Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Loki, sensing Heimdall's power, slammed the Spear of Eternity onto the ground and said sternly, "Heimdall! How dare you use forbidden dark power! This is forbidden in Asgard! No wonder you deserted your post and hid here..."

Heimdall opened his mouth, unsure how to explain. The growing number of people around him forced him to swallow his prepared words.

How could Heimdall defend himself? Odin was aware of this power, but dark power was taboo in Asgard; it represented someone who absolutely could not be mentioned.

Seeing the speechless Heimdall, Loki pointed the Spear of Eternity at him and said, "Hand over the Bult Steel. You are temporarily relieved of your duties as Guardian. Once my father awakens, I will report this to Odin, the King of the Gods..."

To the onlookers, Loki's actions were normal and proper; he didn't even use his current status as the acting God-King to punish Heimdall.

Heimdall had no choice but to hand over his weapon and was escorted to the Asgardian prison under the guards.

The singing and dancing continued unabated, without disrupting the Asgardian celebrations. Loki, having obtained the Bult Steel, awaited Thor.

Loki, seated on his throne, spoke slowly in a voice only he could hear: "Everything is ready, just waiting for the actors to take the stage..."

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Chapter 349: Loki's Scheme 2

When Ashe and Thor arrived in Asgard, Heimdall was not there as usual at the Rainbow Bridge; instead, Loki was waiting for them.

Thor, who was originally furious and wanted to get the answer to his question, turned into his usual fool the moment he saw Loki.

Thor rushed forward, wanting to protect Loki, but when he reached out to grab Loki's arm, he found nothing. It turned out to be just an illusion, and Thor almost fell to the side.

"You actually thought I was waiting for you here? I am now the King of Asgard, come find me in the main hall of Asgard..."

Loki gave a disdainful smile, the fading light of the spell highlighting Thor's expression.

"By the way, come alone. After all, this is Asgard's 'family matter'!"

Loki emphasized the word "family matter" while glancing at Ash standing to the side, as if to say, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

Thor, ever the easygoing one, gave Ash an apologetic smile and said, "Wait here for now, or you can wander around. I'll have a good talk with Loki; it seems things haven't gotten to that point yet..."

After saying that, Thor turned Mjolnir and flew away towards Asgard.

Despite the advance reconnaissance by the Greedy Ones, Ashe was unaware of the situation here. Loki's actions in such a short time made no attempt to conceal himself from the ordinary people of Asgard, and this unusual behavior made it impossible to discern his intentions.

Meanwhile, the Greedy One was preoccupied with the celebration; having become the biggest drinker there, he was constantly being challenged. Therefore, the Greedy One was completely unaware of Loki's relocation.

The people of Asgard are simple and honest, but also full of martial spirit. When drinking, they can be quite aggressive and even pull out knives to discuss Asgardian drinking culture with you.

Thor flew away, leaving Ashe alone. Out of caution, Ashe didn't fly away with him, as she didn't know if Asgard had any airspace clearance standards. It would be embarrassing if she flew up and got shot down.

Ash wandered around the Rainbow Bridge teleportation point, examining the entire teleportation device, but still couldn't figure out how it worked.

Ash only saw the constantly overlapping and intertwining runes inside, condensing the energy of the Rainbow Bridge into a bundle.

As Odin learned this knowledge by hanging upside down on the World Tree for seven days and seven nights, runes cannot be learned without instruction.

The World Tree is a true planetary weapon; its constantly surging energy can not only be used for teleportation, but also, when accumulated, can penetrate a planet.

After watching the Rainbow Bridge for a while, Ash left. She couldn't resist her curiosity if she stayed any longer.

To dismantle the Rainbow Bridge? That would be tantamount to starting a full-scale war with Asgard.

When Ash saw the Rainbow Bridge, she realized that she didn't have any planetary weapons. This was a weakness of Dark Souls. Although she had no shortage of high, medium, and low-level combat power, she still needed to have what others had!

After leaving the Rainbow Bridge, Ash wandered around Asgard. Since Thor was out of his mind when facing Loki, he couldn't very well go up and help beat Loki unless Thor told him to.

"Stop right there, you!"

As Ash was still admiring the scenery of Asgard, a roar came from behind her. Ash turned around and saw Hogan, the Asgardian warrior leading a patrol.

"Is something wrong?"

The greedy were distracted by the banquet, and Ash was unaware that Loki had arranged for Hogan to patrol.

"I've never seen you in Asgard? You'd better surrender. Asgard is not a place where you can act recklessly!"

Hogan swung his flail, spikes suddenly protruding from it, demonstrating the threat from Asgard to Ash.

This unusual move made Ash think, "So this is Loki's plan, to keep me under control? Or to guard against any unforeseen circumstances?"

Ash's disregard for him made Hogan and the patrolling guards think he was too arrogant; no one could be so rampant in Asgard.

Hogan swung his flail and brought it down on Ash's head.

The meteor hammer, like a heavy bomb, smashed the area where Ash was located into a deep crater, and the swirling smoke obscured the surrounding vision.

Hogan remained cautiously on guard; the hammer's impact felt off, the enemy had definitely dodged.

Hogan shouted to the guards behind him, "Watch out for the enemy getting away!"

As Hogan prepared to pull back his flail, he found that he couldn't budge it no matter what he did.

Just then, a gust of wind rose, dispersing the smoke that obscured the view, revealing Ash standing on Hogan's flail, looking somewhat displeased.

Ash stomped hard on the flail, making the spikes on it seem useless. After pressing the hammerhead into the ground, Ash said, "I'm not submissive on Earth so you can swagger around..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a yellow bolt of lightning quickly spread along the metal chain of the meteor hammer and wrapped around Hogan's body.

The lightning's paralysis quickly caused Hogan to tremble and collapse to the ground. To avoid bringing in new enemies, Ash did not execute Hogan for the time being.

Ash stepped on Hogan's hand, forcing him to drop his weapon, and said, "Tsk tsk, weakling. You don't even know me, yet you expect me to surrender?"

With his last ounce of strength, Hogan, still convulsing, spat out through gritted teeth, "Whoever you are! Whatever you do, surrender now! Otherwise, we will show no mercy!"

Asgard's millennia of glory have forged this moment of pride. The guards of Asgard quickly received the news, and organized units, armed with guns and shields, assembled before Ashe.

Faced with the enemy before him and the threat of Hogan, Ash simply looked down at Hogan, watching the lightning quickly dissipate from his body.

"It seems the people of Asgard are all physically strong. I'll increase my strength a bit; you won't die, will you? You should be able to..."

With his hand being stepped on, Hogan shouted orders to the guards behind him: "Ignore me, kill him!"

The guards obeyed Hogan's orders. The first rank of guards crouched down and held their shields to protect their front, while the second rank of guards rested their shields on their shoulders, forming a shield wall that was close to Ash.

"Even weaklings who are worse than Hyde Knights, at least Hyde Knights are unpredictable..."

Ash scoffed, kicked Hogan aside, sending him crashing into the shield wall and creating a breach, then stomped forward...

A violent bolt of lightning struck from the sky, exploding among the palace guards, and the lightning spread across the armor of each guard.

Asgardian guards fell in droves, and those behind them advanced over the bodies of their comrades, attempting to engage Ash in close combat. Meanwhile, the airships in the sky began firing fiercely at Ash.

However, Ash pulled out a small round shield and kept deflecting these attacks, causing the airship's shells to hit the airship along their original trajectories.

After dealing with one batch only to have another come, and still unable to kill them, Ash, undeterred, pulled out her Aria.

"In that case, let us follow the admonitions of the saints!"

Ash raised his longsword with both hands and slashed it down in the void. A gate to heaven slowly opened, and countless saints flew out from it, carrying holy books and musical instruments, chanting hymns of blessing.

The Aria combat technique was used by Ashe for the first time in a real way.

[The Preachings of Saints: Exhortations from hundreds of saints who will tell you the true meaning of faith.]

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Chapter 350: Loki's Scheme 3

Thor, whose eyes were only on Princess Loki, abandoned Ash and flew to the Asgardian palace.

A never-ending celebration was underway, and almost everyone was drinking and reveling when an uninvited guest, accompanied by the whistling of the wind, landed in front of Loki.

This disrespectful act towards the King of Gods silenced the entire hall, but when they saw Thor, they fell even more silent.

Thor's exile was common knowledge throughout Asgard. With Odin in slumber and Loki in power, no one would pardon Thor. In other words, Thor had disobeyed Odin's orders.

Loki, holding the Spear of Eternity, sat on the throne of the gods, looking at Thor before him without any intention of getting up.

Loki, elbowing his head, said expressionlessly, "You dare to come back, Thor? Has anyone in Asgard pardoned you?"

Thor ignored Loki's words and said nonchalantly, "I know Father isn't dead. You're lying to me, Loki."

"It seems you have indeed learned to think in the Midgard; those natives have certainly taught you to use your brain..."

"The beings of the Nine Realms each have their own destiny. We should not regard them as uncivilized savages. Asgard should bear the responsibility of protecting and safeguarding the Nine Realms!"

Thor's confident words convinced the Asgardian onlookers that this was the perspective of a true king, and that no one liked war.

But Loki inexplicably burst into laughter, his mocking laughter filling the entire hall.

"Hahahaha... So what about your invasion of Jotunheim in an attempt to wipe out all the Frost Giants? The last head chopped off by the executioner? What became of the soldiers who fought alongside you!"

Loki stirred up the emotions of those around him. Peace was what they wanted, but Thor's previous achievements were all accumulated in the war in Asgard. If they opposed those things, they would be opposing himself.

Thor, seeing the skeptical yet eager looks in the eyes of those around him, tossed aside Mjolnir and said, "Protecting the Nine Realms and eliminating those who rebel against Asgard's rule are not mutually exclusive. We protect the Nine Realms, but we must also uphold Asgard's prestige..."

"It seems you really have learned how to argue in the Midgard, but I'm different. Everything has been arranged..."

Loki sat on his throne, like a king who cared nothing for worldly affairs, freely pointing fingers at the land.

Thor became suspicious and asked, "What have you arranged?"

Loki rose from his throne, leaning on Spear of Eternity, and rested the spearhead on Thor's shoulder, saying, "Everything in the Nine Realms has been arranged, starting with Midgard, then Muspelheim, then Jotunheim, until all nine realms are under Asgard's control..."

Loki spread his arms, showing his plan to the crowd of Asgardians watching. The illusion revealed the appearance of the World Tree, starting from Asgard, through the central hub of Midgard, and ultimately Asgard would take control of the entire World Tree region.

Seeing Loki's plan, Thor became excited and let the Spear of Eternity pierce his cheek.

With half his face stained with blood, Thor grabbed Loki's arm and relentlessly asked, "What exactly do you want?"

Loki turned around, like a mad king, and mocked Thor without restraint, saying, "What do you want to do? Finish what you didn't finish, wipe out all those who disobey Asgard, starting from Midgard. The Frost Casket, the treasure of the Frost Giants, has been placed on Earth. In just a few days, Asgard will have another piece of territory..."

Loki's words caused a series of gasps throughout the hall, and the Asgardian people could only murmur in hushed tones due to the occasion.

Thor grabbed Loki and shook him violently, saying, "You've gone mad! Loki!"

"Crazy? This is Loki's first step in pacifying the Nine Realms!"

Loki raised the Spear of Eternity and pointed it mercilessly at Thor, the tip of the spear pressed against Thor's throat.

"Brother, the Nine Realms need peace. We shouldn't start a war..."

"Peace? Peace is only in the hands of the strong. For you, the warrior who has killed the most enemies in Asgard's thousands of years, to say such a thing is a disgrace to Asgard. How can you sympathize with these creatures from other worlds? You used to be able to kill them all with your bare hands..."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Loki, Thor, with tears in his eyes, knelt down and bowed to Loki.

Thor's humble posture showed his submission, and he continued to persuade Loki: "Brother, Asgard cannot be drawn into war any longer..."

"Younger brother? You should call me God-King!"