Ch. 288 The Sudden Appearance of Gamora

Perhaps Russell's refusal of the waitresses and companions had caused some misunderstanding among the other patrons. As he silently observed the guests in the hall, a young, seemingly in his early twenties, excessively handsome male waiter, as creamy as it gets, approached him.

Then, he gave Russell a look that made his skin crawl.

Just as this male waiter intended to sit down next to him, Russell suppressed his anger and spoke up.

"Get lost!"

If he hadn't wanted to spoil his upcoming enjoyment, he would have thrown this guy out when he saw him giving him those seductive looks.

After hearing his words, the exquisitely dressed male waiter hesitated for a moment. Just as he was about to say something, Russell openly released his killing intent.

Feeling that ice-cold killing intent, as tangible as substance, the male waiter didn't hesitate any further. He looked panicked and turned to leave.

After this male waiter left, Russell pondered for a few seconds.

Then, he ordered three companions, each with a different style but all young and beautiful.

"Liliane's Whisper" was indeed the highest-priced tavern in Windrest Fortress. However, for Russell, who had just earned 75,000 gold coins, it was no problem to order three companions in one go, even if he stayed here for ten days or half a month.

Money that comes easily is often spent more casually.

Russell was now proving this point. He not only ordered three companions at once but also ordered all the famous wines in the tavern, displaying the demeanor of a nouveau riche to the fullest.

Although such nouveau riche behavior could easily lead to unnecessary trouble, Russell didn't worry in the least. He wasn't a Vanir, nor was he a permanent resident of Windrest Fortress, so he didn't need to consider long-term consequences.

Furthermore, even if trouble did arise, he had enough power to deal with it. As for whether his way of dealing with trouble would displease the Lord of Windrest Fortress, he couldn't care less.

After experiencing the local customs of Windrest Fortress, he planned to threaten the Lord of Windrest Fortress. Compared to the inevitable threat that would arise, the lord's displeasure would be insignificant.

Putting aside all the messy thoughts in his mind, Russell enjoyed the intimate service of his companions with a cheerful mood.

Although these companions couldn't provide extremely detailed service in the hall, it didn't affect Russell's enjoyment in the least.

More importantly, this was the first time he had enjoyed the intimate service of Vanir.

While savoring the fruits and fine wines handed to him by his companions, he felt their gentle bodies. The evaluation of "Liliane's Whisper" in his heart continued to rise.

Just by observing what was happening in the hall, one could hardly imagine that a riot was taking place on outside the city, involving Asgardians and Vanir.

Even more unimaginable was that the armies of Asgard and Vanir were already prepared for war at any moment.

In this situation, a profound and memorable ancient poem flashed through Russell's mind.

"The merchant's daughter doesn't know the sorrow of a ruined country, singing freely in the courtyard across the river!"

This society shouldn't be like this!

Although he thought this way, his hands, which were freely roaming the bodies of his companions, didn't stop, eliciting seductive laughter from the companions sitting beside him.

Just when he was planning to thoroughly experience the local customs of Vanaheimr, several more patrons, accompanied by beautiful waitresses, entered the hall.

Taverns of the caliber of "Liliane's Whisper" might not accept just anyone, but there were still plenty of patrons who could afford to patronize such establishments.

Even in the poorest of nations, there were still plenty of wealthy individuals.

Moreover, Vanaheimr was by no means a destitute country. Compared to Asgard, Vanaheimr might be slightly inferior, but not by much. If there was too much disparity in their economic levels, Vanaheimr would not be able to sustain an army that could rival Asgard. At that point, even if Odin were as benevolent as he could be, he might consider turning Vanaheimr into the backyard of Asgard.

Initially, Russell didn't pay much attention to the new patrons who had just arrived, nor did he use his X-ray vision to scrutinize these customers who were dressed in cloaks and wore hoods to conceal their true faces.

However, after entering the hall, these several customers who seemed out of place in the atmosphere of the hall went straight to the noble lady who had ordered two alluring companions as soon as she entered.

Then, they took off the hoods covering their heads.

This is...

Although he hadn't seen them before, when they took off their hoods, Russell immediately recognized their identities.

These three peculiar-looking customers were none other than Ebony Maw, the last of the Black Order, as well as Thanos' two adopted daughters, Gamora and Nebula.

Upon seeing them, Russell furrowed his brow.

Then, he deliberately turned his head away, pretending to be playing with his companions, avoiding letting Ebony Maw and the others see his true appearance.

Although Ebony Maw and the others hadn't met him before, they wouldn't be strangers to him.

Because he was one of the masterminds behind the complete annihilation of the Chitauri army in New York.

If it weren't for him, Proxima Midnight and the others wouldn't have died so easily in New York, and the Chitauri army that attacked New York wouldn't have been completely wiped out.

More importantly, he had taken the Space Stone.

On the surface, Russell was now laughing and playing with his companions, but he quietly used his Kryptonian super hearing to listen carefully to the conversation between Gamora, Ebony Maw, Nebula, and the noble lady who clearly had an affinity for women.

At first, he could still hear their conversation clearly. However, when Ebony Maw silently used his own superpower, Russell couldn't hear anything anymore.

Damn!

Although Ebony Maw wasn't a wizard, with his telekinesis ability, he could do many things that only wizards could do.

For example, he could create an invisible air barrier like he did now, isolating external sounds while preventing others from eavesdropping on their conversation.

Unable to eavesdrop on their conversation with his super hearing, Russell furrowed his brow slightly.

Although he could use magic to eavesdrop, it wasn't a wise decision to use magic in a tavern filled with companions, and there was undoubtedly a magic-blocking formation in the tavern.

After thinking for a few seconds, he decisively gave up his plan to eavesdrop.

Although he didn't know why Ebony Maw and the others had come to Windrest Fortress and were having a secretive conversation with a noble lady, he could roughly guess their purpose.

The only thing that could interest Thanos now was the Infinity Stones.

Although "randomly killing half" on other planets was one of Thanos' rare hobbies, even if he used his little toe to think, he would know that Thanos would never be playing this game on Vanaheimr right now.

After all, this was Vanaheimr, a powerful kingdom second only to Asgard within the Nine Realms. Thanos didn't dare to directly cause trouble in Asgard because the All-Father, Odin, was still alive and well.

However, similarly, Vanaheimr God-King, Njord, was also alive and well now. Even though Njord's strength was slightly inferior to Odin's, it wouldn't be too far off.

After ruling out the possibility that Thanos wanted to execute the "randomly killing half" on Vanaheimr, there was only one option left: the Infinity Stones.

But there was a problem.

While Vanaheimr was second only to Asgard within the Nine Realms, it didn't possess any Infinity Stones. If Thanos had come for the Infinity Stones, he would have a higher chance of success by going to Svartalfheim, the realm of the Dark Elves.

After all, the Dark Elves once possessed the Reality Stone. Although the Reality Stone had been taken by Asgard, they still had knowledge of its exact location, which was the Aether.

Searching for the whereabouts of the Reality Stone with the Dark Elves would be much easier than coming to Vanaheimr to search for the Infinity Stones.

Ebony Maw, Gamora, and Nebula's conversation with the noble lady didn't last long. They left the first-floor hall after about ten minutes and went to a lavishly decorated room on the second floor.

Although Russell couldn't continue to eavesdrop on their conversation using his Kryptonian super hearing, he had been observing them from a distance with his telescopic vision and X-ray vision.

After confirming that they had entered a luxurious room on the second floor, Russell ended his observation and continued to playfully frolic with the companions by his side.

Although he was curious about why Ebony Maw and the others had come to Windrest Fortress and were secretly conversing with the noble lady, he managed to control his curiosity.

As long as Ebony Maw and the others' plans didn't affect his enjoyment in Windrest Fortressd, he didn't care even if they were planning to assassinate the Lord of Windrest Fortress secretly.

After conversing with his three charming companions in the hall for over ten minutes, he, along with these three companions, made his way towards a room on the second floor.

Following the initial interaction in the hall, he planned to go to the second-floor room to engage in more private and intimate conversations with his companions, all the while savoring the tenderness and attentiveness of Vanir.

Upon reaching the second floor, he randomly chose a room.

Subsequently, he entered the room with his companions.

Similar to the first-floor hall, the rooms on the second floor were elegantly furnished, exuding an indescribable atmosphere of sensuality.

Themed romantic suites!

For some reason, upon entering the room, the word that crossed Russell's mind was "themed romantic suites."

Although the style was entirely different from the romantic suites on Earth, he still got that feeling.

Once inside the room, accompanied by his already passionate companions, they became even more enthusiastic, behaving almost like female rogues, without a second thought, they began to get more intimate with him.

As a man who didn't mind taking the initiative, Russell certainly didn't allow these three companions to have their way with him.

So, he began to reciprocate their advances...

...

Russell had originally planned to leave "Liliane's Whisper" after spending a few hours there since he still wanted to experience the local culture and customs of Vanaheimr elsewhere.

However, as it turned out, plans often didn't keep up with changes.

When he left "Liliane's Whisper," it was already noon the next day.

Although he had stayed a bit longer than he initially intended and spent a considerable amount of gold coins, he couldn't deny that on this day, he had fully experienced the tenderness and care of Vanir.

If he didn't have other things to do, he wouldn't mind staying at "Liliane's Whisper" for a few more days.

After leaving "Liliane's Whisper," he first found a renowned restaurant to have lunch and then strolled around the city like a true tourist.

After spending the afternoon shopping in the city's commercial district and spending money like water, he eventually found an ordinary inn to stay in.

Although Thor hadn't explicitly demanded when he should "threaten" the Lord of Windrest Fortress, including today, it was already his second day in Windrest Fortress.

Regardless, he would have to pay a visit to the Lord of Windrest Fortress sooner or later. He planned to do it tonight.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to stay in this ordinary inn, but would have returned directly to "Liliane's Whisper."

Inside the inn's room.

Russell, dressed in splendid attire, first cast a transformation spell to alter his true appearance and also masked his life force.

Then, he retrieved the sling ring from his system space and began casting the teleportation spell.

When he had been shopping in the commercial district that afternoon, he had used his superhuman vision to observe the situation at the Windrest Fortress lord's mansion from afar.

In the blink of an eye, a dazzling golden portal had taken shape.

Once the portal was fully formed, without any hesitation, he walked right through it.

Just as he emerged from the portal, a piercing magical alarm resounded throughout every corner of Windrest Fortress lord's mansion.

As one of Windrest Fortress most important structures, the mansion was not lacking in magical alarms.

Furthermore, Russell had no intention of concealing his presence, boldly opening the portal right in the mansion's grand hall.

If the magical alarms within the lord's mansion couldn't detect this, Russell had reason to suspect that the mages responsible for setting up these magical alarms had taken bribes from the political rivals of Windrest Fortress lord.

The piercing magical alarm had only just begun to sound when a fully armed contingent of the lord's mansion guards, clad in black armor, rushed into the grand hall, weapons at the ready, and surrounded Russell, who was unarmed.

Although Russell was completely surrounded by the lord's mansion guards, he paid them no mind.

Even if it were the royal guards of Asgard surrounding him right now, it wouldn't be enough to stop him.

As the guards from the lord's mansion stared at him with stern expressions, Russell spoke calmly, "I'm here to deliver a message to Thor Odinson, Crown Prince of Asgard. Please inform your lord."

Russell's tone was polite, but the guards surrounding him showed no signs of acknowledging his presence. Instead, they kept their spears aimed at him and closed in on him menacingly.