On the battlefield, Soren saw only one opponent worth acknowledging, Corvus Glaive.
Through his system's appraisal, Soren already knew that among the Black Order, Corvus alone held an S+ rating.
If a single general ranked that high… then Thanos, who commanded such monsters with ease, must have long since surpassed S and stepped into a realm closer to EX.
The thought sent a rare tremor of anticipation, and caution through Soren.
Corvus Glaive felt the shift as well.
The Earth invasion's original script was to devour the defenders, save Soren for Thanos, was already ruined. Soren's power had derailed the rhythm of the battlefield, tearing open gaps in their control.
"Soren is mine." Corvus's voice rasped out, like air squeezing through a cracked bellows. "The rest, kill every last one who resists."
The other four generals exchanged nods. They understood the urgency immediately.
Splitting off, each descended toward their respective fleets, preparing for all-out engagement.
A short pulse of data leapt from the flagship… Soren has appeared. The situation is deteriorating.
Request the Master, urgently.
While the warning raced across space, Corvus Glaive dissolved into a streaming haze of black, ghost-like aura, drifting toward Soren with predatory intent.
Soren clenched his fist, purple destructive energy of the power gem's wrath condensed into a vibrating sphere.
BOOM!
A beam of pure destruction erupted, a pillar of purple annihilation screaming toward Corvus Glaive.
Most beings would have panicked, dodged, or thrown up defenses.
Corvus did none of that and stepped into the attack.
From within the black haze around him, the Peerless Blade emerged once more.
Strange runes crawled across the metal, glowing with murderous intent so sharp it fractured the space around him.
Shhhh!
A single arc of impossible brilliance cut through Soren's destruction beam, splitting it cleanly in two.
That attack contained enough destructive force to level mountains, yet Corvus had carved it apart like silk.
But even divided, the escaping destruction energy was lethal, its scattered waves tore into the black mist around Corvus, dissolving it in violent bursts.
When the purple beam finally weakened and faded… the last threads of Corvus Glaive's protective aura evaporated.
For the first time, his true form was exposed to the battlefield.
A ripple of shock passed through the watching armies.
The legendary commander of the Black Order, feared across galaxies… wasn't a man at all.
Corvus Glaive was revealed to be a walking skeleton.
Sharp, jagged bone spurs jutted from Corvus Glaive's skeletal frame, giving him a nightmarish appearance. His skull glared at Soren, completely stripped of flesh… nothing but bone remained.
Only his eyes burned with concentrated black light, two unyielding orbs that pierced through.
Soren's eyes widened as he took in the full truth of Corvus Glaive's form.
The black suit that had once armored him now hung in tattered strips, clinging to the skeleton like shadows of a memory.
But even in tatters, the fabric seemed to pulse with life or death. Countless blood essences had fused into the blackened cloth, exuding a sinister energy.
A low, grinding sound echoed as Corvus spoke.
"Jie… Jie… Jie… a powerful gem, long sought by my master… yet it lies in your hands. How amusing."
Soren's lips curled. "A pair of brittle bones, about to crumble entirely."
"Even the dogs of Earth would spit you out. And yet you dare speak so boldly before me?"
Corvus's skeletal form vibrated with fury.
The black light in his eyes flared violently, steam-like tendrils of dark energy whirling from every bone orifice. Rage etched across his very structure.
"When I kill you," He teeth grinding against empty sockets, "I'll see if your bones are as hard as your mouth!"
He unleashed the Peerless Blade, and a swirling black aura wrapped his entire form. The weapon slicing through the air as he lunged toward Soren in a tortuous, almost serpentine path.
Though the flight seemed chaotic, it cut across the battlefield with blinding speed, closing the distance in an instant.
Soren's gaze remained calm. The trajectory, the angle, the intended trick… everything Corvus tried to use to his advantage was obvious to him.
Ding!
The Peerless Blade's deadly swing suddenly stopped midair, halted by Soren's bare hand.
A guttural, horrified roar tore from Corvus, vibrating through the black aura surrounding him. The sound of the dead knife's frustration filled the air.
The unimaginable and indestructible artifact, the weapon that had carved galaxies, was now caught in the palm of a mortal body.
Even the strongest being in the universe would have hesitated to challenge such a weapon with bare hands. Yet Soren, empowered by the integrated power gem, held it firmly.
Every ounce of Corvus's strength, every desperate twist and tug, was useless.
"Your artifact… in my hand… is nothing," Soren said.
No struggle from Corvus could loosen his grip. The Peerless Blade now felt weightless in Soren's hand.