"All-Father… Muspelheim…"
After a long silence, Heimdall regained his senses, his golden eyes sweeping over the millions of Fire Demons dead and wounded in the destroyed royal court, especially that hemispherical abyss, his words filled with hesitation.
Since the war with the Dark Elves, this was probably the most brutal war.
The Fire Demons' King died without a burial place, and the Fire Demons and Fire Demon Dragons suffered heavy losses.
It was too brutal.
The Fire Demons were on the verge of extinction.
"Until tomorrow, Aaron is not an Asgardian, right?" Odin collected himself and pondered for a moment.
"Announce everything that happened here to the Nine Realms."
Odin spoke expressionlessly, "Because Surtur unilaterally broke the agreement, the great son of Bor, Vice-Regent of Asgard, Storm Dominator, Fire Controller, Space Ripper, Ice Wielder, Monitor of All Things, Celestial, Destroyer of Muspelheim, and King of the Crystal Palace Pantheon, Aaron, returned the Eternal Flame to its rightful owner and slaughtered Eternal Surtur in the royal court."
Thor listened, his blood boiling. What kind of glory was this?
So many noble and powerful titles gathered in one person...
Without a doubt, Aaron was the greatest existence after Odin.
That was Surtur at his peak, surrounded by countless Fire Demons and Fire Demon Dragons.
But Aaron merely, in the time it took for a casual chat, powerfully slew him.
Such a great feat was worthy of being sung for ten thousand years.
He could already imagine the stories that bards would spread in various banquets and taverns in the future.
Thor was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. But he understood that this was Aaron's deserved glory.
If he himself had gone, he would not have had the slightest confidence to defeat that Eternal Surtur who could casually sever mountains and rivers and whose roar could shake the sky.
But this did not prevent Thor from taking pride in Aaron.
After all, Aaron was his uncle.
Father, I'm sorry, but in the future, the person I admire most might be Aaron.
Thor joyfully told his companions everything that had happened in Muspelheim.
He also intended to go to the tavern to let everyone know about Aaron's great feat.
This was not comparable to Volstagg killing a few beasts or Fandral fighting a dozen enemies from Nornheim alone.
The various young misses and noble ladies would probably be sleepless tonight.
Heimdall was responsible for delivering the announcement to Nidavellir, Alfheim, Nornheim, and other places.
Of course, there was also one of the most important places, Jotunheim, and its Frost Giant King, Laufey.
Loki, upon hearing this, took it upon himself to handle the matter, deciding to go in person.
After all, that was his true father, even though Loki did not acknowledge him and even wanted to eliminate him for the greater good to prove his love for Asgard.
Loki made a projection and went to Jotunheim alone.
This was a celebration related to his uncle Aaron, so he naturally had to handle it perfectly.
Originally, Laufey was not impressed by Loki's arrival. Even though he knew Loki was a Frost Giant, and his own abandoned child at that, he still did not consider him one of his own.
"If you are here to invite me to some ridiculous God feast, then you can get lost. I will absolutely not go to Asgard."
"Not even if it kills you?" Loki smiled confidently.
Laufey immediately laughed upon hearing this. "Look around, this is Jotunheim."
Loki raised his head proudly. "Is that so? But in my uncle's eyes, you are nothing but a bunch of dry bones in a tomb."
"Loki! You are too presumptuous! You think you are Odin…"
Just as Laufey was about to say something, Loki raised his hand and cast a projection magic.
Surtur's terrifying gigantic figure instantly attracted the attention of all the Frost Giants, especially Laufey.
Seeing Surtur in this state, Laufey immediately became surprised and uncertain.
"Surtur's Eternal Flame…"
"Yes, my uncle returned the Eternal Flame to Surtur, this is Asgard's sincerity." Loki smiled.
Laufey's expression tightened as he watched Aaron press a flame onto Surtur's face in the projection, his eyelids twitching slightly.
You call this sincerity? Whose sincerity is directly smeared on the face?
Laufey didn't expose Loki's lie, at least Surtur regaining his power was true.
He had to admit, even with the Casket of Ancient Winters, he would struggle against Eternal Surtur.
He was not the progenitor of the Frost Giants, his bloodline was incomplete, and his gigantification ability alone was far inferior to Surtur's.
Moreover, he could not absorb the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters to strengthen himself, being a level below Surtur.
"You Asgardians are suicidal, daring to give the Eternal Flame to Surtur. Does Odin intend to clear a problem for you with his life before he dies?" Laufey sneered.
He knew Odin was about to die, and he waited patiently.
The moment Odin died would be the day the Frost Giants invaded Asgard.
He didn't put either Thor, the heir, nor Loki, in his eyes.
Even without the Casket of Ancient Winters, Laufey was confident he could defeat Asgard, which was immersed in past glory, militarily lax, and weakened in combat power.
Look, a battle that should have been resolved in a few days, they spent a month eating, drinking, and celebrating.
Every year, they repeated localized peacekeeping wars, merely dealing with a few minor characters, yet they would boast about it for several years.
How could such an Asgard be an opponent to the Frost Giants, who lived in bitter cold lands, held hatred deep in their hearts, and practiced day after day?
All he had to do was outlive Odin.
Until…
Laufey suddenly stood up.
He saw Aaron instantly freeze Surtur.
The flames of the Eternal Flame were unable to melt the extreme cold.
Aaron came to Surtur's head and devoured some of Surtur's body with strange spatial power.
He then raised his hand and a black hole instantly annihilated Surtur into nothingness.
Then, on the land of Muspelheim, he left a bottomless sphere.
The Fire Demons suffered heavy casualties and Surtur was utterly annihilated.
Aaron, however, left the battlefield unscathed.
"Loki, what are you trying to do? Use ridiculous magic to deceive the Frost Giants?"
"Does Asgard only have this much capability left?"
Laufey sneered on the surface, but his hands, hidden behind his back, were tightly clenched, his heart filled with dread.
The Frost Giants surrounding Loki watched as the towering Surtur vanished like a mirage, in a desperate, thunderous wail.
They were all genuinely terrified.
They looked at the figure of the man in the projection, vaguely overlapping with Odin.
No, he was a hundred times more terrifying than Odin.
The Frost Giants looked at each other, then in unison, they looked at Laufey, gesturing up and down, muttering to themselves, as if saying: Such a big Surtur lasted three seconds, how long can our tiny leader last? Half a second?
Laufey's face darkened, and he walked a few steps to the platform below.
Loki smiled faintly. "I believe the dignified Jotunheim has the ability to verify its authenticity."
"I'm putting it out there now."
"Tomorrow is the celebration for my dearest uncle Aaron's return home, and as long as there is one living person in the Nine Realms, they must come to witness it."
"Laufey, my uncle is very kind and gentle, and he is the most reasonable person. He will absolutely not intentionally pay attention to who attends the ceremony or who sends gifts, but he will definitely remember who did not attend the ceremony, understand?"
Laufey really wanted to punch Loki to make him understand a father's care but he endured.
After all, Loki's body flowed with his blood.
Even living in Asgard for a thousand years could not erase the kinship born deep within his bloodline.
As a father, Laufey felt it necessary to make up for a thousand years of delayed care and love. For Loki's sake, this grand display of power at Asgard's ceremony was not entirely out of the question.
After all, everyone was in this small circle of the World Tree. They had been one family since ancient times and should live in harmony.
As the saying goes, a loving family, that's all it is.