Chapter 213 Spreading Through the Universe
Finney looked at the speaker, a man clad in golden armor, wearing Asgardian horned helmets, holding a longsword, and with striking golden eyes fixed on him.
Just by looking at those eyes, Finney knew who he was. Behind him stood a squad of soldiers, waiting.
"Hello, Mr. Finney !"
Finney stepped forward and extended his hand in greeting. Although he wasn't short, he was still considerably smaller than the towering Asgardians.
"Heimdall! "
Heimdall extended his hand and shook Finney's, then said, "Odin sent us here to greet you!"
"This is troublesome!"
Finney glanced at them, not too surprised to be discovered. After all, this was Asgard, and the Ancient One had already given prior notice, plus Heimdall's peculiar eyes.
"No need to be so polite!"
Heimdall replied, then looked directly at the blue-eyed white dragon behind Finney and praised, "Such a beautiful and powerful dragon is a rare sight in the entire Nine Realms."
"Uh…"
Looking at Heimdall, whose eyes were already slightly gleaming with gold, Finney sensed that he seemed to really like the blue-eyed white dragon.
"Sorry, that was a bit rude. He's always had a fondness for these kinds of creatures."
At this moment, a woman suddenly stepped forward from among the soldiers, glanced at Heimdall, and said to Finney.
Finney couldn't help but turn to look at her.
"Sif, Thor's friend. We've all heard Thor mention you."
Sif extended her hand, smiled at Finney, introduced herself, and then said, "Thor said you're very strong. If you have the chance, spar with him!"
"No problem."
Finney certainly wouldn't refuse such an opportunity to gain experience. Asgard was known for its warlike nature, and he wanted to stay longer, perhaps to gain some experience.
"Father Odin is still waiting for you. If you don't mind, leave it to us. We'll take good care of it!"
Releasing her grip, Sif glanced at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and said to Finney,
"Okay, it likes to eat things with energy."
Finney thought for a moment, then instead of turning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon back into a card, he ordered Sif to send someone to remove the items from its body and lead it away.
Asgard's technology and magic were both highly developed, so energy items were definitely plentiful. Finney planned to let the Blue-Eyes White Dragon freeload for a while.
After all, he had brought quite a few gifts, so it was a matter of reciprocity.
Just as Finney was about to go with Sif to see Odin, Heimdall looked at Finney and suddenly asked curiously, "How did it turn into a card?"
"Magic!"
Finney shrugged. In his view, magic could explain everything that defied common sense.
Sure enough, upon hearing this answer, Heimdall was speechless for a moment, and Sif also glanced at Finney curiously. From Thor, she also knew some things about Finney, but mostly complaints.
Finney was currently on the Rainbow Bridge, which was how he encountered Heimdall. As the gatekeeper, he couldn't leave the Rainbow Bridge without a major event.
Looking ahead, a magnificent palace came into view, its dazzling gold color showcasing its noble luxury.
Finney followed beside Sif, wondering how she would lead the way, when she walked towards two white horses and led them over.
Finney was slightly taken aback and tentatively asked, "You're not telling me I have to ride these across, are you?"
"Is there a problem?"
Sif asked, turning her head to look at Finney with a puzzled expression as she led the white horses.
"Uh…"
This time, it was Finney's turn to be speechless. He looked at the Rainbow Bridge beneath his feet, then at the white horses before him.
A civilization with such advanced spatial technology making its guests ride white horses was something Finney couldn't understand no matter how hard he tried. In the end, he could only attribute it to a unique characteristic of Asgard.
Although Finney had never learned to ride a horse, he could ride a dragon, so a mere horse was nothing.
Along the way, Finney wondered why Thor hadn't come to pick him up, and asked why.
"He went to quell the war. The Rainbow Bridge was destroyed, and the raiders learned of this and took the opportunity to invade other realms, causing war and chaos."
Finney then learned that Thor wasn't in Asgard.
"Why didn't they go to Earth? That is, Midgard!"
Finney was curious. Earth was also one of the Nine Realms, and apart from the Chitauri, he hadn't seen any raiders come to Earth.
"Uh…"
Sif looked at Finney, hesitated for a moment, and then explained, "Midgard is resource-poor; even the raiders felt there wasn't anything worth robbing there."
"They think we're too poor!?"
Hearing this, Finney was slightly taken aback, then speechless. This information was so outdated! Did they still think Earth was like those primitive tribes from thousands of years ago?
"Of course, that's not all. It's said that there's a very powerful mage protecting Midgard, so few raiders dare to go there, let alone now that someone like you is here. They're even less likely to go there casually,"
Sif continued, surprising Finney.
"Me!?"
"Yes!"
Sif turned to look at Finney, saying, "Now many people in the universe know that there's a silver knight riding a silver dragon in Midgard who single-handedly defeated an entire Chitauri fleet!"
"A knight again!"
Finney didn't feel proud; instead, he was a little angry. If he knew who spread this news, he'd give them a good beating.
Being called a knight on Earth was already troublesome enough, but now it's inexplicably spread throughout the universe. He's a proper mage!
"What's wrong?"
Sif looked confused when she saw Finney's expression.
"I'm a mage!"
Finney explained, then complained, "Although I was wearing armor and riding a blue-eyed white dragon, I defeated the enemy with magic."
"…"
Sif was speechless, then couldn't help but scrutinize Finney. From her observation, Finney's movements and physique were clearly well-trained, and his close-combat abilities were definitely not weak.
"I also wanted to learn magic back then, but unfortunately, I just couldn't learn it!"
Sif thought of the magic books that made her feel drowsy when she was a child, then thought of Loki, and couldn't help but ask, "Was Loki like that because you beat him?"
"Hmm!?"
Finney glanced at Sif, and seeing that she didn't seem to be accusing him, nodded and admitted, "Yes, I accidentally hit him a little too hard!"
"You should have hit him harder!"
Sif said fiercely, then smiled sheepishly and explained, "He was originally our friend, but unfortunately, he betrayed us and even tried to kill Thor!"
"How is he now?"
Finney asked curiously about Loki's current state.
"He's been imprisoned in the dungeons by Odin, imprisoned for life."
Upon hearing this, Finney secretly scoffed. He didn't believe a mere dungeon could hold Loki, though he still wanted to see him again, wondering if Loki would even want to see him.
Asgard wasn't far from the Rainbow Bridge, and after some casual conversation, Sif led him to the palace gates.
A procession of ceremonial officials was there to greet him, showing that Odin valued his arrival, though it was unclear whether this was out of respect for the Ancient One.
(End of Chapter)