these powerful beings who called themselves gods, and the layout of the Nine Realms—all of these were the chessboard and chess pieces he would utilize next.
And Hela was merely the first chess piece he had placed down.
The game had only just begun.
At the other end of Asgard’s vast continent, deep within the golden palace, the All-Father Odin sat upright upon his throne, his single eye reflecting the eternally burning torches in the hall.
He did not know of the conversation that had just taken place on the plain, nor that an entity not belonging to this Universe had set foot upon his territory, let alone that his proudest daughter was walking down a path he had tried his utmost to avoid.