There were many gods in this universe. And each god clan had its own residence. However, for the god clans that ruled over the heavens, their status was far from that of the ordinary god clans. Of the 7 Heavenly Realms, the rulers were each strong and powerful. And rarely did their clans become engulfed in the struggles that plagued other god clans. But this was a strange year. For two of the Heavenly Realms were plagued with exactly these kind of troubles. For the 1st and 2nd Heavenly Realms were in turmoil, and the worlds that fell under their jurisdiction felt the effects of their chaotic battle for succession.
The 2nd Heaven was the realm of the Olympians. Aries, the son of Zeus and brother of Athena had declared himself king after defeating his father – Zeus. Along with his declaration was a fierce struggle that was still ongoing even till this day. The 1st Heaven was slightly better off in comparison to the 2nd Heaven. For the 1st Heaven still had Thor – the rightful successor to Asgard. Since Baldur's disappearance, Thor had been named successor. As long as he was alive, it was going to be difficult for anyone else to take the throne of Asgard. However, there was an even more important reason why the situation of the 1st Heaven wasn't considered grim. The Allfather hadn't returned. The famous vagabond of a God King was off on another adventure. He wasn't dead. He was still very much alive. As to where he was that he hadn't heard of the chaos ongoing in his realm, nobody knew. But what the people of the 1st Heaven knew was that once he returned, the Giants that dared to wage war on Asgard once again would be in for a difficult fight.
On a world belonging to the 1st Heaven, there was a grand battle taking place. Soldiers completely covered in golden armor faced off against the Jotnar – the giants of the 1st Heaven. Although the Jotnar wielded only their battle axes and wore very little armor, their tough skins made it difficult for the golden armored soldiers to easily do away with them. Several fell to the sword of another. Soldiers and giants lost their lives as rapidly as leaves fell from a tree in the Fall. The corpses on the ground were like a grand carpet of death.
"Captain!" a small man with an aura of a Nobility Realm powerhouse expertly evaded the axe of a Jotnar and cleaved the head of the giant off its shoulders with his slender blade. He ignored the blood that drenched him from head to toe and screamed at the man currently surrounded by five giants. The small man evaded the blow of another giant and violently kicked it towards its fellow giant. Then he leaped towards both and pierced them through with his blade. He quickly made his way to the side of the captain who was barely holding his own against the five Noble Giants keeping him hostage.
*Bang*
The small man immediately announced his presence once he was close enough. Picking up a discarded golden spear he flung the weapon with all his might towards one of the unsuspecting Noble Giants too focused on his captain to pay attention to anything else.
*Puchi*
And just like that a Noble Giant was killed. The other four became aware of the new threat once their comrade died, and along with their divided attention came the opening that the captain sought for.
*Boom*
The captain kicked one of the giants on the temple, sending the disoriented beast flying towards the small man who happily beheaded the flying giant. Together the two – captain and subordinate – worked to finish off the three Noble Giants.
"Captain! Only the last of them remain!" The small man was a feisty one. He hadn't forgotten where he was. For even as he spoke to his captain, he was still fighting. He swiftly evaded the blow of a weaker giant and jumped onto its shoulders. With ferocity that didn't match his size he violently twisted the giant's head off its shoulders.
*Crack*
"Good! Lets' finish this then!" the captain replied whilst delivering a fearsome punch onto the face of a giant that had tried to sneak up on him. The face of the poor giant caved in as its brains were forcefully expelled from its skull.
"You heard Captain! Kill them all!" the small man's eyes turned red as he bathed in the blood of his enemies. His movements were similar to that of a shadow. Even though the sun hung high in the sky, none of the giants could track his movements. Like an elusive shadow he disappeared and appeared wherever he pleased. And each of his appearances were marked by the death of a giant or two.
"ROAR" the golden armored soldiers roared like beasts on steroids. Their furious roar travelled to the heart of the giants who bared their path to their home. With ferocity not at all inferior to the small man's each soldier attacked with the pain and despair of seeing their friends being struck down.
The gruesome battle went on for about 30 more minutes, and when it was over only a few soldiers remained. They began the battle a thousand men strong, but now they were just shy of a hundred. They had lost so much. And it was because of this that they didn't bother to celebrate their win. Each man went around the battlefield, surveying the area for valuables that belonged to their friends – valuables that had to be returned to their families.
"What is that?" the small man was seated on the ground next to captain. Both were recovering their energy when they felt a tremble in the earth they sat on. The small man put his hand to the ground, trying to confirm what he felt. Once he did his face grew pale.
"It seems today we will get to see Valhalla," the captain laughed bitterly and stood up. His energy was barely recovered. But there was no way he was going to sit down and allow himself to be easily butchered. If he was going to go down, he would do so whilst taking down several of those giant brats with him.
"On me!" the Captain screamed, and the scattered soldiers who also felt the tremor came running. Soon they had formed a small formation with their captain as their head. They all had their eyes glued to the space before them, and before long they could see the vast army of giants that were approaching.
"They are even greater than before," the captain shook his head wryly when he realised that he couldn't seem to see the end of the huge army that was approaching. As if that wasn't enough, each giant was completely blue in color, like shiny turquoise statues.
"Are those Frost Giants?" one of the soldiers stuttered. His question was rhetorical, and all around him knew this. The soldiers involuntarily shivered as a piercing cold breached their armors and made its way onto their skin.
Frost Giants formed a large part of the Jotnar, but they were a major fighting force and rare rarely deployed to a planet of minor significance like this one. With their abilities to constantly devour and grow stronger, and their affinity with ice, they were a dangerous group to make enemies out of. And though the soldiers knew that they weren't going to make it out alive, they now questioned if they would be able to take down even one giant with them.
"What is that?" a sharp eyed soldier raised his head and said. A blue light was descending rapidly onto the battlefield. Like a meteor of unstoppable might in quickly approached and crashed into the group of giants leading the way.
*Boom*
A large man draped entirely in lightning descended from the clouds and smashed into first few giants. Although each giant was about 5 meters tall and had arms as thick as the man himself, none of them were spared the destructive power of lightning. Each giant was burnt into cinders; none survived.
Without bothering to look at the effects of his landing, the lightning clad brute with long golden hair and a beard that extended to his chest forged ahead. Before him was an army of giants so vast that one couldn't even discern their true number. Each giant had the aura of a Heaven Realm powerhouse, with several Nobles and a few Ascenders mixed within. Yet this vast army didn't deter the lightning clad man in the slightest. His blue eyes flashed with a strange glow as several thunder clouds formed in the sky above the battlefield. Lightning fought the sun for the sky and won. Thunder rumbled loudly to signal the victory of the element so destructive that few could wield it.
Seeing the change of weather and recognizing the man who had intervened, the faces of the soldiers turned red in excitement. With unity of spirit and voice they exclaimed at the top of their voices,
"All hail the mighty Thor!"
*Bang*
Like a speeding train, Thor crashed into the army of giants. In his hand was a short handled hammer that constantly flashed with lightning. With every swing several dozens of giants were felled. So domineering was his display that the soldiers could only open their mouths wide in surprise and watch the scenes before them unfold.
"So that is the power of the God of Thunder," the captain sighed in awe. Next to him the small man's eyes were flashing with desire and admiration.
Before long several dots appeared in the sky as a few more figures descended onto the battlefield. Each of these newcomers was a woman, and they all had armors with wings that flapped and beat the winds to carry them around. Leading these women was a blonde haired woman with deep blue eyes who shared similar looks with Thor. In her hand was a beautiful sword that reflected the majesty of the sun. With domineering ferocity that didn't lose out to Thor's, she crashed into her first opponent – an Ascended Giant – and it didn't last past a second.
*Puchi*
As though she was merely mowing a lawn, she passed through the horde of giants in very a relaxed manner. It didn't matter what level the giants had reached. Heavenly Giants, Noble Giants and Ascended Giants all felt the sting of her blade. She felled them quickly, her speed not at all inferior to the god who wielded the lightning of the 1st Heaven. The winged maidens whom she led were also powerful. They swept through the giants like a storm, leaving the soldiers with nothing to do but to cheer them on.
"All hail the graceful valkyries! All hail the Absolute Queen!"