Chapter 307: Spring Flowers Bloom Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen

After settling Jane Foster temporarily at the SHIELD headquarters, Clark and Thor returned to the gates of Asgard's golden palace.

The palace itself is an artifact, protected by a complex magical barrier, making it difficult for even Clark, with the Space Stone, to teleport directly inside.

Seeing the newcomers, Loki, who was handling state affairs, immediately got up to greet them wisely, "Uncle, Thor, you look so serious. Has the Nine Stars Alignment already occurred?"

Clark nodded slightly and briefly updated Loki on the situation, then added, "The king of the Dark Elves is named Malekith. His strength is comparable to Thor under normal circumstances. However, now that the Aether is likely in their possession, his power could rival Laufey's at his peak."

As the two listened, their expressions grew grave. Clark continued, "Besides Malekith himself, the Dark Elves also possess a method to create cursed warriors, whose strength is not inferior to Thor's. So, don't think that just because we defeated Hela, we can overlook the Dark Elves."

"We are in for a tough battle!"

Thor and Loki looked bewildered by Clark's forewarning, with the former immediately declaring, "Uncle, just give the order! Tell us what to do!"

Since becoming accustomed to Clark leading the battles, Thor had grown lax in thinking for himself.

As long as Uncle made the decisions, he just needed to identify the target and charge forward with his hammer—simple and satisfying, fitting the style of the new King of Asgard.

Clark took up Thor's suggestion without hesitation and started issuing commands: "Have Heimdall keep an eye on the movements across the realms. If he notices any signs of darkness consuming any realm, he must use his psychic powers to inform me immediately. Additionally, I've already set up fallbacks in New York on Earth and in Asgard's royal city. Should Dark Elves invade, alarms will sound immediately."

Thor was surprised, "Uncle, you can do that?"

Loki's expression turned peculiar, "Uncle's fallback, does it involve music?"

Nodding with a chuckle, Clark confirmed, "Exactly, the same trick I used on you before. It's triggered by specific conditions to play music."

"As my powers have grown, the limitations of this method have lessened. For example, I've set it so that if Dark Elves appear in Asgard's royal city, on the Bifrost, or in New York, a city-wide alarm will sound through music."

"This way, even with the Dark Elves' secretive methods, they won't be able to infiltrate silently. At the very least, it will buy us some preparation time..."

Thor and Loki looked envious upon hearing Clark's explanation.

Loki thought it would be fun to use such a power for pranks, while Thor considered using it to create a romantic surprise for Jane.

After their initial admiration, however, King Thor returned to business, "Uncle, what music did you set up in Asgard? Can we hear it beforehand to prepare ourselves?"

At that moment, a fast-paced song unexpectedly began to play.

"In the spring, flowers bloom, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, June sixth, watching embroidery spring hit sixty-nine heads. Such wrapping is truly uncomfortable, I can't open my mouth, I can't keep up with the slipping..."

Impression points from Thor Odinson: +66666!

Impression points from Loki Odinson: +6666!

Impression points from Malekith...

Hearing the music, which resembled street rap, Thor and Loki's expressions turned bizarre. Thor couldn't help but say, "Uncle, isn't it inappropriate to play something like street rap when facing a formidable enemy?"

Loki quickly agreed, "Could we change it?"

However, Clark responded seriously, "Prepare for battle. This music wasn't played for your listening pleasure, but because the conditions were met and the previously set music was triggered."

"The enemy has appeared!"

With that, Clark transformed into a streak of light and dashed toward the Bifrost.

As Clark had predicted, Malekith, having obtained the Aether, indeed targeted Asgard first. Perhaps fearing that activating the Aether rashly would be thwarted by Asgard, he took the initiative to strike first, choosing Asgard as the battlefield to let darkness consume the light of the Nine Realms.

Clark led the charge with Thor closely behind. By the time they reached the Bifrost, the Dark Elf army had already breached the city's defenses.

The Dark Elves, who had been asleep for thousands of years, were equipped with laser cannons and antimatter grenades, in stark contrast to Asgard's outdated bows and spears. If this battle could be won, it would be due to divine intervention or Uncle's help.

Asgard's battle style had always been about elite forces. Historically, massive armies were mostly for show, serving primarily to provide power support for the king in critical moments. The real battle determinants always lay in the hands of a few key players.

From Bor's axe against the Dark Elves, Odin's Spear of Eternity against Laufey, to Thor single-handedly upholding Asgard's long traditions—albeit comically, but that was the reality.

Asgard's battles had always followed the elite path.

Now, aside from Thor, the inheritor of Odin's will, they had the formidable ally Clark. Even for the sake of the previously mentioned artifacts, he wouldn't let Malekith misuse his Reality Stone.

To Clark, since he had set his sights on the Reality Stone, it was his to claim!

The unique design of the Dark Elf ships, which were more like battering rams than traditional spacecraft, was also of interest. Their defensive systems alone were worth studying.

"Thor, be careful not to damage my ships during the battle," Clark cautioned.

Confused by the sudden instruction, Thor responded, "These ships, yours?"

"After we kill Malekith, all these things will belong to me," Clark declared, floating into the air and flicking a finger. A powerful purple energy beam shot out, piercing the nearest Dark Elf ship, killing the pilot but sparing the rest of the craft.

Clearly, Clark already considered these enemy ships his private property, cherishing them greatly.

As Clark made his move, Thor and Beta Ray Bill, who had just arrived at the battlefield, summoned massive thunderstorms with their hammers, destroying two more Dark Elf ships, which crashed into the waters below the Bifrost.

"Darn it!" Clark cursed as he saw his ships being destroyed, "Didn't I tell you to try not to damage the ships? How do you ignore Uncle's words so easily?"

Impression points from Thor Odinson: +99999!

Impression points from Beta Ray Bill: +999!

Thor replied, "Uncle, our fighting style is inherently rough; we can't control our power as finely as you."

Clark, understanding Thor's point, graciously responded, "You two go and handle the smaller foes. Leave the ships to me. Asgard's warriors have suffered heavy losses; they need the support of the strong!"

Impression points from Thor Odinson: +99999!

Impression points from Beta Ray Bill: +999!

While Thor could only muse to himself whether Clark's arrangement was truly for the sake of Asgard's warriors or to protect "his"

 ships, he had to display immense gratitude to Clark in his presence, and together with Beta Ray Bill, they flew down to the battlefield below.

As mentioned earlier, Asgard's defense strategy was high-end. Before the thunder gods intervened, they were completely overpowered by the Dark Elves. But with both thunder gods in action, the tables turned completely in Asgard's favor.

...

Meanwhile, Clark, with a flurry of finger movements, unleashed streams of purple destructive energy, systematically killing the pilots of the Dark Elf ships. But the operation wasn't as simple as that.

To prevent other Dark Elves from taking over the ships, each energy blast from Clark contained a trace of his consciousness, tracking down the dark energy and exterminating all Dark Elves before finally exiting the damaged ships and returning to him.

In less than a minute, Clark had destroyed over a hundred Dark Elf ships.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

The real prize had finally appeared—if he wasn't mistaken, the massive ship before him was the Dark Elf flagship!

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