It was unclear whether it was because Odin knew his time was short, or if Thor had truly matured, or if Asgard had just undergone a massive change.
After this heart-to-heart, the relationship between Thor and Odin was noticeably more harmonious than before.
Just over a month ago, Odin had angrily stripped Thor of his status as heir to the throne.
But now Thor had returned, not disappointing Odin's expectations, having undergone a complete transformation, and Odin, in turn, had changed his mind.
He began to fully train Thor as the next King of Asgard.
Odin slowly started to hand over various Asgardian affairs, big and small, for Thor to handle.
Besides conquering lands, Odin also intentionally began to cultivate the qualities a King should possess in Thor, beyond just combat skills.
Of course.
Both Odin and Thor took the important intelligence revealed in the diary very seriously.
However, considering Asgard's current situation, Odin could do little else besides ordering Heimdall to search the entire Universe for Loki's whereabouts.
News of the Bifrost Bridge breaking would soon spread throughout the Nine Realms, and even to nearby star systems.
It was imaginable that Asgard would face an incredibly troublesome mess.
Both Odin and Thor would be preoccupied.
And facts proved Odin's guess correct.
Just three months later, the Nine Realms were in complete chaos.
"The Frost Giants are rebuilding their homeland, but some radical factions among them are plotting revenge against Asgard."
"Although Loki dealt Jotunheim a fatal blow, they are not yet a significant threat, but this is a huge hidden danger."
"Other forces are also stirring."
"The Trolls have set their sights on the Dwarf blacksmiths and have already launched an attack."
"The primitive Badoon have begun a civil war, lost in their struggle for power and gain."
"Even those Universe pirates are preparing to attack Vanaheim."
In the King's Grand Hall.
Odin sat on the throne, while Thor stood below him, listening to Heimdall's report alongside Odin.
The atmosphere in the hall instantly became exceptionally heavy and oppressive.
Everyone had anticipated that the breaking of the Bifrost Bridge would throw the Nine Realms into chaos, but the extent of the disarray caught everyone off guard.
It truly was a huge mess.
However, Odin, sitting steadily on the throne, remained calm, his expression unchanged.
Indeed, the Nine Realms were in chaos now, but for Odin, it was also a good opportunity.
He was about to die, and Thor would take his place as the Lord of the Nine Realms.
But an undeniable fact was that Thor was still far from qualified.
He couldn't awe the Nine Realms!
This chaos in the Nine Realms was a golden opportunity for Thor to establish his prestige.
If Thor could successfully quell this Nine Realms rebellion, it was believed that both the Nine Realms and the entire Universe would further recognize Thor as the new King of Asgard.
This was also why Odin didn't consider immediately retrieving the Tesseract from Earth to repair the Bifrost Bridge!
Odin, the God King, had far-reaching considerations.
"Thor, what do you think?"
Odin did not issue commands as he usually did, but instead began to ask for Thor's opinion.
Thor also did not immediately fly into a rage as he usually would, eager to rush over and smash everything that defied him with his mjolnir, but instead began to ponder.
After some thought, he finally expressed his ideas and opinions to Odin.
Although there were still some shortcomings, Odin was very pleased, at least Thor knew how to think.
He didn't explode so easily.
Odin simply "polished" Thor's suggestions and then handed the matter over to Thor to handle entirely.
"Have you found Loki?"
After Thor left, Odin asked Heimdall another question.
Although Loki was his adopted son, and he did usually favor Thor more, Odin's love for Loki was not fake.
He truly regarded him as his own child.
Heimdall shook his head.
For three months, he had been keeping an eye on Loki's whereabouts, but had found nothing.
"Loki inherited Queen Frigga's superb magic; he has ways to shield himself from my sight."
"If he intends to hide, even I cannot find him."
Heimdall paused, then said this to Odin.
Although he sincerely believed Loki was dead, he offered this explanation to comfort Odin.
Odin merely nodded, saying nothing more.
Only a very subtle hint of melancholy flashed in his single eye.
And at this very moment, within the Triskelion, Nick Fury's single eye also gleamed.
However, unlike Odin's melancholy, the light in Nick Fury's eye carried boundless sharpness!
Over these three months, Pierce's daily habits, personal preferences, lifestyle, various social networks, and so on and so forth.
Everything that needed to be known was now clearly understood by Nick Fury.
Furthermore, once a Skrulls transformed into Pierce, they would gain Pierce's recent memories, making their disguise even more impeccable.
Nick Fury felt that the time was ripe to close the net!
So Nick Fury stopped wasting words, pulled out a dedicated satellite phone, and issued a series of commands.
His private forces, which Nick Fury had secretly transferred earlier, also quickly began to deploy according to the plan.
Alexander Pierce, in his top-floor office, had no idea that a meticulously crafted net was quietly being cast for him.
The old man was still diligently working for HYDRA's great cause.
"Officer, I have reliable intelligence that Tony Stark has teamed up with Nick Fury."
"This might be the main reason why our undercover Agents are constantly being discovered; we all know that Playboy's methods."
In front of Pierce, a Senior Undercover Agent reported to Pierce with a solemn expression.
Pierce couldn't help but frown, feeling an extreme headache.
Stark, this was a big problem!
Last time, the assassination was seamless, but who would have thought that Satan would suddenly appear at the crucial moment?
That guy truly wasn't destined to die!
And now, it was even worse; Stark must have discovered the hidden truth behind the "Hulk incident."
After all, the other party didn't die, so it shouldn't be hard to find technological traces.
So not only did this attempt fail, but it also completely pushed such a formidable individual towards Nick Fury!
This was truly shooting himself in the foot!
And it wasn't just this matter.
Whiplash's technology was recently proven to be fake, Captain America's serum was almost used up with no results, and Nick Fury was discovering more and more.
HYDRA had truly been having a string of bad luck recently!
Pierce subconsciously rubbed his temples, then issued a series of commands to the Senior Undercover Agent in front of him.
"Alright, you can go now."
After dismissing the Senior Undercover Agent, Pierce leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.
There was no other way; he was so old, his physical and mental energy were not what they used to be.
After a busy morning, even though it was all mental work and no physical activity, it still left Pierce mentally exhausted.
However, HYDRA's great cause had not yet been completed, so Pierce dared not relax.
After a brief rest, he immediately sat upright again.
He continued to dedicate himself to the cause of fighting for HYDRA.
It wasn't until sunset that Pierce, dragging his tired body, returned to his luxurious Villa.
He changed his shoes, casually hung up his suit jacket, and Pierce walked straight to the refrigerator, taking out a bottle of herbal tea.
Bang!
Just as he closed the refrigerator door and opened the lid of the herbal tea, Pierce's body suddenly stiffened.
Although he was old, he was once a top Agent, and those qualities still remained.
He had sensed that someone had infiltrated his house!
Whoosh!
The next moment.
Pierce immediately turned his head.
Sure enough, he saw a Shadow sitting arrogantly on his sofa, having appeared at some unknown time.
Not only that.
"Nick?"
Pierce was instantly stunned.
He had never imagined that the person who had infiltrated his home would be Nick Fury!
"What is this? Why are you in my house?"
Pierce responded to Nick Fury with an appropriate look of confusion, while secretly revealing a hint of vigilance.
Nick Fury was clearly here with ill intentions!
What for?
Could it be that he had discovered the connection between himself and HYDRA?
It couldn't be!
All along, Pierce had prided himself on hiding deeply enough, without revealing any flaws or weaknesses.
But if not, why would Nick Fury appear in such a manner?
Pierce couldn't make an accurate judgment for a moment, but he knew that the situation was clearly unfavorable to him.
So the old man quietly reached for the signal transmitter hidden on his person, pressed it, and sent a signal.
But what Pierce wouldn't know was that the surrounding signals had already been blocked by Nick Fury; he couldn't transmit anything.
"Honestly, Pierce, I truly didn't want to be here."
"I also didn't want to believe that the mastermind who has been secretly clashing with me for the past six months was you."
Nick Fury slowly stood up, sighing from the bottom of his heart.
Pierce, facing him, immediately understood.
Although somewhat unexpected, it seemed Nick Fury had indeed discovered his true identity.
This guy truly was the most outstanding Agent he had ever seen.
"This isn't a personal grudge; it's just different stances."
Pierce remained calm, took a sip of herbal tea, then spread his hands to Nick Fury.
"So I believe you'll understand why I'm doing this."
Nick Fury began to walk towards Pierce step by step.
Pierce remained unhurried, even looking at Nick Fury with a hint of curiosity: "Is this your plan? To kill me, or secretly arrest me?"
"Please, you're Nick Fury; you should have more sophisticated methods."
Considering Pierce's status, such a simple and crude approach would indeed cause a lot of trouble.
So Pierce guessed that Nick Fury must have other backup plans.
But what kind of backup plan would allow him to act so rashly against someone of his level, Pierce truly couldn't guess for a moment.
Because this itself was indeed a very tricky matter.
"For someone like you, killing you would be too easy."
Nick Fury, however, sneered.
The leader of HYDRA, full of evil and countless crimes, couldn't just die so easily.
Moreover.
Pierce himself held so many secrets, which were of immense value to Nick Fury.
He couldn't die, could he?
"Then you're going to arrest me? Then you should know what that means."
"I have quite a few friends. If I disappear, are you sure you can handle it?"
Even at this point, Pierce remained calm and composed, analyzing the current situation with Nick Fury.
It was as if they were discussing some unrelated person.
"Don't try to stall for time; your people won't come."
Nick Fury stopped wasting words with Pierce, merely nodding towards the direction behind Pierce.
Pierce subconsciously turned to look and saw the ace Agent, Black Widow, had appeared behind him at some point.
"Natasha, are you sure you want to do this?"
"You need to think carefully; once you do this, there's no turning back."
Pierce began to try to shake Black Widow's resolve again.
Although he knew the probability was low, Pierce wasn't going to give up any possibility.
"I know exactly what I'm doing."
Saying this, Black Widow quickly pulled out a syringe and plunged it into Pierce's neck.
Then, with a gentle press of her thumb, she completed the injection.
Pierce immediately felt his eyelids grow incredibly heavy, and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Before his consciousness completely faded, Pierce seemed to see another person who looked exactly like him, sitting on his sofa again.
Unfortunately, Pierce would never understand what exactly had happened.
Nick Fury wouldn't give Pierce that chance.
After taking down his good Officer, Nick Fury personally escorted Pierce to a top-secret Base and had him imprisoned.
Only after ensuring that the subsequent cleanup operations were handled correctly did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
The major operation, planned for over three months, was a complete success!
The thorny HYDRA problem that had plagued Nick Fury for so long was finally resolved.
Nick Fury was in an incredibly good mood.
"That's a wrap!"
He stretched his tired body, intending to go home, but before that, Nick Fury habitually flipped through his diary.
He found that the diary had been updated.
"I never expected Mr. Fantastic to have already secured investment, and from Stark Industries at that! I was actually considering whether to invest myself."
"However, investing in Mr. Fantastic could be a trap, potentially leading to bankruptcy, so I've been hesitant."
"Since Stark invested, then forget it; it saves me the trouble of agonizing over it."
"It's just one thing: why would Stark invest in Mr. Fantastic? They shouldn't know each other, right?"
"I have to say, this development is truly something I didn't expect."
"If that's the case, they wouldn't prematurely create an Illuminati, would they?"
"Haha, an organization aiming to solve Universe crises, but always creating new Universe crises instead!"