Thor and his companions were being relentlessly pursued by the Flame Greatsword, unable to fight back. Every time Thor attempted to fly up and attack, he was knocked back hundreds of meters, sticking to the volcanic rock wall like a small insect specimen.
"Bang!"
"Whoosh~~~ Snap!"
Each strike from Levatin descended like a crimson tsunami.
The intense heat and light made it nearly impossible for the people of the Immortal Palace to discern the blade's form within the flames. The fiery splatter from the attacks scorched blistering patterns onto everyone.
Thor flew back, having lost count of how many times he had been knocked away. He had no idea where his helmet had gone.
Originally, he had a helmet with a round dome and two small white wings as decoration, which he quite liked.
But now it was probably melted into molten iron.
He didn't know where his brother had hidden, but it was always like this. When faced with a formidable enemy, Loki would disappear.
And every time Thor was close to defeating an enemy, an arrow or a flying knife would come from an unnoticed corner, ending the enemy's life.
Then Loki would claim the credit for himself, boasting in front of Odin or Frigga, stealing Thor's glory.
Thor had always tolerated Loki, at most giving him a few casual hits.
These little matters between brothers were never taken to heart by Thor, and he would still take Loki along for the next battle or hunt.
But now, seeing them all looking a sorry mess, like coal-mining dwarves...
Thor wished more than ever for Loki to come out and fight alongside him, even if they died together, it would be an immense honor.
"Friends, are you all right?"
Thor tightly gripped Mjolnir, having been struck so many times, he had gradually begun dodging some of Surtur's attacks. His combat instincts were strong, and he learned any battle knowledge quickly.
He flew as he asked the others how they were doing.
Since they couldn't fly, the others were clearly in much worse condition. Aside from distracting Surtur, they could hardly help at all.
Because the Flame Giant was soaking in the lava pool, the high-temperature molten rocks bubbled up, making it impossible for anyone to get close.
Vostag's beard was partially burned off, and his armor was tattered, but he possessed self-healing ability, so he was in decent condition.
"Just burns, I'm fine."
He replied in a muffled voice, shouting as he ran around the lava pool.
Vandar kept firing arrows at Surtur's big face. Being the most nimble among them, apart from being a bit charred and having some burns on his hands and face, he was mostly unharmed.
However, Hogan and Sif were not in good shape. Both were heavy armor warriors, and their plate armor restricted their agility, making dodging extremely difficult.
They sustained the most severe injuries. Especially Hogan, who took too much flame head-on to protect Sif. His armor and flesh were melded together in many places, and his belly was gone, exposing his internal organs.
Yet he was a very resilient warrior, not uttering a sound, just gripping his weapon, indicating he could still fight.
Sif suffered fractures and a concussion. Her head hit the ground when she was knocked away, and now she could hardly hear anything. Only a buzzing sound filled her ears, and her vision was blood-red.
But she still tried to look at Thor flying, smiling.
Everyone said they were fine, and Thor didn't doubt them. He dodged another of Surtur's slashes and shouted:
"Then let's attack! For Asgard!"
"For Asgard's sacrifice!"
The Three Warriors responded loudly, launching attacks on Surtur in their own ways.
Vostag picked up a large rock from the ground and hurled it at the Flame Giant. Vandar's hands moved so fast while shooting arrows that they became a blur, and Hogan threw a Meteor Hammer at the enemy.
But these attacks only made Surtur laugh, evaporating before reaching the Fire Giant's surface.
"Hahaha... a futile struggle, die! You fools of Asgard!"
He raised the Great Sword, intending to kill these jesters, feeling bored after a long game.
"Enough!"
At that moment, a bright light suddenly slashed across Surtur's vision, causing him to instinctively dodge. He turned his head toward the direction of the attack.
He saw the light of the Rainbow Bridge descending, Odin riding the Celestial Horse, appearing through the thick smoke a short distance away.
Thor was one thing, but Odin was another. Even Surtur harbored fear toward Odin.
Though he was a Flame Demon, resurrecting countless times after death, being consecutively defeated by Bor and Odin still left him with a significant psychological shadow.
"Surtur, your opponent is me."
"You allowed your son to invade my palace and kill my pets, breaking the agreement." Surtur raised the Great Sword defensively.
Odin didn't explain; he looked at him with his one eye and lifted his head, coldly saying, "I know your plans clearly; you ignited the flames of war first! Let them leave; I will be your opponent."
"...."
Surtur fell silent. He was not Odin's match; this had been proven tens of thousands of years ago. But being beaten at his doorstep with his plans exposed, he had no choice but to fight.
His powers had been loaned to Warnerheim's army, leaving him not even at his peak now; he needed to consider strategy...
Odin didn't give him time to think. The one-eyed monarch looked at Thor and commanded with an indisputable tone:
"My useless son, get your friends and roll back to the Immortal Palace!"
"But father, Loki he..." Thor landed back on the ground, hastily explaining as he looked around.
The Eternal Spear in Odin's hand stomped heavily on the ground, raising a cloud of rubble: "Silence! Incompetent one! I order you to leave the battlefield!"
Thor opened his mouth but said nothing, lowering his head. He helped Hogan up, and they left silently, crestfallen.
Surtur did not stop them; his eyes were fixed on Odin.
Their enemies didn't even take them seriously, which only demoralized Thor further. Was he truly inferior to Odin? Did the enemy even bother to look at him?
Not only the enemy, even Odin didn't glance at him again. He just sat expressionlessly on the Eight-legged Celestial Horse, staring intently at Surtur.
The King of Flames was also staring at him, their eyes intertwined, as if engaged in a confrontation tinged with death.
Surtur didn't speak, Odin didn't speak either, they just silently locked eyes.
One minute, three minutes, five minutes...
Odin remained standing there, without blinking.
"Odin!"
"..."
Odin just kept staring at him, not uttering a word.
"What do you want to do after all?! Are we going to fight or not?!"
"..."
Surtur ignited a fierce flame, the power he gathered caused the mountain to tremble, the temperature in the Underground Palace rose sharply.
Meanwhile, Odin seemed to have faded, not only had his entire tone become paler, but his Golden Armor and Gungnir appeared to have melted after being roasted, drooping down weakly.
Surtur realized, this wasn't Odin at all; he had been deceived by an illusion technique.
His Giant Sword suddenly lifted up, turning the illusion into a mist with a single blow, roaring loudly.
"Loki! You damned brat! I'm going to kill you! Kill you!"
..............
Loki and Thor led their companions in a wild sprint, while the volcano behind them erupted, and a fire rain descended upon the sky.
"He seems to be shouting your name, what did you do?"
Thor asked Loki in confusion, feeling down because he had been scolded by Odin again.
Loki's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a nonchalant grin, he stroked his sharp chin but didn't tell Thor the truth.
"You must have misheard; I was outside the cave the whole time, why would he call me?"
At the critical moment, Loki thought of his ability. If enough ice and water were created with magic, a large amount of steam could form in the volcano.
Through the Vanir Race magic taught by Frigga, the water vapor could construct a grand illusion, mimicking all light and shadow effects, and not easily detected by Surtur.
As long as a large block of ice was left behind, the illusion could last a few minutes, giving him enough time to impersonate Odin in rescuing Thor and his foolish friends.
He might as well berate Thor using Odin's image, taking advantage of the situation.
Until they reached this place, only then did Surtur seem to realize it, now cursing him in his palace.
But it's okay, there are plenty of people cursing Loki, and he's still living well.
"Sigh, I failed in my mission, and Odin scolded me. Once back to Asgard, I need to have a good drink." Thor didn't doubt it at all, he just nodded his head, as a way to appease Loki's response.
Right now, all he could think about was some rest and a drink, with no room left for anything else.
Loki laughed, glancing knowingly at the Three Warriors: "I remember someone said before they'd chop off Surtur's head? In the end, only hitting thin air."
Vostag carrying Hogan, grumbled angrily: "What were you doing when we fought the Fire Giants?"
Doing what? Saving your lives, you fools.
Loki thought inwardly but didn't say it because revealing his impersonation as Odin now would surely have these blockheads rushing back for revenge.
That wouldn't be good. The current result was quite satisfactory; if these three fools perished, life would be too boring in the future.
So, facing Vostag's taunt, Loki merely chuckled faintly: "Nothing much, just enjoying some drinks and the scenery."
"You..."
Vandar, brimming with fury, was ready to argue with Loki, but Loki's gaze swiftly turned to him, his black pupils icy cold.
"Watch your words, you are speaking to an Asgardian Prince, Vandar."
"...Bastard."
Vandar initially intended to curse 'raised by wild elves' or 'creepy mutt', but reminded, he had to swallow back his original wording.
So angry, Loki even predicted what I was going to say.
"Ah... much better, thank you, Vandar, I thought you might curse God King Odin or the Mother of Gods, hehe..."
Loki enjoyed watching others nearly explode with rage yet powerless against him.
Thor, riding the mountain goat, hung his head despondently, clutching his hammer: "Never mind, Vandar my friend, this time Loki won the battle, and the victor shouldn't be blamed."
"Indeed, did you hear? Thor said I won!"
Loki, beaming, approached Vandar, showing a sneering, arrogant expression, and if Vandar dared to act against him, he'd have even more reason to have them punished by his mother.
But Vandar silently walked with his head down, fiddling with his fingers, ignoring him entirely.
"Vostag, it's me who won." Loki extended his index fingers, pointing at himself.
"Hmph!"
The Fatty Warrior turned his head away.
"Sif, I won." Loki began to tease Sif, moving swiftly back and forth before her eyes.
Yet Sif hadn't regained her hearing, completely unaware of their conversation, simply showing a puzzled look.
Loki pouted, changed targets: "Hogan, you... ahem, forget it, you're unconscious."
His eyes rolled, just mocking these few people wasn't fun enough; he needed a way for the entire realm to hear about this.
To let everyone in the Immortal Palace look at Thor with disdainful eyes so he'd have nowhere to hide, unless he found a pit in the wilderness to live in.
Thinking this, Loki couldn't help but laugh out loud.