Capítulo 300: Crises
"Alright, I'll leave the Stormbreaker in your hands, Eitri."
"I have some matters to attend to, so I won't be staying with you for now. I'll have someone send you back later."
With that, Thor turned and walked quickly to Queen Frigga's side.
He helped the still-weeping queen back to the palace.
His back looked somewhat embarrassed, almost as if he were running away.
Honestly, anyone who chatted with the straightforward Dwarf King would want to escape.
Seriously, never seen anyone so good at killing a conversation.
Who keeps complimenting others nonstop in a chat?
If Thor didn't already know the nature of the dwarves, he might have started a fight with him long ago.
Meanwhile, the Dwarf King, watching Thor's retreating figure, had no idea what just happened.
He scratched the back of his head in confusion.
In the end, he still couldn't figure out why Thor had left so abruptly.
Maybe, as Thor said, he really had something to deal with.
After all, even though Thor hadn't officially held his coronation ceremony, he was already considered the new King of Asgard.
And with Odin's recent passing, it was perfectly normal for him to have things to handle.
Yes, that must be it!
Having convinced himself of this, the Dwarf King led a group of dwarves, now packed up with their tools, onto a spaceship under the guidance of an Asgardian soldier, ready to return to the Dwarf Kingdom.
Once they got back, they would immediately start forging the Stormbreaker.
After all, the dwarves and Asgard had a symbiotic relationship: the stronger Asgard became, the safer they were.
On the ship, the Dwarf King Eitri pulled out the communicator that Zane had left with him long ago and stared at it in a daze.
After a while, he put it back into his pocket and let out a long sigh.
"... Let's hope we never have to use it!" Eitri muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, the other dwarves, who were much simpler in their thoughts, hadn't noticed their King's odd behavior at all.
They were still enthusiastically discussing what had happened in the arena just moments ago.
However, their focus seemed a bit unusual compared to normal people.
Most would be talking about how strong someone was or how explosive their battle was.
But their focus was:
"Whoa, the Reaper's Scythe is seriously awesome!"
"The Gungnir is definitely a sentient weapon!"
"The weapons Hela conjured with her divine power were total trash. They broke with just a poke from the Reaper's Scythe. As expected, weapons not tempered in flames have no soul."
"And those two guys calling themselves the Celestials, what's their armor made of? It looks tough but does it allow flexibility?"
Blah, blah, blah…
The Dwarf King glanced at his companions.
Then, without shame, he joined in the debate.
And in no time, he dominated the discussion, using his expert knowledge to leave the other dwarves speechless.
Instead of getting upset, the dwarves gazed at Eitri with admiration.
One has to admit, the dwarf race really is an odd bunch in the vast universe!
Amid their heated debate, none of them noticed the shadowy shapes of countless identical warships silently lying in wait behind the asteroids surrounding the Dwarf Kingdom!
When the Asgardian ship carrying the dwarves finally landed in the Dwarf Kingdom, the Dwarf King rushed off, clutching the fragments of Mjolnir, and hurried to the star-forging furnace.
He was preparing to re-extract the precious materials contained within and had already ordered the other dwarves to ready the mold for Stormbreaker. Once the materials were prepared, they would immediately begin forging the new divine weapon.
The Asgardian soldier who had piloted the ship seemed entirely accustomed to the dwarves' personalities. After exchanging a quick greeting with a nearly two-meter-tall dwarf child who was guiding the ship to its landing, the soldier activated the ship's engines and left the Dwarf Kingdom.
But no sooner had the soldier departed than, under Thanos' command, the countless warships that had been hidden in the shadows of the asteroids powered up simultaneously. They then strategically formed a circular array, surrounding the Dwarf Kingdom with the star-forging furnace at its center.
In the next moment, all of the ships activated their cloaking devices, isolating the Dwarf Kingdom from the outside world and preventing any signals from being sent out. In an instant, the entire dwarven race was trapped like fish in a barrel.
By the time the dwarves realized what was happening, the encirclement was already complete. The dwarf in charge of security immediately sounded the alarm in panic.
The entire Dwarf Kingdom was instantly bathed in an unsettling red glow, accompanied by piercing sirens. Hundreds of dwarves who had been focused on forging weapons suddenly paused, bewildered, and then hurriedly donned the battle armor and weapons they always kept ready beside their workstations. They swarmed to the fourth ring area, ready to defend against the incoming enemy.
At that moment, the Dwarf King Eitri, who had just been about to activate the star-forging furnace, saw that the highest-level alarm had been triggered. He immediately dropped the fragments of Mjolnir, rushed to the fourth ring without even putting on his armor, and pushed through the crowd of dwarves to the observation platform.
With a solemn expression, he gazed at the countless warships that had surrounded them. He recognized the design of those ships all too well. Previously, Thanos had used similar ships when he brought the Collector and the Grandmaster to Asgard to watch the battle.
A hint of gravity flickered in the Dwarf King's eyes.
Though straightforward, he wasn't foolish. It was clear that Thanos' fleet wasn't here with good intentions. Eitri had long expected trouble after the fall of Odin, knowing the dwarves wouldn't remain undisturbed for long. But he hadn't anticipated it would happen this quickly.
They had just returned from Asgard, and trouble had already come knocKing at their door. Damn, they weren't even given a moment to catch their breath! How urgent could this be?
In fact, Thanos had initially planned to lay low for a while before coming to the dwarves to craft a device capable of harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones.
But after the way he had been scolded by the Collector and the Grandmaster, his mentality had taken a hit, and impatience got the better of him. In his mind, whether he came sooner or later, he'd have to deal with the dwarves eventually.
With Odin gone, even if Thanos wiped out the dwarven race, the current Asgard wouldn't dare raise an objection.
As for why he chose to conduct what looked like a sneak attack, waiting for the Asgardian ship to leave before surrounding the Dwarf Kingdom? Thanos told his subordinates it was better to avoid unnecessary complications and to keep the situation under wraps to prevent unwanted trouble.
But the true reason was something only Thanos himself understood.
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