World Tree

"Jiang Yang, thank you for saving us and slaying the Demon Wolf Fenrir."

Frigga smiled gratefully.

"Think nothing of it. The seven refuges of the past and the seven Divine Courts of today all belong to the same civilization, the same Divine Clan! We should help one another!"

Jiang Yang answered with a warm smile.

"Yes. How glorious our civilization once was. Yet after only a thousand years, it has vanished like smoke and clouds. If we weren't still alive, who would remember it in the future?"

Frigga sighed softly, and many of the Divine Clan members behind her who had lived through those thousand years also grew despondent.

They had suffered grievous losses in this battle, and the buildings of Asgard Palace had been almost entirely destroyed. Many of those who had died were companions who had supported one another, step by step, through the past thousand years.

Had Jiang Yang not arrived in time, they might very well have been wiped out.

"By the way, is Brother Odin still in seclusion?"

Jiang Yang asked. A crisis like this had threatened the survival of the entire Norse Divine Court, yet Odin had never appeared, even at the very end. That shouldn't have been the case.

"Odin went into seclusion six months ago. Even now, we don't know how he's doing..."

Frigga said helplessly.

Just as Jiang Yang and the others were puzzling over this, the entire Asgard Palace suddenly began to shake, and the ground beneath their feet split open in waves.

Soon, a towering tree rapidly grew out from beneath the mountain under Asgard Palace.

The gods all took flight and stood in midair, watching the tree grow.

As Jiang Yang watched the familiar scene before him and sensed an exceptionally familiar aura, a faint smile appeared on his face.

It seemed this towering tree was Odin's God Form. Having witnessed Zeus's Thunder Giant, he had actually grown accustomed to the spectacle of their breakthroughs.

The towering tree first grew a lofty trunk. Its thick trunk reached nearly three hundred meters in height, considerably taller than Odin's Thunder Giant.

Once the trunk reached its full height and stopped growing, branches sprouted from it one after another, but at this point, it remained as bare as a tree in winter.

Soon, however, green leaves began to sprout from the trunk. In just half an hour, a great tree brimming with life had sprung into being, rising from the earth to tower over the world!

A term came faintly to the minds of everyone present, filling them with awe: World Tree!

Once the World Tree had taken shape, its enormous bulk began to tremble, and a resounding, majestic voice came from within.

"My breakthrough came too late. But Jiang Yang, thank goodness you were here. Welcome to Northern Europe!"

With that, the World Tree blazed into light and contracted rapidly, turning into a one-eyed, middle-aged man wearing an eyepatch in midair. He had a majestic face and a tall build.

It was Odin!

Seeing the God King appear, the gods all went forward to greet him, only for Odin to bow to them all and apologize first.

"My fellow clansmen, I'm sorry. I wasn't able to appear sooner to fight Fenrir."

There was no joy at his breakthrough in Odin's voice; instead, he sounded deeply grieved.

The moment he appeared above the shattered Asgard Palace, he had seen the grievous casualties among the Norse gods.

The last time they had suffered such enormous losses had been during the apocalyptic war a thousand years ago.

The Divine Clan's numbers now hovered on the brink of extinction. Every member was precious.

The seven Divine Courts had only a few thousand people between them.

Although every one of them was A-Rank or above, the Divine Clan's birth rate was now extremely low.

Even his son, Thor, had been a lucky blessing only after he and Frigga had tried for hundreds of years.

Far more members of the Divine Clan, however, had no offspring at all.

"At the critical moment of my breakthrough, I suddenly woke and saw Fenrir looming over the gods. Just as I was about to go out, I saw Jiang Yang appear. Only then could I put my mind at ease and continue my breakthrough."

Odin came up to Jiang Yang and pulled him straight into a great bear hug.

Between close brothers, there was no need for many words.

During the apocalypse, Odin and Jiang Yang had served in the same squad, and Odin had always been Jiang Yang's captain. Jiang Yang still held deep affection for this elder brother.

"Thank you, Jiang Yang!"

Odin expressed his gratitude once more.

"We're brothers. Think nothing of it."

Jiang Yang smiled easily.

Then Odin came before the gods and spoke solemnly.

"Jiang Yang has slain the Demon Wolf Fenrir, and I have also broken through to the Emperor-Rank Second Step. There is no longer any need for so many powerful mutant beasts to occupy Northern Europe."

"Next, we will clear out Northern Europe and rebuild the Divine Court. I've already thought of a name. It will be called—Asgard!"

As for the Norse Refuge, the seven Divine Courts had long since reached an agreement. The refuges would be concealed and used as residences and workplaces for researchers, while the warriors would build Divine Courts nearby, serving as protection as well.

The Divine Courts could fall, but the refuges must not be destroyed.