Heimdall added some intelligence. According to him, when he saw the enemies, those guys had a small stone floating above their heads.
It had Rune Runes inscribed on it.
As for what exactly it was used for, the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge didn't know.
He thought Odin knew, but Odin's face didn't reveal anything.
Of course, that's because the current Odin is a knockoff.
Heimdall was put back to bed by Odin, watching that tall and aged back leave thoughtfully.
Su Ming knew something about Asgard, but he knew very little about the core assets of the Nordic Pantheon, the power system of Rune Runes.
It seemed like you could just find a stone or some tree bark, carve a Ghost Talisman on it, and assemble them in a certain order to gain extraordinary power.
The principle isn't clear, but Su Ming speculates that through this special ritual, one can draw power from the World Tree.
It's like cracking a password; if the password is correct, you can withdraw "money" from the World Tree.
The longer the password, the higher the confidentiality level, and the more power you would obtain.
As for the power of the World Tree itself, it probably doesn't just come from photosynthesis; it likely has something to do with the Wisdom Spring Water below and the strands of destiny.
So in this sense, is the World Tree an Ancient Demon God? Just a vegetative one...
They use magic in Asgard rather freely, and it seems like there are no side effects or costs, which is probably all based on this tree.
Su Ming felt a bit guilty; such a good tree, where else in the world could there be such a good Demon God?
And yet he actually burned it. Truly shameful.
This guilt lasted about 0.01 seconds before he shrugged it off.
Better go check on Odin. If needed, it would be more secure to hold the real Eternal Spear in his own hands.
Su Ming considered Zemo's plan from a rational standpoint, but he couldn't be sure if Zemo himself knew that unless you were of Asgardian blood, you couldn't obtain the Rune King's power.
Nor could he be sure if Zemo knew he was dealing with a fake, with the real Odin and Eternal Spear sleeping in the depths of the Golden Palace.
So Su Ming decided, whether it was real or fake, it'd be safer if he held both Eternal Spears.
He already had two legendary weapons: Nightfall and Godslayer, which were in no way inferior to the Eternal Spear, and even surpassed it in many respects.
The Nightfall Greatsword is incredibly sharp, with very few things it couldn't cut, and the X Metal could be used to slice through the World Barrier, essential for traversing worlds.
Godslayer is highly functional, serving as both a weapon and armor, and outside of combat, it can turn into a barbecue skewer, guitar string, bottle opener, or even be used to unclog sewers, making it an unbeatable choice against pesky relatives.
So looking at it this way, the Eternal Spear offers no real advantage and would even drop Su Ming's luck to E, quite ominous.
So even if he got his hands on the Eternal Spear, Su Ming would just store it in the little silk pouch, never to use it.
Thinking this, he wandered around the depths of the Golden Palace, occasionally tapping on the walls with his finger bones as if searching for a secret chamber.
He had no choice; he didn't know where Odin was sleeping, and this wasn't a question to ask others. Frigga could be asked, but she had gone back to her chamber, which was inconvenient to visit.
However, the Golden Palace wasn't that large, so given the possibility that Zemo might come, Su Ming's wandering around was both a patrol and a way to familiarize himself with the terrain, killing two birds with one stone.
Halfway through, he saw some wine on the table and took a sip, and when he saw roasted meat, he casually tasted it.
The Immortal Palace lives up to its name. These foods, if placed in the corridors of a mortal palace, would seem a bit odd.
But here, with the fireplaces lit, beast hides spread on the floor, a lavish display of gold everywhere, adding food and drink serves as nice decor.
When he was nearly full, he finally found Odin's small golden room of slumber, Odin's Sleep.
A regular door with ordinary carving—a scene of gods resembling Vikings battling at sea on a longship.
Su Ming knew that this little room was actually Odin's true home.
The seemingly ordinary people on the longship were Odin's father, King Bower, his brothers 'Willie' and 'Wei,' while the one with two Crows on his shoulders was Odin himself.
Originally, there was another person at the stern, but this person's statue had been erased, with visible wear on the gold there.
Su Ming guessed it was originally a statue of the Great Serpent.
The father stood at the bow, guiding the direction, shielding from wind and rain.
While the eldest son stood at the stern, protecting the family with a Shield after the combat paused.
Strictly speaking, the Aesir Race has a pretty strong sense of family; if not for various accidents, their brotherly bonds would have been quite strong.
But now, aside from Odin and the Great Serpent, everyone else in the statue is dead. At that time, Hel wasn't around, and death meant complete oblivion.
Su Ming sighed, extended his hand, and pushed the door open.
The heavy golden doors slowly opened, revealing a tiny room inside.
This house was even smaller than Brynhild's home. From the entrance, the room was diamond-shaped, with tall walls on each side featuring fireplaces, all burning fiercely.
There were no extra decorations, just a bed and a few wine jugs; that was it.
But metal walls, metal floor, metal bed—this was gold in all five elements. The heat from the fireplace was concentrated and reflected onto the bed in the center of the room.
That bed was shaped like a longship, just smaller in size, and Odin lay inside it.
"Isn't it too hot? Aren't you afraid of getting a heat rash..."
Casually shutting the door, he stepped closer.
Seeing the old man lying in the longship-like bed covered with dozens of layers of beast hides, Su Ming couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.
What was this?
If you have chills and sensitivity to cold, take some medicine. Sleeping in a sauna, what is this? A dry sauna...
But his target, the Eternal Spear, was firmly in Odin's grasp, held to his chest.
It's too hot and uncomfortable, better take it and go; Strangulation clearly doesn't like this place.
Su Ming bent down, grabbed the spear, and gave it a tug.
The spear didn't budge.
Su Ming made a helpless expression, of course, Odin still has such a strong grip even when sleeping.
He clutched the spear with both hands, placing a foot on the bed's edge, and as he exerted more force, metal began to make creaking sounds from deformation.
But Odin retained his position, firmly gripping the weapon.
"I mean, why are you Asgardians so stubborn? Won't let go of a weapon even when sleeping?"
Su Ming grumbled to the unconscious old man while wrestling for the spear.
Zemo wouldn't be as gentle as Su Ming; if he came for the Eternal Spear, he might have chopped off Odin's hands.
A treasure in a comatose patient's hands, that's not good.
Yet Odin's strength was immense; in his unconscious state, he seemed to have merged with the Eternal Spear, and neither prying nor tugging could move it.
Su Ming, drenched in sweat, struggled for ages and ended up laughing out of exasperation.
This old stubborn head, looks like it's time to use his trump card.
"Strangulation!"
The symbiote, united with its host, understood immediately. It instantly emerged from Su Ming's chest and spread over Odin's body.
It sprouted countless small tendrils from its main tendrils, resembling giant centipedes, and began tickling Odin under his ribs...