MARVEL: SILVER SUPERMAN OF ASGARD

"You dull idiot! Didn't you see that the other party was obviously interested in us?"

Rhodes scolded the Grandmaster.

"Excuse me, I am willing to compensate for all the damages suffered by the arena, but can these people be handed over to me?"

The Grandmaster was taken aback.

He despised the Guardians of the Galaxy and had been contemplating how to make them suffer. He never expected Rhodes to want to take them away.

The Grandmaster narrowed his eyes.

"Master Rhodes, what do you want them for?"

"I'm very interested in them. I wonder if Mr. Grandmaster can make things easier for me?"

The Grandmaster hesitated. He didn't dare offend Rhodes, whose name had now spread throughout the universe. Although powerful in his own right, the Grandmaster knew that in certain situations, he was no match for Rhodes.

After a moment of consideration, he sighed and relented.

"Since Lord Rhodes is so interested, I must give you this face."

With a reluctant wave, the Grandmaster pushed the four Guardians of the Galaxy toward Rhodes.

Rhodes smirked, pleased with the outcome. With a casual flick of his wrist, the destroyed arena and underground base instantly returned to their original state.

"These gladiators and parasites will be left to you, Grandmaster. I wish you a prosperous business."

The Grandmaster forced a smile.

"Your kind words are appreciated, Mr. Rhodes. But must you leave so soon? Why not stay longer on Planet Sakaar? I haven't had the chance to properly entertain you."

Rhodes shook his head dismissively.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going for now. But don't worry—I have plenty of time. I'll visit again in the future."

"Very well," the Grandmaster conceded. "I will arrange for a spaceship to send you off. May I ask where you are headed?"

"No need for the trouble. I'll just take a stroll."

Without further ado, Rhodes shoved the four Guardians back into their ship.

Rocket Raccoon muttered sarcastically, "Well, that was easy. We didn't even have to work for it this time. Problem is, both the ship and us technically belong to him now."

Star-Lord and the others exchanged uneasy glances, fully aware of who Rhodes was.

They had previously sold parasites to Asgard for profit, and Rhodes' reputation in Asgard was widely known.

They also knew that Rhodes had a deep-seated hatred for parasites. Otherwise, why would he go to such great lengths to eradicate them?

Although their use of the parasite was purely to save a teammate, the fact remained that they had willingly cooperated with them.

If Rhodes wanted to execute them, he could do so effortlessly.

Star-Lord hesitated before cautiously asking, "Lord Rhodes, are you going to punish us?"

Rhodes studied him in silence, his gaze unnerving.

Star-Lord gulped.

Rocket Raccoon, ever the troublemaker, smirked.

"Idiot, looks like Lord Rhodes has taken a liking to you. Maybe if you do a little striptease to entertain him, we might get off the hook."

"Shut up."

Drax, as fearless as ever, stepped forward.

"I'm the one who wanted to work with the parasite. I wanted revenge for my family. This has nothing to do with them. If you want to kill someone, kill me. I take full responsibility."

"They only did it to save me."

Drax tried to shoulder the blame entirely.

Rocket rolled his eyes.

"Big guy, it's too late to play the martyr now. If taking responsibility worked that way, I'd have already offered your head to Lord Rhodes."

Rhodes finally spoke.

"I won't kill you. At least, not yet."

"Oh, how generous of you," Rocket quipped. "Your kindness could light up the entire universe."

Rhodes ignored him.

"If you do one thing for me, I'll consider the debt settled."

Star-Lord and the others perked up in surprise.

"That's it?" Star-Lord asked skeptically.

"That's it," Rhodes confirmed.

Rocket wasn't convinced.

"Idiot, it's probably something just as bad as dying—or worse."

Rhodes smirked.

"It's actually quite simple. Find a planet called Ego and report its location to me."

Star-Lord blinked.

"That's it? Just find a planet?"

"Yes. I've left a mark on you. If you locate it, I'll know. Once you do, I'll release you. However…"

Rhodes' expression darkened slightly.

"If you try to run before completing the task… well, you already know what will happen."

Rocket didn't need more convincing.

"Yeah, got it! We're on it."

Finding a planet isn't a difficult task for those already wandering the universe.

"Okay, okay, we agree to your request."

"Can you let us go now?"

With a tap of Rhodes's finger, the iron chains that had imprisoned the Guardians of the Galaxy unshackled themselves.

Rocket Raccoon exclaimed, "That's a really handy ability. I'm honestly jealous."

Rhodes turned to the Guardians and said, "Then I wish you good luck. I hope you find it soon and regain your freedom."

With that, Rhodes teleported away with Hela.

Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon exchanged bewildered glances. They never expected to be set free so easily. Even if it was only superficial freedom, it was still far better than falling into the hands of the Grandmaster.

"What a generous man."

"But speaking of which… where exactly is this planet called Ego? At the very least, he could've given us some coordinates."

"If you say you're an idiot, you really are one," Rocket scoffed. "Lord Rhodes clearly told us to find it because he doesn't know where it is. If he did, he'd have other things to do. Either way, let's move quickly. If Lord Rhodes runs out of patience, we'll be in real trouble."

Hela turned to Rhodes. "You let them go so easily? How do you expect them to find the planet?"

"That planet, Ego, is actually Star-Lord's father," Rhodes explained. "It's a living planet, and it's useful to me. Since Ego has a connection with Star-Lord, he'll be able to find him sooner or later."

"So that's how it is," Hela mused.

Rhodes hadn't let Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy go out of kindness. He was using their father-son bond to draw Ego out.

As a god-like entity, Ego was naturally powerful. But what intrigued Rhodes even more was Ego's other identity.

Ego was a living planet with a lifespan spanning millions of years, possessing infinite god-level wisdom and endurance. A planet with superpowers and self-awareness—such an existence was rare and incredibly valuable.

Ego could manipulate the environment and everything on his surface at will. On his planet, everything bent to his will.

His power continued to grow over time, theoretically with no upper limit. As long as time moved forward, Ego's strength would only increase. That limitless potential made him incredibly intriguing to Rhode.

Now, thanks to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Rhodes had an opportunity. Their search for Ego would eventually lead him out of hiding.

Rhodes wasn't sure how long it would take for Star-Lord and Ego to meet, but he was confident that, eventually, Ego would recognize his son. And once Rhodes could track Star-Lord, he would be able to find Ego.

---

Months passed.

The Guardians of the Galaxy still trembled at Rhode's command. They feared that if they failed to find Ego quickly, Rhodes would lose patience and take action.

With his overwhelming power, it wouldn't take much effort for Rhodes to deal with them. He wouldn't even need to lift a finger—one moment, their spaceship could simply explode, or they could face an even worse fate.

But as time passed, they noticed that Rhodes hadn't done anything. Their lives remained mostly unchanged, still filled with adventures across the universe.

This realization gave them some relief.

However, they weren't foolish enough to think they were free. Rhodes had rescued them from Sakaar, but if they neglected his mission, their doom would come swiftly.

Still, finding Ego was no easy task.

The universe was vast. Even veteran spacefarers who knew many star systems had never heard of a planet called Ego. They didn't know what it looked like, what its characteristics were—only its name.

For all they knew, Ego could be right in front of them, and they wouldn't recognize him.

Rocket Raccoon leaned back lazily in the pilot's seat. The ship was on autopilot, so there was no need to manually control it.

Kicking his feet onto the console, he muttered, "Extending your head is a blade, shrinking your head is also a blade. Either way, we're screwed. We don't even know where this planet is. We're going to die of boredom in this endless void."

"There are over a hundred million planets of varying sizes in the star systems ahead of us," he continued. "We have no idea what Ego even looks like. How the hell are we supposed to find him?"

"Honestly, I think Lord Rhodes sent us on a wild goose chase," he added. "Maybe this planet doesn't even exist, and he just wants us to wander the universe until we die of boredom. That would be the cruelest punishment ever."

Star-Lord frowned. "I don't think that's it. When I looked at him, he genuinely seemed to want us to find that planet. If he wanted to kill us, someone with his power could do it in countless ways."

"Hmph," Rocket huffed. "Maybe he just has a twisted sense of humor. When you're that powerful, you probably get bored. Watching us run around aimlessly looking for a planet that doesn't exist? Maybe that's his idea of fun."

Groot, being a plant, had no concept of boredom. He could stand in place for years without feeling anything.

Meanwhile, Drax the Destroyer was busy training, further strengthening his body.

Ever since they had left Sakaar, Drax had become obsessed with gaining more power. The parasites that had once infested him on Sakaar were long gone, but their influence had given him a taste of immense strength.

Now, he was determined to reach that level on his own.

During their months of searching for Ego, Drax had treated it as a period of intense training. He was determined to surpass his previous limits.

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