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"Quiet! Quiet! Shut up, all of you noisy parasites!"
The light and shadow above the arena distorted for a moment, and Grandmaster's massive, several-hundred-meter-tall holographic projection appeared above everyone's heads, wearing a smile that suggested he wanted more.
"I am very grateful to all the contestants for bringing us such a heart-pounding slaughter show today! However, even the most spectacular performance needs an intermission!"
Grandmaster paused, a profiteer's smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"Therefore, I announce! Today's competition ends here! Both camps will have a full day to rest."
"The fifth duel will begin on time the day after tomorrow!"
As soon as these words were spoken, a wave of intense protest erupted from the auditorium.
"Are you kidding me! I flew across eighteen galaxies to get here, and you're telling me there's no more fighting today?!"
"Continue! I have plenty of money to bet, make them keep fighting!"
Grandmaster seemed to have anticipated this reaction, and the smile on his face became even brighter.
"Oh, a quick reminder to everyone." Grandmaster continued, ignoring the protests on the scene, "The tickets in your hands are all void after today's matches end. You will need to purchase new tickets for the day after tomorrow."
"Moreover, given that the excitement of the matches far exceeded expectations... the ticket prices for the day after tomorrow will be increased by 300%!"
The auditorium instantly exploded into chaos, with jeers and curses filling the air.
"You damn Vampire!"
"That's robbery! 300%?! Why don't you go rob the Kree Empire instead!"
"Go to hell! You black-hearted merchant! I'm absolutely not buying!"
Grandmaster picked his ear and shrugged indifferently: "If you don't have money, go home and watch the broadcast! Poor people don't deserve to sit in my arena! Tickets are limited, first come, first served!"
With that, Grandmaster's holographic projection gradually dissipated amidst the uproar.
Everyone felt helpless; despite cursing Grandmaster, most of the alien tycoons still honestly took out their credit coins and started frantically grabbing tickets.
After all, a cosmic war of this level is something you might not encounter even once in a lifetime.
Homelander looked in the direction where Grandmaster disappeared and chuckled, thinking: "This old guy's methods of gathering wealth are not bad, but he shouldn't have forgotten that we take 80% of the revenue."
Subsequently, both Thanos's and Homelander's teams returned to their respective ships docked at the Knowhere port via Portals.
...
Inside the Vought Sacred Expedition ship.
The rest cabin was brightly lit, and although everyone's nerves were still tense, the atmosphere had relaxed quite a bit.
Peter was pressed into the medical pod by Tony to treat his wounds, and the smart robotic arm was quickly suturing the gash on his arm.
Thor sat sprawled out, holding a large mug of strong liquor he'd dug out from the ship's wine cellar, chugging it down.
"Ha! Refreshing!" Thor wiped the liquor stains from his beard, "It's my turn to take the field the day after tomorrow. I promise you, no matter what kind of monster the other side puts out, my stormbreaker will chop off its head!"
"We cannot let our guard down." Steve said in a deep voice, "Two to two is only a temporary tie. Thanos still has three people left. And what I'm more concerned about is that one of them hasn't even appeared yet."
Homelander stood to the side, taking the warm fresh milk from Nebula, perfectly playing the role of a pillar-of-strength leader.
"Captain is right." Homelander said gently, soothing everyone's emotions, "But there is no need to be overly anxious. No matter who the opponent is, as long as we are united, victory will surely belong to Earth. You all rest well; I'll cover the tough battles ahead."
Everyone cast looks of trust.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Knowhere.
Inside the Sanctuary II warship, things were somewhat oppressive.
Thanos sat upright on his towering throne, like a majestic, unmoving statue, saying nothing.
Two to two.
This score was hope for the humans of Earth, but for an overlord who traversed the Universe, it was a great humiliation.
What was worse was that their lineup was now missing one person.
This meant that in the upcoming matches, the Black Order had zero margin for error.
Standing below were Ebony Maw and Starfox Eros, who had just been teleported back.
Eros's wounds had already undergone simple medical treatment, but traces of the sword qi that had grazed him still remained on his face.
"I lost, Thanos." Eros's tone was very calm.
There was still no sound from the throne.
Eros took a step forward, looking directly into Thanos's eyes, his tone becoming a bit heavier.
"Our original agreement was just for me to fight one match on your behalf. You did not require me to win. Now, I have done my best, and I have kept my promise."
Seeing that Thanos didn't respond, Eros continued: "Now, it's your turn to keep your promise. Don't touch my Planets, and don't hurt my people. If I find out you've broken your oath, I swear, I will use every means at my disposal to ensure you never have a peaceful day again."
The air in the hall seemed to have frozen.
Ebony Maw also narrowed his eyes slightly, ready to act at any moment.
People who dared to speak to Thanos in that tone usually didn't live past the next second.
However, Thanos did not fly into a rage.
He stared at Eros for a while, then slowly nodded.
Seeing this, Eros let out a long sigh of relief.
He knew that although Thanos was a cold-blooded tyrant, he was quite persistent when it came to his word.
"Very well." Eros turned around, as if unburdened of a heavy load, "Then, good luck with your matches the day after tomorrow. I have to return to my Planet; my girls are still waiting for me. I don't want to stay in this damn place for even one more second."
Having said that, Eros walked out of the main control cabin without looking back, his steps as light as a prince preparing to pick up Cinderella.
Watching Eros's retreating figure, Ebony Maw finally couldn't help but speak up.
He took an elegant step forward and bowed slightly.
"Great Father, please forgive my offense. But the failure of Lord Eros has pushed us into an extremely dangerous situation. We cannot afford to lose a single one of our next matches."
Ebony Maw's voice was suppressed with anger.
"That damn Mephisto, he said he would provide three top-tier warriors. The Hood and Iron Judge have already fought. But what about the third person? We haven't even seen a shadow."
"Devils really are nothing but liars full of deceit. He has deceived you, Father." Ebony Maw cursed through gritted teeth.
"I never expected loyalty from a devil, Ebony Maw."
Facing Ebony Maw's loss of composure, Thanos merely raised his hand coldly, stopping his complaints.
"Deception and lies are their way of survival. I only care about results."
He clenched his left fist, wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, the light of the gems flickering.
"Relying on others will ultimately lead to failure. The balance of the Universe can only be achieved by ourselves."
Just as Thanos finished speaking, a ball of Hellfire suddenly ignited out of thin air below.
"Discussing a gentleman's credibility behind his back is not a very good habit, Mr. Ebony Maw."