A cruel smile spread across Thanos's face as he swung his blade upward toward Skye.
The angle of the strike was viciously precise, leaving her with nowhere to dodge.
Yet Skye showed no sign of panic.
She extended one hand along the path of the blade. The instant her palm touched the weapon, a powerful vibration burst forth.
The blade stopped dead in its tracks.
The violent oscillations rapidly destroyed the molecular structure of the weapon. With a casual swipe of her hand, the blade shattered into countless fragments.
Even Thanos froze for a moment in surprise.
Meanwhile, the effects of the Infinity Stones continued to empower Thanos's army.
Not only had their size increased dramatically, but their strength and durability had multiplied as well.
The already formidable aliens became even more terrifying, while the Leviathans had grown to colossal proportions, each one nearly the size of Thanos's warships.
As the balance shifted, the defenders' stamina began to run low.
Thor had already been buried beneath layers of alien warriors piled on top of him like a living mountain.
"Thor!"
Spotting him trapped beneath the swarm, Steve charged forward, smashing alien after alien aside with his shield.
At that moment, he noticed a faint blue glow flickering from the star at the center of his shield.
The shield even began trembling slightly.
"Steve, throw the shield!"
Fighting alongside Erik like a pair of hunting panthers through the alien ranks, T'Challa happened to see the glow and immediately shouted.
Without hesitation, Steve hurled the shield.
It streaked through the air and slammed into the mass of aliens surrounding Thor.
BOOM!
An invisible shockwave erupted from the shield.
Every alien within ten meters was blasted away.
The closer they were to the center, the more severe the damage. Those at ground zero exploded outright.
Steve himself stood within the blast radius, but his Vibranium shield absorbed nearly all of the force. He felt little more than a gust of wind.
RUMBLE—
Feeling the pressure around him suddenly vanish, Thor shot into the sky.
Lightning surged around him as countless bolts rained down upon the alien army.
But unlike before, these enhanced aliens could actually withstand his thunder to some degree.
Elsewhere, the situation was far worse.
Clint led the Wakandan soldiers in a desperate struggle against the advancing hordes.
Unlike the Avengers, most of the Wakandan troops had never consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb. They were still ordinary humans beneath their advanced equipment.
A strand of web shot across the battlefield.
Peter swung over carrying Felicia, both of them retreating from the front lines.
Peter himself was still holding up reasonably well, but Felicia's stamina was clearly running low.
The two began moving back toward the main force.
The tide of battle had shifted.
As for Karl—
While withdrawing from his fight with Thanos, he observed the battlefield around him.
Onion had already been summoned and was charging through the enemy ranks beside him.
Karl had never expected things to develop like this.
Without the Mind Stone, Thanos seemed even stronger than he had been in the movies.
"Those damn movies really screwed me over."
Karl cursed under his breath.
Movies were movies.
This universe was reality.
"You're up."
He muttered softly.
With a thought, the Cloak of Levitation flew from his back.
"Go help Gwen."
Karl pointed toward Gwen in the distance.
Like Peter, she relied on web-swinging and needed structures to anchor her webs. In this endless desert, her mobility was severely limited.
The cloak would change that.
Wanda and Skye could already fly, making the cloak largely unnecessary for them.
The cloak shot into the air and immediately settled onto Gwen's shoulders.
Then it carried her skyward.
"Onion, do whatever you want."
Karl tossed a Wild Herb toward Onion, who was busy tearing through aliens.
The beast snapped it out of the air and swallowed it in two bites before letting out a cry toward Karl.
Whoosh—
Karl took a deep breath.
The effects of Extreme Burst faded.
The magma-like glow beneath his skin receded, and the searing heat surrounding him disappeared.
Then—
A dark power exploded from his body.
The energy instantly spread outward, covering a hundred-meter radius in darkness.
"What is that?!"
Everyone's attention shifted toward Karl.
Even Carol in the sky and Thanos himself turned toward the center of the dark aura.
Among them, Thor was the most shocked.
He sensed something familiar.
"...This is..."
His eyes widened.
"Father's power!"
That's right.
Within Karl's darkness, Thor felt the unmistakable power that once belonged to Odin—the power of the king who had conquered the Nine Realms.
BOOM!
The darkness erupted.
Karl became completely engulfed.
The black mist rose into the sky, expanding higher and higher.
Soon, the heavens themselves seemed covered by a vast sea of darkness.
Then—
Two crimson eyes opened within the black clouds.
The moment those eyes appeared, the darkness unleashed its full might.
A tidal wave of pressure descended upon the battlefield.
The air itself became thick and heavy.
Whether Avenger or alien soldier, everyone felt as though a mountain weighed upon them.
Even moving a finger required immense effort.
Suddenly, the sound of a warhorse's neigh echoed through the darkness.
The black clouds surged forward like a stampeding beast and slammed into a nearby Leviathan.
The enormous creature exploded instantly, like an overinflated balloon bursting apart.
Then—
A black sword tore through the darkness.
A jet-black warhorse emerged, its heavy hooves pounding through the air.
Mounted atop it was a figure clad in pitch-black armor.
A dark sword gleamed in his hand with terrifying sharpness.
His entire body was covered by the armor, save for a pair of blood-red eyes burning with murderous intent.
"G-God..."
Thor's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
He felt as though he were looking at his father standing before him once again—
The All-Father himself, in the glory of his conquest of the Nine Realms.
But moments later, Thor rejected the idea.
The steed beneath the figure was different.
It possessed six legs instead of eight.
This was not Sleipnir.
Nor did the rider wield Gungnir.
Instead, he carried a jet-black sword.
So this could not be Odin.
And yet...
The power was undeniably the same as the All-Father's.
Of course, this was not Odin resurrected.
It was Karl's summon:
Odin.
Unlike the real Odin, Karl's summoned version wielded the Zanbato Iron-Slayer Sword and rode a six-legged divine horse, rather than Gungnir and the eight-legged Sleipnir.
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