Su Ming looked down, beneath the opening formed by the World Tree, and now, besides mist, nothing else could be seen.
Not only was there mist formed by ice, but also some smoke caused by yesterday's burning, like a well stuffed full of white cotton.
The wind stirred by the horse he rode, fluttering these cotton-like strands, causing them to tremble slightly.
A wide and steep ice staircase spirals around the World Tree itself, reaching into the clouds, extending downward.
Neither the Hydra nor the Frost Giants can fly, but Zemo surprisingly devised a method to create stairs from ice, and after a while, they would melt away, completely annihilating any traces.
By this time, the staircase had already started dripping, under the sunlight, it shone with a rainbow-like light, quite some time had passed.
Su Ming knew some information about what lies at the root of the World Tree.
The three Goddesses of Destiny were there, by the Spring of Wisdom, spinning the thread.
Despite the fact they technically belong to the Olympian Pantheon, they adore the tranquility surrounding the World Tree and its close connection to the world.
The golden thread of destiny flows from the void, through their hands, tidily integrating into the Spring of Wisdom.
Time brings the accumulation of wisdom to man, and equally, it carries man away from the world.
This is the essence of destiny, coming from the world, returning to the world, a cycle.
Mimir's Spring, the legendary spring, also known as the Spring of Wisdom, appeared like a pond not quite clean.
At times debris floats above, other times it is overgrown with lotus flowers or duckweed.
Anyone, just a sip, and they can gain endless wisdom.
However, a price must be paid, whether it is strength or wisdom, nothing can be gained freely.
Even Odin paid with an eye, and the weight of knowledge ensured there was no more smile on his face from then on.
Moreover, beneath the World Tree exists a not-so-small cavity, it hosts Asgard's highest security prison, capable of confining beings of Celestial Father Level prowess and equipped with a self-sustaining system.
The so-called self-sustaining system is a gigantic poisonous snake; it devours the roots of the World Tree continuously, spitting a special venom onto the prisoner's face, which is their only food and drink.
Overall, being imprisoned here is a fate worse than death, though the venom is not lethal, it is very nourishing, yet no matter who drinks it, it feels like their insides are burning, the pain is unbearable.
In the entire history of the comics, only Loki has experienced this situation; ordinary criminals are detained beneath the Golden Palace.
Besides this, there is nothing else of value at the root of the World Tree.
The flowers and grass there are beautiful, the small animals are peculiar, but Su Ming felt Zemo was not one who fancies these things.
Perhaps some branches that fall off the World Tree can be picked up to craft some magic equipment, but the value is not very substantial.
If Zemo went to the trouble of bringing a group to the World Tree's root just to catch butterflies, then Su Ming would be utterly impressed, and no matter what Zemo does in the future, Su Ming would not interfere.
Today he could bring Hydra and the Frost Giants to catch butterflies, tomorrow he could bring the human army to catch crickets, what's there to worry about?
If it is truly that level, nothing major could be stirred up.
"Guard the surroundings, I'm going down to take a look."
The impersonated Odin instructed the surrounding soldiers to maintain vigil for possible unexpected events, then he himself rode his horse downwards directly.
Traveling through the mist felt strange, no one could say how tall this tree actually was, on the journey almost nothing else could be seen, only a field of whiteness.
The numbers on the monocle fluctuated consistently, various values and indicators rapidly fluctuated, except the altitude column, which displayed an error.
Diving into the cloud, don't know how long had passed, before the green ground suddenly appeared in front, the Celestial Horse abruptly braked, narrowly avoiding a crash.
This time the ground had completely transformed, not only the grassland around the tree roots was trampled messily by various footprints, even the three Goddesses of Destiny looked as if they had been violated, their hair disheveled, leaning against the tree.
Su Ming patted the neck of the Celestial Horse, indicating it should graze by itself, while he strode towards the three witnesses.
The golden thread on the ground had been crumpled into a mass, broken into several pieces in the middle, and the three Goddesses sat in a trance, gazing skyward, at the thick cloud layer.
"Cough! Still alive?"
Su Ming thrust the long spear into the soil, black dirt was unearthed, blades of grass slightly bent.
The youngest of the three Goddesses, a young lady, lifted her head, giving him a glance.
"Outsider, you've arrived late, the straight line of fate has been severed."
Though he still looked like Odin, the Goddess of Destiny recognized him at once; this was interesting.
But the Line of Destiny breaks as it does, for Su Ming was fundamentally not of this world, destiny could not lay plans for him.
However, observing the three's ashen faces, it seemed some big incident had occurred, out of humanitarian concern, a question must be asked.
"What's happening?"
"The Frost Giants and human army attacked us."
The middle-aged amongst the three women answered, her floral crown had fallen to the ground, petals scattered everywhere.
"What did they do? Besides cutting the Line of Destiny."
"A human wearing a purple hood... he... he violated me."
The oldest old woman among them trembled with tears in her eyes, slumped pitifully by the tree roots.
She appeared like a lump of mud, or a pile of broken flesh, despair poured from her eyes.
"Cough... what?"
Su Ming almost choked on his own saliva.
Zemo humiliated her?
Among the three Goddesses of Destiny, there was a lovely little girl and a voluptuous matron, yet Zemo chose the old woman with a skeleton-like frame and a face like old orange peel?
That's quite a heavy taste.
Looking more closely at the old woman's appearance... Su Ming couldn't help but retch.
He suddenly didn't want to hear the details anymore, and his evaluation of Zemo rose to the level of a lunatic.
But the old woman wouldn't let him off, she added a remark.
"Come closer, see the atrocities he committed against me."
"No, I won't look."
Seeing the old woman tearing at the light gauze on her chest, as if she was planning to show him proof, Su Ming shook his head like a rattle drum.
He only had one eye left, still useful to him, what if he saw something too stimulating and got it burned out?
But the old woman merely exposed her neck, showing him the bluish handprints on it.
"He strangled my neck, saying he wanted to seize the throat of fate, sob sob sob..."
Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief, so it was just this.
It gave him a fright; he thought it was something else.
These goddesses are really inexperienced, isn't strangling someone's neck common in battles?
Nonetheless, there was a bit of information.
From the bluish handprints, it seems that Little Zemo is not even one meter seventy tall, and his hands are almost child-sized.
But from the handprints, he can strangle someone's neck and lift them with one hand, which suggests he might have undergone some potion or mechanical modification.
The Frost Giants' footprints are dense yet not chaotic, indicating Zemo has strong control over them, likely offering them substantial benefits.
The Three Goddesses of Destiny, though shocked, were essentially unharmed, only their lines of destiny were severed.
Zemo specifically came here to sever the lines of destiny to prevent a certain event from happening in the future, an event unknown to Su Ming.
Lastly, Little Zemo is a fan of Beethoven, while many in the NAZI actually prefer the Blue Danube, being fans of Little Strauss.
Su Ming's gaze turned to the nearby pond, where the lotus flowers were blooming, and a small golden boat was moving without wind.
"Did he drink the water?"
The matron went to comfort the old woman, advising her not to cry, while the young lady stood up leaning against the big tree, brushing off her clothes, and answered Su Ming's question.
"He did, scooped up a handful with both hands, and poured it into his mouth."
"What price did he give?"
The young lady pointed to the water, answering in a trembling voice.
"You can see for yourself."
Su Ming looked carefully into the murky water, and at the bottom of the shallow pond, there lay a complete face...
Upon hearing that Zemo drank the Wisdom Spring Water, Su Ming casually reconnected the lines of destiny for them, retying the broken points and handing the lines back to them, suggesting they continue playing.
He, however, needed to hurry back to the Golden Palace, as he might have guessed a bit of Zemo's intent.
The kid set his sights on the runes.
Now with the Wisdom Spring Water, he has gained the ability to comprehend all runes.
The process of Odin discovering the runes can be found in any Nordic myth collection, it's practically a beginner's guide to becoming a deity.
Zemo has a multitude of subordinates and Frost Giant allies, and even if only to temporarily appease them, Su Ming guessed he would choose a benefit with a broader reach.
Gaining wisdom doesn't directly translate to combat power.
Zemo's familiarity with Asgard might not be as extensive as Su Ming's, after learning the runes, he would naturally need to update his intelligence.
The library, which holds a wealth of information, is located within the Golden Palace.
Su Ming bet that Zemo would go there.
Moreover, he was quite curious about how Little Zemo could move around Asgard so silently and stealthily.
Upon returning to the Golden Palace, the guards at the door indicated that there hadn't been any disturbances.
Neither the corridors nor the rooms he passed through had any abnormal scents.
Yes, Su Ming was reminded by Brynhild, relying on his strangulation sense of smell to locate the Frost Giants.
Those guys live in icy environments, their original weapons are made from local iron stone pillars, they can't even start a fire, let alone bathe.
With a few hundred years of accumulated body odor, an ordinary person would likely faint just from the smell.
But strangulation hadn't provided any hints, not to mention the stench of the Frost Giants, even the smell of Zemo and Hydra soldiers hadn't been detected.
This was peculiar, just now at the World Tree, there were hundreds of footprints of different sizes and shapes on the ground, meaning Zemo had been moving with a large entourage the whole time.
Su Ming made a quick turn and went to find Heimdall in the medical room first.