On Earth, after Heisenberg bid farewell to the Skrull who had come to report, a week flew by in a hurry. During that time, Heisenberg had been fully prepared to take out Captain Marvel! But unfortunately... Ahem, anyway... Right up until the Asgardians were sent back to the Golden Palace by Heisenberg, Marvel never showed her face. Seeing this, Heisenberg, who had wanted a bit of exercise, put Captain Marvel completely out of his mind.
With the Asgardians gone from Earth, the entire planet suddenly became busy. Countless soldiers and mercenaries threw themselves into hunting down the last few thousand Chitauri. Only a scattered handful of Chitauri actually remained, hiding in nearly every remote hollow across the central United States, which made the pursuit a real headache. But these isolated, straggling Chitauri no longer posed a threat to Earth, sparing humanity countless casualties.
Leaving the Chitauri aside, Heisenberg's subordinates were hardly idle. The Nuclear Gang's sphere of influence rapidly expanded from just New York City to a full six major cities in the surrounding area. Even Washington, D.C., saw Nuclear Gang territory springing up. At the same time, thanks to hosting so many guests from distant major cities like Hollywood and Las Vegas during the banquet, numerous Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives took on gangster work as well. Through those connections, the Nuclear Gang was spread to nearly every large city. Members openly flying Heisenberg's banner quickly won recognition from countless local citizens. The Nuclear Gang entered a period of vigorous, rapid-fire expansion.
As for Heisenberg himself, after basking in the sun for a few more days, he left behind Earth's methodical expansion and came to Asgard, the territory he had only recently acquired.
It was easy to see that Asgardians were exceptionally good workers. Their formidable physiques gave them building speeds far surpassing humans. In just a dozen or so days, the Asgardian city had already been completely restored. Even the magnificent Golden Palace was nearly finished with its repairs. When Heisenberg, dressed in a black trench coat, arrived at the great hall, the carved beams and painted rafters were largely complete, with only a large number of painters still working on the ceiling murals and carvings.
At that moment, Hela was sitting on the throne with an extremely displeased look on her face. Upon seeing Heisenberg, she let out a huff and rose from the throne in frustration. Without waiting for Heisenberg to speak, she began venting her anger.
"I really never imagined that in just five thousand years, Asgard's warriors would turn into a bunch of overgrown babies who do nothing but drink and brag!"
Saying this, she came before Heisenberg and spoke to him seriously. "You need to be careful, my King. Those warriors' combat strength is inferior even to stonemasons from five thousand years ago. Don't think you can conquer the universe with such worthless drunkards!"
Hearing this, Heisenberg asked with interest, "So?"
"So don't interrupt the training I'm putting them through. I request that starting today, Asgard implements a total prohibition. Until they satisfy me, they won't touch a single drop of liquor!"
"Mhm, you are their general now, and their mentor as well. So ordinary military discipline like this, you don't need to report to me," Heisenberg said, and these words made Hela nod with satisfaction.
"Good. I'm going to drill these bastards thoroughly for a while. The reason Asgard's honor has been lost in this era is precisely because…"
"Precisely because Odin wasn't strong enough, and neither were you, my dear sister!"
A voice suddenly came from the palace entrance, making Hela glare furiously in that direction. Loki walked over with leisurely steps, came before Heisenberg, and gave a slight bow. "Greetings to you, my King."
"Damn Loki, you goddamn bastard, you actually dare show your face before me!" The moment she saw Loki, Hela exploded with rage. She abruptly appeared in front of Loki and reached out to grab his collar.
Heisenberg frowned and moved slightly. In the next instant, he caught Hela's wrist in his hand. Seeing Heisenberg intervene, Hela gritted her teeth in displeasure, then continued cursing at Loki.
"If someone hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known that it was you, you bastard, who destroyed the Bifrost, and that it was also you, you bastard, who brought the Chitauri into the Nine Realms!"
"Wait!" Loki raised a hand disdainfully, cutting off Hela's words. "I must offer a rebuttal, dear sister. Regarding the Chitauri I brought, didn't that cause Thanos to lose a significant legion? Not just a legion—Thanos also lost the Mind Stone. That loss is enough to give us an advantage in our future war against him. What's more, I brought His Majesty, bringing Asgard a king truly worthy of it! Most importantly, it was Thor who destroyed the Bifrost, not me!"
"Ha, you still have the nerve to argue back. Even I know what kind of person Thor is, don't you? Whatever mistakes a fool makes, I can't be bothered to blame him, because that's already the limit of his ability! But you, adopted or not, I appreciate your brain. In fact, I think you're the true biological son of Odin! How could a child of Odin be as stupid as Thor? Besides, you and I have the same hair color and the same aesthetic!"
Saying this, Hela pulled her hand free from Heisenberg's grip, then jabbed her finger hard into Loki's chest.
"Listen up, you damn bastard. I don't care how others see you. In my eyes, you're just not diligent and hardworking enough! Asgard has a hundred things waiting to be rebuilt. Odin and Thor turned a once-driven realm into a bunch of mediocre wastes! So you must put in the effort and make up for your mistakes. If you don't want me to bash your brains out and smear them on the wall as paint, then work with me to revive this divine kingdom. Of course, you could also go like Thor—to fucking Midgard, find some fucking pet-like woman, and play fucking love games like a lunatic!!! What a damn fool!"
With that, Hela withdrew her hand and took a long breath. Then she returned to stand before Heisenberg, giving him a helpless, wry smile. "I've been rather vexed lately; I hope you'll forgive my outburst, Your Majesty. I haven't asked yet what orders you have?"
"Orders? Nothing in particular." Heisenberg shook his head and naturally sat back on his throne. He stroked the armrest twice, then rested his elbow on it and propped his chin on his hand. Adopting a posture like that of a fleet admiral, Heisenberg said quietly, "I plan to settle the matter of my armor. Do you have any suggestions?"
As soon as he finished, Hela immediately nodded. "Your Majesty, you've finally gotten to the main point. As the new King of the Nine Realms, I've been worried that when you go to war in the future, you'll still be wearing those worthless Midgardian clothes! That would make the entire universe look down on Asgard!"
Listening to Hela, Heisenberg innocently glanced at his attire. This was an outfit sent by Hill, costing around two hundred thousand dollars a set—clearly not worthless… But considering the armor Hela and the others wore, if you converted it to Earth currency…
"Yeah, you're right. A good set of armor is necessary. So, back to the topic we discussed earlier—do you have any suggestions for my armor?" Heisenberg asked.
Upon hearing this, Hela promptly offered her suggestion. "Although I'm not particularly fond of that little wench Frigga, we have indeed discussed Your Majesty's armor these past few days. We both believe that using the Eternal Flame as the core, Surtur's Twilight Sword as the material, and having the dwarves of Nidavellir forge it, we can create the armor most suited for Your Majesty!"
"Mm." After hearing this, Heisenberg thought that Asgardian women really knew their stuff. This single suggestion was just like a quest-giver NPC in a game, laying out where to collect the reward, what materials were needed, and even which monster dropped said materials!
So Heisenberg made up his mind on the spot. "Since both of you think it's fine, we'll do it that way. You continue with your work; I'll go meet Surtur." As he spoke, Heisenberg stood up, intending to go find Heimdall. Although Heisenberg could use the Bifrost, he still needed Heimdall to point the way to Surtur's location.
But he had only taken two steps before Hela grabbed him. Heisenberg looked at Hela in confusion, while Hela shot a fierce glare at Loki nearby. Seeing this, Loki shrugged helplessly. "Don't glare at me, I'm leaving right now, giving you two some privacy. Tsk tsk…!"
"You…!!!" Hela was extremely indignant, but she had serious business on her mind and had no time to bicker with Loki.
After Loki left, Hela reluctantly released Heisenberg's arm and said softly, "Your Majesty, before your armor, there's one more matter I must discuss with you!" As she spoke, she glanced toward the residential quarters behind the great hall. "Regarding the queen, I feel it's inappropriate to let Frigga continue in that role. After all, she is Odin's woman. Now that Odin has abdicated, for her to remain in that position…" She glanced cautiously at Heisenberg before continuing, "It's improper."
Hearing Hela's point, Heisenberg thought briefly and said, "She has two sons who are gods of Asgard, and she has countless supporters within the Asgardian army. Two-thirds of the goddesses in the palace have been her companions for over three thousand years. A goddess like that—I have no reason not to make use of her influence!"
"But that is the position of the queen. Letting a widowed goddess continue to sit in that seat, don't you think…?"
"I only feel fortunate, because her presence keeps the position of Asgard's queen from sitting empty. If she doesn't serve as queen, do you hope I'll stuff some Earth woman into that seat, or shall I toss you onto it?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hela jolted. She hastily leaned back a little, putting some distance between herself and Heisenberg. At the same time, she pursed her lips and let out a disdainful snort. "My talent lies only on the bloody battlefield. Glory and victory are my sole pursuits!"
"So go train your warriors, then pursue your glory. Without a suitable candidate, let Frigga remain as queen."
"But I do have a suitable candidate, Your Majesty. What do you think of Sif? After meeting the girl, I truly saw the bearing of a Valkyrie in her. I think she is more suitable than Frigga…"
"I think you're even more suitable. When I get back from Surtur, either don't bring up the matter of the queen, or do it yourself! That's settled!" Heisenberg hastily cut off this overly enthusiastic matchmaker and headed toward Heimdall without looking back.
Women and such—as long as they didn't make him get married, they were all good women! As for marriage, was that as fun as Surtur? Impossible!
/-\
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