Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
The high-pitched, whistling sound of the rapidly rotating Mjolnir cut through the howl of the wind, carrying Thor's tall, armored body through the frigid air. He was a red-caped blur against the endless white sky. He was the only one in the four-man scout team with the ability to fly.
At this moment, Nolan, piloting the Terminator armor, and David, carrying a large amount of ammunition, hurried over the thick snow. Their heavy boots crunched rhythmically, sinking deep with every pounding step. They had passed through a large, skeletal forest and entered a hilly plain with undulating terrain. They were rushing toward the target location.
The slightly fat Wong was clamped firmly under one of David's metal arms like a piece of cargo. With a depressed, slightly green-tinged expression, he swayed back and forth with David's jarring steps, bumping repeatedly against the cold metal.
In fact, as a Kamar-Taj sorcerer, Wong's physical fitness was not too bad. But compared to Nolan in Terminator armor, or Thor, an Asgardian, he was the weakest one in the entire team.
Therefore, to save time on the road and preserve their ability to retreat, Wong became the master sorcerer requiring David's heavy protection.
Accompanied by a low whistle cutting through the air, Thor landed heavily on the snow, his golden braid swinging. He reported the reconnaissance situation ahead to Nolan and David, who had stopped.
Within hundreds of kilometers, the land had completely become a lifeless wasteland. Under the thick snow, stretching as far as the eye can see, were the frozen, scattered corpses of elves who had no time to hide, as well as the broken remains of other races.
The next moment, Nolan frowned, turning his head to look at Wong, still held under David's arm.
"Wong, are you sure Old John is still alive?"
Wong did not reply immediately. With a solemn expression, he raised his hands, which he'd been keeping tucked in his sleeves, and quickly made several complex gestures.
Instantly, strands of orange-yellow energy, forming glowing, intricate patterns, flashed back and forth at his fingertips.
After the energy dissipated, Wong raised his head and said with certainty, "The divination spell showed me several vague illusions. One of them was a scene of everyone talking with Old John. If my divination spell isn't wrong, then he must have survived!"
Nolan nodded slightly, his brow relaxing. He raised his armored palm and waved it forward.
The group continued their journey through the ice and snow.
About eight hours later, the four-man team finally arrived near a completely frozen bay. The air was thick with the sharp, salty smell of the frozen sea.
On a flat coastline, a fisherman's hut covered in thick snow stood alone before them.
"Old John! Are you still alive? I am Thor!"
Thor, gripping Mjolnir tightly, quickly flew to the fisherman's hut and shouted, his voice booming over the wind.
Nolan, holding a Masterwork Bolter in one hand, looked vigilantly at the unchanging, desolate scenery. His keen senses, amplified by his helmet, detected no signs of life. No heat, no sound, nothing.
Zzzzz...
The next moment, a sharp, spinning hand axe whistled through the cold air, erupting from a drift of snow. It shot straight toward Wong, who had just been set down on the snow and was stretching his numb waist with a groan.
The quick-reacting David was about to lurch forward to block it.
A metal palm from Nolan suddenly snapped forward, moving faster. He grabbed the cold axe blade mid-spin.
Under the huge force of his grip, the axe blade instantly shattered into countless metal fragments, scattering across the ground.
At the same time, the Masterwork Bolter in his other hand, which had been ready, burst out with a deafening BOOM.
Accompanied by the sudden explosion of fire and a cloud of scattered snow powder, a tall figure that had been crawling in the snow was suddenly flipped over a distance of ten meters. It tossed back and forth several times before stopping.
However, before Nolan could pull the trigger again, the tall figure quickly stood up. He kept flapping at his burning white beard while shouting at them.
"Cease fire! Stop fire! Odin! This damn bombardment is really powerful!"
"Haha! Old John! You old immortal, you really survived!"
The next moment, Thor's hearty laughter echoed around, completely relieving everyone's fighting tension.
Not long after, a one-eyed old man with only one thick arm remaining walked slowly in front of everyone.
A large number of radial, dark purple bruises and bloodstains were clearly visible on his exposed, leathery chest. Even the white beard on his chin was singed black by the explosion.
"Hey! A tall boy!" The unfriendly Old John tried to open his bloodshot single eye, staring up at the three-meter-tall Nolan as he asked, his voice a gravelly rasp. "What weapon did you use just now? If it weren't for the fact that I, an old man, have good eyesight and reaction, I would have almost given my old bones to you!"
Nolan narrowed his eyes, lowering his head slightly. He looked down at Old John and grinned, his fangs showing.
"Rocket-assisted explosive ammunition. But... are all Asgardians as strong as you?"
Perhaps it was for the sake of Asgardian pride. Old John, who was originally grinning from the pain, suddenly slapped his severely injured chest several times with his one good hand. He winced, but roared, though lacking in confidence:
"Ahem... Of course! All of us Asgardians are good fighters who can rival the giants!"
At this moment, Thor stepped forward with a grin. He glanced at Old John's injuries, shook his head, and said to Nolan:
"Brother Nolan, don't listen to his nonsense. Your weapon is more than enough to deal with Asgardians. Old John is no ordinary veteran. He is one of the few special soldiers in the Asgard Legion, a Berserker. These old guys are far more proficient in hand-to-hand combat than ordinary soldiers and have used hundreds of years of brutal battles to hone an extremely strong fighting physique."
"Hey, Old John, is your defensive rune scrapped?"
Thor's voice had barely faded when Old John, fuming because Thor had revealed the truth without authorization, said:
"Damn Thor! How can you just speak the truth... And, as the prince of Asgard, why did you only come back now? Do you know what your damn brother Loki did?!"
"I was exiled to Midgard by Odin and just came back." Thor shook his head, smiled bitterly, and sighed. "Old John, did the Frost Giants invade again?"
"Although I don't know what happened inside Asgard, the powerful treasure that can cover Alfheim, one of the nine realms, completely change the climate and kill countless elves... I'm afraid only the ancient artifact stored in Asgard, the spoils from the Frost Giants, the Casket of Ancient Winters, could have such terrifying power." Old John said to Thor with a serious expression, his one eye wide.
However, just as Nolan, standing aside, wanted to ask for details, a series of loud roars echoed out as thick ice broke with the sound of thunder.
Frost giants, as tall as five meters, suddenly jumped out of the broken sea, their blue skin covered in frost. Wielding huge weapons condensed from hard ice, they launched a fierce attack on the people on the coast.
The servo-arms located on his power backpack made a whirring mechanical rotational sound. The fire control system, following Nolan's thoughts, instantly captured a series of targets.
The next moment, the firepower array composed of three bolt rifles spewed terrifying flames. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The explosion of countless bolts instantly enveloped a tall frost giant, splashing out pieces of giant flesh and blue, ice-like blood.
At the same time, Nolan turned his head and shouted at Old John, who was readying to fight, "Old John, right? Don't fight! We are here to sneak into Asgard!"
"You should have said it earlier!" Old John gnashed his teeth, his one eye wide.
He immediately shouted to Thor, who was gripping Mjolnir tightly, "Thor, the fisherman's hut! The smuggling boat is under the hut!"
At this moment, Thor raised Mjolnir, a flickering light in his eyes.
Countless thick dark clouds quickly gathered above the coast. Strong lightning, like thunder snakes, fell in the blink of an eye, CRACKING loudly as it constantly smashed the huge bodies of the frost giants.
The next moment, Nolan, with no time to reload the firepower array, took a deep breath of cold air.
He drew his C'tan Phase Sword, its green blade humming. Piloting the Terminator armor, he charged toward the remaining dozen frost giants.
Boom boom boom...
As the distance closed, a frost giant roared and swung its simple, massive ice weapon toward Nolan's head.
Nolan, expressionless, swung the C'tan Phase Sword with one hand, the humming blade easily cutting off the opponent's weapon. At the same time, the huge blade of the C'tan Phase Sword embedded itself in the opponent's chest and abdomen, slashing down smoothly.
Before the frost giant could cover its wound and roar in pain, the Masterwork Bolter in Nolan's other hand smashed its ugly head with great accuracy, using the weapon as a club.
Handfuls of powdered ice and blue, fleshy residues fell on Nolan's face and Terminator armor, gradually melting into drops of blue, cold liquid.
Nolan, his eyes cold, felt nothing about it.
He quickly turned his sights and aimed at the position of the next frost giant.
A few minutes later, the last frost giant was chopped into countless broken ice blocks by Nolan's C'tan Phase Sword.
The broken ice coast was completely peaceful again.
Nolan slowly exhaled, his breath fogging in the cold. He holstered the Masterwork Bolter.
He raised his armored palm and gently touched a small, stinging wound on his face, burned red by the low temperature of the frost giant's blood, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"David! Bring me my helmet!"
Nolan turned his head helplessly and shouted to David, who was standing by protecting Wong.
It seemed that without an Iron Halo, it was better not to learn from those "space macho men" who don't wear helmets.
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