The hall fell into a brief silence.
"What kind of game?" Thanos asked first.
"A gladiatorial match!" The Grandmaster gestured excitedly, "This is the simplest, most direct, and most straightforward way!"
"As long as you participate, I guarantee you the grandest spectacle in the entire Universe!"
Hearing the word "spectacle," Homelander raised an eyebrow, immediately interested.
"How grand of a spectacle?" Homelander asked.
The Grandmaster was stunned for a moment, not expecting Homelander to ask that.
He pondered for a moment, then said, "Both of you are renowned figures in the Universe, so naturally, we must use the highest specifications."
"I will go find my brother, The Collector Tivan, and borrow that [Primordial Gladiator Coin]."
"Primordial Gladiator Coin?"
"That's right..." The Grandmaster lowered his voice, acting mysterious, "It is a coin that has existed since the birth of the Universe, born alongside the very first duel."
"Not only can it open a cosmic arena that cannot be destroyed, but it also comes with unbreakable contract rules!"
"As long as the bet is made, it will definitely be fulfilled! Absolutely fair!"
"Not enough." Homelander shook his head.
"What's not enough?" The Grandmaster asked, puzzled.
"The spectacle isn't grand enough." Homelander said with some excitement, "I want you to invite every significant civilization in the Universe to watch! At the same time, initiate a full-frequency live broadcast across the entire Universe!"
A live broadcast across the entire Universe?
Isn't this the ultimate carnival he has dreamed of!
"Great idea!" The Grandmaster was so excited he nearly jumped up, looking at Homelander with a hint of camaraderie.
"Consider it done! I will hire all the Raiders to install my broadcast signal towers in every civilization with a brain!"
"Wait!" Rocket Raccoon, who had been hiding in the back, suddenly jumped onto Homelander's shoulder and interjected loudly.
"The spectacle is set, but what about the money? We want a cut of the ticket and broadcast revenue!"
"An 80/20 split."
The Grandmaster's mind was full of plans for this epic event, and he appeared extremely generous.
"No problem, little fox. This is a grand event for the entire Universe; I'd even give you thirty percent!"
"Pfft." Rocket sneered. "Can't you understand human language, old man?"
Rocket pointed at himself with his thumb.
"We want eighty percent, you keep twenty."
"Are you crazy?!" The Grandmaster nearly choked, "The venue, promotion, broadcasting—I'm paying for and doing all the work!"
But seeing Homelander high-five Rocket, The Grandmaster gritted his teeth.
For the sake of this event that would go down in the history of the Universe, he went all out.
"Deal! Eighty percent it is!"
Thanos, standing to the side, ignored this boring haggling.
His gaze locked onto the Infinity Stones on Homelander's gauntlet.
"I can accept this match." Thanos said in a deep voice, "However, the Tesseract is not enough as a wager; I want to increase the stakes."
"I will bet the two stones I have against the two you possess."
Thanos looked at Homelander.
"The Reality Stone on your hand, and I know the Mind Stone has also fallen into your hands."
"If I win, you must give them to me along with the Tesseract."
Homelander chuckled.
He rotated his wrist nonchalantly, displaying the red stone on the back of his hand.
"No problem!" Homelander readily agreed. "Two for two, very fair."
Seeing that both sides had finally reached an agreement, The Grandmaster couldn't stop grinning.
"Perfect!" The Grandmaster clapped his hands and said, "Four cycles! Give me four cycles of time! I will set up the most perfect venue on the edge of Knowhere! We'll see you there!"
"Wait!" Star-Lord drew his dual pistols and roared at Thanos, "Where is Gamora?! Let her go! Now!"
Hearing that name, Thanos's usually cold face flashed with a rare hint of gloom.
But he quickly hid this emotion.
He looked at Star-Lord coldly.
"If you win, she will naturally return to your side."
"Asshole!" Star-Lord pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang!" Two energy blasts hit Thanos in the chest, leaving not even a scratch.
Thanos ignored Star-Lord's attack.
Above the palace, which had already lost its roof, the massive Sanctuary II warship suddenly appeared.
Beams of white tractor light descended from the belly of the warship, enveloping Thanos and his remaining troops.
As the beams retracted, Thanos and his group vanished from the spot.
Subsequently, the massive warship turned, engines at full throttle, and dove into the "Anus of the Universe," pushing hard against the space-time turbulence, disappearing into the depths of the star sea.
Watching the enemy fleet disappear into the sky, Star-Lord turned around and walked quickly to Homelander.
"I want to participate in the match." Star-Lord's eyes were firm, "I must save Gamora."
Homelander looked at him and fell silent.
Ever since he saw the Soul Stone emitting an orange glow on Thanos's gauntlet earlier, Homelander knew that Gamora was gone.
To obtain the Soul Stone, one must sacrifice their beloved.
He just hadn't figured out how to tell Star-Lord this cruel truth.
You have to know, this idiot Star-Lord had the earth-shattering achievement of "punching his way into Avengers 4."
For someone so emotionally unstable, once he knew Gamora was dead, who knew what stupid things he would do next.
Just then, Thor finally came running back, rolling and crawling from the ruins in the distance.
He was covered in dust and shouting loudly.
"My axe! My dear axe is missing again! Why can't I summon it back?!"
Hearing this, Homelander lifted his hand nonchalantly and gave a light squeeze.
Two seconds later.
"Whoosh!"
stormbreaker pierced through the heavy obstacles of the ruins and landed in Homelander's hand.
Homelander handed the axe back to Thor.
Thor took it like a precious treasure, happy as a child, gripping it tightly.
Who knew, just as Homelander turned and walked away two steps.
The stormbreaker actually broke free from Thor's grip on its own, traced a graceful arc in the air, and floated lightly back in front of Homelander.
This...
Thor stared blankly at his empty hands, then looked at the axe floating in front of Homelander, looking at Homelander with pitiful eyes.
Homelander rubbed his temples with a headache.
He looked at stormbreaker and said in a helpless tone, "Give this guy another chance, just for my sake."
Hearing Homelander speak, stormbreaker let out a hum, seeming extremely reluctant.
It lingered in the air for a few moments, but eventually flew back into Thor's hand.
As if it had suffered a great grievance.
Thor quickly hugged the axe tightly, afraid it would run away again.
"Where is Thanos?" Thor looked around, searching for the figure of his enemy.
Homelander briefly explained The Grandmaster's best-of-seven bet and the match four cycles later.
After hearing this, Thor's eyes immediately lit up.
"I must participate! I am the strongest Avenger!"
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