At this moment, above Sakaar.
A circle of golden magic sparks appeared out of thin air, and a portal opened.
Homelander, wearing a stars and stripes cape, stepped out of the portal and hovered in mid-air.
He looked down, and the scene before him made him raise an eyebrow involuntarily.
Below, starships blotting out the sky were hovering over the city, and landing craft were constantly being dropped from the deployment bays in their bellies.
Countless Outriders and Chitauri soldiers swarmed toward the ground like locusts, engaging in a brutal street melee with the diversely dressed people on the ground.
The sounds of explosions and roars intertwined, and the entire city turned into a sea of fire.
"What kind of play is this now?" Homelander crossed his arms, looking puzzled.
He only knew that Thor came here to find Loki, but he didn't expect Thanos to move so quickly, actually bringing his main fleet directly to Sakaar.
To figure out the situation, Homelander's mind stirred.
The stars and stripes cape behind him flickered slightly, activating its invisibility ability.
A layer of invisible ripples covered his entire body, and his figure instantly vanished into thin air.
Homelander, invisible, circled high in the sky, his eyes like torches, scanning the chaotic battlefield.
"These aliens still have no technical skill when they fight, relying on human-wave tactics."
He lowered his altitude, his gaze piercing through the thick smoke.
Soon, in a narrow street in the city, he found Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
"Good grief, lost your weapon again?"
Homelander looked at Thor's empty hands and couldn't help but roll his eyes.
...
On the ground, in the ruined streets.
"Prepare for contact!"
Star-Lord shouted, his dual guns firing at full power.
Having lost Stormbreaker, Thor could only rely on hand-to-hand combat.
"Asgard!"
Thor roared, lightning crackling on his fists, punching the incoming Outriders away one by one.
Valkyrie guarded Proxima Midnight, cutting down enemies who tried to approach one by one.
The narrow city streets also limited the Black Order's numerical advantage.
Relying on excellent team coordination, the Guardians of the Galaxy stood back-to-back, fighting bloody battles.
They actually managed to stabilize their footing in this black tide, reaping the enemies' lives with ease.
"Is that all you've got?!" Drax laughed, tearing an Outrider in half.
Just when everyone thought they could survive this wave of attacks.
A gaunt, pale, shriveled alien with no nose, hands behind his back, feet not touching the ground, drifted down like a ghost.
This person was none other than one of Thanos's Black Order, Ebony Maw.
He just elegantly raised his hand, and the collapsed metal building debris and heavy concrete blocks on both sides of the street all floated into mid-air.
Then he gently pointed his finger forward.
Everything, like cannonballs fired from a chamber, smashed toward the group, blotting out the sky.
"Dodge!"
Rocket shouted a warning.
But it was still too late.
Drax had just turned around when he was hit by a huge metal beam and embedded into the wall.
Rocket Raccoon tried to open fire, but Ebony Maw slightly twisted his finger.
The steel bars on the ground sprang up like vipers, instantly wrapping around Rocket's ankles and hanging him upside down in mid-air.
"Put me down! You ugly octopus!" Rocket struggled frantically.
Thor's eyes flared with lightning as he leaped high, attempting to release lightning to attack Ebony Maw.
Ebony Maw looked at Thor expressionlessly and pressed his palm downward.
The surrounding buildings collapsed with a roar, and thousands of tons of building materials pressed Thor directly under the ruins.
Then, Ebony Maw followed suit.
In just a few minutes, the group, who were previously handling things with ease, were defeated one by one in the face of Ebony Maw's terrifying telekinesis.
Proxima Midnight was also pulled in front of him.
He waved his finger gently, and the alloy shackles broke inch by inch.
Proxima Midnight flexed her wrists and glared fiercely at the group controlled by Ebony Maw.
"Wiped out, what a pity." Ebony Maw said elegantly and calmly.
Watching his teammates being subdued one by one, intense anger and a sense of powerlessness surged in Star-Lord's heart.
Gamora's fate was unknown, and his friends were in imminent danger.
"Ah—! Let them go!"
Star-Lord's eyes lit up with dazzling blue light.
God power, awakened!
Star-Lord pressed his hands down with all his might.
A miracle happened.
The ground began to roll like ocean waves.
The building debris pressing on Thor was thrown high into the sky, and the steel bars wrapped around Rocket's feet turned into fine sand.
A flash of shock appeared on Ebony Maw's eternally unchanging face.
Star-Lord's hands suddenly clamped together in front of his chest.
The surrounding rocks and metal quickly reorganized, turning into two huge palms, and slapped toward Ebony Maw.
Ebony Maw's eyes narrowed, and he waved both hands simultaneously.
Abandoned armored vehicles and metal plates were pulled over by his telekinesis, forming a thick wall in front of him, wrapping him up.
"Boom!"
Ego's power and telekinesis engaged in a head-on confrontation.
Ebony Maw's expression changed slightly; he didn't expect this seemingly ordinary human to actually possess the power to change physical reality.
The two parried each other's moves, fighting back and forth, and for a time, they were actually locked in a stalemate.
Just at this moment.
A blue-white beam of light suddenly descended from the sky, landing straight in the center of the two's battlefield.
The light dissipated.
A burly figure with a face like a purple sweet potato appeared before everyone.
Seeing Thanos arrive, Ebony Maw immediately stopped attacking and respectfully retreated to one side.
The surrounding Black Order army also stopped attacking, humbly lowering their heads.
Thanos ignored the Guardians of the Galaxy who were on high alert, his gaze locked onto Thor.
"Son of Odin... Destiny has arrived."
"Hand over the Tesseract; this is your only chance to survive."
Thor stood up straight and patted the dust off his armor.
Facing the pressure of the Universe's overlord, not only was he not afraid in the slightest, but he also mocked him:
"Your chin really does look like a pair of balls."
Ebony Maw, standing behind Thanos, felt his killing intent surge.
"Ignorant Beast!" Ebony Maw roared, raising his hands, about to launch an attack.
Thanos raised a hand, stopping Ebony Maw.
He was not angered by Thor's insult, still maintaining that aloof indifference.
"I don't care about your jokes, Asgardian."
"Hand over the Tesseract, and I can spare you today, leaving your life and death to be decided by destiny."
"Destiny?" Thor snorted coldly, "I was born in Asgard! I will die in Valhalla! My life and death are not decided by destiny!"
He reached out and pointed at Thanos.
"If you want it, take it with your own strength!"
"According to Asgardian rules, put down those flashy things. Like a man, have a bare-handed duel with me!"
"Winner takes all!" Thor declared loudly.
Thanos looked at Thor quietly, scrutinizing this Prince of Asgard.
Half a minute later, Thanos chuckled lightly.
"As you wish."
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