Chapter 546: Deep Waters and Fiery Solar System (1)
Lady Loki, once the second prince of Asgard and now the long princess, a real-name scammer who always manages to deceive people despite openly advertising her deceitful nature as the God of Mischief.
It's hard to imagine that anyone could be fooled by someone with a title like the God of Mischief, especially when they openly acknowledge their talent for deception. Yet, there are still those who fall for her tricks.
Perhaps this is Lady Loki's way of selecting her target customer group. Those who have heard of her reputation and achievements and still welcome her are often wealthy and easily deceived individuals, and the Chitauri are no exception.
The Chitauri are a peculiar civilization. Their planetary orbit is unstable, and their homeworld is perpetually frozen, but at the same time, they are aggressive and enjoy capturing people from other planets to throw them into their gladiatorial arenas.
When these gladiators are killed, their blood immediately freezes in mid-air, and the Chitauri harvest these crimson snowflakes to feed their children, thus nurturing their extreme martial and cruel tendencies.
The Chitauri Empire didn't solely rely on its own development; their explosive growth in science and technology was due to a more advanced spaceship crashing on their homeworld. After deciphering many technologies from it, they stole many other civilizations' spaceships, assembling their own fleet, and eventually creating the Leviathan-class warship.
However, the most powerful warship in the Leviathan-class, known as the Leviathan, was actually modified using a mysterious creature called a space shark.
In a way, Lady Loki lured the Chitauri to Earth to exploit this bottomless pit, engaging in a kind of deception-on-deception scheme because the Chitauri themselves were notorious thieves and scammers in space.
Originally, Lady Loki's plan was quite good. The Chitauri's own warships were cobbled together from various sources, and many of their technologies would be valuable for Earth's current level of science and technology.
They specialized in dismantling other people's ships and reassembling them, making them the tailors of spaceships in space. Now that humanity had Kree escort ships and was likely to acquire more ships from other civilizations in the future, this technology would come in handy.Providing military training for Earth while offering technological advancements—what could be better?
Lady Loki had considered that the second target might encounter many problems. Perhaps the technology they dismantled wouldn't be directly usable, or it might not align with humanity's scientific and technological path. However, she never expected the first target to be unattainable.
Upon realizing that the Humanity civilization might need a harder whetstone, Lady Loki turned her attention to another wealthy and easily fooled individual in the space.
The Dark Elves were a race that lived in the Nine Realms, just like the Frost Giants. They had once been under Odin's rule, but unlike the Frost Giants, they harbored even greater hatred for Odin.
Their leader, Malekith, was an extremist and a racist who had a grand ideal: to kill Odin, rule the Nine Realms, and plunge them into eternal night, turning it into a paradise for the Dark Elves.
Why say he was easily fooled? It was because his hatred for Odin had overridden most of his reason. The best way to manipulate him was to join him in cursing Odin.
Lady Loki was exceptionally skilled at cursing Odin, and she had placed layers of magical protection around the place where she spoke to ensure that her voice would not be heard outside. Lady Loki and Malekith spent over two hours verbally lashing out at Odin.
After these two hours, Malekith practically wanted to declare Lady Loki as his confidante.
In his eyes, a fallen and persecuted princess was the perfect candidate for a queen. If she could also pave the way for him, lead him in a rebellion against the celestial palace, and kill Odin, that would be even better.
As someone who had once been a male, Lady Loki was very familiar with Malekith's kind of eye contact. As the saying goes, no intelligent person would find praise from a fool flattering.
It could be said that if Stark had shown this kind of eye contact, Lady Loki would have been outwardly proud but secretly pleased. This was intelligent recognition from one smart person to another. But when this aggressive eye contact came from a complete fool, Lady Loki felt nothing but disgust.
Suppressing her repulsion, Lady Loki crossed her arms, lifted her chin high, and said to Malekith, "I know you want to invade the celestial palace right now, decapitate Odin, but since my self-exile, my brother Thor has been on high alert, and Asgard's fifty-five fleets have surrounded that dimension."
"I know the Dark Elves' Black Thorn warship is powerful, but it can't withstand Asgard's Bifrost. Moreover, if we launch a direct attack, while I can handle Thor's attacks, I won't be able to take on Thor and Odin alone. In other words, you must confront Odin..."
"No," Malekith refused outright, his earlier fervor and anger towards Odin completely gone.
In space, the leaders of most factions instinctively shudder when they hear the words "confront Odin."
The reputation of this All-Father isn't merely based on words. The severed heads, one after another, that hang high over the Asgardian arena serve as a constant reminder that nobody wants to be the next.
Perhaps to cover up his immediate reluctance, Malekith cleared his throat twice and then continued, "I also believe that a direct assault isn't a good idea. We can adopt a more sophisticated strategy..."
At this moment, Lady Loki sighed and said, "Actually, before I contacted you, I had already found many more powerful allies. You should be familiar with the Kree, right? I persuaded them to send their escort ship and more fleets, waiting at the edge of the Nine Realms. With a single command, we can launch an attack on Asgard together."
"But before that, we need to make some preparations, and what you need to do is to attack Earth."
"Earth? Why should we attack such a remote place?" Malekith asked.
"How long has it been since you left your own realm? Are you completely unaware of the significant events within the Nine Realms?" Lady Loki asked somewhat annoyed.
This touched a sore spot for Malekith. The Dark Elves were the native race of Vanaheim within the Nine Realms, a world shrouded in darkness. Therefore, the Dark Elves born here had a natural affinity for the night, but conversely, they were somewhat fearful of the light and found it inconvenient to operate in places that weren't dark.
As a result, Malekith couldn't often leave this world and was forced to stay at home. However, they had a way to deal with this situation. Dark Elves had a unique talent. When they formed a magic circle, they could temporarily turn an area into a perpetual night without light. However, this magic circle was quite costly and was not used lightly, often requiring their warships to form fleets.
Lady Loki sighed as if feeling disappointed, and Malekith's heart also clenched. He heard Lady Loki sigh and say, "Previously, Thor was exiled to Earth by Odin, where he met a group of superhero friends."
"You should know Thor well. He values brotherhood greatly. If we can capture these superheroes and use them to threaten Thor, it will divert most of his attention during the attack and give us an advantage."
"This way, on the frontlines, we won't have to confront Odin and his son directly, making the path of the attack smoother."
Malekith suddenly realized and praised, "Truly, you are the God of Mischief. I will send people to scout Earth nearby..."
"No, you cannot send a scouting team; instead, you should directly send your army to conquer Earth."
"Why is that? I heard that Earthlings are very weak, and even the weakest spells can blow them away."
Lady Loki once again displayed a somewhat disdainful expression and said, "Don't you know about the Supreme Sorcerer, the Ancient One, who is an ally of Odin? Are you not aware of Kamar-Taj, which is a power on Earth?"
"Furthermore, those superheroes undoubtedly have Thor's contact information. Once they discover your scouting team and complain to him, we'll be exposed."
"So, you must conquer Earth before they have a chance to react, and for that, it's best if your Black Thorn warships are mobilized to the fullest."
Lady Loki also knew the power of a good reason. She slightly lowered her head and addressed Malekith, "I acknowledge that using your warships in their fleet formation against humanity might seem like overkill, but I must ensure the absolute success of my strategy."
As Lady Loki spoke these words, she exuded a powerful aura befitting a ruler.
I must say, Odin did raise his two children with care. Although Lady Loki always feels that her father is biased, in reality, Odin has never scrimped on her hardware conditions. Plus, with Frigga's doting, Asgard's princes have been exceptionally privileged since childhood.
The Asgardian royal family is the legitimate one among the Nine Realms. In contrast, where Malekith is from, it's just a piece of territory at best, and it's not even geographically advantageous. For thousands of years, it's been a barren land with few outsiders visiting.
In simpler terms, it's like the clueless son of a local landlord meeting a real princess. Lady Loki didn't even need to make a deliberate effort to entice him; he was already completely smitten.
So, Malekith waved his hand and said, "That's settled! I will lead the team personally!"
"Then, regarding the manpower to deal with the Supreme Sorcerer and Kamar-Taj..."
"I will dispatch three elite wizard squads, plus 28 warships to escort them..."
Finally, Lady Loki showed her first smile since meeting Malekith, nearly making it impossible for Malekith to take his eyes off her. He heard Lady Loki say...
"In that case, the Dark Elves will surely display their might before reaching Earth, and our counterattack plan will undoubtedly... be a resounding success."
Above Earth, the dazzling magic cigarette flowers had not yet finished blooming, and the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj hadn't encountered such suitable opponents in a long time.
Strange had instructed them to treat this as a real combat exercise and let loose. Since their opponents were allies, they clearly weren't interested in collecting spoils. Strange was worried that the grand sorcerers might lose motivation, but to his surprise, this group of sorcerers was more enthusiastic than anyone else.
The opportunity for a real combat exercise was extremely valuable for them. When the Ancient One was around, there was no such opportunity. Regardless of what demon gods arrived, the Ancient One could defeat them with a single punch. When the grand sorcerers arrived, the corpses had already cooled, and there was no role for them.
Now, they could finally have a satisfying battle. Everyone was eager to unleash their magic and treasures, with extravagant light effects dazzling the scene. It felt like they had been honing their skills for a decade just for this moment.
On Schiller's side, Moonlight Killer and Yellow Lantern, although lacking flashy special effects, were not limited to various spells. They employed a more diverse range of energy-based methods, and the power of Khonshu and Yellow Lantern Energy didn't require incantations. Because of this, they could engage in a back-and-forth battle with all the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
In the midst of the intense battle, the sound of horns suddenly echoed across the battlefield nearby, causing both sides to pause and turn their heads to look around.
"What is that?" Sorcerer Supreme was the first to look towards the space above the Earth's dark side, where a massive warship was slowly emerging.
Vanaheim, where the Dark Elves were based, was also within the Nine Realms, but it was different from Earth's dimension. They didn't need a portal; they could cross dimensions directly. Therefore, there was no prelude of a portal, and the fleet had already entered Earth's vicinity.
Ordinary people in New York instinctively looked up when they heard the horns, and many even took out telescopes to see what new problem had arisen this time.
But to their surprise, as the fleet emerged, the entire space near Earth plunged into darkness. Even New York, which had just seen the dawn, was shrouded in darkness. Not only that, the warmth brought by the sun disappeared, and everything fell into an eternal night and freezing cold.
Seeing this situation, Stark in the control room slammed the panel and shouted into the communication device connected to Strange's mobile phone:
"Take them down!"
"What?"
"Mercury's sunshade is active!"
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