Chapter 9: Odin Arrives
Following Thor and Lan Xingyu, they arrived at a military training base. It must be said that Thor's popularity in the army was truly high; soldiers along the way all greeted him, their eyes filled with respect. Thor didn't put on any princely airs either, greeting them like brothers meeting each other. This surprised Lan Xingyu a little. He felt that with Thor's somewhat arrogant personality, there should be quite a few people who disliked him. How was it so harmonious?
As they were nearing the Martial Arts Hall, they encountered three supporting characters who were quite important in Thor 1. It was Thor's three idiots of the sleigh... ah, bah... my mistake, it was The Warriors Three of Asgard.
The Warriors Three were: Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun.
Volstagg was a fat man and also a friend of Thor the God of Thunder. In his youth, Volstagg was a robust and powerful Asgardian warrior, but later, because he loved to eat and drink, Volstagg became completely stout. However, even after becoming stout, Volstagg still possessed formidable combat abilities.
Fandral was the opposite of Volstagg; he was relatively lean but gave off a capable and experienced feeling. He was also an Asgardian warrior and an explorer. He was an uncontrollable self-proclaimed swordsman and a man full of romantic flair. His bravery and optimism often placed the team in highly disadvantageous situations. Fandral saw himself as a perfect ladies' man and was often depicted being with a group of young ladies. His actual popularity among those ladies was unstable at best, but it provided many opportunities for comedic and witty effects. Despite these flaws, he possessed an exceptionally noble spirit and was capable of doing the right thing, regardless of personal safety, success, or happiness.
Hogun was not an Aesir like most Asgardians. His unknown homeland was conquered long ago by the 'Mogul of the Mystic Mountain,' who killed Hogun's ancestors and destroyed his home. Therefore, he was mainly characterized by his abrupt, taciturn, and often grumpy behavior and attitude.
It had to be said that although they had vastly different personalities, they could be united by Thor and earn the title of The Warriors Three. This proved that in terms of combat, Thor was indeed a good leader. Lan Xingyu thought silently. However, if Thor were to lose disastrously in front of his friends, hehe, just thinking about it was interesting.
The Warriors Three saw Thor and immediately went up to greet him, but upon seeing the Queen following behind, they immediately stood straight and saluted. After Frigga signaled them to be at ease, Volstagg asked, "Thor, didn't you just go back? Why are you back already?"
"I'm here to fight!" Thor said somewhat embarrassedly. After all, he hadn't expected to be provoked by Lan Xingyu earlier. Now, having to "bully" a child under the watchful eyes of the public still made him blush a little.
"Say no more, I'm going in first." Thor rushed inside, otherwise he would really die of embarrassment. Oh my god, why did I make such a decision... my lifelong heroic reputation..."
No matter what Thor thought, Lan Xingyu and the others still followed him into the Martial Arts Hall. The Warriors Three, who were originally about to leave, also followed them in; they were very curious about who Thor was going to duel with that would make him behave this way.
Entering the Martial Arts Hall, Lan Xingyu saw another lady organizing her equipment. It was the Goddess Sif, who was also preparing to head back. Sif had black hair, which was different from other Asgardians, and her beautiful Face was written with determination.
Sif saw that The Warriors Three, who had just left, were back again. Just as she was about to ask them why they were back, she saw Thor silently walking onto the martial arts stage. Hmm? What's the situation? Is Thor going to spar with us? She looked at The Warriors Three again, and seeing Sif looking at them, they also raised their hands in confusion. At this moment, Frigga spoke: "Don't guess blindly, Thor is going to spar with this young friend, Lan Xingyu." Frigga pointed to Lan Xingyu, who was also walking toward the stage.
"What! With him, a child? Odin's Beard! Thor, I didn't expect you to actually bully a child. Hahahahaha!"
Hearing Frigga's words, The Warriors Three and Sif were all amused. They began to tease Thor one after another.
Then Frigga spoke again: "You'd better not look down on little Xingyu! Odin himself has agreed to this match." As soon as these words fell, everyone was shocked, including Thor who was already on the competition stage. What? How is that possible? Father actually agreed to this match? Then this isn't just an ordinary match. At this moment, a circle of light appeared in the Martial Arts Hall. Odin and the Ancient One stepped out of the circle together.
"That's right, I have also agreed to this match. Xingyu, feel free to fight, don't worry about anything. It's also a good time to give Thor a lesson, to let him know the truth that there is always someone better out there. As long as you don't kill him, anything else goes." Odin's words were shocking as soon as he appeared. Did Odin mean this child is even stronger than Thor? How is that possible? Frigga, however, was relatively calm, because on the way here, after she had told Odin what happened through her thoughts, Odin told her that Lan Xingyu was that newly appeared Father-Heaven Level powerhouse. At that time, the news almost made Frigga stumble. No wonder, she had felt it was strange; she hadn't even been able to clearly see the speed at which Lan Xingyu saved the person earlier.
When Lan Xingyu saw that even Odin had come, the nature of this match became different. After all, they had a bet earlier. If they fought privately, they could have let the bet slide if they wanted to. But with the God King's witness, it was different; it had to be carried out, and neither side could refuse or regret it. Lan Xingyu felt he should talk to Odin first, as he might not know yet.
But just as he was about to speak, Odin spoke again: "Your previous bet will still continue. Everyone must be responsible for their own words, let alone a god. If one doesn't even have the courage to be responsible for what they've said, then that warrior has lost his final glory and dignity. This match will be presided over by me, Frigga, and this Venerable Ancient One. I hope you both can show your best state."
These words stunned everyone again. Generally in Asgard, a match where God King Odin and the Queen participated in the judgment was of the highest specifications. Who on earth was this child that he could get Odin and Frigga to personally serve as referees? And that bald goddess in the yellow robe, she could actually stand with Odin and was qualified to be a referee alongside him. This was equivalent to Odin telling them that this lady had the status to stand on equal footing with him. Odin's Beard! My three views from several thousand years are about to collapse!
No matter how shocked others were, Lan Xingyu didn't really care. He was originally afraid that this bet would make Asgard lose Face or something and felt a bit embarrassed. After all, the Queen was very good to him, and he quite liked it here. But since even Odin didn't care, why should I! A little brother picked up for free, might as well take him.
Thor, however, had already become serious. Setting everything else aside, the mere fact of Odin's participation made this match different. No matter who the opponent was, he had to fight with all his strength. This was the greatest respect for his opponent and for himself.
However, compared to the serious Thor, Lan Xingyu was still walking leisurely with his hands in his clothes pockets. He walked slowly onto the stage and just stood there casually. He looked incredibly relaxed.
Odin saw that both of them had arrived on the competition stage and said: "Are you both ready?"
Hearing this, Thor seemed to remember something and immediately ran off the stage, placing his Mjolnir below the stage. Because this kind of match should be as fair as possible, and since Lan Xingyu wasn't using a weapon, he, Thor, couldn't use one either.
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Thank you for reading to the end of this chapter, and if you can help by giving me votes of confidence, I would appreciate it ^_^