After Josh destroyed Xandar last year, the Nova Empire fell into endless chaos.
Taking advantage of this, the Kree Empire paused its other wars and began a large-scale invasion of Nova.
Although the remaining factions of the Nova Empire fought back as best they could, with no central leadership and internal chaos, they were unable to prevent the Kree from advancing.
Soon, the Kree forces swept in and took control of large areas of the Nova Empire.
However, just as the Nova Empire's survival was in jeopardy, the Shi'ar Empire, which had only been covertly supporting Nova to curb the Kree, intervened directly.
And when they did, it was the young Emperor D'ken himself who took command of the fleet!
He briefly clashed with the Kree fleet.
The final outco is unknown, but not long after, the Kree began retreating. They still controlled large parts of the Nova Empire's territory, but no further progress was made.
Clearly, they decided to pull back while they still had a significant hold.
As a result, so nearby civilizations, who had been waiting to take advantage of Nova's weakness, hesitated and no longer dared to act.
Clearly, the fact that the Kree retreated so easily ant either the Shi'ar showed imnse strength, or the two sides had co to an agreent.
In either case, it showed that the Shi'ar were not to be underestimated.
In fact, according to ssages from Dracula's side, a star system in the border region between the Kree and the remaining Nova Empire forces had disappeared.
If this information is accurate, it implies sothing very serious.
The Shi'ar Empire may possess the ability to destroy entire star systems.
Josh was shocked when he heard this.
Destroy a star system? This level of power... is this really from the MCU and not so other comic universe?
Wasn't the Shi'ar supposed to be a peaceful civilization? This is more like a love for nuclear annihilation!
And Emperor D'ken?
Josh had limited knowledge of Marvel Comics and only knew a little about the Shi'ar, but if he rembered correctly, the Shi'ar's emperor should have been a female, soone nad Lilandra or sothing.
He hadn't heard of D'ken before.
Maybe it's due to the tiline change.
Regardless, from the strength shown, even with the Infinity Stones, Josh couldn't afford to be overconfident. The ability to destroy an entire star system—whether through personal power or military might—was beyond his reach.
In fact, he couldn't even truly destroy a star. The destruction of Xandar was largely a trick, using the energy of the Power Stone to erase all life on the planet and turn it into a lifeless zone. It didn't actually harm the planet itself too much.
Fortunately, based on the information Josh received, after driving out all the forces threatening the Nova Empire, including the Kree, the Shi'ar not only helped stabilize the remaining factions of Nova and re-established a new governnt, but they didn't take any further action.
However, just to be safe, Josh had Loki send so newly awakened Vrykul—who had been implanted with psychological suggestions—to Jotunheim to align with Laufey.
The Vrykul sent to Jotunheim had no mory of Josh or his affiliated forces. Even if they were tracked later, Josh's identity wouldn't be exposed.
Due to the psychological influence, these Vrykul would not only confirm Laufey's involvent with the "Destroyer King" who annihilated Xandar, but they could also turn on the Shi'ar and beco key players in Josh's control over Jotunheim.
Although Jotunheim itself was of little value due to its cold and barren environnt, the Frost Giants were perfect as soldiers.
After reporting the mission progress to Josh, Loki quickly left to return to the banquet hall. He couldn't be away for too long, or else Thor and the others might start getting suspicious.
Once Loki had left, Josh made his way back to the banquet hall.
...
The next day ca quickly.
Josh was resting with his beloved wife—neither of them had much need for sleep anymore.
But most of the ti, they still maintained a relatively normal routine; if they couldn't sleep, they just rested with their eyes closed.
However, just as dawn began to break, they heard the sounds of fighting.
The sounds of the battle were distant, but it didn't make much difference to them.
"What's going on?" Margaret asked with a slight frown. Her strength was still far behind Josh's, so she could only hear the sounds of the fight, but she couldn't tell who was fighting.
But it was clear that soone was upset. Her daughter had just ascended the throne, and now soone was causing trouble at the palace early in the morning. This wasn't acceptable!
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. It's just Carter and Sif sparring," Josh replied after listening for a mont.
It turned out that Carter, who was out for a morning workout, had run into Sif. For so reason, whether from excitent or just for fun, they had ended up sparring in the plaza.
"Should we go check on them?" Margaret asked.
"No need. Nothing major will happen," Josh shook his head.
However, Josh had underestimated the situation a bit.
Before long, the plaza beca even more lively.
The sparring between Sif and Carter had drawn attention from Thor and his companions.
Carter was still very powerful and, with her gear, she was more than a match for Sif. Their battle was evenly matched.
Thor and the three warriors of Asgard were known for their love of combat, and after noticing the number of superhuman beings in the Austrian palace the day before, they were eager to engage. Seeing Carter's impressive strength early in the morning, they were excited and suggested a "friendly competition" with the warriors of the Kahn family.
Among the palace guards, there were also several freshly graduated Jedi Knights. As young people, they were quick to get caught up in the mont.
When they saw Thor and the others issue the challenge, even though they knew they were VIPs and "gods," their competitive spirits kicked in.
Several Jedi warriors on break imdiately accepted the challenge. Though the Ouroboros organization maintained strict discipline, internal challenges and sparring were allowed as long as no active mission was assigned.
At first, only the three warriors of Asgard stepped forward.
The three warriors were strong, but not overwhelmingly so. While they could win in a one-on-one battle, it wasn't to the point of completely overpowering their opponents. The sparring was intense and exciting—after all, it was a friendly match, not a deadly duel, so the Jedi didn't wear Vibranium gear.
However, if they lost all the matches, the Austrian royal family would lose face.
So, a few of the warriors who had returned for Carol's coronation ceremony the day before, including Vito, stepped in to help.
Among the three divine power warriors, Vito and another were the only two who had received the power of three Dinsional Gods, while the third warrior, Bresta, had fully absorbed the power of all four Dinsional Gods.
If they were ordinary divine warriors, the three heroes might have been able to handle them, but clearly, the power of these three warriors was beyond normal.
As a result, they were naturally defeated.
But seeing his three friends lose, Thor, who had originally planned to just watch, couldn't stand by any longer.
He couldn't let the warriors of Asgard to lose!
Moreover, Thor himself had developed a strong interest in these powerful warriors.
So, he stepped in personally and challenged Vito and the others—three against one.
The result was clear. The three divine power warriors were strong, but when compared to Thor, the Asgardian prince with the power of a god-king, they were on an entirely different level—even though Thor had not fully awakened his power yet.
Even the strongest, Bresta, only managed to exchange a few blows with Thor.
Of course, a big factor in this was Thor's Mjolnir.
But you couldn't say Thor was cheating—according to him, Mjolnir and he were one. Asking him to put down his hamr was the sa as asking him to surrender!
So, when Josh arrived at the plaza, he saw Thor holding his hamr high, boasting and laughing, inviting everyone else to continue the challenge.
Although this attitude left so of the Austrian royal family slightly displeased, they didn't make too much of it, as Thor was a "god" and a respected guest.
Seeing this scene, Josh, who had just arrived with Margaret, couldn't help but be slightly intrigued.
"What's up? You want to try it?" Margaret, sensing the change in her husband, noticed his thoughts.
"Yes, now that I've received Tiamat's blessing, I haven't t a worthy opponent yet!" Josh nodded, not hiding his thoughts.
"Mr. Kahn, would you like to step down and try?" At that mont, Thor saw Josh and, in a mont of confusion, called out.
His words imdiately silenced the once lively plaza.
The surrounding Ouroboros warriors, who had been looking at things with friendly eyes, now began to eye Josh with a more hostile gaze.
After all, Josh was their lord. It was one thing for Thor to challenge them, but challenging Josh carried an undertone of provocation.
The three warriors and Sif, who had just fought, felt a bit awkward.
Loki, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but cover his face.
But knowing Josh's true abilities, Loki clearly thought about the situation differently from everyone else.
While others thought Thor's challenge was unreasonable, Loki knew Thor had picked a fight with the final boss!
When Thor spoke, he imdiately realized his mistake, but with his pride, he couldn't back down. He quickly laughed it off and said, "Haha, no worries. We can try sothing else, like arm wrestling!"
"No problem, I've been wanting to see the strength of the famous Thunder God myself!" However, to everyone's surprise, Josh only smiled slightly and accepted the challenge.
Now, it was Thor's group, excluding Loki, who were stunned.
To them, Josh appeared slender compared to the divine warriors and Jedi Knights, and didn't look like soone with imnse strength.
But Josh didn't explain himself. Instead, he imdiately drew on his power.
Powerful Cosmic Power surged, and Josh's form was enveloped in magnificent golden armor, along with a golden cloak similar in style to Thor's. At the sa ti, his Broken Steel Sword appeared in his hand.
The reason Josh chose the Broken Steel Sword over the Sword of Rupture was simple: the Sword of Rupture had the Power Stone embedded in it, making it unsuitable for display in public.
Moreover, the Power Stone was too powerful. Since Josh was only preparing to spar with Thor and not engage in a life-or-death battle, he didn't want to accidentally hurt Thor. The Broken Steel Sword was just right for the occasion.
Josh's sudden change of appearance imdiately stunned most people present.
This form of Josh, which he rarely displayed in public, was a surprise to all, even to most mbers of the Ouroboros. Only those extrely close to him had seen this side of him.
Thor and the others hadn't realized that Josh, who was only known for his "Father of the Queen" status, was actually a god.
Yes, a true god.
Earlier, when Thor and the others fought with so divine-powered warriors, they had felt the divine power within them. However, the warriors like Vito had their power forcibly infused, so while they were strong, to Thor and the others, they were nothing more than pseudo-gods with power but no true divinity.
But Josh, standing before them, was a true god, on the sa level as Thor. His divine power was pure and potent. (TL/N: I think thor calls cosmic power as divine power)
Even Loki, standing at the side, was taken aback by Josh's current form.
Although Josh had already displayed imnse strength during the Xandar incident, he hadn't revealed his armor at the ti due to the need for secrecy, only using the Broken Steel Sword.
Looking at Josh now, one could not deny that, visually, he appeared even more godlike than Thor.
"So, Mr. Kahn is also a god... I must have underestimated you, but I'm eager to face a formidable opponent!" Thor, for once, spoke humbly, though his eyes betrayed his excitent.
"I feel the sa. However, this is not the place for such a battle... I'll leave it to you, Ancient One!" Josh smiled slightly, then turned to look at the Ancient One, who had quietly appeared at the edge of the plaza.
Both Josh and Thor were formidable, and if they fought, they wouldn't be able to hold back. Josh didn't want to risk destroying his daughter's palace.
Upon hearing Josh's words, the Ancient One said nothing further but simply nodded and began casting a spell.
The next mont, everyone in the plaza was pulled into the Mirror Dinsion by the Ancient One.
To prevent any accidental injuries between Josh and Thor, the Mirror Dinsion for the two of them was separated from the others, so everyone could watch the battle like a holographic film without fear of harm.
"What an amazing spell. I've never heard Father ntion that Earth has such powerful sorcerers... Now I think I understand why Father wanted to bring people to attend the Queen's coronation ceremony!" Thor exclaid as he observed the surrounding Mirror Dinsion.
"It's never too late to understand. Now, let's get started!" Josh raised his Sword of Rupture and said.
"Then I won't hold back!" Thor replied, not hesitating for a mont. He began swinging his Mjolnir, and massive bolts of lightning crackled around him.
The next second, Thor leapt high into the air, his hamr crackling with thunder as he swung it down toward Josh's head!
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