In the armory.
Korg was still complaining about Ben being too impulsive. He picked up a sword and said:
"You shouldn't have challenged the Red Wind Queen. While she's not as brutal as the previous champions, she's undefeated, and she goes all out in every match."
As he spoke, he glanced at Ben, then sighed and shook his head, seemingly pitying Ben's frail body.
Too weak.
In his eyes, Ben's body wouldn't even make it to the Red Wind Queen before being torn apart by other enemies.
The Champion Challenge was no ordinary exhibition match.
"Can't I challenge the Red Wind Queen directly?" Ben asked.
He remembered that after Thor arrived on Sakaar, he could fight Hulk directly.
"You could before," Korg said. "But the Red Wind Queen doesn't like fighting weak opponents, so the Red King specifically changed the rules. To challenge the Red Wind Queen, you have to prove you have the strength first."
"Hmm..." Ben let out an ambiguous hum from his nose. He picked up a hammer that weighed several times his own body weight, still stained with the fur and dried blood of unknown creatures.
"Oh, these soldiers, they don't even bother to clean their weapons. Who knows if there are any infectious diseases in their blood!" Korg complained.
But Ben didn't pay much attention.
He didn't need a weapon.
He put down the hammer he was holding and asked, "Are the Red Wind Queen and the Red King a couple?"
The titles "Red Wind Queen" and "Red King" were too similar, making it hard for him not to think about it.
But Korg shook his head and said, "How could they be?"
At this moment, another gladiator chimed in: "The reason the Red Wind Queen has that title is because she claims to be the queen of the Red Wind Kingdom, and has nothing to do with the Red King."
"Red Wind Kingdom?"
Ben repeated the name, finding it a bit familiar. But he couldn't recall any information about the Red Wind Kingdom from the Marvel Universe.
He had heard of the Skrull Empire and the Kree Empire.
"Isn't your friend choosing a weapon?"
Korg asked Loki, who had his head buried in his knees in the distance.
Although Ben had declared his intention to challenge the Red Wind Queen, it wasn't him who was fighting in the next match, but Loki.
This Son of Odin had angered the Red King, and as punishment, he was to be a display in a lesser bout.
And at this moment, Loki, disheartened by the mockery of fate, had no fighting spirit at all. He was completely numb, and if this continued, he might actually die here.
"He's a mage..." Ben said uncertainly, then added, "I think."
"I hope he can pull himself together," Miek sighed. "The Red King doesn't let anyone who offends him live. I guess his opponent in the next match won't be any of us, but a giant monster."
As if worried Ben wouldn't understand, Xiloi explained, "Giant monsters are huge creatures unique to Sakaar. They eat anything and are incredibly ferocious. If he doesn't snap out of it, he'll probably become monster chow tomorrow."
Hearing this, Ben glanced at Loki.
To be honest, he didn't think the Red King would dare to kill Loki, but he was worried that the reckless Red King, like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, might actually kill Loki.
To prevent Loki from dying at the hands of the Red King, which would lead to Sakaar being destroyed by an enraged Odin, Ben felt it was necessary to talk to Loki.
Besides, some of Loki's abilities would be very useful for Ben to conquer this planet.
Of course, ordinary comfort wouldn't work for an Asgardian.
Ben directly taunted, "Is this all the Son of Odin is capable of?"
Loki didn't react.
Ben simply sat next to him and continued, "You know, you look like a stray dog right now. Where's that arrogant defiance you had on Earth?"
Loki remained silent.
Seeing this, Ben decided to go all out. He patted his butt and stood up, saying, "Well, no wonder Odin didn't let you inherit his position. You're far behind Thor."
Hearing this, Loki finally stirred. He turned his head, glaring at Ben with a look of grievance and anger, and said sharply, "Odin passed the position of God King to Thor only because Thor is his son and I am not!"
Even in his current predicament, Loki refused to admit he was inferior to Thor.
Ridiculous, that muscle-brained idiot, what could he do besides swing a hammer? Without that hammer, he wasn't even a god.
But Ben didn't think so.
Asgard had conquered the cosmos in its early years, causing countless races to bleed. While bringing immense prestige and benefits to Asgard, it also sowed endless hatred.
If there wasn't a powerful God King ruling the Divine Realm, the Nine Realms would immediately fall into chaos, and the giants and Dark Elves would sound the horns of invasion.
"If you became God King, Asgard would quickly be overrun by assembled enemies, all the warriors of the Divine Realm would be slaughtered, and all the residents of the Divine Realm would be enslaved..."
He reached out and tugged at the blood-stained chains on Loki's body. The pain immediately made Loki grit his teeth.
"Just like you." He released the chains and continued, "Your friend... forget it, you don't have friends. But your mother, the noble and immortal Mother of Gods, what would happen to her?"
His question struck Loki's soul directly.
To Loki, everyone in Asgard was like a stern father; neither the men nor the women possessed any gentleness.
Except for the Mother of Gods, Frigga.
Loki's heart suddenly pounded. He wondered what would happen if he truly let the Frost Giants into the Divine Realm and no one stopped them.
But Ben interrupted him, speaking in an even more cruel tone, "Good thing you won't get the chance, because you'll be dead tomorrow, dying like trash on this trash planet."
"I won't die!"
Loki gritted his teeth and said.
"Oh really? And you plan to just rot here forever?" Ben asked softly. "Don't forget you're the Son of Odin."
Then, Ben leaned down and whispered in Loki's ear, "Loki, don't you want to become a true, qualified King?"
"Become King?" Loki was stunned.
"That's right, for your own sake, and for all of us!"
"Heimdall's eyes can see the Nine Realms, Odin's ravens grant him insight into the Cosmos. Do you think he's watching you from the Celestial Palace?" Ben asked.
"Do you want to sink into despair, or choose to let him see that you are the one truly qualified to be King?"
In an instant, a desire ignited within Loki's heart.
Truthfully, he didn't that badly want to be King. He just wanted to prove he was qualified, just wanted to prove he wasn't inferior to Thor.
"What do you want me to do?"
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