Chapter 4

Boom, an explosion occurred here. Bang, another small wave was released over there!

Ian was clamped under Sona's arm and started to flee frantically. In his line of sight, the bodies of the dark elves and the golden-armored warriors were flying everywhere! Some were thrown by their opponents, others by heavy artillery. The smell of gunpowder and blood made him acutely aware of the cruelty of war.

"Didn't you throw that dark elf pretty fiercely just now? Why are you scared now?" Ian was thrown to the ground, his expression depressed.

Sona crouched on the ground, checking the surroundings without turning her head, and huffed, "Haven't you heard the saying? War makes women go away!"

Ian's lips curled, "I've also heard that women can hold up half the sky! Which half are you holding?"

"Aha!" Sona slapped Ian's forehead with a hand, then whispered to him, who was gritting his teeth, "Be careful, there are enemies over there."

Ian stared at her chest with tears in his eyes, wishing he could sit on her and flatten her! But he was sensible enough to follow Sona's example and slowly crawl forward.

After a period of frantic running, the two had arrived at the back of a small hill. This place was far from the battlefield, and at first glance, it didn't seem dangerous. However, when Ian's gaze crossed the hilltop, he couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

"Have you not bathed for years? The stench on you could break through the sky!"

Sona, surprisingly, did not refute this, or perhaps she couldn't. On the other side of the hill, a huge cross-shaped warship was docked, and not far from the warship, a group of people stood on the ground.

Their tall statures and fierce auras made Ian feel their power even though they were doing nothing! Especially the leader, who, despite wearing only a standard suit of armor, exuded a pressure from his flowing cloak that made Ian's eyes hurt just by looking at him.

"How unlucky can you be? Why did we run right under the enemy leader's nose?" Ian's face was full of despair.

"How was I supposed to know Malekith would be so close to the battlefield!" Sona's voice was filled with frustration. As a mere liaison officer, she clearly couldn't be compared to a god-level opponent.

She pulled Ian closer and whispered, "Don't make a sound. Malekith is very powerful. It's said even Zeus gives him a third of his power!"

Ian responded in a low voice, "Malekith? Okay, that name sounds quite affectionate, but... wait, who is Zeus?"

Sona was taken aback, looking at him strangely, "If you've heard of Asgard, how can you not know Zeus? He's the king of the gods!"

"The king of the gods should be called Odin, and Zeus should be the leader of the Olympian gods!" Ian's bright eyes were full of confusion.

Sona nodded in understanding, "It seems the legends on Earth are still quite primitive. The succession of the king of Asgard is actually through the inheritance of the god's essence. No matter what your name was before, if you inherit the essence of the past Zeus, your name becomes Zeus. If you inherit the essence of Odin, your name is Odin!"

Ian was speechless for a moment, "Aren't gods supposed to be immortal? How can they leave behind a god's essence?"

Sona chuckled awkwardly, "Theoretically, gods are indeed immortal, at least the first generation of Zeus or Odin. However, immortality doesn't mean invincibility. The subsequent generations of god-kings didn't reach that level of power, so there were successors."

"Why is that?"

"That's complicated. We can't figure it out now. If we survive and you stay in Asgard, I'll tell you then!" Sona said dismissively.

The war intensified, and the Asgardian warships in the starry sky were clearly gaining the upper hand, even having the spare capacity to dispatch troops to the ground to join the battle.

The addition of groups of golden-armored warriors began to slowly tilt the tide of battle. The dark elves, a battle-hardened race, quickly noticed the unfavorable situation, and King Malekith of the dark elves gave the order.

"Deploy the Cursed Warriors!"

Malekith's eyes showed no tension, and his regal demeanor was evident. His calm and composed demeanor gave all the warriors behind him ample confidence.

Hearing the king's order, the warriors slowly stepped forward, looking down at the slowly advancing golden tide below. Each of them pulled out a small, flame-burning, lava-like object.

Then, the warriors roared in unison, and flames instantly spread over their entire bodies. In the midst of their agonized screams, the warriors' bodies swelled to over three meters tall. Their pale skin turned into solid lava with a faint red glow!

Under Sona and Ian's watchful eyes, these transformed Cursed Warriors leaped onto the battlefield. Their massive bodies, spanning at least several hundred meters, landed and exploded, scattering a group of golden-armored warriors. Watching them slowly stand up and kick away a few golden-armored warriors with ease, they looked like giants bullying children.

"What's going on? They can burst into power on the spot? By the way, don't you guys in Asgard have any emergency measures?" Ian asked in fear, seeing only slaughter and bloodshed on those Cursed Warriors, as if the strange stones had devoured all their reason!

Sona's face was also grim, "These are Cursed Warriors, enhanced by dark powers that exceed their limits. This method is irreversible. Once they become Cursed Warriors, their power increases several times, but they will suffer from the dark powers for life until their bodies completely collapse!"

"What does it feel like to suffer from dark powers?" He pointed to the battlefield, "They seem to enjoy killing, as if they're having fun!"

Sona was speechless for a moment, then replied, "I'm not a dark elf, so how would I know the pain of cultivating dark powers? Besides, listen to their agonized screams; they're clearly driven mad by pain!"

Ian sneered, "Looks like you're just repeating what you've heard. In my past life, there was a saying: pain and pleasure go hand in hand. From what I see, these guys seem to enjoy the pain. Look, they can even spew fire!"

On the battlefield, the Cursed Warriors opened their mouths, and scorching lava poured out. The golden-armored warriors' shields couldn't effectively block the attack, and they were burned to ashes with agonized screams. However, the Asgardian warriors were not a disorganized mob. Teams of spear-wielding warriors took advantage of their long weapons, forming ranks and launching attacks layer by layer, restricting the Cursed Warriors' movements.

Each time a Cursed Warrior tried to break through, two to three warriors leaped up to slash at its head. The Cursed Warrior had to retreat, and when it tried to spew lava again, the golden-armored warriors combined their shields, forming a more brilliant protective barrier that successfully blocked the attack.

In the end, Asgard still leveraged its numerical advantage. On the hill, Malekith coldly snorted, "Agem, order all Cursed Warriors to regroup. I'm going to activate the Aether particles!"

A taller dark elf warrior beside him nodded, his rugged and fierce features revealing his formidable strength.

Agem was about to leave when Malekith suddenly called him back, "By the way, there are two rats being sneaky."

"Where are your experts? It looks like Malekith is about to use a big move!" Ian, somewhat worried, pulled his head back to the hill.

"How can you tell?"

"Can't you see? He's gathered all the Cursed Warriors at the foot of the hill. This clearly indicates he's preparing a super move, maybe something that can turn the tide. He doesn't want anyone to interfere!" Ian pointed at the Cursed Warriors with a matter-of-fact expression.

"About that..." Sona's expression was strange, "They should be here soon!"

"What's coming?" Ian frowned, but before she could answer, the small hill in front of them exploded! Debris and dust blocked their vision, and in the moment of confusion, a massive arm emerged from the dust, grabbing Sona by the neck, while another hand easily picked up Ian.

Then, the wind howled, and the scenery changed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, Ian was already at the foot of the hill.

Thud! Ian was dropped carelessly, while Sona was slammed into the ground from the air! The immense force created a large crater in the hill, with cracks extending several meters in all directions!

Sona lay in the crater like a rag doll, unable to do anything but spit blood.

"Interesting, I didn't expect there to be children in the Asgardian army!" Malekith's mocking voice echoed, and Agem, standing beside Ian, coldly snorted, "This child seems to have some elven blood, probably a native of Alfheim."

"Hmph! Those hypocritical god kingdom armies still have the leisure to rescue war refugees?" Malekith's contemptuous smile made Ian laugh bitterly.

It was clear that Sona wanted to argue, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she spat out a mouthful of blood. Even with great effort, she could only prop herself up halfway.

"Quite resilient, it's rare for a liaison officer to be so tough." Malekith gently gestured to Agem.

Agem approached Sona as ordered, looked down at her from above, then raised his left foot and stomped down hard on her left forearm! Crack! Sona's scream made Ian shudder.

Crack, crack, crack, three consecutive sounds, and Sona's limbs were broken one by one by Agem, leaving her unable to support herself.

"Actually, I wish you could just let us go like a fart!" Ian tried to maintain a friendly smile.

Malekith sneered, "That wouldn't be good. I want you to witness this great victory!"

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