Marvel's Shendu: Dominating the Multiverse

Chapter 91 Guarding the Treasure Vault

The Holy Lord's finger twitched slightly. He knew what it was. In the original story, Malekith returned from the stars in this very ship and took advantage of the celestial convergence to extract the Reality Stone from Jane Foster's body.

"Lord," Odin's voice interrupted the Lord's thoughts, "What are your thoughts on this energy fluctuation?"

After a moment of silence, the Holy Lord said, "This is not a natural phenomenon."

"Nonsense," Loki interjected, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "We all know it's not a natural phenomenon, the question is, what is it?"

"The Dark Elves," Shendu said calmly, using the Mind Stone to soothe Wanda's urge to kill Loki. "They have been exiled in the Void for thousands of years, waiting for their chance to return. Now they are using this opportunity to accelerate the convergence of the Nine Realms."

The hall erupted in uproar; scholars whispered amongst themselves, their faces filled with shock and fear.

"How did you know?" Odin asked.

The Holy Lord waved his hand: "It's simple, I sensed them."

The Holy Lord raised his right hand, and the power of the dragon talisman surged from his palm, forming another star map in the air.

The points of light representing the nine realms on the diagram are converging towards the same line, while at the other end of this line, a huge dark red point of light is slowly moving.

"This is the energy fluctuation of the Dark Elves," the Holy Lord said calmly. "They are moving through the void towards the Nine Realms. At their current speed, they will arrive in Asgard the moment the celestial bodies converge."

The hall was silent except for the sound of heartbeats. Everyone was watching the dark red dot of light slowly approach the Nine Realms.

Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly, the bull rune on the handle glowing: "Malikis, they've really returned."

The Holy Lord withdrew the power diagram, his figure dissipating in the air: "He didn't just come back; he came to reclaim what they considered their legacy."

Frigga seemed to have thought of something and said, "Artifact fragments, artifact fragments appeared out of thin air in Asgard, this is very likely their target."

The Holy Lord nodded, Odin's single eye narrowed slightly, and the Spear of Eternity hummed deeply in his hand.

"What suggestions do you have?" Odin asked.

The Holy Lord walked to the star map and traced his finger along the orbit of the Nine Realms: "We need three lines of defense."

The Holy Lord directed from the map of Asgard: "The first line of defense is to set up a perimeter around Asgard, using runic magic to detect spatial fluctuations; the second line is to set up physical defenses around the Golden Palace, guarded by Asgardian warriors; the third line..."

The Holy Lord paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "The third step is to set up an independent defensive barrier around the treasure vault, which will be personally guarded by Wanda and me."

The noise in the main hall rose again. How could they possibly let two outsiders guard the treasure vault?

"I disagree!" A general in full armor stepped forward, his voice echoing through the hall. "The treasury is the very heart of Asgard; how could it be entrusted to an outsider!"

"Then what suggestions do you have?" the Holy Lord asked calmly.

The general was stunned. He didn't really have any suggestions; he just didn't want outsiders to guard the last line of defense, and in a moment of impulsiveness, he became the one to stick his neck out.

"Can you sense the energy fluctuations of the Dark Elves?" the Holy Lord continued. "Can you detect spatial rifts? Or can you track Malekith's movements in the dark?"

The general fell silent again; he truly couldn't do these things.

"If you can't do it, then shut up." The voice of the Holy Lord echoed in the ears of everyone who objected. Odin had to monitor the movements of the battlefield at all times, and the other gods had to go to the front line of the battlefield. At this moment, the Holy Lord was indeed the best protector.

Odin raised the Spear of Eternity and struck the ground, drawing all eyes to the Holy Lord: "Your suggestion makes sense, but I will not leave you to guard the Vault alone. Loki will be with you."

Loki's lips curled up slightly: "It's my pleasure."

The Holy Lord glanced at Loki and said calmly, "Alright."

After everything was over, everyone left the observatory.

"Master, I don't think Loki is trustworthy," Wanda whispered to the Holy Lord.

The Holy Lord smiled and said, "He is indeed not trustworthy, but at least for now he won't betray us."

The countdown to the celestial convergence ends in two days.

Odin's vault is located at the deepest part of the Golden Palace; it is a vault made of pure gold.

The Holy Lord stood before the treasure vault, looking at it. He felt that Odin had a problem with his aesthetic sense; this way of storing gold only seemed vulgar.

The power of the rooster and pig talismans resonated with him across the gate.

"Have you seen enough?" Loki's voice came from behind, tinged with impatience.

The Holy Lord shrugged: "I'm just admiring it. The architecture of Asgard is indeed impressive, just a bit tacky."

Loki sheathed his dagger and walked to Shendu's side: "Don't try that. I know you want to go in."

The Holy Lord glanced at him but said nothing.

Loki lowered his voice and said, "Don't worry, I will help you get those fragments according to our agreement, but now is not the time. Odin's attention is still on the vault."

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Scouting out the location."

Loki paused for a moment, then laughed: "You're really direct."

The Holy Lord did not answer, but continued to stare at the door.

He could sense that there were numerous defensive and alarm arrays within the treasure vault, with two talismans located at the deepest part.

"Soon," the Holy Lord whispered, "I will take you away soon."

"What did you say?" Loki asked.

The Holy Lord shrugged and didn't answer: "I'm leaving. There are still many things to do."

Saint Lord and Wanda arrived at the training grounds of the Golden Palace.

The training ground was a huge open-air plaza surrounded by training dummies, where Asgardian soldiers trained.

Thor stood in the center of the training ground, Mjolnir spinning in his hands, creating gusts of wind. When he saw Shendu and Wanda approaching, he stopped what he was doing.

"You've come at the right time," Thor said excitedly. "I've discovered some new moves and I'm eager to try them out."

"A new move?"

"Yes." Thor raised his hammer, the bull rune on the handle glowing in the air.

"Give it a try." The Holy Lord looked at the Ox Talisman and took two steps back, giving Thor enough space.

Thor took a deep breath and raised Mjolnir, and dark clouds began to gather in the sky, with thunder rumbling throughout Asgard.

Thor yelled and slammed his hammer into the ground. The entire training ground trembled, slabs of stone flew, dust billowed, and the Asgardian soldiers training in the distance were also shaken to their knees by the aftershocks.

When the dust settled, Thor stood in a huge crater, Mjolnir humming in his hand.

Thor shook his head: "I'm still not very skilled at using the power of the magical fragments. Although it's much better than on Earth, if I had been more proficient just now, the power would have been far greater."