The last Norse faction was still in hiding. Loki, the evil god of the North, had possessed an herbalist named Andreas. For now Loki was only at the possession stage, and Asgard's ruler was still Queen Hilda.
Only after the Poseidon saga began—when the Sea Emperor used the Nibelungen Ring to control Queen Hilda and launch war on the Sanctuary—would Loki set his plan in motion.
Even so, Andreas had already begun laying out his schemes in Asgard.
When Meruem went looking for Bado back then, he made a trip to the North, but didn't linger. Once he found Bado, he left Asgard. Though he hadn't stayed long, he was still fairly familiar with the place.
Even without a guide, he headed toward the entrance to the Sea Realm.
Although Asgard currently had God Warriors, with no war on, they were relatively free and didn't wear the signature Odin Sapphires. Their numbers were scattered across the North. Asgard, unlike the Sanctuary, was a fairly loose organization.
After all, neither Odin nor his proxy Hilda had shouldered the banner of protecting humanity. Asgard was one of the few neutral forces among the Saints.
So long as no other gods invaded or ravaged the Norse lands, Asgard generally didn't provoke other powers. In other words, they were the very picture of "if people don't offend me, I won't offend them."
From the giant whirlpool near Asgard, he slipped easily to the area around Poseidon's Undersea Temple. After dodging a group of scale-armored Sea Realm grunts, Meruem strode openly into the temple. Whirlpools like that and grunts like those could only bully ordinary humans. Even Silver Saints—let alone Bronze—could infiltrate easily.
In the Sea Realm, not long had passed since Poseidon's awakening. Like Athena and Hades, he had reincarnated into a human body. Poseidon's host was Julian Solo, heir to the Greek shipping magnate Solo family.
But at the moment, neither Poseidon nor his host Julian was in the Undersea Temple.
The temple was currently under the control of the Sea Realm's Three Giants: Siren Sorrento, Chrysaor Krisaor, and Sea Dragon Kanon, younger brother of Gemini Gold Saint Saga and now one of the Sea Generals.
Of the three, Kanon was strongest, followed by Sorrento and Krisaor. The other Sea Generals varied in strength. Some had mere Bronze-level combat power, like Sea Monster Kasa. Then there was Sea Horse Baian—who had a protagonist's face but background-level strength—using the same defensive technique as the Silver Saint Misty, only worse.
Defeated by Seiya, he was clearly far beneath Gold Saints. The Sea Realm's overall strength was only a bit above Asgard's, relying mainly on Kanon, who had high Gold-level power.
"Where is the divine steel Orichalcum? If I remember right, a scene in the Lost Canvas story indicated Orichalcum was hidden in the Undersea Temple. The temple isn't large, but I shouldn't get too cocky. This is, after all, the domain of Poseidon, one of the Twelve Olympians." Meruem wandered the temple, mulling over where the Orichalcum might be concealed.
"Should've snagged a Sea General and asked."
"Who goes there?! You dare intrude upon Lord Poseidon's Undersea Temple!" Just as Meruem was feeling a bit vexed, an angry voice sounded behind him.
"Ah, how convenient. I was just wondering whether to find someone to ask, and you show up yourself." Meruem hadn't concealed his presence at all. Being discovered by a Sea General was only natural.
His scale mail shone with a brass-like luster, his helm shaped like a seahorse's head. The Scale covered nearly ninety percent of him, with the airflow before him faintly forming a wall. The newcomer was a Sea General—one of the defensive-minded veterans.
Sea Horse Baian, one of the seven Sea Generals.
"Reputed to be tied with Sorrento as the most loyal to Poseidon—pity your strength is lacking. Loyalty without matching power." Just look at the caliber of Poseidon's Marinas: of the seven, two had been Saints before—Sea Dragon Kanon and Kraken Isaac (Hyoga's senior).
Sea Horse and Sea Monster were weak enough that a strong Silver could give them a beating. Even if Sea Monster's shapeshifting was decent, there were plenty of gifted Silvers—some skilled in illusion, some in telekinesis, and the Hound Silver Saint Acheron had mind-reading.
Put him against Sea Monster and who knows which way it'd go. Meanwhile Baian's fighting style was a dead ringer for Lizard Misty's.
Among the rest, the Gold-tier Sea Prince had a fatal weakness—his star vital point. Strong though he was, his weakness was obvious. The Six Sacred Beasts had varied techniques but underwhelming power—mediocre overall. The Sea Witch wasn't bad, but she wasn't built for frontal combat.
And Poseidon wasn't like Hades—he had no attendant gods. Hades had the twin gods of Sleep and Death, and at Sleep's side the four Oneiroi brothers.
No wonder Poseidon's clashes with Athena always ended in failure, and why Dohko and the other Gold Saints never considered the Marinas the true enemy. The Specters were the Saints' real foes.
The One Hundred Eight Specters alone matched the Sanctuary's Eighty-Eight Constellations in number, and then there were the twin gods, the four Oneiroi, the three Judges of the Underworld, and other top powers. There were Specters no weaker than the Three Judges, like Babylon of the Earth Demon Star, Kagaho of the Celestial Explosive Star, and Atavaka, the Earth Leader Star—the Underworld's man closest to godhood.
There were also high-ranking Specters like the Earth-Subduing Star shadow sorcerer, the Celestial Swift Star Sylphid, the Celestial Beast Star Pharaoh, and the Celestial Hero Star Lune. Of course, among the Underworld's eight prisons, plenty of bit players were weak, but beyond them was a vast horde of grunts whose Surplices covered more than Silver Cloths.
Overall they were at least as strong as, if not stronger than, the Sanctuary's Golds. That sort of luxurious lineup befit Hades, one of the Twelve Olympians. By contrast, the Marinas' roster made one suspect Poseidon had never truly fought Athena seriously.
Baian preened at the first half of Meruem's remark—so famous even outsiders knew his name—but by the second half his face had gone liver-purple. Too weak?! He, Sea Horse Baian, one of Poseidon's seven Sea Generals?
"What's wrong? Not convinced? To deal with your kind, one finger is enough." Meruem kept pulling aggro.
A warrior can be killed but not humiliated!
"Arrogant wretch! Whoever you are, trespassing in the Undersea Temple leaves only one end—death!"
"As for whether I'm 'weak,' feel it yourself! Repent in hell—Hurricane Tsunami Fist!" Without another word, Baian unleashed his strongest, proudest technique at Meruem. A colossal wave, like the very breath of a god, crashed toward him.
Meruem calmly extended a single finger, and the tsunami-like maelstrom stopped cold, unable to touch him at all. "I told you—one finger is enough for the likes of you."
"What?! Impossible! Who in the world are you?" Baian was aghast. He knew full well how powerful his Hurricane Tsunami Fist was—strong enough to blast someone from the Undersea Temple to tens of thousands of meters above the sea. Calling it the breath of a god wasn't an exaggeration.
The breath of a god? Even if a god came in person, they might not take Meruem. Let alone some so-called divine breath.
With a single finger, Meruem smashed Baian spitting blood and sent him flying. The overwhelming force ground his Scale to powder; armor as hard as a high-grade Surplice crumbled like tofu before Meruem.
"You're not qualified to ask who I am. Just tell me where the Orichalcum divine steel is stored in the Undersea Temple." Meruem planted a foot on Baian's chest and stated his aim.
"Don't even think about it! Orichalcum is our temple's treasure! It belongs to Lord Poseidon! Even if I die, I won't tell you!" Baian barked.
"So… you do know where it is?" Meruem seized on the flaw in his words.
"So what if I do? I'll never betray Lord Poseidon!" Strength-focused fighters were fools—and those without much strength were worse than fools.
Hearing his admission, Meruem's lips curved. "As long as you know, that's enough. In front of us, you have no power to resist."
"Rinnegan! Infinite Tsukuyomi." Rings blossomed in Meruem's eyes. When his gaze met Baian's, the same ripples appeared in Baian's pupils.
Sea Horse Baian, one of the seven Sea Generals, fell fully under the genjutsu of the Rinnegan. Before Meruem, his mental fortitude was laughable, and being dominated by illusion was only natural.
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