manynovel Chapter 87: Pressuring Odin
Chapter 87: Pressuring Odin
Odin did not attack the Holy Lord and his companions; he simply extended a welcome to Asgard and ended the "welcome party."
In a guest room far from the Golden Palace, the Lord stood by the window, gazing at the night view of Asgard.
Odin only arranged one room for them. The Lord of the Underworld didn't mind because he didn't need to rest at night, but Wanda was very happy.
"Master, Odin suspects you," Wanda's voice came from behind.
The Holy Lord did not turn around: "I know."
Wanda walked to Shendu's side, chaos magic dancing on her fingers, and respectfully asked, "Master, is there anything I can do for you?"
After a period of silence, the Holy Lord said, "There is indeed something I need you to do. First, you must remain vigilant. This is not Earth. Everything here is far more complex than it appears."
The banquet was held in the main hall of the Golden Palace, with a long table stretching from the throne all the way to the entrance, where the nobles of Asgard sat on either side.
The Lord sat to Saul's right, and Wanda to Saul's left.
This was a deliberate arrangement by Odin. In Asgard, guests sitting beside the prince was a symbol of honor, but it also meant that they would always be under Odin's watchful eye.
Saul rose and bowed to Frigga, setting the tone for the dinner: "Mother, let me introduce you to our future allies, the Holy Lord and the Witch Wanda."
"A witch?" Frigga repeated the identity. "Asgard hasn't welcomed witches from other worlds in a long time. You look very young. If I may ask, where do your powers come from?"
Wanda looked up and met Frigga's gaze; for a moment, the hall seemed to fall silent.
The two women's eyes met in mid-air, one gentle, the other deep.
Wanda glanced at Shendu and said calmly, "My power comes from myself, from the choices I made in the past."
Frigga's smile deepened: "A very interesting answer. Most witches just say their power comes from gods or fate."
“I’m not like most witches,” Wanda corrected. “The choices I made in the past were the best choices I’ve ever made in my life.”
"I can tell." Frigga's smile remained unchanged. She had noticed the look Wanda gave the Holy Lord before answering the question; it was a look of piety mixed with undisguised adoration.
Frigga had lived for thousands of years and she had seen this look countless times. It often meant that she was willing to give everything to the other person and go through fire and water for them at any cost.
Upon confirming this, Frigga's heart sank. She turned her gaze to the Holy Lord, who was sipping wine with a composed and elegant demeanor, as if everything around him was irrelevant.
Frigga spoke up, "Lord Saint, Thor told me you are very interested in the fragments of Asgardian artifacts."
The Holy Lord put down his wine glass and looked at Frigga: "It was just out of curiosity, after all, that artifact fragment on Thor's hammer has shown amazing power."
Frigga nodded: "The artifact fragments suddenly appeared in Asgard one day, and Thor's fragment can grant the wielder great power in battle."
The Holy Lord casually remarked, "It seems Asgard possesses other fragments of divine artifacts; Asgard's resources are truly unfathomable."
Frigga nodded, feeling honored by the Holy Lord's praise. Without thinking, she said, "There are a few more kept in the royal treasury. They are too dangerous and must be kept by the royal family."
"May I take a look?" the Holy Lord asked abruptly, as if it were just a casual, polite question.
These words instantly silenced the conversation in the hall. Everyone looked at the Holy Lord in tacit agreement. The other nobles had also heard that Odin possessed such a treasure, but they had not brought it up due to Odin's majesty. Now, this guest's polite words were exactly what they wanted.
A glint flashed in Odin's single eye, and his majestic voice resounded in the ears of everyone in the hall: "The fragments of the artifacts are treasures of Asgard, not playthings for people to admire."
The Holy Lord raised an eyebrow at Odin's reaction, but remained calm and said, "I just want to see the legendary creatures with my own eyes. Since they are dangerous, isn't understanding their characteristics a necessary preparation for fighting the Dark Elves? I've heard that Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, is also searching for these fragments."
The hall fell silent once more. Odin stared at the Holy Lord, wondering how this man knew about Malekith.
Odin's deep voice rang out again: "Thor, how much do you know about your ally?"
Thor paused for a moment, then said, "I know him very well. His power far surpasses that of anyone I've ever met. His goal of preventing the Dark Elves from obtaining the artifact fragments is similar to ours, making him an excellent ally."
Odin, listening to Thor's words, asked, "His goal isn't to help Asgard, but to stop the Dark Elves? He wants to obtain the other artifact fragments?"
The Holy Lord provocatively said, "What, does the mighty King of Asgard want help for nothing? That's not in your style. But if Asgard continues like this..."
The Holy Lord smiled, and everyone could feel the teasing in his smile.
"What do those fragments mean to you?" Odin continued to ask.
The Holy Lord: "I am here only to ensure that those powers do not fall into the hands of darkness. Even Asgard cannot guarantee that it will never fall into darkness."
This incident didn't last long, and the dinner continued, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
The nobles' gazes kept shifting between the Holy Lord and Odin. The Holy Lord's words deepened their longing for the artifact fragments, while Odin felt as if these gazes were pricking him with needles.
Wanda had switched places with Thor and was now sitting next to Shendu. As she sat down, her hands trembled slightly, and chaotic magic appeared and disappeared in her palms. She was very displeased by the rudeness of these nobles towards Shendu.
"Relax," the Lord's voice echoed in Wanda's mind. "This is not our battlefield, at least not yet."
Wanda took a deep breath to suppress her anger.
Thor sat in the middle, trying to ease the tension. He loudly recounted his battles on Earth, boasting about how he and the Holy Lord saved the corrupted timeline, temporarily drowning out the discordant voices.
Unlike the others, Frigga's gaze never left the Holy Lord. As the Queen, she had seen too many lies and pretenses, and she could sense that the Holy Lord and Odin had not been telling the truth in their conversation.
Frigga took a deep breath and looked at her husband.
Odin's single eye flashed with different lights, and as his bedmate, she knew very well that her husband's heart was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.
The man known as the Holy Lord is someone they cannot easily provoke.