As Heimdall had suspected, the Dark Elves, disguised and feigning weakness, were indeed planning to destroy the Bifrost.
On one hand, the Bifrost serves as Asgard crucial gateway.
On the other hand, the Bifrost core, equipped with a star-destroying cannon, is also Asgard most important military stronghold.
By destroying the Bifrost, the Dark Elves could send their military fleet, currently adrift in space, through cosmic pathways directly into Asgard heartland, the Royal Palace.
At that time, with the military power of a whole planet of awakened Dark Elves, they could launch a comprehensive strike against Asgard.
Asgard would be severely damaged instantly.
At this time, Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, would seize this opportunity to storm into the palace, using coordinates to locate the person imbued with the Ether particles and regain control over them.
The plan was quite perfect and suited the current situation.
The hatred between the Dark Elves and Asgard needs little explanation. Thousands of years ago, it was Odin father, Bor, leading the Asgardian army, who took the Ether particles from the Dark Elves and sealed them away.
After that battle, Bor rule solidified Asgard dominant position in the Nine Realms.
This laid a great foundation for Odin to expand territories and dominate the Nine Realms.
After that crucial battle, Bor forced the Dark Elves out of their world, leading them to disappear and choose to hibernate while waiting for the unsealing of the Ether particles…
Now, thousands of years later, with the Ether particles unsealed, the time had come, and the Dark Elves had awakened.
The Dark Elf race was naturally determined for revenge, not just to reclaim the Ether particles and rule the Nine Realms.
Revenge.
It was one of the primary goals of the awakened Dark Elves.
Their millennia-old hatred for Asgard had no chance of reconciliation.
After all, with the Dark Elves focus on the Ether particles, they were now in Asgard.
Reclaiming the Ether particles from the Asgardians would not only allow the Dark Elves to exact their revenge but also enable them, with the absolute power from the Ether particles, to crush any enemies standing in their way.
Boom!
Like a thunderclap out of the blue, a deafening noise spread in all directions.
At the same time.
A huge burst of fire shot into the sky, and powerful energy waves violently rippled.
Above the Bifrost, the white clouds in the sky were shattered by the burst of energy, creating waves of light due to the high concentration of energy.
The most incredible part was the wide and long pathway of the Bifrost... it shattered.
Crack, crack, crack!
Following the explosion, a series of sharp sounds ensued, echoing in Heimdall ears.
the Bifrost, which seemed fluid but was actually used to transmit energy for the normal operation of the Bifrost core—essentially, the energy output belt—developed cracks as thick as fingers.
As the sound echoed, the cracks spread like a spiderweb, expanding towards the edges of the energy belt.
Seeing this, Heimdall, stationed at the endpoint of the Bifrost, the central location, distinctly felt the ground shaking under him as the fractured and unstable Bifrost began to sway, his expression one of despair.
He was powerless to reverse the situation.
At that moment, he was filled with extreme self-loathing and hatred for the enemy.
He hated himself for not stopping them.
He hated even more that he had noticed something was off about their actions yet still allowed them the opportunity to execute their plan.
At that time.
In Asgard, around the palace, within the city.
A group of Asgardians, seeing the fire erupting from the distant Bifrost, looked on with a somewhat vacant expression.
This scene was strangely familiar.
Not long ago, during a sudden outbreak of chaos in the palace while King Odin was incapacitated due to a recurrence of an old injury, Loki and a woman with immense divine power, seemingly a daughter of Odin, battled fiercely on the Bifrost.
Afterward, Loki was even imprisoned by King Odin for some reason.
Of course, the specifics of the whole palace chaos were kept under wraps by palace officials, known only to a few high-level officials and Asgardian nobles.
People of commoner status mostly heard bits and pieces of gossip.
It was said that Loki had made a severe mistake, angering Odin and completely losing any chance to inherit the Asgardian throne.
Everyone knew that Odin was now fully focused on grooming Thor to take over.
As the most famous and considered the strongest warrior among the younger generation in Asgard, a place where the martial spirit is prevalent, people approval of Thor far surpassed that of his mischief-loving brother.
To this, they simply supported the decision.
However, these gossips had become old news. The more recent popular gossip was about Thor courtship issues.
It was said that their king, Odin, was quite troubled over Thor marriage issues.
Thor refused an arranged marriage, wanting to pursue love freely.
For this, he even refused his childhood friend, the Valkyrie Sif.
Back to the main point.
Upon witnessing the activity on the Bifrost, the first reaction of the people was, "Again?"
The second reaction was, "The Bifrost exploded?"
Finally, they were dumbfounded, caught in an unprecedented shock.
The Bifrost had exploded.
This was undoubtedly the most severe attack Asgard had faced in thousands of years.
Who blew up the Bifrost?
As this thought raced through their minds, a group of Asgardians stepped forward and moved to an open area to look towards the Bifrost, their expressions tense.
They all had a foreboding feeling.
This incident was very different from the last chaos at the palace, seeming even more terrifying.
Every Asgardian understood the importance of the Bifrost.
Now that the Bifrost had exploded, the core of the Bifrost, the star-destroying cannon built with immense effort by the Asgardians, would inevitably fall into the void, the outer space where the universe resides.
Retrieving it would be enormously difficult and time-consuming.
During this period, should they face an enemy attack, the Asgardians would be in an extremely disadvantageous position.
Even the commoners could think of this, not to mention the Asgardian high command and Heimdall, who was directly confronting the situation.
The moment the Bifrost fractured, Heimdall glanced at the star-destroying cannon, clenched his teeth, and with a bend and push of his legs, leapt like a cannonball shot from a barrel, covering nearly a hundred meters to reach the explosion site.
The energy fluctuations there were still intense, like the moist air left by the tide at the seaside.
Heimdall found breathing difficult.
The intense energy fluctuations and the residual traces of the explosion in the air weighed heavily on his heart.
He leapt to the center of the explosion and found his location completely devastated, devoid of any life.
Whether the invaders who detonated the bomb to destroy the Bifrost or the guards escorting them, all were instantly vaporized by the explosion.
It was clear that these people could not have survived such a devastating explosion.
Heimdall recognized another critical issue.
Those invaders, the Dark Elves, who detonated the bomb, had come to Asgard with a determination to die, dragging down the guards escorting them and accomplishing a monumental act before their deaths.
"The Bifrost is destroyed..."
Heimdall stood at the edge of the fractured Bifrost, looking down at the jagged remains, his face heavier than ever before.
He was not sighing over his failure.
Rather, he grieved for Asgard.
The Dark Elves, missing for thousands of years and now reappearing in the Nine Realms, sent martyrs to destroy the Bifrost at any cost, clearly not just for the sake of the bridge itself.
The Dark Elves target was undoubtedly Asgard.
"Trouble is brewing!"
However, realizing that the enemy was the Dark Elves, Heimdall slightly relaxed.
He wasn't as panicked as before.
Knowing who the enemy is, is definitely better than not knowing.
Across the Nine Realms, Asgard held absolute dominion otherwise, it wouldn't have ruled for so many years.
During Odin reign, any threats were thoroughly eradicated.
The power of Asgard was unprecedented, stronger than ever before.
Heimdall, as the eyes of Asgard, was particularly aware of these facts.
Currently, in the Nine Realms, no force would dare invade Asgard territory.
Even the recently risen Earth would not provoke a deeply established, dominant power.
The Dark Elves daring to reignite war with Asgard was undoubtedly a misguided decision.
Strategically, one must disdain the opponent, but tactically, take them seriously.
The Dark Elves had disappeared for many years and chose this moment to reignite the conflict, surely holding an unusual ace.
While pondering, Heimdall turned and headed towards the palace.
Regardless, someone now needed to take charge, and that person would not be him, but someone from the palace.
At the palace.
Thor, Anton, and Jane Foster, who were conversing with Odin, also heard the massive explosion not too far from the palace.
Astonishing energy fluctuations spread, and a surge swept through.
Those present realized something had happened.
They moved to the balcony outside the great hall, viewing the scene on the Bifrost. The two Asgardians, both Odin and Thor, were slightly dazed.
They had never imagined that the Bifrost could be blown up.
Anton, in his Superman persona, was also somewhat surprised.
Of course, the unfolding events were not entirely beyond his control.
After all, with the Ether particles here, the Dark Elves attack on Asgard was inevitable.
However, this time the Dark Elves had become smarter.
By blowing up the Bifrost and destroying the star-destroying cannon, they had clearly made a decisively correct decision.
Among those present, the most confused and least aware of the situation was Jane Foster.
Interestingly, the least informed person was paradoxically the most culpable.
Because this event was related to her, and one could even say that Jane Foster was the primary cause of this incident.
"The Bifrost has exploded... we are being invaded!"
This shocking reality unfolded before Thor eyes.
He immediately raised his hand.
The sound of thunder echoed in everyone ears.
In the distance, Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, streaked across the sky like a meteor, rushing into the balcony outside the palace hall, and flew into Thor palm.
"Father!" Thor called out to Odin with a grave expression.
"Do not panic," Odin instructed, waving his hand dismissively while his gaze fixed on a small black dot at the location where the Bifrost had fractured.
After a few seconds of standing still, the dot rapidly approached the trio. It was undoubtedly Heimdall.
Within minutes, Heimdall arrived before them.
"Your Majesty, I am at fault," Heimdall immediately knelt upon seeing Odin, his face expressing deep remorse and regret.
"The enemy are the Dark Elves, who have been missing for thousands of years.
They disguised themselves as aliens from another planet to infiltrate Asgard and seized the opportunity to destroy the Bifrost after I had subdued them...
My negligence has led to the destruction of the Bifrost, please punish me."
"You indeed deserve punishment, but not now," Odin spoke calmly, his tone devoid of anger, slowly adding,
"Have all soldiers on high alert, send out our spies in all Nine Realms to track down the Dark Elves.
Their sudden reappearance after thousands of years and attack on the Bifrost is no coincidence."
"Yes," Heimdall nodded.
The destruction of the Bifrost meant that Asgard had lost its stable and convenient gateway for entering and exiting the Nine Realms, as well as the star-destroying cannon that maintained order across those realms.
However, this did not mean that Asgard had lost its ability to communicate with its operatives across the realms.
The loss of the Bifrost diminished Asgard mobility but did not severely weaken their combat capabilities.
It was clear that as long as Odin and Thor were present, Asgard retained strong confidence to face any enemy invasion. After all, individuals like Odin and Thor, who wielded formidable supernatural powers, were Asgard most threatening "weapons," much like the numerous superpowered individuals on Earth.
Without these powerful beings, Earth technological prowess alone would hardly be a concern in the cosmos.
Anton watched Asgard deployment, feeling somewhat reflective.
Odin instructions were prudent but overlooked the Dark Elves determination for revenge and their resolve to prevail. He even overlooked the critical Ether particles.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, suddenly...
An alarming scene unfolded in the skies of Asgard.
Whoosh!
A terrifying gale dispersed the clouds above the Asgardian palace.
Behind the dispersed clouds, a massive spaceship, nearly the size of the entire Asgardian palace, burst from outer space directly into Asgard atmosphere, becoming visible to all.
Surrounding the enormous ship were countless smaller warships, densely packed to an overwhelming degree.
Everyone knew.
The enemy had arrived.
As they had anticipated, the destruction of the Bifrost was just the beginning.