Chapter 159: Even the God of Time Was a Step Too Late
The universe is vast and wonderful, filled with countless planets and a diverse array of races that truly broaden one's horizons. At least, that's what Tony Stark thought.
This was his first time leaving Earth to truly begin exploring the universe, but it would undoubtedly not be his last.
With his current strength, relying on a Celestial Armor capable of suppressing most Skyfathers, he was fully capable of running rampant through most parts of the universe.
Generally speaking, as long as powerful individuals at the Single Universe Level didn't get involved, the so-called gods of various planets and some ancient Celestials were simply not enough to pose an obstacle to Tony.
During this time, Tony had also gotten a clear sense of his own standing. He was roughly above an ordinary Skyfather but below the Single Universe Level, though he likely hadn't reached the omnipotent tier of a single universe.
Perhaps a Strong Skyfather?
At the very least, if he were to face Jane Foster, who had slaughtered the multitude of Shadow Gods within the World Tree (Yggdrasil), Tony mulled it over and concluded that he had no certainty of victory. However, relying on the terrifying physical defense of the Celestial Armor, he probably wouldn't be taken down by a single blow from Foster's hammer.
It couldn't be helped. The Celestials were just that powerful. Even in death, with only a corpse remaining, they were still formidable after some proper modification.
Coupled with the bonus of being an Earthling, wherever he went, Tony received the utmost attention, destined to become a top trending topic locally.
Even if people wanted to ignore Tony, they couldn't, not with him carrying around such a terrifying suit of armor.
Tony casually threw on his clothes, walked to the bedside, and poured himself a glass of red wine. This was, of course, something he had brought from Earth. There was no helping it; he was merely a mortal and didn't dare to rashly consume beverages from an alien planet. Even if he ran them through the Celestial Armor's programs for repeated analysis and confirmed many drinks could be digested and absorbed by him, the cautious Tony would still not drink them, no matter the circumstances.
This was a cautious nature he had developed back on Earth. Having dealt with monsters like the Xenomorphs, which were even more terrifying than assassins, for an extended period, Tony knew their combat methods like the back of his hand. He had even personally witnessed many scenes of Xenomorphs not hesitating to self-mutilate just to use their own blood to corrode their enemies into liquid, leaving him with immense psychological trauma.
"Who knows under what circumstances this seemingly normal glass of liquid will turn into acid or alkali, right?"
Tony didn't turn around, but he already knew that Gamora was standing silently behind him.
"Sometimes I can't help but suspect you've stuffed a few Xenomorphs into your armor," Gamora said, nonchalantly getting dressed as if nothing had happened the previous night.
For someone like Gamora, sleeping with a man was nothing worth caring about. The only thing that might leave a special memory was probably the fact that this man was from Earth and carried a terrifying super armor.
Many ill-intentioned individuals had already proven with their lives that the moment they attempted to make a move on Tony, even if it was just a precursory action at the atomic or molecular level, the Celestial Armor would react at an even faster speed, violently blasting the assailant to death.
No action could be faster than the Celestial Armor. It was equivalent to facing a Celestial itself.
Tony didn't turn around, content to admire the several-hundred-meter-tall big guy outside the window.
Everyone around watched the Celestial Armor with awe, whispering amongst themselves.
Rumor had it that the reason this human from Earth could wield such a terrifying armor was likely due to his good personal relationship with that terrifying man—Du Wa. That was why he could leave Earth with such a powerful combat unit.
The crucial point was that on some planets, devices for monitoring parasitic Xenomorphs had been installed in major cities, yet they had not detected any Xenomorph larva on Tony. This was a matter worthy of deep consideration, terrifying the more one thought about it.
"We just had a wonderful time. Can we not make the topic so pointed? It would be fine even if you talked about my armor," Tony shrugged a little helplessly.
The corner of Gamora's mouth twitched as she said sarcastically, "Talk about your big armor or your little armor? Or are you hoping I'll bring up how to perform oil maintenance on these few sets of armor you carry with you? You make it sound like I'm just like everyone else, scheming to take your armor. Everyone respects you because of your origin and your strength, myself included."
"That's because you know making a move on me is impossible." Tony extended his index finger and pointed to his own head. "My intellect will first calculate all your moves, and then the big guy outside will act at an even faster speed. If you can strike at light speed, then I can stop you at faster-than-light speed."
"Well said. So the thing you're most proud of is your brain. You should know, then, that I approached you not for your sake, but to obtain more intelligence. No one dares to infiltrate Earth now."
Tony nodded frankly. He had roamed many planets and witnessed traces of Xenomorph activity firsthand. Through the Celestial Armor, he had received a massive amount of information from even more distant reaches of space, learning how the countless life forms throughout the universe viewed the Xenomorphs, and knowing that wars against them were breaking out on many planets.
"Leaving?" Tony asked.
"Time to go. Thanos has given me a new command. I can feel that he's lost his patience. If I stay here any longer, I'll be in danger."
"Thanos... compared to Du Wa, who's stronger?" Tony muttered the name.
"Are you telling a very low-level joke? Of course Du Wa is stronger, at least for now. But it's hard to say after a while. You'd better hurry back to Earth and prepare to face Thanos. That beast has started to move."
"Ha, this Thanos you speak of can threaten Du Wa? And you're going back to serve him now?"
"No, I'm going to betray him. Working for Thanos is not a good choice. I want Thanos dead more than anyone, but it's very difficult, and I don't have the power to defeat him myself." Gamora finished putting on her equipment and left without hesitation.
She had officially decided to betray Thanos and wanted to find a more reliable way out, but she didn't want to become a Xenomorph.
"You'll become a Xenomorph... if you call out Du Wa's name a couple more times, you might just get his attention," Tony said with a strange expression. He saw through Gamora's thoughts and thus didn't remind her.
Soon after.
The massive Celestial Armor soared into the sky, causing the entire planet to tremble.
Many people looked up, their eyes revealing reluctance mixed with fear. They clearly didn't want to give up on such a powerful armor, but to their frustration, they had no way to kill Tony and could only let him leave in the Celestial Armor.
"Oh? Someone is actually slaughtering Xenomorphs so actively? And they're chasing a fleet loaded with a large number of them."
On his way back to Earth, Tony was also using the Celestial Armor to aimlessly yet efficiently gather cosmic information. A massive amount of information from countless galaxies was filtered by the Celestial Armor and received by Tony.
He heard that there was a person shining with golden light, capable of releasing golden energy and traversing the universe with their flesh and blood, specifically going to planets ravaged by Xenomorphs to hunt them down frantically, earning a great reputation.
Many factions fighting against the Xenomorphs would try by all means to contact her.
He didn't know what grudge she had against the Xenomorphs. But then again, looking across the universe, there were plenty of people fighting Xenomorphs, and many who sought to become one. However, Du Wa wouldn't respond to every single person who chanted his name; more often than not, he would just ignore them.
"Jarvis, search for information on this lady. See which planet she was born on," Tony ordered casually.
He hadn't expected much, but the result of the search left Tony with a surprised expression.
"Carol Danvers, former member of the United States Air Force...? I didn't expect to run into someone so interesting here."
...
The Marauders were in big trouble. They were being relentlessly pursued by a dangerous woman, and many of their members had died.
"Yondu, think of something, quick! That woman took out another one of our ships! Even if we made a fortune with the Xenomorphs, we can't sustain this rate of loss! If we don't find a way to get rid of her, we'll be broke soon!"
"Broke? You wish. Only the living have the right to be called broke. We're about to lose our lives."
The Marauders wailed, living in constant fear.
After all the other escort ships were destroyed, on this incredibly luxurious starship, perhaps only the Xenomorphs could remain quiet.
"We have to find a way to shake her."
Yondu watched Carol, who was doggedly latched onto their starship. With just a layer of golden light covering her body, she could fly at high speeds in the vacuum of space. She was just ridiculously fierce.
They had made their fortune in the business of deploying Xenomorphs, so of course they knew the name of the person hunting them: Carol Danvers, the famous Xenomorph killer, who for some unknown reason, had an irreconcilable feud with the Xenomorphs.
The Marauder team led by Yondu should have been powerful for a time, but against Carol, they were decimated after just a few battles.
They had originally thought Carol was after the Cosmic Orb. After all, word had gotten out, and many people knew the Marauders had obtained the precious Cosmic Orb.
But gradually, Yondu and the others discovered that Carol was hunting them purely because of their act of deploying Xenomorphs.
God only knew what kind of deep-seated hatred existed between this woman and the Xenomorphs.
"She's just a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong. She doesn't dare go to Earth to deal with those truly powerful Xenomorphs, much less challenge Du Wa himself. She only comes to make trouble for us."
Yondu's voice was hoarse, his eyes shot with blood. He hadn't rested in a long time.
At his wit's end, Yondu had once wanted to open the Cosmic Orb and use the Infinity Stone to kill Carol in one go. The legendary Infinity Stone was enough to drive anyone mad. Who wouldn't want to be like Du Wa, a Deity who could get everything they wanted and destroy everything they loathed.
But Yondu's intuition told him he wasn't qualified to control a power of such an extraordinary caliber as the Infinity Stone.
"Quill, this business was your idea! Think of something, or I'll throw you out!" Yondu roared.
"What? You demon, do you expect me to seduce that old woman? I'm telling you, it won't work! She's not my type," Quill shouted angrily. "Besides, she's after us because of the Xenomorphs, not the Cosmic Orb! It was all your idea to use the power of the Xenomorphs to strengthen the Marauders."
"What crap are you spewing? Without the Xenomorphs, how could you have gotten rich so fast and upgraded this damn starship?" Yondu cursed.
Quill turned to look at another high-ranking Marauder. "Kruger, can we still not escape by opening a portal?"
"No, it's too strange. I don't feel any spatial obstruction, but opening the portal keeps failing! Something must be affecting me, but I can't find it. Is it that woman who's chasing us?" Kruger was fraught with worry. He tried repeatedly, only to be met with failure after failure.
This wasn't normal.
But they had no time to investigate the cause.
Right in front of them, an immense battleship, like a moon, suddenly emerged from a wormhole, blocking their path.
Compared to such a behemoth of a starship, the battered and dilapidated luxury battleship they were on looked like a child's toy.
"Sanctuary II. That's the flagship of the Cosmic Butcher. It seems our big buyer has lost his patience and come to pick us up early."
Yondu laughed out loud. Any change, no matter how bad, was better than this dead-end situation. He immediately whistled, grabbing the Yaka Arrow in his hand, ready to fight at any moment.
But whether facing the crazed Carol or Thanos and his Black Order, the odds of victory were very low.
Thanos, having not received a reply from Gamora for a long time, had already realized something. The last of his little patience was completely exhausted, and he had taken action personally.
If he didn't act soon, the Deity behind him wouldn't be able to hold back either.
Thanos watched the chase between the Marauders and Captain Marvel from a distance.
"Why the sudden hurry?" Thanos stood his ground, hands behind his back, asking with a blank expression.
Beside Thanos, a phantom existed. "Du Wa's operation has entered its final stage, much faster than I anticipated. You can't feel the changes to this universe, but I can see with my own eyes how he is changing it. You don't want to see this world become one of only Xenomorphs, do you?"
"It's all the same to me. Xenomorphs have souls, that's enough," Thanos said coldly. "The ones who should be worried are gods like you, who are being directly affected by Du Wa."
"Helping me is helping yourself! The more I succeed, the more those troublesome characters obstructing you will have to be wary. But if a guy like Du Wa succeeds, our situation will become very grim. Even if you want to please Death, you'll have no choice but to make enemies of the vast majority of living beings in the universe..."
Before the words were finished, they came to an abrupt halt.
"What's wrong? Kronos, even the God of Time can be at a loss for words?"
Thanos sneered, showing no reverence for his own grandfather, but he too quickly shut his mouth.
He saw light, endless light, rising from all directions. Every single Xenomorph was an epicenter from which it spread.
(end of chapter)