The melting staff touched Homelander's shoulder.
Valkyrie was stunned.
Her gaze was drawn to this man who had suddenly appeared.
A blue bodysuit, a stars and stripes cape, a taut waistline, and firm, lifted glutes...
Grandmaster was even more dumbfounded.
He looked at the completely unfazed Homelander, then at the melting staff in his hand, his face full of disbelief.
This was a weapon capable of melting even cosmic behemoths!
How could it have no effect on this guy?!
Homelander tilted his head slightly and glanced at the melting staff on his shoulder.
He let out a scornful laugh.
"Interesting..."
He blew a gentle breath.
Frigid frost gushed out along with his breath.
In the blink of an eye, the deadly melting staff began to freeze from the tip, quickly forming a thick layer of ice that spread all the way to Grandmaster's hand.
Grandmaster was so scared he hurriedly let go.
Homelander curled his finger and flicked the staff body, which had been frozen into an icicle, lightly.
"Crack."
The entire melting staff shattered into a pile of ice shards.
Grandmaster took two steps back in fright, carefully sizing up the man who had suddenly appeared before him.
Looking at Homelander's red and blue attire.
A name suddenly flashed through his mind.
"You... you are..." Grandmaster pointed at Homelander, surprised, "The Guardian of the Galaxy that those golden women of Sovereign were talking about..."
"What was it called... Homelander?"
"Pronunciation is pretty accurate," Homelander nodded generously. "It's me."
Upon receiving the affirmative reply, Grandmaster's heart sank.
He forced himself to stay calm, took a few more steps back, and put a safe distance between them.
He knew the weight that this name carried.
Rumor had it that this man had single-handedly destroyed an entire Planet!
A tough character like this could not be easily provoked.
Grandmaster immediately put on a slightly ingratiating smile, trying his best to make his tone sound tactful.
"Respected Guardian, these people started a riot on my turf and broke the rules."
"They have committed grave sins. I hope you can understand that this is an internal matter of our Sakaar."
Grandmaster made a heavy promise.
"Of course, if you are willing to take a step back, Sakaar will give you the best reward."
He waved his hand.
Two guards carried a specially made transparent crystal box onto the stage.
Inside the box lay a battle axe with an imposing design.
Thor recognized it at a glance and shouted excitedly: "stormbreaker!"
Grandmaster pointed at the box, his face full of smiles.
"This powerful artifact, as long as you nod, it will belong to you."
Homelander looked at the box and gave a cold laugh.
Red light erupted from his eyes.
"Swoosh!"
Two beams of Heat Vision shot out, directly blasting the transparent box.
Fragments splashed everywhere.
Homelander raised his right hand and spread his five fingers.
stormbreaker let out a hum and flew into his hand on its own.
Holding the battle axe, he looked at Grandmaster with ill intent.
"You want to kill my friends, and then use my own things to gift to me?"
"Should I say thank you?"
Grandmaster hurriedly explained: "My lord, I..."
Homelander extended his index finger and shook it from side to side at Grandmaster, cutting him off.
Grandmaster was an old fox; seeing this situation, he knew things were going south.
The deal had fallen through.
He didn't hesitate to press the switch of the hidden device on his cuff.
"Whoosh!"
Grandmaster's body instantly turned ethereal and teleported away.
The very next second after he disappeared, the Heat Vision in Homelander's eyes swept across.
"Sizzle!"
Where Grandmaster had been standing, a deep, charred trench was burned into the ground.
"Ran pretty fast," Homelander snorted coldly.
He didn't want to kill Grandmaster so quickly; he just wanted to cut off one of his legs to teach him a lesson, but he hadn't expected this old guy to have so many life-saving tricks.
Homelander then turned to face the people tied to the execution platform.
He stood in front of Brunnhilde and looked her up and down.
He revealed his habitual charming smile.
"I know that if I gave you another half minute, you could break these chains... but I don't want to wait even a second."
"A beautiful and deadly lady like you should bloom in the free starry sky."
Immediately, his eyes lit up with red light again.
All the restraints on Valkyrie were cut off.
Valkyrie regained her freedom and rubbed her sore wrists.
"Th... thank you." Brunnhilde said, rarely showing a hint of unnatural demeanor.
Having spent years mixing with rough men like scavengers and gladiators, she had never heard such elegant praise.
She unconsciously straightened her posture, stood up straight, and tucked a stray lock of hair from her forehead behind her ear.
Notification! Gained special popularity value +15000! (From Brunnhilde!)
Good girl! Homelander was very satisfied.
Then, he did the same, using Heat Vision to cleanly and neatly cut the restraints off the others.
Everyone jumped down from the execution pillars one after another.
As soon as Thor landed, his eyes stayed fixed on the stormbreaker in Homelander's hand.
He wanted to ask for it back several times, but felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, he had just gotten it back a few days ago and already lost it.
Homelander looked at Thor's awkward appearance and found it quite funny.
He casually tossed the battle axe over.
"Catch, brother." Homelander warned, "This is the last time. If you lose it again, I will keep it permanently."
Thor hurriedly caught the battle axe and hugged it tightly to his chest, as if holding a long-lost lover.
"I swear! There will absolutely not be a next time!" Thor rubbed his cheek against the cold axe blade, "My dear, you are finally back."
Notification! Gained special popularity value +10000! (From Thor Odinson!)
The Guardians of the Galaxy group also swarmed up, greeting Homelander warmly.
"I am Groot!" The tree man waved his arms excitedly, clearly still remembering the person who gave him the GB.
Rocket Raccoon jumped onto Groot's shoulder and gave Homelander a thumbs up: "Well done, Homelander! Your entrance style is always so cool!"
Star-Lord Quill walked forward and looked at Homelander strangely.
He didn't know why, but as soon as he saw this man, an inexplicable sense of familiarity suddenly welled up in his heart.
"Hey, Homelander. Thanks for saving us." Star-Lord smiled, covering up his strange emotions, "Although I don't know why, I always feel that you look... quite kind right now."
Homelander was thunderstruck by this "kind" comment, his eye twitched, and he ignored Star-Lord's nonsense.
Then, several of them took turns fist-bumping Homelander to express their gratitude.
Notification sounds rang out one after another in Homelander's mind, and another wave of special popularity value was credited.
...
Meanwhile, on the viewing platform not far from the execution ground, Thanos and his group watched everything through a holographic projection.
When Proxima Midnight saw Homelander's figure, the hatred in her eyes was instantly ignited.
"That's him!" Proxima Midnight gritted her teeth, "Father! This guy is Homelander! He killed Corvus Glaive!"
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