Facing his mother's death, just 'beating some sense into them' is enough?!
Odin glared at his son in dissatisfaction. Did Thor think Odin didn't want to wipe those guys out? But how?
Was he supposed to throw his old life away to do it?
These past few years, he was truly exhausted. He had to pretend he was still at his peak, while simultaneously acting like his inaction was born of benevolence rather than necessity.
It was tiring work. He really deserved a "Best Actor" award.
"If you have the strength to do it, I won't object," Odin said calmly. "And I don't think your mother would object either."
Seeing his father use his mother as a shield, Thor was left speechless. He had thought his current strength was quite sufficient, but now he realized it was far from enough.
"Is that all you saw? You just saw that we need to destroy the Dark Elves?" Odin looked at his son.
Although Odin deeply hated the Dark Elves and Malekith, he knew that training his son was more important than killing Malekith.
Only a capable King could prevent history from repeating itself.
Thor suppressed the grief and anger in his heart. Muscle-head though he was, he could see his father was testing him. Training him.
He thought for a moment and said, "We need to strengthen the defenses in the dungeon!"
"And?" Odin nodded, prompting him to continue.
Saying they needed stronger defenses was obvious. The question was how.
"Although this incident was triggered by Loki's hint, fundamentally, the dungeon's security is flawed," Thor analyzed. "If it weren't for that Dark Elf warrior, Mother would have easily suppressed Malekith."
As the Queen of Asgard, Frigga had followed Odin in his conquest of the Nine Realms. Naturally, she was no ordinary woman.
Her swordsmanship was astonishing. She completely dominated Malekith with ease.
It was a pity Loki only learned her illusion magic. Whether he was unwilling to learn her swordplay or just lacked the talent, his melee skills were mediocre. If he had Frigga's combat prowess, he wouldn't have been beaten so miserably by the Avengers on Earth.
In the end, Frigga was sneak-attacked by Kurse. A dishonorable ambush on an elderly woman.
"So, not only do we need to increase the number of guards, but we also need to find a way to restrict the prisoners' powers, rather than just locking them in cells!" Thor concluded.
A look of satisfaction appeared on Odin's face. His son had finally grown up. He was starting to use his brain and think from the perspective of a ruler.
"Correct. We should put shackles on them to suppress their strength," Odin nodded.
This wasn't hard to achieve. In fact, the spell Odin used to strip Thor's power before banishing him was exactly this type of suppression magic. On the surface, it looked like Thor lost his power because Mjolnir was taken away, but that wasn't true. Thor's power came from within himself, not the hammer.
"This was clearly a premeditated plot by the Dark Elves. They deliberately let one of their own get captured to start a riot from the inside, creating chaos to pave the way for the fleet's invasion," Thor continued. "Furthermore, the problem isn't just the dungeon guards. Our border defense is woefully inadequate. For instance, at the Bifrost, Heimdall is stationed alone. When the enemy ships flew in, he had no way to stop them all!"
Looking at the whole situation, Asgard's defenses seemed like a joke. The Dark Elves just strolled in, caused massive chaos, and murdered the Queen.
But Odin knew the reality was different. It had to do with Asgard's unique nature.
Why did Asgardians rely on the Bifrost? Aside from convenience, it was because Asgard did not exist in the normal physical universe.
Under normal circumstances, without the Bifrost, no one could easily locate or reach Asgard. It involved complex dimensional space technology.
Because of this isolation, Asgard hadn't faced a serious external invasion since the civil war. Long-term peace had bred a culture of complacency.
Heimdall wasn't so much a border guard as he was a glorious doorman and transport operator.
"Go build more anti-air turrets around the bridge. You will be in charge of this," Odin ordered.
"Yes, Father." Thor nodded. They couldn't let the same mistake happen twice.
Taking a loss once was due to lack of preparation. Taking the same loss twice just meant they were idiots.
"Also, we are too lax. In the past, we were always the ones attacking others. We rarely faced invasions, so our defensive protocols are a mess," Thor critiqued. "We need to step up training and conduct military drills. We should learn from the powerful nations on Earth!"
"Agreed. You handle that as well," Odin said.
"And another thing... how could you leave Mother alone in her chambers? There should be heavy guard details there!" Thor argued.
If there had been enough guards outside the Royal Chambers, the Dark Elf leader wouldn't have been able to sneak in.
Asgard's Royal Chambers were invaded this time. And the last time someone sneaked into the King's bedroom... well, it was the last time.
(Namely, when Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, sneaked into Odin's bedroom and almost assassinated him.)
Thinking about it now, their security was like a sieve.
"As for Loki... if he really isn't dead, I will definitely bring him back. I absolutely cannot let him continue down this path!" Thor said with utmost seriousness.
"I leave your brother's matters to you," Odin said, pleased with his son's systematic analysis. "However, these are just symptoms. The real question is: Why did Malekith target your little Earth girlfriend? Why go so far as to launch a suicide assault on Asgard just for her?"
The whole event was absurd. The King of the Dark Elves personally led a small elite strike force into the heart of Asgard. It was the equivalent of an enemy general charging solo into a heavily fortified capital.
There had to be a reason.
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