Chapter 417 Ymir, do you dare to call me dad? (6.5k)
“Crash~”
The cold chaotic water hit the ground covered with layers of frozen soil. A warship as tall as a mountain passed through the thick fog and slowly docked.
It’s finally here!
Before the ship came to a complete stop, several nimble figures could not wait to open the cabin, lower the baffle, and rush towards this new world.
However, after observing for a while, they were greatly disappointed by what they saw.
This is a cold and dark place, with countless snowflakes and ice crystals flying around. The drifting snow and dense clouds cover the surroundings like a thick fog. There is not a trace of light, only darkness, eerie and freezing cold.
At the same time, the ground under your feet is covered with layers of permafrost and ice, which is as hard as iron when you step on it. It is surrounded by steep glaciers with sharp curves that are daunting.
“A-choo!”
Jason, who led the team out of the cabin to check, took only a few steps before he couldn't help sneezing violently. His body shrank into a ball, and a layer of dark blue frost formed on his eyebrows and hair.
Feeling that his blood and soul were almost frozen, Jason hurriedly spoke tremblingly to remind:
"Cast...cast a spell...quickly..."
Upon seeing this, Orpheus, the son of Apollo who was accompanying him, quickly reached for the harp in his arms, ready to summon light and fire to dispel the biting cold for his teammates.
However, as soon as he exerted force with his fingertips, the frozen and brittle strings broke, almost cutting off Orpheus' entire finger.
Helplessly, he could only use all his strength to mobilize the Apollo blood in his body.
Golden flames suddenly burst out from Orpheus' body, bringing a touch of warmth and light to this cold and dark world.
But before the surrounding Argonauts could actually feel the warmth, they were shocked to find that the divine flame on Orpheus' body was swaying violently in the cold current, and soon became as weak as a candle in the wind.
Orpheus was a little bit skeptical and pushed the power of Apollo in his body to the extreme, trying to keep the divine flame burning.
However, as a cold current blew past, the golden flame burning on his body turned into a strange ice blue color.
After a moment, the flames stopped jumping and turned into clusters of burning dark blue ice crystals.
Orpheus felt as if struck by lightning and vomited a mouthful of divine blood mixed with ice particles. His pale face became listless and his skin was gradually frozen into a necrotic blue-gray color. His body fell straight to the ground.
Fortunately, a hand reached out from behind and gently helped him up, and the strong warmth melted the coldness that had invaded his body.
As his body gradually regained consciousness, Orpheus looked half ashamed, half gratefully, at the person who appeared behind him;
"Thank you, sir..."
Lorne nodded slightly, glanced at Jason, whose face was also frozen blue, and said in a deep voice: "Orpheus is injured and needs someone to take care of him. You take him back to the ship first, and I and the others will continue to explore forward."
Upon hearing this, Jason felt as if he had been pardoned. He hastily and tremblingly helped Orpheus up beside him and rushed towards the Argo, which was protected by a large magic spell, as if fleeing for his life.
In front of the ship, the god of travelers, Hermes, led the two little guys who were almost frozen into popsicles into the house. Then he came to Lorne's side with the staff of commerce, looked at the surging ice and snow storms around him, frowned deeply and said, "Isn't the climate in this damn place too extreme? Even Apollo's blood can't withstand it?"
Lorne rolled his eyes at Hermes and snorted coldly: "I want to ask you, is this Egypt?"
"Well, it's an Age of Gods after all, right?" Hermes smiled awkwardly. Under Lorn's unfriendly gaze, he shrank his neck and coughed softly, "How about we go back? Try another route?"
Hearing this, Loen looked at Hermes with disdain: "Are you sure you can find the Age of Gods you mentioned by taking another route?"
Hermes smiled but said nothing, his eyes a little vague.
He had only vaguely heard the name of Thoth, the god of wisdom. It was purely a coincidence. If he really knew how to get to the Egyptian Age of Gods, he would have explored the way himself long ago. He would not have left such a big pie to outsiders.
"Let's go, let's go to the front and take a look." Luo En said helplessly, and added a classic self-consolation, "Since we are here..."
Hermes nodded in agreement, then waved the Staff of Commerce, blessing everyone with extreme speed, and then took the initiative to lead the way.
With the blessing of the Lord's power, the team's marching speed instantly increased several times. Braving the severe cold and blizzard, the heroes began to gradually explore the depths of the continent.
Ten kilometers, twenty kilometers, thirty kilometers...
One hundred kilometers, five hundred kilometers, one thousand kilometers...
As the exploration continued, Hermes' face gradually turned blue.
This damn place is a new era of gods, and everything is very primitive. Not only is it full of severe cold and storms, but the environment becomes worse the further you go inward.
After advancing about 1,000 kilometers, Hermes, who had been providing protection to other Divine Blood heroes, began to feel a little overwhelmed.
Helplessly, Hermes stopped and turned back to remind Lorne:
"We can't go any further, otherwise the return trip will be a big problem!"
Loen looked at the Argonauts, who all looked exhausted and covered in frost. After pondering for a moment, he made an arrangement:
"Then you take them back to the ship to rest first, I will go and take a look myself."
"good!"
Hermes nodded quickly in agreement and breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really afraid that this person would insist on taking them into the endless snow and wind to find the so-called "opportunity".
After all, not every hero or god is suitable to be an indomitable pioneer, especially in such a harsh environment of the Age of Gods.
Moreover, this is just the beginning of the journey and there is such a powerful obstacle. Who knows what dangers are waiting for them ahead. He doesn't want to fall in this foreign land for no reason.
When Hermes was about to return with his team, Lorne seemed to remember something and stopped him. He handed a Gorgon emblem to the God of Travelers and said in a deep voice, "Take this with you as well. It resonates with my divinity. As long as this thing is still working, it proves that I'm fine. You just wait on the shore."
Watching Hermes take the token without hesitation, turn around and gradually disappear in the wind and snow with the Argonauts, Lorne nodded secretly.
Although they were in the same boat, there was no guarantee that the other party would be completely on the same page with him.
So to be on the safe side, Loen naturally needed to leave himself a backup plan:
The Gorgon emblem was not only a token that resonated with his divinity, but also a spatial coordinate that allowed him to remotely locate the Argo.
At that time, no matter if he encountered unresolved troubles on the road or any changes occurred on the ship, he would be able to rush back as soon as possible.
Okay, the retreat is ready, it’s time to move forward.
Loen calmed his mind, looked up at the light band in the center of the continent that was a mixture of flames and cold fog. He spread his golden wings behind him, and like a dazzling meteor, he passed through layers of turbulent cold fog and moved forward firmly and rapidly towards his goal.
The golden flame drew a brilliant path of light in the icy blue frost, moving straight forward.
One day, two days, three days...
January, March, half a year...
This cold frost and fog seem to have no end, and this dark world seems to have no end.
Emptiness and silence seem to be the only background colors here.
I don’t know how long it took, but the bone-chilling coldness gradually disappeared, and was replaced by a steaming heat.
On a piece of frozen soil where frost has melted, a lush new bud breaks through the ground.
As the green came into his eyes, Lorne's dazed thoughts gradually became clear, and his brain began to work jerkily like a rusty gear.
"Bang!"
It folded its luminous wings and landed in front of the new stamen with its frosty body, and a rich vitality filled its face.
Loen felt as if he was soaking in a hot spring and couldn't help but let out a comfortable moan. The layers of dark blue ice on his body gradually melted away, and the internal and external trauma caused by frost, wind pressure, and ether tides along the way gradually disappeared.
The almost dried-up divine power in his body turned into a continuously flowing stream, quickly filling up.
Hiss~
This creative force is so strong!
When Loen came back to his senses, he took a breath and looked eagerly at the lush new bud growing on the frozen soil.
From the appearance, it seems to be a sapling of an ash tree. Its three roots penetrate deep into the frozen soil, constantly absorbing rich ether factors, providing the trunk with a constant supply of vitality. Its nine branches spread out in all directions, containing a huge creative force. The leaves seem to be a cluster of vast stars, and the branches seem to be nurturing a fruit called [World].
Such a remarkable appearance and features made Loen think of a sacred object of creation in a certain lineage of gods.
The World Tree - Yggdrasil!
This is the foundation of the Norse Age of Gods and the lifeline that brought prosperity to the Norse pantheon. It once nurtured and supported the legendary nine Nordic kingdoms on its own.
But unfortunately, this ash sapling is currently only about one meter tall, far less majestic and magnificent than what is recorded in the myth.
So, this is the Age of the Nordic Gods?
It looks like it was just formed not long ago?
After a brief thought, Loen looked at the lingering cold fog to the north of the World Tree and the never-extinguishing flames to the south, and immediately confirmed his speculation.
That’s right, this world burning with endless icy flames is the legendary Age of the Nordic Gods.
Compared with the Greek and Egyptian gods that have already matured, it is still very young, like a newborn baby.
The actual documentary records also vaguely match these characteristics. The origin of Greek mythology is in the centuries BC, and the formation of Norse mythology is relatively late. It began to become popular in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and other places around the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. It was not until around the 7th century AD that it was spread to Iceland and other places with a group of immigrants heading north, and it was completely complete.
I see……
Loen nodded slightly and looked at the sapling of World Tree with burning eyes.
However, he quickly frowned.
Due to the intrusion of an outsider, the World Tree, which was still in its seedling stage, lost a lot of nutrients, causing it to become sluggish, and even the branches and leaf veins on one side began to turn withered and yellow.
Loen looked down at himself with full health and mana, and sighed helplessly.
The World Tree withered after just a few breaths. It was unrealistic to expect to use it to deal with Zeus.
As if sensing the malicious intent of an outsider, the young world tree's leaves and branches rustled, its trunk trembled, and its three roots extended under the frozen soil, striving to draw the surrounding ether to prolong its life.
But the land is too barren and the environment is too harsh.
The frost and fog that linger all year round and the flames that never go out have almost wiped out life here and made the growth of the World Tree extremely difficult.
After a brief thought, Loen took out the Holy Grail from the magic array and sprinkled the divine blood that had been transformed into divine liquid onto the roots of the World Tree seedling. The three thick root veins immediately absorbed the golden divine liquid like a sponge and transported it to the main body.
Suddenly, the young World Tree trembled with joy, and its trunk grew taller and taller, suddenly increasing by dozens of meters, and its breath of life increased several times.
It works!
Loen's eyes lit up, and as he looked around at the endless frost and flames, he couldn't help but come up with a brilliant idea.
——【Chaos】 is disordered, and 【World】 is orderly, so the more mature the Age of Gods, the more perfect the order.
——If he could artificially reconcile the power of this new Age of Gods and transform the chaotic ether into absorbable nutrients, could he accelerate the development of the Age of Gods and the growth of the World Tree?
Coincidentally, the various divine patterns he learned were the keys to constructing order with his own will.
Thinking of this, Luo Enfu was inspired and he no longer hesitated. He used the Spear of Nation-building as a pen and the divine blood as ink to engrave divine patterns on the branches and leaves of the World Tree.
“Boom!”
As if sensing the coming of an unprecedented change, the sky of the Nordic God Age was thundering and winds were blowing violently. Sounds like howling and roaring kept pouring into Loen's brain.
But even though his consciousness was constantly challenged and his blood was boiling, he did not stop. Instead, he wrote more and more anxiously and faster and faster.
The appearance of the divine patterns became more and more casual and arbitrary, gradually deviating from the inherent image in Loen's memory, and becoming ones that seemed to be true but were extremely in line with the characteristics of this land.
Finally, the final touch was completed.
“Buzz!”
The 24 ancient inscriptions of the Age of Gods engraved on the sapling of the World Tree trembled in unison. A brilliant aurora broke through the boundless chaos, shattering the frost, mist and flames that enveloped the surroundings.
Suddenly, the entire Nordic Age of Gods underwent earth-shaking changes.
In the northern foggy kingdom of Niflheim, a spring called Hvergelmir gushed out water violently, and under the influence of the cold current, the spring water turned into ice and snow. The accumulated ice and snow became more and more, and thicker and thicker. The glaciers and ice caps continued to stretch, and finally exceeded the border of Niflheim. The huge icebergs rolled and fell into the chasm called Kinlunga in the center of the world, and gradually filled this huge crack connected to chaos;
At the same time, the southern Fire Kingdom, Muspelheim, also continuously spewed out large amounts of high-temperature flames, splashing out many dazzling sparks and blowing gusts of hot gales, which also fell into the Kinlunga Chasm, making the southern side of the chasm warm and bright.
In the center of the chasm, the glaciers of the Land of Mist and the flames of the Land of Fire meet. The ice melts into water droplets due to the heat, and finally is heated into steam, which spreads in the chasm. When it encounters the strong cold wind blowing from Niflheim, it condenses into water droplets again, turning into rain clouds, and it rains heavily in the chasm. After that, it is heated into steam again by the hot wind, and the cycle repeats. Under the attack of the hot air and the cold air, gusts of wind blow in the chasm.
In this way, the heat waves of the Fire Kingdom and the cold air of the Mist Kingdom interacted and offset each other in the gap. The violent forces of ice and fire finally reached a balance after constant conflict and fusion, and turned into endless divine liquid that descended to nourish the World Tree seedling and the land beneath its roots.
After an unknown amount of time, the new bud on the barren land grew into a towering tree, with infinite divine energy flowing through its green leaves and branches.
At the same time, a haggard figure under the tree slowly opened his eyes and waved forward.
A long spear shaped like a dead branch that was embedded in the tree trunk made a human-like sound and automatically flew back to the palm of its owner.
Feeling the divine aura surging from the gun, as well as the unfamiliar meaning of power, a relieved smile appeared on Loen's face.
Finally succeeded!
This god-killing weapon does not belong to the Greek Age of Gods and is not restricted by Greek destiny!
Just as Loen's heart was pounding, the World Tree in front of him, which had grown into a towering tree, shook violently.
“Crack~~”
With a crisp breaking sound, a red and black dead branch fell from the top of the World Tree and landed in Loen's hands.
Luo En was slightly stunned, and asked the World Tree in front of him thoughtfully:
"You're here, thanking me?"
"rustle……"
The branches of the World Tree were gently stroked, responding in a unique way.
Seeing this, Luo En weighed the red and black dead branch in his hand, feeling a little amused and helpless.
What do you want me to do with this? To make a fire?
“Buzz!”
As he swung forward subconsciously, the red and black dead branch in his hand suddenly burned violently, and hundreds of meters of dark red flames shot out, piercing through the crown of the World Tree like a knife cutting tofu.
Suddenly, large tracts of branches and leaves turned to ashes in the scarlet flames.
“Rustle~!”
The World Tree rubbed its branches and leaves, screaming rapidly, like a frightened child.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Loen came to his senses and quickly threw away the red and black dead branches in his hand and cleared away the burning branches and leaves for the World Tree.
After a flurry of activity, he finally managed to rescue the smoking World Tree.
"Sha~~"
Hearing the rustling sound of leaves that conveyed a different emotion, Lorne, the instigator, couldn't help but sneer;
"Ahem, my hand slipped. I didn't expect the thing you gave me would be so powerful."
As if the World Tree was very pleased with the praise from someone, the gloomy atmosphere gathered around the World Tree gradually dissipated, and a few curled branches pulled out the red and black dead branch on the ground and returned it to Loen's hands.
At this moment, the thing that absorbed the power of Lorn and the divinity of the World Tree was completely different from its previous ordinary appearance:
The three-meter-long red and black wooden body turned into a dark red sword blade like gems and metals. The end turned into a hilt, and the branches on both sides became hand guards.
Loen just looked at the sword from a distance, and it was as if he saw a blazing sea of fire. The intense burning sensation spread from his sight to his soul.
This seems to be a divine weapon forged by the World Tree with its own branches, which contains the divinity of the Fire Nation that it cannot digest, and therefore possesses a powerful destructive power.
“Rustle~~”
When Luo En heard the familiar sound of branches rubbing against each other, he looked at the dark red giant sword in his hand and couldn't help but show surprise:
"Let me give it a name?"
"sand!"
The World Tree rubbed its branches and gave an affirmative answer.
After a brief contemplation, Loen looked at the burning sword and the charred branches of the World Tree, and said inexplicably:
"Laevateinn?"
After saying that, Luo En was stunned.
In fact, the word Laevateinn is not strictly speaking a "name", but a "compound metaphor" about "sword", which means "one who hurts the branch" or "the destruction of the branch", indicating that it has the terrible power to destroy the Nordic world tree.
And this thing is also the legendary flaming sword that will lead all of Northern Europe to the twilight of the gods!
The World Tree Yggdrasil...
The flaming sword Levatin...
And the 24 sacred runes he carved into the tree...
Is all this inevitable or accidental?
As messy thoughts flooded his mind, Loen was a little dazed for a moment.
"boom!"
At this moment, a loud noise was heard from the Jinlunga Chasm where flames and fog met. A towering giant broke free from the shackles of the ice and roared toward the sky. The majestic divine power dispersed the flames and fog that had accumulated in the sky above the Nordic God Age for who knows how many years.
In an instant, the entire Nordic Age of Gods shook violently, and the terrifying ether storm swept in all directions, turning everything into dust wherever it passed.
Loen's face changed slightly as he looked at the monster in the Kinlunga Chasm that had turned the entire Nordic Age upside down with just its roar.
The ancestor giant——Ymir!
The original creator of the Nordic Age of Gods, an origin life with the same status as the Greek god of chaos Chaos.
It seems that his act of privately blending the power of ice and fire not only made the World Tree develop prematurely, but also allowed the egg of life in the Jinlunga Chasm to hatch prematurely.
By the way, am I considered half the father of the founding giant Ymir?
If he is willing to admit it, returning to Greece with such a helper should not be a problem to defeat Zeus, right?
"roar!"
A thunderous roar interrupted Loen's reverie. The newly born ancestor giant seemed to smell some sweet scent. He sniffed first, then looked excitedly at somewhere covered by the light pattern. Sticky saliva flowed from the corners of his mouth, poured onto the cold frozen soil, and turned into a rushing river.
The moment Loen's eyes met that Founding Giant's, his hair stood on end.
It was hard to say whether he could recognize his relatives, but one thing he could be sure of was that this creature that had just woken up should be very hungry...
Moreover, whether in Greece or Northern Europe, the records about the giants are synonymous with chaos, disorder and brutality. They are monsters whose instincts outweigh their rationality.
If you try to get involved with them, not to mention your cheap dad, even if you are their biological father, you will be eaten up by them.
As if to confirm the idea in Ron's mind, Ymir, who had locked onto the living creature, decisively stepped out of the Kinlunga Chasm, her birthplace, and ran over madly, grinding her white gums.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Loen decisively flashed and flew a hundred miles away, drawing Ymir's attention to a deserted land to prevent the World Tree from becoming an innocent victim.
As the monster rumbled towards him, Loen immediately used his divine power to anchor the location of the Argo, activated the space teleportation ritual using the Gorgon emblem that he had reserved earlier as a medium, and then turned around and rushed in without any hesitation.
"boom!"
A giant fist as big as a mountain fell down, and the madly compressed ether factor exploded violently. Layers of space ripples visible to the naked eye spread rapidly, and the swaying flames and mist intertwined and twisted with each other, turning into meteorite-sized ice-blue flame blocks that fell in all directions.
All of a sudden, the glaciers on the earth shattered, the mountains collapsed, the flames froze, and even the Chaos Sea, which was far away, rolled with huge waves, and rolled up violent ether tides.
What's going on?
The people on the Argo, who were ordered to anchor on the shore, were horrified when they saw this scene.
At the same time, a golden figure fell onto the deck from the torn space crack and gave an order without any hesitation:
"Return! Set sail immediately!"
When the Argonauts saw that face, which was battered by wind and frost but whose features were still so familiar to them, they immediately nodded quickly as if they had just woken up from a dream.
Then, everyone quickly returned to their respective posts, started the Argo, and sailed away from this wild land filled with frozen soil and fire, heading towards their long-lost homeland.
Just as the warship left the shore, a giant god that blocked out the sun and sky rushed to the shallows and roared in resentment at a large box of delicious snacks that had disappeared into the depths of the Chaos Sea.
(End of this chapter)
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