Chapter 178: Sacrifice

The Destroyer's light stream blasted over, but Azu did not retreat or dodge. His eyes also lit up, and golden flames shot out from his pupils, colliding with the Destroyer's light stream.

The two streams of light clashed violently in the treasury, instantly erupting into surging flames. The flames swirled around Azu and the Destroyer, eventually forming a tornado that soared into the sky.

This fire dragon shattered the dome of the treasury in an instant, soaring straight up and finally merging into the clouds, extremely dazzling.

So much so that on the chaotic battlefield above Asgard, the Dark Elves and the Asgardian warriors who were still in the midst of fierce combat could see it clearly.

Volstagg glanced in that direction and then shouted, "What's going on? That's the direction of the treasury."

"Could the Dark Elves have infiltrated the treasury?"

This man, who resembled a large wine barrel, then looked towards the distant Dark Throne.

There, the man who called himself the 'Conqueror' still sat on the throne.

This puzzled Volstagg, as he couldn't figure out who could possibly invade the treasury now.

But at this moment, the battle flags of both sides were weaving through the air, and the firefight was continuous.

There was no time to pay attention to the treasury.

The swordsmanship master Fandral had just destroyed a Dark Elf fighter with his sword and jumped back onto the Asgardian warship.

He grabbed the shoulder of the warrior Sif: "Go check on Thor, how is he?"

He looked down at the 'Dark Prison' that trapped Odin: "If His Majesty cannot come out of there in time, we can only rely on Thor."

Sif was also concerned about Thor, so she nodded upon hearing this, jumped onto a warship, and drove it to find Thor.

In the treasury.

Most of the walls had melted, but the treasures and artifacts remained undamaged.

An item resembling the Infinity Gauntlet had already melted into molten iron.

However, the 'Casket of Ancient Winters' in Azu's hand was intact.

In fact, this item had spontaneously activated a burst of cold air, protecting the area around it from being burned.

Azu and the Destroyer had stopped emitting light streams.

The steel puppet had no emotions and would not be frustrated or angered by the ineffectiveness of the light stream.

It simply adopted another method.

Taking a big step forward.

The Destroyer raised its hand and punched with its iron fist.

As the fist descended, a sharp sound immediately rang out in the air, so piercing that it seemed to sting Azu's eardrums.

Of course, for Azu.

This sound was merely ear-piercing but did not injure his ears.

Facing the Destroyer's fierce punch, Azu raised his arm and bent his elbow, using his elbow to strike the opponent's iron fist.

At the moment of collision, the entire treasury shook violently, and everything became blurry, affected by the high-frequency shockwaves.

In this blur, except for the treasures and artifacts, everything else did not explode but turned into fragments in an instant.

There was no transition in between.

Then, as the shockwaves from the collision spread, the treasury, as if made of foam, was blown apart and dissipated.

Only then did the Destroyer's arm suddenly bounce upward, and its massive body uncontrollably rose into the air.

Suddenly.

The Destroyer was sent flying backward, crashing through countless things before it finally stopped.

After it stopped, it pressed its hands down and stood up again.

Seemingly unharmed.

Then it strode forward again.

Azu had no interest in playing with it anymore and raised the 'Casket of Ancient Winters' towards the Destroyer.

The 'Casket of Ancient Winters' immediately lit up, emitting a blue light. Within the range of this blue light, everything rapidly froze.

As the Destroyer ran, frost quickly spread over its surface, blown backward by the wind, causing icicles to form on the steel giant's body.

The Destroyer's movements became slower and slower, but it still stubbornly charged towards Azu, raising its arm.

However.

Affected by the frost.

Its movements were extremely slow, finally freezing in the posture of clenching its fist, about to strike.

The Destroyer was frozen.

Temporarily immobilized.

Azu smiled, holding the 'Casket of Ancient Winters' and stepping back slightly, then his figure suddenly disappeared from the now-flattened treasury.

In the palace.

In Frigga's bedroom.

Jane Foster looked out the window with a worried expression: "Will Thor be alright?"

Frigga smiled: "Don't you have confidence in him?"

"No, I'm just worried about him." Jane Foster shook her head.

Frigga smiled gently: "I believe in my son and husband. They have faced countless challenges and have always come through. This time will be no exception."

Jane Foster nodded: "I hope so."

Frigga turned around: "Thor has mentioned you to me, but he hasn't told me how you two met."

"Would you like to tell me about it?"

Jane Foster smiled: "The first time I saw him, I was chasing a storm."

"He appeared in the storm."

"At that time, he wasn't wearing anything. When I saw him, I thought, 'Oh my God, how can there be such a strong man in the world?'"

Frigga laughed.

At that moment.

A figure suddenly appeared in the bedroom.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

Black battle suit.

Red cape.

The Conqueror!

Frigga immediately stood in front of Jane Foster, pointing her sword at the man: "How did you get here?"

Azu looked at the queen and shook his head: "Why do you people, who could have been great sorcerers, always want to be assassins?"

"Loki's bad habits must have come from you, right, Your Majesty?"

Frigga slightly closed her eyes and then said: "You should leave here."

"I will leave, but only after taking you with me." Azu said.

Frigga was stunned: "What did you say?"

Azu glanced at Jane Foster standing beside her and said: "As I just said."

"I know you are a skilled sorceress, but I didn't expect you to be able to hide Jane Foster's mind as well."

"So, yes, I tried to find her."

"But I couldn't."

"Therefore, I can only take you away."

"I think your husband and son would be willing to exchange Jane Foster for you, right?"

Frigga and the Jane Foster beside her exchanged glances, and then this Jane Foster disappeared like a phantom.

"You actually saw through my illusion?" Frigga's expression became serious as she looked at Azu.

Azu shrugged. With his 'Mind Domain' ability, illusions indeed had no effect on him.

No matter how skilled the illusion, it couldn't fake a soul, a mind.

Frigga said: "But taking me away won't be that easy."

"Is that so?"

Azu glanced at the 'Casket of Ancient Winters' in his hand.

Frigga's expression finally changed.

At that moment.

At the edge of Asgard.

Sif drove a warship here and found Thor embedded in the sacred mountain.

The female warrior's face turned pale: "The sacred mountain is indestructible, yet it was destroyed like this."

"The Conqueror's power is truly terrifying."

She quickly maneuvered the warship to Thor's side. The man's face was bruised, his eyes swollen, his nose seemingly broken, and his lips split, a pitiful sight.

Sif felt a pang of heartache. She had never seen Thor in such a miserable state.

After placing Thor on the ship, Sif quickly applied Asgardian healing ointment to Thor's face.

After a while, the injuries on Thor's face improved, and the swelling in his eyes subsided.

He slowly opened his eyes and murmured: "Sif?"

Sif nodded: "Are you okay?"

Thor smiled bitterly: "Not so good."

"How's the situation now?"

Sif's eyes darkened: "His Majesty is trapped by a spell and can't break free for now."

"Our army is in full-scale battle with the Dark Elves, but to be honest, the situation isn't good."

Thor immediately got up, extending his hand and saying: "I'll go help right away."

Sif nodded.

At that moment.

From the distant palace, a blue light shot out.

Wherever the blue light passed, buildings froze.

Thor's eyes sharpened: "This..."

"This is the 'Casket of Ancient Winters'!"

"What's going on?"

Sif looked more carefully: "That seems to be the queen's chambers."

"What!"

At that moment, Mjolnir flew back into Thor's hand.

Thor immediately spun the hammer, letting it carry him towards the palace.

"Mother."

"Please don't let anything happen to you!"

Thor flew swiftly, arriving at Queen Frigga's chambers in the blink of an eye.

The place was already frozen.

The dome, pillars, ground, everything.

Covered in frost.

Thor anxiously looked around, shouting: "Mother, where are you?"

"She's been taken."

A familiar voice sounded.

Thor turned around sharply.

He saw his brother Loki's figure emerging from behind a pillar.

"Loki."

"What are you doing here?"

Thor grabbed his collar: "Did you take Mother?"

Loki shouted: "Use your muscle-filled brain to think carefully, why would I take Frigga?"

"It was the Conqueror!"

"When I arrived, I saw him taking the frozen Frigga away."

Thor immediately released Loki and, without a word, flew out.

Loki looked around, his figure suddenly transforming into an Asgardian warrior, and left the chambers.

Loki was right.

After freezing Frigga with the 'Casket of Ancient Winters', Azu carried the Asgardian queen away.

He returned to the battlefield, retrieved his duplicates, and landed on the Dark Throne.

"Listen up."

"Asgardians!"

Azu's voice echoed across the skies of Asgard.

"Your queen is in my hands."

"If you want her back."

"Tell Odin."

"To bring Jane Foster to Svartalfheim."

"I'll be waiting for him there."

Then.

The Dark Throne floated towards the mothership.

Thor rushed over and saw this scene.

He shouted.

A surge of electricity erupted from his hammer, roaring towards Azu.

"Return my mother!"

Azu glanced back, smiling, and held Frigga in front of him.

Thor's expression changed instantly, and he swiftly moved his hammer to the side, causing the electric surge to pass by the Dark Throne, destroying several Dark Elf fighters.

By the time Thor landed on an Asgardian warship, the Dark Throne had already entered the mothership, and the Dark Elf fleet began to retreat.

The black fighters received the order to retreat and started returning to their respective mother ships.

The Asgardian warships wanted to pursue but were ordered by Thor to stop.

They could only watch as the invaders arrogantly disappeared into the skies of Asgard.

At that moment.

On the ground, a silver-white light stream shot out from the 'Dark Prison'.

This light stream tore through the prison, and the darkness dissipated. Odin walked out.

The All-Father had broken free from the light prison but could no longer see the Dark Elves.

He was stunned.

"Where are the Dark Elves?"

*

*

*

Standing in the ice-cold chambers, Odin's face was gloomy, silent.

Jane Foster, who had been protected by Frigga, glanced at Thor, who was hanging his head in self-reproach, and whispered: "I'm sorry, it's all because of me."

Thor shook his head: "It's not your fault."

He then looked at his father.

"Father, let me take Jane to Svartalfheim."

Odin looked at him: "What do you plan to do?"

Thor pointed to his girlfriend: "What the Conqueror wants is not Jane, but the 'Aether' inside her."

"He is right, if we don't extract the 'Aether' soon, Jane will die."

"So I plan to exchange the 'Aether' for my mother."

"As long as we get my mother back and extract the 'Aether' from Jane's body, I will do everything in my power to destroy that weapon, and then bring my mother and Jane back safely."

Odin looked at him: "Is this your plan?"

Thor nodded.

Odin closed his eyes and said: "Thor, my dear son, you are too naive."

"Someone who can knock you out and trap me."

"That conqueror is not an opponent you can handle."

"Besides, if the 'Aether' could be destroyed, I believe your grandfather, my father, would not have gone to such lengths to seal it on Earth."

"With your power alone, you cannot destroy it."

Thor shouted: "Then what should we do?"

"Do you want me to just watch my mother die?"

Odin did not open his eyes.

Thor seemed to think of something.

His body swayed slightly.

"No."

"No."

"Do you really intend not to save her?"

"Do you want to sacrifice her?"

Odin slowly opened his eyes and said: "Thor, the celestial movement has already begun."

"Soon, the nine realms will align."

"If that conqueror obtains the 'Aether', the entire universe will be in danger."

"If sacrificing Frigga alone can save the nine realms, yes, I would do it."

Thor was deeply shocked and pointed his hammer at his father: "How can you do this!"

"That is my mother, your wife!"

"Don't you think you are too cold-hearted!"

"Am I cold-hearted?"

Odin angrily said: "Do you think I don't want to save her?"

"That is my wife!"

"I love her more than anyone!"

"But I know very well what the consequences would be if the 'Aether' falls into the hands of the conqueror, into the hands of the dark elves!"

"Stop arguing."

Jane Foster said: "It's all my fault."

"If I hadn't come to Asgard, none of this would have happened."

Odin shook his head: "No, girl."

"This has nothing to do with you."

"The one at fault is you, Thor!"

"You always treat my words as if they were wind in your ears."

"You always want to break the rules I set."

"But you never think."

"The words I say, the rules I set, are all to protect Asgard, to protect the nine realms."

"Frigga's sacrifice today is the bitter fruit of you ignoring and breaking the rules!"

At this point, for some reason, Odin gave Jane Foster a deep look.

Thor did not notice this detail, he just shook his head and stepped back: "No, father."

"I just"

"Enough."

Odin shouted: "Guards, take Jane Foster away."

"No one is allowed to approach her."

"Especially Thor!"

Two Asgardian warriors came over to take Jane Foster away.

Thor raised his hammer, ready to repel the soldiers.

At that moment.

The 'Eternal Spear' appeared before his eyes.

Thor turned around.

He saw Odin's furious face.

In a tavern in Asgard.

"Another one."

Thor slapped the empty glass that had already been drained.

At this time, Sif, wearing a hood and cloak, walked in.

She sat down beside Thor.

"I knew you would be here drinking."

Thor let out a drunken burp and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Now, besides drinking, what else can I do?"

"My father, the great All-Father, has ordered the Bifrost to be closed, and no one is allowed to go to Svartalfheim."

"Jane has also been locked up by him, and I am not allowed to approach her."

"So tell me, besides drinking, what else can I do?"

Sif looked at him and said: "Have you given up just like that?"

"This is not at all like the Thor I know."

Thor spread his hands: "Well, brave Lady Sif."

"What do you think I can do now?"

Sif looked at him and said: "You can rescue Jane, and then go to Svartalfheim to save your mother."

Thor shook his head: "Maybe you didn't hear clearly, let me say it again, the King has forbidden me from approaching Jane."

"As soon as I appear, the guards will capture me."

Sif knocked on the bar, ordered a drink, and then said: "Then let someone else go to rescue her."

Thor still shook his head: "Even if I could rescue Jane, how would we get to Svartalfheim."

"I don't think Heimdall would disobey orders."

"He might not."

"But who told you that going to Svartalfheim must use the Bifrost?"

Sif said lightly: "I know of a secret passage that leads to Svartalfheim."

Thor laughed: "Don't lie."

"Do you think you're Loki?"

He picked up his beer and took a sip.

Suddenly.

Thor spat out the beer in his mouth.

Then he stared wide-eyed at Sif.

Sif gave him a mischievous smile.

In the palace.

Jane Foster was locked in a room.

She looked at the dinner the maid had just brought, but had no appetite.

At that moment, she heard two dull thuds outside.

Then the door opened.

A black-haired female warrior walked in.

"Jane Foster?" the warrior asked.

Jane Foster nodded.

The warrior threw a cloak over: "Put this on, then follow me, Thor wants to see you."

Jane Foster was stunned for a moment, then put on the cloak and pulled up the hood.

When she walked out of the room, she saw two Asgardian warriors lying on the ground, apparently knocked out by the female warrior in front of her.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Sif."

The warrior said succinctly: "Follow me closely."

They quickly passed through several corridors and arrived in a room.

In the room.

Jane Foster saw Thor, Volstagg, Fandral.

And a man with slightly curly black hair, wearing a green robe, with a mischievous face.

Loki!

Jane Foster looked at this group in disbelief: "What are you all doing?"

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