Sakaar was a peculiar planet in a constant state of chaos, devoid of a clear government and clear laws.
The rules of existence that people observe and live by came from the Grandmaster's wishes.
For scrappers, as well as local natives.
The Elder of the Universe, who appeared to be an elderly hippie from Earth, was the infallible god.
The Kryptonian ship swiftly moved away from the junkyard, where few people were in sight.
There was no more activity around other than the scrapper community.
While using Kryptonian technology, Zod scanned the planet's terrain and atmospheric composition.
While searching the major coordinates in the galaxy to confirm their position.
Unfortunately, everything was in vain.
"There's no response."
Jax-Ur had a puzzled look on his face.
"General, I didn't find any planet recorded in the database!"
Zod frowned even more tightly.
The Kryptonian General didn't realise that he and his people had accomplished the incredible feat of crossing between studios.
"Keep searching."
After a moment's hesitation, Zod spoke in a deep voice.
He walked to the end of the bridge and opened his palm as if he was feeling the sunlight.
...
...
"It looks like the Hulk hasn't made it here yet."
Luke, who had stepped into the main city, looked at the tallest building. The large heads were above the gladiatorial arena.
Only the people who could get this honour were people with winning streaks in the competition. The fighting champions were recognised by the Grandmaster.
There should have been six, namely the Hulk, Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Ares, Ted Sallis, a humanoid, and a two-headed man.
But now, Luke didn't see Hulk and Thor's faces being added to it.
By deduction, during the time he was away, the Avengers hadn't fast-forwarded to the Ultron crisis and Civil War.
'I wonder what the situation on Earth is like right now. '
If Luke wanted to go back, he could always open a portal and travel across the galaxy straight to Earth.
But he didn't do so. For one thing, carrying a Kryptonian ship was more strenuous.
Second, finding a bunch of Kryptonian fighters for free was a rare thing. He had to put them to good use.
General Zod, together with a dozen Kryptonian warriors, could thoroughly sweep away any force in the galaxy.
If they were allowed to stay on Earth and deal with problems such as Hydra and the mutants, they were simply overqualified. It was a waste of resources.
The vast expanse of space was the actual battleground on which Kryptonians should roam.
Like an invisible man, Luke breached the heavy security and entered the unoccupied VIP room of the gladiatorial arena.
There was a championship fight today, and the seats in the arena were almost completely filled with spectators who had bought tickets.
Cheers, like thunder, resounded throughout the arena.
Luke leaned back in his comfortable seat, quite interested in the Grandmaster.
The Elders of the Universe might not be powerful, but they had lived long enough to have known many hidden stories.
Since beating the Sentry and being promoted by a level...
Luke then had a brief 'meeting' with the five gods of cosmic creation and was given the task of sneaking off to another studio to do some things.
Intuition told him that the handful of powerful beings at the top of the pyramid was planning something.
Otherwise, there was no reason why the creation gods like Death, Eternity, Galactus, Infinity, and Oblivion, which were just below the Living Tribunal, would have noticed him.
What was even more thought-provoking, of course, was the fact that they had actually discovered the existence of another multiverse.
"... Let's meet Sakaar's greatest gladiator! Horse-Head!"
The host's roar interrupted Luke's thoughts.
He shifted his eyes from the fruit on the table to the centre of the arena.
Grandmaster liked to find those powerful life forms and throw them into the arena.
After a gruelling battle, the winner would become a champion fighter.
"Horse-Head ..."
When Luke heard this name, he had a vague guess in his heart.
The moment the host's words fell, a reinforced metal fence slowly rose up on one side of the arena.
A tall, dark figure emerged from it. The champion, known as Horse-Head, wore black armour that reflected the cold light.
The head, which resembled a horse's head, was encased in a steel helmet, leaving only a narrow opening and a pair of angry pupils that seemed to burn with fire.
In his right hand, he held a round golden war hammer. His heavy, condensed aura resembled a mountain range and was full of pressure.
"Horse-Head! Horse-Head!"
The atmosphere of the whole arena was as if it had been detonated.
The audience shouted in unison, shouting the same name with enthusiastic voices.
"If you ignore the horse's face, he looks a bit like Thor."
Luke smiled. Sure enough, he was right.
Horse-Head's real name was 'Beta-Ray-Bill'.
His home planet was destroyed, and only a few survivors escaped.
They became refugees in the universe; in order to live a better life, they needed to elect a protector.
After passing various tests and trials, Bill shouldered this heavy responsibility.
His body was modified into a powerful version of a cyborg body, more powerful than a body of steel.
Bill also had an impressive record. He once defeated Thor and lifted Mjolnir with one hand.
He fought against the messenger Galactus had sent and defeated them.
Bill was also called 'Beta Ray Thor' because of his preference for the hammer as a weapon and had won Mjolnir's recognition.
On the other side of the gladiatorial arena, a large number of Kronan warriors strode out.
They were the new gains of the slave-hunting team. In order to create a more exciting battle, the Grandmaster brought this well-trained team to face Beta Ray Bill together.
He even gave the Kronan warriors weapons other than cold ones, such as laser guns and flamethrowers.
"Whoever can defeat my champion warrior will get his freedom!"
The Grandmaster's voice was heard across the arena, through the speakers.
Now, not only was the audience excited, but the Kronan warriors, who were in the arena, were also excited.
No one would enjoy the life of a slave, herded like livestock.
"Kill him!"
"For freedom!"
"We're getting out of here!"
"Our families are still waiting for us ..."
The Kronan people had a hard, rough grey stone-like appearance.
They were physically strong and born with enormous strength.
They weren't afraid of pain and were immune to most radiation.
Trained Kronan warriors were one of the highest-rated soldiers in the universe.
Upon entering the gladiatorial arena, they took their first defensive formation and prepared for a steady advance.
The Champion Warrior carried a reputation that no one would take lightly.
Even if there was only one Beta Ray Bill, and his weapon was just one hammer.
Behind him, there were hundreds of thousands of spectators who were screaming.
The momentum was enough to outshine the Kronan warriors.
"Kill them all!"
"Do it!"
"Smash them with your hammer!"
"..."
The two sides were at a standstill for a while, unable to resist the urging of the crowd and the unpleasant stares from the Grandmaster in the stands.
Beta Ray Bill had a look of pity in his eyes, and then he sighed.
Picking up the hammer, he charged forward!
Boom!
The champion warrior in the centre of the gladiatorial arena stepped on the hard ground, causing a slight tremor under his feet.
The whole person, like a sharp arrow, suddenly shot out!
The atmosphere was compressed and pushed apart by powerful forces.
With an explosion-like boom...
Beta Ray Bill burst in front of the Kronan warrior almost instantly.
He raised his golden round war hammer and gave it a simple swing.
A terrible force swept out, breaking up the solid defensive formation.
In front of Beta Ray Bill, the Kronan warrior, couldn't breathe. His body exploded and cracked, and the hard stones crumbled.
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Someone shouted.
The laser gun was full of energy, ready to shoot out at any moment.
Crack!
Beta Ray Bill opened his palm and gripped it violently.
Strong muscles bulge one by one, crushing them into a ball of scrap metal.
His fist, like a heavy hammer, struck the Kronan warrior in the chest.
Another man was killed on the spot!
A wave of fire rolled over Beta Ray Bill.
He remained expressionless. His golden war hammer flung out like a raging thunderstorm smashing the man to pieces.
In this way, in just a few minutes, more than 20 Kronan soldiers were slaughtered, leaving no survivors.
Such an exciting and wonderful battle naturally attracted applause from the audience.
Even the Grandmaster, who was sitting at the top of the stand, couldn't help but show a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
This was the competitive game he wanted to see!
"Let's congratulate …"
Before the host could finish his words of praise, a "boom!" was heard, and smoke rose from the arena.
A dark shadow fell from the sky and landed in front of Beta Ray Bill.
"Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on here?"
A deep, powerful male voice echoed in the quiet arena.
The dark cloak fluttered up like a flag.