Beta Ray Bill had never met such a powerful opponent as Zod.
In terms of strength, speed and combat sense, the latter was way above him.
There was certainly an oversight on Beta Ray Bill's part, who didn't have too much of a fighting spirit.
However, ending up in this miserable state in just one round was a bit of a shock to him.
"Even if you escape from the gladiatorial arena, you can't escape from Sakaar."
Beta Ray Bill gasped.
"Escape? Why escape?"
Zod's eyes flashed with anger, and he spoke with a heavy, powerful tone, "When you meet a bastard who steps on your head, you should throw a punch and charge, not turn around and run."
"That's what cowards do! It's an irresponsible act! Your determination is unworthy of the power you possess!"
The Kryptonian General had always had an unwavering determination and a strong and unyielding demeanour.
He despised the weak!
He appreciated warriors with courage and perseverance!
Obviously, Beta Ray Bill wasn't included in this list.
A guy who willingly became a slave and was ordered around didn't deserve Zod's respect.
"Heh. I am indeed a coward, submitting at the feet of the Grandmaster."
Beta Ray Bill, whose arms were shattered and chest had collapsed, seemed to be fatally injured.
But the modified mechanical body, with its nano-repair technology, had long since enabled the wounds to heal rapidly.
He pulled himself out of the solid wall and gripped the golden war hammer.
For Zod, the reckless guy who barged into the gladiatorial arena and attempted to threaten the Grandmaster's personal safety...
There was actually some admiration in Beta Ray Bill's heart.
But he was only a slave, without free will, let alone the ability to disobey the Grandmaster's orders.
He couldn't even remind the other party to escape.
In that case, the Grandmaster would surely fly into a rage.
The Elder of the Universe on Sakaar might not spare Beta Ray Bill from punishment.
For a trifle, flogging the gladiatorial arena's most popular and lucrative champion fighter...
It wasn't worth it.
But no one knew if the Grandmaster would do something to Beta Ray Bill's people.
Thinking of his people being in danger, Beta Ray Bill looked pale.
Holding the hammer, he stepped forward.
Bang!
A muffled, thunderous sound came out.
Like a mammoth elephant trampling on the ground.
The golden hammer, like a thunderbolt, slammed straight into the imposing Kryptonian General.
The terrifying force struck through the atmosphere, setting off a furious roar.
Zod seemed to have expected this but still didn't dodge.
He faced the fierce attack head-on, clenching his right hand and striking straight out.
The air was squeezed into a solid strip that seemed to cut through the void.
Boom!
When the fist came into contact with the hammer, the ground on which both sides stood collapsed, and the arena shook.
The smoke and dust rose up like a sandstorm, obscuring the view.
Then, the cacophony of vibrations turned into a circle of sound waves that crashed towards the audience.
The breathless spectators, like wheat being harvested by a scythe, fell, row after row.
The lucky ones felt their eardrums tingle and buzz.
The slightly less lucky ones simply couldn't take it and passed out.
The aftermath of the battle was so violent that it was threatening to spill over outside the arena.
Those who sat in the back of the audience scattered and fled.
The formerly intense applause disappeared in an instant.
"What a wonderful game!"
The Grandmaster, who was in the VIP room, clapped his hands and laughed. He didn't care about the hapless audience.
He looked towards the pitch-black figure standing amidst the rolling smoke and dust, and a glint of blazing heat appeared in his eyes.
'Tough, brave and imposing ... A creature like this could definitely be another big hit as a champion fighter if thrown into the gladiatorial arena!'
"It's so exciting! To actually have a natural-born warrior delivered to the door!"
The Grandmaster couldn't help but sigh with emotion over his overwhelming luck.
His slave-hunting team travelled to and from many planets, searching for gladiators worthy of training.
But none of the 'goods' brought back could compare with the uninvited guest, who rushed into the arena himself.
"Strange, I can't tell what race he is or what planet he's from."
After the Grandmaster's excitement passed, he felt a little confused.
The Elder of the Universe had lived a long life, had experienced and seen more than any ordinary person could ever imagine.
But he had never seen a race of beings with such an impressive physique as Zod.
He was powerful, incredibly fast, and with extremely high stats in all areas.
If anything, Beta Ray Bill was a rare S card...
Then, there was no doubt that Zod had an amazing potential to become an SSR.
"I have to have him!"
The Grandmaster made up his mind and immediately mobilised the space fleets positioned in the main city.
Against tough fighters, using overwhelming numbers was the most effective.
As long as they couldn't escape the constraints of the planet's gravity, even the most formidable warriors could only bow down before the fleet's onslaught of weaponry.
"Reporting ... fleet ... out of control! Crashing down! There's an enemy invasion!"
However, before the Grandmaster's plan could be realised, he received an alert from his men.
A tragic video was projected in front of him --
It was a human being wearing something similar to Zod.
Somehow, he stood in front of the fleet.
Compared with the huge space warships and a large number of space fleets...
The man's figure was incredibly small and not worth mentioning.
But before the commander could give the order to fire, the dark red cloak disappeared into thin air.
He turned into a sharp straight line and easily penetrated those indestructible warships.
Boom! Boom!
The Grandmaster's fleet looked like it was as fragile as paper, unable to block the mysterious man's trajectory.
The explosion of fire, like a spectacular display of fireworks, slowly blossomed.
The Sakaar fleet that could roam the galaxy was turned into a pile of scrap metal in a matter of moments.
A space battleship, deprived of power, helplessly fell down.
The Grandmaster was utterly stunned to see that.
The Elder of the Universe wasn't distressed to see that; he could assemble another one at any time, given enough time.
Those space pirates who sold themselves for riches and expensive space battleships ... also weren't a problem.
The Grandmaster was amazed at the incomparable strength of the mysterious man!
In less than half a minute, the other party destroyed an entire space fleet.
'What kind of power is this?'
"Where is the intruder? Where did he go?"
The Grandmaster gathered his composure and calmly spoke to the communicator.
Seeing Zod, he wanted to capture the other man and throw him into the gladiatorial arena.
But after seeing the terrifying strength of that mysterious man, the Grandmaster had no thoughts of that at all.
He only hoped that the other party would leave Sakaar as soon as possible and not cause any more trouble.
Unfortunately, it backfired.
"He ... he's in the arena!"
The leader of the slave-hunting team was somewhat incoherent.
He found the whereabouts of the mysterious man through satellite tracking.
As if he was capable of teleporting long distances, the opponent had suddenly appeared in the gladiatorial arena where the Grandmaster was.
"What?!"
The Grandmaster couldn't believe it.
The space fleet was only starting to depart and was a considerable distance away from the main city.
'How long has it been? He's already here?!'
Knock, knock, knock.
A slow and rhythmic knock sounded from the door.
The Grandmaster, sitting on the sofa, jolted to his feet.
The door was pushed open.
"Grandmaster, got a minute? I'm here to make a deal."
Luke walked into the VIP room with a gentle smile on his face.