Do You Have a Way Out?

How should he put it? If all of Evenson's earlier deductions were true, then Odin had intended to occupy the Frost Giant Kingdom through gradual infiltration, assimilating the Frost Giants completely without shedding blood.

At most, he would only need to wage a few small-scale battles or carry out assassinations to eliminate dissenters. It truly was the sort of method that soaked in silently like rain—quite ingenious, really.

Had this plan been used on a short-lived race, it might well have succeeded. But using it on a long-lived race made things far more difficult.

The noble-blooded Asgardians and Frost Giants both had average lifespans of several thousand years. With proper care, living for over ten thousand years was hardly unusual. As Hela had said, given the time span of three generations and command of an army, she could have crushed the Frost Giant Kingdom thousands of times over.

Moreover, short-lived races had brief lives, meaning the time frame was smaller and the likelihood of unforeseen accidents correspondingly lower. But long-lived races could survive for so long, and the time span was so vast—who could guarantee that every step would go without error for all that time? Who could guarantee that the plan would continue smoothly forever?

At any rate, judging from the current situation, Odin's plan had already miscarried. No wonder Odin had been so enraged during Loki's rebellion that he had fainted. It was not merely because his son had betrayed him; it was also because the plan he had painstakingly cultivated for so many years had been on the verge of success, only to ultimately come to nothing.

Perhaps Laufey's decision to send someone into the Golden Palace to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters had been because he had seen through Odin's sinister intentions. He had wanted