Frost Giants Attack

"Been a lot of visitors lately!"

Jane shook her head and went to open the door. Standing outside was a kind-looking middle-aged man with thinning hair. He said gently, "Hello, Dr. Foster. I’m Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. We’re investigating a national security threat and need access to your records and meteorological data."

"What? No way! That’s my life’s work!"

Hearing Coulson’s request, Jane flatly refused. Coulson said amicably, "Sorry, but your consent isn’t required. S.H.I.E.L.D. will fully compensate you for your losses."

With that, Coulson was about to have the agents enter and move the equipment. Jane was nearly furious enough to explode. Just as she was about to stop them, Wang Bert smiled. "Coulson, I never expected you to have such a domineering side."

Coulson froze at that. He looked into the house and, upon seeing Wang Bert, was rather surprised. Glancing over the mess on the floor and Thor, he asked, "Mr. Wang, why are you here?"

"If I said I came here on vacation, you definitely wouldn’t believe me."

Wang Bert smiled and asked, "What happened?"

Coulson hesitated before walking into the house and answering, "A hammer fell from the sky. No matter what we do, we can’t pull it out…"

"Mjolnir!"

The moment Thor heard that, he leaped up from the floor in excitement. Grabbing Coulson by the collar, he demanded, "That’s my Mjolnir! Where is it?"

Coulson was utterly baffled. "What? Meow-meow?"

"Where is it? It’s mine!"

Thor shouted, spraying spit across Coulson’s face. Did that count as holy water?

"Sorry, sir."

Coulson pushed Thor away and said good-naturedly, "That is government property. It belongs to no one."

"You want to steal my Mjolnir?"

Thor flew into a rage. With nothing but muscles in his head, he was about to throw a punch on the spot, while the agents behind Coulson all drew their guns and aimed them at him.

Thor didn’t recognize guns and still wanted to swing his fist. Just then, Wang Bert called out, "Thor, let’s make a deal!"

Thor turned and asked, "What deal?"

"I don’t know whether you really are Thor, but I can give you a chance—a chance to wield Thor’s Hammer."

Wang Bert said, "On the condition that you sign a contract giving me all copyrights to Thor on Midgard, also known as Earth!"

Thor said indifferently, "Copyrights? What are those? If you want them, I’ll give them to you!"

"Straightforward. Sign your name."

Wang Bert glanced at Frank. Frank took a blank sheet of paper from a bag beside him and had Thor sign it. Thor didn’t waste a word, directly signing his full name!

"Mr. Wang, isn’t this a little inappropriate?"

Coulson asked tentatively. Thor’s Hammer? Thor? It felt like they had stumbled into something huge! "Coulson, if he isn’t Thor, what harm is there in letting him try to pull it out once? It’s not like he can break it."

Wang Bert said, "But if he is Thor, then this is a big deal."

Coulson hesitated, then said, "I need to report this to the Director!"

"That’s your business."

Wang Bert stood up and said, "Let’s go pull out the hammer!"

Thor burst into laughter. "Let’s go right now! I’ll show you that I really am Thor!"

Coulson smiled helplessly. He knew no one could stop Wang Bert, so he could only personally take them there while reporting the matter to Director Fury. "Son of Odin?"

Nick Fury, who was in the Arctic Circle, frowned deeply. "Do as Bert Wang says. Keep me updated at all times."

S.H.I.E.L.D. had built a temporary base around Thor’s Hammer. Besides Coulson, there was also a bald senior agent named Sitwell. Having already received a call from the Director, he did not stop them.

At the sight of Thor’s Hammer, covered in strange patterns at the bottom of the crater, Thor eagerly jumped down. At the same time, the sky suddenly darkened. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed, and even the computers were disrupted. Everyone was a little stunned. Could he really be Thor? Otherwise, why would such phenomena appear?

Wang Bert quietly watched it all without doing anything—unless Odin died, no one could claim Thor’s Hammer as their own. If anyone did, then eliminate that person! How could someone who had ruled the Nine Realms for thousands of years possibly be a good man? "Prepare to witness the arrival of Thor!"

Thor walked over to the hammer, raised his left hand, and confidently reached for it. Yet he found that the hammer did not budge in the slightest!

Thor froze, then hurriedly used both hands. He even braced his feet against the pillar and pulled backward with all his strength. But to his disappointment, no matter how hard he tried, the hammer he had wielded countless times before would not move at all!

"This is impossible!"

Thor let go and roared toward the sky in disbelief. "Father, why?"

"Why is he calling for his dad again?"

Frank was speechless. Coulson said to Wang Bert, "Looks like he isn’t Thor."

"No, he is."

Wang Bert shook his head. "The strange phenomena around us were caused by him."

Coulson stared in astonishment. "But he can’t even beat Frank?"

"Because his power has been sealed. But the seal isn’t stable, or there wouldn’t be these phenomena right now."

As Wang Bert spoke, a deafening boom rang out, and torrential rain poured down from the sky. Thor collapsed to his knees, utterly despondent. He knew Odin had abandoned him!

At the sight of Thor like this, the softest chord in Dr. Jane Foster’s heart was struck.

"Find somewhere for him to rest."

Wang Bert gave the order. Coulson gave him a wry look. Brother, you really aren’t one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s higher-ups! Still, Coulson did as he said. After Thor was taken away, he asked Wang Bert, "Mr. Wang, if he really is Thor, what will happen?"

"Thor’s reputation is renowned throughout the Nine Realms. If people learn he has lost his power, someone will definitely come after him for revenge."

Wang Bert said, "Besides, Odin has more than one son."

"More than one son?"

Coulson paused, then realized what he meant. Could this turn into some melodramatic struggle between brothers for the throne?

"Get ready. I can smell blood in the air."

Wang Bert said no more and turned to leave. At the same time, Thor’s brother Loki silently arrived through a magical projection. He told Thor that their father, Odin, had been angered to death by him! Thor was both grief-stricken and guilt-ridden. He wanted to return and see his father one last time, but Loki told him he had been banished!

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry!"

This time, Thor did not lose his temper. He simply wept. Loki had never seen Thor like this before and silently turned to leave.

Just then, Wang Bert walked in. Seeing Thor in that state, he asked, "What happened?"

"I angered my father to death!"

Thor dejectedly gave him a brief account. Wang Bert sighed and said, "The dead are gone, Thor. What you need to do now is change yourself and become the person your father hoped you would be. Only then can you return to the divine realm with your head held high."

Thor nodded earnestly. "I will. I’ll change myself, then return to the divine realm with my head held high and pay my respects to Father!"

"What?"

Loki, who was invisible outside, frowned deeply. If you return, what happens to my throne? Odin was not actually dead. He had merely entered Odinsleep. Loki had come to make Thor give up and remain on Earth forever, so no one could compete with him for the throne again! Loki thought for a moment and turned toward Thor’s Hammer. He tried to lift it, only to find that he could not. Closing his eyes, he used magic to sense the aura upon it. A moment later, he opened his eyes with an ugly expression.

Odin had not abandoned Thor. As long as Thor reformed himself, he could lift the hammer again and become the Thor whose name shook the Nine Realms! "In that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless, Brother!"

Loki, who was in the divine realm, snorted coldly and personally went to Jotunheim to meet Laufey, king of the Frost Giants!

Loki gave Laufey two pieces of information. One was that Thor had lost his divine power, and the other was that there was a small path through which weaker Frost Giants could sneak onto Earth!

Laufey was very interested. If he captured Thor, he could use him to exchange for the Frost Giants’ supreme treasure, the Casket of Ancient Winters! After passing on the information, Loki returned to the divine realm, his eyes filled with cold light. Once Laufey killed Thor, he would use that as an excuse to destroy Jotunheim and slaughter every Frost Giant.

Only then could he wash away the humiliation on him—Loki had been adopted by Odin. He was actually Laufey’s son, and to him, that was a humiliation!

Furthermore, he would use Frost Giant blood to tell Odin, to tell everyone, that he, Loki, was the one most suited to inherit Asgard!

Setting that aside for now, Nick Fury, who was in a city somewhere within the Arctic Circle, wore an ugly expression after hearing Coulson’s report. He truly hadn’t expected to face a "god" so soon! Coulson asked, "Director, do you think what Mr. Wang said is true?"

"If he is there, then it means everything is true. That man is very mysterious!"

Director Fury said, "Coulson, I authorize you to mobilize every nearby agent. Also, go to Back Mountain in Amputee Town. There’s a base there, and it has the weapons you need! I’ll also contact the military and have them keep an eye on that area!"

"Understood!"

Coulson nodded, not finding it strange at all. Their Director could provide bases and supplies anywhere!

"He wasn’t surprised at all?"

Director Fury hung up in mild irritation. Coulson was getting worse at dealing with people. He had wasted such a perfect chance to flatter him. No promotion for him this year!

Shaking his head, Director Fury strode into the hospital ahead, preparing to compete with Carter for the muscular Captain America! No matter what, Captain America had to belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.!

The following night, at a farm outside town, Thor and Jane drank and chatted. There was clearly something developing between them, as could be seen from the way they were sitting closer and closer together!

Behind them, Wang Bert sat in a chair with an arm around Daisy, smiling faintly. "You can have the younger one. I’ll take the older one!"

Daisy asked, "Bert, what are you laughing about?"

"I’m laughing at you. You’re heavy."

Wang Bert smiled. Daisy protested, "Where am I heavy?"

"You tell me."

Just as Wang Bert was teasing Daisy, his phone suddenly rang. After he answered, Coulson shouted over the sounds of gunfire and explosions, "Mr. Wang, a large number of monsters are approaching. We’re holding them back, but I don’t think we can stop them."

"They came this quickly?"

Wang Bert gestured for Daisy to get up, then shouted at Frank, "Frank, send the drone over there!"

Frank, seated in front of a pile of machinery, nodded. He piloted the drone toward the battlefield, then activated the holographic projector, displaying the footage captured by the drone in the open space nearby!

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were firing wildly from behind a row of vehicles, but ordinary rifle bullets did little damage to Frost Giants protected by thick ice armor. Only the vehicle-mounted machine guns and rocket launchers were somewhat effective! The problem was that there were not many rockets. Coulson and his people would not be able to hold out for long. Moreover, Frost Giants were far stronger than humans. Even rockets could only injure them! Daisy cried out, "What are those monsters?"

Thor turned around and, upon seeing the scene, exclaimed, "Frost Giants! How are they here?"

"If I’m not mistaken, they came to kill you."

Wang Bert said, "Frank, fly the drone higher and see how many there are! Also, start recording everything from now on."

"Got it!"

Frank maneuvered the drone to film the scene. A moment later, he said, "Around five or six hundred. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have enough people or enough firepower. They can’t stop them!"

Wang Bert stroked his chin. "That’s quite a number. Frank, prepare for battle!"

"I’m fighting too! Asgard has never feared Frost Giants!"

Thor shouted, "Besides, I can’t drag you into this!"

"Thor, Earth isn’t as weak as you think. Sit there and get ready to watch the show."

Wang Bert said, "Coulson, retreat. And have every agent return to the farm to set up defenses. Don’t worry, they’re only aliens. It’s no big deal!"

"They’re aliens, and you call that no big deal?"

Coulson smiled bitterly, but he did not dare delay. He immediately led the team away in vehicles. It was worth mentioning that he deliberately left several vehicles behind.

The Frost Giants naturally pursued them. When they reached the vehicles, Coulson pressed a button. Boom! Boom! Boom! Every vehicle exploded at once. Judging by the force of the blasts, Coulson had clearly packed those vehicles with quite a lot of explosives! Watching more than twenty Frost Giants howl amid the flames, Coulson laughed loudly. "Don’t underestimate us humans! We’ve been fighting wars for thousands of years!"

Wang Bert complained, "Is that something to be proud of?"

"Apparently not."

Coulson was a little embarrassed. Soon, all the agents returned to the farm. Coulson immediately directed them to arrange the vehicles into a defensive line and had the weapons moved to the front.

By then, Frank had already put on his new armor—a pitch-black suit with a white skull on the chest. He called out to Wang Bert, "From now on, my armor is called Punisher!"

"Back where we started?"

Wang Bert was speechless. Having the same name was one thing, but even the armor color was the same. Thinking of something, he smiled. "Frank, I never knew you had a crush on Damon. You even painted his head on your armor. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret for you!"

"Keep your head secret. Is there only one skull in the world?"

Frank gave Wang Bert the middle finger, then activated the Punisher armor and flew outside.

Jane and Daisy both exclaimed, "Is that Iron Man armor?"

Wang Bert said blandly, "More accurately, it’s Hero Armor from the Osborn Corporation!"

Daisy said in disbelief, "Bert, you’re way too rich! You actually equipped your bodyguard with Hero Armor. I heard one suit costs five hundred million dollars!"

Wang Bert smiled. "It’s fine. I got a discount, after all. The Osborn Corporation belongs to me!"

"You’re the chairman of the Osborn Corporation?"

Both women were stunned. Daisy, in particular, was so excited she could barely contain herself. This time, she had truly latched onto a golden thigh—the super-sized kind!

Seeing Jane so shocked, Thor felt a little annoyed. "What is that? Is it really that impressive? Oh, and by the way, I’m a prince of the divine realm—uh, a former prince!"

At that, Thor grew a little dejected. Jane hurriedly comforted him. Just then, two armored suits flew in from the distance and landed at the entrance to the farm!