Chapter 266 Queen Norn
Svartefheim gave Phineas a murky feeling; the sky was a dark yellow, like curry, and the earth was soft and sandy. While not as cold as Jotunheim or as hot as Muspelheim, the surrounding emptiness made it even more desolate than those two places.
Upon arrival, Phineas immediately focused on sensing the effects of the 'Golden Grand Evolution' here. He found it similar to Asgard, with a force preventing him from altering the surrounding rules.
This made him somewhat sentimental; the Dark Elves had their glorious past, even plunging the entire Nine Realms into darkness at one point.
Unfortunately, they were eventually defeated by the even more glorious Asgard.
Although the 'Golden Grand Evolution' couldn't exert its full effect, Phineas wasn't too concerned, as the chances of fighting here were slim. After all, the Dark Elves were all asleep in their spaceships; if any remained, Asgard wouldn't dare claim the Dark Elves were exterminated.
Just as Finney was about to take out his compass to try and locate the Aether, the Reality Stone, he suddenly sensed a familiar, faint gaze.
Beneath his visor, Finney frowned. This gaze was different from the one Heimdall gave him; if it weren't for the heightened senses he had while using Breathing Technique, he would have barely noticed it.
"That old guy…"
Finney looked up at the direction of the gaze. The sky was dark and yellowish, thick with clouds, but he knew there was definitely a raven secretly watching him.
Ignoring Odin's surveillance, Finney took out his compass, activated its effects, and carefully considered the Reality Stone in his mind.
Seeing the needle on the old compass remain motionless, Finney was deeply disappointed. This meant either the compass couldn't detect the location of the Reality Stone's seal, or the Reality Stone wasn't sealed there at all.
Finney clearly felt the latter was more likely. After all, this was Svartfheim; sealing the Aether here was practically the same as returning it to its owner.
However, if he wanted to obtain the Reality Stone, his best chance would be to wait until the next celestial conjunction, which occurs every five thousand years, and then ask Thor's girlfriend for information.
Putting away his compass, Finney wasn't in a hurry to return and began wandering around Svartfheim.
As he wandered, Finney felt a strange sense of familiarity, reminding him of his time on Vormir, a similarly boring, empty world devoid of anything.
Back then, there was a Red Skull, but here he truly felt no life.
Finney wandered around Svartfheim, trying to find anything about the Dark Elves, but when he arrived at the Dark Elf palace following the compass's directions, seeing only a flat, vast, endless sandy expanse, he realized he had been mistaken.
So, five days later, finding nothing of value, Finney summoned Heimdall and returned to Asgard.
This trip to Svartfheim was his least fruitful one, or rather, yielded no results at all. While the environment wasn't great, it wasn't exactly harsh either, so he didn't even have the chance to evolve 'Possessed by the Demon'.
Back in Asgard, Finney learned that Thor had also returned and immediately went to find him, hoping for a long-awaited sparring match, only to find Thor looking rather unwell.
"What's wrong?"
Finney asked curiously, looking at the worried Thor.
"There's been a rebellion in Nornheim, a serious one. Many soldiers have died!"
Thor stood by the window, gazing at the distant Asgardian landscape, and answered in a low voice before suddenly turning back and asking, "Finney, are you sure you're not mistaken about Asgard?"
"What?"
Finney was still trying to figure out where Nornheim was when he heard Thor's question, and was immediately stunned, looking at him with surprise, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Should Asgard really rule all the kingdoms?"
Hearing Thor's words, Finney chuckled and shook his head, saying, "I can't say for sure. From my personal perspective, I don't want to accept anyone's orders."
"But for Earth or other weak and defenseless kingdoms, accepting Asgard's protection is indeed a good thing."
"By the way, why do you have this idea?"
Finney was curious about what had happened to make Thor ask such a question.
"The reason for Noah's rebellion this time is Carnila, whom they call Queen Norn."
Phine suddenly felt the name sounded familiar. After thinking carefully, she remembered hearing the name from the frost giants of Jotunheim.
"She believes Noah'sheim is an independent country and shouldn't be under Asgard's control, so she wants to break away from Asgard's rule."
"What's this queen like?"
Phine asked curiously.
"What?"
Thor was taken aback, looking at Phine with some confusion.
"I mean, how well does she govern the country? If it were independent, would it be better than Asgard's rule?"
Phine asked again helplessly.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I heard she's a very domineering woman who looks down on men. During the time the Rainbow Bridge was broken, all the men there were imprisoned by her."
"This…"
Finney was at a loss for words, silently feeling sorry for the men there. Then, remembering what Thor had said about the many soldiers who had died, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are they very strong?"
"Yes!"
Thor immediately nodded seriously. "They possess a kind of magic that can greatly enhance their strength, especially Carnila, who is extremely powerful."
Hearing Thor's words, Finney couldn't help but feel tempted. He was almost at the point of needing experience for his ninth extraction, and now was a time when he desperately needed it. So, how could he resist such a valuable experience boost?
"When do you plan to set off?"
Finney suddenly asked. Thor had returned this time to lead troops to provide support and would soon be going on another expedition.
"It should be tomorrow, what's wrong?"
Seeing Finney's familiar smile, Thor seemed to understand something and immediately asked warily, "You don't want to go again, do you?"
"Did I cause you trouble last time?"
Hearing Finney's words, Thor shook his head speechlessly. Forget trouble, with Finney's participation, not to mention her powerful combat abilities, she was a huge help in logistics alone.
Seeing Thor's silence, Finney provoked him slightly: "You lost the last competition, didn't you? Don't you want to win back?"
Seeing Thor still hesitant, Finney decided to escalate the situation further: "Speaking of which, you haven't won even once!"
As the saying goes, "Enough is enough," and upon hearing this, Thor instantly retorted angrily, "I was just letting you win! Let's compete again this time!"
"It's a deal!"
Finney happily agreed, hoping that this Norn Queen would gain more experience points, ideally enough for his ninth skill draw.
Whew~ Trying to post another chapter before midnight... Can't break my attendance record~ That's my entire source of income.
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(End of this chapter)