Laufey's Betrayal

As Laufey waited impatiently, Loki's figure soon appeared in the three-dimensional projection before him.

Loki stood inside a magnificent, resplendent hall, dressed in robes of dark green and gold.

"Loki, how are you? Are you all right?"

The moment he saw Loki appear, he felt relieved, while silently cursing that Purple Big Guy.

That damn bastard had actually dared to deceive him.

He had originally only intended to sit on the sidelines, but he had changed his mind. He would definitely make that bastard pay.

Upon hearing Laufey's words, Loki's eyes flashed with panic, though he still said calmly, "Father, I'm fine. Don't worry."

Hearing Loki's words, Laufey suddenly narrowed his eyes and said flatly, "That's good. Your mother misses you very much. When are you coming back?"

Although Loki was his son, Odin had taken him away when he was young, so Loki had not known that Laufey was his father.

It was not until last year that father and son had finally reunited.

But even after they had acknowledged each other, Loki had always called him Laufey. Why was he suddenly calling him Father today?

Something was seriously wrong.

Loki shook his head somewhat nervously and said, "My mother? I don't know her. I really want to know what Mother is like.

Oh, right. The God King said earlier that once Father completes his mission, he'll let me return. I hope Father can successfully complete the task the God King assigned him."

Hearing this, Laufey immediately took several steps back and said coldly, "My son's mother died in childbirth when she gave birth to him. You answered that part well enough, but Loki would never call that old bastard Odin the God King. He calls him Father God!"

At those words, Loki's face in the projection instantly turned pale. He opened his mouth, but did not know what to say.

A moment later, Loki's figure blurred and transformed into a robed woman.

Laufey's face immediately turned livid. "Witch! Speak! Where is my son?!"

He had never expected the Loki before him to be a witch in disguise, and it enraged him beyond measure.

After seeing that her trick had been exposed, the projection suddenly changed again, revealing Odin's image.

"Laufey, if you help me repel the enemy this time, I promise to return the Casket of Ancient Winters to you and restore your people's freedom."

Odin had seen that he no longer had any leverage over Laufey, so he could only try to placate him.

But Laufey's heart was already filled with resentment and fury. How could he possibly listen to Odin?

Besides, if Odin were killed, he could naturally reclaim the Casket of Ancient Winters, and the Frost Giants would naturally be free of their restrictions.

So he immediately ended the call, with no intention of continuing the conversation.

Odin's face instantly turned ashen.

"Damn Laufey! I should never have spared your life!"

Back then, considering how difficult it had been for Laufey to attain Skyfather-level strength, Odin had not killed him. He had originally intended to make use of him, but Laufey had actually betrayed him.

But with the war raging now, Odin had no opportunity to deal with Laufey.

Seeing his army's right flank begin to collapse once more, he could not help growing anxious.

After some thought, he narrowed his remaining eye and made up his mind.

"Everyone, fall back to Asgard!"

Everyone who heard the order was stunned.

But soon, the Asgardian Gods began piloting their space Spaceships toward the Asgard Continent.

Especially those who did not even have Spaceships and had relied solely on hot-blooded courage to pilot personal spacecraft.

This day was an absolute nightmare for them all.

In a space war, those spacecraft served only as cannon fodder.

Their tiny spacecraft could not possibly strike enemies so far away.

Yet the enemy's attacks could tear their spacecraft apart with a single shot, or even a mere grazing hit.

Trapped in a situation where they could only take hits and could not fight back, they still could not retreat.

Because God King Odin had not ordered them to retreat. If they did, they would be deserters and would be executed on the spot.

After finally enduring the exchange of fire and closing the distance, they had to face the dense, nearly countless forces of the Black Order and the starry beasts.

Although the Asgardian Gods were valiant and invincible, they had not fought a war in over a thousand years and had long forgotten war's brutality and bloodshed.

Now that they had heard Odin's retreat order, they naturally rushed to fly toward the Asgard Continent.

Meanwhile, Thor and Heimdall, who were fighting desperately at the outermost perimeter, did not stop fighting after hearing the retreat order. Instead, they continued slaughtering enemies.

Even when retreating, they could not simply turn around and run. That would be a rout, not a retreat.

Someone had to remain behind to cover the others' safe withdrawal.

And they were the best candidates.

Bolts of lightning shot from Thor's Mjolnir, while arcs of sword light slashed from Heimdall's twin blades.

They destroyed one enemy space Spaceship after another.

But watching this, Odin began to grow anxious.

No matter how strong a Sub-Skyfather was, he was ultimately not Skyfather-level.

Without reinforcements, facing thousands of Spaceships alone would exhaust them to death.

It did not matter if others died, but Thor was his son, and Heimdall was his most capable general. If they were exhausted to death like this, Thanos would probably be delighted.

A moment later, he immediately ordered all the Spaceships and spacecraft on the left and right flanks to stay behind, allowing Thor and Heimdall to return first.

Upon hearing the order, Heimdall naturally returned without hesitation.

But Thor was in the midst of a killing frenzy, venting the shadow Thanos had left on him. He ignored Father God's order completely.

Odin had no choice but to send Heimdall back to bring Thor home.

Finally, seeing the left and right battle lines on the verge of collapse, he gritted his teeth and ordered those miniature spacecraft to remain behind as rearguard while all the other Spaceships retreated to Asgard.

At that moment, Asgard was slowly raising its protective barrier.

That barrier was linked to all of Asgard, as well as the resources Odin had collected from across the Milky Way over the years.

So as long as they hid within Asgard, even given a hundred years, Thanos would never be able to breach it.

Thanos naturally noticed Odin's actions, but he merely watched without making a move.

Time was on his side.

As long as he trapped Odin and Asgard, then slowly conquered this galaxy, his odds of victory would only grow greater and greater.

More than a dozen hours passed.

After losing ten million Asgardian warriors, Odin finally led the remaining Spaceships back to Asgard.

At the same time, Asgard's protective shield fully sealed shut.

Watching Thanos outside the barrier, wearing a mocking smile, Odin clenched Gungnir.

"Thanos! Just you wait!"

He had already made up his mind during the retreat.

He would unseal Hela, then bring the three of them to battle Thanos.

Hela possessed Skyfather-level strength, and with Asgard's empowerment, she was only slightly weaker than Odin himself.

Then it would be time for their decisive battle against Thanos!