Chapter 146: This Is What an Infinity War Should Be!
This scene unfolded so suddenly that even Du Wa was momentarily silent.
"Watcher Uatu, I'm not mistaken, am I? I don't recall us ever having any sort of interaction. Even if you're in trouble now, you shouldn't be asking for my help in such a terrible way—suddenly appearing and shouting that you need me. It's simply awful."
Du Wa continued, "Besides, I have no reason to help you. I don't even know you."
"You actually know me, and you even know my name? Which God did you hear it from?" Uatu was taken aback at first.
Only an extremely powerful Deity could interact directly with a Watcher. Beings who had not reached this tier could only be observed as subjects by the Watchers.
Yet this Du Wa, from an unknown universe, had recognized him at a glance. This was somewhat surprising to Uatu—no, it was a pleasant surprise.
However, now was not the time to get bogged down in such trivial details. Although Uatu was very interested in Du Wa's background and origin, there were clearly more life-threatening matters to handle.
"I need your help. In a parallel universe, a terrifying entity has appeared. He is madly destroying the original order of the various worlds, plunging everything into chaos. Before long, he will definitely come to this universe and destroy everything here."
As Uatu spoke, he rapidly healed his injuries, and in the blink of an eye, he had fully recovered.
But even though he was healed, Uatu's scalp tingled just thinking about Ultron with Six Gems.
Not long ago, Uatu was still convinced he would win. Even though it was the first time in his life challenging an opponent wielding six Infinity Stones, he believed he would surely be victorious.
But when the fight truly began, he could still hold his own at the start. The longer it went on, the worse Uatu's situation in the battle became. He was gradually suppressed by Ultron, then pursued relentlessly, ending up in a miserable state.
Ultron's growth rate was simply too fast, far exceeding Uatu's expectations.
"So, you've encountered an unbeatable enemy who has pushed you to a dead end, forcing you to abandon your principles, reveal yourself, and seek aid from powerful individuals across various worlds? I'm honored to have become one of the targets of your plea for help."
Du Wa communicated with the Watcher. Of course, it wasn't his main body doing the talking, but a Xenomorph located in Universe 199999 that was speaking face-to-face with the Watcher.
Uatu wasn't fast enough to pinpoint the remote universe where his main body was located across the entire multiverse.
Uatu's jurisdiction wasn't that large yet; it didn't cover the entire multiverse.
Within the MCU system, the number of powerful individuals Uatu could find was limited. He couldn't just summon the avatars of several Creator Gods, which meant his options were very, very few.
Therefore, Du Wa, who had forcefully invaded the MCU Main Universe and was rapidly expanding his sphere of influence, was one of the helpers Uatu had chosen in his desperate flight.
At such a critical juncture, the more firepower, the better.
"As you can see, the power I've sent to this universe isn't much, and I don't have many fighters. I can't be of any help to you," Du Wa replied dismissively.
Uatu looked intently at the Xenomorph before him. "For you, this is purely a question of willingness, not ability. By stepping up to help me defeat that guy, you would be protecting this universe and yourself."
"But before protecting myself, I'd mainly be risking my life to protect you first," Du Wa said noncommittally.
He only needed one look at Uatu's current wretched state to know who was responsible.
Without a doubt, within the entire MCU system, the only one who would step up to beat a Watcher and had the strength to do so was Ultron with Six Gems.
Even Black Strange wouldn't do something like this. He just wanted to stay in that collapsed, dead universe until the end of time.
Du Wa was completely uninterested in Ultron. Even if this robot possessed so many Infinity Stones and could use them in different universes, he just couldn't muster any interest.
"Find someone else. This is not my responsibility," Du Wa refused. "I'm not interested in a machine. My Xenomorphs haven't evolved to the point where they can even parasitize machines."
Uatu frowned deeply. "It seems you are even more special than I imagined. You observed the battle between me and Ultron through this group of not-so-powerful Xenomorphs? But it makes sense. The two of us fought so intensely, tearing through so many universes, it's normal for you to have discovered it in advance through some means."
Uatu hesitated for a moment, unwilling to let Du Wa go. "If you want to go further with the concept of the Xenomorph, to cultivate this concept to a level that can shake the entire multiverse, instead of being just another zombie plague, you must be more daring."
"Do you really think I'll be parasitizing robots in the future? I might as well go look for trouble with the Celestials. At least those guys aren't all robots."
"What I mean is, if you can help me deal with Ultron, I can turn a blind eye to your actions within the scope of my observation, and even provide you with a certain amount of help."
Uatu had thrown caution to the wind. He was truly frightened by Ultron.
If he didn't find a way to eliminate Ultron once and for all, he himself would be finished. What future would there be to speak of?
Whether he fled or died in battle, everything he left behind would belong to Ultron, with not a single shred remaining his.
He might as well drag Du Wa, whose upper limit of strength was unknown, into this mess. At worst, after the war, he would only need to pay Du Wa a portion of his entire reserves as a reward.
"Watcher..."
Du Wa laughed out loud. Of course, it was his main body laughing; the Xenomorph conversing with Watcher Uatu showed no change in expression.
He found it very interesting. The Watchers claimed to never interfere with the changes in reality, yet when cornered, they would always stuff their cherished principles down the toilet and flush them away. Once the crisis was over and their safety was guaranteed, they would pick up those old, restrictive principles, wrap them around themselves again, and go around proclaiming to the gods that they never interfere in the major events of the various worlds.
It was like a referee publicly declaring he would be impartial to all athletes, but if any athlete questioned his call, the referee would personally step in. After the fight, he would shyly re-emphasize his impartiality.
But the problem now was that the referee was about to be killed by a ferocious athlete.
"Watcher, I must remind you, you are using the bargaining chips in your hand to tempt an outsider to commit a huge mistake for your sake... But I like it. I love making a bargain with people, especially a fair bargain like this."
Du Wa agreed. Although facing Ultron with Six Gems posed a considerable risk, in Du Wa's eyes, this risk was still manageable.
To put it bluntly, even if things went south for Du Wa in the MCU and he was utterly defeated by Ultron with Six Gems, the final impact on Du Wa would be minimal.
Even if the entire MCU fell, at most it would just add some trouble for Du Wa in finding a new springboard. It wouldn't even be a major blow.
Because within the entire multiverse, the MCU system was ultimately just an insignificant corner. The truly vast and expansive territories were the powerful and insane various worlds outside the MCU.
"Excellent! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. You've made the right decision. Let's act immediately. Ultron is rapidly scouring the various worlds, searching for me. He might find his way here in the next moment." Uatu was extremely excited, seeing a glimmer of hope for saving his life and position.
"I don't plan on going personally."
"What did you say? The opponent is the Ultron who defeated me! That thing's power is beyond your imagination, and you're still planning on holding back?"
"What do you mean, holding back? I'm clearly holding a lot back."
"I don't know what level your main body's strength has reached, nor am I sure what level of God you are, but Ultron is definitely stronger than you think. It is only one step away from a higher tier of existence."
"Now that you say that, I'm even more relieved."
Du Wa looked completely certain.
At his absolute limit, Ultron with Six Gems was at a single-universe omnipotent level. He belonged to the absolute pinnacle of the universal tier, but he had not, after all, crossed that crucial step to achieve a multiversal tier.
In a direct comparison, Ultron with Six Gems was perhaps on the same level as the peak Sentry from the 616 Main Universe, who could slaughter Molecule Man Owen.
As long as it wasn't a multiversal threat and remained within a single universe, Du Wa was confident enough to handle it.
The question, then, was what means he would use to deal with Ultron.
"Ultron, wielding six Infinity Stones... Honestly, this guy should be the strongest opponent I've ever met. I have to take this seriously this time. Let me think, how should I make good use of this guy?"
Completely ignoring Uatu's increasingly grim expression, Du Wa made a decision after a few seconds of thought.
"I choose you, Thanos. Use the Infinity Stones to fight the Infinity Stones."
Du Wa directly summoned Thanos. Without another word, he stuffed the mechanical gauntlet into Thanos's hands and explained what needed to be done.
Thanos's expression was a bit ugly. Ever since he was forced to defect to Du Wa, he had worn a sour look on his face. "The second mission you've assigned me isn't to attack some planet, but to directly confront an invader from a parallel universe? A guy like you?"
"Actually, there are some differences between it and me... understand it however you like."
Thanos was incredibly frustrated. He looked down at the mechanical gauntlet, which held only four Infinity Stones.
But his opponent possessed six.
He looked up at Du Wa again, confirming that Du Wa was truly assigning a mission and not just concocting some low-level trick.
"Very interesting, isn't it? This will be an extraordinary battle. The spectacular performance you are about to put on will be enough for me to further understand this cluster of universes," Du Wa said encouragingly.
Thanos suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and turned to size up Watcher Uatu. "And who is this guy?"
"Your helper. One of them. But I didn't expect that even at a time like this, you're still unwilling to go all out, preparing to send this universe's Thanos to fight. Ultron easily killed the Thanos from his own universe," Uatu snapped, frantic with anxiety. Of course he recognized Thanos; he was very familiar with him. But it was precisely because he was so familiar that he was hesitant about the Thanos before him.
"This Thanos is different. He's one of a kind in the entire multiverse. Which other Thanos has a Xenomorph inside him? Having a Xenomorph is the same as having me," Du Wa said with a wave of his hand.
"I've also found a few other helpers. One of them proposed an idea, that we set up the battlefield in the dead universe where he resides..." Uatu was interrupted by Du Wa before he could finish.
"No, the battlefield must be set here. This place is the absolute core of the surrounding universes. This is my home turf."
This put Uatu in a difficult position. On one side was the insane Black Strange, and on the other was the inscrutable Du Wa. Who should he listen to?
The two shared one thing in common: Uatu didn't know how strong either of them was, and he was even less certain who could last longer against Ultron with Six Gems.
"I understand. I hope you're right. To think I'd place my hopes on a guy like you with an unknown origin... I'm truly going insane," Uatu said coldly. He sounded calm, but in reality, he was beside himself with worry.
If Du Wa's side collapsed, Du Wa himself could retreat unscathed, but Uatu would be finished. The best-case scenario would be fleeing in disgrace to seek help from other Watchers; a worse outcome would be dying right here.
Uatu left Universe 199999 to find the other helpers he had contacted in advance.
Thanos stood his ground, gently touching the four Infinity Stones on the mechanical gauntlet, his expression shifting between light and dark.
What kind of situation was this? In the end, it was still him controlling the Infinity Stones, but he wasn't happy at all. This was completely different from the scenario he had envisioned for wielding them.
"You promised me that you would bring brand-new changes to this universe," Thanos said in a deep voice.
"I will. It just needs a little time. I can't just get the Time Stone and accelerate time for the entire universe. You know, that would violate the framework of the universe and cause turmoil and chaos throughout, which goes against our original intentions."
Du Wa said, "I will definitely do what I have promised. Right now, we first need to deal with the approaching Ultron. You have never truly used multiple Infinity Stones before, nor have you fought against an enemy who also possesses them. Now is the perfect opportunity... How about we call it the Infinity War?"
By the time Uatu arrived at Universe 199999 with a few others, Ultron was also about to arrive.
"You actually brought us to the Main Universe! You're insane! If this place is destroyed, all universes will be affected," said Black Strange, his face grim and impatient, with dark circles under his eyes and a malevolent energy radiating from his body.
This Doctor Strange, who had absorbed countless cosmic horrors, had a personality that was warped beyond recognition. But one thing hadn't changed: when trouble arose, he truly dared to step up.
(end of chapter)