If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

What does it mean to be surrounded by a three-digit number of Thanos?

It's like agreeing to meet a beautiful girl, only to find out you've gone to the wrong room and entered the next door. But that's not the point. The point is that the room is filled with a dark mass of leather-clad wrestlers, showing off their dancing pectoral muscles, making you stand still.

This analogy is a bit inappropriate, but it is a true reflection of Russell's state of mind at this moment. The number of purple sweet potatoes has increased from the BOSS to the same level as the minions, and they are marching over in rows. Anyone would be flustered!

A one-on-one fight was out of the question. After two encounters, Russell had a general idea of his and Thanos's fighting strength levels.

In a head-on confrontation, he could use the Power Stone to deliver a full-force blow that would reduce Thanos to 4/5 dead, but to finish him off, he would need to finish him off with a straight punch.

In other words, to kill one Thanos, he has to throw at least two punches, and one of those punches must be delivered with full force.

Russell pondered for a moment. There were about 120 Thanos in the field. 120 all-out attacks without stopping in between would be more tiring than fighting Supergirl. Without using cards, he could be exhausted to death.

The key point is that even using the card was a waste of effort. Thanos took a punch, traveled through time to escape, recovered from his injuries, and returned. His recovery speed was comparable to resurrecting on the spot.

And are these 120 Thanos all there are?

Putting yourself in their shoes, if Russell were to use Thanos's mass army tactics, naturally the more the merrier, with a starting bid of at least 500 people.

Russell raised his hands in surrender. "Um, hand over the Power Stone, and can you let me go?"

The group of Thanos exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up, "Fine, hand over the Power Stone, and we'll spare your life!"

Russell nodded like a chick pecking at rice, revealing an innocent, naive expression. "Excuse me, which Thanos should I give this Infinity Stones to? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sow discord, I just want to get to the bottom of this."

"..."

The scene fell silent. Thanos and his Thanos were clearly pondering the same question. Each of them was an extremely arrogant and powerful individual, and they naturally believed that handing the task over to them was the best course of action. But if they did that, wouldn't they be falling into Russell's trap?

After a brief silence, more than ten Thanos stepped out of the line. Unlike the other Thanos, in addition to their Double-edged Broadsword, each of them had an Infinity Gauntlet on their left hand.

The Infinity Gauntlet is blank, empty, without a single gem embedded in it!

Thanos came from different points in time. These individuals possessed the Infinity Gauntlet and each believed they were the most suitable to wield the Power Stone.

Russell looked completely innocent. "So, who should it be given to?"

"This is not your concern. Put down the gems and then disappear." The Thanos group reached an agreement: get the gems first, then discuss who would keep them.

Don't ask how they communicate; between Thanos, of course, they communicate with their fists.

Russell chuckled, raised the Infinity Gauntlet, and instantly his aura changed drastically as he unleashed a punch that had been building up for a long time.

The fist tore through the surrounding air, its heavy force reaching unimaginable speed and power. Purple light shot into the sky and exploded in the purple sweet potato nest.

Rumble!

The fragile ground of Morag collapsed instantly, cracks spreading everywhere in the blink of an eye. Purple light expanded and exploded, and destructive energy spread wildly in the form of shock waves. The purple light was dazzling, like a small sun rising on the ground.

Thanos' Army was completely engulfed by the shockwave. When the smoke cleared and everything settled, what came into view was a charred crater.

The pitch-black pit was bottomless, so deep and dark that even light could not penetrate to the bottom.

"A bunch of Silly Bird!"

Russell gave the middle finger, turned around quickly, and flew away to his spaceship.

The crater was filled with groundwater, and Thanos were blasted into a mess. Some lay around the crater, while others floated on the surface of the water. When they saw Russell escaping, they immediately gave chase.

Onboard the spaceship, Russell activated the light-speed engine at top speed. Just as the spaceship lifted off, a piercing warning sounded: the spaceship was being targeted by an enemy ship, and the attack was coming from the Temple II.

Russell's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He piloted his spaceship, flying close to the rugged ground. A dense beam of light swept down behind him. After escaping for several kilometers, he was hit on the wing.

The spaceship lost its balance, its speed was greatly reduced, and it was covered by the cluster fire that followed, turning into ashes in the barrage.

Russell out of the firelight, saw the purple sweet potato swarm rushing towards him in the distance, and grinned. "System, use 'Item Card: Grass'!"

[Item Card: Bush (Our team discovers the bushes, but the enemy is completely unaware, walks past them, and dies)]

Ten minutes later, the warship scanned the area within hundreds of miles but found no trace of Russell. Thanos' Army expanded the search area, forming pairs to conduct a thorough search of Morag.

The Temple II is monitoring the sky, making sure no spaceship leaves Morag at any time. It seems that finding Russell and the Power Stone is only a matter of time.

Nestled in a remote mountain valley, strange rocks stand tall, occasionally punctuated by underground fountains, while a lush green clump of grass sways, creating a stark contrast with the surrounding environment.

Does Morag have greenery?

There's definitely no problem with it, but at first glance, there's nothing wrong with it, as if it was born to grow there.

Russell crouched in the bushes, mentally rehearsing his plan to break the Thanos several times. Thanos's resurrection on the spot was disgusting; the only way to win in a disadvantageous situation was to steal the Crystal.

"System, use 'Skill Card: Shapeshifting Magic'!"

[Skill Card: Shapeshifting Magic (Transforms you into anyone you've ever seen)]

After using up his Skill Card, Russell's appearance changed rapidly, transforming into a fresh purple sweet potato crouching in the grass, 2.5 meters tall, with a dignified face. Unfortunately, the grass lowered his prestige, making him look very sleazy.

Russell's plan was actually very simple: one word, "join them"—in other words, if you can't beat them, join them!

Are you Thanos?

What a coincidence, me too!

At that moment, two Thanos approached from a distance, their eyes cold and sharp, scanning their surroundings for any possible hiding places. They both paused when they saw the bushes, something seemed amiss, yet nothing seemed wrong. They exchanged a glance and slowed their pace as they walked towards them.

Russell cursed inwardly upon seeing this. The bushes weren't as formidable as he had imagined. The two Thanos hadn't let their guard down at all; on the contrary, they had become much more vigilant.

Thinking of this, he stood up abruptly, his face stiff and his eyes darting around, while casually pulling up his pants.

"..."

(一`一)X3

After staring at each other for a moment, the two Thanos turned and left, accidentally bumping into themselves who were pooping in the grass, which was quite embarrassing.

However, just as the two turned around, they suddenly realized something: their ally in the bushes had the Infinity Gauntlet, with a Power Stone on it.

Where did the Power Stone come from?

Whoosh!

The sword flashed, purple blood splattered, and a head the size of a bucket flew into the sky. Russell, wielding the Holy Light Longsword, had ambushed and killed a Thanos with a calculated, unsuspecting attack.

Another Thanos gasped, not bothering to look back, and sped forward, simultaneously activating his communicator to relay important information to his other self.

There is a traitor among us!

No, the enemy has the ability to transform and has infiltrated our ranks.

Before Thanos could even speak, Russell accelerated and rushed behind him, his Holy Light Longsword sweeping down and severing Thanos's arm that held the communicator. Then, the Infinity Gauntlet covered Thanos's mouth from behind, and the sword was held to his neck.

Sizzle!

Russell removed the communicator but couldn't find the Time Travel Watch. He frowned slightly, reached out and placed his hand on the two Thanos. Purple light extended, corroding most of their corpses, and he casually tossed them into the nearby pool of water.

He pondered for a moment, moved the bushes to a more secluded corner, and then slammed his fist into the ground, sending a purple light soaring into the sky.