Become a Homelander and a Marvel superstar

A brief silence fell over the hall.

"What game?" Thanos asked first.

"A gladiatorial contest!" The Grandmaster exclaimed excitedly, gesturing wildly. "This is the simplest, most direct, and most straightforward way!"

"If you participate, I guarantee you'll get the biggest spectacles in the entire universe!"

When Ah Zu heard the word "ostentatious display," he raised an eyebrow slightly, immediately showing interest.

"How big is the biggest entourage?" Azu asked.

The Celestial Venerable was taken aback, not expecting that the Ancestor would ask such a question.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Both of you are prominent figures in the universe, so naturally you should be treated with the highest level of protocol."

"I'll go find my brother, the collector Tivan, and borrow that [original gladiator coin]."

"Primitive gladiator coins?"

"That's right..." The Grandmaster lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "That coin was created in the first duel in the universe since its birth."

"It not only opens an indestructible cosmic arena, but also comes with irreversible contractual rules!"

"Once the bet is made, it will definitely be honored! Absolutely fair!"

"Not enough." Azu shook his head.

"What's not enough?" the Grandmaster asked, puzzled.

"That's not enough of a spectacle," Azu said excitedly. "I want you to invite every single civilization in the universe that's even remotely significant to watch! And simultaneously, start a live broadcast across the entire universe on all frequency bands!"

A live broadcast across the entire universe?

Isn't this the ultimate celebration he's been dreaming of?

"Great idea!" The Celestial Venerable was so excited he almost jumped up, and his eyes looked at Azu with a hint of kinship.

"Absolutely! I'll hire all the raiders and plant my livestream signal towers in every civilization with a brain!"

"Wait!" Rocket Raccoon, who had been hiding in the back, suddenly jumped onto Azu's shoulder and interrupted loudly.

"We've got the spectacle, but how do we make money? We want a share of the ticket sales and broadcasting revenue!"

"80/20 split of profits."

The Grandmaster was now preoccupied with planning for this epic event, and appeared extremely magnanimous.

"No problem, little fox. This is a grand event for the entire universe; I'll give you thirty percent of it!"

"Hmph." Rocket sneered. "Can't you understand human language, old man?"

Rockets pointed to himself with his thumb.

"We want 80%, you keep 20%."

"Are you crazy?!" The Grandmaster nearly choked. "The venue, the publicity, the broadcast—I paid for everything myself!"

But seeing Ah Zu high-five Rocket, Grandmaster Gao gritted his teeth.

He went all out for this event that would go down in the annals of cosmic history.

"Deal! 80% complete!"

Thanos, standing to the side, ignored these pointless bargaining attempts.

His gaze was fixed on the Infinity Stone on Azu's glove.

"I can accept this match," Thanos said in a deep voice, "but the Tesseract's chips aren't enough. I want to raise the stakes."

"I'm betting the two gems I have on the two you possess."

Thanos looked at Azu.

"The Reality Gem is in your hands, and I know the Mind Scepter is also in your possession."

"If I win, you have to give me all of them, along with the Tesseract."

Ah Zu chuckled.

He casually rotated his wrist, displaying the ruby ​​on the back of his hand.

"No problem!" Azu readily agreed. "Two for two, it's fair."

The Celestial Venerable was all smiles as he saw that the two sides had finally reached an agreement.

"Perfect!" the Grandmaster clapped his hands. "Four cycles! Give me four cycles! I will set up the most perfect venue on the edge of the Void! We'll meet there!"

"Wait a minute!" Star-Lord drew his twin pistols and roared at Thanos, "Where's Gamora?! Release her! Now!"

Upon hearing this name, a rare hint of sadness flashed across Thanos's usually cold face.

But he quickly hid these emotions.

He stared coldly at Star-Lord.

"If you win, she will naturally come back to you."

"Damn it!" Star-Lord pulled the trigger.

"Bang! Bang!" Two energy blasts struck Thanos's chest, leaving no mark whatsoever.

Thanos ignored Star-Lord's attack.

Above the palace, which had 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 forces.

As the beam contracted, Thanos and his companions vanished from the spot.

Then, the massive warship turned around, its engines roared to life, and plunged headlong into the "Gastropoda," defying the spacetime turbulence and disappearing into the depths of the starry sea.

As he watched the enemy fleet disappear into the sky, Star-Lord turned around and strode over to Azu.

"I'm going to participate in the competition." Star-Lord's eyes were resolute. "I must save Gamora."

Azu looked at him and fell silent.

As soon as Azu saw the Soul Stone on Thanos's gauntlet, radiating an orange light, he knew that Gamora was gone.

To obtain the Soul Gem, one must sacrifice their beloved.

He just hadn't figured out how to tell Star-Lord this cruel truth.

You should know that Star-Lord, that idiot, has the amazing feat of "delivering Avengers: Endgame with three punches".

Once someone with such unstable emotions finds out that Gamora is truly dead, who knows what stupid things he might do?

Just then, Thor finally scrambled back from the distant ruins.

He was covered in dust and shouting loudly.

"My axe! My beloved axe is gone again! I can't summon it back no matter what I do?!"

After hearing this, Azu casually raised his hand and gently shook it.

Two seconds later.

"Whoosh!"

The Storm Axe pierced through the numerous obstacles of the ruins and fell into Azu's hands.

Azu then handed the axe to Thor.

Thor took it as if it were a treasure, as happy as a child, and clutched it tightly in his hand.

To everyone's surprise, Ah Zu had only turned around and taken two steps away.

The Stormbreaker Axe miraculously broke free from Thor's grasp, tracing a graceful arc through the air before floating lightly back to Azu.

This……

Thor stared blankly at his empty hands, then looked at the axe floating in front of Azu, and looked at Azu with pitiful eyes.

Ah Zu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He looked at Stormbreaker and said helplessly, "Give this guy another chance, just to save me face."

Upon hearing Azu's words, the Storm Axe emitted a buzzing sound, seemingly extremely unwilling.

It lingered in the air for a few moments before finally flying back into Thor's hand.

It was as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Thor quickly clung tightly to the battle axe, afraid it would run away again.

"Where's Thanos?" Thor looked around, searching for his enemy.

Ah Zu then briefly explained the best-of-seven bet made by the High Priest and the match four cycles later.

Thor's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this.

"I absolutely have to participate! I'm the strongest Avenger!"