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Ch. 293 Assault on Windrest Fortress
🕑 Added 2024-02-13 16:00:06 +0000 UTCAlthough it may not seem like it, Russell has become quite restrained now.
Those who know him well understand that if someone comes at him with a weapon and murderous intent, there's a high probability that person won't live to see another day. But now, Russell merely "lightly" sent Windrest Fortress lord's daughter flying.
Although this action wouldn't be considered restrained when dealing with a noblewoman, in reality, he was showing quite some restraint, especially considering who he was dealing with—Thor.
After helping Windrest Fortress lord's daughter to her feet, Thor guided her to sit down in a chair, letting out a sigh of helplessness.
"Her name is Ivette, and you probably know her identity without me introducing her."
Thor addressed Russell.
Seeing Thor's expression of helplessness, Russell nodded silently, sitting casually in front of Ivette. He spoke lightly, "I overheard some of your conversation just now."
"I don't mind if you seek revenge on me, but I'd like to remind you that if you do, you'd better be prepared to face the consequences."
In Russell's eyes, beautiful women were typically treated with kindness, but only on the first encounter. He wasn't the type to refrain from harming women or children. The so-called gentlemanly demeanor had been entirely abandoned when he first entered the world of assassins.
After hearing Russell's words, the beautiful and noble Ivette glared at him with hatred in her eyes, looking as if she wanted to devour him whole.
While she wished to eliminate Russell immediately, she didn't dare to provoke him further, given her current situation. Russell's punch had not only inflicted an unimaginable pain on her but had also put an end to her impulsive behavior, making her fully aware of her current circumstances.
"I don't like the way you're looking at me right now."
Russell said to Ivette once more, seeing her full of resentment.
"Enough with the threats. She acted on impulse," Thor intervened, turning into a peacemaker despite his reputation for impulsiveness, to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
"Impulsiveness comes with consequences. I only hope Miss Ivette understands that," Russell shifted his gaze away from Ivette's face and spoke calmly.
"Well, let's put this aside for now. How did you find your way here?" Thor changed the topic decisively and asked Russell.
"When I was out shopping, I happened to see you, so I followed to see what was going on."
"Just that simple?"
Thor didn't expect this to be the reason Russell found him here.
"What else? Do you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you're wearing a cloak and tying up your hair?"
Russell pointed to Thor's current attire and asked.
Uh...
Hearing Russell's words, Thor fell into silence. After remaining silent for several seconds, he continued, "Since you've overheard our conversation, I won't keep it from you."
"I have some cooperation with Ivette's father, and I won't go into the details of the cooperation. I believe you can guess the nature of it."
"This recent turmoil was not orchestrated by us."
"I had you deliver a message just to test Ivette's father's reaction. I didn't expect you to engage in a brawl at the lord's mansion."
After Thor finished, Russell fell into deep thought. Then, he asked, "Do you trust them?"
Although Russell's question was rather abrupt, Thor immediately caught on and furrowed his brows. "Do you know something?"
"Yesterday, at the lord's mansion, I saw a few people with Ivette. You might recognize their names," Russell briefly mentioned individuals like Ebony Maw and Gamora.
Of course, he omitted the fact that he first encountered them at "Liliane's Whisper" and that he had read Ebony Maw's memories.
After listening to Russell's account, Thor turned a serious gaze towards Ivette, who was sitting beside them.
"They didn't initiate contact with us; they sought us out for cooperation. They wanted to work with us," Ivette quickly explained, despite her truthful tone and appearance, Russell didn't spare her.
"Ivette, lying is not a noble's behavior. You know very well whether your lord father agreed to cooperate with Thanos."
Russell had just read Ebony Maw's memories, essentially participating in their conversation in the lord's mansion from a first-person perspective.
Ivette's attempt to hide the truth with her unimpressive acting skills was underestimating him.
Upon hearing Russell's words, Ivette first gave him a hateful look but then turned to Thor, saying, "I can swear in the name of our family ancestors; I was telling the truth."
Thor remained silent, shifting his gaze back and forth between Ivette and Russell.
After pondering for almost half a minute, he spoke slowly, "Miss Ivette, we have cooperated before, and I believe you and your father wouldn't make such unwise decisions."
"If there's nothing else, I hope you can return to the mansion now and relay the message to your father, and we'll continue our cooperation."
"Alright!"
As soon as Thor finished speaking, Ivette readily agreed.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Thor escorted Ivette out of the study. Once Ivette had left, Thor returned to the study and said to Russell, "Do you have any other matters to discuss? If not, let's return to the camp together."
"Do you really intend to continue cooperating with them?" Russell asked Thor as he got up.
"What do you think?" Thor replied with a smile.
Seeing Thor's expression, Russell shook his head and continued, "I have the feeling that people like you who play politics have dirty hearts."
"If you get that feeling, it means you're suited for politics too."
With these words, Thor summoned Mjolnir, which was placed on the table, and left the study without further ado.
...
A little over half an hour later.
Russell and Thor returned to the frontline camp.
Upon their return, Thor summoned the camp's commanders to the main tent.
Although he had invited Russell, Russell declined his invitation. He wasn't particularly interested in attending a military meeting like this.
After returning to his own tent, Russell changed out of his Asgardian attire and checked the various "gifts" he had purchased in Windrest Fortress. After ensuring that Diana, Gwen, and the others each had their share of gifts, he retrieved a book of divine power from his system space and lay on his bed to read.
These past few days in Windrest Fortress, he hadn't had the time to study properly. Now that he was back at the camp, he intended to catch up on the lessons he had missed.
Time passed slowly.
Russell thought that Thor would soon arrange specific military operations. However, as night fell, he hadn't heard any news of the troops mobilizing.
Should he wait a bit longer, or had the "evacuation" operation not yet concluded? Russell had been away from the frontline camp for several days and wasn't sure how far the evacuation had progressed.
As he contemplated whether to seek out the Three Warriors for information, a member of the Asgardian warriors suddenly arrived at his tent.
"Mr. Russell, His Highness requests your immediate presence at the main tent."
Now?
Russell walked out of the tent, looking puzzled as he regarded the Asgardian warrior before him.
"Did His Highness mention the reason?"
"No."
It was evident that the Asgardian warrior was merely tasked with delivering the message.
"Very well, I'll head there right away."
Russell placed the book of divine power back into his system space and headed toward the main tent located at the center of the camp.
Upon arriving at Thor's main tent, he realized he wasn't the only one invited.
The Warriors and Sif were also present.
As he entered, Thor quickly spoke, "Our manpower is stretched a bit thin at the moment, and I'll need you to make a trip for us."
"Go on, what do you need me to do?" Russell asked directly.
"Most of the Asgardians living in Nidavellir have already been escorted back to Asgard. However, there are a few villages that are more remote, and the teams sent to retrieve them have lost contact."
"If you're willing, I'd like you to go and assist with the evacuation, as well as investigate what happened to those teams."
While Thor was speaking, he pointed out the specific locations of the remote villages on a map.
"Is escorting civilians really something I need to do in person?" Russell gestured to the Three Warriors and Sif.
The Three Warriors and Sif were all in the camp; they didn't seem to be short on manpower.
"They have other missions and can't spare the time," Thor replied promptly.
"What other missions?" Russell inquired.
"We're launching an assault on Windrest Fortress!"
What the heck!
Are they planning to go all out just like that?
Although Windrest Fortress lord wasn't particularly strong, it didn't mean Windrest Fortress forces were weak. Windrest Fortress usually housed over a hundred thousand troops!
"You intend to attack Windrest Fortress with the soldiers from this camp?" Russell didn't doubt Thor's capabilities. The issue was that the total force in the frontline camp, including support troops, was just a few thousand strong. Attacking Windrest Fortress, with its ten-thousand-strong garrison, head-on didn't seem wise.
"Of course not, it's not just our camp. All four camps on Wind's Breath region will simultaneously attack Windrest Fortress."
Each of the frontline camps in Windrest region was roughly the same in size, with approximately two to three thousand soldiers. When combined, all four camps could muster an army of around ten thousand.
However, Russell still didn't think a direct assault on Windrest Fortress was a good idea.
Aside from the garrison of Windrest Fortress, there was also a magical array linking Windrest Fortress to the palace of Vanir. If Windrest Fortress sent a distress signal, reinforcements from the palace could arrive at any moment. In the worst-case scenario, they might have to face not only Windrest Fortress lord and his hundred thousand troops but also the God-King Njord, who had reached the level of a Skyfathers.
After Thor finished speaking, Russell began to think carefully.
Then, he declined Thor's request.
"Escorting civilians during the evacuation doesn't interest me, but I am very interested in participating in the assault on Windrest Fortress."
"Find someone else to escort the civilians. I'll go with you to attack Windrest Fortress. Leave the civilian evacuation to them," Russell pointed to the Three Warriors.
"Are you sure?" Thor questioned.
"Once you officially participate in the assault on Windrest Fortress, Vanir will undoubtedly investigate your origins. If they discover you're from Earth, they might launch retaliatory attacks on Earth."
Thor silently reminded Russell.
He was well aware of Russell's strength surpassing that of the Three Warriors, but the issue was that Russell wasn't an Asgardian. In other words, he didn't have the backing of Asgard.
Thor had dealt with Vanir people before and knew well what they might do when they felt they were at a disadvantage.
"Don't worry about it. Since I've come here to participate in your war with Vanir, I'm prepared for their retaliation. If they really want to come to Earth for revenge, it's best for them to bring a larger army."
Russell said nonchalantly.
Compared to Earth's humans, Vanir people were indeed much stronger. Using Earth's standards, each one of them was a super soldier with physical abilities no less than Captain America Rogers, and they had long lifespans to boot.
But that didn't mean Russell was worried about their retaliation. From the perspective of interstellar civilizations, Earth might be considered a backward planet. Still, it concealed powerhouses that far surpassed any single planet.
Even if the God-King Njord personally led an army to attack Earth, he might not necessarily have the upper hand.
In this regard, Russell had full confidence in the hidden powerhouses on Earth.
Although Russell had made himself quite clear, Thor didn't immediately agree to his request.
After pondering for almost half a minute, he said slowly, "Since you're not interested in escorting civilians during the evacuation, I won't force you."
"I'll have Fandral and the others handle the civilian evacuation. As for you, if you're truly interested, then come with me to attack Windrest Fortress!"
In the end, Thor agreed to Russell's request.
In fact, even if he hadn't agreed, he couldn't force Russell. Russell wasn't his subordinate but a guest of Odin. If Russell wasn't willing, Thor couldn't compel him to agree.
"Good! Just notify me when it's time to depart!" Russell said before leaving the main tent and heading back to his own tent.
The next day, to the sound of resounding horns, the Asgardian forces from the frontline camp marched towards Windrest Fortress, situated at the center of Wind's Breath region.
Russell rode a black warhorse, keeping a slight distance behind Thor, eagerly anticipating the upcoming siege of the castle.
