Upon hearing Thanos announce the beginning of a great war, Black Dwarf felt a surge of excitement.
Among the five Black Order generals, he was undoubtedly the most warlike.
Now that an unprecedented war was about to erupt, he could barely contain himself.
"My lord," Black Dwarf said loudly, "I request permission to lead the vanguard!"
Thanos did not respond. Instead, he ordered his subordinates to connect him with the rest of the Black Order.
Seeing Thanos's solemn expression, Black Dwarf opened his mouth to speak again, but in the end, he forced himself to stop.
This was not the time to act recklessly.
A moment later, projections of the five elite generals appeared one after another.
Thanos placed the Mind Stone aside and rose from his throne.
"A decisive battle is imminent," he said calmly. "I am issuing new operational orders."
Although they possessed Titan-class warships and thus held an advantage in firepower, the enemy outnumbered them by more than two and a half times.
Space warfare was entirely different from ground combat.
On a planet's surface, once troop numbers reached a certain limit, the battlefield became cramped. More soldiers did not necessarily mean greater effectiveness.
But space was different.
Space warfare was a true three-dimensional battlefield.
Enemies could appear from above, below, in front, behind, or from any angle at all.
And the universe was vast beyond measure—tens of thousands of ships could be deployed without restraint.
Thus, while Titan-class warships were powerful, they were not decisive on their own.
At Thanos's level, tearing apart a Titan-class ship with his bare hands was not impossible.
He believed Odin was the same.
Following his orders, the Obsidian Five began moving toward their designated positions.
Thanos himself led 2,500 ships and remained stationed where he was.
…
On the other side of the Milky Way.
Fully armored and gripping the Spear of Eternity, Odin stood in the command chamber of an Asgardian warship, coldly watching the scene projected before him.
Displayed on the screen was Thanos's Titan-class flagship—Sanctuary II.
Anyone seeing Sanctuary II for the first time would be deeply shaken.
Odin was no exception.
He had never imagined that, in just a thousand years, the outside universe's technology could advance to such a level while the Milky Way remained sealed.
To construct a ship of such scale…
How did it even solve its propulsion problem? How did it manage gravity control and interstellar jumps?
Behind him, Thor's eyes burned with excitement.
"Father," Thor said eagerly, "are these our enemies? They look formidable."
Though he had matured after his time on Earth, his love of battle remained unchanged.
At that moment, he was already calculating how long it would take for Mjolnir to smash such a massive ship apart.
Odin did not answer.
Instead, he was thinking how wasteful it would be to destroy such a vessel.
If possible, he wanted to take it intact.
Seeing Odin remain silent, Lady Sif, standing beside Thor, spoke up.
"Prince Thor," she said with a smile, "wouldn't it be better if we captured it and played with it?"
After speaking, she looked at Thor with deep affection.
Although she knew Thor had no romantic feelings for her, she refused to give up.
After all, this was the future king of the galaxy.
Even if she could not become his queen, being at his side would still be an honor.
Thor's eyes lit up instantly.
"Yes!" he said excitedly. "We mustn't destroy it. I want to bring it back."
At once, the Warriors Three joined in.
"Only a ship like that suits Prince Thor's status."
"I'll charge first—don't think about stealing my credit."
"What are you talking about? Whoever reaches the control room first wins."
For a moment, the Asgardian warriors seemed to believe the enemy flagship already belonged to them, arguing over future merits.
Odin merely smiled faintly.
He did not interrupt them.
Because he sensed that this war would not be so simple.
Letting these hot-blooded warriors take the lead might not be a bad thing.
Just then, the warship suddenly shook violently.
Everyone staggered, then quickly regained their footing.
A valiant female Asgardian stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"God-King," she reported, "we have left orbit and are currently ten light-years from the target. One more space jump will bring us into combat range."
Space orbits were fixed structures every major power installed within their territory.
Performing a space jump required enormous energy to tear through space and enter subspace.
However, when jump points were fixed between two locations, energy consumption was greatly reduced, sparing the ship's own reserves.
They had used a space orbit to approach the enemy and planned to jump directly into battle.
Odin nodded.
"Captain Lucy," he said, "begin the space jump."
Lucy saluted and turned to carry out the order.
As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise.
Though Odin was the God-King, commanding warships was not his specialty, so he entrusted such matters to his subordinates.
Lucy was one of the few Asgardians who had earned her captaincy through battle merit and strength.
Odin trusted her completely.
But only moments later, Lucy returned, her expression troubled.
"God-King," she said carefully, "the space here appears to be sealed. We cannot initiate a space jump."
Odin frowned.
"We're still ten light-years away," he said. "How could space already be locked?"
Lucy shook her head.
"They may possess methods of remotely sealing space—technology we don't yet understand."
Odin narrowed his remaining eye, deep in thought.
It seemed the Milky Way had been isolated for too long.
After this war, perhaps it truly was time to reconnect with the wider universe.
At that moment, Thor spoke impatiently.
"If space is sealed, then increase the energy output and break through it."
In essence, a space jump meant tearing space apart, while sealing space meant reinforcing the spatial barrier.
Thor's idea was not wrong.
With enough energy, the blockade could indeed be broken.
However, when Lucy looked at Thor, a trace of disdain flashed through her eyes—quickly hidden.
"Prince Thor," she said tactfully, "if we consume too much energy now, we may not be able to restore our reserves in time. If the enemy ambushes us, we could be left without shields."
That was already a very polite way of putting it.
If their shields failed at the wrong moment, it wouldn't be bravery—
It would be suicide.
.....
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