26

Chapter Twenty-Six: Pikachu Appears

After Thor left, the Grandmaster pondered his next move.

After a moment, he said, "Give him a gold card with one million cosmic coins."

The overweight assistant beside him looked at the Grandmaster in surprise. "Are you sure? Are you being generous?"

The Grandmaster responded with a grim smile, "If he loses, the gold card will come back to me, and giving him more money would be pointless."

"And if he wins?" the assistant asked.

"If he wins, the value he brings will far exceed one million!"

…

Shortly after returning to his quarters, Thor received the gold card. Theoretically, it was enough to buy a small spacecraft and escape. However, receiving the money did not make things easier, and he had promised to compete in at least three matches.

In any case, returning to Earth was not a priority at the moment. It had been eight years since the last major event.

One million coins—Thor bet it all on himself, following his own advice.

Meanwhile, rumors spread throughout Sakaar about an upstart who was foolish enough to challenge the reigning champion in three days. The rumors included various strength analyses, and the general sentiment was that the challenger was as clueless as being kicked by a donkey.

Nebula was frustrated and wanted to find out who was spreading these rumors. After some investigation, she discovered that one source of the gossip was Thor himself.

What was he up to?

…

Three days later, in the arena, Thor strode confidently onto the stage, wielding a giant sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

Facing him was a towering monster with a lizard-like head, standing over eight meters tall. Though the creature bore no weapon, its barbed claws were over a meter long, its thick arms were much thicker than Thor's thighs, and its mouth was filled with sharp fangs.

The monster had a gaping black maw one meter wide. (No, it's not Professor Lizard—don't guess—it's just cannon fodder, a fictional race, as the universe is full of marvels.)

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Tonight, you will witness the most thrilling matchup!"

The Grandmaster's voice echoed, eliciting cheers from over 100,000 spectators.

The Grandmaster continued, "The defending champion needs no introduction. He is the reigning Tyran Rex, having won 66 consecutive battles! His skin is tougher than steel, and ordinary swords can't pierce it.

He... and his sharp claws have already dispatched 66 challengers!"

He then shifted focus, "Now, let me introduce today's challenger—the electrifying Mr. Pikachu!"

Well he choose Pikachu as his arena codename . A tribute to his previous life's childhood

The crowd's reaction was overwhelming, even drowning out the roar of the lizardman.

In terms of size and appearance, Thor, at less than two meters tall, was no match for the lizardman. The long sword he wielded might not even pierce the creature's skin, and the shield seemed as flimsy as paper against its sharp claws.

Many spectators began placing bets. Thor's odds were extremely high, at 1 to 123.

The odds might have been even higher if not for the fact that Nebula had bet one million on Thor. The Grandmaster, ever the opportunist, had also bet one million himself.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, the lizardman charged forward, eager to rip the "ant" apart.

Thor rolled to evade its sharp claws, which smashed into the ground. Thor raised his shield, and with several heavy "bangs," nailed the claws to the ground like spikes.

The lizardman struggled to free its claws, roaring in fury.

Thor wasted no time. He lifted his sword and leaped high, diving into the gaping maw of the lizardman.

As the audience gasped, the lizardman let out a muffled sound, its massive body freezing. Moments later, a large hole appeared at the back of its neck, and flesh and blood flew out. Thor emerged, electrified and triumphant.

"Boom—" The giant fell to the ground, and Thor sheathed his sword.

The arena fell silent for a moment before erupting into deafening cheers.

…