Chapter 527 I Have a Proposal
Peter puffed out his chest, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination.
"I am! Mr. Homelander! I am willing to take on this responsibility!"
Peter answered loudly.
"Being able to fight alongside you is the biggest dream of my life! I will never give up!"
Looking at the hot-blooded youth before him, Homelander smiled with satisfaction.
"Very good."
Homelander gave Peter’s shoulder a heavy pat.
"Keep up this fighting spirit, kid. Go prepare."
Peter was stunned for a moment, then his face broke into ecstasy.
"Really? I can go participate in the gladiatorial combat? Then... what about Aunt May..."
"I will go talk to her myself," Homelander said in a relaxed tone. "I will make her understand that the Peter Parker of now is already a real man."
"That’s amazing! Thank you, thank you! This means the world to me!"
Peter jumped up in excitement; he couldn’t even help himself from stepping forward and hugging Homelander.
"Sorry, sir! I was just too excited! I’m going back to increase my training right now!"
Peter downed the milk in his cup in one go and ran to the window.
"Whoosh!"
Shooting out a web, Peter leaped into the night sky like a happy little bird.
Notification! Gained special popularity value + 30,000! (From Peter Parker)
Watching Peter’s retreating figure, Homelander rewarded himself with a glass of fresh milk with satisfaction.
The hot blood of youth is just so easy to trick.
"Skynet, have May Parker come to my office tomorrow."
...
Over the next period of time, the frenzy of preparation continued to heat up.
Vought’s voting leaderboard changed drastically every day.
Relying on a wave of crazy monetary offensive, Tony Stark rented out the iconic building screens in major cities around the world to loop his combat highlight reels, forcibly pulling his vote count up to second place.
Steve Rogers, relying on his absolute appeal among the elderly and veterans, remained firmly in third place.
Thor was so angry he ran to find Ashley, strongly demanding that the populations of Asgard and Vanaheim also be included in the voting pool.
Ashley could only explain, sweating profusely, that Vought’s network currently did not cover outer space.
As for Peter Parker, after Homelander personally stepped in and had an in-depth and productive closed-door talk with Aunt May.
Aunt May miraculously changed her attitude.
Not only did she stop preventing Peter from participating, but she even posted a long video on her social media account, publicly calling on everyone to support Spider-Man.
Once this video was released, Peter’s vote count saw another surge.
...
While Earth was in the midst of a fierce internal competition over who to select.
On the other side of the distant starry sky, someone had the exact opposite trouble.
Sanctuary II, bridge.
Thanos’s towering body sat on the main throne, his gaze fixed on the center of the hall.
The Grandmaster’s half-body holographic projection floated in mid-air.
"Seven-on-seven duel. First to four wins." The Grandmaster’s projection chattered on, reading the competition rules. "Blind box arenas, emotional scales, and halftime intervention mechanisms. Listen, buddy, you’d better bring your best warriors; those Earthlings are not to be trifled with..."
Thanos remained expressionless, raised his hand to cut off the communication, and the bridge immediately fell into silence.
He stood up and walked to the observation window, the light of the stars flickering on his face.
The rules set by the Grandmaster had put him in a passive position.
He recalled his brief confrontation on Sakaar with that Earthling named Homelander.
Red and purple energy collided, erupting with an Earth-shattering Impact.
Thanos knew very well that both sides had used the Infinity Stones at that time.
Under such extreme energy hedging, it was difficult to accurately assess the opponent’s true strength.
"Fifty-fifty." Thanos gave an objective assessment in his heart.
If it were just a one-on-one fight, he would not fear any creature in the Universe.
But now the format was seven-on-seven.
To get the Space Stone, he had to win four matches.
Thanos turned around, his gaze sweeping over the empty bridge, his brows furrowed tightly.
He recalled the years he had spent conquering the Universe, meticulously cultivating the Black Order, and adopting the two sisters, Gamora and Nebula.
They had once been his sharpest blades, his tools for leveling countless Planets.
But what about now?
Supergiant had already sacrificed herself during their early conquests.
Corvus Glaive had died in the dwarf kingdom of Nidavellir.
Black Dwarf, that loyal beast, had died at his feet while blocking Thor’s battle axe for him.
Gamora, his most beloved daughter. To exchange for the Soul Stone, he had personally pushed her off the cliff on Vormir.
Nebula, that blue elf always full of resentment, had defected and joined the Earthlings’ camp.
Now, the only contestants he had immediately available were Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw.
Counting himself, that made only three people.
Even if the three of them all won, that was only three points.
This was not enough for him to win the final bet.
He needed to fill the vacancies; he urgently needed powerful warriors.
Footsteps sounded.
Ebony Maw stepped forward and stopped behind Thanos.
His face wore his usual respect, as if he had seen through Thanos’s troubles.
"Father." Ebony Maw bowed slightly.
"You have something to say, Ebony Maw?" Thanos did not turn around.
"Are you worrying about the contestants?" Ebony Maw said softly. "Three victories cannot trade for a win; we need more main combatants."
Thanos nodded, signaling him to continue.
Ebony Maw walked two steps closer and whispered.
"Father, I have a proposal. Perhaps you could contact your brother... Starfox."
"Hmm? Eros?" Thanos snorted coldly and turned around.
"Yes, Father."
Thanos shook his head after hearing this. "He has always been extremely disgusted by my actions of purifying the Universe, calling it massacre. I’m afraid he won’t help me."
"Exactly because of that, Father. We can utilize this point."
Ebony Maw smiled sinisterly.
"Starfox is a complete playboy, a hedonist who indulges in pleasure. He is keen on traveling throughout the Universe, seeking pleasure everywhere. And he has left behind romantic debts on many Planets..."
"So, what do you mean?" Thanos looked down at Ebony Maw.
Ebony Maw’s withered fingers lit up the holographic projection.
A series of Planet coordinates appeared on the projection.
"You can promise him exemption rights for twenty Planets. After your final plan begins, these twenty Planets can be spared from the cleansing."
Thanos’s gaze swept over those coordinates.
Ebony Maw continued, "If he still refuses, then these twenty Planet slots will become a death warrant. The civilizations he has ties with will have half their populations cleared in advance."
Thanos stared at Ebony Maw and fell silent.
This plan was extremely cruel; it accurately grasped Starfox’s only weakness.
Threatening his own brother... in principle, this went against his wishes.
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