Stupid Odin

Back at the Silver Palace, Thor rushed to find Downs: "Father, your strength is so great? Why didn't you say so earlier? You should wrestle with me more often!"

Downs was speechless.

As a father, I haven't wrestled with female giants in years. Why would I wrestle with you, my smelly, foolish son? What would I gain?

Of course, Downs wouldn't discourage Thor, and said calmly, "This is just another application of the power of the earth."

With Downs' explanation, Thor was left speechless.

The reason Downs could unleash such great power was that he used the [Jötunheim Sword] as a medium to continuously draw upon the earth's power of Jötunheim. The extent of his power depended on how much earth's power he could draw upon.

"Father, isn't that cheating?"

"Oh? Then isn't Hrugnir's metallic skin cheating? Where do frost giants get natural stone or even metallic skin? He can use the power of the earth to strengthen his internal organs, muscles, and bones, so why can't I use the power of the earth to suppress him?"

Thor was speechless.

It sounded like two avatars of the earth were fighting each other, and whoever could use more of the earth's power would win.

Thor understood why Hrugnir was willing to submit.

"Father, if I also use this trick..."

"Yes! In theory, your power can also be limitless. But remember, whether it's an Asa god or a giant, there's a limit to the power they can store in their bodies. If you store too much earth's power, your lightning power will decrease and become less pure."

"Ah!"

"Remember, you are the God of Thunder, not the God of Hammers, and certainly not some Hercules."

"I am enlightened." Thor bowed humbly.

Watching Thor's departing back, Downs couldn't help but recall Thor's battle with Hrugnir in the epic:

This strongest giant on earth discovered that the Asa gods didn't play fair and were preparing to gang up on him, so he proposed to fight again the next day. In order to avoid being killed by those despicable Asa gods led by Odin, he found a witch among the giants to create fake giants to fight in his place. As a result, after Thor smashed the fake giant's flint club, many of the shattered fragments flew into Thor's head.

Even after Thor found a witch to remove some of the fragments with spells, Thor was left with a headache, which directly lowered his upper limit of strength. This battle was a complete loss. During the Twilight of the Gods, the Asa gods were shocked to see the 'resurrected' Hrugnir on the opposite side.

In this life, Downs had helped Thor avoid a pitfall.

A year after Downs dealt with the strongest giant on earth, Downs finally waited for a new signal.

On this day, the sky over Jötunheim suddenly turned pitch black.

Moments ago, the eternally impenetrable cold mist still enveloped this palace located on the mountain peak. This tower, personally supervised and built by Odin, stood in the cold wind.

It, along with the replica of Odin's Golden Palace on the opposite mountain, monitored the northern glacial plain—where the cow Audhumla incessantly created surprises for the Asa gods. You never knew what it would lick out next.

Although a large number of frost giants and mountain giants who had sworn allegiance to the Asa gods lived in Jötunheim, this icy land was too vast and sparsely populated. Most of the time, it looked like a desolate and lonely place.

The palace gate suddenly opened wide, and a servant knight broke the strange silence with the rapid sound of hooves.

Inside the palace, Loki looked at his lover Angrboða, who was in pain and covered in sweat, with a face full of apology: "My dear, it seems this child won't be able to escape the Asa gods' surveillance like Jörmungandr. He, or she, is likely to be a true god."

The female giant forced a smile: "Isn't that a good thing? Every Asa god is irreplaceable. Giving birth to a true god will also help improve your status among the Asa gods, won't it? Now let's see who dares to slander you as just a mere giant."

Loki's smile was strained.

He had several titles among the Asa gods: God of Fire, God of Trickery, God of Deceit.

He considered himself to be these, but the pure-blooded Asa gods didn't recognize them.

The only ones who truly acknowledged these titles were those Asa gods with giant blood.

Downs had made the decision back then: "Whether or not someone is a true god is not determined by bloodline, but by the will of the world!"

Downs, as the God-King, was willing to acknowledge it, which was Loki's greatest comfort.

Loki was so clever, how could he not know that his throne was already in jeopardy? He sighed, "Let's see Odin's reaction first."

Even though their relationship had plummeted to freezing point, Loki was nominally still Odin's attendant god. Without breaking this relationship, Loki needed to continue to pledge allegiance to Odin.

At the same time, a strange message spread throughout Jötunheim.

Some giants who had been killed by Odin were being resurrected. Hundreds of giants were gathering as the dead, about to form a mighty army and head towards Odin's fortress.

This news made Odin very uneasy.

In his opinion, the boundary between the living and the dead was quite blurred. His elder brother had the [Death] divine authority and could leave behind dead, brave mortal warriors as Einherjar to continue serving his elder brother.

If this newly born true god had the ability to resurrect the dead, wouldn't that conflict with his elder brother's divine authority?

Odin sensed vaguely that the wheel of fate seemed to be rolling forward again.

Odin was both excited and apprehensive.

A divine authority that could shake the foundation of his elder brother's rule—he, Odin, would protect this new god no matter what.

Especially after receiving a notice from Loki's servant, Odin immediately rode his divine horse and took his son, the god of poetry Bragi, to visit Loki. He was determined to offer his blessings to Loki at the first opportunity.

However, before entering Loki's palace, Odin was slightly startled.

He saw a giant's corpse guarding the entrance of the palace.

Yes!

A corpse!

The cold weather prevented the corpse from rotting. Although the giant's wrinkled features could not serve as proof, the large hole in the heart area of his chest was the masterpiece of the Gungnir.

The giant's dead fish eyes looked dull. Unexpectedly, he took two steps back and made way.

Odin was incredibly surprised: "This is... the power of death?"

He was already like this, Bragi was even more uneasy in his heart.

He immediately saw several of Loki's mortal servants. They bowed to Odin with chattering teeth: "Great Lord Odin, Lord Loki is waiting for you inside."

"What happened?" Odin asked.

The servant dared not answer: "You will see when you go in."

After entering the main hall, Odin's first glance made him breathe a sigh of relief.

It was a beautiful little goddess, with a rosy, exquisitely carved appearance, who looked like a beauty in the making.

Looking a second time, Odin almost had a heart attack.

What kind of monster was this?

The left half of her body had no skin, only withered muscles, and a bloodshot eye without an eyelid was turning around blankly. Her left arm and left leg were curled up like a dead infant.

The right side was a goddess, and the left side was a fierce ghost.

Perfect elegance and extreme ugliness were combined in a half-and-half manner.

This was truly too ironic.