"The Time Stone!"
Doctor Strange glanced at Thanos's left hand.
"The Infinity Stones each possess tremendous power, and they complement one another. The Soul Stone strengthens the user's soul, allowing them to control more Stones. The Power Stone greatly amplifies physical power. That's why he's able to use the Time Stone to affect such an enormous area."
At that moment, not only had the fallen alien army risen again, but the wounds on Thanos's back and abdomen had vanished as well. Even his shattered armor had completely restored itself.
However, Thanos looked slightly dazed.
There was a trace of unfocused haze in his eyes.
Strange immediately caught that subtle detail.
Perhaps this was the key to victory.
"Everyone, Thanos can't keep using the Stones to influence such a vast area forever. He's missing the one Stone that can continuously replenish his mental strength—the Mind Stone."
"What do you mean?"
Steve controlled his shield like a pinball, knocking down nearby aliens while finding time to ask.
"The Mind Stone continuously enhances the user's mental power. Mental power determines how large an area the Stones can affect. In other words, the stronger the mind, the greater the range."
"Right now, Thanos only has the enhancement from the Power Stone. He lacks the mental reinforcement of the Mind Stone. The strain of controlling the other Stones will gradually erode his will."
"He'll become weaker and weaker."
Kamar-Taj possessed countless ancient texts.
From the Trinity of Vishanti to records of the universe's very origins, everything had been documented and preserved.
There were numerous records regarding the Infinity Stones as well.
As the Sorcerer Supreme, Strange naturally knew them all.
"By the time he wears himself out, we'll probably all be dead first!"
Scott shouted.
At that very moment, he was riding an ant directly toward an alien's eye.
With a punch, he smashed through the eyeball, entered through the front, and burst out the back of the creature's head.
"Ugh... I'm... gonna... puke..."
His entire body was covered in sticky, foul-smelling fluids.
He dry-heaved repeatedly.
"Exactly. Waiting for Thanos to exhaust himself is pointless. Better to take the initiative."
Always decisive, Valkyrie impaled three aliens in a single thrust, creating a grisly kebab before descending from the sky atop her winged horse.
The horse landed directly on an alien whose head had already exploded.
The Avengers quickly reached a consensus.
Moments later, they all charged toward Thanos simultaneously.
Their objective was simple:
Take the Infinity Gauntlet.
---
At that moment, Thanos was locked in fierce combat with Karl.
With five Stones in his possession, Power Stone energy flooded his body, causing his strength to surge yet again.
Combined with the Time Stone and Reality Stone, any injury he suffered healed instantly.
As a result, Thanos abandoned defense entirely.
Like a madman, he unleashed relentless attacks, forcing Karl onto the defensive.
Magic continuously shifted around Karl.
From Garuda's Wind Ripper to Dimensional Slash, he unleashed one devastating technique after another.
Under normal circumstances, even Thanos's father would have been carved into pieces by such an assault.
But the Time Stone was simply too powerful.
Every time Karl wounded him, green energy immediately covered the injury.
The next instant, the wound vanished completely.
---
"I know what you're trying to do."
"Don't even think about it."
Thanos seemed to have realized they were targeting the Gauntlet.
With a powerful slash, he forced Karl back.
Then all five Stones on his left hand lit up simultaneously.
"Ignorant Earthlings!"
"Witness the power of the Infinity Stones!"
Thanos roared.
Brilliant light erupted from the five Stones, forming a massive multicolored pillar that shot into the heavens.
RUMBLE—!
The clouds overhead were shredded apart.
The five-colored radiance transformed into countless particles of light that rained down upon the battlefield.
Each one entered the bodies of Thanos's alien soldiers.
"ROAR—!!"
The alien army immediately erupted into deafening howls.
Their bodies began expanding dramatically.
Like Hulks, they grew three or four meters taller in an instant, becoming massive creatures resembling living stone.
The situation on the battlefield reversed immediately.
The aliens had already been larger than humans to begin with.
Now, empowered by the Stones, they reached Frost Giant proportions.
Their claws grew sharper, like steel blades.
A casual swing carried the force of a heavy truck.
And those were only the ground troops.
In the sky, the already-enormous Leviathans swelled even further until they rivaled commercial airliners.
Their thick armor resembled fortress walls.
Their mouths, lined with jagged spikes, looked like forests of swords and blades gleaming with terrifying cold light.
---
"This is bad!"
Thor and Carol both looked upward at the same time.
Just in time to see Hulk plummeting from the sky.
The empowered Leviathan had thrown him off with ease.
Thor, Carol, and Wanda launched themselves upward simultaneously, unleashing their full power against the giant creatures.
But the Leviathans had become monstrous behemoths.
Thor's lightning felt like little more than a tickle.
Even Wanda's Chaos Magic achieved limited results.
Only Carol remained capable of dealing with them efficiently.
Just as she had destroyed the warships earlier, she could simply ram straight through a Leviathan and leave a massive hole in its body.
At that moment, Carol became the only reliable counter to the Leviathans.
---
"Everyone except Carol—focus on the ground forces!"
Tony skimmed low across the battlefield like a fighter jet.
Energy spheres composed entirely of lightning flew from his hands, bombarding the ground and exploding wherever they landed.
"We'll handle the big guys!"
Scott and Hope looked up toward the sky.
In perfect synchronization, they pressed the controls on their wrists.
The next second, two giant figures rose from the ground.
Dozens of meters tall, Giant-Man threw a punch directly at an approaching Leviathan.
BOOM!
The creature was knocked sideways and crashed into the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.
Hope immediately followed up.
With a powerful stomp, she crushed the Leviathan's skull beneath her foot.
Green blood and foul slime exploded outward.
Beneath the creature's corpse lay who knew how many crushed alien bodies.
"That's disgusting."
Hope frowned at the slime splattered across her foot.
After shaking it off, she immediately moved on to the next Leviathan.
---
Karl suddenly disengaged from Thanos.
Raising Judgment, he fired six shots at him.
"You deal with Thanos."
"I'll handle the Leviathans."
Hearing Karl's words, Wanda and Skye immediately descended from the sky.
Chaos Magic surged toward Thanos.
At the same time, Skye unleashed a wave of vibrations.
While Thanos was pinned by Wanda's power, she drove a punch into his chest.
She didn't even need physical force.
The vibration instantly transferred into his body.
His ribs shattered one after another.
The shockwave reduced his internal organs to mush.
PFFT!
Thanos spat out a mouthful of blood.
Fragments of bone and organ tissue mixed within it.
But the next moment, green light flashed.
His injuries instantly healed.
A cruel smile spread across his face.
His massive blade swept upward from below.
The attack angle was vicious and precise.
Skye had no way to evade it.
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