Ever since Odin decided to counterattack the Angel Kingdom, Dante witnessed the efficiency of Asgard, the divine realm that once swept across the entire universe with its wars.
Especially after Odin reached a consensus with Hela. The King and Commander, once father and daughter and comrades in arms, now worked together seamlessly again.
"Honestly, do you have a nickname, like Horus?"
"Why would you think a God would have something like a nickname? As Gods, our true names are linked to our divinity and divine power." Hela looked at Dante with a pitiful gaze. "You weren't affected by that foolish guy's intelligence after inheriting Chthon's old God-position, were you?"
"Uh, Chthon is considered intelligence-deficient in your eyes?"
Dante didn't comment.
But thinking carefully, those old Gods of Earth were indeed incredibly cowardly.
They overthought every step, hesitated, and ultimately died from indecision, which indeed made them seem foolish.
One can only say that God Eater Atum was too murderous back then, shattering the courage of all his relatives.
"As the first God to die by your hand, I don't think he was very smart."
Hela shrugged, then walked out of the bedchamber with Dante.
The Star Team members were bored, watching the giant wolf Fenris and Dante's demon cat, Ebony, playing and frolicking.
Although the size difference was enormous, Dante wasn't surprised that the two could play together.
One was a divine creature, the other a magic energy creature.
"Alright, my dear teammates, does anyone want to go to Heaven?"
"Oh, Pudding, your tone and expression right now give off the vibe of a smiling killer… so sexy." Harley had the look of someone eyeing a stripper, leaning on Dante's shoulder and poking his chin. "It would be even better if there were some blood splatters on your face."
"Eww, Harley."
A pervert is not scary.
A perverted pervert is scary.
"But what exactly do you mean by Heaven?" Ada frowned. "We've seen a few so-called 'Angels' along the way. Are you planning to counterattack their lair?"
"This isn't my decision, but the decision made by the 'great' King of Gods inside." Dante pointed at the bedchamber door and smiled. "Our Star Team is just here to watch the excitement. Mainly, I want you to experience interdimensional warfare, because in the future, the Star Team will not only cross dimensions but also cross time to perform missions."
Dante wasn't spouting nonsense.
Although, apart from Harley, who had met The Legends with him, Dante hadn't mentioned the existence of The Legends to anyone else.
And Captain Carter hadn't told her teammates how she came here from another timeline.
But Dante vaguely felt that the issue of timelines would soon show signs.
Otherwise, his future self wouldn't have gathered team members from different nodes of the timeline to form The Legends.
Just like Sarah Lance, who originally snuck out to sea with Oliver Queen, should have been stranded on Purgatory Island and then picked up by the League of Assassins.
And his future self was the one who took Sarah Lance at that time node.
Sarah Lance herself was expendable to the League of Assassins, and for Oliver Queen, it was the same whether Sarah was rescued by himself or the League.
Howard Stark was also the same.
He just didn't know at which future node he decided to form The Legends.
Moreover, what Sarah Lance said earlier had always inexplicably bothered Dante.
She said that as the acting Director, she disappeared after forming The Legends.
What exactly happened to his future self…?
…
When Odin, Frigga, and others reappeared before everyone, it was already two hours later.
Angela seemed to have fully realized her identity and accepted the name that originally belonged to her…
Aldrif Odinsdottir.
As Hela said, a God's name is closely linked to their divinity and divine status.
The previous Angela was indeed very strong, but only marginally stronger than Thor. The main reason she could beat Thor and Loki into such a miserable state was through ganging up on them.
But now that Angela had accepted her true name, her power immediately began to ascend.
If she were to fight Thor and Loki again at this moment, she alone would probably be enough to take down both brothers.
Dante patted Loki's shoulder sympathetically.
He caused all sorts of trouble, jumped around, but still remained at the bottom of the family food chain.
Tragic, Loki, tragic.
"Can you stop looking at me with that pitiful gaze!?"
Loki had completely despaired of Dante's erratic thought process.
He definitely wasn't thinking anything good about him.
But what could he do? He couldn't win in a fight, nor could he win in an argument, and after he had a fling with his elder sister Hela, he was even more suppressed in terms of seniority.
This 250-year contract, thinking about it now, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was a loss.
At this moment, Asgard's army had assembled in the huge square, and Dante saw many familiar faces at the forefront.
First was Sif, who had a close relationship with Thor.
She was the strongest female warrior of this generation in Asgard, second only to Angela, and in the comics, she was even Thor's biological wife.
However, in the movie, Thor's romantic storyline focused on Jane Foster.
But this didn't affect Sif's position in Thor's heart.
Moreover, in this universe, Thor hadn't yet met Jane Foster.
Then there were The Warriors Three, the guys who came down to support Thor with Sif in Thor 1, and the cannon fodder instantly killed by Hela in Thor 3.
In reality, these three were still very strong, but in the eyes of the All Father-tier Hela, they weren't enough to be considered.
As mentioned before, Volstagg of The Warriors Three even had the qualification to wield the Ultimate Universe's Mjolnir.
Finally, Dante also saw an old acquaintance.
The bald Skurge, nicknamed the Executioner.
That's right, the one who lived a pathetic life and died a miserable death in Thor 3.
In the movie, this character was made more comedic and clownish.
But the Executioner Skurge, as the child of an unknown Frost Giant and an unknown Asgardian Goddess, was stronger than most Asgardians.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been hanging out with Enchantress and Lorelei in the comics.
And now he was standing in the first position behind Heimdall.
Don't mind Heimdall being mocked by Hela as the "gatekeeper."
On the battlefield, he should be called by another name…
God of Dawn.
In Asgard, he was undoubtedly the top individual below the All Father-tier.
Besides these familiar faces, there were many others with strong-looking faces, presumably powerhouses of the Asgardian army.
But Dante simply didn't recognize them.
At this moment, everyone was waiting for Odin's command.
It had been too long since they had truly deployed their entire army.
Ever since Odin decided to treat the Nine Realms with kindness and friendliness, they had only occasionally faced minor skirmishes.
From a mighty army showing off its power to local police mediating disputes, who could stand that?
Odin was clearly not the kind of leader like Professor X, otherwise the Asgardian army would not have been able to depart today.
Odin and Frigga passed through the Asgardian army and arrived at the altar.
He said nothing, only raised his invincible Gungnir with one hand, divine light shining in his single eye.
Having just undergone the Odin Sleep, Odin's power and body were both in absolute peak condition.
The Angel Kingdom was indeed unlucky.
If they hadn't made a deal with Malekith to invade Asgard this time, or even timed it with the Odin Sleep to try and kill Odin, they wouldn't be facing a counterattack.
One can only say… it was fate.
Dante also witnessed Odin's might.
If purely comparing combat strength, the current Odin was slightly weaker than Orange Lantern Hela or Three-Lantern Dante.
But Odin's power not only possessed formidable combat strength, it brought him nearly omniscient and omnipotent knowledge and abilities, as well as a link to the World Tree.
The small hammer sealed off the connection between the Angel Kingdom and other realms.
Then the big hammer finished the job, using Odin's power to banish the isolated Angel Kingdom.
This was also why Odin was able to separate the Angel Kingdom from the World Tree back then.
After Odin re-established connection with the World Tree, he once again used his power to pull the Angel Kingdom, allowing this dimension to re-root and sprout on the World Tree.
As the process advanced, all divine beings present felt a tremor from the depths of the universe.
It was the long-awaited gratitude after the World Tree was made whole.
Dante couldn't help but roll his eyes.
The World Tree was truly unlucky, encountering Odin, who would just cleave off a dimension at the slightest disagreement.
To the World Tree, this was like stripping an organ from a person and setting it aside, yet keeping the main blood vessels connected.
The World Tree was truly generous.
If he were the World Tree, he would have to descend in human form and give Odin a good beating.
"The Tenth Realm has returned, and the World Tree is whole again." Odin turned, his resplendent armor reflecting dazzling golden light. "Asgardian army, prepare to attack! Let the Angel Kingdom witness the might of Asgard once more!"
As soon as King of Gods Odin finished speaking, Heimdall was the first to move.
Then, the Asgardian army followed, crossing the long bridge to the entrance of the Bifrost Bridge.
Heimdall inserted the Sword of Dawn into the pedestal, and the Bifrost Bridge began to operate.
Ever since taking over the authority of the Bifrost Bridge from the previous gatekeeper, Heimdall was destined never to gallop on the battlefield again as the God of Dawn.
In Hela's gaze toward Heimdall, besides the never-changing antagonism, there was a faint, almost imperceptible hint of pity.
For true warriors like Hela, never being able to step onto the battlefield again…
What a pity.
But Heimdall had long grown accustomed to this over thousands of years. He rotated the Sword of Dawn, and from the star map representing the World Tree's coordinates, he found the previously blank Tenth Realm.
Then…
The Bifrost Bridge opened.
Odin and Frigga stepped into the Bifrost Bridge without hesitation.
Following them were Hela, Angela, Thor, and Loki.
Dante and the Star Team were not in a hurry to enter, instead staying at the very end of the Asgardian army.
This was the King of Gods and Asgard's revenge match. They, who were just here to watch, shouldn't try to steal the spotlight. They should keep a low profile.
As they were about to step onto the Bifrost Bridge, Heimdall suddenly spoke to Dante:
"Old God from Midgard, how did you persuade King of Gods Odin to agree to bring the Tenth Realm back to the World Tree?"
"Although I possess the divine status of an Old God, I am indeed human." Dante shrugged at Heimdall. "Your question is simple. I brought another of Odin's daughters back and gave Odin a goal. How many years has it been since you last saw such a majestic and spirited Odin Borson?"
After speaking, Dante beckoned the Star Team and entered the Bifrost Bridge.
This was their second time riding the Bifrost Bridge, and the Star Team was noticeably calmer than the first time.
After all, the first time is novel, the second time is familiar. Once the novelty wore off, it was just like riding any familiar mode of transportation.
The entire journey took about the same time as traveling from Earth to Asgard, but because they chatted with Heimdall for a few extra moments, by the time the Star Team set foot on Angel Kingdom's soil, Odin and his family had already led the main force to storm the Angel Palace.
"Such a rush?"
Dante mumbled, but he understood.
The culprit who had abducted their daughter for over two millennia was waiting in the Angel Palace in the distance.
Not to mention Odin, even the seemingly gentle and kind Frigga looked bloodthirsty when setting out for war.
Dante had no interest in getting involved in this family's feud. No matter how fierce the Angel Queen was, she couldn't be fiercer than this family of Gods.
"Alright, dear team members, it's time for us to get to work."
Seeing that everyone had adapted to the Angel Kingdom's environment, Dante gave his instructions.
Just as Odin, besides settling his long-standing grievances with the Angel Queen, also harbored thoughts of extracting benefits from the nearly undeveloped dimension of the Angel Kingdom.
Dante naturally had to get involved as well.
He wasn't particularly interested in the Angel race. They were merely divine beings, all female, capable of asexual reproduction.
Judging by their past habit of stabbing Asgard in the back whenever they felt like it, this race was certainly not composed of good people.
Dante had no desire to bring such a ticking time bomb under his command.
Instead, he was more interested in the resources of this dimension.
So, after speaking, he summoned the Orange Lantern Furnace.
Jörmungandr, who had been dozing, immediately woke up.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Dante felt very good about having an additional Lantern Beast daughter.
After all, strictly speaking, Jörmungandr was the product of his spiritual connection with Hela, so this "Dad" was perfectly fine.
"Jörmungandr, can you help Daddy with something?"
"What? Help? Okay, okay! Jörmungandr loves helping Daddy the most!"
The little girl's voice entered Dante's ears, making him instinctively show a doting father's smile.
This reassuring cuteness was much stronger than Butcher and Ion Shark.
After teasing his other two Lantern Beasts, Dante reached out and stroked Jörmungandr, who was bouncing on his shoulder.
"Help Daddy see, is there anything valuable in this dimension?"
The Lantern Beast symbolizing greed had a natural perception for valuable items.
Although there was a suspicion of child labor… if no money was given, it wasn't employment.
So, the unprincipled Dante decided to let his Lantern Beast daughter make a guest appearance as the legendary…
Treasure-hunting mouse!
(To be continued.)
***
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