Chapter 2753: Star Core Rescue (Part 50)

"Alright, ma'am, don't rush, take your time." Shiler held the phone, speaking to the other side in a gentle yet firm voice: "Your child is fine, I promise you. No one can hurt him. You just need to tell me the content of your dream."

The coffee at Shiler's side was steaming, and there was another cup across the table, but the seat was completely empty.

"So that's how it is." Shiler nodded and said: "Ma'am, that existence called the Intermediary is a combination of chaos and order, representing the balance of chaos and order in the universe. So, you should know that he harbors no malice toward you or your child."

"As for that voice, since you have never seen him, the information we have now is too scarce to judge his identity for the time being. Don't be too anxious..."

"Yes, I promise you, the Intermediary is very powerful. He can use both chaos and order powers simultaneously, enough to protect the child in your womb. You will definitely be fine."

Hanging up the phone, Shiler rubbed his brow. He was finding the development of the situation increasingly difficult to understand. Shiler wasn't actually surprised that the Intermediary would come; it was highly probable that only an avatar had arrived here, coming to maintain the balance of chaos and order in this universe, and the key to maintaining that balance was the child in Lisha's womb.

Previously, Shiler had suspected that the guy who contacted Lisha in her dreams was Nightmare. It was very likely that Gaia had found the Intermediary after learning this information, asking him to protect Lisha in her dreams.

The only problem was, why would Nightmare, having nothing better to do, get involved with chaos and order? He wasn't the type of Demon Lord to meddle in other people's business.

Shiler knew that no matter which world's dream controller it was, they all had their unique aspects, so Nightmare should never be treated as an ordinary Demon Lord. However, his current actions made absolutely no sense, and it was hard to guess what he was aiming for.

Shiler ran through all the information on Nightmare in his mind again. This guy could be considered strong, and he could be considered weak. His highest achievement should be defeating the M-body of an abstract entity—that is, an avatar of cosmic abstract entities like Eternity or Death. Of course, he also defeated the Living Tribunal, but looking at subsequent performances, that was also just an avatar.

The strength of abstract entities maintaining the universe simply cannot be determined from their avatars. In comics, they are basically stepping stones that every new generation of powerhouses must pass through, which is why the meme "Invincible Thanos has fallen again" exists.

However, the fact that they have been killed repeatedly and still reappear proves that the strength of a dimensional avatar doesn't mean much. The key is the administrator permissions they possess; whoever can obtain such permissions is the one who has truly defeated them.

But so far, the vast majority of guys who have killed abstract entity dimensional avatars haven't shown the ability to wantonly modify the omniverse. People with this ability don't need to kill these avatars to prove themselves, so Nightmare's combat power is somewhat inflated.

Besides that, Nightmare's uniqueness probably lies in dreams, but the Nightmare Dimension is not like DC's Dream Realm; it doesn't connect all the universes within the entire Great World, it's just a separate dimension. So, obviously, Nightmare's control over dreams is nowhere near that of the Dream Lord Morpheus, and his status is naturally far inferior.

After thinking it over and failing to find a possible motive for this villain to suddenly contact Lisha, Shiler decided to put it aside for now. After all, the Intermediary and the Lords of Chaos and Order behind him were no pushovers.

Even if something really happened to this child, Shiler could still find a way to fish him back from the Death Realm. At worst, he would just have to make Death suffer a bit more.

Shiler picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. Just as he seemed about to open his mouth to say something, the phone rang.

"Hello, what's wrong? Are they finally willing to come back? So, who is the champion of the Turkey Arena?"

Hearing that name, Shiler smiled and said: "I guessed it was him too. When it comes to wanting to win, no one can beat Stark."

As soon as he finished speaking, the light from the floor-to-ceiling window behind Shiler was blocked. Accompanied by the buzzing of mechanical armor, Shiler turned his head, and Stark gave him a big hug.

Shiler laughed and said: "Congratulations on the win, although there's nothing to be proud of."

"He really has nothing to be proud of, because winning by playing dirty is not honorable at all." A red cape also landed outside the floor-to-ceiling window; apparently, Doctor Strange had come too.

Stark sneered, but as if remembering something, he revealed a big smile, crossed his arms, and looked at Shiler: "Do you want to hear about our experience?"

Shiler frowned politely. He knew that under normal circumstances, only a dog that had torn up the house would be this excited.

Shiler had no room to refute, and Stark wasn't there to ask for his opinion either; he just started talking on his own.

Although this was just a scheme by Nick to pull everyone away from Earth, the situation in Centaurus was indeed a bit tense. Both Earth and Asgard hoped to gain some influence in this lawless zone, so Stark and Thor went there with great vigor.

Of course, it was inevitable to beat up all the local forces, but the key was to show off their own martial power, so Stark and Strange got into a fight.

With Thor and Loki there, the two of them certainly couldn't actually fight. They barely exchanged a few moves, just to show the onlookers some special effects; that wasn't the point.

Let's put it this way: there are many people in the universe who can fight, and Earthlings are already famous for being able to fight. But no matter how well they fight, they are just the next Asgard. The scale of humanity is still far too small, so just showing off fighting techniques cannot bring enough strong deterrence.

So Stark and Strange made a bet: whoever found the Guardians of the Galaxy first would be the winner.

Finding people is actually a technical job. Although people always look down on street fighting and calling for backup, when it comes to the critical moment, it really depends on how many people you can call. This shows not just street fighting techniques, but true connections.

In a lawless zone like Centaurus, being good at fighting isn't really a skill. To put it bluntly, even if you wiped out this place, you couldn't fundamentally shake the cosmic situation.

Just like the Golden Triangle on Earth, who shot whom today, and who wiped out whose family tomorrow, it doesn't affect the international situation at all.

But if one day a major power issued a notice requiring a certain authority to actively cooperate, that would truly be earth-shattering.

So, having a backer here is the most important thing. Only by knowing which backer you can call can you fundamentally determine the outcome.

Of course, humanity's biggest backer is Asgard, which goes without saying. Stark didn't even need to call anyone; Thor came. But this civilization of Asgard has its own flaws, and its deterrent power is still insufficient.

The representative team on Strange's side mainly consisted of cosmic Demon Lords. Just think about it, the high-level members of the Sanctum Sanctorum basically walk sideways in the universe. Not to say they can ride on the heads of empires, but when the two sides meet, the three major empires basically walk around them.

Stark's representative team didn't have such a high level, but it gave these watching forces a more realistic sense, because he called upon those high-level civilizations that were the backbone of the interstellar alliance in addition to the three major empires.

For some reason, the vast majority of civilizations in the universe are technology-based. Even if they don't look much like technology in the end, they are ultimately not mysterious magical creatures, so they are all classified as technological civilizations.

Since they are classified as technological civilizations, it is hard to avoid dealing with Iron Man. Stark is considered the smartest human on Earth, but in reality, his personal intelligence is not low in the universe's rankings; basically, only Reed can compete with him.

No technological civilization is willing to offend such a smart person and scientist. Don't look at how Earth's technology isn't developing that well now; with such a figure there, catching up is only a matter of time.

Besides, precisely because Earth's technology hasn't developed that fast, this big shot can find time to offer some pertinent advice to our interstellar colonial factories and scientific research institutes. Even if it's not that useful, at least it's a line of thought.

Stark has actually been privately engaging in technical cooperation with these high-level civilizations. The technologies he uses on Earth now are indeed not needed by high-level civilizations; they have long since developed advanced versions. But this doesn't mean Stark can't research more advanced ones after getting high-level technology. When inspiration strikes, all beings are equal; even if Eternity wanders over, he can optimize the other party's code.

Besides, precisely because these civilizations developed early and at a high level, they are not an obstacle for Earth at all. For Earth's technology to catch up to them would take units of thousands of years; currently, there can be no conflict, and technical cooperation is mutually beneficial for everyone.

So these civilizations are also very happy to back Stark. It's business, after all, not shameful.

Both sides used all sorts of tricks. The cosmic Demon Lords began to infiltrate the real world through their own dimensions to find the traces of the Guardians of the Galaxy, while major civilizations notified their subordinate low-level units to cast a wide net.

In the end, of course, it was no surprise that Stark won, because it was Nick's assigned task after all. Although there were some problems midway due to Star-Lord's reckless probing, the group of Guardians of the Galaxy still successfully solved the trouble and found a very hidden tavern to drink in. Such taverns, of course, can only be found by those native galactic civilizations.

"You said you made a bet?" Shiler asked curiously: "Bet on what?"

Both gazes fell on Shiler. Shiler was a bit confused. Doctor Strange took out the Eye of Agamotto, and Shiler saw two small fragments floating inside, one a bit bigger, one a bit smaller.

"Someone was very busy a while ago." Doctor Strange said sarcastically: "Why didn't Nick fine you into bankruptcy on the charge of violating and destroying the timeline?"

Shiler's eyeballs looked left and right. He cleared his throat and said: "Ahem, I didn't intend to hide it from you guys in the first place..."

"Indeed, you just deleted the two timelines related to us and replaced them with a past you were satisfied with." Stark said, crossing his arms.

"Isn't this very good?" Shiler said: "The story between us hasn't been changed; everything is still as it was. Only the history of the mutants has been slightly modified."

"Yes, that was the case originally." Stark said: "But now I've won, so the timeline I possess will be put back. Long time no see, Shiler." ===== CHAPTER 2754 =====