Endure

Although the superheroes were thoroughly fed up with this annoying and flamboyant Loki, they could only grit their teeth and bear it. They couldn't outtalk him, nor could they fight him, so they felt utterly hopeless.

Seeing the utterly disheartened looks on the faces of those who had just been tormenting him, Loki was even more invigorated in his taunting. The feeling of being untouchable while annoying others to no end was immensely satisfying!

Loki felt like he could keep this up for a year!

On the stage, the sacrificial grunt suddenly noticed that the big green Hulk, despite roaring at him from time to time, made no move to approach. Gaining a bit of courage, the grunt shakily raised his energy gun and fired a shot at the Hulk's big face.

The Hulk, now splattered with energy, had bloodshot eyes that visibly expanded as his body swelled slightly. However, he still clenched his fists, not advancing even a step. He could only vent his rising fury with increasingly louder roars.

Seeing this, the grunt's eyes lit up. He boldly stood up, wielding his energy gun, and began treating the Hulk like a stationary target, firing away without restraint.

This scene was broadcast live by Skynet, capturing a rare and dramatic moment: the seemingly invincible Hulk being bullied by an alien grunt. While some savvy viewers could see that the Hulk was enduring this to buy time, most people were far less composed. Watching the Hulk willingly take the hits, they started to lash out.

"Damn, this green rat is such a coward!"

"If it were me up there, I'd have made that alien call me daddy by now."

"This monster just wants to see Earth destroyed."

"How can the government allow this traitor to stay in our world? I demand a protest!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"The superheroes are useless, can't even beat a grunt."

Countless insults were spewed by people sitting at home, sipping on their sodas, with faces twisted in vile disdain for the Hulk. They failed to realize that they hadn't done anything to help Earth!

Maybe keyboard warriors are the same across all borders and races. After all, they can say whatever they want without having to face any consequences.

Although the Hulk's body hadn't sustained any actual damage, the accumulated anger was pushing him to the brink of losing control. His body had already doubled in size compared to before.

He had never felt so humiliated in his life.

The Hulk, who usually attacked anyone who irritated him without hesitation, had never been in such a sorry state.

But just as the grunt was reveling in his success, he failed to notice that the semi-circular barrier surrounding the entire stage was flickering rapidly.

And the flickering was speeding up, like a countdown!

Neither side noticed the faint flickering of the barrier around the stage. Even if they had, they would have assumed it was just a reflection of the sunlight.

Three minutes had passed since Hulk and the grunt stepped onto the stage. As the time reached exactly three minutes, the flickering of the barrier stopped, and it began to shrink at a steady pace, compressing the space on the stage. This was inspired by a battle royale game from Zane's past life. He thought, if he let them drag it out any longer, there wouldn't be a fight at all.

Initially, both Hulk and the grunt, focused on their respective tasks of target practice and anger management, didn't notice the shrinking barrier. It wasn't until the barrier reached the grunt and corroded his elbow that they realized the stage had shrunk to two-thirds of its original size.

The grunt panicked, and with one arm hanging limply, he turned his gun towards the barrier and fired wildly. But with his standard-issue equipment, he couldn't even make a dent in it.

As the barrier continued to shrink, everyone outside noticed too, their faces darkening. The Earth's heroes realized that their time was running out. Loki, on the other hand, understood that if the barrier kept shrinking, sending too many of his people onto the stage would be a disadvantage, leading to quicker deaths. Zane's barrier, imbued with the power of death, was lethal; anyone who touched it would be severely harmed or killed.

The barrier finally touched Hulk's large body, and his nearly invincible skin instantly turned to ash upon contact, exposing the green flesh beneath. With a pained roar, Hulk's remaining rationality told him that if he didn't act now, he wouldn't get another chance. He knew that if he didn't fight back, the grunt, with his smaller size, would outlast him.

No longer suppressing his anger, Hulk roared and charged at the grunt, who was still firing at the barrier. With a single slap, he sent the grunt flying. The sound of bones breaking made everyone outside the stage wince. The grunt hit the barrier and was instantly corroded, leaving behind only a few ashes on the stage, evidence of his brief existence.

Although the grunt had died, he could take pride in having faced the Hulk for so long. Not many could claim such a feat.

As the grunt perished, Zane picked up the microphone with a smile and announced loudly, "In the first round, our survivor is the Hulk! Congratulations to the Earth team for taking the lead! Let's give our champion a round of applause!" Zane clapped first, though his eyes held a deep, malicious gleam.

With Zane's announcement, the barrier stopped shrinking. The stage had now shrunk to less than one-tenth of its original size.

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