Although they were biological father and son, not a shred of warmth existed between the two upon their meeting. There wasn't even the courtesy of putting on a theatrical display.
Laufey fundamentally looked down on Loki as a son. Ever since Loki was born, his physique—which failed to measure up to other Frost Giants—made Laufey decide that this child would only ever be his disgrace.
If it weren't for Odin, Loki, as an abandoned infant, would have been eaten by the wild beasts near the temple over a thousand years ago.
Even though Loki currently held the authority of Asgard, Laufey didn't alter his perspective because of it.
He merely wanted to take back the Casket of Ancient Winters from Loki's hands and lead his people back to Jotunheim. After that, their father-son bond could be thoroughly severed.
As for Loki, he detested his biological father to the absolute bone. In fact, in his originally designated plan, what he superficially negotiated with Laufey was for Laufey to slaughter Odin, assisting Loki in becoming the true God King.
But behind the scenes, his genuine plan was actually to personally execute this biological father right in front of his adoptive mother, Frigga, to prove his absolute loyalty to Asgard.
However, he had changed his mind now. He didn't want this biological father who had abandoned him to die that easily, so... before killing him, there was no harm in exploiting this waste one more time!
"Listen, if you want to get your hands on the Casket of Ancient Winters, you must do one more thing for me."
"What thing?" Laufey asked, bewildered.
"Go to Midgard right now, and bring a mortal named Peter Parker before me." Loki held the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hands, speaking with an arrogant demeanor: "I don't care what kind of methods you employ to accomplish this; as long as you can bring him here, this item is yours."
"This is different from our very first agreement."
"So what? This item is currently in my hands; if you want to obtain it, you must do exactly as I say." Loki put on a face of pure arrogance.
The look Laufey directed toward Loki was absolutely not that of a father looking at his own child, yet he still spoke up after taking a deep breath: "You must guarantee to me that this is the absolute last time you alter the price!"
"Of course~" Loki said, "of course" with his mouth, but what he was actually thinking in his heart was...
Of course it's not the last time; otherwise, why on earth do you think I'm called the God of Mischief?
After casting a deep glance at Loki, Laufey ultimately chose to comply: "Warriors, we leave."
Watching the silhouette of Laufey leading the massive army of Frost Giant warriors depart, Loki couldn't resist licking his lips.
Accursed mortal, since you refuse to place the successors of two God Kings in your eyes, then let me see exactly how much capability you have, and whether you can defeat the King of the Frost Giants altogether just like Odin did!
Accompanied by the radiance of the Bifrost, the Warriors Three and Sif descended right then and there.
Even though Thor was currently stripped of his divine power, Sif, as a childhood playmate who grew up with Thor, still relied on her outstanding sensory capabilities to search out Thor's location.
"Thor!"
Confined inside the isolation zone, Thor heard this familiar voice and saw the familiar faces of the four, instantly acting as if injected with chicken blood, snapping up from the ground violently.
"How did you guys manage to come here?" Thor rushed to the edge of the isolation zone, extending his hands, wishing he could instantly pull them into his embrace.
Volstagg took a step forward, his muscle-bound, large arm instantly bending the iron bars of the cell, subsequently laughing wildly as he patted Thor's shoulder. The force was so immense it nearly shattered Thor's frame.
"To bring you back to the Golden Realm, of course! My old friend!"
"But... I fundamentally don't possess the qualification. I vexed father to death, and was permanently exiled as a condition for the truce..."
The excitement within Thor's eyes rapidly dissipated, leaving behind nothing but complete despondency. "Perhaps you guys should also leave immediately, before anyone discovers you snuck out to see me."
"Thor, you've been deceived!" Hogun couldn't resist speaking up, piercing straight through Loki's lie.
"That's right! Loki lied to you!" Sif stated concisely and comprehensively what Loki had been doing back in Asgard: "The All-Father has merely fallen into a slumber, but Loki seized this opportunity to aggressively manipulate authority. He wants to claim the throne; he wants to become the sole king of Asgard!"
Upon listening, Thor was completely dumbfounded. Loki... had lied to him? Father wasn't dead! This information overload was simply too massive, leaving him completely unsure for a moment whether he should be happy or furious!
Just as he didn't know how to face this issue, Hogun spoke with a face full of sincerity: "Thor, wake up. If you still can't return to Asgard and lead us to overthrow that fellow, Asgard will ultimately be destroyed at Loki's hands!"
Hogun's words finally caused Thor to snap back to his senses, and he began to bellow furiously: "Did he honestly believe he could deceive everyone? I am returning to Asgard right now, and I will pierce through his lies to his face!"
As Thor spoke, he was about to charge outward. But right at this moment, he stopped his footsteps once more.
His gaze subconsciously glanced toward the imprisoned Jane Foster not far away. That mortal girl had given him warmth and trust during his most destitute moments. He couldn't simply walk away like this.
"Could you guys, by the way, also rescue that girl out of here?" Thor pointed toward Jane Foster's direction, a hint of entreaty laced in his tone.
Sif and the Warriors Three exchanged glances. Although they were somewhat bewildered as to why Thor was this obsessed over a mortal girl, they ultimately nodded their heads anyway.
"Very well, since it is your request, Thor, we shall naturally comply." Volstagg patted his chest, putting on a front of boundless righteousness.
However, before they could even commence their actions, a voice that practically begged to be beaten echoed from not far away.
"I regret to inform you all that on Earth, jailbreaking is absolutely not permitted!"
Before the words fully fell, Peter's silhouette appeared before them soundlessly, looking exactly like a dean blocking students cutting class at the back wall of a school.
Witnessing that someone actually dared to obstruct them, the complexions of the Warriors Three and Sif instantly turned grim.
"Mortal, you shouldn't point fingers and order people around regarding the matters of gods." Volstagg let out a cold snort, approaching Peter's face like a wild bull, his finger—which was easily as thick as a carrot—poking against Peter's shoulder over and over again: "My meaning is, you fundamentally don't possess the qualification!"
Facing Volstagg's ridicule, and before Peter could even make a move, Mjolnir—faithfully protecting its master—transformed into a streak of flowing light and flew over at extreme speed.
Mjolnir was as fast as a meteor, smashing into Volstagg's massive belly at a speed that Sif and the others completely failed to react to. The terrifying, monstrous force caused Volstagg's robust form to trace a flawless parabola in mid-air.
Then, accompanied by a succession of thunderous crashes, his body smashed through walls one after another, dragging out a long trench on the ground.
Encountering a heavy strike of this caliber while being entirely unguarded was something even Volstagg—the most thick-skinned and heavily armored among the Asgardian warriors—couldn't endure.
He didn't even have time to let out a single scream before making a choking sound, rolling his eyes, and fainting dead out cold. He successfully acquired a high-quality, baby-like sleep...
As for Peter, under the dumbfounded stares of Sif and the others, and the heart-wrenching, despondent gaze of Thor, he lightly patted the frame of Mjolnir:
"It truly is a good hammer~ I want to return you to a certain someone less and less now."
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