After leaving the previous star system, the two Skyblade VII warships resumed their journey through the universe.
Their destination was another massive star system.
Karl's objective remained unchanged.
He intended to continue harvesting stars.
After witnessing the terrifying conceptual powers wielded by the Celestials, Karl had already decided to prepare for future confrontations.
The vast reserves of stellar energy would not only support Vastness's future applications of Conceptual Definition and Cosmic Modification, but would also provide a stable supply of energy for Ganata.
Even after acquiring hundreds of trillions of energy units, Karl still felt that his reserves were insufficient.
His future enemies were simply too powerful.
Soon afterward, the two Skyblade VII warships entered a wormhole passage and vanished into folded space.
...
Several days later, they arrived at a colossal star system.
According to Vastness's calculations, the system contained between twenty and forty billion celestial bodies.
Approximately half of them were stars.
The moment they arrived, Karl personally left the warship.
Vastness immediately assisted him.
Soon afterward, Yan also appeared beside him.
The three began collecting stars at an astonishing speed.
Naturally, the entire star system was sealed beforehand to prevent any Celestial scouts or cosmic observers from detecting their activities.
Without Yan's assistance, collecting twenty billion stars would have required approximately six hours.
With her help, the process was shortened to four.
Once all the stars entered Vastness's dimensional storage space, the Infinite Concept Energy Formula immediately activated.
Three days later, the conversion process was complete.
Two hundred billion stars had ultimately produced two hundred trillion units of usable energy.
The amount was so enormous that Vastness could operate at maximum output continuously for seventy years.
Even Karl felt satisfied with the result.
Then—
A sudden voice interrupted everything.
"Karl!"
"Hurry back!"
"Asgard is under attack!"
Thor's urgent voice echoed through Karl's communicator.
"The enemy has a Single-Universe Level powerhouse—"
The transmission abruptly ended.
Karl's expression instantly changed.
Yan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Without hesitation, both returned to the warship.
...
The moment Karl entered the main hall, he saw Hela.
The Goddess of Death was visibly uneasy.
As the former ruler of Asgard and a being deeply connected to its foundations, she could clearly sense the realm's energy fluctuating violently.
Something serious was happening.
Karl immediately walked over and pulled her into his arms.
"It's alright."
"We're going back now."
Then he turned toward Vastness.
"Initiate ultra-long-range teleportation."
"Destination: Asgard."
"Also notify Tony."
"Thor's in trouble."
[Understood, Sir.]
Blue energy immediately spread across both Skyblade VII warships.
The next moment—
The fleet vanished.
Along with twenty billion harvested stars.
...
At that very moment, a massive war was raging within Asgard.
The invaders were none other than the Olympian Gods.
Led by Zeus himself.
In Marvel's cosmic hierarchy, the Olympians and Asgardians had long been rival pantheons.
Now that Odin had fallen, Zeus saw an opportunity.
After successfully advancing to the Single-Universe Level, his ambitions had expanded dramatically.
He no longer wished to remain confined to Olympus.
He wanted territory.
He wanted authority.
And Asgard was his chosen target.
Several days earlier, he had launched a surprise invasion.
The result was a brutal war.
Thor had personally entered the battlefield from the very beginning.
Unfortunately, Zeus had not fought personally.
Instead, he sat upon a golden throne while watching the conflict unfold.
To him, the battle seemed almost entertaining.
Thor's current strength was already approaching the level of a Skyfather.
Combined with Stormbreaker and Asgard's power, he could barely contend against Skyfather-level opponents.
Unfortunately, Olympus possessed several such beings.
Thor quickly found himself overwhelmed.
Even Loki had entered the battlefield.
Originally, Loki had no interest in participating.
The throne meant little to him.
But the moment he saw Frigga preparing to join the fighting, his expression changed.
The memories of previous tragedies surfaced instantly.
Cold sweat appeared on his back.
Without hesitation, Loki stepped onto the battlefield himself.
No matter what happened, he would never allow Frigga to place herself in danger again.
At this moment, Frigga stood atop Asgard's walls.
Her eyes were filled with worry.
Yet she continued praying for one thing.
Karl's return.
She had already sensed Zeus's power.
The Olympian King had undeniably reached the Single-Universe Level.
However—
His aura still felt weaker than Karl's.
That realization gave her hope.
If Karl returned, Asgard could still be saved.
Boom!
The battlefield shook violently.
Hercules, Zeus's most famous son, slammed Stormbreaker aside with immense strength.
As one of Olympus's greatest warriors, Hercules possessed Skyfather-level combat power.
Thor fought him head-on.
Normally, Thor could have gained the advantage.
Unfortunately, Hercules wasn't alone.
The Olympian pantheon possessed numerous powerful gods.
Every time Thor focused on Hercules, another Olympian would attack from the side.
The battle gradually pushed him onto the defensive.
...
Then everything changed.
Whoosh!
The sky darkened.
Two enormous shadows suddenly appeared above Asgard.
The battlefield froze.
Thor looked upward.
Then he smiled.
Loki visibly relaxed.
Even Heimdall released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Only Zeus's expression darkened.
The Olympian King immediately stood up from his throne.
His wives looked at him in confusion.
They had never seen him react this way before.
But Zeus could already sense it.
Several terrifying presences existed inside those warships.
Each one possessed power comparable to—or even greater than—his own.
And there wasn't just one.
There were several.
At that moment, Zeus finally realized something.
His intelligence had been incomplete.
Very incomplete.
...
The hatches of the first Skyblade VII opened.
Tony Stark shot out first.
Behind him came tens of thousands of Iron Legion armors.
The metallic army filled the sky.
Tony landed directly beside Thor.
Then he offered his hand.
Thor accepted it.
The God of Thunder stood back up.
Only then did he realize that Tony had personally joined the battle.
Above them, tens of thousands of armors simultaneously targeted the Olympian forces.
Although the gods themselves might survive such attacks—
Their armies certainly would not.
Tony's latest armors were no longer powered solely by advanced arc reactors.
They now incorporated stellar energy technology developed aboard the Skyblade VII.
Their firepower far exceeded previous generations.
Before Thor could even speak—
The second warship opened.
Silence spread across the battlefield.
Then Karl appeared.
Beside him stood Yan.
Hela.
The Black Phoenix.
Ganata.
Wanda.
And numerous others.
The group calmly walked through the air.
They crossed the battlefield without hurry.
Eventually, they stopped above Thor and the Asgardian forces.
A magnificent golden throne materialized behind Karl.
He sat down slowly.
Then he looked directly at Zeus.
His expression remained completely calm.
...
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