Prohibition

"Knull, you have to leave something behind. Otherwise, I’ll never let you leave."

Tony snorted and said to Knull, "The Death God Curse does sound terrifying, but we have the Creator God’s protection. The curse might not be able to harm us."

Knull’s expression darkened further. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Half. At most half. Otherwise, we might as well die together."

Ivan sneered. "Then die. Do you think Tony Stark is afraid of death?"

Tony directly flipped Ivan off. Knull’s face turned livid as the thought of mutual destruction flashed through his mind. In the end, however, he endured it. Only by staying alive would he have a chance at revenge.

For the rest of his life, Knull would do only one thing: kill these damned Super Heroes.

Tony said, "Half is impossible. At least two-thirds."

Knull said, "At most half. That’s my bottom line."

After a round of haggling, Knull escaped Tony’s body carrying half his head, then stood beside Hela and Annihilus like a stray dog. Both Hela and Annihilus were speechless. Last time, he had returned with only a head. This time, even his head was incomplete. Next time, would he be left with just one eyeball, pretending to descend as the Eye Demon? Hela let out a breath and said, "Although I failed to kill you, you lost this time. The Insect Extermination Alliance will cease to exist."

"Not necessarily."

Carol sneered. "Although some planets suffered devastating losses, every Demon God Projection was eliminated. Hela, your scheme has gone bankrupt."

Hela was stunned. "All of them were eliminated? How is that possible? You didn’t have that many people."

"I am everywhere."

Carol spoke proudly. Hela frowned and contacted the Demon God Alliance, only to discover that those demon gods had either been killed by Carol or blasted to death by Doom. Their entire force had been wiped out.

Hela gritted her teeth and asked, "Senior Sister Carol, where did you buy your cheat? Can you recommend it to me?"

"A cheat?"

Carol said, "Why would something as simple as comprehending a Concept Ability require a cheat? Not only Hulk and I, even Thor, with his negative IQ, comprehended one."

Thor shouted indignantly, "Who are you calling negative IQ? I, Thor, know how to use my brain now."

Everyone rolled their eyes. With the way you are, you actually dared claim you didn’t have a negative IQ? Hulk said with contempt, "That’s called using your head, not using your brain. I, Hulk, am the real Brain Eater."

"So you know that?" everyone silently complained.

"Thor comprehended a concept? No wonder I lost control."

Hela rubbed her head and said, "Can’t we just play properly? One after another, you’re all turning on cheats?"

The Demon God Alliance, which had been watching, deeply agreed. Earthlings were far too good at cheating. For example, a certain Blood God had become a Creator God in just a few years. That was more than cheating—it was a cheat becoming sentient.

At that moment, Annihilus said to Hela with an ugly expression, "The insect army attacking the native planets has been attacked by unknown creatures. Casualties are severe."

"They have other forces?"

Hela frowned. "Open portals and have them retreat. They consumed so much before; it should be enough to make up for the losses."

"Alright."

Annihilus nodded, though he was somewhat displeased. This time, Hela was the one who had truly profited—after those natives died, their souls would automatically be collected by the Domain of Death.

Skye had heard Annihilus as well and excitedly said, "Hela, you’ve completely lost."

"I lost? Are you sure?"

Hela smiled disdainfully and waved a hand. Her image appeared before the representatives of every planet on the Frontlines. Then she asked, "Although your planets were not destroyed, given the destructive power of the insect race and the demon gods, your planets must have suffered enormous losses, right?"

The representatives fell silent. Even Xandar had several cities destroyed, let alone the other planets. On some planets, even their kings had died.

The insect race’s killing power was manageable. Those demon gods, however, were truly terrifying. They could easily destroy an entire city.

Duke Brie shouted, "Hela, what are you trying to say?"

"I can launch attacks like this anytime in the future."

Hela said, "I know you have portals too, but with the demon gods’ strength, destroying several of your cities before reinforcements arrive would be effortless."

Everyone’s expressions became incomparably grim. If Hela truly fought them with guerrilla tactics, they would be in serious trouble.

Portals combined with demon gods were simply a nightmare for the major planets of the universe.

The Super Heroes were powerful, but there were too few of them. They simply could not defend every planet.

Seeing that things were going badly, Skye hurriedly shouted, "Hela, we’ll do everything we can to stop you."

"The problem is, even if you give it everything you have, you still can’t stop me."

Hela said blandly, "Now, I’ll give the Insect Extermination Alliance a chance. As long as you withdraw from the alliance and stop resisting the insect race, I’ll spare your planets."

A planetary representative asked in surprise, "Really?"

Skye hurriedly shouted, "Don’t fall for her trap! She wants to destroy half the life in the universe. How could she possibly spare you?"

"Why not? You said it yourself—half of all life."

Hela said, "I won’t spare the two great empires. Add the native planets and the planets that haven’t joined the alliance, and there will be more than enough to make up half. As long as you leave the Insect Extermination Alliance, you can gain safety.

"Not only that, once I complete my mission, you can take over the planets that were slaughtered and strengthen yourselves.

"By then, the universe will regain its balance, and you will gain prosperity."

Hela’s words were highly tempting, and quite a few planetary representatives were moved. The Super Heroes’ faces darkened. Given those planets’ selfishness, there was an eighty percent chance they would accept Hela’s terms.

Not just those planets—even the Skrull Empire and the Shi’ar Empire were somewhat tempted. They looked at Hela in dissatisfaction. Why were they the exceptions?

Of course the empires were exceptions. If the empires were not destroyed, how would the universe remember this lesson? Seeing the planetary representatives remain silent, Thor hurriedly shouted, "Hey, don’t be so stupid! Hela is obviously lying to you."

"Hela isn’t lying to them. Her mission is to eliminate half of all life. Excluding the two great empires, the Insect Extermination Alliance has less than one-tenth of the universe’s population."

Little Hela sighed. "Hela prepared three methods this time. The final one is called Heart Shattering."

Eddie shook his head. "Given how selfish those planetary representatives are, the Insect Extermination Alliance is basically finished."

"You can’t exactly call them selfish. The combination of portals and demon gods is simply too terrifying. Those planets can’t withstand it at all."

Tony shook his head. "To protect themselves, it’s perfectly normal for them to surrender."

Ivan added, "Unless we can find a way to stop the portal strategy, the Insect Extermination Alliance might as well announce its closure. By the way, I don’t think I’ve collected my salary yet?"

"You care about your salary at a time like this?"

Everyone complained, then collectively turned to Strange. "Mage, do you have a way to stop portals?"

"No. There are spells that can stop portals, but the problem is that the universe is so vast and there are so many planets. How could we make them widespread?"

Strange shook his head. "Besides, that kind of magic consumes an enormous amount of energy. It can’t be kept active constantly."

Jessica said grimly, "So we lost?"

"Not exactly. The collapse of the Insect Extermination Alliance doesn’t mean we’ve been defeated."

Tony snorted. "The alliance’s high-end combat strength is all on our side. If it collapses, we’ll only lose the middle- and lower-level forces. Those forces can be replaced through technological means."

"You mean clones?"

Jessica asked, "The cost would be too high, and we don’t have that much time."

"Not clones. Genetic methods, similar to the Vampire Virus developed by Lizard Doctor."

Tony said, "Skye, do you remember the Obelisk?"

Skye asked, "The Obelisk? The one that does nothing to Inhumans but petrifies anyone else who touches it?"

"That’s right. A long time ago, I extracted an alien virus from the Obelisk. This alien virus is very strange. Not only can it petrify people, it can also turn them into ash."

Tony said coldly, "A super bomb made with this virus would be even more destructive than an atomic bomb."

Everyone sucked in a breath. Steve shouted in alarm, "Tony, you never reported such a terrifying weapon to S.W.O.R.D.?"

"Because I never intended to use it. In fact, I’ve never used it at all. This thing is too terrifying."

Tony shook his head. "Now is the perfect time to use it against the insect race. I don’t think anyone would object."

Everyone fell silent. Then Ivan said, "When I was experimenting with black holes, I once connected to some special lifeforms that even I found terrifying. If necessary, I can release them and let them slaughter each other with the insect race."

"Banner once developed Rage Gas. Anyone enveloped by it goes mad and attacks everyone around them."

Hulk added, "The gas spreads incredibly well. One bottle can affect an entire city. Also, Banner researched Rage Sonic Waves."

"Banner actually researched that kind of thing?"

Steve looked shocked. Who would have thought that someone as upright-looking as you would mess with this stuff too? Your whole character setup has collapsed, you know that?

Dr. Banner answered somewhat awkwardly, "Laboratory byproduct."

Thinking of something, Tony said, "Actually, we’re not professionals at this. The real professional is Lizard Doctor. If Bert didn’t restrain him, forget the mere insect race—he could destroy every lifeform in the universe."

"You call this not professional? I’m seriously starting to suspect that the ones who’ll destroy the universe in the future won’t be the insect race, but you people."

Steve complained. Everyone nodded in deep agreement. These scientists were far too terrifying. They casually invented things capable of destroying the world.

Tony added, "If it really comes down to it, Dr. Richards and I can merge. At that point, forget the insect race—we could even kill Ancient Gods."

Jessica said, "I think we should wipe out these scientists first."

"I think so too."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Compared to these mad scientists, what did the insect race even count for? "Hey, we just want to protect the universe."

Tony said unhappily, "Without the Insect Extermination Alliance, genetic methods are the only way to defeat the insect race."

"This matter is too serious. Don’t act recklessly. Everything will be under Blood God’s command."

Steve hurriedly said. This burden was too terrifying for him to bear. In this world, only Bert Wang could bear it.

"If these guys really get to work, the universe could be destroyed in minutes, just like the Zombie Universe."

Wang Bert shook his head. He did not doubt these scientists’ destructive power at all. The things they created were far beyond even the universe’s Three Great Empires. What was even more outrageous was that Earth’s foundational technology lagged several levels behind alien technology.

What was that saying again? This was not scientific.

Wang Bert shook his head and thought, I should take action instead. Sigh, in the end, I still have to bear everything.

At the same time, Hela shouted to the planetary representatives, "Everyone, why do you need so long to consider such a good deal? By the way, I’ll only agree to the first hundred factions to withdraw."

"What?"

The representatives were startled. Forgetting everything else, they hurriedly shouted, "Wait, Hela, we are willing—"

Just as the representatives were preparing to surrender, a voice rang simultaneously beside the ears of every lifeform in the universe. "Um, sound check. Blood God is the most handsome in the universe."

Everyone was stunned. Then Tony complained, "Bert, isn’t your skin a little too thick? Since when are you the most handsome person?"

Jessica said irritably, "Is that the important part? Master, what are you testing the sound for? And with such a shameless sound check?"

Unlike Jessica and the others, the rest of the universe’s lifeforms were shocked. Who was Blood God? Why was his voice ringing beside their ears?

"Hello, everyone. I am the Creator God, Space Dominance, the universe’s number one tycoon, the universe’s number one handsome man, Blood God Bert Wang."

Ignoring those people, Wang Bert said unhurriedly, "I interrupted everyone this time to announce something. In six months, it will be my birthday—my twenty-seventh birthday. Sigh, time flies. Before I knew it, I’m almost thirty."

Everyone was speechless. Never mind that string of titles, he opened a universe-wide channel just to announce that his birthday was six months away? Could he be any more boring? It wasn’t a grand celebration like turning one hundred, one thousand, or ten thousand.

And what was with announcing it six months in advance? Was he giving people time to prepare presents?

"A Creator God approaching thirty?"

A group of God-Devil Level beings rolled their eyes. Which one of them was not thousands or tens of thousands of years old? This guy was clearly showing off, wasn’t he?

"To celebrate this grand occasion, the use of portals is prohibited throughout the universe for one year, starting now."

Wang Bert continued, "Alright, announcement over. Also, you can start preparing gifts now."

"Why are you shutting down portals to celebrate your birthday? Shouldn’t you be giving away free teleportation uses instead?"

Someone in the universe could not help complaining, "And you’re a Creator God, yet you’re shamelessly asking for gifts in public?"

"Portals are prohibited for a year?"

On the Frontlines, both sides were dumbfounded. Portals were the key to this war, yet Blood God had banned them. Could they even play properly now?

"Wait, can Bert really prohibit portals throughout the entire universe?"

Tony could not help asking. "That’s the whole universe!"

Little Hela said, "Although my Master normally jokes around with all of you and never acts serious, as a Creator God and Space Dominance, he really can do this. If you don’t believe it, try it yourselves."

Without wasting words, Strange immediately opened a portal. However, the moment golden sparks appeared, they vanished.

Strange frowned, experimented for a while longer, then said, "Portals can’t be used, but Teleportation and Space Magic are unaffected. Simply put, you can teleport yourself in the future, but you can’t bring an army with you."

Carol added, "My teleportation works too, but I can’t teleport too many people at once."