Chapter 514: The cat is good, the man is bad!
A few days later, in the Land of Mist.
Blizzards mixed with ice particles swept across the wasteland at a very fast speed, freezing or engulfing life along the way and spreading the silence of death and desolation.
However, the three people and one cat walked easily in the raging blizzard, as if they were not hindered by anything.
As the air currents became colder and colder, the surrounding environment began to improve. A gentle warm breeze replaced the original blizzard, a layer of green spread out under the feet, and misty water vapor filled the air.
Thor couldn't help but groan in comfort, patted his hair, beard and frost on his body, looked around in surprise, and said:
"There's actually such an area in this damn place called Niflheim?"
"The reason is very simple, because the Hvergelmir Spring is in front of us. It is known as the Three Holy Springs together with the Sacred Spring of Asgard and the Fountain of Wisdom of Giants. Together, they irrigate the three main roots of the World Tree. Among the three holy springs, the Sacred Spring has the effect of healing and cleansing, the Fountain of Wisdom can enhance the wisdom of the drinker, and the Hvergelmir Spring is famous for its powerful vitality. It once nourished the original World Tree by itself."
As Lorne walked forward, he explained to Thor and Brunhilde.
After listening to this, the two suddenly realized and couldn't help but admire the erudition of this god of trickery.
"So, what are we doing here? Aren't we going to the underworld?"
Thor scratched his head, curious.
Lorne pointed at the purple and blue patches on Thor's body, as well as the dozen or so wounds that had not yet fully healed, and said:
"There's no need to rush. The environment in the underworld is so harsh. At least you should heal your injuries and poison before you officially enter, right?"
"I understand. You intend to use the powerful vitality of Hvergelmir's living spring to heal and restore me!"
At this point, Thor finally got the idea. He raised his big hand and patted Lorne's shoulder heavily, his face full of emotion:
"Good brother, you are really thoughtful!"
“…”
Loen secretly complained in his heart that if he were Odin, he would probably beat this rebellious son to death on the spot.
Besides, I cured you not because I was kind, but to make you more resilient. When you meet your sister Hela, you can't just give up after one encounter, right? At least help me take a few more hits.
Although he had bad intentions, Lorne still managed a gentle smile:
"Although the Hvergelmir Spring can provide powerful vitality, it may not be able to remove poison. Not far ahead, there is a cave I left behind. I remember there are still a lot of materials left in it. I should be able to prepare an antidote for you."
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Thor nodded in agreement without thinking, and even took the initiative to pull his half-brother along and rushed forward.
Ever since being bitten by Jörmungandr, he has been in a state of constant weakness.
Although he forced out a lot of toxins along the way, he still looked listless the whole day and would be out of breath after walking a few steps. This was a world of difference compared to his physique when he could kill a frost giant with one punch.
For a god in charge of war and thunder, this felt terrible, and he couldn't wait to resolve this negative state and return to his peak.
Then, hehe...
Thor glanced at a certain orange cat lying in Brunhilde's arms, grinning and revealing a mouthful of sinister white teeth.
~~
Soon, the three people and the cat arrived at a towering mountain.
After confirming that the location was correct, Loen cleared the ice and snow on the outside, lifted the illusions and defensive spells he had set up, and took the other two people and one cat with him to officially enter the home he had just lived in when he arrived in the Age of the Nordic Gods.
Since the various rituals engraved in the cave are still in operation, most of the things inside are well preserved.
Loen flicked his finger and shot out a spark, which ignited the wood piled in the cave and dispelled the darkness and coldness around him.
"You guys take a rest here for a while, I'll go get the medicine."
"I'll go with you!"
Brunhilde immediately put the orange cat in her arms on the bedside, stood up and trotted to catch up with Lorne.
As the two men walked into the workshop and closed the stone door, Thor turned his head and looked at the fat, big orange cat on the bed. His rough cheeks revealed a malicious expression in the light of the fire.
~~
In the workshop, Brunhilde extracted some useful ingredients from medicinal herbs and ores under Lorne's guidance. Lorne, based on his knowledge of alchemy and potions, prepared several antidotes and restoratives with different effects.
However, before it was completely completed, there were loud collision sounds outside the stone gate, as well as the groans of humanoid creatures and the growls of cats.
Calming himself down and completing the final process, Loen brought a few freshly made potions and walked into the hall with a gloomy face.
The originally clean and tidy hall had turned into a war-torn scene. The furniture and ornaments that Loen had carefully polished were shattered all over the floor. Tubs of orange cat hair and long golden hair were flying in the air. The two figures of a man and a cat were entangled and struggling with each other in the fragments of the collapsed stone bed.
Jörmungandr had a cat's head and bit Thor's shoulder fiercely. Its lower body turned into a snake and tightly wrapped around Thor's body, tightening and increasing the pressure. Thor used his hands like iron clamps to desperately strangle Jörmungandr's vital points. The wailing of the snake's bones that could not bear the weight could be heard in his palms.
You are worthy of being my old enemy. Brunhilde and I had just left when you started fighting.
Luo En didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he still slapped each of them, and the two house-wrecking devils at the scene calmed down.
Although they were successfully separated, after the fierce fight just now, the poison that had just been suppressed in Thor became active again. Large patches of black appeared on his body, his shoulders were swollen like pig's trotters, and blood was oozing from the corners of his mouth.
But even so, the God of Thunder was still in the mood to gloat over other people's misfortunes.
Because Jörmungandr was also in a bad situation. His cat fur was pulled out and all over the ground. Several scales burst open, oozing out traces of miserable golden blood.
"You sneak attack me once, and I sneak attack you once, that's fair!"
Thor laughed while coughing up blood.
"Meow!"
Jörmungandr was so angry that he bared his teeth, and his messy cat hair stood up like steel needles. He wished he could take a few more bites at that hateful face.
“Bang! Bang!”
It was not until the two iron fists could no longer bear it and smashed down on the man and the cat on the head that the two old enemies completely subdued.
Of course, it was because they were knocked unconscious.
"Give them medicine first. Then clean up this place."
Loen threw the potion to Brunhilde, glanced at the messy hall, and regretted inviting these two evils into his old home.
We have to think of a way to make these two troublemakers behave themselves.
Otherwise, they would start fighting whenever they met, and as their guardian I would have to clean up the mess every day, which would be exhausting.
Moreover, neither Thor nor Jörmungandr has grown to their true peak form, and their divine power and poison are not yet fully mature.
Otherwise, Thor and Jörmungandr would both perish.
By then, it would be useless for me to intervene, and I would probably just have to collect the bodies of the man and the cat.
Soon, Brunhilde cleaned up the mess and cooperated with Lorne to move the man and the cat, who had been given the medicine, to the rebuilt stone bed.
Everything was done. Lorne took out a jar of mead, two horn cups, and some dried fruits and jerky from the storage room, and asked Brunhilde to sit down and enjoy them as a reward for the Valkyrie's hard work.
With nothing to do, the two of them chatted around the fire.
From Brunhilde, Lorne learned about her close relationship with Thor's family and gained a general understanding of the current status of the Valkyrie Legion.
According to the records of Norse mythology, Valkyries are a large and special group of goddesses. They gallop on the battlefield, lead the souls of the heroic dead into Valhalla, receive baptism, and become reserve soldiers under Odin to fight against Ragnarok.
There is no clear answer about their exact number, but the names of more than 30 Valkyries appear in the original mythology.
According to Brunhilde, the Valkyrie whose real name is mentioned is basically a captain-level character.
From the beginning of the Valkyrie Legion, the number of Valkyries with the title of captain was at most 16 and at least 3. The reason why the names of more than 30 Valkyries were mentioned in the original mythology was because Valkyries were required to remain chaste and had to be pure virgins to take on the role.
Once they get married or lose their virginity due to an accident, they will lose their status as Valkyries and automatically withdraw from the Valkyrie Corps.
Thor's wife Sif is this type.
In addition, there are also cases of heroic death in battle and retirement due to old age, and such Valkyries will also be replaced by later comers.
Currently, there are nine teams in the Valkyrie Corps, each led by nine Valkyrie captains.
They are Horest, the Tremorer and the Roarer, Slud, the Strong, Landigrace, the Shield Breaker, Hildreth, the Spear Charger, Ortlinde, the Sword Hour, Regis, the Holy Relic, Gendal, the Magic Power Holder, Alvette, the Guardian of the Army, and Horok, the Weapon Collector.
After listening to this, Luo En asked with some doubt:
"Strange, why is your name not among the nine Valkyrie captains?"
Brunhilde smiled shyly and lowered her head:
"I am not in the captain's sequence. I belong to a higher level. I taught all the Valkyries in this class..."
In fact, Brunhilde is deeply trusted by the Valkyrie Queen Freya because of her seniority, strong ability, and the fact that she is Odin's biological daughter.
As Asgard had been at peace for a long time, Freya changed her job from the God of War to the Goddess of Love, and became increasingly lazy about combat matters. Therefore, Brunhilde often took over Freya's duties in handling all matters of the Valkyrie Legion, including training new members, promoting team members, assigning tasks, and so on.
The meaning of her name is - "battle" and "queen"!
After listening to Brunhilde's account of the situation, Loen suddenly understood what was going on and couldn't help but secretly criticize his old acquaintance Freya.
The woman complained to him all day long, saying that after he left, she shouldered the entire Valkyrie Legion on her own, but ended up being a hands-off boss, leaving all the troubles to Brunhilde and her subordinates.
"Thank you for your hard work these years."
Lorne personally filled a glass of mead for Brunhilde to express his gratitude.
Going back to the source, the troublesome matter of managing the Valkyrie Legion was originally the responsibility of him as the boss. In a sense, Brunhilde was helping him share the worries, so naturally she deserved a toast from him.
Seeing her boss pouring wine for her personally, Brunhilde was a little flattered and took it hurriedly.
After drinking a glass of wine, her originally snow-white skin turned an alluring rosy red.
After a few more simple chats, Luo En looked at the night outside the skylight and said:
"It's getting late. We have to travel early tomorrow morning. You should go back and rest first."
"And you?"
"I have something else to do."
Loen turned his head and looked at the man and the cat on the stone bed.
As Brunhilde left in confusion, Lorne closed the stone door, and the corners of his lips raised in an evil and sinister arc under the reflection of the flames.
~~
The next morning, Thor turned over in a daze and hugged the thing in his arms tighter. The furry and soft touch made him let out a comfortable moan in his sleep.
Wait! Fluffy and soft?
Thor started and woke up from his sleep, opening his eyes to look at the thing in his arms.
At the same time, a pair of yellowish-brown snake-like vertical pupils opened and met Thor's eyes.
“I’ll go!”
"Meow!"
The man and the cat screamed at the same time and instinctively attacked each other.
Thor punched Jörmungandr on the nose, and Jörmungandr swung his tail and hit Thor's left cheek.
“Bang! Bang!”
Almost at the same time, the man and the cat, who were originally stuck together, flew backwards and crashed into the stone wall.
They climbed up from the rubble in a panic, their noses felt sore, their cheeks were swollen, and they felt a burning pain.
Two shares?
The man and the cat stared at each other's bleeding noses and swollen cheeks, and could not help but look at each other in confusion.
"Go on, keep on fighting. I'm still waiting to see the show."
Loen, who had arrived at the scene at some point, leaned against a stone pillar with his arms folded, and urged with ill intent.
However, the man and the cat on the scene had already sensed something was wrong and did not dare to act rashly.
After a moment of silence, Thor was the first to let down his guard. Rubbing his sore nose, he asked Lorne cautiously:
"What did you do to us last night?"
"Nothing. I will mix your divine blood and carve a common curse on each of your bodies."
Lorne took a sip of the mead in his cup and added with a smile,
"The function is to "share pain" and "divide damage". There is still a long way to go, and everyone needs to put themselves in each other's shoes more so that we can get along well."
So, this is how you think from another person’s perspective?
The man and the cat looked at the smiling evil god with resentment, and couldn't help but criticize his unique way of persuading others to stop fighting.
"If you still want to fight, Brunhilde and I promise not to stop you. If you agree to a truce, pack up your things and get ready to go out with me to heal your wounds at the Hvergelmir Spring."
The man and the cat looked at each other and simultaneously decided to put aside their hatred temporarily.
Although they have conflicts, it has not yet reached the point of life and death.
What's more, due to the strange curse on their bodies, beating the other person is the same as beating themselves. They are not masochists, so there is no need to torture themselves like this.
After successfully resolving the conflict between the teams, Loen called Brunhilde with satisfaction and set off together.
After several twists and turns, the three people and one cat successfully arrived at the spring pool where steam was rising.
The rich breath of life floated around with the water mist. Thor and Jörmungandr, who were injured, couldn't help but moan in comfort after just one sniff.
After confirming that the water from Hvergelmir's spring was indeed beneficial to them, the man and the cat couldn't wait to jump into the pool to take a bath.
"It's a rare trip, so let's give it a try."
Seeing this, Loen became eager and made some suggestions to Brunhilde.
Brunhilde blushed and nodded in agreement, her movements a little awkward.
However, after Lorne led her to another hidden spring pool, he left on his own and huddled together with Thor and Jörmungandr. The blush on Brunhilde's face immediately faded, and she felt depressed.
Although she was in a bad mood, looking at the misty spring pool, Brunhilde finally took off her clothes and armor, stepped into it barefoot, and enjoyed the cleansing of the spring water.
The waves on the water surface rippled layer by layer, spreading forward towards the roots of the world tree that were intertwined and gathered like a mountain.
And in the plant cave formed by the tree roots and mountains, a pair of golden-red vertical pupils seemed to sense the movements of the outside world and opened quietly.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
