The expedition force setting out for Asgard isn't something decided on a whim, nor something they can embark on with just a pat on the chest.
Asgard is an alien environment unfamiliar to everyone.
No one is certain how factors like oxygen concentration, gravity, light duration, or magnetic fields there will affect human physiology.
Moreover, the expedition isn't just heading to Asgard—they're going to help Thor pacify the Nine Realms.
The so-called Nine Realms, according to mythology, are nine worlds that grow on the World Tree.
In modern terms, the Nine Realms are essentially nine habitable and life-supporting planets within the same star system.
Each planet's environment differs, so all the aforementioned factors must be carefully considered in advance.
Of course, with Tony and Banner from the research team, plus Dr. Fox provided by Su Ye, the superheroes don't need to worry about these issues.
They just need to eat, drink, sleep, train, chat, and spar as usual.
It's been over half a month since the Akatsuki abandoned their mission, but the battle between Kisame and Abomination hasn't stopped.
With the involvement of numerous superheroes, the battle escalated, turning into something of a chaotic arena brawl.
Almost all the male superheroes joined in the melee.
Su Ye stayed out of it.
At Mount Myōboku, Su Ye had almost completed his Sage Mode training. All that was left was to leave a shadow clone there to continuously absorb natural energy.
When needed, he could summon the shadow clone, activate Sage Mode, and unleash his combat power.
Meanwhile, Su Ye's main body returned to the Los Angeles Great Wall Defenders headquarters to prepare for the upcoming Nine Realms expedition with Tony and the others.
This was humanity's first large-scale extraterrestrial operation, and no amount of preparation was too much.
"My idea is to temporarily equip everyone with an Iron Suit," Tony said seriously.
He had come to terms with reality: Earth was beyond his ability to protect alone, let alone the universe.
So, it was no time to keep secrets. Whether or not the Great Wall Defenders wore the Iron Suits, he had to be prepared.
Su Ye nodded, "No problem. Our upgraded Quinjet can carry over twenty Iron Suits, ensuring more than enough for everyone."
Dr. Fox suddenly smiled at Su Ye, "Only flying the Quinjet?"
Tony and Banner immediately turned their heads, sensing that the old man had more to say.
Su Ye's eyes lit up, "Doctor, are you saying that thing is ready?"
"What thing?" Tony protested. Something had been developed in Los Angeles under J.A.R.V.I.S.'s surveillance without his knowledge?
After getting Dr. Fox's confirmation, Su Ye smiled and explained.
"A general-purpose integrated system for autonomous movement via unidirectional distributed neural connections!"
Dr. Fox added with a smile, "A nuclear-powered, unrestricted, next-generation assault module composite."
The more Tony listened, the more confused he became. "What exactly is it?"
Banner chimed in, "An all-domain general-purpose continuous enhancement mobile weapon system?"
At that moment, Mr. Stark felt abandoned by the world.
"Can someone explain to me what this thing is?"
Seeing that Su Ye and Dr. Fox weren't planning to speak, Banner reluctantly took on the role of explainer.
"This was Uncle Su's idea. Based on his vision, we used technology from the Iron Monger Suit and the Hulkbuster to create a new type of Iron Suit—or rather, Iron Warrior."
Tony's eyes widened. "Something this big, and why didn't I know about it?"
Banner shrugged. "Didn't you say you didn't want to hear anything about Batman?"
"I…" Tony was speechless. He had indeed said that to Banner before, and J.A.R.V.I.S. could testify.
"Dr. Banner is correct; you did indeed say that, sir!" J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed.
Tony had no choice but to concede.
"Fine, but what exactly is this general-purpose, unrestricted, all-domain thing you're talking about?"
The three exchanged glances, and finally, Su Ye spoke, "Like S.H.I.E.L.D., we gave this thing an acronym: G.U.N.D.A.M."
"You can also call it Gundam!"
Tony snorted. "Tall? How tall?"
The biggest Iron Suit he had built, the Hulkbuster, was only about 3.35 meters tall. How tall could this Gundam be—five meters?
Su Ye held up a scroll in his hand, about sixty to seventy meters long and several centimeters thick.
"Not that big. It fits in here."
Tony chuckled, showing he didn't believe it, but Su Ye didn't bother to explain further.
Soon, everyone aboard the Quinjet was geared up and ready.
Thor of Asgard served as the guide, while Loki remained confined in the Ancient One's Mirror Dimension.
Before leaving, Thor checked on Loki and reported that he seemed much improved, with less hostility and a calmer demeanor—even his crying appeared more genuine than before.
Thor said he was relieved to see Loki improving, as it proved the Mirror Dimension was more effective than Odin's previous attempts at discipline.
However, others wondered whether they should warn Thor that Loki might be nearing a breakdown. If this continued, he could lose his brother.
Then again, losing this brother might not be so bad, so they decided to let it be.
On the Great Wall Defenders' side, nearly everyone was deployed, including Wolverine and the reserve H-Men, who joined the team.
Once they left, J.A.R.V.I.S. was the only one maintaining the base's daily operations.
The full deployment of superheroes was partly to show goodwill towards Asgard and partly to give Joker and Aldrich Killian a completely free environment.
With the superheroes gone, Los Angeles is your playground—have fun!
Whatever happens next, even if Los Angeles is razed to the ground, it has nothing to do with the Great Wall Defenders.
After all, it was your own government that refused the Great Wall Defenders' help.
The Quinjet they were traveling in had been upgraded through the combined efforts of Tony and Dr. Fox.
Not only had its propulsion system been upgraded to a nuclear-powered arc reactor, but its range and engine output had also seen significant improvements.
It could easily fly tens of thousands of kilometers and even perform manned space flights.
Moreover, replacing the arc reactor was simple. They could store a box of reactors on the plane, eliminating the need for refueling or resupply.
The jet's size had also been greatly increased, accommodating over a dozen people along with twenty Iron Suits without issue.
"Seriously, what is that Gundam exactly?"
As the Quinjet traversed the Bifröst under Heimdall's guidance, Tony asked Banner again. The only reply he got was, "You'll see."
The journey through the Bifröst was swift. In what felt like less than half a minute, the Quinjet emerged, appearing over the waters surrounding Asgard.
"Whoa!"
Everyone gasped at the surrounding scenery, even Tony, who momentarily forgot about questioning the Gundam.
"This… this is the legendary Asgardian Palace?"
The palace of Norse mythology, Odin's residence, and the divine realm of the Æsir gods.
The palace was enormous, spanning thousands of acres, with a central hall larger than any castle or palace on Earth. At first glance, it was truly breathtaking.
However, when their gazes shifted from the main hall to the surroundings, they were amazed once again.
"The legendary Asgard is actually this small?"
Not just small—ascending a few hundred meters would reveal the entire realm. To put it bluntly, it was truly a tiny speck of land.
Not only was Asgard small, but its population was remarkably low.
The series Loki mentioned that Thanos intercepted Asgard's ship and slaughtered over 9,000 Asgardians.
Over 9,000—that's almost the entire number of people who escaped Asgard with Thor at the end of Thor: Ragnarok.
Adding to that were the soldiers and civilians killed by Hela, along with the few who died during the Dark Elves' attack in Thor: The Dark World.
At its peak, Asgard's total population might have been around 50,000 at most.
That's about the size of a small town on Earth, and its area wasn't even as large as a typical town.
Yet, this tiny realm with a mere 50,000 people managed to rule the Nine Realms for thousands of years.
What does this signify?
It shows that in the face of absolute individual power, numbers don't matter.
At their peak, Odin and Hela alone could conquer the Nine Realms. The rest of the soldiers were merely there to witness the battles in live-action and cheer from the sidelines.
Despite its small size, Asgard has existed for countless millennia and is quite advanced in terms of technology.
For example, their massive energy shield that encases all of Asgard, the energy cannons on their walls, and those flying ships that sail the skies without sails or oars.
These displayed technologies are unheard of on Earth.
These technical aspects were left to Tony, Banner, and Dr. Fox to handle. Anything they could bring back to Earth, they wouldn't hesitate to analyze.
The rest, as combat personnel, began the mission to pacify the Nine Realms.
In truth, pacifying the Nine Realms didn't mean conquering all nine planets.
Asgard and Earth didn't need intervention, so that was two realms off the list.
Next was Helheim, Hela's realm of imprisonment, which didn't require attention. Going there was likely a one-way trip.
Muspelheim, the land of fire, was also off-limits. It was ruled by Surtur, the fire giant, and wouldn't be touched unless Thor decided to crack his skull.
Svartalfheim, the Dark World, home to the Dark Elves, didn't need attention either, as the Dark Elves were still slumbering in the universe.
Then there was Nidavellir, home to the dwarves, a race of giant smiths. They wouldn't be a concern unless Thanos came knocking.
That was another four realms off the list.
Among the remaining three, one was Niflheim, the land of mist. It had no light, no life—only cold and darkness, where Nidhogg, the venomous dragon, gnawed at the roots of the World Tree.
This was also the only realm not mentioned in the Marvel films. No one, not even Thor, knew its exact state, nor did they plan to go there.
So in the end, there were only two places where the expedition force needed to intervene.
One was Loki's birthplace, Jotunheim, ruled by the Frost Giants.
The other was Vanaheim, home to the Vanir, the Æsir's rival gods, and the birthplace of Hogun, one of the Warriors Three.
These two realms were the ones causing trouble, using the Bifröst incident as a pretext to stir up conflict.
With the expedition force's support, Asgard could finally overcome its manpower shortage and split into two teams.
One team, led by Thor and consisting mainly of the Warriors Three and Asgardian soldiers, would head to Vanaheim to "bring peace" by subduing Hogun's people.
That might sound harsh, but it was essentially the truth.
In terms of character, Hogun wasn't much different from Shang-Chi—both were from marginalized groups drawn to the "mainstream world," who gained recognition by turning against their own people and then using their abilities to serve that mainstream.
So, is that why Hogun's actor was also of Asian descent?
Who knows? Not sure, can't say for certain.
The other team, led by Su Ye and composed entirely of the expedition force, would target Jotunheim.
Jotunheim had previously been nearly split in two during Loki's rebellion when the Bifröst amplified the power of Gungnir, the Eternal Spear.
Odin fought the Frost Giants for years, despite having the power to obliterate Jotunheim, but he chose to make peace and even adopted the Frost Giant King's son. It was a puzzling move.
Perhaps he was playing a long game, trying to conquer through virtue?
Looking at Odin and Thor's actions, you'd realize that Loki was actually the most suitable heir—decisive and ruthless, much like his elder sister.
If Loki and Hela ever joined forces, the entire Nine Realms—or even the universe—would be thrown into chaos.
Thor wasn't Odin and had no intention of continuing whatever grand scheme his father had.
Besides, Jotunheim had almost been destroyed by Loki, and the Frost Giant King had died in Asgard. Their hatred for the Asgardians was now irreconcilable.
Additionally, Thor's initial plan had been to smash Jotunheim to pieces—he just changed his mind later.
But since they were now causing trouble, it was up to the Great Wall Defenders to handle it.
Whatever the outcome, Thor was ready to accept it.
Meanwhile, Thor assigned someone to act as a liaison with the Great Wall Defenders.
Seeing the armored female warrior, Lady Sif, Su Ye suddenly felt that Thor's gesture carried deeper meaning.
Sending Sif... or sending a wife?