Asgard's martial culture was incredibly pervasive—so pervasive that even many Asgardians had to grit their teeth and endure it, much like Hollywood's political correctness. They knew it was ridiculous, but pressured by the prevailing environment, they had to follow the rules in public.
Just look at Frigga and Loki. Both were mages; one was a queen, the other a prince, and neither could have held a more prestigious status. Yet to conform to Asgardian values, one carried a longsword while the other used a dagger. During battle, they would secretly toss out a spell or two, then spend the rest of the time hacking and slashing!
Were they sick? Of course not. They were catering to Asgard's mainstream values.
Going further up the chain, both Odin and Hela were deities renowned throughout the Nine Realms for their wisdom. Yet even they had to wield spears and longswords, always leading from the front in battle and demonstrating their courage through passionate combat.
That was simply the atmosphere here. Could Executioner Skorch possibly be a bigger deal than Odin, Frigga, or Hela? Did he dare defy Asgardian values? He had to do things that matched his status.
The man had trained hard with a battle-axe for this very reason. Unfortunately... he simply did not have the talent for it. Instead, he discovered that he had a gift for shooting, which was why he tossed aside his battle-axe on the battlefield and carried two M16s.
He believed himself to be Asgard's greatest marksman, but over here, that title was practically an insult.
Big Orange's question irritated him somewhat. Why was this cat exposing his weakness?
"Well?!" Big Orange put on a stern face and released the imposing aura of Pseudo-Omniscience, instantly frightening Skorch.
For one brief moment, he even thought he had seen