Chapter 120: Movements on All Sides

As the currents of the world shifted unpredictably, Orthus, who had been lingering on the brink of survival, finally found an opportunity to cloud Hailar’s mind.

Hailar had already been deeply despondent upon learning of Qu Yizhi's sacrifice, and Orthus seized upon this weakness, magnifying it while whispering constant temptations that the revival of Qu Yizhi could be achieved simply by pledging faith to the great Ocean God.

With his mind shaken, Hailar thus fell right into Orthus’s grasp. However, Orthus’s plan was not entirely smooth sailing.

After Artanis and his companions warped away across the Atlantic, Kamar-Taj—the protective order belonging to Midgard—finally concluded its standoff with the Dark Dimension, allowing the Ancient One to return to the material world.

The very first thing the Ancient One did upon returning to Midgard was to eradicate all the forbidden zones created by the cultists. While these zones were insurmountable chasms to mortal armies, they were trivial to resolve for the Ancient One.

Orthus’s sacrificial plan was also uncovered by the Ancient One. Had it not been for the meager remnants of the Son of the Evil God's divinity blocking the Ancient One’s clairvoyance, Orthus would already have been apprehended.

Yet, after letting Orthus slip away through sheer carelessness, the Ancient One intensified the search for him, knowing well that the offspring of an evil god was nothing benevolent.

Consequently, Orthus was forced to halt all sacrificial activities. Lacking a sufficient supply of flesh and blood, the Son of the Evil God had lapsed into a deep slumber. Fortunately, Hailar was already secured; otherwise, Orthus would have been utterly at a loss.

Even so, though Hailar was in hand, the divine child slept and blood sacrifices were impossible. Orthus had no choice but to send Hailar back to infiltrate the Avengers Compound, waiting to make his move until the timing was right.

This decision filled Orthus with profound grievance. After all, with the fires of war raging everywhere across Midgard, there was no shortage of flesh and blood for replenishment. If not for Kamar-Taj's widespread searches, his powers would have long since recovered.

As for the purpose of Kamar-Taj's constant wandering across the globe, it naturally extended beyond merely hunting down Orthus and his faction. Kamar-Taj was also searching for that demigod reduced to ashes. For evil-aligned demigods, the ubiquitous battlefields of the present ought to be the most alluring places imaginable, which was why sorcerers from Kamar-Taj lay in ambush near nearly every theater of war.

Kamar-Taj had largely chosen not to interfere in the wars erupting across Midgard, viewing them as an inevitable phase of human historical development in which they had no intention of meddling.

Yet, none of them anticipated that the demigod reduced to a lingering soul would not be wandering the global battlefields, but would instead choose to come to New York.

To an evil god, sufficient flesh and souls might yield the power necessary for recovery, but those were merely the flesh of ordinary mortals. Thus, upon sensing the fluctuations of the divine child's power, Dagon locked his target onto him.

What could be more nourishing than a divine child in gestation? Especially one who was already severely wounded and unconscious, making him the ideal prey for a lingering soul to devour.

As for whether devouring the child would offend the true god behind him, what a pity—this was merely an unborn divine child, and Dagon himself was also the son of a god.

Everything therefore proceeded logically. Dagon’s lingering soul slipped into New York after the shields were lowered, seizing the opportunity to possess Sharon. The unconscious divine child seemed to sense the danger and prepared to fight to the death.

Yet, before his power could even be unleashed, he was consumed by the battle-hardened Dagon, without even the slightest ripple of energy leaking outward.

Dagon and the unborn divine child originated from the same source, making mutual consumption remarkably effortless. Even Orthus failed to notice that the divine child in Sharon’s womb had been swapped.

Nevertheless, Dagon still required time to heal the injuries he had sustained in his previous great battle, so he feigned slumber to recuperate. After all, he could still sense the formidable aura of the Ancient One, and he was currently no match for her.

Therefore, when Malekith traversed the Nine Realms and ultimately arrived at Midgard, he was astonished to discover how perfectly suited Midgard was to serve as a sacrificial ground.

Vanaheim and Asgard belonged to the domains of the Norse pantheon, causing Malekith to bypass these two realms directly.

Alfheim, much to Malekith’s expectation, was populated by Light Elves who loved nature but suffered from a birth rate so excessively low that their population was pitifully small.

Nidavellir was inhabited by the Dwarves, masters of weapon-craft, but their numbers were likewise sparse, leading Malekith to abandon it as well.

Jotunheim was the home of the Frost Giants, possessing a population far more numerous than the upper realms. However, the Frost Giants were formidable in strength, and with Asgard closely monitoring the realm, conducting sacrifices there was fraught with peril.

Muspelheim, the realm of fire, also housed a considerable number of creatures. Yet, much like the Frost Giants, the entities here possessed notable strength, and with the shadow of Ragnarök permanently hanging over Surtur, it was the worst possible choice for a ritual.

As for Helheim, it remained sealed by Odin and was entirely inaccessible. Consequently, Malekith and his followers ultimately chose Midgard.

Upon reaching Midgard, Malekith had initially fretted over whether he would need to forcefully invade Jotunheim or Muspelheim. But the moment he witnessed the sheer population of humanity on Midgard and vaguely sensed their meager power, he burst into hearty laughter.

Naturally, Malekith did not perceive the Ancient One's power here; before his long slumber, the Ancient One had not existed on Midgard, leaving him entirely ignorant of Kamar-Taj.

From the Ancient One’s perspective, Malekith's arrival posed no grave threat to human society. Furthermore, because Malekith relied on a technological path rather than dark sorcery, she had not paid him excessive attention.

This was also tied to the nature of the Aether. The six Infinity Stones were the condensed manifestations of the cosmic entities' laws and formed the very foundation of the physical universe; all prophecy, divination, and transformation spells directed at the Infinity Stones were bound to fail.

Even attempting to use an Infinity Stone to alter an Infinity Stone was impossible, nor could the stones be truly destroyed. Even if their outer vessels were shattered, they would re-manifest under the governance of cosmic law.

Thus, even the Ancient One erred when gathering intelligence and foreseeing events related to the Aether.

As a result, Malekith and his followers remained blissfully unaware that they had just brushed past the gates of death. To them, this planet teeming with vitality and life was simply too perfect, and their long-cherished ambition was finally on the verge of fulfillment.