Back in his pri, Odin had reached the level of an All-Father through the Destroyer Armor alone.
Now, after countless ages had passed, he was older than ever.
And everyone knew the truth about the Asgardians.
The older they beca, the stronger they grew. Their divine power deepened with age rather than fading.
As a result, Odin's current combat power had reached a terrifying level, approaching that of a single-universe entity.
"Your Majesty, allow to aid the Lord of War, the War God, and the Judicial God!"
Before Drex Valen could respond, two more gods stepped forward.
One was Ignis, the God of Fire.
A version of Ignis had once existed within the God Council's universe as both a mber of the Council and one of the Demi-Gods. Drex had erased that version entirely and created a new one from scratch.
This Ignis was modeled after the ancient legends. He possessed the head of a beast and the body of a man. Twin fire serpents hung from his ears, two blazing dragons coiled beneath his feet, and crimson scales covered his entire body.
The second was Tempest, the God of Thunder.
He bore the head of a tiger, the body of a man, and carried two yellow serpents in his hands.
Fortunately, Odin was no longer the unstoppable warrior-king he had once been.
Since the founding of the God Council, conflicts between pantheons had beco increasingly rare. It had been a very long ti since Odin had fought a battle of this scale.
More importantly, he was still struggling to fully adapt to the imnse power currently flowing through him.
Divine energy surged from his body in massive waves.
The force resembled a cosmic tsunami.
Most mortals would never understand the true nature of that power, but instinct alone was enough to make them tremble. It felt like standing before an approaching apocalypse.
Yet to the Eastern gods, the display revealed sothing else.
Odin's control was slipping.
His divine power was leaking into the surrounding environnt.
To gods who pursued absolute mastery over every fragnt of their strength, the aning was obvious.
"His power has surged too quickly. He can't maintain it."
Yang Jian imdiately increased the pressure.
The others understood at once.
Xingtian attacked more fiercely.
Chi You attacked more fiercely.
Ignis attacked more fiercely.
Tempest attacked more fiercely.
They had no fear of death.
The gods of the new Heavenly Court were effectively immortal.
As long as Drex Valen wished it, they could be restored to life.
Short of a handful of multiversal beings, no one could steal a soul from his grasp.
Drex turned toward the remaining mbers of the Twelve Primordial Witches.
"You might as well join in too."
The remaining Primordial Witches stepped forward.
Each possessed terrifying divine authority.
Their domains were simple, direct, and overwhelmingly powerful, granting them equally straightforward forms of divine might.
The battle had dragged on long enough.
It was ti to end it.
Unfortunately, Thor and his brothers had reached the sa conclusion.
When they saw more gods entering the battle against their father, they imdiately rushed forward to help.
It made little difference.
The gap in power was simply too great.
Any one of the Twelve Primordial Witches could have fought Thor and his brothers alone.
There were twelve of them.
Together with Chi You, Xingtian, and Yang Jian, that gave the Heavenly Court fifteen Father-Level gods.
The sight left every observing pantheon deeply unsettled.
Within the universe of the gods, Father-Level entities were not considered the absolute peak.
Yahweh alone stood close to the level of an Omnipotent All-Father.
Hundreds of pantheons existed throughout creation, and nearly every one of them could field at least one or two Father-Level beings.
The Greek pantheon possessed even more.
The rulers of sea, sky, and underworld.
The primordial Earth Goddess Gaia.
The Titans imprisoned within the Abyss.
The original Heavenly Court had barely qualified as a first-rate pantheon.
Its influence had been limited.
Its authority modest.
This new Heavenly Court was another matter entirely.
Not a single familiar face remained.
Yet its military power had already entered the ranks of the supre pantheons.
Even the Heavenly Host was beginning to feel pressure.
Yang Jian, wielding the Immortal-Slaying Sword, beca the primary force holding back Odin.
Even Chi You found himself avoiding direct clashes with the blade.
Gradually, the tide began to turn.
The Immortal-Slaying Sword was approaching the threshold of single-universe power.
No matter how mighty Odin was, the strain continued to build.
His wounds multiplied.
His movents grew heavier.
Most importantly, the divine power stored within the Destroyer Armor was rapidly diminishing.
The blessings of countless gods were nearly exhausted.
"Sound the war drums!"
"At once!"
Several giant drumrs stepped forward.
Each stood over ten feet tall, with blue-green skin, savage features, and protruding tusks. Their upper bodies were bare, revealing muscles like carved granite.
With thunderous roars, they raised drumsticks as thick as a man's waist and brought them crashing down upon enormous war drums covered in the hide of the legendary Kui Dragon.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The sound rolled across hundreds of miles.
The heavens trembled.
Clouds shook.
The drums echoed through the sky like divine thunder.
The spectacle was impossible to ignore.
Despite the Heavenly Court's growing advantage, Drex Valen still hadn't moved to finish Odin himself.
This was the comic-book version of the God Council Universe.
And Asgard possessed a terrifying backer.
The Elder Gods of the Shadow Realm.
Drex wasn't certain whether those ancient beings would intervene.
If they did, he would need to prepare.
The battle that followed might require every ounce of his strength.
Even then, victory would not be guaranteed.
Odin tightened his grip on Gungnir.
Lightning danced around the spear in dazzling arcs.
The primordial power of the Rune Force surged through him.
All of Asgard trembled faintly in response.
The pressure in the air beca almost unbearable.
Odin was nearing his limit.
Which was why he had already sent a ssage to Heimdall.
Activate the Bifrost.
Target the Heavenly Court Dinsion.
The Bifrost was Asgard's ultimate weapon.
It drew upon the imnse power of Yggdrasil itself.
It could tear through dinsional barriers.
Transport armies between realities.
And if used offensively, it possessed enough destructive power to shatter entire planets.
Within the God Council Universe, the Bifrost was even more dangerous.
Its power could extend across dinsions and inflict damage upon other realities.
Destroying a dinsion outright required sothing on the level of the Infinity Stones.
But damaging one?
That was entirely possible.
Odin's objective was simple.
Force the Heavenly Court to retreat.
If this new Heavenly Emperor intended to make an example of Asgard, then perhaps he could persuade him to seek an easier target.
After all, Drex Valen was hardly the first ruler arrogant enough to believe he could conquer every pantheon and establish a single divine order.
Others had attempted it before.
Every one of them had failed.
To buy Heimdall enough ti to charge the Bifrost, Odin pushed himself beyond his limits.
Terrifying power erupted from his body.
The friction generated by that energy turned the surrounding atmosphere crimson.
Every trace of moisture evaporated instantly.
The temperature skyrocketed.
The battlefield beca a furnace.
Explosive shockwaves rippled outward.
The atmosphere compressed under unimaginable force until it seed almost solid.
Everything in its path was crushed.
Everything in its path was destroyed.
Nearby mountain peaks disintegrated into dust.
Such was Odin's power.
One hand gripped the reins.
The other wielded Gungnir.
Mounted atop Sleipnir, his eight-legged divine steed, Odin charged forward.
The horse released a thunderous cry, as though proclaiming the strength of the All-Father to the heavens themselves.
Together, rider and mount tore through the storm ahead.
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