Chapter 230: Thanos' Honest Son

Near the Avengers' base, there was a bar.

Since it was Sunday, even in the daytime, many young men and women were there drinking and dancing, living up their youth.

Sain was doing just that. Having just experienced a significant upheaval, he used a bionic mask from the Avengers' base to revert to his normal human appearance and was now drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

"Borrowing alcohol to ease sorrows only leads to more sorrow, just as cutting water with a blade only makes it flow more," Clark said in a magnetic voice as he sat down beside Sain. "That's an old saying from a mysterious ancient country in the East, meaning that avoidance doesn't solve problems, and neither does drinking."

"Besides, do you think you can get drunk?"

Alcohol was ineffective even on Captain America, let alone Sain, whose strength was close to Clark's. Sain forced a bitter smile and emptied his glass again.

He just wanted to get thoroughly drunk today, but this simple desire was now unattainable.

As Clark had said, with his current body, alcohol could not have a numbing effect on him.

Shaking his head, Clark then asked, "What if I invite you to stand completely against Thanos? Would you agree?"

At this, Sain paused: "Are you inviting me to join the Avengers?"

Clark shook his head gently, "Joining the Avengers isn't that simple; it requires unanimous agreement from everyone. But at least in facing Thanos and his forces, we can unite and support each other."

Sain fell silent again.

Meanwhile, the bartender approached Clark, "What can I get for you, sir?"

Clark glanced at the bartender, somewhat surprised.

Who owned this bar to employ such an elderly person, especially in a place prone to drunken disturbances?

However, since his primary purpose today was to find Sain, he didn't inquire further.

Slightly puzzled, he handed over a $20 bill: "A juice, please."

The old bartender, with a beaming smile, took the money and went to prepare the drink.

Watching the old man's retreating figure, Clark felt a familiar sense of déjà vu… Wait!

Why didn't he recognize this familiar face whenever he saw him? Was this elder employing some sort of commoner aura to blend in?

Receiving an impression value from the universal will and automatically converting it into a 'Random BGM Lottery Card', Clark confirmed his suspicion. It was him!

But why did this elder enjoy frequenting such places? A moment of youthful folly?

Clark chose not to approach him again, remembering the lesson from their last encounter.

Finally, Sain made up his mind, "Okay, when Thanos's forces come in full force, I'll stand united with you."

Clark wasn't surprised by Sain's answer; it was expected. After all, with Thanos after him, Sain had no other choice but to cooperate with Clark.

As for joining the Avengers, that needed further observation.

In strength, Sain was certainly qualified, but becoming an Avenger required alignment in spirit.

In essence, to be a true Avenger, one must be obedient, not coveting power or failing at crucial moments.

In the original storyline, the Avengers had three major figures.

Among them, Thor, an alien, was more of a guest elder in the special group of the Avengers. He represented the interests of Asgard and couldn't be a true leader of the Avengers.

The remaining two were Captain America and Tony Stark. One was the spiritual leader, respected by everyone, while the other was the financial backer, deserving a certain degree of courtesy.

Although a shared sense of justice brought them together, ideological conflicts would inevitably place them on opposing sides.

Was the Sokovia Accords and Tony's vendetta the only reasons for the Civil War? Those were merely sparks to the powder keg!

In certain domains, while two tigers can't share a mountain, three can coexist.

If anyone could become the third major figure in the Avengers, aside from Tony and Captain America, it wasn't Thor but Black Widow.

Under normal circumstances, Black Widow wouldn't seek this power. Her background in S.H.I.E.L.D. made the Avengers inherently wary of her, as they didn't want their powers or themselves to become tools in politicians' hands.

But foreseeing a threat to the harmony of the Avengers, she had to step up, both to mediate and to create a buffer for Captain America and Iron Man.

Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen, leaving her without support.

To maintain her ability to mediate between the two forces, Natasha fell in love with Banner...

Regrettably, Hulk's self-exile, defying all norms, disrupted her plans. After the Sokovia Accords, her mediation between the two sides became difficult, ultimately failing to prevent the Civil War.

Despite this, she did her utmost to prevent casualties among the Avengers...

This was the main reason Clark respected Black Widow.

Returning to the main topic, Clark's appearance changed this situation fundamentally.

From his emergence, Captain America was almost immediately won over by Clark. With Captain America's character, using his heroism for a bit of influence didn't bother him at all.

Saved by Clark and helped to keep Bucky safe, Captain America, as long as Clark didn't cross his bottom line, was willing to forgo leadership ambitions and stand behind Clark.

As for Tony, though he seemed to rival Clark for a time, he would always be the foil as long as Clark didn't make a grave error.

Even Clark's reluctance to let Tony be the sole financier of the Avengers was to prevent him from gaining too much prestige within the group.

In wealth, Clark might be slightly inferior to Tony, but the gap wasn't significant.

In terms of strength, Clark had demonstrated his superiority over Tony and could easily do so again if necessary.

Remember, the armor powered by the Tesseract didn't work against Clark – and now, the Tesseract was in his hands!

Among the Avengers, if it came to choosing sides, Captain America, Thor, Yi Long, Hawkeye, Daisy, Mindy, Hit-Girl, Ant-Man, Wasp, and Daredevil would unhesitatingly stand with Clark.

Tony's supporters, for now, seemed limited to Pepper and the not-yet-joined War Machine.

Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, undecided, would undoubtedly see which way the wind was blowing.

As for Black Widow, did her stance even matter?

Although the Avengers were ostensibly about freedom, democracy, and equality, the real decision-maker was Clark.

The others, including Tony, at best, had a voice.

But if Sain joined, his strength might not compare to Clark's or even Tony's, but he had power that Clark couldn't ignore. If he aligned with Tony or tried to create a tripartite balance of power, things could get complicated.

So, Clark proposed cooperation with Sain, with formal Avengers membership depending on his future behavior.

If Sain proved manageable in the upcoming New York battle, Clark wouldn't mind having another powerful ally.

But if Sain showed too much ambition or foolishness, then cooperation would remain just that.

This wasn't due to Clark's timidity.

Remember, Sain was Thanos's son!

Underestimating Thanos's son would be a fatal mistake, as Clark had deduced from Daisy's description.

Thanos saying only Sain's blood could cleanse his "filth" was telling.

Clark understood what this "filth" represented.

Let's not forget, Death had made a similar demand of Clark, which he dismissed with a song.

He was an unabashed scoundrel, not falling for her trick.

Thanos, however, was honest enough, wasn't he?

After reaching a cooperative agreement with Sain, Clark patted his shoulder and left the bar.

With a major battle looming, he had more pressing matters than spending time with Thanos's son in a bar.

After Clark left, Sain drank a few more strong drinks. Realizing he couldn't get drunk, he left the bar, heading towards the Avengers' base.

But he hadn't gone far when a breathtakingly beautiful woman blocked his path.

Looking up, he saw her, clad in black, her appearance starkly contrasting with modern styles. Her voluptuous yet elegant figure, with a touch of innocence amidst maturity, especially her emerald-green eyes, were like gems, captivating Sain and making it impossible for him to look away.

The woman smiled at him, instantly energizing the confused Sain, as if he had finally found his direction.

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