Chapter 578
You Deserve It
Peter stepped forward and sighed softly.
"You're back, Mr. Saul."
He kindly reached out and patted Saul's arm to comfort him, saying, "But you can listen to what's going on outside."
Thor paused for a moment, then listened intently.
In the arena, countless alien spectators were chanting his name in unison.
"Thor! Thor! Thor!"
The sound waves came one after another, deafening.
Thor's face immediately lit up with ecstasy.
He grabbed Peter's shoulder and exclaimed excitedly, "I won..."
You lost.
Peter Parker interrupted Saul before he could finish speaking, revealing the harsh truth.
"Well……"
Peter felt a pang of pity seeing Saul frozen in place and tried to make his words sound more palatable.
"You lost. But...you lost beautifully...no, I mean, you lost very well...uh, that doesn't seem right either. Anyway, you did your best!"
Clearly, these words did not have a good effect.
Peter couldn't find the right words to describe Saul's feat.
He could only look helplessly at Azu, hoping that this spiritual mentor could come to his rescue.
Azu smiled slightly, stepped forward, patted Peter on the shoulder, and gestured for him to step back.
When Thor saw Azu approaching, he felt ashamed to face his brother, and his eyes grew even dimmer.
"I lost...brother."
"Yes, you lost." Azu crouched down, gently placing his hand on Thor's shoulder. "But you lost with honor."
"I lost, and that's it, don't try to comfort me, brothers. I let you down, I couldn't hold on to this game, I couldn't..."
Saul shook his head, filled with self-reproach.
"Shut up, let me finish." Azu interrupted him mercilessly. "Peter is right, you lost this duel."
"But lift your head, my brother. Listen carefully to the cheers outside."
Azu pointed to the sidelines and continued, "They're not cheering for the victors; they're paying tribute to a true warrior. Your indomitable spirit in the face of adversity, your burning will to protect, has earned you the respect of the entire universe."
"I won't blame you in the slightest for this defeat; on the contrary, I'm proud of you. You've proven the glory of Asgard and the spirit of Earth!"
"You will always be my brother, and one of the most reliable shields in this team."
"Leave the mess to me. I'll handle everything."
"Thank you, brother..."
This profound trust and acceptance made Thor feel that Azumi was more like his father than Odin at this moment.
Hint! Gained +15000 Special Popularity Points! (From Thor Odinson)
Yes, yes, a child who knows how to be grateful is a good child! Azu nodded repeatedly in his heart.
"And..." Azu added, "Let's find a quiet place later and properly recall this battle."
"Once you remember it and grasp that feeling..."
"You will become a true god... unstoppable!" Azu said solemnly, "except for me."
Thor listened to Azu's words with a somewhat blank expression.
But he nodded vigorously, engraving these words of teaching deep in his heart.
At this moment, the other heroes also stepped forward to praise Thor's performance.
"Homelander is right, Thor," Steve praised. "Your performance just now made us all proud; you showed true warrior spirit."
Even the Ancient One nodded slightly: "Your spirit has been elevated in the battle just now; this was a valuable trial."
Hearing the praise from everyone, Thor's mood finally improved.
He smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
But soon, the smile on his face disappeared.
He suddenly remembered the grim situation he was in.
"They lost this match, making the score 3-2. The Dark Order has match point."
His eyes were filled with worry as he looked at Azu.
"You're definitely playing next. If you beat that purple sweet potato devil, the score will be three to three. But..."
Thor's gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Star-Lord Peter Quill.
"But what about the next overtime game? Are we really going to leave Midgard's fate in the hands of that idiot Quill?"
"Hey!"
Peter Quill immediately jumped up in response.
"Don't call me Quill the Fool!" Quill glared at Thor, striding up to him. "I'm Star-Lord! The strongest member of the Guardians of the Galaxy!"
He patted his chest and boasted confidently, "Listen, I took down Ronan the Accuser! And countless other cosmic behemoths! I can take on an entire fleet by myself! Whenever I step onto the field, no matter who the opposing team's substitute is, they'll be terrified and wet their pants just hearing my name!"
Everyone looked at Quill's arrogant demeanor and had a big question mark in their minds.
Is it really a good idea to entrust the fate of the Earth to this guy?
But at this moment, they had no other choice.
Overtime is inevitable, and Quill is the only substitute.
You can't just kill him and say you can't find a replacement, so Homelander can fight another round...
"Well done, Quill. Now it's your turn." Steve forced a smile.
"Listen, Black Columbus." Tony looked Quill up and down. "If you can manage to avoid tripping over your own shoelaces in the next battle and happen to save the entire universe..."
"I swear, when I get back to New York, I'll personally fund a solid gold statue of your broken radio in Central Park. So, don't mess it up."
"Prepare your gold, Stark!" Quill said confidently.
On the other side, the Dark Order's preparation platform appeared much quieter.
There were no cheers, no celebrations, only silence.
"Well done."
Thanos looked at Dagor, who had been teleported back, and said admiringly, "You have proven your worth to me."
With a cold face, Dago walked towards Thanos without any politeness.
“I don’t need to prove anything to you, Thanos,” Dago said bluntly. “My business is done. As agreed, give me the control keys to the Dark Order.”
Thanos twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a cold, emotionless smile.
"You deserve it." A metallic cylinder emitting a dark purple light appeared in his palm.
This is the highest-level access key to control the entire Dark Order fleet and bio-army.
Thanos threw the key to Dago.
Dago caught it steadily, and after confirming that everything was in order, he didn't say another word and turned to leave the platform.
Thanos ignored Dago's departure.
For Thanos, he has already won this duel.
He did not look down on the people of his homeland.
On the contrary, he attached great importance to this suddenly emerging Earth powerhouse.
The power displayed by Homelanders is enough to make any cosmic overlord feel apprehensive.
But Thanos now possesses trump cards that give him absolute confidence.
He gently turned his palm over.
In his palm, a transparent cube slowly appeared.