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Chapter 399: Root Out the Problem!
🕑 Added 2025-09-29 02:41:50 +0000 UTC"The Dark Elves are back?"
Upon hearing Noah's words, Odin basically confirmed one thing: Noah had definitely mastered the Time Stone, or at least gained its usage, otherwise why would this sorcerer speak with such certainty? While Odin was surprised by this development, if it were anyone else telling him the Dark Elves were back, Odin wouldn't believe them or would simply ignore them. But Noah was truly different; he was Ancient One's disciple, the future Sorcerer Supreme, and he now held the Time Stone in his hand.
"The Dark Elves? Are you certain, my child?"
"Yes, I am certain, and I believe it will be easily confirmed."
Noah's demeanor was still relatively respectful, after all, he was facing a being who might be even more formidable than his own master. The reason the Dark Elves targeted Asgard was entirely because their leader, Malekith, desperately sought the Aether, which was now in Asgard. In other words, Malekith's true target wasn't Asgard; if Jane Foster were on Earth at that moment, the Dark Elves would head straight for Earth.
After their defeat in the conflict with Asgard, the Dark Elves managed to hide for so many years precisely because they were very skilled at concealing themselves.
And after all those years, their strength, technology, and other aspects seemed to have become increasingly divergent. Noah remembered that in the original story, they even managed to pilot their mothership right to Asgard's doorstep and overtly reveal themselves before being detected by Heimdall, known for his "eyesight."
"Oh? How will you prove this point?" Odin was now somewhat interested. "What have you seen? To be honest, are you sure your master won't be angry about you doing this?"
"My master's approach might differ from mine, but since she trusts me enough to give me the gem, I believe she will approve of my choice." Noah smiled indifferently; in fact, that was exactly how it was. Although Ancient One didn't entirely endorse stopping things before they happened, Noah felt this attitude was more for outward appearance. The universe was vast; how many people knew Ancient One possessed Infinity Stones? If she didn't project an attitude of 'I won't intervene unless it happens, then we'll discuss it,' how many people would be dissatisfied with Ancient One? By then, if they united, who knew if Asgard could withstand them, as Asgard wasn't truly invincible.
"That's interesting. Tell me what you saw, my child. No one will ever know about what you've done today."
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty Odin. My knowledge is vague, but I can confirm that the Dark Elves are preparing a coordinated attack on Asgard from within and without, and their inside man should be arriving soon."
In the original plot, Malekith didn't launch a mindless assault on Asgard. Instead, he first sent a warrior to pose as a bandit causing trouble in the territories below Asgard. This warrior was then captured along with other criminals by the Asgardian warriors and imprisoned in the dungeons.
After successfully infiltrating the core of Asgard, this warrior used a special method known to the Dark Elves to transform himself into a Kursk warrior.
These Kursk warriors gain immensely enhanced strength and defense by rapidly consuming their life force.
Simultaneously, before their life force is completely depleted and they naturally die, their recovery ability after injuries also reaches an extremely strong level. In layman's terms, they become a super-soldier with several times their combat power, extremely difficult to kill before their inevitable death.
Such an unkillable and immensely destructive powerhouse rampaging inside Asgard would naturally draw all of Asgard's attention, allowing the Dark Elves to launch their attack at that opportune moment. This was exactly what happened in the original plot; Asgard's defenses were completely thrown into disarray by the Kursk warrior. When the Dark Elves launched their attack, Odin was still busy trying to quell the internal chaos. By the time he freed his hands, Malekith had already piloted his ship and fled with his minions.
Although he didn't obtain the Aether, Asgard was quite disgraced in that battle, and for some specific reasons, Frigga died at Malekith's hands.
Of course, this was what the original plot showed. Noah wasn't so clear about the exact details.
He wouldn't mention either the original plot or his own conjectures. Noah simply stated the existence of an inside man, which immediately alerted Thor, and Loki as well. Although they didn't know who this inside man was, it didn't prevent them from carefully thinking and speculating.
"I heard there's been a group of bandits causing trouble recently," Thor stroked his chin, asking in confusion.
"Could the inside man be among those bandits?" Loki immediately added, showing their minds weren't rigid.
Noah silently nodded, acknowledging their answer. This gesture by Noah immediately made the two brothers happy and somewhat relieved. The Dark Elves were indeed not easy to deal with in their memories; in the eyes of all Asgardians, they were formidable opponents.
If they were truly allowed to go berserk in Asgard, who
knew what the consequences would be?
Odin looked at his two sons and Noah. As for Jane, he probably didn't pay too much attention to her. After some thought, Odin made a decision. Since Noah had already spoken, Odin naturally had to do something. It wouldn't do to act like an idiot when someone was attacking your home. Pretending not to know had its benefits, but knowing how to handle it was an art, and Odin was very skilled at such things.
"Thor, Loki, you two go screen those prisoners. This Ms. Foster will be handled by your mother and me." Odin gave orders naturally. "By the way, Noah, do you have any thoughts?"
"Thoughts?" Noah rubbed his chin. "While eliminating the hidden danger beforehand can avoid a problem, it won't solve the long-term threat of the Dark Elves."
"Oh? Just like when you learned about the Chitauri on Earth?"
"Yes, if you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back with the spring breeze. If you're going to act, be clean and decisive, to avoid potential unknown troubles in the future. It's better to utterly annihilate them, leaving no chance at all."
Noah's murderous words were truly somewhat terrifying.
Loki and Jane couldn't help but gulp. Jane had indeed been dealt with by Noah before. Fortunately, at that time, Jane was a victim and an ordinary person, so Noah wouldn't do anything to her. Loki, however, felt a chill.
Luckily, he had Asgard as a backing, and Noah hadn't gone too far because of his brother's face. Otherwise, Loki was sure that if Noah had followed through on what he said earlier, his own fate at that time would have been dire!
Odin was also startled for a moment upon hearing this, but he quickly nodded with satisfaction.
While Noah's words were somewhat brutal, they certainly suited Odin's taste. Odin was different from Thor. Thor sometimes couldn't figure out when to utterly eliminate enemies and when to appropriately show a king's mercy. These were things Thor needed to learn, and Odin, having sat on the throne for so many years, understood everything.
Odin knew very clearly what attitude to adopt towards different enemies at different times, such as these Dark Elves. Unlike the 'residents' of the Nine Realms, the Dark Elves were absolute mortal enemies who could not be let go.
This race was in absolute opposition to most existing races and lacked a basis for coexistence. For such enemies, one must indeed eliminate them all Odin lacked no resolve for killing. He had already planned out the entire battle strategy in his mind.
"I've decided. Thor, Loki, you two go find that inside man, but do not alarm him, understood?"
"Father, you've decided to let them in?"
"Yes, Noah is right. Rather than having them in the shadows, not knowing when they might suddenly appear and bite us, it's better to just deal with them. I will have
my personal guards prepare."
Thor and Loki nodded obediently upon hearing Odin's command and prepared to leave. Noah also intended to leave this divine palace, as Odin would likely now inspect or stabilize Jane Foster's condition, and if possible, he might directly extract the gem. Noah bowed to Odin, then turned and left without hesitation. Odin was very familiar with combat, especially large-scale battles, having experienced countless of them. He didn't need Noah, an outsider, to dictate strategy here. Noah understood this and naturally wouldn't pretend otherwise.
After leaving Odin's divine palace, Thor, Noah, and Loki chose to part ways Thor intended to wait at the entrance for Jane's condition. Noah and Loki didn't pay too much attention to this. Loki directly assumed the role of guide, leading Noah towards his residence.
"I say, can you really see the future?" Halfway there, Loki seemed unable to hold back and asked.
"Hmm? Sort of?" Noah spread his hands, directly lying to Loki. See the future? Well, Noah always knew what the future was like before he came here, why would he need to look?
And after getting the Time Stone, Noah could indeed see the future. Noah naturally couldn't resist such a temptation and had tried it. But what embarrassed Noah was that he could see it infinitely more clearly than Ancient One, but the endless branches of the resulting universes made Noah's own scalp tingle. In such a situation, Noah naturally wouldn't look again; it was useless to look anyway!
"So, can you tell me my future?" Loki had no idea what Noah was thinking. He asked somewhat cautiously, "Your future?" Noah looked at Loki strangely. "Why do you want to know that?"
"So, do you know or not?"
"Of course I know, but your future isn't good without any changes, are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course, tell me quickly!"
"Sorry, it's confidential, I can't say."
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