Stepping through the portal, Noah, Thor, and the others arrived on the nameless planet at the very front line.
What Noah and Tony hadn't expected was that, the moment they arrived, a massive fleet of Kree ships and carriers was visible with the naked eye, rapidly approaching. This was a full-scale invasion.
The Earth-Asgard alliance showed no sign of weakness. Tony's ships hovered in formation, while countless mages, glowing blue or gold, advanced toward the enemy army.
"It seems this fellow intends to go all-out," Thor said, frowning. "Good. This has dragged on long enough; it's time to end it."
"Don't be careless," Noah said, tilting his head. "I'm afraid Thanos's helpers-or rather, the number of Thanoses-won't be few."
Indeed. The nine carrier-like ships leading the fleet confirmed that this would be no simple fight.
Noah turned to the mages on his side. Against opponents above the Tenth-tier, Wong and Mordo wouldn't have much room, but Strange and Wanda could handle themselves easily.
"Wong, Mordo, take the others and deal with the Kree. Everyone else, except Strange and Wanda, goes with you," Noah instructed. "The two of you come with me; you can handle these guys."
"But-" Wong frowned.
"Now is not the time to argue," Noah interrupted. "Your mission is heavy. Protect the young mages and human soldiers. Go all out. Once the Kree are dealt with, come support us. Understood?"
"We understand," Mordo said, holding Wong back. "We'll handle the Kree and then join you. Master Mages, follow me!"
Mordo's personality was double-edged: sometimes oppositional, sometimes completely loyal. In this moment, his reliability reassured Noah. Handling the fodder first allowed Noah and his group to focus on Thanos.
Having settled Wong and Mordo, Noah looked at Strange and Wanda. Neither showed fear-they were fully capable now.
With a smile, Noah opened another portal. They arrived directly at the front line. Thor led, arcs of blue-white lightning coursing over his body, the Power Stone integrated into Stormbreaker. He looked imposing.
"Thanos, come out!" Thor shouted, moving to Hela's side, targeting the Thanos carriers.
Soon, several Thanoses moved to the front. Tall, muscular, armored, wielding double-edged blades, their expressions calm-as if visiting Asgard rather than facing a battlefield. Some didn't seem to take the encounter seriously at all.
"Thor, Son of Odin, it's a pleasure to see you, though this isn't our first meeting," said the central Thanos, smiling. "We met years ago on Earth, though I did not show my face then. Some of my other selves have met you in various ways."
"To be honest, I didn't want to see you at all," Thor said, his eyes glowing plasma. Fat Thor mirrored him-combat mode fully engaged.
"Hey, guys." Tony ran up to Noah's side. The Avengers followed. "How could we miss something like this?"
"Oh? Tony, and the Avengers?" One of the nine Thanoses laughed. "You're truly annoying; you show up everywhere."
Noah calculated silently. All nine were Tenth-tier, but which had specialized skills or Infinity Stones was unknown.
"Die, Thanos!" Thor roared, radiating terrifying power. Noah sensed the energy of an Infinity Stone in his fluctuations.
Too reckless, he thought. He had planned opponent assignments, but Thor had charged. Fat Thor followed suit, targeting the Thanos he found most disagreeable.
"Fine," Noah sighed, spreading his hands. "Choose opponents if you can. Be careful, don't act suicidal, just hold them back."
He looked at Hela.
"Order the attack. I've already sent enough powerful mages. You watch-"
"No need," Hela interrupted. "I'll finish one quickly. Don't slow me down."
"Master, we're going too," Strange and Wanda said.
Noah nodded. He watched Tony and the Avengers charge out and sighed. None of them were obedient-but that didn't matter. As long as he moved fast, he could support them.
His eyes narrowed. He locked onto the Thanos with the strongest aura. A faint golden glow spread across his body.
"Thor, Son of Odin, hand over the Power Stone, and at least half the Asgardians will survive," Thanos said calmly-though the calm was a facade.
Silver lightning arced across Thor. Even Thanos felt its pressure. The aura made him reconsider his plan.
Thanos had intended to randomly eliminate half of all life-not half of each race, but across all life, meaning entire races could vanish. Previously, Earth had been spared half by a promise to Tony. Now, Thor was putting direct pressure on him.
"In your dreams, Thanos! Today, you die by my hand!"
Thor vanished mid-air, full power engaged. Clean kills were the only option against an opponent like Thanos.
Thanos swung his Tyrant Blade. Talk had failed; only war remained.
Both warriors were among the most powerful in the universe, excluding those beyond mortality. Their clash shattered the surroundings. Shockwaves tore apart nearby Kree and subordinates.
The sky turned dark-a literal darkness.
Countless mages, human soldiers, and Asgardian warriors witnessed, for the first time, the true scale of top-tier universal power. And this was only the beginning.