mtl008 Chapter 3714 Doomsday (7)
Chapter 3714 Doomsday (7)
Chapter 3714 Doomsday (Part 7)
Although the Milky Way galaxy is relatively remote and desolate, lacking any significant civilizations, the Nine Realms are still quite well-known in interstellar space. To constantly monitor Asgard's movements, the three major empires have established outposts on the galactic edge. If they wish to send personnel into the galaxy, they are teleported directly to these outposts.
However, even after arriving in the Milky Way, they cannot directly enter the Nine Realms, because the dimension they can teleport to is a relatively desolate dimension with virtually nothing.
The Nine Realms have a unique structure; anyone using warp technology can only enter Asgard. This means that people outside the Nine Realms cannot directly teleport to places like Midgard or Vanaheim; they must go to Asgard as an intermediary.
To teleport into Asgard, the current Aesir god-king's consent is required. This isn't to say they've added any protective magic to Asgard; it's simply the nature of the World Tree. This protection stems from the laws of the universe, and even the three great empires are not exempt from it.
However, if they don't use the jump technology and just drive in directly, they will never be able to enter the true realm of the Nine Realms, because they simply cannot enter the dimension where the World Tree is located, and can only wander around in this desolate dimension.
Those extraterrestrial civilizations that received Loki's invitation must reply in advance if they wish to come, in order to obtain jump authorization. If a spaceship is not on the authorized whitelist and still insists on jumping, then it will bear all the consequences.
It's fine if they can't jump in, but if they are interfered with by the world's rules, causing the faster-than-light engine to malfunction and jumping into some extremely dangerous dimensional rift, they will definitely perish there. This is because Odin doesn't easily venture into some dangerous areas of the Nine Realms, so Thor is even less likely to go and rescue them.
However, the World Tree's whitelist verification system is outdated. Not only does it require verification one by one, but it also necessitates being in a designated area. In other words, even if you drive to the vicinity of the Milky Way, you still have to wait in line before you can jump in. When Asgard convened a gathering of various civilizations last time, many of them complained about this: "What era are we living in? The bandwidth is still so low!" It's like building a house of thousands of square meters with a one-meter-high gate, and everyone has to crouch down to enter.
But despite the complaints, there was nothing that could be done. The three great empires were all squatting to get in, so everyone else could only obediently wait in line.
Generally speaking, the three great empires are usually listed first. They only come when there's something important going on, so their missions are relatively crucial, and their engines are more efficient and safer. If the smaller civilizations were to arrive first, and their engines malfunctioned and blocked the entrance, no one would be able to get in.
Today is similar. The three great empires were the first to arrive, each sending a capital ship and several escort ships, in the order of Skrull Empire, Kree Empire, and Shia Empire, to line up for whitelist verification and prepare for the jump.
Although all three empires possessed faster-than-light engines, their methods of faster-than-light travel differed slightly. In short, the Skrull Empire's faster-than-light travel involved a flash of white light followed by a "hum" before the ship disappeared; the Kree Empire's was characterized by two flashes of blue light, silent operation, and then disappearance; and the Shi'ar Empire's was marked by a golden light that gradually intensified, accompanied by a very faint buzzing sound, before vanishing.
The Skrull Empire's capital ship, which was first in line today, disappeared with a "whoosh" after waiting for about several tens of seconds for authentication.
Seeing that he had left, the Kree Empire moved forward a little and prepared to jump as well. But just as they activated their dual flashlights, they heard a "whoosh" and the Skrull Empire's ship returned.
The supreme intelligence controlling the spaceship was completely baffled. Wait, dude, are you a dog that got flung off a revolving door? How did you jump back here?
Although there was no rush, he quickly steered the fleet back a little to maintain a safe distance. Even though the two countries were at war, they couldn't fight right at the doorstep of one of the nine great kingdoms; what if Odin came out to break it up?
The Supreme Intelligence controlled the spaceship to retreat, and as it turned its head, the Skrull Empire's fleet also retreated, flashing its double flashes as it did so, indicating that the Kree Empire's fleet should go first.
The Supreme Intelligence just can't understand it. We've been fighting for half our lives, and now you're only just starting to talk about politeness and courtesy? Isn't it a bit too late?
He figured the opposing fleet might be too old, causing a problem with their warp drive system. Since everyone had to get there eventually anyway, it didn't matter who went first or last, so he stepped forward to prepare for the warp drive.
The Shi'ar Empire behind him was also a bit confused. What were you two doing here? Advancing and retreating, were you doing a quick three-step jump?
The Kree Empire jumped, and the Shi'ar Empire, without much thought, stepped forward, warming up their warp drive, golden lights illuminating the area. Then, a double flash appeared ahead; the Kree Empire had returned.
The Shi'ar Empire projected a question mark symbol in the Feralian language above their spaceship. Although they had a radio communication system, because they were at war, no one wanted to be the first to speak, so they simply communicated using emojis.
The Kree Empire activated its double flashlight again and silently stepped aside, letting the Shi'ar Empire go first. The Shi'ar captain, like the Supreme Intelligence, assumed the two old men's ship was broken. Anyway, it didn't matter who went in first, he could go in first himself.
The only thing that felt off was Mystique in her first mate form. The Skrull and Kree Empires were old-school mechanical empires; they'd never heard of a warp drive system malfunctioning. If it wasn't a problem with the ship, could it be a problem with Asgard? Surely not, right?
In the two seconds she was thinking, the captain had already initiated the warp jump, and they jumped over smoothly and steadily.
Mystique breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was alright, wasn't it? She'd been worried something was wrong with Asgard. Those two mechanical civilizations were definitely unreliable; they could even mess up such a basic warp... Wait, what was that?
The ship's command center had a 270-degree transparent porthole. As the light from the warp drive faded, everyone instinctively glanced ahead. The Asgardian sky island remained mysterious and ethereal, magnificent and beautiful—but what was that blue sphere beside the main island?!
Mystique, standing behind the captain, couldn't quite see what it was. Just as he was about to take a closer look, the captain suddenly pressed the warp button, and with a "whoosh," the fleet jumped back to the entrance.
The fleets of the three great empires looked at each other in bewilderment.
In the command center of the Shi'ar Empire's capital ship, the captain, looking as if he'd seen a ghost, actually breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing he was back. Mystique, meanwhile, belatedly realized what she had just witnessed.
Could that be her beloved home planet?
She said, "How come the Skrull and Kree fleets jumped over and then jumped back the instant they arrived? This is truly unbelievable!"
The captains of the fleets sent by the three great empires are no pushovers. This is a crucial moment in the three-way battle, and whatever Asgard's purpose in summoning them, they must be wary. Not only of Asgard, but also of the other two great empires. Those appointed to this initial mission at this time are the elite of the elite.
The most remarkable thing about this group is their profound knowledge of the universe. They know which regions are safe, which are dangerous, which civilizations can pass through, which should be avoided at all costs, and which civilizations, once spotted, are impossible to escape without fleeing. This knowledge isn't just in their minds; it's ingrained in their instincts. The captains of the warships from these three empires reacted with lightning speed. The instant they saw Earth, they performed a reverse jump and returned on the spot.
Although he looked a bit disheveled, at least he was still alive. Besides, he wasn't the only one who embarrassed himself; all three of them made it back, didn't they?
The three great empires were far from stupid. The moment they saw Earth, they realized what the other side was up to—wasn't this just a blatant attempt to extort them?
Asgard sent out invitations to us, and we thought they were finally willing to help one side. But then they swaggered over in their spaceships, laid Earth down, and said our fleet had caused irreparable radiation damage. What could you do then?
If Earth lies there and demands compensation, and they refuse, those Asgardian brutes will rush out and beat them up on the spot. Where will they go to seek justice then?
The Shi'ar captain was furious; those two sons of bitches in front of him were worse than the last. "You went over there to check what that thing was, would it kill you to offer a word of warning?!" he thought. "And you pretended your engine was broken, just pretending to back up! You just didn't want to be the only one scared!"
Just then, Mystique's communicator beeped. She picked it up, glanced at it, and bowed to the captain, saying, "Captain, communications team reporting a call from Asgard. Shall we connect it?"
"Come on! I want to see what tricks they have up their sleeves!"
Although his words were spoken with great conviction, when Loki's face appeared on the screen, the captain still managed a forced smile and said, "Good morning, Your Highness. We..."
Before he could finish speaking, Loki interrupted him impatiently, saying, "What are you all doing blocking the doorway? There are guests coming from behind. Can't you see there's no room left at the door? Hurry up and come in!"
The captain was shocked. "Wait, nowadays, people don't even bother with the pretense when setting up a honey trap? What kind of attitude is this?"
"Your three ships aren't going to break down all at once, are they?" Loki said, frowning. "Never mind, you guys move your fleet to the other side first, don't block the road here. Then I'll send a warship to pick you up."
After saying that, Loki hung up the communication. The captain was a little confused: if Asgard wanted to use Earth to extort money, why wouldn't they allow their fleet to enter? If they only had people going in, even if Earth was very close to Asgard, they couldn't cause any trouble. What could these few people possibly do to Earth?
Meanwhile, Mystique had already figured it out: this was a double-edged sword. If you send your spaceship into the Nine Realms, Earth can come and cause trouble; but if you don't send your spaceship into the Nine Realms, it's like your warship is useless. And if something goes wrong then, who can escape?
Even if these people are all elites, their individual combat skills are lacking. Even if they were all together, they couldn't defeat an Asgardian general, and they wouldn't even be able to escape. Abandoning our warships, which possess offensive, defensive, and evacuation capabilities, wouldn't we just be at their mercy?
This scheme doesn't seem like something Asgardians would come up with. Mystique thought, it's probably another human idea; it's incredibly cunning. But she liked it.