Not long after, Old John's fisherman's hut had been torn into splintered ruins by the reckless, searching Thor.
Old John, wasting no time mourning the disappearance of his only residence, hurried forward. He used his only remaining arm to pull away the broken, snow-dusted wood chips and hooked his fingers under the heavy wooden board covering the ground, lifting it with a groan.
A narrow, fifteen-meter wooden boat was completely exposed to the cold air.
Snorting, Old John called over the embarrassed Thor to help lift out the wooden boat, its hull covered in faintly glowing, engraved runes.
Then, he picked up a set of broken, scarred armor stored inside, along with a weapon: a cane that flashed with a faint silver light.
Staring at the familiar equipment, a nostalgic look softened Old John's single eye. He ran his rough hand over the scarred metal of the breastplate.
He murmured to himself, "I didn't expect that I would have the day to put on the Berserker armor again..."
At this moment, Thor stepped forward, his expression grave.
He stared at Old John, who was lost in past memories, and said in a deep voice, "Old John, this is a one-way ticket. You just need to send us to the edge of Asgard. Now that the Frost Giants have invaded, and the Asgard army is following Loki's orders, this is no longer a battle for you, a veteran Berserker..."
"Odin's shit!" Old John's head snapped up, his eye blazing. "Thor, Asgard is not your home alone! Moreover, if you hadn't failed to inherit the throne of Asgard, why would Alfheim suffer this unprovoked disaster? How could the Frost Giants come again? The friends I made here, even my elf lover, even the only drinking partner who could compete with me, the hill giant Paro, all died in this terrible cold wave!"
Old John, his one eye wide and bloodshot, stood up suddenly.
He used his only remaining strong arm to forcefully grab a fistful of the red cape at Thor's collar, his hand shaking with rage. He shouted at him angrily, "As a member of the Asgard Legion, I don't blame you! After all, you, a fool, know nothing about this! But you can't deprive me of my right to revenge! I'm going to ask Odin in person what kind of family education would educate a coward and coward like Loki who slaughtered innocent people!"
"I admit that Asgard fault! Asgard did not fulfill the ancient oath!" Thor's eyes widened, his body crackling with latent, uncontrolled lightning. He held Mjolnir tightly in his palm, staring at Old John and gritting his teeth. "I, Thor, the heir of Asgard, swear in the name of the son of the God King Odin that I will definitely seek justice for all the dead people of the Nine Realms!"
At this moment, Nolan, who had just put on his diamond-shaped helmet with a hiss of seals, drove the Terminator armor and walked to their side. His huge shadow fell over them.
Nolan's deep, metallic voice resonated from within the helmet. "Instead of swearing and arguing here, you two should pack up and set off as soon as possible. When we step into Asgard and pull Loki off the throne, you will have plenty of time to quarrel."
As the words fell, Old John turned his head, staring at the massive Terminator armor before letting out a ragged breath and grinning. He slowly loosened the rough hand that was holding Thor's cloak.
Then, Old John tore off his already tattered fish-skin clothes without a word. He began to skillfully put on the incomplete Berserker armor with one arm.
Thor, his lightning dissipated, nodded to Nolan with a solemn expression. He put away Mjolnir and leaned over to push the narrow, fifteen-meter-long wooden boat.
The hard keel passed through the scattered wood chips and snow with a loud, grating crunch, moving slowly toward the seashore with its undulating ice.
Nolan, stroking the Masterwork Bolter with his palm, took a final glance at the melting, blue-tinged frost giant wreckage around him. He also turned and walked toward the seaside, his steps shaking the ground.
At this moment, Wong, who had just politely refused David's offer of help, hurried to follow Nolan's footsteps.
"Mr. Nolan," Wong said, slightly out of breath, "although I am just an ordinary formal sorcerer, I can also participate in any battle. Can you tell your friends not to treat me as a fragile porcelain doll? The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj have never been fragile wizards. We are all melee sorcerers!"
The next second, Nolan suddenly stopped. The servos in his armor whined quietly.
He turned his head, looked down at the frowning Wong, and asked in a gentle, metallic tone, "Wong, how long does it take for your fastest spell to be activated?"
"Uh, using the most proficient Ring of Raggadorr and Energy Whip, it takes about one to two seconds? If it is a more complex spell, such as the powerful Seraphim Shield, it takes at least five seconds to prepare."
Wong lowered his head and thought for a while, answering with a serious expression.
However, Nolan, wearing his diamond-shaped helmet, shook his head slightly.
He smiled, a humorless gesture hidden by the helmet. "It only takes 0.5 seconds for me to pull the trigger with my finger. It's faster through the fire control system. Even if Thor doesn't summon thunder and lightning and just throws Mjolnir at the enemy, he only needs to let go. This is just an offensive method. If we talk about defensive capabilities, believe me, even if you use the magic shield calmly, it will be difficult for you to resist the ordinary swing of a frost giant... Wong, as a sorcerer, your responsibility is opening the door. It's not a shame, so why rush to die?"
"This, me, that..."
After listening to Nolan's unabashedly straightforward words, a look of embarrassment suddenly appeared on Wong's face. He flushed.
After moving his lips several times, he still couldn't utter a complete sentence.
In the end, he could only walk in the direction of David with his head downcast.
"My lord, your words were hurtful, weren't they? Didn't you say you wanted to build a relationship with them?"
The mechanical voice from David reached Nolan's ears quietly through the communication device.
Nolan moved in Terminator armor forward, a low voice slowly saying to David, "Wanting to build a relationship does not mean that I need to risk losing our retreat and let Wong set foot on the battlefield. Moreover, this is also an unchangeable fact. Unless a sorcerer is prepared in advance, their use in a sudden encounter will be greatly reduced. Besides, if Wong isn't allowed to understand that he is just weak support in this team, how can we make our 'heavy protection' of him seem so precious?"
"Understood, my lord. I will double protect his safety and try not to let him suffer any harm."
"No, David, you need to let him accidentally suffer minor non-fatal injuries, and then show your charm as a protector..."
The next moment, a deep laugh suddenly emitted from the inside of the diamond-shaped helmet, and it disappeared in an instant with the cold wind howling around it.
The countless runes engraved on the hull of the ship gave off a faint, pulsing blue glow.
The hard keel of the narrow wooden ship continued to crush countless broken white ice floes in front of it with sharp, cracking sounds.
This special vehicle, which mixed Asgard's mysterious magic and unknown technology, was skillfully controlled by Old John in his red armor.
Like a huge arrow loosed from the string, it quickly flew over the blue sea where white mist was constantly rising. The speed was incredible, throwing up a high spray of frigid water on either side.
Accompanied by the howling cold wind that kept passing by, the people huddled in the low cabin subconsciously grasped the edge of the wooden boat or the wooden partition under them.
Even Thor had to work hard to stabilize his tall body that kept leaning backwards from the sheer acceleration.
And Nolan, top-notch in both size and weight, even had to lie slightly flat in the middle of the narrow wooden boat. Only then could he avoid causing balance problems for the entire vessel.
Nolan, wearing his diamond-shaped helmet, stared through the eyepiece at the dim, misty sky in front of him, which seemed to have never changed.
The words that Old John had just said to everyone seemed to echo in his ears.
In fact, the so-called "smuggling" is to quickly pass through the "Cave of Time," a special passage connecting the two worlds. Because it is unknown when these naturally existing space channels will appear and disappear, only the most experienced and skilled helmsmen can have the vision and skills to distinguish the "Cave of Time."
Otherwise, once there is the slightest error in the coordinates during the stowaway process, it could be as small as being thrown into an unknown corner of the distant universe. If it's more serious, even the time inside the channel will be horribly misaligned.
Of course, according to Old John, this is just a legend spread between helmsmen and stowaways, meant to highlight the importance of the person at the helm.
At this moment, a huge roar from Old John's loud voice penetrated the howling cold wind. While echoing in everyone's ears, it also interrupted Nolan's divergent thoughts.
"Dear passengers! Hold on to the wooden ship structure or anything beside you! We are about to reach the first entrance into the 'Cave of Time'..."
"Odin's shit! Why are the damn frost giants here again?!"
"It's impossible for them to know the specific location of the 'Cave of Time'!"
"For the sake of our safety during the smuggling process, boys! Get up and get to work!"
As Old John's words quickly dissipated, the sea surrounding the fast-moving narrow wooden boat filled with a new threat.
One by one, frost giants controlled huge, jagged blue ice ships. They quickly passed through the endless rolling waves, emerging from the mist and surrounding everyone from all directions.
Huge ice cones were condensing from the palms of a large number of frost giants. A terrifying ice-pick bombing was about to be launched toward the narrow wooden ship.
Thor, waving Mjolnir, instantly broke away from the wooden boat and flew toward the dark sky.
Immediately afterwards, countless terrifying flashes of lightning lit the thick clouds. A large number of winding and leaping bolts repeatedly struck down on the nearby sea surface.
At the same time, Nolan, suddenly straightening the upper body of his Terminator armor with a groan of servos, had already controlled the servo-arm to quickly launch the fire array.
"David! Set up the heavy bolter immediately! Provide fire cover! Don't let any ice cones fall on the boat!"
"Don't worry, my Lord, I will complete the mission!"