Chương 107: Chapter 107: Dark Elves: We Are Incredibly Brave! 

Early the next morning, Luke was violently awakened by his custom "Ninja Alarm Clock" (a Shadow Ninja physically shaking him awake). Annoyed, he shoved the ninja's head back into the shadows and groggily dragged himself out of bed. 

After washing up, Luke immediately flew directly out to the massive, untamed, primordial forests located on the outer fringes of the Asgardian continent. 

Asgard was an incredibly vast, flat landmass floating in space. Due to the relatively small population of the Aesir, they only occupied a central fraction of the continent. The rest of the realm was dominated by ancient, wildly overgrown forests teeming with magical flora and fauna. 

Naturally, these forests were home to various magical beasts. However, their overall power levels were relatively low; otherwise, Odin would have exterminated them millennia ago to ensure the safety of his citizens. 

After scaring off a flock of massive, aggressive, condor-like birds, Luke found a sufficiently large, empty clearing deep within the ancient forest. He mentally commanded his new elite units to materialize. 

Several colossal, terrifyingly mutated Shadowkhan warriors stepped out of the darkness and lined up perfectly before him. Luke smiled, admiring his new heavy hitters. He had come here specifically to field-test their actual combat capabilities, and he only knew one reliable method for testing his army. 

A good, old-fashioned brawl! 

Dozens of standard Shadow Ninjas silently materialized from the surrounding trees, their glowing red eyes staring coldly at the massive elite units standing in the center of the clearing. 

Without warning, a towering Troll Ninja violently uprooted a massive, ancient oak tree and aggressively hurled it directly at the elite squad! 

The Scythe Ninja reacted instantly. Its four razor-sharp, spike-like legs blurred into motion, propelling it forward with terrifying speed. It intercepted the flying tree mid-air, its massive arm-scythes flashing in a blindingly fast cross-slash. The massive oak tree was instantly perfectly diced into neat, geometric blocks of firewood before it could even land. 

Looking at the impossibly smooth, polished cuts on the wood, Luke nodded approvingly. Those scythes were absurdly sharp. 

Following the Troll Ninja's opening attack, dozens of standard Ninjas and Razorclaws leaped from the canopy, rapidly swarming the elite squad. 

The Alien (Squid) Ninja launched itself forward like a striking cobra. Its unique, serpentine lower body allowed it to slither and maneuver through the dense undergrowth with terrifying speed and agility, effortlessly dodging a dense volley of shurikens thrown by the standard Ninjas. 

Several Razorclaws closed the distance, their arm-blades flashing as they attempted to slice the Squid Ninja into ribbons. However, the Squid Ninja's body possessed absolutely zero rigid bone structure; it contorted and twisted its torso in physically impossible, snake-like patterns, effortlessly evading the lethal strikes. 

Simultaneously, its two massive, hyper-extensible tentacles violently whipped out, securely wrapping around three of the Razorclaws! The tentacles instantly constricted with terrifying, crushing force. Within seconds, the three heavily armored Razorclaws were violently crushed into shadowy mist and forced to respawn. 

Seeing the terrifying grappling strength of the Squid Ninja, the remaining standard Ninjas wisely kept their distance, attempting to utilize their rope-darts to bind it. However, the Squid Ninja was simply far too agile; it easily dodged or deflected the incoming projectiles. 

Suddenly, a massive Troll Ninja charged the Squid Ninja, throwing a devastating, boulder-sized punch. 

The Squid Ninja effortlessly slithered out of the way. Rather than retreating, it aggressively engaged the five-meter-tall giant! It compressed its serpentine body like a coiled spring and violently launched itself into the air! Its two massive tentacles securely wrapped around the Troll Ninja's head, while its powerful tail lashed out, tightly gripping a nearby ancient tree for leverage. 

Using the tree as an anchor, the Squid Ninja violently contracted its entire body, literally ripping the massive Troll Ninja off its feet and slamming it heavily onto the ground! 

As the Troll crashed down, the Squid Ninja instantly pounced, tightly coiling its entire, hyper-muscular serpentine body around the giant's head and neck like an anaconda! 

With a sickening, bone-crushing CRACK, the massive Troll Ninja was violently decapitated and forced back into the shadows! 

Luke watched in sheer awe. While the Squid Ninja's absolute, raw physical lifting strength was definitely lower than the Troll Ninja's, its terrifying agility and unique, hyper-flexible physiology allowed it to utilize its entire body weight to effortlessly crush enemies significantly larger than itself! 

Luke then turned his attention to the Crab Ninja and the Scythe Ninja. Their combat performances were equally devastating. 

The Crab Ninja fought exactly like a living, heavily armored main battle tank. It completely ignored finesse, casually charging straight through the dense forest. Massive trees as thick as water barrels were violently snapped in half like dry twigs under its unstoppable charge! 

Its massive, spike-like left stinger violently impaled a charging Troll Ninja straight through the chest! Several standard Ninjas seized the opportunity, throwing their rope-darts to tightly bind the Crab Ninja's limbs. 

The Crab Ninja didn't even flinch. It simply flexed its massive, heavily armored muscles, violently snapping the enchanted dark energy ropes as if they were made of cheap yarn! 

Several Razorclaws desperately scrambled onto the Crab Ninja's back, frantically hacking and slashing at its thick exoskeleton with their arm-blades. However, their incredibly sharp weapons couldn't even leave a scratch on the hyper-dense armor! 

The Crab Ninja casually reached back with its massive right pincer, clamped down on a struggling Razorclaw, and violently hurled it onto the ground before casually stomping it into misty oblivion. 

Seeing this, three Troll Ninjas synchronized their movements, executing a massive, combined charge directly at the Crab Ninja! 

The Crab Ninja didn't retreat a single inch. It lowered its center of gravity and aggressively charged forward to meet them! 

BOOM! 

The devastating collision sent shockwaves through the forest! Incredibly, the single Crab Ninja completely halted the combined, unstoppable charge of three massive Trolls! 

Finding its massive, spiked feet deeply entrenched in the soil, the Crab Ninja raised its right pincer, clamped onto the lead Troll Ninja's leg, and violently swept it off its feet. It then mercilessly pinned the struggling giant to the ground and repeatedly, brutally smashed its spiked left stinger directly into the Troll's face until it respawned! 

The Scythe Ninja, on the other hand, fought with a terrifying, lethal elegance. Its four spiked legs allowed it to move with unpredictable, erratic speed. As it danced through the battlefield, its massive dual scythes flashed constantly, executing precise, surgical strikes that instantly severed the limbs and heads of any Razorclaw foolish enough to approach. When confronted with incoming projectiles, it casually spun its scythes like propellers, effortlessly deflecting the barrage. 

The Scythe Ninja wasn't causing massive, explosive destruction like the Troll or the Crab, but that was exactly what made it so terrifying. It was a silent, hyper-efficient reaper. It always landed a fatal strike. 

Luke observed the chaotic brawl for a while longer, thoroughly analyzing the unique strengths of his new elite units. 

The Squid Ninja possessed extreme agility, silent movement, and incredible flexibility. It was the absolute perfect specialist unit for stealth infiltration, assassination, and operating within confined, highly complex environments where larger units would struggle. 

The Crab Ninja was the ultimate, immovable heavy tank. Its terrifying physical strength, combined with its virtually impenetrable exoskeleton, allowed it to effortlessly weather overwhelming enemy fire while aggressively breaking enemy lines. It was a brutal, unstoppable juggernaut, designed to completely dominate the center of any battlefield and draw all enemy aggro. 

The Scythe Ninja was the hyper-lethal, high-efficiency damage dealer. Despite lacking explosive, flashy attacks, its kill count during the brawl was significantly higher than the Crab and Squid Ninjas combined. It was an incredibly fast, highly mobile executioner. 

Overall, Luke was incredibly satisfied with his new elite units. However, he also recognized that his standard Shadowkhan infantry hadn't utilized their massive numerical advantage. If he deployed ten thousand standard Ninjas simultaneously, even these elite units would eventually be overwhelmed and dragged down. 

The sheer terror of an infinite, swarming horde is still my greatest weapon. 

After half an hour of brutal testing, Luke ordered the infinitely tireless constructs to stop. He looked at the massive clearing they had created—the ground was completely cratered, and hundreds of ancient trees had been violently pulverized into splinters. 

Luke sighed. He channeled a surge of dark energy through the soles of his feet, activating the Dark Dimension's 'devour' protocol. The dark energy rapidly spread across the clearing, instantly consuming all the pulverized debris, shattered wood, and upturned soil, pulling it all into the Dark Dimension. 

After completely cleaning up the chaotic mess (spanning several thousand square meters), Luke checked his System and noticed his Maximum Energy Capacity had increased by roughly a thousand points. While a thousand points was practically insignificant to his current massive reserves, it was still free energy! 

Previously, when the Dark Dimension was smaller, he couldn't actively 'devour' massive physical objects to expand its capacity. But in the future, if he continued to expand the dimension's baseline size, he could theoretically travel into deep space and directly devour massive asteroids or entirely uninhabited planets! The raw energy yield from devouring a planet would be absolutely astronomical! 

No wonder Dormammu is constantly flying around the universe trying to eat planets! The return on investment is insane! 

However, Luke knew he lacked the sheer, cosmic-scale 'capital' to attempt something like that right now. His current Maximum Energy Capacity was 70 million points, which roughly translated to a physical Dark Dimension volume of 70 million cubic meters. While certainly massive, it was absolutely nowhere near large enough to physically swallow an entire planet. 

But still... he could definitely start small! What if he flew out into the asteroid belt and started slowly devouring space rocks? Or, even better, what if he established several permanent, secure portals near Earth's major landfills and radioactive waste sites, and actively charged governments to instantly 'dispose' of their un-recyclable garbage by throwing it into the Dark Dimension?! 

Even if the daily energy yield from eating garbage wasn't astronomical, it would be a constant, passive, highly lucrative income stream! 

The only problem is... if I let humanity throw all their trash into my dimension without strict oversight, those greedy politicians will absolutely inevitably try to slowly throw the entire planet's mass into the portals to save a quick buck. And when the planet's mass is severely depleted and the ecosystem collapses, they'll absolutely blame me, and the Ancient One will definitely hunt me down. 

Wait... why don't I just officially delegate all planetary administrative and ecological oversight duties to the Ancient One?! 

She's planning on retiring and handing the Sorcerer Supreme title to Stephen Strange soon anyway! I'll just give her a new, highly prestigious job as the 'Planetary Administrator of Earth'! 

Realizing he was actively helping a lonely, hundred-year-old retiree find meaningful, fulfilling employment after her impending resignation, Luke felt incredibly noble and pious. 

I am truly a benevolent god. 

Having successfully resolved a nonexistent future crisis, Luke dismissed the Shadowkhan and stretched lazily, preparing to fly back to the Royal Palace. 

Suddenly, a massive, incredibly aggressive-looking wild boar—roughly the size of a small car—violently burst out of the dense undergrowth a short distance away! 

Luke paused. Well... I'm already out here... I might as well grab some fresh, organic ingredients for dinner, right? Meat prices on Earth have been getting ridiculous lately. 

The massive, highly territorial boar suddenly felt a terrifying, absolutely predatory gaze lock onto it. It slowly, nervously turned its massive head toward Luke. 

"Hello there, lunch," Luke smiled warmly. 

Instantly, several Razorclaw Ninjas, their eyes glowing with lethal intent, violently launched themselves from the shadows! 

A few minutes later, Luke was literally drooling as he watched the Razorclaws effortlessly haul the massive, car-sized boar back toward him. Look at all that premium, organic bacon! The miracle of nature! 

He quickly commanded standard Ninjas to securely bind the beast with rope-darts. Feeling ambitious, he deployed several Nightbat Ninjas to scout the surrounding forest for more 'premium ingredients,' ordering the rest of the Shadowkhan to assist in the hunt. 

Humming a happy tune, Luke relaxed against a tree, waiting for his groceries to arrive. Within twenty minutes, the Shadowkhan returned, carrying a massive haul of exotic, highly dangerous magical beasts. 

Luke smiled in absolute satisfaction. He was just about to open a portal back to the Royal Kitchens when a Nightbat Ninja hovering high above suddenly transmitted an urgent, highly alarming telepathic warning. 

Incoming hostile entity detected. Active optical camouflage engaged. Entering local airspace. 

An invisible ship?! 

Luke frowned deeply. Did one of those arrogant interstellar empires decide to pull a stealth operation while Asgard was distracted by the banquet?! 

Luke quickly drew a portal, ordered the Shadowkhan to toss the 'groceries' through, and immediately established a secure telepathic link with Odin and Frigga to warn them of the breach. 

According to the Nightbat's precise tracking data, the cloaked vessel was flying directly toward his current position in the forest! 

It's targeting me specifically! 

Luke's eyes narrowed dangerously. Let's see who has the absolute audacity. 

Massive torrents of dark energy violently erupted from his body as he rocketed into the sky, flying directly toward the coordinates provided by the Nightbat. 

In the cold void of space, Malekith watched the telemetry data from his sole remaining cloaked reconnaissance scout ship with absolute, unwavering focus. 

Yesterday, after brutally interrogating the terrified Sovereign diplomat, he had learned that Asgard was currently hosting a grand banquet and had recently recognized a mysterious new Foreign Prince. 

Malekith's ancient, honed intuition immediately screamed that the sudden, inexplicable disappearance of the Aether's call was directly connected to this newly appointed Prince! 

After all, even Odin's father, King Bor, the conqueror of the Dark Elves, couldn't completely suppress or mask the Aether's unique cosmic signature after claiming it! Bor had been forced to physically hide the Stone deep within an isolated pocket dimension just to sever his connection to it. 

Therefore, for the Aether's call to suddenly vanish completely while inside Asgard... Odin couldn't have simply hidden it again. He must have transferred ownership to an entity capable of absolutely suppressing its power! 

And this mysterious new Prince, who had appeared completely out of nowhere at the exact same time the Aether was recovered? The coincidence was impossible to ignore! The Prince absolutely possessed the Reality Stone! 

Upon confirming this intelligence last night, Malekith had immediately deployed his most advanced, fully cloaked scout ship to covertly scan the outer fringes of Asgard. 

Although the scout ship utilized supreme, reality-warping cloaking technology, Malekith still absolutely didn't dare attempt to sneak it past the omniscient gaze of the Gatekeeper, Heimdall. The scout was strictly ordered to remain in the unpopulated, outer forest regions. 

However, luck favored the Dark Elves. This morning, their primary target—the mysterious Prince—had inexplicably left the heavily fortified Royal Palace and flown directly into the untamed outer forests alone! 

Malekith immediately ordered the scout ship to track the Prince closely and commanded his massive flagship to slowly, stealthily begin its approach vector toward Asgard. 

Meanwhile, Luke was currently hovering motionless in the sky directly above the forest canopy. The Nightbat's telepathic link confirmed the invisible vessel was currently hovering a short distance directly in front of him. 

The pilot of the cloaked scout ship, completely unaware that their supreme stealth technology had been utterly compromised by magical bat-sonar, observed Luke hovering motionless in its path. Assuming it was a coincidence, the pilot transmitted a quick update to the flagship and attempted to casually bank around the Prince. 

Luke wasn't in the mood to play games. He knew Odin and the Royal Guards would arrive in seconds. He decided to just shoot it down immediately. 

He casually raised his hand. A massive, hyper-concentrated bolt of jagged, pitch-black lightning violently erupted from his palm, tearing through the air and slamming directly into empty space! 

BOOM! 

The devastating blast violently shattered the advanced optical camouflage. The sleek, dagger-shaped scout ship was instantly violently blown completely in half! The burning wreckage plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the dense forest below. 

Luke remained completely unfazed, slowly descending toward the burning wreckage. 

Several heavily armed figures clad in eerie, pale-white masks and pitch-black armor stumbled out of the burning debris, aiming exotic particle rifles at him. 

"What the...?" Luke frowned, recognizing the highly distinctive armor. "Dark Elves?!" 

Are you absolutely kidding me? They decided to launch a surprise attack on Asgard NOW?! 

This is quite literally the absolute worst possible time in the history of the universe to attack Asgard! 

Tony Stark had just finished completely upgrading and repairing the primary Asgardian anti-aircraft defense grid two days ago! Odin was currently perfectly healthy and capable of unleashing his full, terrifying cosmic power! The overwhelmingly powerful 'Fat Thor' from the future was currently visiting! Even Luke himself and the Sorcerer Supreme were currently vacationing in the palace! 

Even if Thanos cloned himself ten times and brought his entire armada, he wouldn't dare attack Asgard right now! How astronomically stupid are these guys?! 

Wait... Fat Thor? 

Luke suddenly paused. Did I forget something important? 

He suddenly remembered the incredibly depressed, overweight God of Thunder he had locked inside the Mirror Dimension yesterday afternoon for 'fat-loss therapy.' 

Oh crap! I left him in there! 

Luke frantically drew a massive Sling Ring portal in the sky. 

A heavily bruised, wildly disoriented Fat Thor stumbled out of the portal. His eyes were completely unfocused, and he clearly had absolutely no idea where he was. He didn't even notice that he was stepping out of the portal into thin air, hundreds of feet above the ground. 

"YOU ABSOLUTE BASTA—" Thor slurred angrily, attempting to finish the insult he had started yesterday. 

Before he could finish the word, gravity took hold. He plummeted straight down like a massive, 300-pound rock, not even attempting to summon his lightning to fly. 

"Uh... sorry about that," Luke offered a highly awkward, deeply guilty smile. Not caring if Thor could even hear him, Luke frantically commanded several Nightbat Ninjas to dive down and catch the plummeting, traumatized god before he cratered into the forest floor.