Chapter 410: New Umbrella (Part 3)

Loki let out a dying cry of sorrow. The blood spraying from her chest was mixed with fragments of organs. Lei Shen saw with his own eyes as pieces of her heart were brought out by the spear and scattered on the ground, like a blooming flower.

Blood erupted from her chest, staining her long hair red. After her arm trembled twice, it fell limply to the ground. The direction she lifted her head toward was exactly Lei Shen's prison door.

Lei Shen saw her gaze gradually lose its luster, and then he heard the general say in a tone of disdain: "New King?"

"Loki, you are not worthy."

"You were never worthy."

He shook his spear and turned to leave, not noticing at all that as Loki's life force faded, the magical barrier gradually dissipated.

In a dimension not far from Asgard, the Midgard Serpent Jormungandr panted heavily, looking at the wounds all over his body and cursing Loki. He immediately used his power to call the Sanctum and said angrily: "Didn't you say you could guarantee transactions between gods?! That damn Loki! He tricked me!"

"Oh? How did he trick you?" a customer service representative asked on the other end of the line. Jormungandr kept cursing Loki, while the representative kept soothing him, saying: "Sir, you must elaborate on the process in detail for us to judge. You must start from the beginning..."

"... Oh, is that so?... I understand... Yes... That is indeed the case..."

"So that's how it is... Could you elaborate on the details of this part? I know, I know... That is indeed a bit excessive..."

Just as Jormungandr was pouring out his grievances to the Sanctum representative, he did not notice that in a neighboring dimension, a portal opened, and a sneaky figure poked its head out.

First to crawl out was a black panther, followed by a haughty lion, and behind them was a bird with golden feathers. After them, a whole bunch of animals scurried out.

They roared at each other, seemingly communicating something. Although the roars were different, one syllable was the same. If translated into human language, that name would be "Sanctum."

Then, this group of strange animals opened another portal and arrived in the dimension where Jormungandr was. When Jormungandr saw this group of little things, he was stunned.

What kind of things were these? There were lions, leopards, birds, cats, badgers...

And they kept chattering incessantly. Jormungandr was getting a headache from the noise. He swung his tail, thinking these little things would be crushed into meat paste immediately, but unexpectedly, one of the black panthers stretched out its claws, and with a flash of cold light, several more wounds appeared on Jormungandr's tail.

Jormungandr was instantly enraged. I can't beat Loki, but I can't beat you?!

As energy surged, Jormungandr opened his massive mouth and bit toward the group of animals.

However, the animals did not fight back. Relying on their small size, they scratched and clawed left and right. When Jormungandr tried to attack them, they ran, and Jormungandr had to chase. Just when he didn't want to chase anymore, another animal would strike his vital parts, infuriating Jormungandr to the point of madness as he chased the group of animals desperately.

Honestly, if a stronger god had come, Jormungandr would have tucked his tail and run. He certainly wouldn't have chased. After all, he was in a bad state, having just been beaten by Loki, and if he encountered another tough opponent, he couldn't beat them, but couldn't he hide?

But as it happened, these little guys didn't look like they had any deterrent power at all. None of them looked like powerful cosmic gods; they were clearly just a group of common small animals from Earth.

The anger of a tiger falling to the plains and being bullied by dogs was always intense, driving Jormungandr to chase after them constantly, not noticing at all that he was getting closer and closer to Asgard, from which he had just escaped.

As he chased, he discovered that the animals in front were getting fewer and fewer. In the end, only the black panther that had scratched him first remained. Then he saw the black panther reveal a very human-like mocking expression before disappearing.

【156n.】

Jormungandr was still a bit smug. Scared off by my chase, huh?! Even if I'm injured now, I'm not someone a group of wild-chicken gods like you can provoke!

Just as he stopped to look at his surroundings, he suddenly discovered with surprise: Huh? Isn't this Asgard? How did I come back?

Forget it, it's not important. Better run away quickly. If Odin really wakes up, in my current state, I'll definitely be stewed into snake soup by him.

Thinking this, Jormungandr wanted to slip away on the spot, but suddenly, he felt a peerless, powerful force descend into this space. In this short instant, the entire universe turned white.

Just like at the beginning of creation, when all things were lit up by a bolt of lightning, after the dazzling light, the white condensed into a bolt of lightning and flew to a person wearing armor. He stood quietly in the universe, but the stars and all things became the authority he wielded.

Jormungandr looked at the familiar yet strange figure before him and exclaimed: "Lei Shen?!"

"Jormungandr!"

The moment Lei Shen's angry roar rang out, Jormungandr knew things were bad.

This was not the Lei Shen, God of Thunder, he knew!

What happened to being evenly matched and dying together?!

Was this thing in front of him someone he could die together with?!

It wasn't that Jormungandr was making a fuss; according to the prophecy, he was supposed to die together with Lei Shen, but the Lei Shen in front of him didn't look like the God of Thunder at all!

Aside from the spear in his hand, which might have had some slight connection to the God of Thunder's divine office, the power overflowing from his body—that civilization power from the first bolt of lightning at creation—was clearly several levels higher than the divine office of the God of Thunder!

Jormungandr turned and ran without hesitation, but it was too late.

The entire dimension was sealed by a massive net, and the divine power sealing this dimension came from those small animals he had been chasing desperately.

Now, calling them small animals was no longer accurate. The black panther's claws were bigger than Jormungandr's head, its whole body radiating unknown energy, its eyes like two scorching suns. Golden light emitted from behind the lion, its mane moving without wind. The moment the large bird with golden feathers spread its wings, it felt as if the universe was shrouded under its wings.

Jormungandr was stunned. Suddenly, he realized this was a trap! From Loki, to Lei Shen, to these animal gods, it was all a chain of traps!

The moment his physical body was destroyed by the gods swarming him, Jormungandr roared that name: "Loki!"

Soon, the massive snake body turned from illusion to reality, then was sliced into several pieces by different powers. The animal gods swarmed up, beginning to divide the corpse and power. Lei Shen, filled with fury, returned to Asgard.

He saw soldiers in armor welcoming him. Lei Shen saw not only sycophancy in their eyes but also deep disappointment.

What were they disappointed about?

Lei Shen felt there was no need to ask himself this question in his heart, because he already had the answer. They were disappointed that he had not died together with Jormungandr as the prophecy foretold.

And at this moment, he suddenly felt it was all very absurd.

In the prophecy, after he and Jormungandr died together, Asgard would usher in Ragnarok. But now, this group of people was disappointed that he hadn't died immediately, so they could leave an empty throne and possess the greatest power before they died.

Lei Shen suddenly discovered the true face of this kingdom he had once loved deeply. The only patriots here were the royal family; they racked their brains and gave everything just to reverse Ragnarok.

But the Asgardians never cared.

Facing the prophecy, they were fearful and panicked, but facing benefits, they were greedy and cold.

Lei Shen stood quietly in mid-air, looking at the thousands of faces of the common people below, and suddenly remembered his days on Earth.

Those humans, who were also ugly enough to make him feel confused, should have made him understand long ago that as long as there is wisdom and humanity, there is no perfect god race.

The generals looked at Lei Shen, whose body was surging with powerful energy. They lowered their heads and praised him loudly, just as they always did.

But what awaited them was not the brotherly camaraderie and laughter of Lei Shen's past, nor was it the praise and celebration of Odin's past.

What they waited for was a bolt of lightning filled with the aura of destruction.

Asgard, this beautiful, ancient, complex, and mysterious kingdom, this empire that had conquered the universe and reached its peak, from today on, had a new King—

And only one new King.

At the same time, in Schiller's Mind Palace, he was flying at the top of the palace, directing a giant snake to coil around the top of the high tower to serve as the wall for the floor. Jormungandr roared angrily: "So you were the liar!"

"Less nonsense. You no longer have a physical body and can only live in me. I am your Pope, not your parent. I have no responsibility to take in a rotten snake that has been an adult for thousands of years and still can't pay rent."

"Hurry up, move a bit more to the left. Haven't you noticed the floor you built is crooked?"

The soul of the giant snake moved its body reluctantly. Schiller looked at the high tower, which was now one-tenth higher, and stroked his chin with satisfaction: "Building with psychology has no future; it's faster to stack with physics."

"How long do I have to stay here?!" Jormungandr shouted impatiently. Schiller flew to the side of his head and said: "Until you can afford the rent."

"I've never seen a Pope like you!"

"You've never seen any Pope."

Jormungandr exhaled a breath through his nose, wanting to blow Schiller further away. Now he was annoyed just seeing this cunning human.

"Don't be angry. Even if the prophecy came true, you would only have died together with Lei Shen. Now, at least you can keep your life."

"If it weren't for that, would I just be cursing you a few times?!"

Jormungandr snorted coldly, then rested his head on his coiled body, closed his eyes, and refused to continue communicating with Schiller.

Earth, Wakanda. After the Panther God returned to his dimension, he looked at T'Challa, who was still lying on the ground with black energy swirling around him. He sighed slightly, then took out a piece of snake skin from somewhere. With a flash of cold light from his claws, he cut it into a circle.

Soon, he heard a knock on the door. After opening the dimension door, Schiller's figure appeared before him. The Panther God took the umbrella from his hand with some impatience. Before long, a new umbrella with a canopy made of the Midgard Serpent's skin was finished.

After the new umbrella was made, Schiller tapped the handle lightly with his finger, then pressed the tip of the umbrella against T'Challa's forehead. Soon, the black energy was sucked back into the umbrella handle.

"How is the new member's welcome gift?"

The Black Panther let out an "Awoo," but Schiller understood; he was saying, "Not great!"

The Panther God opened a portal, signaling Schiller to leave quickly. After Schiller stepped in, he found that the opposite side was his own sanitarium office, but at this moment, there was another figure in the office: Natasha.

Schiller greeted her and said: "How is the damage assessment? That bolt of lightning was really powerful, right?"

"Yes, this bank has too long a history. With this lightning strike, I'm afraid it can't be repaired." Natasha shook her head and said in a modulated tone: "But this is not your fault, Director Arkham."

"It is very regrettable that you will likely have to move to that luxurious private resort center in the western suburbs of New York and transform it into a new sanitarium."

"Oh, I've heard of that place. The owner of that resort center was unfortunately deported back to Russia. Honestly, I'm not very comfortable using a place that a Russian has used..."

"But it is a seaside resort area, with a large healing center, a private hospital, a golf course, a horse farm..."

"Greedy Russians."

Natasha nodded in agreement: "Greedy Russians."

After nightfall, Schiller was observing his new umbrella repeatedly, unable to put it down. After watching for a while, he stood up and looked at the New York night sky outside the floor-to-ceiling window, where one star was particularly bright.

Schiller's gaze seemed to cross countless stars, pass through layers of dimensions, and see that beautiful and ancient kingdom.

He lowered his head, picked up his umbrella again to examine it, and said:

"Look, a beautiful new umbrella." ===== CHAPTER 411 =====