The dwarves held on under immense pressure, believing firmly that Thor was merely the vanguard.
After all, in past wars, Thor was known throughout the Nine Realms as a reckless brute.
He would often charge into enemy lines alone to wreak havoc before the main army had even gathered.
Faced with Brokk's anxious questioning, Thor froze, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
He couldn't exactly tell these allies who were bleeding and fighting for their lives that Asgard, which claimed to watch over the Nine Realms, had no idea they were being invaded.
That he and his brother had simply run over here just to have the dwarves craft equipment?
Just at that split second of Thor's hesitation.
Corvus Glaive, who had been watching him closely, did not let this fatal opening pass.
"Die!"
Corvus Glaive's agile figure lunged along the ground, his Glaive carving a biting, cold arc as it slashed straight at the side of Thor's neck!
The strike was fast as lightning!
"Look out!"
Brokk caught a glimpse of the danger out of the corner of his eye.
Without a moment's hesitation, he let out a roar and shoved Thor aside.
"Sshhh—!"
The Glaive missed Thor but ruthlessly sliced into Brokk's body.
A terrifying wound, deep enough to expose bone, extended from his left shoulder all the way to his right abdomen.
Brokk's towering body collapsed with a crash, blood staining the ground red.
"No—!!!"
Thor's eyes were wide with rage, his furious roar echoing across the battlefield.
He swung his hands, and a thick bolt of lightning slammed into Corvus Glaive's chest, blasting him dozens of meters away.
Immediately after, Thor slid over to Brokk's side.
"Hold on! You'll be fine!" Thor said, filled with grief.
Brokk looked at Thor with difficulty; there was no blame, only endless expectation.
"Save... Nidavellir..."
Having said that, Brokk's hand fell limply, and he closed his eyes.
"Aaaahhh—!!!"
Thor roared at the sky, white light flashing from his eyes as the thunderous divine power within him surged out of control.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and thunder rumbled.
Violent lightning, centered on Thor, swept outwards in all directions like a storm of destruction.
Within a hundred-meter radius, the enemy troops were instantly vaporized by the terrifying thunder.
But this was only a temporary respite.
As the lightning faded, Thor discovered in despair that the landing ships in the rear were still continuously deploying troops.
The dense, mixed army filled the gap once more, continuing to close in.
Thor watched helplessly as one tall dwarf warrior after another fell under the siege, their blood flowing into rivers.
"Thor! I can't keep killing!"
Loki pulled his dagger from an alien corpse and retreated, panting, to stand back-to-back with Thor.
"We'll be exhausted to death here! Let's retreat!" Loki shouted.
"Shut up!" Thor roared, "Keep killing!"
He would not retreat; the honor of Asgard did not allow him to run at a time like this.
Just as Thor gathered his divine power, preparing to charge again.
He saw a circular portal flickering with golden sparks suddenly appear in the sky ahead.
Thor's eyes widened slightly.
The next second.
A red and blue figure descended from the sky!
"Boom—!!!"
Like a meteor, it slammed heavily into the center of the enemy formation ahead.
The violent Impact sent hundreds of surrounding Outriders and Chitauri soldiers flying into the air.
The dust settled.
Homelander slowly stood up straight, his dark blue suit spotless, his cape snapping in the shockwave.
"Homelander!" Thor shouted in surprise.
Hearing the voice, Homelander turned to look at the blood-covered Thor, smiled slightly, and raised his hand in greeting.
"Hey! Brother, looks like I've arrived just in time."
After the greeting, Homelander began to scan the entire Nidavellir battlefield.
The environment here was unexpected.
It wasn't the mythical Planet landscape from Lord of the Rings he had imagined; it was a super space forging factory built around an aging neutron star.
Massive metal rings, towering furnaces, and crisscrossing energy pipes formed a heavy-metal-style steel World.
Homelander's gaze pierced through the smoke of the battlefield, sweeping over the dwarves who were putting up a desperate resistance, and he quickly made an estimate.
The dwarves still standing and fighting... all in all, there were only about a hundred of them.
Uh... just this many? How much popularity value can I harvest from this? Not even enough to fill the gaps in my teeth?
Homelander, who had expected to make a big profit, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset.
After all... since he was already here.
Plus... Homelander scanned the dense Black Order army and the various interstellar motherships hovering outside the star rings.
Even though there weren't many dwarves, there were plenty of enemies!
Ever since he slaughtered Darkseid's army of Parademons in DC last time, he hadn't experienced this kind of uninhibited mowing-down game for a long time.
Today, he would just use this bunch of blind alien scum to loosen up!
Homelander's eyes were instantly filled with searing light.
Hunting time!
His body left a long afterimage as he slammed into the dense enemy formation.
Two beams of Heat Vision turned into two indestructible swords of light, sweeping back and forth across the battlefield.
Countless alien soldiers were cut in half at the waist.
Awesome!
Homelander shouted in exhilaration, recklessly enjoying the thrill of crushing everything.
Those dwarf warriors, who were already physically exhausted and covered in wounds, stared in astonishment at the incredible scene before them.
That man who had suddenly appeared, relying solely on his own strength, had carved out a massive vacuum zone in the tidal wave of enemy troops!
This destructive power boosted their morale, which had previously been in despair!
Thor also excitedly raised his arm, pointing at Homelander, who was charging in and out of the enemy lines, and shouted loudly:
"That is the God of our Asgard! The God of Mankind!"
Finally free from the guilt of being powerless, Thor felt immensely proud at this moment.
Seeing Homelander display such divine might, he felt a sense of reflected glory.
[Notification! Gained special popularity value + 10,000! (From Thor Odinson)]
The dwarves heard Thor's cry and, looking at that invincible figure, their cheers suddenly grew louder.
"God of Mankind!"
"God of Mankind!!"
Although there were only a hundred or so dwarves left, their thunderous voices converged, echoing throughout the entire star ring.
[Notification! Gained special popularity value + 20,000! (From Eitri)]
Listening to the uniform, fanatical cheers from below, Homelander felt a wave of satisfaction inside.
This was the effect he wanted.
No matter the quantity, fanatical faith was always the most delicious.
After clearing a large area of enemies on the ground, Homelander set his sights on the Black Order mothership anchored outside the star ring.
"Swish!"
Homelander forcefully broke through Nidavellir's artificial atmosphere and charged into space.
He flew at high speed, grazing the massive hull of the mothership.
The destructive rays in his eyes were at full power, cutting lines of red death into the sturdy hull armor.
Afterwards, Homelander retracted his Heat Vision, turned his body, put his hands behind his back, and flew back towards the Nidavellir star ring below.
"Boom—!
The light of the explosion illuminated the starry sky.
The dark mothership exploded behind Homelander, turning into a massive space firework.
Homelander didn't even look back.
Because, real men...
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