In the blink of an eye, the first wave of attacks from the three Frost Giants was easily neutralized by Artoria and Minerva through exquisite footwork, precise strikes, and tacit cooperation, even leaving each of them injured.
Their prideful strength and icy magic appeared clumsy and inefficient in the face of true technique and combat wisdom.
"Bastards!" the giant leader steadied its stance, both shocked and angry.
It realized it could no longer underestimate these two enemies and had to use its true power.
It let out a low roar, slammed both hands onto the bridge deck, and poured in frantic, deep blue icy magic!
"Frozen Earth!"
With it as the center, terrifying cold energy erupted like a tidal wave; the crystal-clear deck of the Bifrost was instantly covered by thick, slippery solid ice, which spread rapidly, attempting to freeze Artoria and Minerva's feet in place!
At the same time, the other two giants also endured their injuries and lunged again, attempting to use the icy environment to limit their mobility for a pincer attack.
Artoria frowned slightly.
The bone-chilling cold and freezing force coming from beneath her feet were indeed troublesome, especially for someone like her who relied on footwork.
Minerva's bionic feet also made a slight sound of friction against the ice, and her movements were clearly affected.
"Minerva, break the ice." Artoria's brief command was transmitted via their mental link.
Minerva did not hesitate; facing the giant lunging from the right, she no longer dodged but instead sank her waist, planted her feet, pulled her right fist to her waist, tensed her bionic muscles to the limit, and then threw a punch!
It wasn't aimed at the giant, but smashed fiercely into the ice under her feet!
"Boom!!"
Physical strength, pure to the extreme, erupted at a single point!
The hard, colorful bridge deck, along with the thick ice covering it, was instantly blasted open into a crater several meters in diameter, as if struck by a meteorite!
Ice chips mixed with crystal debris splashed everywhere!
Minerva used the recoil to leap into the air, and at the same time, the shattered ice surface disrupted the continuity of the spreading cold energy.
The moment the ice layer spread to her ankles, Artoria unleashed a slight burst of magic from her feet, shattering the thin ice, and using the recoil airflow created by Minerva, she drifted lightly backward for several meters, escaping the core of the freezing range.
Her gaze locked onto the giant leader who was still maintaining the spell, and the golden magic in her hand finally condensed into a simple long sword.
"Contain the other two," she said to Minerva.
Minerva landed and, without pausing, took the initiative to meet the injured giants on the left and right.
Her fighting style became more direct and violent; no longer seeking a one-hit kill, she utilized her speed advantage to constantly circle around the two giants, harassing them with precise and rapid strikes, forcing them to be overwhelmed and unable to support their leader.
Artoria, sword in hand, walked step by step toward the giant leader, who was struggling to move while maintaining the "Frozen Earth" spell.
Her pace was not fast, yet exceptionally steady; with every step she took, the lingering frost beneath her feet was pushed away by an invisible aura.
A flash of panic crossed the giant leader's eyes; it attempted to interrupt the spell to attack Artoria, but maintaining such a large-scale spell could not be stopped at will, and forcing an interruption could lead to a magical backlash.
It could only roar, swing its left fist toward the approaching Artoria, and simultaneously spray a small burst of freezing air.
Artoria turned sideways, dodging the fist with minimal movement, and the golden long sword in her hand slashed seemingly casually, its blade precisely grazing a thinner ridge of ice armor on the side of the giant's fist.
"Ssh!"
A clear sword mark appeared, and pale blue blood seeped out.
The giant felt the pain, and its attacks became even more violent, but also more flawed.
Artoria, like the most patient hunter, circled the mobility-impaired giant leader, her steps light, her sword light like silk.
Her sword did not seek broad, sweeping strokes; every strike was precise, concise, and lethal, specifically targeting the joints, energy nodes, and gaps in the ice armor that the giant exposed while casting.
Although the damage caused by each sword strike seemed small, it accumulated, leaving the giant leader struggling to defend, roaring repeatedly, with new wounds constantly appearing on its body, making it increasingly difficult to maintain the spell.
Finally, when Artoria landed a tricky diagonal stab, striking the ligament behind its knee again, the giant leader could no longer maintain the spell, let out a miserable cry, and fell to one knee, the effect of "Frozen Earth" instantly dissipating.
Artoria gave it no breathing room; the moment the giant knelt, she lunged forward, the golden long sword in her hand glowing slightly, its tip pointing directly at its wide-open, cold-air-spewing mouth—that was the relatively fragile oral cavity and energy breath channel of a Frost Giant!
Just as the sword tip was about to pierce in, victory was about to be decided—
"What a disappointing performance."
A cold, slippery voice, filled with endless mockery and anger, suddenly rang out over the Bifrost.
Immediately after, a vast divine power, far more refined, bizarre, and filled with the aura of lies and illusions than that of the Frost Giants, suddenly shrouded the entire area like an invisible giant net!
Time seemed to be filled with viscous glue.
The sword Artoria thrust, and Minerva's movements attacking the other two giants, all showed obvious sluggishness.
It was not completely frozen, but it felt like acting in deep water, with huge resistance.
Loki's figure slowly condensed above the bridge deck like an ink painting.
He wore magnificent robes of dark green and gold, held a gorgeous spear cast from ice and Uru metal, his face gloomy, his eyes as cold as knives, staring fixedly at Artoria.
"Not only did you see through my tricks and repair that toy, but you can also so easily toy with my 'allies'," Loki's voice was filled with displeasure and inquiry, "The secrets on you... are becoming more and more curious."
His spear tapped lightly, and a powerful force field, mixed with mental suppression and ice magic, pressed down, attempting to completely imprison Artoria and Minerva.
"Let me see, what exactly is your background..."
Artoria felt the pressure around her increase sharply, and her magic flow became sluggish, but her eyes remained calm.
She could feel that although this pressure was strong, it was still within an acceptable range compared to the consumption during the reconstruction of the Herrscher of Truth and the divine coercion of the Finality.
The tenacious will and magic core belonging to Saber within her began to accelerate, resisting the external oppression.
Faint energy patterns also lit up on Minerva's body, resisting the restraint.
However, just as Loki was preparing for further action, and perhaps even stepping in himself—
"Loki!!!"
A roar filled with endless anger, sorrow, and the power of thunder, like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, rolled in from the direction of the Asgard!
Immediately after, a golden spear of thunder, moving at a speed exceeding the visual limit, broke through the air and smashed fiercely toward Loki!
It was Thor!
He had clearly cleared some obstacles on the way to the Golden Palace at extremely high speed, sensed the abnormality on the Bifrost and Loki's undisguised divine power fluctuations, and immediately turned back!
Loki's expression changed, and he had to interrupt the suppression, waving his spear to set up layers of illusory magic shields and ice walls in front of him.
"Boom!!"
The thunder spear collided violently with the magic shields, erupting into an astonishing energy storm, completely dispersing the sluggish force field on the Bifrost!
The pressure on Artoria and Minerva lightened, and they immediately regained their ability to act.
Minerva did not hesitate, gave up attacking the other two giants, instantly flashed back to Artoria's side, shielded her behind her, and locked her cold gaze onto Loki.
Thor's figure landed following the thunder, mjolnir surrounded by angry arcs of electricity, blocking between Artoria, Minerva, and Loki.
He glared at Loki, his eyes filled with undisguised disappointment and killing intent: "Loki! You actually colluded with the Frost Giants and betrayed Asgard! And you tried to hurt my friends!"
Loki steadied himself after being blasted back a few steps by Thor, the disgusting fake smile hanging on his face again, but his eyes were cold: "Betrayal? My dear brother, I was just correcting a mistake. As for your friends... they are in the way."
He glanced at the three heavily injured Frost Giants who had lost their will to fight, then looked at the battle-ready Thor, Artoria, and Minerva, knowing it would be difficult to gain more advantage here today.
He still needed to preside over the plan at the Golden Palace.
"Hmph, you're lucky today," Loki sneered, his figure beginning to fade slowly, "The game isn't over yet, brother. See you at the Golden Palace... I hope you can pass through the defenses set up by my 'toys'."
As his voice fell, his figure disappeared completely.
The three Frost Giants also roared low, deep blue teleportation light rising around them, and quickly disappeared.
The crisis was temporarily resolved.
Thor turned to look at Artoria and Minerva, his eyes filled with concern: "Are you okay? Sorry, I'm late."
"No harm done," Artoria shook her head, putting away her magic sword, her face slightly weary, but her eyes clear, "It seems that Asgard's trouble is bigger than expected."
"We must go to the Golden Palace immediately!" Thor said urgently.
"We'll go with you," Artoria interrupted him, her tone unquestionable, "Since we're here, there's no reason to give up halfway. Besides, it seems your 'family business' has already dragged us in."
Minerva also nodded silently, indicating agreement.
Thor looked at them, complex emotions surging in his heart—gratitude, guilt, and a hint of camaraderie.
He nodded heavily: "Good! Then let us go together and clear Loki and his Frost Giant scum out of the Asgard!"
The three did not delay any longer; Thor summoned thunder again, and Artoria and Minerva followed closely, turning into three streams of light, rushing along the magnificent Bifrost toward the core of Asgard where the smoke of war was rising—the Golden Palace.
The true Battle of the Gods had just begun.
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