Jotunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants.
It is covered in blizzards all year round, cold is the only melody here.
Boom—
A massive white battleship broke through the ice and hovered above the Frost Throne.
Thanos, wreathed in purple-gold aura, descended from the sky.
From the double-edged blade in his hand, Surtur's scalding magma-blood was still dripping, making a "sizzle" sound as it hit the ice.
Before him were tens of thousands of shivering Frost Giants and that once-arrogant Frost King, Laufey.
"Is this what you call cold?" Thanos looked around indifferently.
There wasn't a hint of pity in those purple eyes, only consideration for the mission's progress.
"Compared to Lord Frieza's cold gaze, the temperature here is as warm as a hot spring."
"Who... who are you?!" Laufey tremblingly raised the ice spike in his hand.
"Someone from Asgard? No, you don't have that sickening stench of Odin on you."
"Who I am is not important."
Thanos took a step forward, and the glacier beneath his feet instantly cracked into countless fissures, extending all the way to Laufey's feet.
"What's important is that your rent is due."
Thanos grinned, revealing a sinister smile full of capitalist flair that he had learned under Frieza.
"By order of Lord Frieza, we are conducting an asset liquidation of the Nine Realms."
"I'll give you two choices."
Thanos held up two thick fingers.
"First, sign an indenture contract and become glorious miners, digging out all the rare metals from beneath this planet's surface."
"Second..."
Thanos swung his blade violently, and a purple slash instantly leveled a distant iceberg.
"Become ice sculptures to decorate Lord Frieza's back garden."
Looking at the peak that had been instantly leveled, the ice spike in Laufey's hand fell to the ground with a "clang."
This was power.
Absolute power that left one without even the thought of resistance.
"We... we'll mine."
Laufey knelt down, and the other Frost Giants followed suit, kneeling in a large mass.
"Very good."
Thanos nodded in satisfaction and pressed the communicator by his ear.
"Report to Lord Frieza: Jotunheim, acquisition complete."
...
Similar scenes played out one after another in Vanaheim, Alfheim, and Svartalfheim.
With the Ki bestowed by Frieza and those ten thousand battleships capable of leveling a galaxy, the Ginyu Force led by Thanos was like a group of thugs storming a kindergarten.
The so-called Nine Realms?
In the face of absolute strength, they couldn't even make a ripple.
In just less than two days, except for Asgard, which had turned into ruins, and Planet Frieza 001, the remaining seven realms all flew the flag emblazoned with the purple character "Frieza".
—
On the broken Royal Palace of Valaskjalf.
Frieza was still sitting in that golden hover pod. In his hand, he held a cup of ten-thousand-year-old divine brew unearthed from Odin's private wine cellar.
Looking at the coordinate points on the holographic star map turning from red to green one by one, his mood was at its peak.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho..."
"As expected of the talent I handpicked. Thanos is truly competent as a director."
Frieza took a sip of wine, his gaze turning toward the even more distant deep space.
There lay the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The territory of the Kree Empire.
At this moment, the Kree Empire's home Planet—Hala.
Inside the hall of the Supreme Intelligence, there was dead silence.
Those Kree Accusers, who usually held themselves high and prided themselves on being a superior cosmic civilization, were now watching the footage of the Nine Realms' fall on the screen, their faces pale as if they had lost their parents.
That's the Nine Realms!
Odin's territory, which even their Kree Empire dared not provoke lightly.
To think it was completely annexed in just a few days by that fellow named Frieza?
Even the supposedly immortal Surtur was killed? Even the Frost Giants went to mine?
"Supreme Intelligence..."
An Accuser asked with a trembling voice, "What... what should we do? According to calculations, their next target is very likely..."
"In this Universe, survival is the first priority." The Supreme Intelligence's massive green face appeared on the screen, its voice mechanical and cold.
But if one listened closely, a hint of fear could be heard?
"Send a message of congratulations to the Frieza Force."
After hundreds of millions of calculations, the Supreme Intelligence finally reached a conclusion.
"And attach an 'Interstellar Mutual Aid Agreement,' stating that we are willing to provide technical support and resource sharing, as long as he does not come to conquer us."
"Also, destroy all data on that idiot Ronan. Say he was a temporary worker and his personal actions have nothing to do with the Kree Empire."
...
Asgard ruins.
Frieza seemed to sense something, a playful smile curling at the corners of his lips.
"Oh my, it seems some mice have already started to get scared."
He slowly floated out of his hover pod.
"Since everyone is paying so much attention to this place, I should give an acceptance speech."
Buzz—
Frieza raised his hand, and the light of the Mind Stone instantly amplified his mental power.
Through some indescribable cosmic broadcasting method, his voice, in that instant, crossed distances of light-years and exploded over every Planet in the Milky Way Galaxy that possessed a high-intelligence civilization.
"Good evening to everyone in the Universe." Frieza's voice was soft and elegant.
"I am Frieza."
"The future master of this starry sky, and your only creditor."
Frieza hovered at the top of Yggdrasil. Beneath his feet was the broken Asgard, and behind him was the vast white fleet.
"I am pleased to inform you of some good news."
"The Nine Realms, this region once held by that old fogey Odin, has now been officially renamed—Frieza Galaxy Development Zone No. 001."
"Every Planet, every grain of dust, and even every ray of light here is now my private property."
At this point, Frieza's tone suddenly turned cold.
"So..."
"If any of you here wish to visit this development zone for tourism, business, or simply to pass through, please be sure to go to Planet Frieza 001, formerly Earth's office first to apply for a pass and pay the full toll."
"If anyone dares to intrude without permission, or has any improper designs on my assets, Earth and Xandar's moons are the best examples."
"I believe you are all intelligent people and won't do anything to make things difficult for me, right?"
"Oh-ho-ho-ho..."
The laughter subsided.
The entire Milky Way Galaxy fell into a deathly silence.
Not a single civilization dared to speak up at this time, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
This was deterrence.
This was the prestige of the emperor of the universe.
Frieza withdrew his hand in satisfaction. Seeing the Fear Points on the system panel skyrocketing once again, his mood was at its peak.
"Not bad, this wave of advertising has been very effective. It seems I'm not far from unlocking the next form."
Just as Frieza was about to turn back to the ship to enjoy a massage from Natasha, a strange, suffocatingly massive sense of hunger suddenly came from the depths of the distant starry sky.
It wasn't ordinary hunger.
It was a greed and emptiness that seemed as if it would devour all things and chew up the entire Universe to swallow it down.
"Hmm?"
Frieza stopped in his tracks and turned around abruptly.
Those scarlet eyes stared intently at the void above Asgard.
The originally brilliant starry sky suddenly darkened, as if a giant black cloth had covered all the light.
Immediately after, two points of purple light, as dazzling as stars, lit up in the darkness.
Those were eyes—a pair of eyes large enough to overlook a galaxy.
Beneath those eyes, a giant wearing a purple helmet and dark red armor, whose size was beyond words, was piloting a circular ship larger than a planet, slowly breaking through space to descend into Asgard's orbit.
Galactus!
"So fragrant..."
An ancient, weathered voice, seemingly from the dawn of the Universe, echoed throughout the Nine Realms.
That voice was filled with uncontrollable appetite.
"Such pure energy..."
Galactus's massive head lowered slightly, his gaze locking onto Frieza, who was hovering over the ruins of Asgard. Or rather, locking onto the sea-like Ki within Frieza's body.
"This Planet... and this little speck..."
Galactus extended a palm large enough to cover a continent and slowly reached for Frieza.
"You look quite delicious."
"Since you're here, be my dinner."
***
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