Chapter 739

Who is stronger, Thanos or Hulk?

In Marvel, there is a very complete stacking theory for comparing combat power, but it still depends on both parties' conditions.

Right now, Thanos doesn't possess the Infinity Gauntlet, and the Dark Dimension—his domain—has not reached its peak.

He didn't bring a ship, no war vehicles, not even a single subordinate—just himself, alone, because he'd been enraged twice to the point of nearly suffering a stroke; his tactical mind wasn't clear, and his anger had robbed him of part of his reason, so his combat power was severely diminished.

But similarly, although Hulk is Haocheng invincible in strength and has revealed even greater potential in later stories, right now he's already vented some of his anger by smashing planets, and if his anger isn't sufficient, his power weakens too.

Neither is at peak condition, so it's hard to say who's stronger—but one thing is certain: both of them now really want to punch someone.

After transforming, Hulk stands about 2. meters tall; Thanos is about 2 meters. Two giants—one purple, one green—collide, and the force they unleash makes the fabric of space itself tremble.

They've started fighting, but the other four have appeared in nearby space. Strange squints at the battlefield and asks: "What's going on? Who is Hulk fighting?"

Right now, the two are evenly matched, and Thanos even has a slight edge—but precisely because he can't win, Hulk grows angrier.

Anger is his stimulant; every blocked attack fuels his rage further, and soon Thanos realizes the green creature before him is growing stronger with every strike.

But Shearer knows better: once Hulk reaches the peak of his rage, he stabilizes into a state commonly called "Green Shang." In this state, Hulk is extremely powerful—and without the Infinity Gauntlet, without troops or army, Thanos is in serious trouble.

"Are we just going to watch them fight?" Charles frowns. Stark shakes his head. "Don't worry. Venom says the purple guy is an Eternal Titan—he seems to take a beating well."

"No, I'm worried about Banner. I fear he's in danger." Charles leans forward, his face full of concern.

"Calm down, Professor. Hulk hasn't had such a good punching bag in a long time. The more anger he vents, the better his mental state becomes." Shearer nods.

So the four of them settled in comfortably to watch the show.

Close-quarters brawling always carries a primal, wild beauty that spikes adrenaline. Though their fight lacks technique, every punch lands with bone-crunching impact—it's incredibly satisfying.

"I should upgrade my Hulk-slaying armor," Stark crosses his arms. "The more violent the attack, the more it fuels his rage and makes him stronger. Direct confrontation isn't a good choice."

"Believe me, if you try to go toe-to-toe with him, one day you'll regret it." Shearer pats his shoulder.

Just then, Thanos lunged again, punching Hulk in the side of the face—but Hulk merely tilted his head slightly, then spun and landed a left hook that sent Thanos flying.

His condition was nearing peak, and the weakened Thanos finally regained a sliver of sense: Why the hell was he engaging this green behemoth in close combat?

Realizing this, he quickly retreated, aiming to counter Hulk with ranged attacks. He extended a hand, gathering energy in his palm, and fired a blast that sent the leaping Hulk flying.

"I'll help him," Stark says. "Hulk has no ranged options—he needs someone to keep him distracted from afar."

As he spoke, Venom carried him into the fray. Thanos, of course, hated Venom more than anyone for shitting on his palace. Without hesitation, he switched targets and focused entirely on Stark.

Hulk kept roaring, trying to reach Thanos, but each time he was repelled. And because he'd maintained extreme emotion for too long, his mental state began to decline, and so did his power.

Perhaps Hulk's consciousness was weakening, and Bruce Banner's rationality was gradually returning.

In the brief moment of transition—when the Hulk hadn't fully reverted to human form but Banner's mind had already taken control—he perceived the battlefield's situation.

Unlike the mindless Hulk, Dr. Banner possessed exceptional intellect. In that single second, he judged: the purple giant was his enemy, and without Hulk, Stark might be overwhelmed.

Realizing he was too far from his target, Banner-controlled Hulk instantly pulled out a ring.

He gripped it in his hand, swung his arm in a full circle, his motion leaving afterimages, and with the last of Hulk's immense strength, he hurled the ring with a "whoosh."

As Hulk's figure slowly shrank, the ring tore through the silent night sky with unmatched speed and power.

At that moment, Thanos was fully focused on Stark. His tendrils were relentless—attacks came from every angle, his defense flawless, leaving Thanos feeling helpless.

Venom had stolen vast amounts of energy; the symbiote's biomass was beyond imagination, nearly replicating the terrifying black tide of the Bat-Monster. Several attacks nearly knocked Thanos off his feet.

Thanos had to concentrate entirely on Venom, so he didn't notice a ring the size of his own head hurtling toward him at terrifying speed.

But Stark, facing him, had seen it. Venom and he shouted in unison: "Move!"

Stark instantly dodged. "Boom!" The ring slammed into the back of Thanos's skull.

Right before Stark's eyes, Thanos slowly collapsed. Strange and Professor Charles arrived. Charles said: "Based on my brainwave readings, he's unconscious."

Shearer looked at the ring on the ground. He snapped his fingers, and it returned to his head. Then he began scanning the ground, muttering: "Where's the weapon? Why can't I find the weapon?"

"Since there's no weapon, this must've been an accident. Let me check… He probably suffered a neurological seizure and collapsed suddenly. What do we do now?"

Stark rolled his eyes. "Stop joking. Think about how we're going to deal with him."

"Forget that for now. Venom—give him two more punches!" Shearer ordered. Venom immediately enveloped Stark's body in symbiote slime, walked up, and "Bong! Bong!" delivered two solid blows to the back of Thanos's skull.

"Ow! My hand!" Stark cried. "Damn it, how is this guy's skull so hard?"

"I told you—he's a Titan," Venom shook his arm. "My strength isn't enough. He won't stay out long."

"Not enough strength?" Shearer narrowed his eyes, then called out: "Dr. Banner! Dr. Banner! Are you there? Professor Charles, please bring Hulk back out—give him two more punches!"

"This…," Professor Charles hesitated, troubled by his moral standards. He felt it was dishonorable to attack a downed opponent.

But then Stark spoke: "This guy came here targeting the Solar System. He probably has spies on Earth—we need to go back and investigate."

"But we can't leave him here," Strange insisted. "With his physiology, he'll wake up in under two minutes."

"Fine, I'll call Hulk back," Professor Charles said.

A moment later, Hulk's roar echoed again through space. Venom grabbed Thanos by the feet, spun him twice in a full circle, then hurled him straight at Hulk.

Hulk, who'd been desperate for a toy, lunged forward with an uppercut, successfully extending Thanos's unconscious state for several more seconds.

Normally, Thanos wouldn't be this easily subdued. But Hulk's attack was a cowardly ambush, wielding a brick—the hardest object in the universe—and swinging it with full force. Even with Hulk's strength plus the ring's durability, it could barely knock Thanos out for one or two minutes. This skull hardness far exceeded "hard-headed."

But Hulk seemed to have developed a taste for it. He threw punch after punch, and Thanos flew through the air like a punching bag. If this were a fighting game, it would be called "full air combo, no ground touch, total KO."

Shearer only wanted to teach Thanos a lesson—to stop eyeing the Solar System. He had no intention, like ordinary transmigrators, of making defeating or killing Thanos his ultimate goal. In fact, if Thanos hadn't been obsessed with destroying Earth, Shearer thought he'd be a decent partner.

Even if Thanos constantly wanted to destroy Earth, Shearer had no plan to kill him—at least not until he'd fully exploited his remaining value.

In his view, Hulk couldn't kill Thanos—after all, it was just fists. Thanos would likely wake up soon and flee.

But clearly, he'd underestimated both Hulk's strength and the hardness of the ring on his head.

When the ring struck Thanos, he appeared merely unconscious—but in reality, he'd suffered a concussion. At that moment, he hadn't had time to channel enough energy to protect his brain. Faced with such a powerful impact, his brain had been shaken and damaged.

If he lay still in a safe place, using his self-healing ability, he'd recover fully in minutes. But first, Venom gave him two punches, then Hulk kept unleashing endless combos—so he never woke up.

Each time he began to regain consciousness, the concussion-induced dizziness would seize him again—right before another punch.

Thus, Thanos was trapped in a loop of brain injury and repeated blows, unable to escape.

Quantity becomes quality. Any humanoid being struggles to endure multiple brain impacts—especially when the attacker isn't ordinary, but Hulk, famed for his strength.

Then Hulk landed another punch on Thanos's skull—and this one was the final straw. Thanos died.

But in this universe, death is not the end. Thanos's soul would journey to the Realm of Death.

Normally, Thanos was blacklisted by the Realm of Death—he couldn't enter, so he couldn't truly die.

But earlier, Death had temporarily lifted his blacklist because she wanted Thanos to bring Shearer to her. That meant Thanos could now enter the Realm of Death.

And Thanos's arrival coincided perfectly: recently, Deadpool had been busy, Shearer's order had dragged on, and Death had been in a foul mood, unable to meet him. But the couple couldn't bear separation too long—they reunited, and their reunion was sweeter than new love.

Just as they were whispering sweet nothings, caressing each other, on the verge of the final step, suddenly, a "thump-thump-thump" echoed at the door.

Death frowned, gently pushed Deadpool away, and said: "Wait a moment, darling. A troublesome visitor's here…"

"Oh, go ahead, my love. I know you're a career woman. I'll wait right here until you're free. Bop-bop-bop-bop-bop-bop-bop…"

They tangled a bit longer, and finally Death broke free, stepping into the palace's back garden. She expected to see Thanos and Shearer together—but only Thanos stood there alone.

Entering the Realm of Death, Thanos finally snapped out of his daze. Seeing the goddess he'd longed for before him, he didn't hesitate—he rushed forward and embraced her.

Then, a furious voice echoed through the Realm of Death:

"Get out!

!

!"

Instantly, Thanos's soul was kicked out of the Realm of Death—and he revived.

But resurrection only restores life, not healing; when Thanos's soul returned to his body, his brain was still damaged, so he remained dizzy.

And facing him again was Hulk's fist, as big as a sandbag—punch after punch, after thirty-plus consecutive hits, Thanos died again.

His soul once more journeyed to the Realm of Death, but by then, Death and Deadpool had already reached the final step of the final step.

"Thud thud thud!"

The annoying knock came again; Death snapped, "Get out!"

"!"

Thanos revived again.

After reviving, he was still dizzy, still hit with the uppercut combo, still met the same familiar death.

And at this moment, Death and Deadpool were truly at the final step—right at the most urgent moment—the knock echoed once more through the Realm of Death:

"Thud thud thud!"

"!"

""

"Get out!"

"!"

"Thud thud thud!"

"!"

"Get lost, you bum!"

"!"

""

"Thud thud thud!"

"!"

"Thanos!"

"!"

Thus, Thanos was repeatedly killed, repeatedly arriving in the Realm of Death, forcing Death to drop everything and repeatedly kick him out.

After this process repeated dozens of times, Death finally reached his limit.

In the Eternal Temple, the Eternal was cleaning his temple when suddenly he heard a knocking sound: thump-thump-thump.

Then, a voice, shattered and plaintive, echoed through the Eternal Temple:

"Eternal!

!

Someone is harassing me!

!

!"