Inside the majestic golden palace, the gods stepped in one by one, their faces all showing a hint of joy and satisfaction to varying degrees.
For them, a troublesome issue that had plagued them for nearly a year had finally been resolved. That great serpent was now tightly bound by countless, even tens of thousands of chains, with the weight of the entire ocean pressing firmly down on its body, making it impossible for it to ever break free again.
But for some, this might not be something to celebrate too much.
Thor's face looked somewhat crestfallen and gloomy, even the war hammer in his hand was held without much strength. The sealing of the great serpent was not something particularly worth rejoicing over for him, because he did not defeat that great serpent by his own strength, but had no choice but to call upon the aid of the other gods. For him, this was truly a humiliation.
However, in the eyes of the other gods, they clearly did not see it that way.
"Thor!"
A rough, boisterous voice reached Thor's ears. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Heimdall, the guardian of the gods and the watchman of the rainbow bridge, looking at him with a glint of encouragement in his eyes, while raising his arm and thumping his chest.
"I salute you."
Undoubtedly, the battle between the great serpent and Thor had already gained the recognition and admiration of all the gods. During that fierce fight, that apocalyptic scene of heaven and earth being overturned, stars falling from the sky, that immense momentum capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, plucking stars and grasping the moon, made even the gods retreat, not daring to get involved.
Only when the great serpent was preparing to flee, and Thor seized the opportunity to grab its tail, while the serpent was too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else, did the gods then take the chance to collectively bind the serpent with chains. Then, with the cooperation of the old sea god, they managed to lock this colossal being in the depths of the sea with great difficulty.
If it weren't for Thor, although the gods could defeat it, there was a high likelihood that this monster would have escaped and dived into the depths of the sea. And the old sea god alone would not have been able to restrain this monster, naturally unable to lock it in the depths of the sea as perfectly as it was now.
In the eyes of the other gods, the greatest credit for capturing the great serpent clearly went to Thor, and it would undoubtedly become another one of Thor's countless glories.
And looking at Heimdall, Thor also forced a smile.
Evidently, he was still somewhat dissatisfied with this.
Then, he looked around and keenly noticed something.
"Where's Loki?"
He said offhandedly, but this name seemed to have some magical effect, causing the originally quite relaxed atmosphere to stiffen.
The gods looked at each other, hesitating, not speaking. An awkward atmosphere gradually spread.
"He left."
In the end, Odin, sitting on the divine throne, broke this awkward atmosphere. He said with a calm expression.
"He said he wanted to go clear his head and won't be returning to Asgard for a long time."
There was no fluctuation on Odin's face, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.
Then, he looked at Thor, the thunder god, in front of him, his voice softening a little.
"This time, you did well. It just so happens there's nothing happening with the frost giants. You can take a short break for a while…"
"Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Suddenly, a furious roar coming from below interrupted Odin's words. The deafening rumble nearly shook the entire golden palace, and this familiar voice immediately made the gods' expressions change.
…
Under the gloomy sky, above the turbulent great sea, the stormy winds and heavy rains still had not ceased.
And in the deepest part of the seafloor, the body of a colossal being was struggling with all its might, exerting the last bit of its strength in an attempt to break free from the various shackles binding its body.
In the depths of its crimson, blood-red pupils, besides endless rage, there was also that lingering trace of intense savagery.
The sharp serpentine teeth densely filling its mouth bit down hard on those pure gold chains tightly constricting it. Those pure gold chains, engraved with countless runic inscriptions, still seemed indestructible even under the gnawing of its sharp teeth.
This devious great serpent had deceived all the gods.
When the serpent realized it might be powerless to resist the fate of being bound, it pretended to be exhausted, allowing the gods to keep adding more chains to its body. When the arrogant gods thought they had restrained it and returned to the heavens, it suddenly used up all its remaining strength in an attempt to break free from these chains.
"Clink…"
One after another, the thick pure gold chains were tightly stuck to the serpent's body, closely pressed against its scales. When the serpent struggled, countless scales rubbed against these chains, producing a series of low sounds.
Undoubtedly, the gods' confidence was not unfounded. Innumerable chains were binding the serpent's body, plus that heavy ocean pressing down on the serpent. A being that could break free from these chains probably had not been born yet.
At least…
In theory, it should be so.
The sharp teeth bit down hard on those chains. On the shimmering gold chains, the dense, intricate magic runes emitted a faint golden glow, no matter how hard the serpent gnawed, it was futile, proving their sturdiness and mocking the serpent for biting off more than it could chew.
However, in the savage pupils of the serpent, there was always that indomitable defiance.
"You…"
An indescribable emotion surged wildly in the serpent's consciousness, and along with it, a special color appeared in its savage pupils…
A sense of humiliation.
An inexplicable sense of humiliation, a profound feeling of humiliation from being imprisoned, enveloped the serpent's heart like never before.
It yearned for something like never before, yearned to do something.
Cracks began to appear on the sharp serpentine teeth, and at the same time, tiny cracks also gradually surfaced on those pure gold chains in the serpent's mouth.
"All must die…"
As the serpentine teeth suddenly shattered, the violent sound of those sturdy pure gold chains in its mouth being forcibly bitten through and snapped also rang out.
"Gods…"
It struggled, and along with those taut chains on its body, the scales all over the serpent's body stood up. Its incomparably strong muscles tensed tightly, causing intense collisions with those chains.
Chain after chain tightened deeply, even forcibly digging into the serpent's flesh, tearing its flesh and causing copious amounts of blood to seep out.
Intense pain came from every part of the serpent's body, but it seemed to not feel it at all. In its erect, cold serpentine pupils, besides thick savagery, ferocity, and viciousness, there was nothing else.
"All must die…"
"Crack!!!"
The copious amount of blood seeping out nearly dyed the entire sea red, and the pure gold chains that had been painstakingly enduring finally snapped abruptly.
One, two, three… ten… a hundred… a thousand…
As if triggering some chain reaction, following the snapping of the first pure gold chain, the chains kept shattering one after another.
However, the entire ocean was still pressing down heavily on its body, like a complete whole, no longer just a flowing liquid, but possessing a solid substance, with countless billions of tons of seawater pressing down on the serpent's body.
But this furious, colossal monster spewed out storms, forcibly trying to lift the entire ocean.
Could it do it?
Was this kind of thing really possible?
It could!
"Rumble rumble rumble!!!!!!"
The entire ocean was also quaking, the seawater constantly rising, because in the deepest part of the sea, there was actually a monster that overestimated itself, actually trying to lift the entire ocean.
On its back, an unprecedented heavy pressure bore down on the serpent's body.
Its erect pupils were filled with savagery and the color of blood. Its upper body, riddled with wounds and still bleeding, was lifting up that immeasurable weight of seawater on its back, slowly raising it bit by bit.
All kinds of fish, plants, and sea monsters swam about in a panic in the seawater on the serpent's back, terrified of this seemingly impending doom.
Sitting on the divine throne, the old sea god tightly gripped the armrests, his astonished expression seemingly mixed with a hint of dread.
The entire ocean was really going to be overturned by it.
…
And inside the golden palace of Asgard, the gods exchanged perplexed looks, while the face of Odin, the king of gods, became exceptionally grim.
"Arrogance!"
For the first time, he had a hint of anger in his tone.
With that, he took off a gold bracelet from his wrist and hurled it towards the sea.
…
A long time ago, Thor's wife Sif had beautiful golden hair. But Loki, the fire god who was prone to mischief, cut off all her hair while she was asleep. When Sif woke up, she was very upset about Loki's mischievous prank. When Thor, who was seething with anger, found out, he caught Loki and was about to break every bone in his body.
Left with no choice, Loki had to seek a solution from Ivaldi, the old dwarf. Ivaldi made a wig of gold for Loki that could grow on Sif's head as if it were her real hair. He also gave Loki a spear to present to Odin as a gift, and forged a ship for Freyr that could change size at will.
And on the way back, Loki met Brokk, Ivaldi's son. He boasted to Brokk about the preciousness of these three treasures, and even bet with Brokk that if his brother Sindri could create things as wondrous as these three treasures, he would cut off his own head and give it to them.
Subsequently, Sindri forged a war hammer and bestowed it upon Thor; a golden-maned boar that could allow Freyr to ride across the sky; and a gold bracelet that could constantly replicate itself to create more gold bracelets, which he presented to Odin.
Each of these treasures was considered an exceptionally rare treasure. Only that gold bracelet seemed to have no special features other than being able to constantly replicate itself. But Odin, at this moment, demonstrated its true value.
The gold bracelet kept plummeting from the sky, constantly multiplying in the air. One became two, two became four, four became eight. In an instant, gold bracelets were everywhere.
Then, these gold bracelets transformed into chains, falling onto the body of that colossal being that was about to overturn the sea.
The colossal monster that was about to overturn the entire ocean suddenly felt as if its body was becoming heavier and heavier. It tried to struggle, but no matter how much it struggled, no matter how many chains it shattered, the next moment, even more chains would instantly appear, locking it down even more securely.
The serpentine pupils were filled with a strong sense of unwillingness and struggle, but in the face of this divine treasure, it ultimately turned into a deep sense of futility.
"Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble…"
The seawater fell back again, and the ocean returned to its rightful position.
…
At the horizon where the sea and sky met, the bright sun began to slowly rise, its dazzling light once again illuminating the entire world.
And in the deepest part of the sea, an unwilling, furious roar rang out between heaven and earth.
"Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
That roar was filled with savagery and viciousness, but its meaning could only be understood by a few…
"The day I return shall be the day of your doom!!!!"