Over the following days, Karl and his people temporarily settled in Asgard.
Zeus's youngest son, who had previously been trapped inside a dimensional prison created by Vast Ocean, eventually met the same fate as the rest of the Olympian male gods.
With that, every male member of the Olympian Pantheon had been eliminated.
Only the goddesses remained.
The once-revered Olympian goddesses—beings worshipped across countless civilizations and worlds—were now sealed within the depths of Karl's Shadow World.
Their former glory no longer held any meaning.
From this point onward, they existed solely as Karl's captives and future resources.
...
Meanwhile, Hela had been experiencing a different sort of problem.
Ever since the battle ended, Frigga had dragged her away almost every day.
Each time Hela returned, her face was noticeably red.
The reason was simple.
Frigga kept asking whether she was pregnant yet.
As the former All-Mother of Asgard and a mother herself, Frigga seemed remarkably invested in that particular topic.
Even Hela, who had once ruled through death and conquest, found herself unable to withstand such questioning.
Every time she escaped, she immediately retreated back to Karl's side.
...
On the other hand, Thor and Loki had been spending most of their time in Asgard's taverns.
Tony and Howard often accompanied them.
Since obtaining Zeus's artifacts, the two Asgardian princes had become unbearable.
Loki at least tried to maintain some dignity.
Thor, however, had completely abandoned any attempt at restraint.
Whenever he got drunk, he would proudly take out Zeus's Thunderbolt and show it off to anyone nearby.
The expression on his face practically screamed:
"Look at my new divine weapon."
Even veteran Asgardian warriors were beginning to avoid him.
...
At this moment, Karl sat in one of Asgard's royal gardens.
Yan, Dark Phoenix, Ganata, and Hela sat beside him.
Nearby, La stood quietly in magnificent royal attire, serving tea.
She performed her duties with flawless precision.
...
Karl placed his teacup down.
"Vast Ocean, use Skyblade VII as the foundation and begin designing a new generation of warships."
"The overall scale should be at least ten times larger."
"All weapons systems must undergo a complete upgrade."
"I want their offensive power to reach the level required to threaten Celestial-class entities."
...
Immediately, Vast Ocean responded.
[Understood, Sir.]
[Importing Skyblade VII blueprint data...]
[Beginning structural simulations...]
[Beginning energy-core simulations...]
[Beginning weapon-system simulations...]
[Beginning computational-core simulations...]
[Beginning dimensional-engine simulations...]
[Estimated design and construction time: twelve months.]
...
Karl nodded.
Twelve months was acceptable.
Under normal circumstances, Vast Ocean could have completed the task much faster.
However, the current project involved upgrading every aspect of the warship.
Materials.
Energy systems.
Computing architecture.
Weapons.
Defense networks.
Dimensional engines.
Everything had to be redesigned from the ground up.
Furthermore, Vast Ocean was still maintaining large-scale concealment measures against potential Celestial detection.
A considerable amount of computational power remained occupied.
Therefore, twelve months was already extremely efficient.
...
"You seem rather anxious."
Yan smiled faintly.
Then she stood up and sat directly on Karl's lap.
Her golden eyes stared into his.
The distance between their faces was barely a few centimeters.
...
"Aren't you going to tell us why?"
"Or is our great universe conqueror finally feeling pressure?"
...
Dark Phoenix.
Hela.
Ganata.
Even La.
All turned to look at Karl.
...
Karl smiled.
His hands naturally settled around Yan's waist.
Then he spoke calmly.
"The Celestials are far stronger than most people realize."
"I've only encountered a small portion of them."
"Their hierarchy is extremely deep."
"The leaders among them are far more dangerous than ordinary Celestials."
...
Karl's expression became more serious.
"The strongest among them may already possess power approaching the multiversal level."
"And among the countless Celestials spread throughout reality, there are almost certainly individuals stronger than those I've already fought."
...
"If we fail to grow stronger quickly enough, the best outcome might be hiding inside the Shadow World forever."
"And I have no intention of spending eternity hiding."
...
The atmosphere became quieter.
Everyone understood the seriousness of Karl's words.
...
Then Yan narrowed her eyes.
"You still haven't explained the goddesses."
...
Karl laughed.
As expected.
That was the real question.
...
"I killed the male Olympian gods."
"The goddesses were sealed inside the Shadow World."
"They'll become future resources."
"That's all."
...
After hearing the explanation, Yan finally nodded.
She seemed satisfied.
Then she smiled slightly.
"If anyone should be jealous, it would be Phoenix and Hela."
...
Dark Phoenix rolled her eyes.
Hela looked equally speechless.
They had done absolutely nothing and still ended up being teased.
...
Karl simply tightened his hold on Yan's waist, preventing her from escaping.
The group continued drinking tea beneath the golden sunlight of Asgard.
For a brief moment, the atmosphere felt unusually peaceful.
...
At the same time, Vast Ocean had already begun construction.
A massive independent dimensional factory was established inside a specially created pocket dimension.
Countless streams of crimson stellar energy flowed into it.
Advanced cosmic alloys were continuously forged.
Dimensional reactors began taking shape.
The first phase of the new flagship project officially commenced.
...
During his stay in Asgard, Karl also instructed Vast Ocean to completely digitize Odin's archives.
The value of those records was immeasurable.
They contained not only Odin's personal research.
There were also notes left behind by previous kings of Asgard.
Bor's records.
Ancient observations of cosmic phenomena.
Accounts of dimensional wars.
Knowledge accumulated across countless millennia.
For Karl, this was an invaluable treasure trove.
...
A month later, Karl finally prepared to leave.
Before departing, he left behind a sealed portion of his strongest attack for Thor.
It would serve as a final trump card should Asgard ever face another crisis.
...
During this month, Hela's relationship with Frigga had improved significantly.
The hostility that once existed between them had weakened.
Although neither would openly admit it, both understood that things were changing.
...
Before leaving, Hela quietly handed Frigga a communication device.
Then, without waiting for a response, she immediately turned around and fled back toward the warship.
Frigga could only smile helplessly.
...
Soon afterward, the two Skyblade VII warships activated their concealment systems.
Blue dimensional energy enveloped both vessels.
The barrier surrounding Asgard was removed.
Then the warships disappeared.
...
Across the Nine Realms, many civilizations had witnessed the arrival of the invading Olympians.
They had also witnessed the month-long sealing of Asgard.
Therefore, when the seal finally disappeared and Asgard remained completely intact, countless rulers became alarmed.
Particularly among the Vanir.
Their vigilance toward Asgard rose to an unprecedented level.
...
After leaving Asgard, Karl immediately resumed gathering stellar energy.
The reserves accumulated previously were sufficient only for Vast Ocean's standard operation.
Now that a new generation of super-warships was being constructed, energy consumption would increase exponentially.
Additional resources were essential.
...
To Karl's surprise, Yan personally participated in the design process.
Although she did not interfere with manufacturing, she helped shape many aspects of the vessel's internal structure.
...
When Karl reviewed the preliminary blueprint, he found himself momentarily speechless.
At the center of the flagship's main palace sat an enormous royal throne.
Elegant.
Majestic.
Radiating supreme authority.
...
The design looked remarkably similar to the throne once used by Holy Kesha within the Heavenly Court of Merlot.
...
Karl glanced at Yan.
Yan calmly looked away.
As if nothing had happened.
...
Karl could only smile.
After all, she had spent thousands of years in that universe.
Even now, some memories could never truly be forgotten.
So he chose not to object.
...
The construction of the next generation warship continued silently within the dimensional factory.
And somewhere in the depths of the universe—
The hunt for power had only just begun.
...
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