Stupid Odin

Odin, with meticulous planning, designed True Damage for his [Sword of Nine Realms] to counter the Vanir, the Aesir's greatest adversaries in this world.

The Aesir seem overwhelmingly powerful, but their members mostly follow the path of achieving divinity through physical prowess, especially after mixing with Giant bloodlines. They rely almost entirely on physical output, which is particularly evident in Thor.

Their bodies are undeniably strong, but the problem is that when they encounter enemies who don't engage in direct combat and constantly harass them with nimble combinations and magic, most Aesir are at a loss.

In the epic poem [Edda], some Aesir gods, whose physical bodies weren't strong enough, were slowly bled dry by the Vanir gods and eventually ground to death. Conversely, the Vanir gods themselves lacked sufficient physical strength, and once their tricks were foiled, they were instantly killed. As a result, the two sides fought a protracted and exhausting battle, depleting all their strength, and were forced to make peace.

And Gulveig's kneeling had a huge impact.

If, as in the epic, Odin and Thor failed to defeat Gulveig, a goddess of the opposing faction who used dark magic, even after killing her three times, the Aesir would definitely be timid before the battle, and their strength would be reduced by 30% before the fight even began.

But now…

Isn't it just Odin losing face?

Hasn't the God-King, this publicly acknowledged 'foolish younger brother,' lost enough face over the years?

If the God-Brother is unreliable, the God-King is reliable, and the God-Son still has room to grow, then that's enough.

The moment this heavily tattooed goddess knelt, the hall erupted in deafening cheers.

"Hahaha! Vile witch! Did you think your little tricks would work?"

"We didn't even need His Majesty to personally take action; a mere mortal defeated you!"

"Admit your mistake! Hahahaha!"

The giants were the loudest, mixed with the excited screams of many goddesses. Everything in the hall happened so fast that when the bow-god Ullr returned, he was surprised to see that the enemy was already kneeling.

Ullr said awkwardly, "Did I miss something?"

"No! You didn't. The most exciting part is yet to come!" Loki's face was flushed with excitement. Gulveig's magical spells deeply stimulated his nerves, and he felt that he could develop even more devious tricks.

Down on the steps of the hall, Gulveig's body convulsed violently. She was furious and wanted to get up and attack the barbarian God-King who had done something unknown to her with dark magic.

Sadly, she couldn't.

The cold mist was rampaging through her body, turning into palm-sized hands that were physically tearing her heart and lungs.

It wasn't fatal, but it was excruciating!

The internal turmoil made her collapse! Tears, snot, and sweat flowed uncontrollably from all her orifices, making her look like she had just been fished out of a pond, utterly disheveled.

"What… what did you do to me?" Gulveig, her mouth full of strange cold mist and white smoke, asked Odin in a distorted, terrified voice.

Odin's posture seemed unchanged since she entered the hall, still resting his chin on his hand, a mysterious smile on his face: "Nothing much, I just let you feel a part of the world's 'truth'."

"Truth… what is that?"

Odin didn't answer. Instead, he ordered, "Valkyries, drag her down and lock her in the sky prison. Just leave the sword stuck in her. Although removing it won't change anything…"

"Yes!" These chosen maidens from Earth excitedly carried out the God-King's orders.

Compared to the gods, due to their relative lack of power, they really could only work together to drag Gulveig, who was nearly five meters tall, out of the hall like a dead dog.

But this only deepened the sense of 'mortals defeating an enemy god'.

The roar of the gods and giants in the hall not only didn't weaken, but it became even louder.

"Hahaha! Is this the Vanir? Not even as good as mortals, how laughable!"

"Look at her pathetic state, her head isn't even worthy of being hung on the Rainbow Bridge."

Seeing Gulveig being dragged away, Odin, feeling a little unwilling, stepped forward and bowed deeply: "Sorry, Your Majesty, I was too impulsive just now."

"Sorry, Father-God, me too," Thor followed suit and admitted his mistake.

Odin waved his hand: "Listen, you two—generals must avoid impulsiveness. Remember this and cultivate your temper."

"Yes!" the two gods responded in unison.

At this time, Balder stepped forward: "Then, how should we respond to the declaration of war from the Vanir?"

Balder's words alone stirred up the giants, who raised various weapons, their deep roars almost lifting the dome of the Golden Hall: "Kill all their male gods! Plunder all their goddesses! Ooh ooh ooh—"

Odin's mouth twitched slightly.

As expected of the pantheon worshiped by the Vikings in history, their logic is so… simple!

However, these stupid giants have no chance of winning against the Vanir!

In the epic, they were the ones who dragged their feet in this battle.

Over the years, besides the Fabuti and Laufey couple who initially defected, there were also the giant Thiazi and the giantess Skadi, among other giants famous in the epic who defected.

Giants admire the strong and have straightforward personalities.

On the other hand, without knowing the enemy's strength, it doesn't seem right not to let these giants loyal to the Aesir fight.

Odin had an idea.

"Giants. I have received your desire for battle. Our race should indeed respond, but not by sending you to Vanaheim, which is surrounded by the ocean. That would be the greatest waste of your strength. So, I have a better way to demonstrate your bravery and strength."

"What is it?" Thiazi became excited.

"The gods will continue to prepare for battle. And giants, please follow me."

Before long, Odin led nearly a hundred giants to the westernmost cliff of the floating continent Asgard, pointing to the continent of Vanaheim, which was clearly visible below.

The two continents are actually not that far apart in a straight line, about a hundred kilometers or so.

Both continents are quite large. At this distance, everyone can actually see the small island surrounded by the blue ocean.

"Those despicable creatures who claim to rule the world of Jötunheim are on that island! Do you see them?"

Odin's words were met with a roaring response from the giants: "We see them—"

"What you have to do is to fasten your 'seat belts' and then throw boulders at the heads of those damned bastards. Can you do it?"

"We—can—do—it—" The giants were even more excited!

To be honest, they were somewhat apprehensive about fighting those cunning enemy gods who seemed impossible to kill no matter how hard they tried.

When it comes to brute force, that's what they do best.

So, after the giants tied super-large safety ropes made of multiple huge vines around their waists, they lifted boulders, each weighing in at [ten tons], and threw them down on Vanaheim.

This was a man-made meteor shower.

Giants are people too, no problem!

With the earth-shattering momentum of the falling boulders as the backdrop, Odin smiled: "Vanir, please accept this return gift!"