In the palace at the bottom of the abyssal sea.
Old Sea God Aegir had been feeling perplexed lately, for in the ocean he reigned over, all manner of bizarre sea monsters had been frequently appearing as of late.
He was quite accustomed to sea monsters, such as octopuses with tentacles as thick as houses and bodies like small mountains; colossal sea turtles often mistaken for islands when they surfaced; sea serpents over a hundred meters long that devoured countless creatures… These sea monsters were innumerable in his domain.
In fact, in this vast ocean, there were many creatures that even Old Sea God Aegir had never laid eyes upon, for many species were often one of a kind, ephemeral, and difficult to catalog. And for these myriad peculiar sea monsters, even ones he didn't recognize, Old Sea God Aegir paid them little heed. Only those that grew to a considerable extent would catch his attention.
However, the sea monsters this time astonished even him.
"Is this the sea monster?"
The Old Sea God with white beard and hair said, scrutinizing the creature before him.
"Yes, my father."
Beside him, a sea wave goddess with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of translucent water spoke to him softly.
The Nine Sisters of the Waves, often manifesting in the form of waves, patrolling the entire ocean, were Old Sea God Aegir's capable assistants in overseeing the vast waters. Many matters were often handled by the Nine Sisters of the Waves at their father's side.
After all, Aegir had already grown old.
In this world, even gods were not immortal; deities also aged.
It's just that more often than not, the aging of deities stemmed from having witnessed too many things, their mindset inevitably beginning to age, causing their external appearance to age along with their psyche.
It's not that the gods grew old, but that the gods' spirit grew old.
And Aegir was naturally the same. Born in an era when the world was still in primordial chaos, he had lived through too many long years and no longer had as much vitality to govern the ocean. Often, he could only rely on his daughters to assist him.
But looking at the creature before him, Old Aegir, who had weathered countless experiences, furrowed his brows.
"Heheheh…"
Before him, the half-human, half-fish monstrosity struggled frantically. Its form resembled a short, hunched human, with clawed hands covered in scales, webbed and mucus-covered lower limbs, and a head that resembled some kind of hideous deep-sea fish, yet still possessing eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
It strove to break free from the seawater ropes restraining it, constantly emitting hoarse sounds from its mouth, seeming to be some kind of language with unclear meaning.
Evidently, this sea monster possessed intelligence.
In fact, these sea monsters had not only gained sapience but even developed the concept of civilization.
The Nine Sisters of the Waves had seen these creatures in various different locales taming sharks and whales as mounts and hunting in the ocean with crude bone weapons in hand.
Undoubtedly, this was a civilization of considerable sophistication.
Ocean civilizations composed of such lifeforms were not uncommon in the ocean. But oddly, these sea monsters seemed to have emerged out of nowhere, already possessing considerable civilization as soon as they appeared, which was very peculiar.
And as the Nine Sisters of the Waves patrolled, they discovered more and more of these sea monsters over time. Finding it strange, the Nine Sisters of the Waves captured one of these fish-man sea monsters, seeking their father's judgment.
After pondering for a long while, Old Aegir inquired,
"Where did you first lay eyes upon this kind of sea monster?"
"The Niflheim Sea," the wave goddess replied.
After Old Aegir asked a few more questions and the wave goddess answered in detail, Old Aegir nodded, then gazed at the sea monster before him, his face revealing deep contemplation.
Before him, this fish-man monstrosity showed no reverence whatsoever, instead struggling restlessly to break free from its bonds, roaring at him.
This was very abnormal.
As the Sea God, the ocean itself was born nearly in tandem with him. All life birthed from the ocean would instinctively revere him, and it was impossible for them to be like this sea monster, not only lacking any reverence for him but even roaring and threatening him.
"This absolutely should not exist in the ocean!"
In an instant, the Old Sea God's gaze became sharp as a blade.
Were the Aesir finally preparing to seize his power? Or were the Vanir discontent with him reigning supreme over such a vast and bountiful ocean? Or perhaps, were those giants preparing to stir up some trouble…
In the blink of an eye, Old Aegir's mind had already cycled through countless thoughts. His deep wariness of invaders made him immediately suspect innumerable possible masterminds behind the scenes.
He reached his hand towards the fish-man's head.
Beholding this ordinary hand, the fish-man sensed unease and began to instinctively roar and struggle, but powerless to break free from the seawater ropes, it still let him reach his hand towards its head…
"Sizzle…"
As if corroded by concentrated acid, the place Old Aegir's hand touched melted away amidst the fish-man's screams. It couldn't even scream for a few seconds before the fish-man lost its life.
And sensing the still-twitching fish-man brain in his hand, the vague memories contained within, and the faint yet familiar power on the fish-man's body, Old Aegir's pupils were filled with shock. No matter how much he speculated, he never imagined it would actually be…
…
"Roar!"
In the depths of the ocean, grotesque sea monsters holding metal harpoons, accompanied by countless sharks and massive whales leading the way, among which were various other humanoid lifeforms participating.
And at the center of this vast and awe-inspiring army of untold thousands or even millions, commanding this immense force, the white-bearded Old Sea God, clad in armor, holding a long-unused battle halberd in hand, stood atop a war chariot, his silence carrying an intangible oppressive aura.
Under Old Aegir's will, this immense undersea army advanced in a certain direction. Along the way, countless abyssal behemoths obediently joined them, making this already incredibly vast army even more gargantuan.
This was the immense might Old Aegir had amassed over millions of years.
With those ocean races possessing thick armor and weapons as the main force, and those mindless yet incredibly powerful abyssal behemoths as the thrall army, with forces numbering in the millions or even tens of millions, even the Aesir would be reluctant to confront this vast army in the oceanic environment.
Giants and deities, it was precisely for this reason that they were exceedingly wary of Old Aegir and dared not act rashly.
But commanding this seemingly invincible army, there was no joy on Old Sea God Aegir's face, instead growing increasingly somber.
He knew that if it was truly as he suspected, perhaps even this seemingly mighty invincible army might not necessarily be able to achieve victory…
…
Along the way, the few strange fish-men, turtle-men with thick shells, and all kinds of odd lifeforms that had recently appeared in the depths were mercilessly devoured and wiped out by this vast army as provisions.
If needed, this immense army would even consume the sea monsters within its own ranks. These massive sea monsters bore the dual roles of thralls and provisions to begin with. Anyway, everything was abundant in the ocean except for these innumerable sea monsters, so it mattered little.
And seeing the scenes along the way, Old Sea God Aegir's eyes grew increasingly frigid.
Abyssal canyons, dormant undersea volcanoes, submerged deserts, coral forests…
Everywhere, although not many, seemed to already bear the presence of these strange species.
Merfolk with human upper bodies and fish tails, bizarre fish-men that were neither human nor fish, half-human half-serpent snake-men with eight arms, shark-headed sharkmen…
All kinds of exotic species made this Old Sea God Aegir's face nearly turn ashen.
When did so many peculiar things appear in his ocean?!
And this point reached its zenith when he beheld a certain sight.
A city situated atop majestic mountains, inhabited by a mix of merfolk, fish-men, and snake-men. In that crude stone city, fish-men holding harpoons served as sentinels vigilantly observing the surroundings, while mermaids wearing floral garlands freely swam and sang with their naturally melodious voices. Majestic snake-men wearing exquisite garments and crowns ruled over this undersea kingdom.
But in Old Sea God Aegir's eyes, this city was not situated on mountains at all, but clearly situated on the scales of a colossal serpent. This serpent, which should have been sealed, already had one city, perhaps even more, appear on its body. And in these cities, snake-men priests devoutly sang the praises of their god.
Tightly gripping the battle halberd in hand, Old Sea God Aegir's forehead veins bulged with surging fury, finally unable to restrain himself from roaring,
"Jormungandr!"