Loki had departed.
He still had to discuss with the others how he would present himself as Asgard's king during the war — to inspire genuine worship and reverence in those mortals.
As for Heimdall?
He had already fulfilled his role for this phase.
Watching Loki's retreating back, Heimdall turned his gaze to Baixuan.
"Why are you doing all this?"
"Why would there be so many whys? You do it because you want to."
Baixuan said it calmly, dismissively.
"By the way, you've surely already noticed how different Loki has become."
"Favoring one side too heavily — that's not something someone in your position should be doing."
"I am loyal to Odin. I am loyal to Asgard."
Heimdall said it without hesitation.
"Loyal only to Asgard, then."
Baixuan smiled, then asked a question.
"So between Loki and Thor — who do you think is more suited to be king?"
Heimdall did not answer.
"I'm sure you already know this: compared to Thor, Loki is more like the young Odin. He's better suited to rule Asgard."
"A civilization's king possesses far more than just martial strength. There's wisdom, too."
"Thor has potential that surpasses Odin — but he's more of a warrior than a king."
And Loki?
Wasn't the God of Lies also a symbol of wisdom?
"If Ragnarök comes, Thor and Loki will inevitably make different choices based on their respective natures."
"Asgard will have to make a choice — because there can only be one king."
"Whose choice is better for Asgard? Whose is more likely to help Asgard survive this crisis?"
Thor and Loki were completely different in temperament.
Their personalities would determine which path Asgard walked in the future.
Once, Asgard had no choice.
Because on the surface it was Thor versus Loki — but in truth, only Thor could be chosen. That was the bloodline.
Now they had the ability to choose.
And also because of the bloodline!
In Baixuan's mind, the images of Hela, Loki, and Thor played out like a single scene.
Hela: "Choose."
Thor: "No amount of words will change my mind!"
Loki: "We can talk this through."
It was immediately obvious.
Glancing at the deeply pensive Heimdall, Baixuan's figure faded away.
Civilizational development was never easy.
A wrong choice didn't just affect a civilization's future — it could end it entirely.
The current Loki had the capability to develop Asgard for the better. Hopefully they wouldn't squander this opportunity.
In a palace chamber of Asgard.
"With Heimdall's personality — if he knew Odin had been pawned off, he absolutely wouldn't have cooperated, no matter what."
Tony clicked his tongue as he spoke.
They knew what had transpired between Baixuan and Loki last night.
Heimdall only knew that Odin had been hidden away by Loki — as for where, Heimdall had no idea.
But precisely because even he didn't know, Heimdall was confident Odin was safe.
If he had known that Odin was no longer on this world — body and soul alike sold off to some nameless place — even if it was only a temporary pawning, he would have done something about it.
After all, his loyalty to Odin was absolute.
"So really, pawning Odin turned out to be a good thing. At least we don't have to worry about him suddenly waking up and causing trouble for Loki."
Although the current Loki had merged with Odin's bloodline and received Asgard's favor — even Odin himself couldn't deny it now — who knew whether Odin would be willing to acknowledge it.
Compared to this Loki, whom he had personally raised and knew full well was a Frost Giant's offspring, Odin would still favor Thor.
At the very least, Thor was undeniably his child.
"Consider it an unexpected bonus. I hadn't thought that far ahead at the time."
A smile played at the corner of Loki's lips.
At the time, while he had indeed concluded that reclaiming Odin was better than not reclaiming him, he hadn't really considered the specific benefits in detail.
The main motivation had been filial piety — helping his father find an absolutely secure place to sleep.
As for when to redeem him?
That was a good question.
The war against Heimdall should be enough to earn the overwhelming support of Asgard's populace. With Asgard's power flowing into him, consolidating his grip on the throne would pose no problem.
After that, he could bring back novelty items from other worlds, win over a segment of the population, cultivate his own loyalists, and reshape Asgard into the image he wanted.
Then — he could consider whether to redeem Odin.
Even if he didn't redeem him, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, in their script, Odin's death was already written in — they just needed to pin it on Laufey. All Laufey had to do was say it during the battle.
Then he could die.
As for whether others would believe it?
The man was the堂堂 King of the Frost Giants himself. Was the King of the Frost Giants likely to lie to you?
Loki thought to himself.
Of course, all of that was a joke. Redemption was definitely the plan.
At the point when Asgard had been reshaped in his image, when the people of Asgard acknowledged, respected, and even worshipped this king — when Asgard flourished under his governance —
He would redeem Odin and let him witness firsthand just how beautiful and prosperous this Asgard was, under his rule.
And then let him see how comfortably Thor lived on Earth with that mortal woman — the one Loki had been entrusted with.
Just as Thor's expression had changed when he saw Loki lift Mjolnir — Loki wanted to see what expression Odin would wear at that moment.
"I have no interest in your plan. I only want to know — once the war begins, can I slaughter as I please?"
Esdeath's ice-blue pupils flickered with barely contained excitement.
"You may indulge your desire to kill — but you must control the strength you reveal."
"After all, this time the protagonists aren't us, Esdeath."
Aizen adjusted his glasses, offering a gentle smile.
"Right, right — you're far too strong, Esdeath. Save the chance to hone themselves for the rest of us."
Roxie agreed.
"We came here with Jotunheim's sponsorship, earning some points on the side. You three probably don't care for that sort of thing, right?"
Tony Stark looked at Uchiha Madara, Whitebeard, and Vovin with a strange expression.
These guys were already at this level of power — they weren't going to compete with them for points, were they? That would be a disaster. Nobody could outcompete them.
"库啦啦啦! This old man only came for the banquet."
Whitebeard raised his custom-made golden wine cup and burst into laughter.
"My objective is Hela, the Goddess of Death."
Vovin said coolly.
This war naturally couldn't hold his attention. But a god could.
Laufey was Loki's quarry — and also his biological father. Loki naturally wouldn't kill him.
But Hela was fair game.
Nobody would mourn Hela's death.
———
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