Thor picked up his hammer from the ground and pointed it at the scavengers in the stands and the gladiators in the staging area.
"Warriors of Sakaar!"
"Are you slaves waiting to be slaughtered, or are you madmen yearning for freedom?!"
"Today, shatter this cage! Reclaim your dignity! Fight for freedom!"
Thor threw the hammer with all his might.
The hammer, carrying the force of thunder, slammed into the partition wall at the edge of the arena.
"Crack—Boom!"
The partition wall shattered with a roar.
This strike completely ignited the powder keg.
The gladiators in the staging area were all fierce and pugnacious; with their blood boiling, they immediately roared and charged at the guards beside them.
The guards in the stands were shocked and immediately drew their weapons to suppress them.
Several Captains pulled out the obedience controllers from their waists and frantically pressed the buttons.
"Buzz... buzz..."
The controllers emitted a faint electrical sound, but there was no reaction.
"Damn it! The signal has been disabled!" the Captain shouted in horror.
When the gladiators realized their collars were ineffective, they became even more frantic.
Even those who hadn't intended to participate in the riot and were just sitting quietly watching the show, seeing this, picked up weapons and joined the rioting crowd.
Seeing this, the scavengers in the stands also pulled out weapons, taking advantage of the chaos to start looting and destroying.
The entire arena was instantly plunged into chaos, with flames reaching the sky and the sounds of battle echoing endlessly.
Thor also charged into the chaos, like a god of war reborn; wherever his thunder struck, guards fell one after another.
Meanwhile, inside the Grandmaster's palace.
"Grandmaster!"
Several guards, hearing the commotion, looked nervous until they saw the figure walking down the end of the corridor and immediately stood at attention to salute.
The person who arrived was none other than the Grandmaster, dressed in his golden robes.
"No need to be nervous, my children," the Grandmaster waved his hand. "Everything is under my control."
"The arena is in a riot. I am going in to activate the backup purge protocol. You go guard the entrance; do not let anyone in."
Hearing the instructions, the guards did not suspect anything and hurriedly rushed out of the palace.
The Grandmaster walked into the Master control room, and the door closed behind him.
"A bunch of fools."
With a flash of green light, Loki's smug face was revealed.
"Now, Sakaar is mine."
...
In the arena.
Thor fought while vigilantly observing his surroundings.
The riot had been going on for over twenty minutes, and nearly half of the entire arena had been destroyed.
But strangely, the Grandmaster still hadn't shown himself.
This gave Thor an uneasy premonition.
Time ticked by second by second, and the thirty-minute limit was about to expire.
"Loki, you bastard, you better have finished it."
Thor gritted his teeth and punched a guard who rushed up, knocking him unconscious.
Just then, a Captain not far away suddenly shouted excitedly.
"The signal is restored! The controllers are responding!"
Thor was shocked and cursed under his breath.
Sure enough.
At almost the same moment.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh—!"
A chorus of screams rang out.
The gladiators, who had been rampaging everywhere, fell to the ground, twitching one after another.
Thor was not spared either.
He only felt a sharp pain in his neck, his body stiffened, and he began to twitch uncontrollably.
Those scavengers who had been taking advantage of the chaos, seeing the gladiator army collapse collectively and the guards regrouping, immediately realized that the game was up.
They didn't linger, let out terrified shrieks, scattered, and ran for their lives.
The noisy arena suddenly fell silent, leaving only the painful moans of those who had fallen.
In the end... did we still fail?
Thor's cheek was pressed against the cold sand, his vision blurred.
That bastard Loki was unreliable after all.
Several Captains kicked away the weapons on the ground and ordered the guards to move forward.
"Handcuff these scums again! Throw them into the cells to wait for the Grandmaster to deal with them!" the Captain ordered viciously.
Just as the guards were preparing to move forward to take them,
Above the arena, the holographic projection that originally belonged to the Grandmaster suddenly activated again.
But this time, it was not the Grandmaster who appeared.
Instead, it was a hundred-meter-tall... Loki.
He had put on his signature green cloak again, along with his iconic horned helmet, looking down over the entire arena from a high vantage point.
"People of Sakaar!"
"The era belonging to the Grandmaster has ended."
"Now, standing before you is the new Master of Sakaar. Your King... Loki!"
Thor looked up and saw the image of Loki in mid-air.
His heart filled with wild joy, and he shouted, "YES!"
Loki succeeded! He really did it!
He got the control!
Immediately after, the lift on one side of the arena slowly descended.
Loki himself walked onto the platform with elegant steps, looking down at everything below.
"Now, everyone kneel. Welcome your new King."
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
Several Captains looked at each other.
"Is this guy a fucking lunatic?!" one of the Captains said with a strange expression, pointing at Loki on the high platform and shouting: "Catch him!"
The guards followed the instructions and swarmed toward Loki.
Loki looked at the ungrateful guards below, shook his head elegantly, and sighed hypocritically.
"What a pity, I had intended to give you a decent opportunity."
He reached back and pulled out a golden remote control, pressing a button with his finger.
"Bzzzz—!"
"Ah, ugh, ugh, ugh—!"
The guards dropped their weapons in unison, screaming as they collapsed to the ground, twitching wildly.
Loki looked at the guards who had fallen in a pile and smiled disdainfully.
"I will say it again." His voice raised a few decibels.
"Everyone... kneel!"
The punishment stopped.
The guards looked with fear at the man with horns on his head on the platform.
This time, they no longer resisted.
They dropped their weapons one after another and knelt on one knee on the ground.
Loki looked at this scene with satisfaction.
Then he turned his gaze to the gladiators who had just recovered from the paralysis.
"And you too," Loki said calmly.
Facing the new King who held the power of life and death, they chose to surrender without hesitation and also knelt on one knee.
Thor had recovered by now; looking at Loki, who was high above, a bright smile appeared on his face.
He strode toward the platform where Loki was, calling out happily as he walked:
"You did it! You didn't let me down this time, Loki!"
"I forgive you for those nasty things you did when you stabbed me in the back! I've decided to accept you as my brother again!"
Thor opened his arms, preparing to give Loki a warm hug.
Loki watched Thor walking toward him quietly and did not respond to his enthusiasm.
He just toyed with the remote control in his hand and said in a nonchalant tone:
"You kneel too."
"What?" Thor's smile froze on his face, a bit unable to process it.
Loki wiped the expression from his face and repeated, word for word:
"I said..."
"You kneel too, Thor."
***************************
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