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Chapter 68 - Chapter 68: Loki's Argument

Few knew that once, in that era when heaven and earth had not yet been established, the treasure-loving queen Frigg had stolen a piece of gold from Odin's golden statue and had also contrived to shatter the statue so it could not itself reveal the name of the thief (Odin had written in Runes on the statue's mouth to make it able to speak, in order to investigate the thief's name). This greatly angered Odin, and as a result, he indignantly left Asgard to wander elsewhere.

During this period, his brother Ve transformed into Odin's likeness and had a tryst with Queen Frigg. Ve had the same appearance as Odin, and Frigg didn't realize she had lost her chastity. But he didn't have Odin's might and couldn't resist the invading ancient Frost Giants, helplessly letting them ravage the primordial world, sealing the earth with ice and snow, destroying all life. Fortunately, after seven months, Odin returned, and Ve fearfully snuck away. Thus, the Frost Giants no longer dared to do evil, and the world's vitality was restored.

Afterwards, Ve and Odin had a huge argument, and it was a long time before they reconciled.

That matter had occurred who knows how many tens of thousands of years ago, and Odin had further used Runes to seal away this period of history. Coupled with Ve dying out of guilt in the great battle with Ymir, the ancestor of the Frost Giants, nearly no gods knew of it anymore.

However… Loki was one of the few who had personally witnessed it all.

But clearly, not many of the gods present knew about this matter. If the earlier scandals of the few gods were more or less known by some deities, then this matter truly left the gods utterly flabbergasted.

Amidst the shocked hubbub, under the stunned gazes of the gods, Queen Frigg seemed to sway unsteadily. Evidently, the long-buried dark history being suddenly unveiled dealt a huge blow to her.

She looked at the gazes the numerous gods before her were casting at her, her mind a chaotic blank. She tried to stand up but stumbled and nearly fell, barely supporting herself on the long table with an arm fair as jade. Those once composed bright eyes were now completely scattered, her lips trembling as she tried to refute in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum,

"This… this isn't… isn't my fault…"

Her eyes were reddening, and soon there was a glimmer of tears in them. But Loki had no pity and continued to scoff coldly,

"Frigg, do you really want me to keep going…? There's far more to your affairs than just this bit."

Hearing Loki's words, Queen Frigg opened her mouth, trying to say something, but in the end despondently sank into her chair.

Seeing the situation growing more and more chaotic, a goddess of peerless beauty finally couldn't hold back. She stood up, pointing at Loki and loudly rebuking,

"Loki! Stop trying to sully the pure reputations of the gods and the queen! How could the queen's reputation be tarnished by a despicable, vulgar evil god like you?!!"

It was as if a certain word from this goddess's mouth touched a nerve in Loki. A hint of gloom flashed across his face. He turned his head, only to see a beautiful goddess with a lovely necklace around her neck gazing at him with an air of superiority.

The beauty of any goddess was already incomparably stunning, but this goddess's beauty far surpassed all the other goddesses, making those paragons of comeliness feel inferior before her. In fact, in the entire universe, there were few who could resist the allure of Freya, the goddess of love and beauty. Whether gods, elves, or dwarves, all were captivated by this goddess's beauty, and it was precisely because of this that Freya often wore an air of pride.

"Despicable? Vulgar? Evil god?"

Looking at the beautiful goddess before him, Loki's inhuman serpentine eyes grew even colder. He raised the corners of his lips high, his pupils slightly dilating, revealing a nearly vicious grin.

"Oh Freya, among all the goddesses, you're the most promiscuous. All the gods present are your lovers. The price you paid to obtain that necklace around your neck - which god doesn't know? Which mortal isn't aware?!"

Freya's beauty was already incomparable, but she, so obsessed with beauty, still yearned to make herself even more beautiful.

The necklace around her neck, Brisingamen, was originally crafted by four dwarves skilled in forging. As long as Freya wore this necklace, no man could resist her charms, so she had to get her hands on it. But the dwarves didn't want money, instead demanding that Freya spend four days and four nights with them, letting them do as they pleased. So Freya spent four days and four nights with them to obtain this necklace of boundless allure.

After obtaining this necklace, from then on, no goddess could rival Freya's beauty. All the gods, giants, and titans adored her, longing to catch her attention.

Freya was livid with fury, her face full of rage. Possessing unparalleled beauty, she had always been carefully doted on by the gods. Never before had she been subjected to such blatant humiliation.

She wasn't some frail goddess, not just a pretty face. Skilled in combat, she was also quite a formidable Valkyrie. She immediately threatened,

"Loki, if you keep spouting such nonsense and fabricating vulgar rumors, the Aesir gods will despise you to the bone and will ensure you perish in utter disgrace!"

Facing Freya's threat, Loki showed no fear and instead continued to mock,

"You'd best shut up, Freya! The men and gods you've seduced are beyond count. You even didn't spare your own brother Freyr. The gods all laugh behind your back, yet you still act like you know nothing."

At this, one god finally couldn't sit still. He spoke up with a sarcastic note,

"A woman having fun with her husband and lovers is a small matter. But there's one god who transformed into a mare to mate with a stallion, and the child born from that is still tied up outside the palace. Isn't that quite the curiosity?"

The god speaking was Njord, god of the seas. He was the father of Freyr, the god of fertility, and Freya, the goddess of love and beauty. He was once the chief god of the Vanir, but due to the Vanir losing in their war with the Aesir, he and his twin children came to Asgard as hostages.

However, Odin wasn't one to hold origins against anyone. Both the handsome Freyr and the lovely Freya became chief gods within Asgard, so although nominally a hostage, Njord wasn't really treated as one.

In the past, Njord and Loki were sort of half-friends. Loki often went to the seaside to beg Njord for seafood to eat.

But as the gods and Loki gradually developed differences over how to deal with the three siblings, their relationship grew more and more distant. And now, with Loki's barbs directly aimed at his two children, Njord naturally couldn't sit by and watch. He stood up and sarcastically retorted. The matter he spoke of traced back to when Asgard had just been established.

Not long after the creation of the world, the gods wanted to build Asgard, and the final step was to construct a tall, sturdy wall around it, sufficient to ward off all enemies. But the difficulty of such an immense project far exceeded the gods' imagination. Finally, a giant with deft hands, riding a horse, volunteered, claiming he could build the most magnificent wall within three winters, but upon completion, he wanted the goddess Freya as his wife.

The gods, not believing anyone could complete this immense project alone, didn't take it seriously. But in order to toy with this giant, the gods pretended to agree to his request while proposing even harsher terms, demanding the giant finish the project within one winter, not allowing any other giants to help, and if he failed to complete it, the gods would kill this boasting fellow without hesitation.

However, to their surprise, this giant agreed without hesitation. Soon, a brand-new wall rapidly rose, and the astonished gods discovered that this giant's huge horse "Svadilfari" was an extraordinary divine steed. Every day, it could haul huge boulders for the giant without tiring, toiling around the clock.

Just three days before spring's arrival, most of the wall was completed. At this rate, by the day winter departed, the giant and his divine steed would finish the entire wall. The gods, not wanting to hand over Freya to this giant, began to worriedly discuss the matter. It was then that Loki came up with an idea.

He transformed into an incomparably beautiful mare, then seduced the young stallion named Svadilfari. The stallion, in the midst of work, couldn't resist the mare's allure and chased after the mare relentlessly. But Loki kept running into the distance, leading the young stallion far from his master. Without his giant horse, the poor giant naturally couldn't complete the project before spring's arrival. When Thor, god of thunder and might, returned to Asgard weary from his journey, he unhesitatingly smashed the giant's skull with his hammer.

Thus, the wall surrounding Asgard always lacked one piece that was never filled in. This gap was later used by the gods as a gate, establishing the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard to other worlds. They had Heimdall, guardian of the gods, build a fortress here to stand watch day and night. It was the only weakness in the impregnable Asgard.

As for the result of the stallion Svadilfari and the mare Loki had transformed into having their tryst - Loki gave birth to an eight-legged colt named "Sleipnir". Loki gifted this eight-legged divine steed to his brother Odin, becoming Odin's famous mount.

The gods were currently feasting in the undersea palace of Aegir, so that eight-legged divine steed was naturally tied up outside the palace.

Hearing Njord's sarcasm, the gloom in Loki's eyes grew heavier. He enunciated each word,

"Oh Njord, there are some things I should have kept mum about to save you face, but I can no longer endure it. Your son and daughter were born from you and your sister - incest has been a family tradition for you."