Chapter 1177 Without God-like Teammates, Thanos's Grand Goal

“That’s not very convincing; he just turned us into a pile of mud,” Peter Quill said, still shaken.

“But he also turned you back, only temporarily altering reality, so it naturally didn’t cost you your lives,” Collector Tivan patiently explained. “Also, I must remind you that Thanos is a Titan, and the strongest among them.”

Although he didn't possess immense energy, he undeniably had the physique of a near-Father, a long lifespan, and the influence of the Power Stone and Reality Stone on him was actually quite minimal.

"Unfortunately, those two Infinity Stones that don't have much of a negative effect on him happen to be in his possession." Rocket shrugged, somewhat speechless. "So, the remaining four Infinity Stones are in Quill's hometown and Asgard?"

“Not four, but three.” Tivan downed his drink in one gulp and let out a satisfied burp. “As far as I know, the Time Stone has always been guarded by the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth.”

The magic of Kamar-Taj comes from the great Vishanti, and the Sorcerer Supreme is the strongest being in Kamar-Taj.

“Good news.” Rocket snapped his fingers. “Thanos will definitely try to steal the Time Stone, and Quill, that sorcerer from your hometown will be a natural ally for us.”

"Thank you, but I am not familiar with the Supreme Master."

I was kidnapped by Yondu when I was eight years old. I didn't even know that mages existed on Earth.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Don't you understand such a simple principle?"

"Of course I understand, I'm just asking you not to be so optimistic."

"I've lived on Earth for eight years and I didn't even know mages existed. Even if we went to Earth, we wouldn't know where Kamar-Taj is."

"Hahaha!" Tivan laughed as he opened another bottle of wine, the colorful vapors emitting an extremely sweet aroma. "Indeed, we can't be so optimistic, because the Sorcerer Supreme died not long ago."

"died?"

"Her death spread throughout the multiverse, otherwise Thanos wouldn't have dared to covet the Time Stone."

If the Ancient One hadn't died, even if Thanos had obtained the other five Infinity Stones, he still wouldn't have been a match for her.

The newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme is her disciple, and while she may possess considerable magical talent, she is far from being comparable to the Ancient One, and therefore not invincible to Thanos.

“Bad news,” Drax said. “We’ve lost a god-like teammate.”

“They’re teammates too,” Mantis said. “Mages are still very powerful.”

“The Mind Stone is also on Earth,” Tivan continued. “A few years ago, Thanos lent this stone and a Chitauri army to Loki, the third prince of Asgard, to help him invade Earth.”

However, they failed, and the Mind Stone was left behind on that planet.

"Earth?" Rocket muttered. "The Chitauri army is all trash, but if all Earthlings are like Quill, they probably wouldn't be a match for the Chitauri army either!"

"Rocket, are you looking down on me?" Peter Quill said irritably.

"I didn't mean that at all. I was just stating the facts. Earthlings' technological level and physical fitness are indeed inferior to those of the Chitauri."

That makes sense, though. At that time, the most powerful Sorcerer Supreme on Earth was still alive; their defeat was to be expected.

"So, there's an Infinity Stone in Asgard?"

“Yes, the Tesseract, the Space Stone that can freely control space is inside it.” Tivan sighed as he spoke. “It’s only because Odin is dead and Asgard is about to face its end that Thanos wouldn’t dare to covet the Space Stone.”

"Wait, he died again?" Peter Quill stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Is it really that hard for us to have a god-like teammate?"

“Otherwise?” Tivan shrugged and pointed to his void. “Look at me here, a complete wasteland. Xandar is probably in a similar state.”

Do you know why? It's because the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme, and Odin, the Allfather, are both dead. No one can suppress Thanos's ambition.

"What happened to the end of Asgard?" the mantis asked.

"Every civilization will eventually come to an end, even a god-level civilization."

Ragnarok is the prophecy of Asgard's doom, and Odin's death is the beginning of that prophecy; no one can stop it.” Tivan suddenly changed the subject, “But that doesn't mean Thanos can easily obtain the Space Stone.”

“Odin is dead, how can his son stop Thanos?” Rocket’s tone was laced with sarcasm. “I’m not trying to boost others’ morale while diminishing my own.”

As you mentioned before, Odin's son also collaborated with Thanos, and wasn't even the client.

"Odin's son is certainly no match. Although a god of the level of the second Heavenly Father is not weak, he is no match for Thanos, who possesses two Infinity Stones."

However, Odin also has a daughter, Hela, the goddess of death.

“This name…” Rocket pondered for a moment, “It doesn’t sound like a friendly one.”

"Hela is Odin's eldest daughter, a god of the heavenly father level. She is powerful and beautiful, but cruel and bloodthirsty. Countless lives died by her sword during the period when she was active in the universe."

However, her ambition was too great, so much so that Odin had to find a way to seal her away.

“Hela sounds more like a villainous boss than Thanos,” Peter Quill said awkwardly. “She should help us deal with Thanos, right?”

“No.” Tivan shook his head with absolute certainty. “If you go to Asgard to seek Hela’s help, she will kill you outright.”

Believe me, you have no chance of resisting. In her eyes, you are no different from ants, and you are not worthy of cooperating with her at all.

"That's really disheartening. Can't we even deal with a common enemy?" Rocket asked, still unwilling to give up.

"She probably doesn't even take Thanos seriously, and I can't think of any reason why she would cooperate with a bunch of cannon fodder who are just dragging her down."

Guardians of the Galaxy: ......

This isn't just hurtful, it's a blatant insult!

"According to reliable sources, the one sitting on the throne of Asgard now is Hela, the goddess of death."

Thanos feared her power and dared not launch a direct attack on Asgard, but Ragnarok gave him his chance. Tivan spoke calmly, slowly swirling his wine glass. "He has already sent his general Corvus Glaive to Asgard, waiting for the apocalypse to arrive; that will be his perfect opportunity to seize the Space Stone."

The Guardians of the Galaxy exchanged bewildered glances. They had been completely baffled, but the collector's detailed analysis cleared up their confusion, though it also brought them immense pressure.

The situation was more complicated than they had imagined. The advantage seemed to be all on Thanos's side. He had obtained the Power Stone and the Reality Stone, and the Space Stone, the Time Stone, and the Mind Stone seemed to be in his possession as well.

"What about the last Infinity Stone?" Mantis asked.

“The Soul Stone?” Tivan pondered for a moment. “No one knows where that stone is, but… the Zehobero people might have some clues.”

“Zehoebello? Gamora.”

Peter Quill and the others exchanged bewildered glances; Gamora was indeed a Zehobello native.

“No wonder Thanos wanted to kidnap Gamora; she must know the location of the Soul Stone,” Rocket said, stroking his chin. “She won’t be in any danger until she gets the Soul Stone.”

“But she will inevitably suffer physical pain.” Peter Quill said with a frown. “Nebula is also Thanos’s adopted daughter, but does she have any normal flesh and blood on her body?”

Gamora is safe until Thanos runs out of patience, but once that patience wears off, he'll likely stop at nothing to get the coordinates in her head.

“Wait, wait,” Tivan interrupted. “Are you saying Gamora is from Zehobero?”

"Isn't her green skin obvious enough?"

"It's not like the Zehobello people are the only ones with green skin in the universe. And according to my information, after Thanos slaughtered half of the Zehobello people, they were completely destroyed not long afterward."

Who would have thought that adopting a Zehobello person is no different from keeping a time bomb by your side?

No, there is a difference; a time bomb won't kill him.

“But if that’s really the case, then things will be terrible,” Tivan said dramatically. “It would mean that it’s only a matter of time before Thanos gets the Soul Stone.”

Once he collects all six Infinity Stones, the entire universe will undergo a great purge.

“Do you know what he’s going to do?” Peter Quill asked.

"Balance, what Thanos wants is to reduce the burden on the universe and achieve a balance between resources and life."

"He actually has such ideals?" Rocket asked in surprise. "These lofty and great ideals seem completely unrelated to his actions!"

"In fact, Thanos has been trying to achieve this ideal in his own way."

If you slaughter half the life on a planet, the surviving half will receive double the resources and can live a better life.

This has been proven in practice; many planets that have been massacred have been reborn.

“Well! He’s a madman,” Drax said. “A madman with ideals.”

"There are a lot of lunatics in this universe, but there aren't many like Thanos who have the power, the ideals, the goals, and the drive to fight for them," Rocket remarked. "What does the Infinity Stones have to do with Thanos's ideals?"

“It’s very important, even an indispensable factor,” Tivan explained. “The six Infinity Stones represent the six fundamental energies of the universe.”

Individually, each one is a single, Godfather-level ability, but if all six are gathered and used together, they can reach a cosmic level.

"You may lack an understanding of this level. To put it simply, it means having the ability to influence the universe, including but not limited to destruction and creation."

Upon hearing this, the Guardians of the Galaxy were all dumbfounded, their jaws dropping to the floor.

"Doesn't that mean collecting all six Infinity Stones is equivalent to ruling a universe?" Peter Quill's voice trembled. "That's fucking outrageous! My worldview is shattered!"

"There must be side effects!" Rocket asked tentatively. "If collecting all six Infinity Stones would allow us to rule the universe, then Thanos wouldn't be the only one collecting them."

"There are definitely side effects," Tivan said noncommittally. "Using a single Infinity Stone has side effects, let alone using six together."

Even Thanos would have lost at least half his life if he used all six Infinity Stones at the same time; he would have been crippled even if he didn't die.

The backlash from controlling the laws of the universe is something the Sub-Father cannot bear; if it were an ordinary life form, it might be reduced to ashes on the spot.

"But so what?"

Thanos would do anything to achieve his ideals, even if it meant dying the next second.

The problem is, if he did it, using the energy of six Infinity Stones to make a wish upon the universe, a simple snap of his fingers could wipe out half of all life in the universe. Tivan spoke these chilling truths in a relaxed tone, then changed the subject, "Fortunately, I am an Elder of the Universe, and Elders of the Universe have certain privileges. A simple baptism of the laws won't kill those of us chosen by the universe."

"So that means we're the only ones who're going to suffer?" The Rockets shrugged, speechless. "That's not fair."

"Naive. This world is inherently unfair."

Ironically, Thanos always acted fairly; the massacre of half the life on each planet he annihilated was random, never considering identity, age, gender, or ability...

Every life is equal; he did treat everyone equally.

"But why are you the ones who slipped through the net?" Rocket crossed his arms indignantly, his eyes filled with obvious envy, jealousy, and hatred as he looked at the collector.

"To correct you, it's not just us, but also beings above the Heavenly Father."

At that level, one can withstand the baptism of the laws of the universe through their own energy or characteristics.

However, the number of Heavenly Fathers is so small that they will only take up a tiny fraction of the survival slots, which is negligible. Tivan suddenly seemed to remember something, "Actually, there are other ways to survive the baptism of the laws. Want to know?"

"any solution?"

"Go to other parallel universes, or go to the territory of the dimensional lords."

In other words, as long as you step outside this universe, you will naturally be unaffected.

"Are you kidding me?" Rocket couldn't help but swear. "If we had that kind of ability, we wouldn't have been captured by the Black Order."

"Shall we gamble with our luck?" the mantis said softly. "With a 50/50 chance of survival, we might not even die!"

“It’s also possible that the entire army was wiped out,” Drax said.

"If we were all wiped out, that would be one thing, but what if you all die and I'm the only one left?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Peter Quill's face twitched, and he pointed at the rocket with annoyance, "Why are we the ones who are dying?"

"Couldn't it be that you die, and we all live?"

"Just a simple example," Rocket said, shrugging. "Unless we all survive, Thanos can snap his fingers and the Guardians of the Galaxy can just fall apart."

“We have to stop Thanos,” Mantis said. “We can’t let him collect all the Infinity Stones.”

“Yes, that’s the key.” Peter Quill nodded in agreement. “And Gamora, we have to rescue her too.”

Thanos will definitely go to Asgard and Earth. We should split up and send the message there; at least we can't let him succeed so easily.