Chapter 3697: Doomsday (Part 1)

Manhattan was far busier than the suburbs. Since summer began, New York occasionally saw light rain. The rainwater left over from the early hours of this morning made the ground glisten, and there were many people out for their morning jogs on the trails of New York's Central Park. As Steve ran past the building, Shiler, sitting behind his desk, stretched and set aside a piece of parchment covered in various mysterious runes.

He took a zip tie from his drawer, bundled the parchment he had just finished writing, checked off an item on his schedule, and picked up the phone nearby to call Strange.

"I've finished all the props for the film shoot. Should I send them to the Sanctum now, or will you come pick them up when you return to New York?... Weren't you supposed to be back today?"

Shiler glanced at his watch with some confusion and then said, "You've been busy for half a month straight. Loki is nowhere to be seen either. Has something happened in Asgard?"

Strange said a few words on the other end. Shiler sighed and said, "Fine, I'll head to the Sanctum now. Wait for me there."

Shiler went downstairs, drove, and arrived at Wall Street before the Manhattan morning rush hour. He walked into the Sanctum, greeted the front desk staff, and headed straight into Strange's office.

Just as he arrived, a portal opened before him. Strange and Loki stepped out one after the other. Shiler's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them.

"Something happened," Strange said.

"What exactly is going on?" Shiler asked.

"Don't say you don't know anything about it." Loki walked over to the sofa nearby, sat down, and sighed, "The military conflicts between the three great empires are becoming increasingly intense. Within the last two weeks, their top military commanders have all sent letters to Asgard, each trying to secure Asgard's support."

"That's a good thing." Shiler lowered his eyes and also walked over to the sofa in the reception area to sit down. Strange went to pour them drinks.

"Currently, Thor is holding off the pressure as much as possible. But you know, once a full-scale interstellar war breaks out, Asgard cannot remain neutral forever. We've been debating this intensely lately. You understand, Asgard is full of pro-war factions."

Strange placed two glasses of whiskey in front of them, sat down opposite them with his own drink, looked at Shiler, and said, "Even with Steve's birthday party to prepare for, you couldn't possibly have ignored the cosmic situation. Even the governments of ordinary people have heard rumors. I've been busy calming down various national governments lately, keeping them from panicking over an interstellar war."

"When we provoked the war, we knew this day would come." Loki shook his head lightly and said, "To break the solidified interstellar situation and secure a better position for the Nine Realms, growing pains are unavoidable. The problem now is that once we decide to step in, the Nine Realms can hardly be guaranteed total safety."

"Kamar-Taj and Asgard have discussed many plans." Strange crossed his fingers, rested his forearms on his knees, and said, "The Nine Realms have a well-known weakness: the World Tree. Once anything happens to the World Tree, the Nine Realms will collapse in an instant. The dimension where Earth is located will not be spared either. We know this, and the three great empires know it too."

"So, rather than calling it an invitation, it's more of a threat." Loki took a sip of his drink and said, "They all possess weapons capable of threatening the World Tree. If they are pushed to the limit, there's no guarantee they won't try to use such weapons to drag all of Asgard down with them."

Shiler nodded, seemingly unsurprised. Asgard's combat mode was already a cliché: a lightning-fast decapitation strike centered on the All-Father. No matter where they fought, they would charge in and knock the opponent senseless with a single punch.

They had had many conflicts with the three great empires before, but had never engaged in a direct, full-scale war. Odin also understood that Asgardians alone could never destroy any of the three great empires, precisely because their combat style lacked the ability to fight a conventional front-line war.

Once a full-scale war broke out, even if Asgard's specialty—the decapitation strike—succeeded, the enemy's massive armies would surely have already reached the gates of the Nine Realms. They didn't have enough troops to withstand such a relentless offensive. Once the World Tree fell, the Nine Realms would be completely finished.

From a macro perspective, each of the three great empires was a well-trained army, while Asgard was a peerless martial arts master. Although he could easily charge into a command center and pose a fatal threat to the enemy leadership, once the armies were mobilized, he would be unable to escape.

Therefore, the three great empires had the capital to threaten Asgard. Although they were currently at war with each other, they still had the capacity to divert forces to deal with Asgard. "If you don't help me, I'll beat you." Even if Asgard could keep attackers at bay without taking the initiative, fighting such a local war was a losing proposition. If one or two branches of the World Tree were damaged, saving it would be difficult.

"I can be certain the Shi'ar Empire won't make a move." Shiler simply said, "No matter how much pressure they put on you, it's just for show. What you need to focus on are the two machine civilizations."

"They are exactly who we are most worried about. The Shi'ar Empire's ultimate weapon is the Great Portal, but that thing isn't just a weapon; it's also a very important tool for their own country, and they won't use it lightly. The strategic-level weapons possessed by the other two empires are not so easily dealt with."

Shiler knew that, just like many countries on Earth possessing nuclear bombs, many advanced civilizations had strategic-level weapons—the kind that, once fired, meant everyone was finished, deciding the outcome in a single blow. At the very least, they could destroy a star system; at the very most, they could shatter a dimension. To this day, no country had truly used such a strategic-level weapon, which precisely proved the immense deterrent power of such armaments.

In this situation, no one could push anyone into a dead end, or the other side would surely drag everyone down with them. But before that, they could naturally use the deterrent power of these strategic weapons to win over allies. The more powerful the allies, the greater the bargaining chips. The more room there would be for negotiation after the war. War was merely a means; what they wanted was profit.

Asgard was currently trapped in this dilemma. The three great empires were fighting to a stalemate, trading blows, and the war was escalating, currently nearing the star-system level. If it went any higher, it would reach the star-cluster level. The thousand-year war between the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire had remained at this level.

In this situation, everyone was desperate to stop the war, but no one was willing to stop while they were at a disadvantage. Every empire needed a shot of adrenaline, and Asgard was the best candidate for an ally.

A civilization like Asgard wasn't good at front-line warfare, but when someone else was fighting the front lines, their lightning-war capabilities could be best utilized, possessing the strongest strategic deterrent. No matter which empire's leader it was, they feared that lightning-fast punch to the face. Regardless of the losses, the key was the humiliation.

Don't think that a machine civilization under strict control like the Kree Empire didn't need strategic confidence. Their main ethnic group indeed listened entirely to the Supreme Intelligence, but within their territory were many vassal civilizations, and among them were many advanced civilizations below the level of the great empires, much like the United States and its subordinates.

Every time the United States fought a war, it didn't just seek victory; it had to be a crushing victory, a beautiful win, precisely to give its subordinates confidence. Even if they lost, it had to be a glorious defeat. If that war was neither won nor lost, and their true colors were revealed, that would be far more serious than the loss of personnel. Once the myth of invincibility was broken, the people below would inevitably become restless, shaking the very foundation.

The three great empires all understood that Asgard wouldn't cooperate obediently, so they would naturally use both coercion and inducement. It was easy to imagine how much pressure Thor and Loki had been under during this time.

"Tell me what plans you have." Shiler swirled his glass, observing the ice ball gradually melting.

"First, we must ensure the safety of the Nine Realms. At this critical juncture, the three great empires will certainly be up to some sneaky tricks. So, recently, we will blockade the dimensional passages between the Nine Realms. No one can travel between the realms without Asgard's permission."

"Secondly, Asgard will comprehensively strengthen the defenses within the Nine Realms." Loki glanced at Strange and said, "This is what we've been busy with lately. We will station troops in every realm to handle any emergencies."

"Oh, that's a bit sensitive." Shiler nodded and said, "Let me think, the commander of the garrison certainly isn't you, right?"

"How could it be me?" Loki smiled helplessly and said, "Those people wouldn't listen to me. The general sent to Midgard this time is Heimdall."

"It seems you value this place highly."

"Of course. Midgard's strategic importance is currently second only to Asgard and Vanaheim. This is thanks to humanity's own efforts, and it also has to do with the shift in Thor's governing style."

"Fine, where do you intend to station these troops?"

"We are discussing this issue." Loki took another sip of his drink and then said, "We plan to build the base on Uranus. This way, it's relatively far from Earth and won't cause you panic, but it's close to the starport, allowing us to protect humanity's most valuable cosmic assets."

"Uranus?" Shiler frowned slightly and said, "That's not a good place. I thought you would choose Pluto. Or is it that the special low-temperature conditions there are more conducive to certain races being stationed long-term?"

Loki pursed his lips and said, "Although no one in Asgard listens to me, I am, after all, a Frost Giant. Back then, the Frost Giants were devastated by Odin and were almost wiped out. I went to integrate the remnants of the Frost Giants, preparing to have them head to Uranus. At the very least, it's a force."

"It seems you don't trust Heimdall much."

"Standing from Asgard's perspective, he is trustworthy. But all Asgardian warriors have one problem: they are too bellicose." Loki sighed and said, "When encountering problems, they won't choose to handle them calmly but will resort directly to violence. Heimdall is already relatively rational among Asgardians, but it's hard to say whether he might cause an escalation of conflict once he encounters an enemy. That wouldn't be good for either Asgard or Earth."

"Are you sure you can restrain your own kin well?" Shiler drank a mouthful of the cold liquor and then said, "It's not that I don't trust your ability, but the Frost Giants seem even more irritable than the Aesir."

"The irritable ones are all dead." Loki laughed again and said, "Thanks to the All-Father, the most bellicose batch of Frost Giants were all killed. The ones remaining are either relatively gentle or have some brains; most are the anti-war faction among the Frost Giants, and they are relatively easy to control."

"Fine, if you must do this, I won't oppose it. Also, I previously reminded you to go to the Dark Elves and retrieve Laufey's skull; why haven't you gone?"

"Not yet." Loki said, "I have to wait for the Frost Giants to recover their strength, and then I will go as Laufey's son, leading the Frost Giants to retrieve the skull, and incidentally wipe out the Dark Elves who insulted the remains of the King of the Frost Giants. Only then will I have a legitimate reason and be in the right."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3698 =====