# 1247
Chapter 1248: The Heavy Burden
Hearing this, Lin Qiye understood Zuo Qing's meaning.
Internal strife within Asgard was indeed a situation Great Xia wanted to see, but if Loki ascended to the Supreme God realm this quickly, Thor would lose his qualification to become the God King, and the internal conflict would immediately cease.
At that point, Asgard would become a complete divine kingdom once more, and leading it would be Great Xia's sworn enemy—Loki.
This was the worst-case scenario.
"So, under no circumstances can we allow Loki to successfully break through to the Supreme God realm." Zuo Qing's voice on the other end of the pixel walkie-talkie was grave.
Lin Qiye nodded. "What should we do? Kill him in advance?"
"Loki's location for breaking through to the Supreme God realm is within Asgard. He won't leave there until he becomes a Supreme God. And Asgard isn't like the Egyptian Sun City—with the exception of Odin, the vast majority of deities are at full strength, and the geographical location is extremely special. Even if the Heavenly Court gods mustered their full forces, it would be difficult to breach it in a short time.
"Moreover, the situation is no longer what it was when the Great Xia gods first emerged. At that time, the destruction of the Egyptian Sun City had a thirty percent chance of success coming from the element of surprise of the Heavenly Court's sneak attack. It was a risky maneuver, but that approach cannot be replicated now. Once the Great Xia gods are engaged in a prolonged overseas war with any divine kingdom, other powers are bound to intervene, or even launch sneak attacks on undefended Great Xia.
"So, relying on the power of the Gods of Great Xia to frontal assault Asgard is impossible... We need an elite force."
"Elite force..."
"We need someone, before Loki ascends to the Supreme God, to infiltrate Asgard, collapse its defenses from within, and create an opportunity for Great Xia's surprise attack. Among those currently in the Mist, the only ones with a hope of accomplishing this are the Oath Society... and the [Nightfall] Squad."
Lin Qiye froze and looked up at Jinian.
Jinian shook her head helplessly.
"The problem is, until now, I haven't found a way in. Loki is far too vigilant. He's completely severed all external channels into Asgard. The only method is to go through Asgard's 'Human Enclosure' and then wind our way into Asgard, but the risk of doing that is enormous, and how long it would take is unclear... It's possible that by the time we infiltrate, Loki will already have become a Supreme God."
After Jinian finished speaking, all three fell silent.
"Lin Qiye, do you have any ideas?" Zuo Qing's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.
Lin Qiye forced a bitter smile. "If even the Oath Society can't find a way in, what chance do I have? I've never even been to Asgard, and I know nothing about—"
Lin Qiye stopped mid-sentence and froze in place.
"What's wrong?" Jinian asked, puzzled.
Lin Qiye fell silent for a long moment, then slowly drew from his chest a dark golden chalice.
Inside the ornate cup walls, a crimson-red liquid gently swirled along the cup's interior.
"Maybe... I really do have a way." Lin Qiye stared at the [Holy Grail] and murmured to himself.
"What's that?" Jinian asked, confused.
"The [Holy Grail]." Lin Qiye spoke calmly. "A 'Supreme' divine artifact that can grant any wish in exchange for a sacrifice. I brought it out from the King's Treasury... and currently, there are three Chief God-level lives inside as sacrifices."
Jinian's jaw dropped wider and wider.
"That's insane! How did you get your hands on that?!"
"It's a long story... However, using this might allow us to infiltrate Asgard easily..."
Lin Qiye's brow furrowed as he seemed to be deep in thought.
"If it can get us in, then what are you still pondering about?"
"I'm wondering if the sacrifices inside are enough for me to wish directly for Loki to drop dead..." Lin Qiye answered seriously.
Jinian: (?Д?#)!
"Can you?" she asked carefully.
Lin Qiye gripped the [Holy Grail] and carefully sensed its contents for a moment, then shook his head. "No... Using a wish to kill a god requires too great a price. And the opponent is the God of Trickery, Loki—who knows how many ways he has to fake his own death and escape."
Jinian sighed with disappointment.
"This time, our target isn't just Loki alone." Zuo Qing's voice was solemn. "Our target... is all of Asgard! In the game between divine kingdoms, the [Holy Grail] might indeed play an extraordinary role, but wanting it to be the decisive factor that settles everything won't be that simple."
Lin Qiye nodded. "The [Holy Grail] is merely auxiliary. Success depends on human effort."
"By the way." Zuo Qing seemed to remember something. "Lin Qiye, Wang Mian asked me to pass on a message."
"Wang Mian? What did he say?"
"He said... he's found the god who can greatly accelerate the flow of time, for you."
Hearing these words, Lin Qiye's heart skipped. In his mind, he immediately saw Jialan's sleeping face.
Long before returning to Great Xia, Lin Qiye had asked Wang Mian to search for information about gods who could prematurely awaken Jialan. Now, after so much time had passed, there was finally a lead... Did this mean Jialan was not far from waking?
"Where?" Lin Qiye asked urgently.
"The only god in the world who governs the law of time flow is one of the three Norns of Norse mythology—the goddess of the future, Skuld."
"The Norns... Skuld." Lin Qiye repeated the name, then smiled helplessly.
"It looks like this trip to Asgard is unavoidable."
"Are you done? My walkie-talkie is about to give out." Jinian noticed the static in the walkie-talkie growing louder and quickly spoke up.
"That's the gist of the situation." Zuo Qing took a deep breath and spoke solemnly.
"Whether Great Xia can create another miracle in this war depends on you. It takes time to travel from Great Xia to Asgard. Once you've stabilized in Asgard and confirmed the timing for action, be sure to contact me through the walkie-talkie one day in advance. Then you just need to complete your assigned tasks according to plan...
"The rest... leave it to Great Xia."
As Zuo Qing's voice faded, the pixel walkie-talkie's effectiveness finally ran out. A burst of static emanated from the device, echoing through the Mist.
Lin Qiye silently set down the walkie-talkie. After a long while, he let out a long sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... I just feel like the pressure is a bit heavy." Lin Qiye's smile was bitter. "The future of Great Xia in this war rests on this. If I ultimately fail..."
"Don't be so pessimistic. You're Lin Qiye! Besides, you still have me, right?" Jinian patted her chest and said with her chin raised, "Relax. Causing trouble is what this president does best."
Lin Qiye smiled, his gaze falling on the pixel walkie-talkie in his palm. For a moment, he felt an immense weight settle upon him.