"Father..."
This sudden address left Artoria stunned. From her appearance, this should be her daughter Mordred, but that Little guy should only be a large infant! How did she become such a young girl? Looking at that familiar face in her memories and that somewhat messy blonde hair, Artoria panicked slightly. Her fated nemesis had arrived! Had the Clarent already fallen into this girl's hands? Instantly, Artoria's heart tightened, feeling as though she were being watched by Death. It was a very strange sensation. If Artoria hadn't subconsciously controlled her actions, she might have attacked Mordred.
"She is indeed Mordred, she's just grown up a little."
Seeing Artoria's stiff expression mixed with disbelief, Gaea explained to her. However, her explanation made Artoria roll her eyes. Do you call this kind of growth 'a little'? If she didn't know Gaea was someone who liked children, she would have thought this woman gave Mordred some kind of hormone to make her grow from an infant to a teenage girl in such a short time. How could such growth put one's mind at ease? Artoria helplessly gave Mordred a check-up. The surging vitality indicated the child had indeed grown, but beyond that, Artoria found nothing abnormal. This truly left Artoria a bit helpless, but considering Gaea's identity, she set her concerns aside.
"I understand."
She gently patted Mordred's small head and pushed away the head the Little guy had buried in her bosom to observe Mordred's appearance carefully. This was the Mo-brat she was familiar with. She didn't know why, even in a world like Marvel, she could still give birth to this Father-pitting brat. Such a fated 'miracle' was truly terrifying. Artoria felt the threat of destiny, but this matter was still up to humans; as long as she raised this little girl to be different, it would be fine.
"For the child's future, I've decided to sign her up for a few hundred cram schools and etiquette classes. You'll agree, right, Gaea?"
Since this child was a warrior before, Artoria decided to cultivate her into a lady or a top student. Considering the flaws of the Little Mo in her impressions, Artoria felt this was an excellent idea. Thus, she took Gaea's hand with an air of doing it for the child's own good, to give her a better future. If Little Mo were still an infant, Artoria wouldn't have bothered thinking about these things. But now that she had become a teenager, she should endure the pressure of this stage! Skip elementary and middle school and come study high school subjects with Father. The child must have a complete memory of her youth. Since childhood memories can no longer be recovered, let her properly experience the academic pressure of youth!
"Of course, Artoria."
Hearing Artoria's words and seeing the 'complete sincerity' in her eyes, Gaea agreed without a second thought. This was for Mordred's own good, after all! Seeing Artoria so concerned about Mordred's education made Gaea very happy. Although she didn't believe those humans could teach Mordred much knowledge, since it was Artoria's arrangement, she decided not to interfere. She would leave the child's education to Artoria. The two smiled at each other, while only Mordred, who was in a state of ignorance, looked at her 'parents' with confusion. She didn't know what her Father meant—was he going to give her something good? Lacking human knowledge, Little Mo was somewhat expectant, completely unaware of Artoria's sinister intentions.
"My God, the experiment was very successful."
While Artoria was plotting against her little brat, she was completely unaware of the changes occurring in space. Thanos sat upon his throne, looking at the rows of green incubation tanks before him. An alien who looked like an octopus bowed respectfully to Thanos and reported on the experiment's progress.
According to the research on the skeletons brought out from Asgard, they had extracted DNA through instruments and cultured it with special nutrient solutions. Originally, they hadn't held much Hope, but they didn't expect that even though these individuals had been dead for a very long time and only skeletons remained, the cellular activity was surprisingly high and easily awakened. It was truly sigh-inducing; these skeletons must have belonged to very powerful warriors in life, with such vigorous vitality.
"The Asgardian Gods are not to be underestimated!"
He didn't pay much mind to the alien scientist's introduction. He was a scientist and philosopher himself; had this matter not been too simple, he would have done it personally. In the eyes of this alien scientist, such an experiment might feel like a 'miracle,' but in Thanos's eyes, it was inevitable. Even if the body turned to dry bones, the corpses of gods still held immense research value. The fellow before him spoke with a tone full of lamentation.
But Thanos believed this was an inevitable result. Everyone in the Universe had a subjective sense of the Asgardian Gods' combat power; even he didn't dare attack Asgard while Odin was present. Furthermore, they were all excellent warriors. Extracting the resilient cells from their skeletons made it easy to clone an Asgardian warrior, which demonstrated their powerful vitality. Looking at the head-sized embryos appearing in the incubation tanks, Thanos couldn't help but Marvel at their life force.
"Increase the dosage of the catalyst. I don't care how long they live, as long as they are alive before going to the battlefield."
After touring the cultivation process, Thanos directly issued a cold command. Yes, he was merely using these clones as cannon fodder. He didn't care at all how long they could live, as long as they could kill enemies on the battlefield. Just like the Chitauri, they were his cannon fodder. Since they were cannon fodder, they didn't need to live long; they just needed to be able to reach the battlefield and fire a gun. Thanos's command was issued, and the scientists under him immediately indicated there was no problem. Perhaps having been by Thanos's side for too long, these fellows lacked even basic morality and simply obeyed their 'god's' words.
"It's time to go to Earth and take the Infinity Stones from that group of sorcerers."
With these cannon fodder available, the shortage of troops caused by the Chitauri's previous defeat could be resolved. Next, he prepared to make a trip to Earth to take the Infinity Stones guarded by those sorcerers. Although there was no news of the other Infinity Stones for now, as long as he obtained one, he could use the vibrations emitted by it to find the others. Therefore, no matter what, he had to get that Infinity Stone on Earth. Thus, he ordered his subordinates to turn the ship toward Earth. He didn't know that the Infinity Stones he longed for had actually gathered together long ago and were controlled by a single person.
"I must fulfill my long-cherished wish."
Without returning to his throne, Thanos muttered to himself as he walked toward the place where his disobedient daughters were imprisoned. He was going to have another good talk with his daughter. He didn't expect her to understand his painstaking efforts, but he wanted her to know what'survival of the fittest' meant. Gamora had to participate in this battle on Earth. Even if she just watched, he wanted her to know the feeling of lives passing away on the battlefield, to once again temper Gamora's blade, which had rusted due to emotion.
"I suspect Father and Mother aren't dead at all."
While Thanos prepared to teach Gamora, Loki and Thor sat together in peaceful coexistence for the first time. Looking at Thor, who was still drinking, Loki voiced his suspicion with a smile. It couldn't exactly be called a suspicion; after all, he hadn't found his parents' bodies back then. Originally, with his cunning... cough! With his intelligence, he should have noticed immediately, but it seemed because Frigga used some other powers when casting her illusion magic, he hadn't noticed. After coming to Earth and seeing Thor, he began to think about the details of the matter and felt it was becoming more and more suspicious. In such a battle, it was absolutely impossible for there to be no traces at all. The more perfect an illusion, the more flaws it has; this was something his mother had taught him. After careful deduction, he arrived at this theory, causing Thor to stop drinking and stare blankly at Loki.
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