So, that's the situation.
Inside the Justice League base conference room.
Luca had his legs crossed and propped up on the edge of the conference table, holding a glass of champagne in his hand.
His gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on Thor, who was anxious because of Loki.
"Alien army, Infinity Stones, teleportation."
Luca gently swirled his wine glass and smiled softly.
"This sounds like a really big event that would scare the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. so much he'd wet his pants."
" Luca! This is no joke!"
Thor stood up, placed his hands on the table, and spoke in an anxious and heavy tone.
You have no idea how crazy my brother is!
"Although he is not as good as you in combat, he is proficient in all kinds of insidious magic and lies!"
"Now that Loki has the Space Stone, if he can find a sufficiently ruthless cosmic mercenary army, I bet he'll open a wormhole and bring the war to Midgard!"
Thor took a deep breath, his eyes filled with self-reproach.
I must find a way to contact Asgard immediately!
"If Loki succeeds, this beautiful planet will be turned into a sea of fire!"
Seeing God of Thunder's extreme anxiety, the other people in the conference room reacted in various ways.
Pietro gave an indifferent smirk and yawned.
As one of the people who witnessed firsthand how powerful Luca is.
Pietro isn't too worried about the so-called alien army right now.
" Thor, do you have some misunderstanding about Luca's strength?"
"Don't even mention an alien army; even if you called up the entire Asgard army, it probably wouldn't be enough for Luca to warm up."
"You..." Thor was momentarily speechless, wanting to retort.
But when he thought about how he was just an ordinary person, he slumped back down.
Luca put down his glass, tapped the table, and interrupted their argument.
"Alright, everyone. Put away your panic and blind confidence."
" Thor is right, the alien army is indeed a problem."
"But in Stark Industries ' dictionary, trouble, if used properly, can be a huge asset."
Luca got up and walked to the window to admire the distant sea view.
"Alien spaceships, energy weapons, and biological samples of those alien soldiers..."
"These are resources that money can't buy on Earth."
"Since Loki is so eager to be our free deliveryman, we should certainly be ready to sign for it."
Luca smiled slightly and called out casually.
JARVIS.
"Yes, sir."
"Inform Peter and Dr. Banner."
"Also, call Gwen Stacy and tell her I miss her."
Luca issued the order.
"Then tell them to all be back at base within half an hour. The Justice League is going to hold a mobilization meeting."
"We need to discuss how to gracefully 'eat them up' when the delivery arrives."
"Okay, sir. The notification has been sent."
On the other side.
Deep in the universe.
A chaotic star system countless light-years away from Earth.
This place is known as the Knowhere, or the infamous interstellar black market and no-man's-land in the Milky Way.
This is a lawless land built upon the massive skull fragments of some Ancient Celestial.
It is not only teeming with smugglers and mercenaries from all over the universe, but also with a large number of fugitives and all sorts of strange creatures whose names are unknown.
"Bang!"
In a dark alley on the edge of the Knowhere.
A blinding blue light suddenly shone in mid-air.
Soon, a dark green figure fell from mid-air and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Cough cough... Damn it..."
Loki lay on the ground, his body curled up in pain.
"Monster... lowly Midgard monster..."
Loki reached out, trembling, and clutched his chest tightly.
In his arms was Tesseract, emitting a faint blue light.
A few hours ago, he forcibly took the Tesseract away.
But he overestimated his current condition.
After being ravaged by Luca, the magical energy within his body had been nearly destroyed, and he had broken countless bones.
In this critically injured and near-death state, he was completely unable to precisely control the vast, ocean-like energy of the Space Stone.
He opened a spatial rift haphazardly, driven by instinct and a thirst for revenge, and plunged into it.
To have made it here alive without being torn to pieces by the spatial turbulence is already a testament to Odin's divine intervention.
"Huff... huff..."
Loki struggled to turn over and sat down against a piece of wreckage.
He looked up at the sky above, a tapestry of Nebula and lights.
"Where am I...?"
Loki endured the excruciating pain, trying his best to calm himself down.
As Prince of Asgard, he did not fight in the Nine Realms as often as Thor.
However, he was well-versed in the ancient books of the Asgard and had some knowledge of various star systems and civilizations in the universe.
Thus, they observed the strangely shaped buildings around them, as well as the scavenger spaceships that occasionally flew by in the sky.
He made his judgment quickly.
"Interstellar Black Market... Chaotic Starfield..."
Loki gave a cold laugh.
"Excellent. This is exactly where I need it right now."
He leaned against the wall and stood up unsteadily.
"If I go straight back to Asgard, Thor will have already told my father everything. I'll be arrested as a traitor."
Thinking of this, Loki's gaze turned sinister and resentful.
"Damn Midgardian, the humiliation you've inflicted upon me must be repaid with the destruction of the entire Midgard!"
"I need an army. An army that is brutal enough to raze a city to the ground!"
Loki took a deep breath and carefully hid the Tesseract in a lining of his robe.
Then, he closed his eyes and mobilized the last bit of magical energy remaining in his body.
"Buzz!!"
A faint green light flashed.
Loki changed into a space mercenary robe.
The contours of his face had also been subtly altered, and a hood had been placed over his head, deeply concealing his face in shadow.
After completing his disguise, Loki walked out of the alley.
The moment he stepped onto the street, he was instantly engulfed by the deafening noise.
The streets were lined with shops displaying signs in various languages.
Black market shops selling illegal weapons, meat markets offering trade in various dangerous creatures, and underground casinos filled with decadent music.
Blue-skinned Kree smugglers, scale-covered reptilian aliens, and several cyborg cyborgs whose bodies are half-mechanically modified.
Creatures of various races roam the streets, trading, arguing, and even drawing their energy guns to engage in street battles at the slightest provocation.
This is a dark abyss where there are no laws and only power and wealth matter.
Their belief is that freedom is a deep abyss, and shooting happens every day.
Loki pulled his hood down and walked through the crowd with his head down.
The once high and mighty gods now resemble mice afraid of being trampled to death.
This infuriated him, but he also knew he had to be very careful.
My current physical condition is too poor; it would be a waste to reveal the secret of possessing the Infinity Stones in a place like this.
Then, he would definitely not survive more than three seconds before being torn to pieces by this group of desperados.
Just as Loki was cautiously surveying his surroundings...
Sudden!
"Get out of the way! Don't block my way!"
A rough roar came from ahead.
Loki instinctively looked over.
A mercenary appeared, dressed in heavy black armor, over two meters tall, with bulging muscles all over his body.
The other person was rudely pushing through the crowd and striding towards him.
This guy was huge, and he walked with a ferocious aura.
Loki's pupils contracted.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Upon seeing this person, images of Luca flashed through his mind like lightning!
That terrifying power, that weak god.
No... no!
Loki's face turned deathly pale, and he murmured softly.
Without realizing it, his legs went weak, and he staggered back two steps uncontrollably, falling onto the sewage-splattered road.
He was trembling all over, clutching his head tightly with both hands.
"Hey, you idiot, are you looking for death?!"
The mercenary walked up to Loki.
Looking down at the hooded man who had inexplicably collapsed to the ground, he cursed viciously.
But the mercenary was clearly in a hurry; he simply spat on the ground and strode past Loki, disappearing into the crowd.
A full two and a half minutes passed.
Loki slowly came to his senses.
He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently.
When he looked up, he saw a passing alien looking at him with disdain.
In that instant, an unprecedented sense of humiliation welled up inside me.
"I... I actually..."
Loki almost laughed out of rage at himself.
He, the God of Mischief, the Prince of Asgard.
She was so terrified that she collapsed to the ground, trembling, simply because her body shape resembled that man?!
" Luca Stark!!!"
"I will kill you! I will definitely kill you! I will make you wail in agony, I will tear your soul out and roast it over the divine fire for ten thousand years!"
Fear turned into madness.
Loki struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall for support.
He knew he couldn't keep wandering around like a headless fly.
We must find a force capable of providing a powerful army as soon as possible.
Loki's gaze swept across the street, finally settling on a tavern not far away.
"No matter where you are, taverns are always the fastest places for information to circulate."
Loki straightened his clothes and hid the Tesseract even deeper.
He then walked with a slight limp into the tavern called Edge of the Black Hole.
Push open the door.
An unpleasant odor wafted towards us.
The lighting in the tavern was rather dim.
Deafening music echoed through the pub.
On the central stage, several alien women with multiple tentacles are performing a revealing dance.
The booths and bar area around the perimeter were filled with all sorts of dangerous individuals.
Some people were fighting over a few star coins, others were trading weapons in a corner, and still others were harassing waitresses.
Loki pulled his hood down low, trying to minimize his presence.
Then, I walked to an empty seat at the edge of the bar and sat down.
"What do you want, alien?"
A bartender with four eyes and purple skin walked over and asked in a curt tone.
Loki remained silent.
He pulled a gold coin engraved with Asgard runes from his sleeve and gently pushed it toward the bartender.
High-purity gold remains a hard currency no matter where it is.
The bartender's four eyes lit up instantly.
He quickly put away the gold coins, and his attitude immediately changed drastically.
"Wow, that's really generous."
"Distinguished guest, what would you like to drink? We have Nebula Burst, freshly imported from Andromeda, guaranteed to make your soul ascend to heaven with just one sip."
"Give me your strongest drink. Keep the change."
Loki said in a hoarse voice.
Then, he slightly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the bartender.
"Consider the remaining money as a way of buying you some information."
The bartender skillfully poured a glass of strong liquor with green bubbles and pushed it in front of Loki, lowering his voice.
What would you like to know?
"There's nothing that happens in this star system that I, with my Four Eyes, don't know about. Looking for someone? Buying weapons? Or looking for a good job?"
Loki picked up his glass and took a small sip.
The strong liquor flowed down my throat, feeling like a fire burning in my stomach, which slightly relieved the excruciating pain in my body.
"I don't need weapons, and I don't need a job."
I'm looking for an army.
"An army that is fearless, Coldblood, and capable of destroying a planet for its own benefit."
Upon hearing this, the bartender paused slightly while pouring the drinks.
He sized Loki up and down with his four eyes, then let out a laugh.
"Friend, are you drunk, or did you get hit in the head?"
The bartender leaned against the bar and gave a warning.
Do you think you can just buy an army whenever you want?
"An army capable of destroying a planet? That's not a game for lone wolves like you."
The bartender pointed to the menacing-looking mercenaries in the tavern.
"See those guys?"
"At most, they can help you rob a merchant ship or fight a local war on an asteroid."
"The kind of power you're looking for is possessed only by a few colossal beings in the universe."
"For example?" Loki continued, remaining calm.
"For example, the Kree Empire."
The bartender said in a low voice.
"Their Accuser Fleet was invincible."
"But they are a regular army, obeying only the Supreme Intelligence, and would never accept private employment."
"And then there's the Nova Corps, who call themselves the police of the universe; they're even less likely to help you destroy planets."
"As for large raider legions, although these people will do anything for money, they are just a motley crew."
"They're fine when things are going well, but when they run into tough opponents, they run away faster than anyone else."
Upon hearing this, Loki frowned.
"Is there not a single power in this vast universe that can satisfy my needs?"
The bartender fell silent.
He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.
Then he leaned closer to Loki, his voice extremely low, as if even mentioning that name would bring misfortune.
"Have."
"Deep within the universe lies a truly despair-inducing power."
At this point, a deep fear flashed in the bartender's eyes.
"If you're truly fearless, you can try to make contact with the Chitauri."
" Chitauri?"
Loki searched his memory but didn't have much of an impression of this race.
"They are a group of cyborg monsters, the most Coldblood killing machines in the universe."
"They have no fear, no pity, they only obey orders and then devour every planet they see."
The bartender swallowed hard and continued.
"However, the Chitauri do not accept money as payment."
"They obey only one person. A tyrant whom the entire universe fears."
"That's Thanos, the one known as the Mad Titan..."
Thanos!
Loki's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the name.
He had seen snippets of information about the Mad Titan in ancient Asgard texts.
This is an entity that goes on a Carnage throughout the universe to achieve its goals.
"You just said he doesn't accept money?" Loki astutely grasped the key point.
"Yes."
The bartender shook his head.
Thanos has no interest in these mundane riches.
"I heard he's been searching the entire universe for some ancient treasure with limitless energy. Something like... the Infinity Stones?"
"If you don't have anything that can interest him, you won't even have the right to meet him; you'll be torn to shreds by his men."
After saying that, the bartender patted the bar counter.
Listen to my advice, my friend.
"Forget this crazy idea. To make a deal with such a being is to sell your soul to the devil."
However, Loki paid no heed to the bartender's warnings.
"A treasure with unlimited energy..."
" Infinity Stones..."
Loki placed his hand on his chest.
Even through the robe, he could clearly feel the immense energy of the Space Stone.
Isn't this the bargaining chip Thanos has been dreaming of?!
A perfect deal!
Loki began to get excited.
"I can offer him the Space Stone as payment for borrowing the Chitauri Army!"
"As long as you help me conquer Midgard, tear Luca Stark to pieces, and trample Asgard under my feet! What is that one gem?!"
Once I become the King of the Nine Realms, I'll figure out a way to deal with this so-called tyrant!
Goodbye, friend.
Loki stood up and downed the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp.
No longer hunched over, no longer like a frightened mouse.
He straightened his back, no longer hunched over, no longer like a frightened mouse.
A self-satisfied smile, as if he had everything under control, once again graced his lips.
"Thank you for the information. I'll go see this... Mad Titan."
Loki turned and walked out of the tavern.
Looking up at this unfamiliar starry sky, I clenched my fist.
" Luca Stark..."
"Your pathetic brute force will be utterly meaningless before the cosmic army."
"Prepare yourself for the wrath of the gods!"