Preparing for the Decisive Battle

When Heimdall approached, Odin immediately dismissed the women beside him and sat up straight.

He knew Heimdall would never interrupt his pleasures unless something serious had happened.

Heimdall came before Odin, dropped to one knee, and said respectfully, "God King, I've made a major discovery."

After speaking, he glanced at the people nearby who had yet to leave.

The matter was too important. Until he knew what the God King wanted, he did not want anyone else to hear it.

The dancers and other women were still filing out. A few even cast flirtatious looks at Heimdall, but he ignored them all.

Heimdall's heart held nothing but loyalty to Odin, his God King.

That was precisely why Loki had feared him before and had even wanted to eliminate him.

Odin merely nodded and motioned for the women to leave quickly.

Once they were gone, he asked with a serious expression, "What is it?"

Heimdall's golden eyes flickered. After making sure no one was listening, he said gravely, "I saw unfamiliar Spaceships appear at the edge of the Milky Way. There are at least ten thousand of them."

Odin frowned the moment he heard about the unfamiliar Spaceships.

"Ten thousand unfamiliar Spaceships? Didn't we seal every Wormhole? How did they get in?"

Heimdall shook his head. "I don't know. A new Wormhole may have appeared, or they may have technology or magic that allows interstellar travel. Please make a decision quickly, God King. I have a feeling they mean us harm."

His divine power was formidable, and his golden eyes were said to watch over the Nine Realms. But that was all they could watch. They could not survey the entire Milky Way.

After all, the Milky Way was roughly a hundred thousand light-years across. If Heimdall were that powerful, Odin would hardly have been the God King.

So Heimdall did not know when those unfamiliar Spaceships had appeared or how they had arrived.

Odin lowered his head in thought.

What changes would these newly arrived Spaceships bring?

Since taking control of the Milky Way, he had pursued a policy of isolation to secure his rule. He had ordered every Wormhole destroyed.

Yes, Wormholes could be closed by force. It simply took a great deal of energy.

After more than a thousand years under his rule, the Milky Way was no longer in the turmoil it had once known.

The Asgardians now stood supreme. No other power could challenge them.

If he learned how these newcomers had arrived, whether through a Wormhole or some technology, perhaps Asgard could expand its territory.

But then he thought of his son's thickheaded nature. He could only shake his head helplessly and abandon the idea.

He was getting old. No matter how vast an empire he built, an heir without brains could never hold on to it.

He had arranged for the Valkyries to support Thor. Unfortunately, his foolish son was not merely foolish; he had ideas of his own and refused to follow Odin's plans.

For now, the most important thing was ensuring Thor could take power smoothly.

After a while, Odin looked up. Heimdall was still kneeling there respectfully, and the sight reassured him.

"An enemy has appeared, so what are we waiting for? Summon every warrior! Drive out the invaders and defend the Nine Realms!"

He rose with a grave expression. Gungnir appeared in his hand, and his battle robes gradually formed around him.

For a moment, Odin looked every bit as imposing as he had in his youth.

Of course, he would have looked even better with pants on.

Beside a Wormhole in the Milky Way.

More than two thousand Spaceships hung silently in space.

A distant Fixed Star poured out light, doing its best to illuminate the region.

Thanos sat on the Throne aboard Sanctuary II, stroking the Mind Stone in his hand.

Below the Throne knelt a burly, red-skinned alien with two horns on his head.

The alien gazed at Thanos with boundless fervor and adoration.

In fact, if Thanos ordered him to kill himself, he would do it without hesitation.

Using the Mind Stone, Thanos had made him his most devout follower—more devout even than the Black Order.

That was far more effective than Loki's use of the stone to control Hawkeye in the first Avengers film.

For the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, to lose its hold after its victim took a couple of blows was utterly ridiculous.

Just then, a projection appeared in midair.

The figure was tall and powerfully built, even taller than Thanos. His body was packed with explosive muscle, making him an even more intimidating sight.

His dark gray skin and black armor gave him a fearsome appearance.

Yet he knelt respectfully before Thanos.

He was Cull Obsidian, one of the Black Order.

"My lord, our scout ships have detected a large number of unfamiliar Spaceships."

Thanos's eyes lit up at the news.

"Oh? It seems that old Odin finally couldn't sit still."

A faint smile touched his lips.

In the Milky Way, only Asgard could field so many Spaceships.

The films had never shown a war between Thanos and Odin, but he could guess how it had ended.

Thanos must have been driven back in disgrace. That was why he had resorted to using Loki to invade Blue Star and seize the other Infinity Stones.

Even when that mission failed and the Mind Stone was lost, Thanos had not dared to make a move.

Only after Odin died had Thanos immediately invaded the Milky Way, beaten Thor, and attacked Blue Star.

But he was not the Thanos from the films. He was a transmigrator with a system.

He was not afraid of Odin showing up. He was afraid Odin would hide.

The Milky Way was vast. If he had to search Fixed Star after Fixed Star for Asgard, there was no telling how long it would take.

Now that Odin had appeared of his own accord, so much the better.

Excitement showed on his face, but he still asked cautiously, "How many Spaceships did they bring?"

Cull Obsidian glanced at the subordinate beside him. A moment later, he answered, "My lord, roughly twenty-five thousand. They're all small, medium, or large Spaceships. We haven't spotted any Titan-class Spaceships."

He was not particularly clever. He had earned his place in the Black Order through brute strength alone, and even there, he was the weakest of the five.

When asked for details, he needed a subordinate beside him to supply the figures.

Thanos rubbed his purple-striped chin with his left hand and considered the news.

Twenty-five thousand. Odin controls the entire Milky Way, and his resources are no joke. But no Titan-class Spaceships? Has Asgard been cut off from the wider universe for so long that its technology has fallen behind?

After a moment, he looked up and said gravely, "Everyone, prepare yourselves. A major battle is about to begin."