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Ch. 285 Russell's Mission
🕑 Added 2024-02-05 16:00:05 +0000 UTCAfter confirming that the black meteorite was man-made, a classic line unconsciously crossed Russell's mind.
"Think about it, you go out of town with your wife, enjoying meals and singing songs, and suddenly you're robbed by bandits! So, the days without bandits are the good days."
Although the black meteorite wasn't created by bandits, Russell now had a similar feeling.
"To give Vanir a big gift, how would you reciprocate?" Thor asked Russell after a few seconds of contemplation.
"It's simple, we reciprocate the way they gave their gift," Russell replied.
"This is Vanaheimr, the territory of Vanir, even if that black meteorite isn't their doing, it's definitely connected to them."
"They can use the black meteorite to show their power, so of course, we can return the favor with a few meteorites."
After hearing Russell's words, the people inside the tent were momentarily stunned.
They hadn't expected Russell, who appeared cultured, to have such audacity.
Returning a few meteorites to Vanir was indeed a tempting suggestion, especially for the generals stationed at the frontline camp. The people of Asgard and Vanir were archenemies, and they wouldn't have had a problem attacking the cities and camps of Vanir even with a rainbow bridge if it weren't for Odin's explicit order to minimize conflicts with them. At the moment the riots broke out, these generals were ready to march out and quell the chaos.
"Do you have the means to do something like that?" Thor continued to ask.
"I can! However, I may not be able to make them fall as silently as the black meteorite!" Among the magic Russell knew, there were spells for summoning meteorites. However, making them fall as silently and unobtrusively as the black meteorite was not easy. Unless he used the power of a spatial gem while casting meteorite-related magic, the meteorites he summoned with magic would be no different from normally falling meteorites, with a very obvious and prolonged skill casting time.
"Directly throwing meteorites back is a bit too aggressive, and this incident may not necessarily be related to Vanir. If we respond forcefully, it could lead to a large-scale war."
Although Russell's suggestion was very tempting and in line with the character of the people of Asgard, Thor ultimately chose to reject it. When it was time to be tough, he wouldn't hesitate. However, this meteorite incident didn't sit right with him. He felt that something was amiss, as if there were hidden hands behind the scenes planning something unknown.
"You're the commander, your decision prevails!" Russell didn't take Thor's refusal to heart. While throwing a few meteorites back would be satisfying, it would also lead to a steep decline in relations between Asgard and Vanir, just as Thor had mentioned. If mishandled, it could easily lead to a large-scale war or even provoke a national conflict.
"First, strengthen our vigilance and expand the scope of patrol vigilance."
"Additionally, inform the Asgardians in Vanaheimr to send troops to escort them back to Asgard."
After pondering for a dozen seconds, Thor began giving orders to the generals before him.
"Yes, Your Highness!" These Asgardian generals quickly stood up and responded.
After giving orders to these generals, Thor said to Hogun, "Hogun, contact our sources within Vanir. I want to know all their recent movements."
"Tell those sources that this time, Asgard will double their rewards!"
"Understood!"
Hogun said solemnly.
Then, he left the tent with a nail hammer in hand.
After Hogun left, Thor gave orders to Fandral and Vostagg, instructing them to lead the team to protect the Asgardians evacuating in Vanaheimr.
It wasn't until the three warriors of the Heavenly Palace and the camp leaders had left the tent that Thor turned to Russell and said, "I know you've spent some time as an assassin on Earth, and you did quite well."
"If you don't mind, I'd like you to make a trip to the nearest Vanir main city, Windrest Fortress."
Windrest Fortress?
Russell was momentarily puzzled upon hearing Thor's words.
Although he had just brushed up on his knowledge of Vanir yesterday, he still didn't have a thorough understanding of their situation. Apart from knowing that Vanir's imperial city was called Noeuthong, known as the "Ship City," he had little knowledge of the other cities in Vanaheimr.
"What do you want me to do in Windrest Fortress?" Russell asked Thor.
"Gather intelligence!"
"Also, if possible, I hope you can deliver a message to the Lord of Windrest Fortress."
Thor's expression became more serious.
"What message?" Russell continued to inquire.
"Asgard never fears war. If Vanir desires war, Asgard will certainly accommodate them!"
As Thor uttered these words, he exuded a strong sense of determination and an astonishing aura, giving the impression that a storm was about to descend.
"No problem. Since you put it that way, I'll make the trip!"
"On a side note, I'm quite curious about the cities and culture of Vanir as well!"
Russell said with a smile.
Although he had never worked as a spy or undercover agent before, he didn't find infiltrating Windrest Fortress to be challenging.
Both the Shape-shifting ability of Serum and his magical transformation skills would allow him to easily assume the appearance of Vanir member.
Strictly speaking, even if he entered Windrest Fortress with his original appearance, it wouldn't be a big issue. No one in Vanaheimr knew him, and there were plenty of Vanir individuals with black hair and black eyes. He only needed to use magic to slightly disguise his aura, and he could openly enter Windrest Fortress.
After leaving the commander's tent, Russell returned to his own tent to prepare. When we say "prepare," it mainly involved obtaining a map of the nearby area, such as the location of Windrest Fortress and the surrounding villages and towns.
Once he had figured out the location of Windrest Fortress, Russell bid farewell to Thor. Subsequently, he left the camp alone.
Considering Thor's plan to send Asgardian civilians back to Vanaheimr, it seemed unlikely that Thor had immediate intentions of deploying troops to quell the unrest. At most, he might send out forces to protect the Asgardian civilians.
As for actual military actions, they would likely not commence until after the evacuation was completed. Although he didn't know how long this "evacuation" operation in Asgard would last, it was safe to assume it would take several days, if not a week.
This also meant that he had plenty of time to do some things he wanted to do within Windrest Fortress.
After leaving the front-line camp, Russell followed the directions indicated on the map and flew toward the nearby Vanir city, Windrest Fortress. At the same time, he contemplated his next steps.
For instance, he planned to find a place to change his attire and gather some Vanir individuals to "gather" some information.
He wasn't worried that Vanir individuals would reject him.
For him, with the ability of Serum, reading the memories of Vanir people was as simple as drinking water.
As long as he didn't encounter Vanir individuals with divine powers, these Vanir people were no different from ordinary humans on Earth in his presence. It was just that they had longer lifespans and better physical conditions.
After flying at a leisurely pace for nearly ten minutes, he arrived over the plains near Windrest Fortress. When he arrived over the vast plains known as "Windrest Plain," he didn't directly fly towards Windrest Fortress. Instead, he headed towards the nearest village.
Although Vanir had a long history comparable to Asgard's, their social structure was similar to Asgard's, both being typical monarchies. Apart from those residing in the imperial city and the main city, the lives of other Vanir individuals were not much different from medieval commoners on Earth: working from sunrise to sunset, leading a simple and rustic life.
After arriving above a village, Russell used his Super Vision's long-range and X-ray abilities to observe the situation in the village for a moment. It was a small village with only a few dozen households. The villagers were not numerous, but the atmosphere within the village was harmonious.
Having briefly observed the village's situation, Russell first applied an invisibility spell to himself while floating in the sky, and then slowly descended towards the village. Thanks to the invisibility spell, Vanir people in the village had completely failed to notice his arrival.
Russell landed directly in the center of the village and made his way toward a building that resembled a village hall.
This building was the largest in the village, made of wood and stone, circular in shape, and had two stories.
Inside this building, Russell found quite a few elderly Vanir individuals. Without anyone noticing, he went straight into the building and approached Vanir elder who seemed to be the village head.
This was a Vanir individual with white hair all over, and he had a prominent scar on his face. Judging by the color of the scar, it seemed to be an injury he had sustained when he was young.
The massive scar and wrinkles on his face formed a somewhat unique pattern, giving the elder a demeanor that was imposing without anger.
Upon arriving next to the elder, Russell had no intention of using mind-reading magic on him. From the scar on the elder's face and the calluses on his hands, it was clear that he had been an experienced warrior in his youth. While ordinary Vanir warriors might not understand magic, they certainly had a better understanding of it than common villagers.
To avoid any unnecessary complications, Russell decided to directly use Serum's ability on the elder and forcibly read his memories.
After making contact with the elder's neck, Russell let the white tentacles possess him and instantly took control of the elder's body. Subsequently, he made the elderly man fall into a deep slumber while he began reading the elder's memories.
It didn't take much time, less than a minute to be precise, for Russell to obtain the information he needed from the elder's mind. Just as he had anticipated, this retired warrior-looking elder was indeed the village head, and he was the second most powerful individual in the village.
The most powerful person in the village was the current captain of the village's defense team, a middle-aged Vanir warrior.
After obtaining the desired information, Russell created a strange dream for the elder and then released the possess of the white tentacles, leaving the village hall without making a sound.
After leaving the village hall, he flew towards the next village. Reading the memories of just one person was clearly not enough for him to perfect his disguise. To better impersonate a native Vanir member, he decided to read the memories of several individuals.
After spending nearly an hour, visiting six villages and reading the memories of nearly ten people, Russell concluded his intelligence-gathering work. When leaving the last village, he went to the wealthiest household in the village and took a set of traditional Vanir male clothing from inside, as well as a few Vanaheimr silver coins.
Although he had a significant amount of gold bars, gold coins, and jewelry stored in the system space, Vanir coins were clearly different from Earth's coins, as evidenced by the engravings and patterns on the silver coins.
After putting on the ordinary Vanir attire that he had taken, Russell landed near the road leading to Windrest Fortress. He then slightly tousled his normally meticulously groomed hair and calmly walked towards Windrest Fortress in the distance.
While on the way to Windrest Fortress, Russell took special note of the other Vanir individuals heading there with him. After confirming that the magical aura he had disguised on himself was indistinguishable from theirs, he wore a satisfied smile.
Magic truly lived up to its reputation as a versatile and invaluable tool!
As long as you have a sufficient number of magic spells at your disposal, you can easily accomplish many seemingly incredible things.
For example, transforming from an Earthling into a native Vanir member.
Initially, Russell contemplated whether to use a transformation spell to change his appearance. However, after seriously thinking about it for a few minutes, he dismissed the idea. After all, no one in Vanaheimr knew him, and there wouldn't be any issue with appearing in his true form.
What's more, appearing in his true form when heading to Windrest Fortress would make it easier for him to communicate with Vanir women inside the city.
When he read the memories of those Vanir individuals, he had already confirmed that his true appearance aligned well with the mainstream aesthetics of Vanir.
In simple terms, near Windrest Fortress, he could be considered quite a rare handsome young man among the locals.
After leisurely advancing on the road to Windrest Fortress for more than ten minutes, Russell arrived at the city gates of Windrest Fortress alongside Vanir individuals who needed to enter the city.
