## Chapter 328: The Trap
Inside the spacious Command Room of the Sanctuary ship, a simple, black Throne stood. Thanos sat upon it, clad in golden Battlegear, his golden helmet placed to the side.
His silver-grey twin-bladed battle blade rested by his leg. The weapon, grotesque in appearance and possessing immense Destructive Power, still bore the Blood of the Kree on its Blade.
This purple-skinned, tall, and powerfully built Eternal Titan with a strangely shaped chin was looking up at the boundless Stars above.
But his Eyes were unfocused; clearly, his Spirit was not here. He was likely meeting with Death, whom he was infatuated with.
A figure of Light and Shadow appeared in the Sanctuary's Command Room at this moment.
"Great Thanos! The Precursors have been repelled by Earth! A new Guardian has appeared on Earth! The Precursor King is dead, and your Battle Beast Manufacturing Base has been destroyed!"
Corvus Glaive's Virtual Image appeared on the Sanctuary. He knelt on one knee towards Thanos, leaning on his battle blade.
Proxima Midnight stood on the steps below the Throne, leaning on a Long Spear that exuded a strong sense of Technology. A mass of dark Energy coiled around the tip of the Long Spear.
At the same time, Proxima Midnight secretly glanced at Thanos.
Anyone who knew Thanos well knew that he intensely disliked failure.
Now that Corvus Glaive had brought back the news of the Battle Beast Base's destruction, Proxima Midnight worried it would enrage Thanos.
Proxima Midnight was loyal to Thanos, but she also feared the Mad Titan's Strength.
A blue-skinned Alien Beauty wearing a white Cloak beside her seemed to notice Proxima Midnight's concern, but she said nothing.
Although they were both members of the Black Order, the woman and Corvus Glaive did not have much camaraderie.
Speaking of which, the reason the woman, Supergiant, joined the Black Order was different from Ebony Maw and the others. She did not join Thanos's ranks for conquest or slaughter.
Theoretically, Supergiant was one of Thanos's Adoptive Daughters.
She was picked up by Thanos when she was very young. At that time, all her relatives had died in a Calamity. Upon seeing Thanos, Supergiant begged Thanos for a merciful Death.
Thanos agreed, but on the condition that Supergiant must dedicate her Power to Thanos's conquest.
This was a twisted set of values, completely incomprehensible from the perspective of Earthlings.
But Aliens, their views on life and death were always different from Earthlings. This was a difference in Culture.
In short, because of the nurturing grace from childhood and the merciful Agreement of Death, Supergiant had no disloyalty towards Thanos.
Beside Thanos, Nebula, who resembled a mechanical construct, silently watched the woman in the Projection, her Eyes flickering.
Ever since learning that her counterpart in another Parallel Universe had betrayed Thanos, she had been looking for an Opportunity to prove her loyalty to Thanos.
Nebula, her hand on the Dagger at her lower back, looked at the red Figure in the projected Space, lost in thought.
As for Gamora, the Adoptive Daughter Thanos favored, she, like the Gamora in another Parallel Universe, chose to escape and seek a Method to deal with her Adoptive Father.
"A new Guardian!"
Thanos, stroking his chin, looked at Corvus Glaive with a Calm Gaze. Clearly, he was more concerned about the news of the Earth Guardian that Corvus Glaive had brought back.
Corvus Glaive immediately used the Quantum Communication Device to transmit the Battlefield between the Precursors and that Guardian to Thanos.
The Cosmic Overlord Thanos, seated high on his Throne, watched the Virtual Projection before him.
In the Pitch black Space, the Wreckage of several Starships was continuously disintegrating along with a red Figure.
Strangely, in the Vacuum Environment of Space, the Figure, seemingly enveloped in red Flames, passed through the Precursor Fleet and actually ignited the Warships one by one in the cold Space.
The blazing Wreckage of the Warships was like several torches in the Pitch black Space.
"Is this the Earth Guardian Corvus Glaive spoke of?!"
The red Figure, moving against the stream of Energy Particles fired by the Precursor Warships, destroyed ten Precursor Warships with overwhelming force.
In front of the Flames enveloping this red figure, neither the Freezing Ray, the Strong Magnetic Traction Field, nor the High Temperature Ray fired by the Precursor Warships could cause any damage to this red figure.
And facing the Flames released by this figure, the Precursor Warships' Energy Shields, hundreds of meters thick, seemed like paper, easily burned through. This kind of Flame was abnormally domineering. Through the Picture transmitted by Corvus Glaive, Thanos even saw that the Energy Shields themselves seemed to be burning.
Thanos did not know that in another World called Yan Fu, fire was divided into Innate and Acquired, each with its own wondrous use. Cultivators could only emit Innate Fire if they fortuitously encountered Innate Fire Qi, gained a Fire Root, and then refined it through various Opportunities.
In the terms of this Universe, Innate Fire was the Origin Energy contained when the Universe was created.
Innate Fire possessed wondrous Power, and also had the wondrous use of subduing demons, suppressing monsters, breaking evil, and executing monsters.
Acquired Fire originated from Suiren drilling wood in the Ancient Primordial Era and has evolved to this day, dividing into many types. Innate and Acquired each had their own wondrous uses, and it was impossible to say which was superior; it depended on the depth of one's cultivation base and Dao attainment.
The Drought Zombie's Natal Corpse Fire, although not Innate Fire, was extremely powerful. At its peak, it could burn rivers and boil seas, its Power far exceeding Heavenly Fire or Samadhi True Fire.
The Corpse Fire enveloping her Entire Body burned even in water, burned even in earth, and even more so when encountering metal or wood. As for the Vacuum Environment without Air, it was a minor matter for this kind of Corpse Fire.
This fire, upon encountering anything, was like adding fuel to the Flames. As long as a little bit was contaminated, it was like maggots on bone, inescapable. Even if an Immortal touched a little, their Physical Body and Nascent Divinity would all be refined, impossible to extinguish, with nowhere to escape.
Ten Precursor Warships, in just a few breaths, all turned into several blazing torches in the Universe.
"Domineering Flames, even I feel danger!" Thanos spread his hand. In his Palm, as large as a fan, lay an orange Gemstone.
"Heir to the Ancient One's Will, when you leave Earth, that will be the best Opportunity for me to obtain the Infinity Stones!"
Thanos clenched his Fist. The next moment, orange Radiance pulsed, enveloping him in a halo-like glow. Thanos closed his Eyes, sensing the Bearing of the other Infinity Stones through the Soul Stone.
The Infinity Stones could sense each other and borrow each other's Power. Back then, Loki, holding the Mind Scepter and using the Power of the Space Gem, opened a Space Gate, guiding the Chitauri Invasion of Earth.
Now, Thanos held the Soul Stone, and quickly sensed the Bearing of the Space Gem.
The next moment, accompanied by the Power released by the Soul Stone, a blue Space Gate opened out of thin air on the Sanctuary.
Thanos stood up, picked up the golden helmet from the armrest of the Throne beside him and placed it on his Head. He picked up his twin-bladed battle blade and stepped towards the blue Space Gate.
Behind him, Proxima Midnight, Nebula, and Supergiant led a team of Soldiers of the Black Order, following closely.
Among the Black Order, Ebony Maw was dead, and Corvus Glaive was far away on the Anteverse Planet. However, the few individuals accompanying Thanos were still dangerous butchers. As long as Thanos gave the Command, they could bring the joy of Destruction and turn Earth completely into Ruins.
The countless destroyed Planets in the Milky Way Galaxy proved they had this Ability! Thanos stepped out of the blue light door. What met his Eyes was a Human Base. The busy Humans around seemed not to have noticed their arrival.
In a Metal Instrument not far away, a blue-glowing Cube caught his Eyes.
Nebula, eager to gain merit, walked from behind Thanos towards that Cube, wanting to take the Cosmic Cube and hand it to her Adoptive Father.
Thanos swung his twin-bladed battle blade, directly blocking her.
"Father, I wanted to take it for you!"
"Don't you think it's too quiet here!" Thanos closed his Eyes, spreading his arms. His burly Body appeared so grim under the Sunlight. The next moment, orange Radiance shone around him, impacting in all directions.
Wherever the orange light passed, everything turned into nothingness. The vermilion Radiance extinguished, revealing its original appearance.
The Illusion constructed by the Reality Stone dissipated. Before Thanos and the others, it was no longer a Human Base. Where they stood was a piece of scorched earth. Around them, they were surrounded by "people," or rather, they were completely surrounded by a dense Demon Army numbering in the hundreds of millions.
Countless ferocious faces let out silent roars at them. And where the Cosmic Cube had been just now, it was no shining Cube at all. A Demonic Dragon was waiting there, its large mouth full of Sharp Teeth wide open, saliva dripping.
Nebula subconsciously looked back at Thanos. If he hadn't stopped her, she probably would have walked directly into the Demonic Dragon's mouth.
The Demonic Dragon, disguised as the Cosmic Cube, saw that it had been seen through. It used dragon language to spew filthy language at Thanos, who had ruined its plan. Spreading its Wings, it soared into the Sky.
Under the bloody sky, over a dozen Demonic Dragons circled, turning into over a dozen Black Dots.
Directly in front of Thanos, a lady wearing dark green Armor and with long black hair floated in the Air. A Chinese-style sheathed treasured sword hung at her waist. The sword hilt had a ram's horn Skull, and the black dragon-hide sword sheath was inlaid with various colored gemstones, looking extremely ornate.
Behind her were tens of thousands of the Army of the Dead wearing Asgardian armor. Unlike on the Nine Realms battlefield, the tens of thousands of Undead Warriors in their hands no longer held Asgardian greatswords, but Energy Rifles.
The Muzzles of the Guns in the hands of these Undead Warriors were held level, Aiming at Thanos and his group.
"Hela!"
Thanos looked at the Goddess of Death Hela before him. Clearly, he had heard of this woman who was as famous as his Goddess.
He looked around. Beside Hela was a slick-haired and pale-faced fellow wearing golden armor. It was Loki, who had once sworn allegiance to him.
Back then, Loki was exiled and sought him out. He gave Loki the Mind Scepter and sent his Subordinates, the Chitauri, to help him return to the Nine Realms.
He also made a promise that as long as Loki could retrieve the Space Gem, he would make Loki the King of Earth.
Clearly, Loki had betrayed his trust.
Behind this traitor, a group of Frost Giants carrying Ammunition Boxes and holding Gatling heavy machine guns stood in formation.
Loki, wearing a Crown and holding a Magic Dagger, showed a Smile on his face when faced with Proxima Midnight's murderous Gaze behind Thanos.
Unlike Thor, that muscle-bound brute, Loki knew perfectly well who his Backer was now.
Although Hela was not very fond of this so-called younger brother, Loki was eager to please her.
Even for this ambush targeting Thanos, he volunteered, leading a group of less than a thousand Frost Giants to assist in battle.
When he arrived in Hell, he truly saw what a Gold Tycoon his so-called brother-in-law was.
Just the Hell he had heard about during this time, his brother-in-law had Territory in three Hell Abysses, with countless Demons serving him.
The massive Metallurgy Workshop forged enough Weapons every day to arm all of Asgard.
His Frost Giants got a massive upgrade in Equipment.
Loki held the Magic Dagger, looking at the very few Enemies opposite him, considering whether to stab himself during the Chaos to gain credit by playing the victim in front of his brother-in-law.
He heard there was a Giant Abyss layer in the Hell Abyss. If his so-called brother-in-law felt pity, he might even give him a batch of Giants to replenish the population of Jotunheim.
"Buzz buzz buzz buzz—"
Beside Loki, the Ghost Rider, riding a Harley motorcycle, his Eyes burning with Hellfire, an Iron Chain wrapped around one hand, twisted the Accelerator with the other. The wheels rubbed against the hard Hell scorched earth, seeming ready to rush out the next moment.
Unlike Loki, Johnny's purpose here was simply to stop Thanos, this cosmic bully, from entering Earth.
Beside the Ghost Rider, Deadpool wiped his Twin Blades while his Eyes under his Hood kept darting between Proxima Midnight and Supergiant.
For Mr. Deadpool, he had not yet tasted the experience of an Alien Beauty.
In the Sky, Blood Angels with bloody Wings flew in one after another. Under the backdrop of the Blood Moon, the Sky was a hazy red.
"So this is a Trap targeting me!" Thanos looked at Hela, the leader before him, and asked in a deep voice!
Thanos realized that someone had used the Power of the Space Gem to change the coordinates of his Space Gate teleportation, redirecting the Position to this Trap.
Moreover, the Reality Stone was also in that person's hand. But who was the one who set up this Trap? Was it Hela before him, or...
"Eternal Titan Thanos, I have heard of you. I have killed many Rivals, but I have never killed a Titan!"
A hint of Bloodlight flashed deep in Hela's Eyes. She gripped her Right Hand and drew the four-foot treasured sword from her waist. The Sword Implement, which used the spine of a Hell Demonic Dragon as its body and was refined with ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Dead souls, lowered the surrounding temperature by over ten degrees the moment it was unsheathed.
Whoosh! A flash of Bloodlight, and Hela's figure had appeared above Thanos, stabbing towards his Chest with a Sword.
Thanos countered with a Blade, his twin-bladed battle blade clashing with Hela's Sky Demon Slaying Immortal Sword.
Clang————
As their Weapons met, a Shockwave instantly swept towards the surroundings.
Powerful Pressure erupted from Thanos's Body. Accompanied by a series of loud bangs, the scorched earth within a hundred meters of his feet instantly turned into Dust.
With a single Strike from the two of them, this piece of Hell scorched earth actually sank over ten meters out of thin air.
However, this also exposed the lines flashing with black light beneath the scorched earth. The giant hexagram Magic Array flickered with Radiance.
Seeing the Trap exposed, accompanied by the hundreds of Black Wizards hidden within the Demon Army chanting Spells in unison, black light flashed within the Magic Array. Accompanied by the piercing sound of ghosts crying and wolves howling, countless black Smoke Ropes emerged, wrapping towards Thanos and his group. More numerous were the white skeleton claws and skeleton arms rustling out from the Magic Array, frantically clawing towards Thanos and them.
Thanos swung his twin-bladed battle blade. The sharp Qi Energy directly tore apart large numbers of Skeleton Soldiers beside him.
Proxima Midnight swung her Long Spear. The dark Energy attached to the Long Spear also swept away large areas of these Skeleton Soldiers.
As for Nebula, Supergiant, and the Soldiers of the Black Order, they used Energy Weapons to continuously shoot at the Skeleton Soldiers emerging from the Magic Array.
Ordinary Skeleton Soldiers were completely Small Fry that a Powerful One like Thanos could crush easily. However, when there were many Small Fry, they were annoying enough. Batch after batch of skeleton arms emerged like an endless stream of leeks in the stock market, impossible to completely cut or kill.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, Thanos clashed hard a few times with Hela using his twin-bladed battle blade. Facing the skeleton arms clinging to his Body like scratching an itch, he lifted his foot and stomped. The entire scorched earth plain instantly shook.
Crumbling sound—
Large areas of skeleton arms were directly shaken to dust, turning into a pile of Dust.
However, within the Magic Array, more Bone Claws emerged in the blink of an Eye.
Thanos swung the twin-bladed battle blade in his hand. The battle blade erupted with countless Energy Fluctuations, aimed at the Magic Array flashing with black light, and chopped out with a single strike. The twin-bladed battle blade hit with a single strike. Accompanied by a cracking sound of Space tearing, Thanos's single strike directly smashed this Magic Array inscribed in Space to smithereens, finally stopping this headache-inducing Magic Array.
"Is this all your Trap has to offer?"
Thanos took off the several skeleton claws hanging on his Body, his battle blade pointing directly at Hela.
(end of chapter)