Union

Outnumbered.

Surrounded.

Invaded.

Odin knew all of these things the moment he sensed the explosion of energy, something that was only further confirmed when he saw the army arriving in the distance, hidden from view to all but those with the greatest of senses. Asgard's enemies had arrived and once more, they were forced to defend themselves against the oncoming threat.

However, Odin would admit that whoever was behind such an attack was certainly bolder than the others. Their numbers were far larger as well, which perhaps explained why they were so bold in their tactics.

Yet Odin was not concerned in the slightest, he could already tell where they were coming from, what their plan was. They intended to spread Asgard's already small force even thinner by besetting them from all sides. Pressuring their defences until they eventually folded in the face of their overwhelming strength, or at least, that was their plan.

"Have our ships depart from the port." Odin issued orders to the soldiers close to him, officers he had been intending to leave in charge of Asgard's defences while he surveyed the battle upon Jötunheimr. King Rugga was already on the verge of defeat, however, the frozen wastelands made it a risky place to wage war. All it took was the snowy fields to cover fragile ice sheets that would shatter under armoured feet to turn the tide back in King Rugga's favour.

In such situations, he needed to be prepared to move out and turn the tide once more.

"They were to crush the ships waiting to besiege our port. Then depart for the skies, rob them of that and we will ease our burden." The navy of their enemy was small and hardly a threat, but it was a nuisance that they could not afford to ignore. If left alone, it could very well be the key needed to cause Asgard's destruction.

Same with the floating beasts in the skies.

"I want the majority of our forces stationed outside of the eastern wall. The remainder shall be stationed on the west, ready to deal with those that sneak up on us from that side. In the meantime, I want the Valkyries stationed around the palace, ready to man the walls of the eastern front once we engage the enemy and to reinforce the western wall if necessary." Odin had no doubts that the eastern wall was their main target.

The majority of their army was there, over a hundred thousand strong all bearing down from that direction. However, the attack upon the port from the south, the forces coming from the west and the trial attacks from the north were niggling strikes that would divert their attention, allowing the main force to puncture through. Even if they didn't draw his attention to them, it would open opportunities for one or all of them to be the force to break through, ending in Asgard's fall.

Truly, the one behind this attack had come prepared. 'Though not nearly enough, if they were, they would not have ever stepped foot upon the lands of Asgard.'

-X- Line Break -X-

Gripping his axe tightly, Skurge moved to the front of the boat, looking out over the Sea of Mamora, the land passing them by as they sailed down towards the Asgardian mountains. Their ship forged of Uru cut through the rough seas at speed, dragged by magic, the rowing of Asgardians and the magic that powered the Skiffs all coming together in perfect unison.

Looking behind him, he could see the golden barrier of Asgard beginning to fall down, encompassing the city and cutting them off from reinforcements. However, that was okay and expected, their aim was not to defend the city from the walls but from the seas and the skies.

There, in the distance, the Asgardian mountains could be seen and sailing towards them slowly were the large ships of the Jötnar. Rough and coarse ships, but tough and incredibly large. Each was designed to fit a normal-sized crew, but for the enormous Jötnar, they were easily able to fit hundreds of Asgardians.

Yet despite their massive size, Skurge did not feel fear, instead, he raised his axe and pointed it toward the oncoming ships. "Kill them all!" He roared, the men upon the ships echoing his warcry with their own.

-X- Line Break -X-

Majeston Zelia hissed in irritation, her tail whipping around and accidentally killing one of the slaves holding her open palanquin. This resulted in the other slaves buckling under the added weight, but due to fear of losing their lives, managed to keep it upright.

"The slaves are useless. And those pathetic ships were destroyed in an instant." She hissed, Perrikos and Adva say nothing as they stand beside her. For around half an hour they had watched the slaves uselessly hack away at the barrier, their fear of death at the hands of their masters causing them to use as much power as they could. Yet, no matter how hard and how long they swung at the barrier, they didn't even put a dent in it.

Not to mention, the opening conflict had been upon the Sea of Mamora, the Asgardian fleet sailing out to meet the Jötnar fleet. It was over quick and fast, the speed of the Asgardian Skiffs far greater than their own and barrelled through wooden hulls with ease. Magical attacks fired out in quick succession that destroyed others as Asgardians bordered and slaughtered all those upon the ships.

In the space of an hour, the Asgardian fleet had destroyed their own, then taken to the skies to battle the beasts they had intended to use as a distracting force. A similar event taking place there.

Perrikos had expected this though, he imagined many did, except his mother.

D'Chel stepped forwards, having returned to the rest of the pantheon upon issuing out orders for the slaves to go forth. "Perhaps it would be prudent to use the Union." He suggested calmly, his shadowy head bowed in a sign of subservience. "The slaves have failed in their task and the barrier does not seem weak to physical attacks."

Majeston sat down further into her chair, taking amusement and joy in the groans that came from the slaves as they struggled under her weight, at least enough to appease her earlier anger. Her mood swings were often quite dangerous. "Perhaps you are right, D'Chel. I am growing bored of their lack of progress." She looked at the Dark Gods gathered and hummed in thought. "D'Chel, you will be part of the fusion."

"It will be my honour, my queen." D'Chel bowed while Majeston continued to point at a number of other Dark Gods, each of them bowing as they accepted the honour of being selected for the Union.

As the Dark Gods slowly started to fuse, forming a grotesque shadowy figure with plates of armour and clawed hands, Majeston looked back at the barrier in anger. It was the only thing that stood in the way of her army and her conquest of Asgard. Odin, the Asgardians, they were nothing more than minor annoyances that would be quickly dealt with by her worshippers and the Union.

Nothing would stop her now, not when she was so close.

-X- Line Break -X-

While the Dark Gods watched on with annoyance at their lack of progress, their army disorganised and lightly armoured with crudely forged weapons. The Asgardians on the other hand were the exact opposite. The ramparts were lined with droves of well-armoured soldiers, each stood to attention as they watched on dispassionately as the slaves desperately tried to pierce the barrier.

They were innocent, but they were with the enemy. In war, innocents got caught in the crossfire all the time. For Asgardians, war was nothing new and they knew the suffering of innocents and had seen the aftermath of sieges, seen the bodies of innocents strewn across the streets.

There was no hatred and no malice, they were just unfortunate bystanders caught in the crossfire.

But at the end of the day, the Asgardians would prefer that it would be the innocents of other societies that died, rather than their own. So, as the slaves tried desperately to pierce the barrier, they did nothing. Pity would not help the slaves and from what they had been told of the Dark Gods by their commanding officers, who in turn had been informed by the King himself, a merciful death would be the lesser of two evils.

Odin himself, stood in his golden armour, the butt of Gungnir resting on the ground as his lone eye looked upon the Dark Gods with a complete lack of concern. Even when twenty became one, their power combining into one being, Odin felt nothing. No fear, no worry, no caution.

His mind hardened by battle only looked on with his mind calculating and studying the creature as it lumbered forwards.

It was powerful, the Dark Gods were numerous, much like the Asgardians. But weak, though a few had unique abilities that made them dangerous. But it was not the numbers or the powers that made the Dark Gods dangerous. No, it was their ability to fuse together, combining their powers into one being that had the power necessary to match even him in his prime.

It did have its weaknesses despite its great power.

The first was that the power of the Union relied solely upon the number of Dark Gods that fused with it. The more that were fused together, the stronger it was and vice versa. The second ability was that it relied on Zelia, or Majeston Zelia as she was now called.

He would laugh if he wasn't so disgusted.

Zelia had been but a young woman, no older than himself when they first met. At the time, the Dark Gods were being ruled by Majeston, the first Dark God and by the far the most powerful. Zelia had been strong, there was no doubt about that, but she possessed nowhere near the power of Majeston who had been able to match him blow for blow at the height of his powers.

However, while Majeston was powerful, he was also agreeable. When the Asgardians and Dark Gods first went to war, the latter having allied with the remnants of the Dark Elves, it had been Majeston that had sued for peace once he realised he was losing. Zelia had been a fool, driven by nothing more than her bloodlust and desire for power.

The fact that she had ascended to the throne of the Dark Gods and taking Majestons name as a lofty title was a mockery and an insult to the first Dark God, someone Odin while not liking, did respect. Zelia was nothing more than a mad beast with a large amount of anger and no control over it, the fact that she believed Asgard would be defeated so easily was a sign of her arrogance.

There was a bright flash as a beam of energy struck the shield, temporarily blinding the Asgardians. Yet once the light subsided it showed a large, spiderweb crack had appeared from the epicentre of the blast. The nearby slaves were nothing more than a bloody stain, while overs clutched their missing limbs as they screamed. Those lucky few that had been far enough away, stumbled, some dropping to the floor before rising to their feet. Each looking upon their compatriots in shock, turning to look at their masters only to see the Union charging another blast.

They ran.

It was a basic survival instinct engrained in all beings, to run from something that would kill them.

And as they ran, Odin continued to watch the Union.

The blast had left the forces of Asgard unharmed and unshaken, the barrier acting as it should, keeping anything from getting through. Though he would admit he was surprised at how powerful this Union was. The barrier he had created was powerful, it could withstand blasts from him at full power. And could even weather the storm of his Odinforce for a brief time. The fact that this Union had damaged it with the first strike while not unexpected, was still surprising.

Tapping the butt of Gungnir on the ground, his magic seeped out through the ground connecting to the barrier and slowly healing the cracks that had formed. Yet before even half had healed, another blast had struck the barrier causing the damage to spread.

'That is fine.' Odin thought, his intention never being to actually heal the damage in the barrier completely. Only to extend the barrier's existence long enough to stall the Dark Gods even longer, as well as provide Heimdall longer to return to Asgard.

The Dark Gods were not magically powerful or skilled, so it was no wonder they were not connected to their barrier magically. They used magic through rituals, that while powerful left them unconnected to the very magics they had cast. To them, the barrier would be doing its duty to keep the rest of Asgards force out, perfectly.

To Odin however, he could sense Heimdall and those few Vanir provided by his uncle, Njord Burison. They working to take control of the barrier and use it for their own means.

As his gaze looked across towards the pantheon of Dark Gods and the Union, Odin stood firm.

Asgard would not fall, not while he lived.