Battle Plan

---

At this time, Thor and Odin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then Thor told Odin everything he had seen.

After hearing Thor's words, Odin walked up to Kai and Tony Stark.

"Thank you, Kai from Earth, and Tony Stark. Thank you very much for saving Frigga."

Kai quickly replied, "This is what I should do. Thor is my good friend, and Frigga is his mother. You don't have to be so polite."

Odin nodded at Kai's words. Though he didn't say anything further, he remembered the kindness of Kai and Tony in his heart.

Even though Frigga didn't have any obvious external injuries, Odin still took her to see a healer. Thor followed, worried for his mother. Jane, seeing Thor's family leave, quickly ran after them to express her apologies to Thor.

"It was because of me that Frigga got hurt."

Thor quickly comforted her. "Jane, this isn't your fault. You don't have to blame yourself. This was all done by the Dark Elves, and I will make sure they pay for it."

After they left, Tony and Kai sat down to rest. Tony asked curiously, "Kai, did you see Odin just now? He knew who we were. How does he know us?"

Kai thought for a moment before saying, "Well, maybe Thor told him about us, or maybe he's been keeping an eye on Thor's affairs on Earth."

Tony considered it for a moment and felt that Kai's second guess was more likely.

The two continued chatting casually.

Outside Loki's cell, a man came to report everything that had just happened.

When Loki heard that his mother, Frigga, had almost been killed, his expression darkened. He hadn't expected that the Kursed warrior, whom he had only met once, would actually dare to attack Frigga.

The messenger continued, "If not for the help of the two Midgardians, Frigga might have been seriously injured."

The more Loki thought about it, the angrier he became. Even though he had often insisted that Frigga wasn't his real mother, the bond they shared couldn't be erased with mere words.

Fortunately, not long after, the messenger returned with an update.

"After being examined by the healers, the Queen of Asgard has no serious injuries, only minor cuts and bruises."

Loki finally felt relieved. He sat back down, picked up a book, and started flipping through it, but his eyes were unfocused.

--- Earth ---

Professor Selvig, after running naked around Stonehenge, was sent to a mental hospital.

There, he rambled about the convergence of the Nine Realms. Compared to the truly insane patients around him, he seemed like the only sane person in the room.

----

After learning that Frigga was not seriously injured, Jane sat on a bench outside, staring at her arms. Guilt weighed heavily on her as she desperately wished for the Aether particles to leave her body.

As if responding to her emotions, the Aether particles briefly showed her a blood-red vision of Asgard before vanishing. It was so brief that Jane barely had time to process what she had seen.

At that moment, Odin sent someone to bring Jane to a separate chamber.

But Thor objected. "So, you're going to imprison her now?"

Meanwhile, Odin examined the damaged energy core of Asgard's defensive barrier. Repairs would take time.

Just as he was assessing the situation, Thor arrived to question him, leading to an argument.

Thor said, "I want to go after Malekith."

Odin, however, disagreed. "The Aether is in our hands. Malekith will come to us."

"Yes, he will. But he can also destroy us," Thor countered.

"You overestimate those monsters," Odin replied.

Thor shook his head. "No, I simply value the lives of our people."

He laid out his plan. "I will take Jane to the Dark World, luring the Dark Elves away from Asgard. When Malekith extracts the Aether from her body, that will be our chance to destroy him."

Odin narrowed his eyes. "You are taking a risk. If you fail, the weapon will fall into the enemy's hands."

"Waiting here is an even greater risk," Thor argued. "For all we know, Malekith's fleet could already be hovering above us, hidden from view."

Odin still refused. "When Malekith comes, he will be crushed by tens of thousands of Asgardian warriors."

Thor asked the most critical question. "And how many lives will be lost in that battle?"

Although Frigga had survived this time, Odin's fury over Asgard's invasion still burned. He responded harshly, "No matter how many must be sacrificed, we will fight to the last Asgardian! We will fight until the streets of Asgard run red with our blood!"

Thor and Odin could not reach an agreement. Neither was willing to back down, and they parted on bad terms.

Shortly after, Odin called for a military strategy meeting, but Thor did not attend.

Similarly, Heimdall did not join the meeting either. With the Rainbow Bridge shut down and no immediate tasks assigned to him, he went to find Thor instead.

Thor, unwilling to wait idly for Malekith's attack, sought Heimdall's help in carrying out his plan.

At first, Heimdall hesitated, but Thor's determination eventually won him over.

Thor then gathered Sif and the Warriors Three, leading them to a secluded chamber to discuss their plan.

"We need to get Jane out of here," Thor began. "The first problem is that the Rainbow Bridge is closed. How do we leave Asgard?"

"There are other ways," he continued. "Very few people know about them. In fact, only one person does."

The others exchanged uneasy glances.

"No way," one of them muttered.

Thor nodded. "Yes, the very person you're thinking of. We need to go find him."

Together, they made their way to the prison.

Inside his cell, Loki sat idly until he saw Thor approach. A smirk played on his lips as he stepped forward.

"Thor, it's been so long," Loki drawled. "And you're only coming to visit me now?"

Then his smirk faded into something more bitter. "What is it? Have you come to gloat? To bask in my downfall?"

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