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[Start of the chapter]
The Chitauri were incredibly unlucky.
They ran into that freak Karl.
Even if Thanos's flagship had shown up here, the outcome wouldn't have been much better.
Now it was only a bunch of Chitauri—what could they possibly do?
The moment Karl made a move,
the sheer power he displayed drove the Chitauri to collapse.
And so, the Battle of New York came to an end because of this.
The Chitauri who had been fleeing across the ground were all sprawled on the pavement, completely unable to move.
New York City was also close to half-destroyed.
Nearly half the city had become a sea of fire—wreckage everywhere.
To Thanos, this was only a test.
But to humanity—
this was a day burned into their bones.
Close to more than three million people died in this war, and the economic losses amounted to several trillion dollars.
And that was with Karl taking action, with the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj giving everything they had to help.
If the sorcerers hadn't preserved the streets around the Sanctum, the losses would have been even worse.
In many people's eyes,
the Battle of New York was just a battle.
But for many others, it was unforgettable.
Why did the Avengers hate Thanos down to the marrow?
Anyone who hasn't lived through it will never understand.
Fortunately, with Karl there, New York's losses were far smaller than they could have been.
So the members of the Avengers were extremely grateful.
However—
when they tried to find Karl, they discovered they couldn't.
Even those sorcerers had vanished without a trace.
On the Helicarrier, Nick Fury finally managed to let out a breath.
But his expression still looked terrible.
Not only because New York was nearly destroyed—
but also because of the appearance of Karl and the sorcerers.
S.H.I.E.L.D. claimed to monitor Earth and investigate all enhanced individuals.
Yet—
they had known absolutely nothing about such a powerful faction?
Especially Karl.
That kind of terrifying power—
just thinking about it made Nick Fury's mind tremble, even his hands shaking.
He was a Level 10 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent—someone who wouldn't change expression even if a mountain collapsed in front of him.
Yet now, even his body was trembling.
That alone showed how badly he had lost his composure.
He was deeply anxious.
A powerhouse like that appearing on Earth might seem like a good thing—but what if one day he decided to do evil?
Wouldn't Fury be completely unable to stop him?
To Nick Fury, that was utterly unacceptable.
Don't be fooled by the way Nick Fury seemed cold and ruthless, trusting no one, always hiding things and keeping secrets.
When it came to protecting Earth, he put his life into it.
Under these circumstances,
Nick Fury couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Karl, however, had no idea.
His appearance had brought massive changes to this world.
And those changes didn't only affect the people of Earth.
There was another person who had also learned the name "Karl."
That person was Thanos.
Thanos was absolutely a crafty old fox.
Even while the Avengers still had no intelligence on him, he had already seen straight through every one of them.
With Karl this strong, how could Thanos possibly not investigate?
In fact, at this very moment, a screen in front of Thanos kept replaying a scene.
It showed Karl casually waving his hand and blowing a starship apart.
That overwhelming power—
even Thanos couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching as he watched.
Since when did Earth produce a force like this? And a powerhouse like that?
This level of power was probably on par with Ebony Maw.
The key problem was that Karl had too many methods—layer after layer without end—so even for Thanos, dealing with him would be troublesome.
Don't be fooled: Thanos had strength at a pseudo–Skyfather level. On the ground, he was an invincible existence.
But he didn't know magic.
Like Hulk, Thanos was pure physical might—no other abilities.
Before he had the Infinity Stones, his options were extremely limited.
Now—
seeing the messy, ever-changing, endlessly emerging methods Karl had at his disposal, Thanos's expression naturally grew very ugly.
Staring at that starship that had been blown apart, the corner of Thanos's mouth kept twitching—clearly he wasn't as calm as he looked.
Bang!
Unable to restrain himself, Thanos slammed his right fist down.
A tremendous force instantly became a shockwave, and the throne beneath him shattered by nearly half.
Below him, Ebony Maw—
thump—
dropped straight to his knees.
"Thanos-sama, it is this subordinate's incompetence."
Ebony Maw lowered his head as he spoke.
"Hmph."
"This has nothing to do with you. I didn't expect a tiny little planet like Earth to have something like this."
"Power already at this level."
"Even you of the Black Order—compared to them, it's only a small gap."
"The Chitauri's failure is normal."
Thanos stood up.
He clenched his hands—
his knuckles crackled like beans bursting in a pan, showing just how terrifying his flesh-and-blood strength was.
But at this moment,
Ebony Maw had no mood to pay attention to that and asked,
"Thanos-sama, what should we do?"
"The Chitauri failed, so our route to scheme for the other Stones is cut off."
"Wait."
Thanos answered blandly.
"Wait?"
Ebony Maw froze.
"That's right—wait slowly."
"We'll find an opportunity."
"A force like this suddenly appearing on Earth means it's almost impossible for us to move again."
Thanos said coldly.
"We need to wait for the right chance."
"As long as we wait until the timing is sufficient, we can launch with the full army and wipe them out."
"Great Thanos-sama, what exactly are we waiting for?"
Ebony Maw asked.
"You'll know when the time comes."
Thanos cast a light glance at Ebony Maw.
Ebony Maw only felt a chill in his heart. He immediately shut his eyes and didn't dare speak again.
In Thanos's eyes, cold light surged.
What he was waiting for was Odin's death.
The title "Sorcerer Supreme" was indeed famous, but Thanos didn't know it.
Otherwise, he would definitely have guarded against Kamar-Taj.
But—
the name Odin, he did know.
Thanos wasn't young.
In the universe, he had been around for thousands upon thousands of years.
Naturally, he had seen the era when Odin waged war across the cosmos.
He also understood that Odin's strength was not something he could challenge right now.
Not to mention that there was a freak like Hela.
But Thanos knew many secrets.
Odin's lifespan was already nearing its end.
He only needed to wait patiently.
Eventually, he would find this chance.
"Karl!"
"The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj!"
"I didn't expect a remote little planet to have such a powerful force—truly unbelievable."
"But once I obtain the Infinity Stones and my army appears on Earth—"
"Even Kamar-Taj will fall before my overwhelming power!"
A cold gleam flashed through Thanos's eyes.
Tyrannical power surfaced.
Even the air around him was trembling.
(End of Chapter)
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