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IBHJ Chapter 707
🕑 Added 2024-02-10 01:57:24 +0000 UTCAdam turned off his bracelet and looked over everyone. Then he raised his palm slightly, pointing at the eagle outside, "Master's orders are to take out that golden eagle."
"Since it's my Master ally's command, there's not much we can do." Shirou turned his head to Salter. "Saber, let's go destroy that golden eagle together."
"Got it," she nodded. She had no idea what he was planning, but it didn't matter. She had already given up trying to figure him out.
"Sigurd, we should join them," Adam said, glancing his way. "We can't let them handle this alone."
Upon hearing this, Sigurd nodded.
The four of them left the tunnel where they were staying and rushed to the surface, charging at the golden eagle that kept bombarding the monsters.
The golden eagle let out a piercing "Screech!"
This was Hræsvelgr - the famous divine eagle of Norse legend. Across the expanse of history, it had always stood at the top of Yggdrasil, watching over the world with its keen sight.
And it was no pushover in battle either. Compared to your average magical beast, Hræsvelgr boasted tremendous combat ability.
But it was still no match for the Black Dragon Nidhogg.
Even though Shirou wasn't sure what Hel was up to, for the time being he was still acting as her ally, attacking Hræsvelgr with Sigurd and Adam.
Of course, Shirou was slacking off. He hung back, only casting some minor buffs for Sigurd and Salter. He didn't do anything else.
Slacking right alongside him was Adam. The once naive angel had apparently turned into a sly devil after spending too much time around Shirou, subtly slacking off as well.
So the only two really putting in any effort were the honest ones.
--- "Is this really okay, Mr. Assassin?
While slacking off, Adam didn't forget to secretly ask Shirou using the black mud, "I get what's going on now. I was summoned by those Council people, and they want us to get rid of this golden eagle. But we're on Chaldea's side, so shouldn't you be protecting it? Yet you agreed to help take it down."
--- "Just go with the flow for now but take it easy. It's the only way we'll see what they're really up to. After all, we still don't know much about this Council."
--- "That makes sense."
Adam nodded to himself.
--- "Speaking of which, do you think Sigurd will catch on to us?"
Adam felt a little nervous on the inside. This was his first time pretending like this, so he hoped he could pull it off.
"Don't worry. Saber's on our side too. With the three of us working against him, there's no way he'll notice."
As a veteran scammer, Shirou was totally unworried. Instead, he reassured Adam to set his mind at ease.
Adam nodded to himself, then his gaze fell on Salter. Now that he thought about it, running into Saber here after crossing paths with her in Romania was truly bizarre.
This made Adam feel a bit emotional...he missed his homunculus friends a little.
I wonder how they're doing? Adam thought to himself.
Although a divine beast, Hræsvelgr's true power lay not in combat, but in its near clairvoyant global eyes. Under the combined assault of the two honest servants, it soon let out a pained screech before crashing to the ground, swarmed and killed by the abominations below.
Looking at Hræsvelgr's corpse, Shirou turned to Adam. "Contact your Master. Tell her we've dealt with the golden eagle."
Adam nodded.
Shirou approached Salter, noticing her somewhat weary appearance. Clearly the honest servant had really made an effort.
He glanced at Sigurd, observing the man had turned away to gaze at Valhalla, his back to them.
Feeling assured, Shirou took out a lump of black mud and handed it to Salter. "Keep this safe."
She glanced down at the filthy mud in his palm. Lacking a maiden's distaste for grime, she gave a crisp nod, taking the mud from his hand.
Just then -
"Screech!"
Hræsvelgr, already dead, suddenly erupted with golden flames, resurrecting itself. It shook off the clinging monsters and took flight once more.
"It actually revived!" Adam said, surprised.
On the other hand, Sigurd's expression was very calm. Clearly, being from Norse legend himself, he had long anticipated this scenario. Only those unfamiliar with the Norse legends were shocked. Shirou especially was puzzled. Did all beasts from these legends have a habit of playing dead? First Nidhogg, now Hræsvelgr doing the same.
Hræsvelgr let out a loud cry as golden light erupted from its body. Its massive wings folded inward, forming a glowing golden sphere that hovered in the sky, emanating brilliance.
In this spherical form, it buzzed and swayed twice in midair before flying toward the great temple.
As Salter moved to stop it, Shirou acted swiftly, tapping her breastplate from behind.
--- "Don't interfere."
His voice suddenly sounded in her mind, startling her. She glanced back at him, realizing - that lump of black mud had allowed him to contact her telepathically!
When the golden eagle flew toward the great temple, eerie auroras flickered over Asgard's land, with bizarre runes popping up one after another.
Clearly, someone had activated Asgard's defense mechanisms, and these were Odin's Primordial Runes.
As the defense mechanisms activated, the Primordial Runes transformed into lightning bolts and fireballs, bombarding the abominations on the land.
"The gods' mechanisms have been triggered," Sigurd said.
Shirou's group were caught in the runes' attacks as well. They raced into the tunnels to take cover. While Asgard's surface raged with the gods' assaults on the invaders, the attacks didn't penetrate underground. Even the strikes from above didn't reach those below ground.
This was quite odd. No matter how he looked at it, there's no way the gods who blessed Asgard didn't pay close attention to its underground, or were unaware that Asgard's underground contained a dense network of tunnels. And it was getting more strange when he noticed that the tunnels were strangely built suited for invasion!
...
The surface mechanisms decimated the invading monsters, yet that was not the most daunting defense. Most intimidating was the activation of the wall surrounding Asgard.
This pure white sacred wall was the strongest defensive fortification, built by a giant to protect the gods' home. Throughout legends across human history, no being had ever breached this hallowed wall until the fated arrival of Ragnarok.
At this moment, the sacred wall shifted into war mode. Its defense mechanisms blazed to life one after another. The barrage was as dense as a sky full of exploding stars, erupting from the wall and sweeping away everything in its path.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Even the remnants and ruins of buildings crafted by the gods were obliterated without a trace.
Witnessing such horrifying, relentless bombardment, even Shirou was left speechless. He knew clearly that if he were under such an attack, survival would be impossible.
As expected, a frontal assault on Asgard, the land of the gods, would be completely hopeless. Facing such terrifying defenses, what exactly did Hel and the others hope to accomplish?
...
"They've activated Asgard's defenses!" exclaimed the Council member. "It's all happening just as predicted. They're walking right into their own demise."
A sly smile spread across the Council member's face. On a nearby virtual screen, a woman lazily stretched, "So they've activated all of Asgard's defenses then?"
"Not quite," the Council member replied. "Some mechanisms can only be activated by Divine Spirits with Norse divinity."
"Ah, I see..." the woman nodded in understanding. "That wall constructed by giants to invade the gods rather than protect them. Attempting to use it against its creators...they truly are on a death march." She added, "After all, the giants originally built that wall to wrest control of the world from the Norse gods."
"It's not just the wall!" the Council member exclaimed, a vengeful sneer twisting his face. "All of Asgard was constructed by giants as a death trap to snatch back dominion from those foolish gods!"
He let out a cruel chuckle. "What a shame the gods vanished before their comeuppance. Otherwise, the giants would have shown them who the true masters of this world are!"
"Yawn, I've no interest in your old grudges," the woman said dismissively. "I'm ready to begin. Just keep Asgard contained and don't let it interfere."
"I know. Focus on your task and leave the rest to me," the Council member nodded before terminating the virtual call with a scornful smirk.
"How dare that insignificant pawn talk to me in such an insolent manner?" the woman scoffed. "He'll pay for that later..."
She rose gracefully, her striking eyes gazing out at the grand temple in the distance. It seemed her piercing stare could breach the barriers to look at Skadi sleeping on the divine throne.
"First things first - I must obtain that thing," she muttered decisively under her breath.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Looks like things are happening that are not quite clear yet.
