"You despicable Shaki! How dare you attack the city walls while I was away! Take this first blow!"
Before he finished speaking, he swung his hammer, just once. The moment the hammer was aimed directly at the Frost Giant General, he released his grip.
Lightning suddenly flashed in the clear sky. As the hammer flew from Thor's palm, rumbling thunder echoed across the heavens. The Frost Giant General's expression changed, and he actually turned to flee—but it was too late!
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
A second thunderous roar erupted as the hammer struck the frost giant's head. The clash of Thor's hammer was the roar of thunder! In a single blow, the frost giant general's head exploded, shattering into a pulp like a smashed tomato!
With a single blow, Thor slew a minor deity, an Old God—as easily as killing a chicken! And this was Thor four hundred years ago. Hayden, in his heart, knew he, a man from the future, was slower than Thor at killing minor gods!
"Thor!" "Thor!" "Thor!" "Thor!" "Thor!"
The defenders on the city wall immediately erupted in cheers! The mortal army, who had been beaten half to death just a minute ago, now scrambled to their feet and rushed toward the strong Thor, shouting and jumping!
In fact, Thor in this era was not yet a god. He was undoubtedly of mortal origin, without any noble bloodline like everyone else, and he did not claim to be a god.
Yet the soldiers' cheers and worship of Thor, Thor's timely appearance to protect them, and the immense power he displayed—weren't they even more divine than those useless, greedy, oppressive feudal gods and nobles?
"Hahahahaha!"
Thor burst into laughter. Not only that, he used his left hand, which wasn't holding the hammer, to high-five and even hug the other soldiers on the city wall. He might be a bit rough around the edges, but he was a very approachable and down-to-earth leader.
Meanwhile, the remnants of the frost giants, their general instantly killed, turned and fled for their lives. But Thor had no intention of letting them escape. After high-fiving his men, he had somehow leaped into the air, raising his right hammer high into the sky:
"My hammer Mjolnir, gather the fury of my warriors! Gather the will of my people! Thunder, thunder, thunder! To protect the good people, shatter the evil giant for me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the magnificent two-hundred-meter-high city wall behind him lit up. The top of the city wall, engraved with dense and complex runes, shot beams of light into the sky, instantly turning the once clear sky into a shroud of thunderclouds.
That was a massive black cloud large enough to cover the entire area—the area where the giants had invaded.
Immediately afterward, Thor casually swung his hammer at the frost giants below. Countless beams of light burst forth from the thick, dark clouds, exploding into a sky full of starlight-like sparks, transforming into trillions of electric orbs that aimed at the hundreds of fleeing giants on the ground and poured down upon them all at once!
Rumble rumble rumble rumble! Rumble rumble rumble rumble! Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble!
Hayden once said that wind, rain, thunder, and lightning are the power of the gods and symbols of divine authority. Since ancient times, both indigenous nature gods and fallen angels have strived to control the natural climate of their respective territories.
However, their control over the weather was not as strong as the new technologies developed by the new gods.
That was a power far superior, more precise, and supremely powerful than the Old Gods' authority over wind, rain, thunder, and lightning! Thor's summoning of lightning appeared to be a casual wave, but in reality, every ball of lightning and every bolt of lightning struck precisely on the heads of the frost giants. The fleeing frost giants were all burned to ashes, leaving not even bones behind.
Moreover, this thunder was not merely the power of the natural environment, but also a manifestation of the spiritual strength of the city's defenders. The key to summoning this divine power from the earth lay in the unique magical design of the three "tools": the city walls, Thor's hammer, and the special adjustments made by the mages to the city's ley lines.
In other words, this is the prototype of the magic of the "Great Engineering".
It marked the beginning of the industrialization of magic.
This is the divine power of the new era, the supreme power of the mortal archmages of the new era who use their wisdom and magical strength to completely and precisely control the environment, natural phenomena, and celestial events.
Countless old god chieftains, kings, and monarchs, all sorts of arrogant and conceited villains, seized territory from the corpses of mortals, built illusory nations, adorned themselves with expensive jewels and rare metals, wore crowns on their heads, and proclaimed themselves superior to mortals. But they were not superior to mortals.
Look, mortals have found their own way and power to defeat them. The heroes and leaders among mortals can now crush even the generals of false gods into dust!
Moreover, these heroes and leaders did not consider themselves gods, but rather, as human beings, they mingled with others in a friendly manner.
Therefore, it is conceivable that people in later generations would say the following:
This era is the golden age of the new gods.
...Gazing at this scene from afar, and imagining what the new gods and the world would become, Hayden was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
“Sigh, alright. It’s time to leave.” He shook his head and said to Angela, “There’s no point in staying here and watching the story of the rise of the new Norse gods. Our main goal is still to help you find your real name.”
“I find it quite interesting.” Angela watched the events in the distance with fascination, but didn’t object. “So, how do you plan to find out my real name?”
"Considering that Asmodius is holding his summoning ceremony in northeastern Japan, we can go there first and take a look. Now that we know we're in Northern Europe, going to Japan will be very convenient..."
Hayden rambled on and on, glancing casually around as he spoke.
He simply wanted to check if there were any uninvited guests nearby, or if he had been accidentally seen by others.
Upon closer inspection, the problem became apparent.
They had been hiding in the forest, spying on the battlefield from afar. But Hayden's prophetic insight allowed him to see across the battlefield to the other side, where in the opposite forest, a frost giant, a minor god-level being, was hiding under the dense foliage, his hand drawn—aiming at Thor, the god of thunder, in the sky!
The bow was an exquisitely crafted longbow of yew wood, nocked with an enchanted yew wood arrow, the arrowhead emitting a faint, poisonous glow. Hayden immediately recognized it as a poisoned arrow crafted by an old god, specifically for assassinating a new god.
So without thinking, Hayden instinctively turned his staff, which had just finished reading the long text, and blasted the head off the frost giant god.
Everyone on the battlefield saw a destructive red beam of light burst forth from the forest, cutting down the trees like wheat, splitting the hill in two, and blasting the frost giant god to pieces, leaving only a trail of melted debris in its wake.
This is going to be fun.
405: Incorrect method
Bitter.
When he came to his senses, Hayden had already blasted the frost giant assassin in the distance to pieces. Not only that, his long-charged beam cannon had also leveled the forest and cleaved a small mountain in two.
Now, Thor and the guards on the city walls all witnessed this scene. Hayden, who had been hiding well in the forest, was now in everyone's sight.
It's a lot of fun now.
As everyone knows, Thor is a decisive man. Upon seeing this scene, he immediately leaped off the city wall and flew towards Hayden.
"Bitter!"
Hayden couldn't help but complain.
"You're right, I should focus more on the main objective!"
Visitors from other dimensions should not be involved with the cause and effect here! To avoid getting involved, it is best not to take any action!
“That’s not necessarily true.” Angela was quite calm. “Master, I don’t think you’ve forgotten the main objective.”
Main objective.
What are Hayden's main goals?
Hayden, who wasn't stupid, suddenly realized what Angela meant after she pointed it out to him.
Save people.
Even when killing, he wanted to save people, which is why he started killing.
If we consider it this way, then Hayden's actions just now did not deviate from his goal, nor from the path he had chosen.
"There's no need to worry about the time. Master, you just need to do what you want to do, see it through to the end, and don't deviate from the plan."
Angela spoke calmly, even leisurely.
In other words, Angela believed that as long as Hayden made choices that were true to his heart, he would not go astray.
...That's a really high level of trust.
At the same time, Thor leaped in front of Hayden and Angela. Perhaps to mitigate the impact of the landing, he landed in a crouching position, specifically in a "superhero landing" posture with his right foot on the ground and his left knee and left hand on the ground.
Then the spirited young man suddenly stood up, laughed heartily at Hayden, and said, "So you're the one who helped me kill that despicable assassin? My complete stranger!"
Hayden was initially worried that Thor might cause trouble, but he didn't expect the other party to be so friendly.
"Hmm, I've never seen this kind of attire before. Are you two magicians from the south?" Thor looked at Hayden's clothes and Angela's outfit. "Coming from the south, you must be feeling quite cold here!"
Hayden and Angela were still wearing the same guest clothes they'd worn in the Kyoto red-light district. While they wouldn't actually catch a cold, it certainly looked out of place in this bitterly cold northern region.
“Actually, we come from further east,” Hayden said cautiously, then realized there was a small problem—what kind of identity should he give himself?
He absolutely could not say that he was "Hayden". It was just the same face across four hundred years, so there wouldn't be too much of a problem. However, if the name "Hayden" were to be recorded in history, regardless of whether future generations would notice—at least the gods involved would definitely remember it!
A name, a real name, possesses immense magical power. Hayden must use a pseudonym; he must hastily come up with a new name to deceive everyone!
In a fraction of a breath, he thought of something. Though it was something he forced himself to come up with. He decided to call himself:
"My name is Loki, and I am a magician who has traveled from the ends of the Eastern Sea."
Loki, a word in ancient northern languages, means "knot" and "loop," as well as "scheme" and "net," making it a magical new name that suits Hayden, the future time traveler and conman.
“This is Angr.” Then Hayden pointed to Angela, “She’s my wife.”
The word means "messenger," similar to the word Angela, but it can also be interpreted as "omen."
Angela smiled slightly at Thor, not denying Hayden's words... but no matter what, the two magical names Hayden came up with on the spur of the moment for disguise were still a bit strange.
However, Thor didn't suspect a thing, or at least didn't show any suspicion. Instead, he smiled and patted Hayden on the shoulder: "My name is Thor, and I am the great sorcerer of this land! My good friend, thank you for helping me blast away that giant who tried to ambush me!"
"Don't be so reserved! We Assamese never mistreat friends who come from afar. Come to my city, I'll definitely treat you to a drink!"
Oh no.
If Hayden were to be invited by Thor to their Aesir city, he would become increasingly involved, mingling with the new gods of the Golden Age.
But if he were to refuse, there doesn't seem to be a suitable reason. Besides, Angela had just advised Hayden to follow his heart and his own path. So it seems Hayden only has one choice.
"Great! I couldn't be happier!"
Hayden straightened his back and shook hands with Thor!
"Hey friend, let's go drink and eat some meat!"
Thor laughed, and the two walked away arm in arm.
————————————————————————————
Passing through the 200-meter-high super wall, you can enter the land of the Asgardians, [Asgard]. In fact, the name itself means "land of the Asgardians".
Passing through the city walls, you can see a vast, fertile plain stretching as far as the eye can see. Clear water, gentle breezes, abundant forests, and fields of golden wheat laden with ripe fruit—the land is truly expansive.
The great sorcerers (or great arcanists, though this term is not commonly used now) among the Assassins used complex environmental magic and early versions of the Great Engineering to build walls, control nature within a defined area, and create a paradise that was both offensive and defensive, and easy to live in.
This era was still the early days of the Assassins and the new Norse gods, so the area they enclosed with walls wasn't very large, but it already included a vast expanse of land, roughly equivalent to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. These places, previously considered barren and harsh northern lands that the feudal gods didn't care about, had now been transformed into a paradise by the Assassins.
But after all this talk, who exactly are these so-called "Assamese"?
In fact, they were originally commoners from Western and Southern European countries who refused to be governed by feudal gods and kings. They fled their homelands—merchants, laborers, serfs, and of course, intellectuals, scholars, and even soldiers and gladiators. After they fled far away, the original feudal lords and kings became too lazy to pursue them.
These "groups" that are not related by geography or blood, but simply gathered together by chance, are the essence of the so-called "Assamese".
Then, from among these ordinary people, from among these "Assamese," the most skilled, wise, and courageous individuals naturally became the leaders of the new land and the new ethnic group.
Later generations referred to them as the Aesir.
But they are not gods yet. Right now, their leader will even put his arm around a stranger and go to a restaurant for drinks!
Still bearing fresh wounds, the men who had been brought down from the city walls sat on benches beside the hearths and sang loudly.
A huge piece of wild boar meat was roasting on the stove, its fat sizzling!
The main course wasn't just the meat; there was also a fish soup made with salmon, cod, and onions. There was a stew simmering in a large pot filled with pork, along with goat's milk cheese and barley porridge. Large loaves of bread were also piled on the long table.
And the drinks? Of course, they're alcoholic! Mead, beer, cider!
Thor sat in the central seat of honor, with Hayden and Angela seated beside him as the guests of honor. He then loudly announced to the crowd, "During the battle just now, a despicable frost giant god tried to ambush me, but thanks to my new friend Loki, he blasted him to death with a single spell!"
The As people loved skilled warriors the most, and the banquet hall erupted in cheers once again.
"A salute to our compatriots and friends!"
"To the victory of the day and the feast of the night!"
Everyone cheered and raised their goblets. Thor had a large barrel of mead brought over and personally filled the goblets with mead, handing them to Hayden.
This horn-shaped cup, as the name suggests, is a large cup hollowed out from a cow horn, with a pointed bottom, so it can only be put down after the wine is completely drunk. To casually hand someone such a large cup of wine, while not necessarily intended to cause trouble for Hayden, clearly suggests a joke at his expense.
However, Hayden didn't care about such trivial matters and downed the horn cup in one gulp. Angela's life-modifying powers and immortal body meant that alcohol had absolutely no harmful effects on him. As for the alcohol he drank, he could simply force it out through his fingertips like in martial arts novels, or even teleport it directly into the sea—Hayden had never practiced true qi, but one shouldn't underestimate an immortal who has achieved immortality through elixirs!
As for Angela, it goes without saying. Everyone quickly realized that she had an artificial metallic body, and they were greatly impressed, exclaiming, "So the East has such ingenious magical technology!"
In that case, of course no one would try to persuade the metal man to drink.
However, Hayden dared not discuss the matter of Angela's body in detail with the Asars. After all, Angela had once told Hayden that the modern Wotan Corporation's Valkyrie shells might be modeled after angels, which was why the modern Valkyries instinctively feared Angela, this angel…
Now Hayden finally began to vaguely understand: so this is where the cycle started!
He was genuinely a little afraid of time travel.
Fortunately, Thor was unaware of Hayden's inner turmoil. Seeing Hayden drinking so heartily, he was quite pleased and laughed, saying, "Good! My friend Loki, that's refreshing!" Then he picked up his goblet, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp, followed by two more. The way he chugged down the full glasses like water drew cheers from the crowd.
But this wasn't just because Thor was the greatest warrior in the eyes of the Assamese. It was because Hayden could also drink. He casually and nonchalantly downed glass after glass of liquor, drinking strong liquor with more ease than tea. So the Assamese men cheered for Hayden, showing him no discrimination whatsoever.
Because the Aseans don't really care about such social distinctions. Who among them didn't flee from the feudal gods and kings? And now those gods and kings still call them "outcasts," so the Aseans fundamentally despise these social statuses. They now live in their new kingdom, where everyone is equal, everyone earns their living through their own skills, everyone's silver coins and transactions are free, and they have chosen capable leaders like Thor. Anyone who is a guest is welcome; anyone with ability is respected and even admired.
However, even a society that initially appears so good eventually degenerates into a terrible version after one hundred, two hundred, or four hundred years. Where exactly did things go wrong...?
Hayden pondered this in his mind while taking the opportunity to eat heartily. He hadn't eaten anything since leaving the brothel yesterday. Although it didn't matter to immortals if they didn't eat, Hayden was spoiled by Angela and wouldn't feel comfortable if he didn't eat two or three meals a day, so of course he wasn't going to miss this chance.
There's nothing shameful about it. Even gods and immortals don't need to eat, but who doesn't enjoy a good meal? Eat, eat! Although it's not as fancy as Angela's cooking, the roast pork and fish soup are much fresher and tastier than Hayden had imagined.