Chapter 320: Thanos's Decision, the God Quarry!

In the palace living room of Nidavellir, everyone fell into silence after understanding the situation.

The power of the Phoenix, as described by Nebula and others, naturally instilled a sense of awe in everyone present.

As Avengers, they were not afraid of battle or sacrifice, but they were not reckless brutes either.

Charging in without consideration at this time would be the height of foolishness and incompetence.

As previously mentioned, making any decision before Clark's return would be reckless. Everything would need to wait for Clark, the mightiest of the Avengers, to return and provide his perspective before they could formulate a targeted strategy and tactics.

Suddenly, a barely perceptible spatial fluctuation occurred in the hall, followed by a wave of suffocating heat.

Turning to look, they saw Clark standing at the entrance of the living room, his face grave. The terrifying heat that made everyone feel suffocated was emanating from him.

Realizing the unusual attention from those around him, Clark waved his hand, and the room's temperature immediately returned to normal.

Unbeknownst to Clark himself, this casual appearance had earned him a huge wave of impression points.

Especially from someone named Starfox. Although the impression points from him were not as high as those from fate-favored Avengers like Captain America, they came in continuous waves, reaching the maximum Starfox could provide. This made Clark somewhat curious; what exactly was driving Starfox mad?

Clark's gaze swept over everyone, quickly noticing Starfox looking at him with a complex expression. Hmm... Clark didn't actually know a Starfox, but by process of elimination, the only person he didn't recognize here must be Starfox.

And indeed, Starfox was internally conflicted upon seeing Clark.

Originally, as a non-mutant member of the Eternals, he too was incredibly handsome. He had always heard how astoundingly handsome Asgard's prince Clark was and had never accepted it.

For this, he had specifically asked Champion, Nebula, and Thane, comparing his looks to Clark's, asking who was more handsome.

The answer from all three was the same.

Clark is not as handsome as you!

Starfox was quite satisfied with this answer and believed it to be true.

Until the moment Clark appeared before him, and Starfox saw his face and then thought about his own reflection... He understood!

Champion said he was more handsome than Clark because he was wary of him!

Nebula said he was more handsome than Clark because she was afraid of him!

Thane said he was more handsome than Clark because he needed something from him!

+999 impression points from Starfox!

Unlike Starfox's misplaced focus, Captain America maintained his rigorous way of thinking, immediately asking, "Clark, was that intense heat just now the power of the Phoenix Fire?"

"The Phoenix Fire isn't so simple," Clark shook his head. "The heat just now was merely a bit of residual warmth I picked up while clashing with the Phoenix Force. It's nothing compared to the true power of the Phoenix."

On the other side, Tony immediately asked, "Can you describe what exactly the Phoenix Force is like? And have you dealt with that guy Thane?"

Hearing this, Clark understood Tony was considering creating some kind of anti-Phoenix armor. But how powerful the Phoenix Force was! Creating targeted armor was not so simple.

It took Tony five years in the movies and he still couldn't develop an armor to truly counter Thanos, let alone the more powerful Phoenix Force.

Tony is a genius, true, but he's also cursed by his knowledge, far surpassing the current level of human technology yet limited by the overall technological level of humanity.

Like Howard Stark, who knew the method but still couldn't complete the creation of a new element.

Perhaps the alien technology Clark brought back could help Tony, but it would require a long digestion period.

If it took him until he developed anti-Phoenix armor, the number of people who would die in the universe might not be much less than those lost to the Snap. Fortunately, this disaster should not reach Earth...

Regardless, Tony's desire to improve was commendable. Clark then straightforwardly recounted his encounter with Thane in detail, concluding, "The current Thane is very strong, truly surpassing the ordinary Skyfather-level beings, possessing power comparable to a cosmic god!"

Hearing about the seemingly unbeatable power of the Phoenix Force, Tony frowned in thought.

Meanwhile, Nebula expressed her concern, "Are you not even his match?"

"It's not about whether I can defeat him," Clark explained, "but continuing to fight him would only complicate matters. Each time he is injured, he quickly recovers due to the self-healing abilities of his Eternal genes and the Phoenix Force. In this process, the Phoenix Force further consumes his body and soul, turning him into nothing more than a mindless killer."

"The reason I held back is not out of any

 desire to redeem him. A Thane controlled by human thoughts, though murderous, still makes some subjective choices about who to attack, such as prioritizing planets or forces associated with Thanos. This approach undeniably slows down his killing spree."

"If he were to become a complete puppet of the Phoenix, his killing would be aimless, targeting every living being he sees!"

"Comparatively, it's better to slow down the rate at which the Phoenix consumes him, as this causes less damage to the universe."

While speaking, Clark casually moved his left hand behind his back, where the destructive energy of the Phoenix lingered for a moment on his fist before he forcefully suppressed it with his overwhelming divine power.

Yes, Clark was injured!

During the fight with Thane, the Phoenix Force had infiltrated his body, causing his left forearm to go numb.

Healing such an injury would require expelling this portion of the Phoenix Force from his body, which would take some time.

Putting off the expulsion of the Phoenix Force to heal his wounds, Clark then approached Thanos, who lay on the ground unable to move, and said coldly, "Thanos, it's time to demonstrate your worth. If you have a way to deal with Thane, I might reluctantly forgive your earlier transgression and spare your life."

"Spare my life?" Hearing Clark's proposal, Thanos laughed as if he had heard a hilarious joke: "Do you think I fear death? To think you can threaten my life to make me work for you, you're dreaming!"

Thanos, fearless in the face of death, appeared utterly uncooperative, but Clark simply smiled lightly and then added, "Thanos, there's something I didn't mention earlier. If I had truly fought Thane without regard for the consequences, the outcome would have been severe injuries for me and certain death for him!"

This statement left the audience puzzled, surprised, disdainful, and unbelieving.

Thanos, with a face full of disdain, said, "You're afraid of getting hurt, and that's why you want to use me to deal with Thane?"

Shaking his head, Clark continued amid the skeptical looks, "I chose to retreat because another formidable force of death also appeared there. I don't know why she never personally slaughters life herself, but I do know that if she were to take action, her destructive power would be a hundred times, a thousand times greater than Thane's."

Taking a deep breath, Clark calmly stated, "I am confident I could kill Thane with the Phoenix Force, but against that woman, I have no confidence at all."

What Clark left unsaid was that if Death were truly pushed to extremes and gave Thane a form of immortality, then things would get really complicated.

The relationship between Clark and Death was peculiar due to her previous curse that ensured Clark could never meet her, granting him immortality but also creating a kind of repulsive force field between them, like the same poles of magnets repelling each other. If they were in the same area, they would repel each other.

This repulsion grew stronger as Clark's power increased. Initially, on Earth, as long as Death did not appear directly before him, there was no noticeable repulsion.

But now, just being on the same planet triggered this sensation, and the closer the distance, the stronger the repulsion.

This is why, although they could not meet, they could still communicate their stances through this mechanism.

For example, when Clark went to confront Thane, Death chose to withdraw, and when Death insisted on returning, Clark did not fight her to the end.

In fact, the injury on Clark's arm was because Death's return interfered with his speed, giving Thane an opportunity.

The only good news might be that Death herself, stubbornly considering "death" a gift to life, would not easily grant her followers immortality.

Thanos and Thane included.

Otherwise, the situation would only become more complicated.

Even if Clark truly disregarded all consequences to kill Thane, it would not be easy because the repulsion between him and Death could affect him once, ten times, a hundred times.

Under those circumstances, to completely annihilate Thane, he would need to be prepared to perish alongside him.

Instead, Thanos, a seasoned player in the universe, might have some means to deal with Thane, or even combat the Phoenix Force.

Although Clark did not explicitly name Death, how could Thanos not guess who the terrifying woman he mentioned was?

Hearing that Thane had gotten involved with Death, Thanos's expression turned exceedingly grim.

His purple face almost turned green!

And to what Clark had said, he harbored no doubts.

Many things could only be explained by this answer.

For instance, how did Thane, who had left Earth, know secrets not even Starfox knew, and how had he deceived them into finding the Phoenix Egg?

Or, how did he know about the Phoenix Rebirth and willingly die

 once to try it?

After a long silence, Thanos finally made up his mind and spoke again, mentioning a name unknown to anyone present.

"The God Quarry!"

Having made his decision, Thanos's mad eyes showed a hint of determination, "That place is filled with immortal power, not only capable of restoring my divine power but also of suppressing the external Phoenix Force."

Looking at Clark with crazed eyes, he challenged, "Now it's your decision. To deal with Thane, do you dare let me regain my full strength, and even go further?"

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