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Ch. 283 Chaos at Vanaheimr
🕑 Added 2024-02-03 16:00:06 +0000 UTCAfter breakfast, Russell, guided by Luna, headed directly to the library in the Golden Palace.
According to Luna, the library inside the Golden Palace was divided into two parts.
One was the Royal Library, accessible only to members of the royal family, while the other was the Public Library, open to the general public.
In terms of the number of books, the Royal Library had far fewer, and it was also smaller in size.
However, all the books in the Royal Library were precious, and some even contained rare and confidential information about Asgard and the secrets of the universe.
As for the Public Library, despite its name, not many people were qualified to enter and borrow books.
For example, lower-ranking royal guards and royal servants like Luna did not have the privilege to borrow or peruse books from the Public Library.
From this perspective, Asgard was clearly different from Kamar-Taj.
In Kamar-Taj, knowledge could be shared, and even Merlin's rarest collection could be borrowed by a formal sorcerer of Kamar-Taj.
Although there had been some intimate moments the previous night, Luna still didn't dare to walk alongside Russell and stayed about half a meter behind him.
Russell didn't say anything about Luna's seemingly ingrained sense of hierarchy after witnessing her reaction when she woke up this morning. He had completely abandoned his plan to treat Luna and others with Earthly etiquette.
In his view, showing respect to Luna was a normal thing to do. But the problem was that Luna didn't think so.
If he acted too polite, Luna would wonder if she had done something wrong.
After advancing through the magnificent Golden Palace for a while, Russell finally arrived at the Public Library.
Upon reaching the entrance of the Public Library, Luna stopped in her tracks and respectfully said to Russell, "My Lord, we've arrived at the Public Library."
"Hmm!"
Russell replied casually upon hearing Luna's words.
He then walked straight into the Golden Palace Public Library, which was smaller than even the New York Public Library in America.
Although the Golden Palace Public Library was quite large, there weren't many people inside. To be precise, apart from the maids responsible for cleaning and providing services, Russell didn't see a single reader.
But upon closer thought, this was quite normal.
There weren't many Asgardians who could enter the Public Library in the first place. Except for outliers like Loki who enjoyed reading, most Asgardians did not have the habit of reading.
More importantly, in warrior kingdoms like Asgard, honing combat skills was considered far more important than reading. Instead of reading and studying in the Public Library, Asgardians preferred to gain combat skills through blood and sweat in battles.
After scanning the grandiose library for a moment, Russell went straight to the service desk and asked the maid inside, "I'd like to borrow some books related to divine powers."
"Of course, my Lord. Books related to divine powers are located..."
The maid in her white servant's attire quickly responded.
To make it easier for Russell to find, she even offered to guide him.
Although the maid in front of him was very enthusiastic, Russell declined her offer and walked alone toward the section of books related to divine powers.
Once in the relevant section, he quickly scanned the bookshelves.
Then, he picked out a few books:
"The Basic Principles and Introduction to Divine Powers,"
"The Manifestation and Essence of Divine Powers,"
"Pure Divine Power Theory,"
"The Origins of the First Divine Power,"
"Analyzing Divine Powers: Energy and Transformation."
After taking out these five not-so-thick books on divine powers, Russell headed to the adjacent reading room with them.
"I love to learn! Learning leads to progress!" Russell grumbled to himself for a moment before he opened "The Basic Principles and Introduction to Divine Powers" and began to quickly browse through it, thanks to his Kryptonian memory, which allowed him to remember things at a glance.
He planned to learn these books on divine powers the same way he had learned magic before: memorize the entire book first and then take the time to understand and digest it.
For ordinary people, this method of memorizing first and then understanding might not be the best way to learn. But for Russell, with his superhuman memory, it was the most efficient approach.
In less than ten minutes, he had memorized "The Basic Principles and Introduction to Divine Powers" completely.
Then, he picked up "The Manifestation and Essence of Divine Powers" and started his second round of memorization.
Time passed slowly.
After spending nearly an hour memorizing all five hefty books on divine powers in front of him, Russell returned them to the library shelves and began selecting the second batch of books that needed to be memorized.
Compared to ordinary people, his memory efficiency was already quite high, but he still needed a significant amount of time to memorize all the books related to divine powers in this section. There were over a thousand such books in this section, and most of them were thicker than bricks.
Just reading through the books on divine powers in this section alone would take him at least a week.
As for fully comprehending and digesting the content he had memorized through brute force, he would need several months, if not years.
For Asgardians with an average lifespan of five thousand years, whether it was a few months or a few years, it was not considered a long time.
But for Russell, who identified as a "human," this time span was quite substantial.
He spent the entire morning in the library, continuously memorizing the selected books on divine powers. If it weren't for Thor suddenly arriving with the Three Warriors, Russell wouldn't have minded staying in the library for several days.
With his current constitution, going without food, drink, or sleep for a few days would have no impact on him whatsoever.
"Let's continue later; Father wishes us to visit his study," Thor remarked as he glanced at the pile of divine power books on the table, which Russell had stacked like a small mountain.
"Very well!" Russell promptly closed the book in front of him and responded.
Just as he was about to personally return the books to their respective shelves, Thor continued, "You can leave them here; someone will take care of it."
Russell nodded in acknowledgment upon hearing Thor's words.
Then, he followed Thor out of the library.
Once they reached the library's entrance, Russell turned to Luna, the maid who had been waiting by the entrance, and said, "You can return to the sleeping quarters for now."
"Of course, my Lord!" Luna bowed respectfully to Russell and Thor before walking in the direction of Russell's sleeping quarters.
Observing Luna's somewhat unnatural gait as she departed, Thor suddenly raised his right hand and patted Russell's shoulder forcefully.
"It seems like you had quite an enjoyable night!"
Although Thor's statement seemed abrupt, Russell instantly understood his true meaning.
Indeed!
Thor, the Crown Prince of Asgard, had quite the discerning eye!
"It was alright, quite an experience!" Russell replied with a smile.
Upon hearing Russell's response, Thor shook his head with a smile and then led the way to Odin's study.
More than ten minutes later.
Odin's study.
Odin, still wearing his usual attire, sat calmly behind his desk, surveying Russell and Thor with a single glance.
"There has been a minor disturbance at the Vanaheimr. Both of you, take a team and handle it," Odin said casually.
"Yes, Father!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Thor and Russell replied simultaneously.
After giving their orders, Odin didn't say anything more. He waved his hand, signaling for them to leave the study.
Although Odin didn't provide any details and simply instructed them to handle the situation, for a ruler, such orders were sufficient.
Higher-ups only needed to express their requirements briefly, while the details of how to execute them were left to the subordinates to figure out.
After leaving Odin's study, Thor led Russell to his own study.
Thor's study wasn't far from Odin's study. In just a few minutes, they arrived at Thor's study, which was slightly smaller in scale compared to Odin's.
"Feel free to sit!" Thor pointed to the guest area in the study.
Russell and the three warriors didn't say a word; they simply found seats wherever they pleased.
Once they were all seated, Thor picked up several letters from the desk and approached Russell and the others, handing them the letters.
"These are the letters delivered today from the front Vanaheimr. Take a look."
After saying this, Thor walked over to the liquor cabinet and retrieved a bottle of strong liquor.
Russell quickly skimmed through the contents of the letters after receiving them.
The majority of the Asgardians lived in Asgard, but there were still Asgardian camps and gathering places in Vanaheimr, the realm of Vanir. Within the Nine Realms, Vanaheimr was most similar to Asgard, and Vanir were most similar to the Asgardians.
Other realms, such as Jotunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants, and Muspelheim, the realm of the Fire Giants, were not suitable for Asgardian habitation. However, survival was possible if one tried.
In order not to provoke the Frost Giants and Fire Giants, Asgard had not established front camps in places like Jotunheim and Muspelheim.
In fact, besides Vanaheimr, Asgard had not set up front camps in any other realms, including Earth.
As for why Vanaheimr was so special, the reason was simple: Vanir and Asgardians were, in a way, arch-enemies.
Unlike Jotunheim and Muspelheim, which had signed peace agreements with Asgard, Vanaheimr had yet to sign a peace treaty with Asgard, and sporadic conflicts still occurred between the two sides.
Although it hadn't escalated to a full-scale war, their relationship was far from friendly.
The contents of the letters were not extensive, and after a quick scan, Russell had read everything in them.
"What do you plan to do?" Russell asked Thor after handing the letters to the three warriors.
"It's simple; I and you will lead a team to deal with this."
"Unless something unexpected happens, we should be able to resolve it in a few days."
Thor said casually.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, this isn't the first time Vanaheimr has erupted in unrest. Trust me; I have plenty of experience with quelling rebellions."
Thor finished the liquor in his glass before saying confidently.
"In that case, let's make the trip."
Russell didn't mind going to Vanaheimr; in fact, he was somewhat looking forward to it. This anticipation was similar to embarking on a journey to a place he had never been before, even though this time, he was likely going to take lives in Vanaheimr. But it didn't dampen his spirits.
"I'll gather the troops in a moment; you should check if there's anything you need to prepare."
Thor reminded Russell quietly. While he had mentioned earlier that it shouldn't take more than a few days, no one could say for sure how long they might have to stay in Vanaheimr this time. If things didn't go smoothly, they might be there for ten days, half a month, or even half a year. After all, Vanir were a race not much weaker than the Asgardians. If Vanir were too weak, they wouldn't be worthy adversaries for the Asgardians, even though they hadn't signed a peace treaty with them like Jotunheim and Muspelheim.
"Can I borrow books from the public library?" Russell asked Thor after thinking for a moment.
"Yes, you can," Thor replied quietly.
"Great, I'll bring a few books with me."
After chatting casually with Thor about their upcoming trip to Vanaheimr, Russell left Thor's study and returned to the public library.
He had told Thor that he would bring a few books with him, but in reality, he borrowed several shelves worth of books from the library.
Though it seemed like a lot of books to borrow, it wasn't an issue for him, given his access to a system space. Russell couldn't help but feel that this mission to quell the unrest in Vanaheimr might not be as simple as Thor had made it sound. If it were that straightforward, Odin wouldn't have sent him, Thor, the three warriors, and the future wife Thor, Sif.
As Russell headed to the Rainbow Bridge Hall for departure, he saw Sif, who had a romantic subplot with Thor in the movie universe. Sif had beautiful golden hair, a lovely face, and an attractive figure, dressed in a form-fitting silver-white armor. However, what caught Russell's attention first wasn't Sif's appearance or figure but the longsword she carried.
Sif's silver-white longsword appeared similar to other longswords in terms of design, but Russell sensed a distinct magical aura emanating from it.
Upon perceiving the enchantment on the longsword, he quickly recalled some information about Sif. He didn't know the name of her longsword, but he knew that it was enchanted by none other than the All-Father Odin himself.
After Odin's enchantment, Sif's longsword could not only function as a regular weapon for attack and defense but also open spatial portals through specific swing patterns, allowing her to teleport to different locations, such as between Asgard and Earth.
In this regard, Sif's longsword was somewhat similar to the "Rainbow Bridge Sword" Bifrost, wielded by her brother Heimdall, which could open the Rainbow Bridge.
Furthermore, like Heimdall, Sif possessed formidable hand-to-hand combat skills and exceptional swordsmanship. In terms of close combat abilities, among the many goddesses in Asgard, Sif ranked in the top three, second only to the Valkyrie, Brunnhilde.
