Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Thanos Attacks Midgard! Cybertron’s Interception!
Watching Wanda’s long hair slowly sink downward, Lorien couldn’t take it anymore. He collapsed back onto the lounge chair, gasping as he asked,
"Wanda, where did you learn that move..."
Mmhh—Wanda had no time to answer.
Instead, Gwen pulled out a book and said,
"Lorien, it’s here!"
Lorien turned his head to look. Sure enough, they had learned it from a comic book!
They were actually trying to use skills from the manga he gave them to defeat him?
Hmph, dream on!
He took a deep breath. Qi sinking into his core, steady as a mountain. The Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor had its own logic.
If the Yellow Emperor could be defeated so easily, how would he have ascended?
No—Lorien would not lose!
But what he didn’t expect was this—after Gwen closed the comic book, she immediately joined the fray!
Ah, this...
Lorien frowned. This was bad.
The two of them together were sucking away his strength like they had mastered the "Star-Sucking Skill"! One of them seemed to be messing with him on purpose, using the same move to drain him further!
"This is bad."
Lorien thought to himself that he was going to suffer. He had never expected the two of them to be so strong when they teamed up like this.
Their coordination was seamless, leaving him no chance to recover!
This battle... was doomed!
...
By the time night fell, Wanda and Gwen finally withdrew, sounding their victory. Looking at Lorien gasping for breath, the two were fully satisfied and went back to sleep.
Lorien rested on the lounge chair for a while. He gazed at the moon above, then at the stars scattered across the sky.
He still couldn’t understand it. How could it end in such a draw, a so-called "fifty-fifty split"?
Watching Wanda and Gwen’s figures retreating back to their rooms, Lorien felt it clearly—this was defeat!
The two women could go back to sleep as if nothing happened. If that wasn’t defeat, what was?
He realized this might be because he hadn’t trained enough. Wanda and Gwen’s new skills were too advanced—he had never encountered them before.
Damn it!
It seemed he would need to train harder from now on. This was a humiliation he couldn’t forget!
Just then—
"Ding~~"
Lorien’s phone buzzed with a message. He picked it up and saw it was from Natasha.
[Natasha: Cap just sent word in the middle of the night. Wakanda’s king, Black Panther T’Challa, has fallen ill.]
Fallen ill?
Wait.
Lorien froze. Wasn’t Black Panther supposed to die after Avengers 4? Why was this happening now, during the Avengers 3 timeline?
First it was Ant-Man. Now it was Black Panther.
This had to be... the result of multiverse chaos!
Lorien remembered—once the multiverse fell into disorder, timelines would unravel. And that was exactly what was happening now.
In other words... the multiverse had truly begun to spiral out of control!
[Lorien Su: Dead?]
[Natasha: Not yet, but he’s already in a coma, and the cause can’t be determined.]
[Lorien Su: And after?]
[Natasha: There’s some unrest within Wakanda. Cap has sided with Black Panther’s sister’s faction—along with the Winter Soldier.]
[Lorien Su: So...]
[Natasha: Yes. Cap may want to use Wakanda’s power to shift the world’s perception of superheroes. After all, Wakanda’s technology is a century ahead of Earth’s.]
Ah... this.
Lorien hadn’t thought that far. Why should he care?
But after hearing Natasha’s explanation, he couldn’t help but admire Cap.
This was what it meant to be a warrior.
To think of using Wakanda’s strength to turn the tide for superheroes—that was bold.
He typed back two words.
[Lorien Su: A true warrior.]
[Natasha: I think so too. Forget it. As long as Cap joins Wakanda, it means he’s essentially stepping down from the Avengers. Let him decide for himself. I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.]
[Lorien Su: Goodnight.]
After shutting off his phone, Lorien could now confirm it—this multiverse was truly in chaos.
Cap joining Wakanda? Wasn’t that basically an Oreo? How could that even happen?
This kind of plot belonged in What If..., not in reality.
But with Ant-Man’s strange discovery and Black Panther’s early downfall, Lorien was certain now.
The multiverse was broken.
And who knew what might appear next?
"Forget it."
Lorien looked down at his bull, still covered in lipstick marks. He snapped his fingers, cleaning it off.
Snap~
Then he pulled on his pants and muttered,
"Whatever. If there are beautiful women, I’ll chat with them. If there aren’t, I’ll slack off. Isn’t that perfect?"
If there were beauties, he’d enjoy their company. If not, he still had himself.
The end~!
...
At the same time.
In the depths of space, the Third Spiral Arm—the Orion Arm. This place could only be considered the outskirts of the Milky Way.
The cosmic mineral resources here were nothing special. Mining in this region was little more than scavenging scraps.
But in the next moment, three colossal flagships and countless warships began jumping in, one after another. In no time, this starfield was crowded with tens of thousands of ships of various sizes.
Still, there were only three giant flagships. Only a few hundred large warships. Yet this force was far from insignificant.
In the past, a fleet of this size would have been enough to grind down the three great empires—the Nova Empire, the Kree Empire, and the Skrull Empire.
Why? Because this fleet bore the name of the Thanos Legion. And its master was none other than Thanos himself.
He stood at the viewing glass of a flagship, staring intently at the Nine Realms’ Midgard—or rather, the Solar System. Behind him stood General Corvus Glaive, General Proxima Midnight, and General Ebony Maw.
Gazing at the three fully-manned legions he had brought, Thanos’ calm eyes carried a deep, unshakable obsession.
Seeing him lost in thought, Ebony Maw stepped forward.
"Lord Thanos, once we obtain the two Stones from Midgard, nothing will stand in your way."
Thanos raised his hand, looking at the single Soul Stone on his Infinity Gauntlet. During this time of expansion, the Stone had affected him more than he cared to admit. The greatest effect was on his will—making it drift and waver.
Sometimes he thought it best to kill everyone outright. Other times, he was tempted to go all in and wipe out every last living being in the universe.
The more he thought this way, the brighter the orange glow in his eyes became.
Closing them, then opening them again, the light dimmed somewhat. He fixed his gaze once more on the Solar System.
His voice was cold as he ordered,
"Have the fleet prepare for another jump. This time, directly to Midgard’s vicinity."
Ebony Maw bowed his head.
"Yes, Lord Thanos."
Soon, the entire fleet was ready, coordinates locked. Engines roared to life. The jump began.
The flagship led the way, tearing into the cosmic rift. But almost immediately, Ebony Maw’s face changed. He looked at the alerts flashing across the star map and quickly said,
"Lord Thanos! There’s a powerful jump disruptor near Midgard! It has thrown us far from the system—we cannot get closer!"
But the flagship had already entered.
Proxima Midnight snapped,
"Too late—we can’t pull back!"
Moments later, the flagship slammed into the barrier of the disruptor within the Solar System—then was forcefully expelled by spatial energy.
The entire ship shook violently, throwing everyone off balance. By the time it was pushed back out, several instruments were already damaged.
Proxima Midnight climbed to her feet, her voice filled with rage.
"How does Midgard have a jump disruptor?! That’s spatial lockdown tech! How could some backwater Midgard possess this? The Ancient One is long dead!"
While she raged, Ebony Maw glanced at the Solar System looming just ahead. Hovering briefly before landing again, he addressed Thanos.
"Lord Thanos, every warship will face the same barrier. Whoever installed this device already knows of our arrival.
I suggest we wait until the legion is assembled, ignore the losses, and march straight into the Solar System!"
As expected, moments later, the rest of the Thanos Legion began to jump in. Each ship collided with the disruptor’s barrier, only to be violently expelled by spatial forces.
But as more ships arrived, they began smashing into one another in the chaos.
"Boom! Boom!"
For a brief moment, space was lit with hundreds of silent explosions—like fireworks with no sound.
By the time Thanos’ entire army had arrived, they had already lost a full tenth of their forces—before the battle had even begun.
Thanos stared at the Solar System, Pluto right before his eyes. Because of a single disruptor, countless elite warriors were lost in vain.
He looked down at his gauntlet. If he had the Space Stone, none of this would have happened. They could have jumped straight into Midgard without issue.
Why had his army in Infinity War and Endgame been able to arrive on Earth so directly? Because Earth hadn’t possessed any jump disruptors—no defense, no warning systems. Thanos had come and gone as he pleased.
But not anymore. Not with Cybertron here.
And now, with one-tenth of his legion gone before the fight had even begun, the orange glow in Thanos’ eyes flared stronger than ever. He took a deep breath, his voice unnervingly calm yet carrying a growing madness.
"Attack Midgard."
Ebony Maw bowed and immediately relayed the command.
"Activate the warships! Target: Midgard!"
...
At that moment, on Cybertron.
As Thanos’ flagship triggered the Solar System’s spatial barrier, Cybertron immediately activated its emergency alerts.
In an instant, the planet’s surface raised a massive array of laser weapons pointing into space. These weapons were unaffected by atmospheric gravity, had incredible range, and each carried immense destructive power. They consumed vast amounts of energy, but did Cybertron lack energy now?
The technology to harness the power of the Infinity Stones had been developed long ago. Cybertron’s stores of infinite energy were more than abundant. What they lacked were precious metal resources—not energy.
At the same time, the Transformers legions stationed deep in the cosmos also received the order. Originally, only the Optimus Legion was supposed to return. But with countless warships crashing into the Solar System’s spatial barrier, Cybertron immediately summoned back both of its outer legions. The Decepticon Legion had returned as well.
At this very moment, the Stargate was receiving the legions one after another. Aside from transport ships assigned to offload minerals, none of the returning warships even required resupply. They flew straight into formation at the edge of Cybertron’s orbit.
Gradually, as more warships returned, the Elders and The Collector also arrived. Their warships took the lead positions at the front of the legions.
The Collector stared at the alert in shock.
"This is a legion assault. Which legion would come to the Solar System?"
Yes—who would send a legion to the Solar System? Even the Skrull refugees had only fled to Earth when they were forced, and otherwise, no one would come near it.
But this time, it wasn’t just a few individuals. Someone had brought entire legions.
Looking at the sheer numbers, The Collector muttered,
"This is at least three legions. Elders, we need to organize a counterattack. If they prove to be enemies, we’ll strike them directly!"
That much was obvious.
Onboard Cybertron’s 10,000-meter transport ship, all twenty Elders had already transformed into their star-destroyer forms. With the current power of their planet-buster cannons, it was no exaggeration to say most planets could be obliterated with a single shot.
In a short span of time, the Stargate continued to bring back fleets. The transport ships returned to haul resources, while the warships wheeled around, falling into formation and waiting on standby.
A vote was cast and passed unanimously:
"Detected hostile engines advancing into the Solar System. Annihilate their main core immediately! 1000:0."
No surprise—it passed without dissent.
Why? Because Cybertron had already deployed a spatial barrier around the Solar System. It was a clear declaration: entry into the Solar System was forbidden. Only those with approval would be allowed in.
This was Cybertron—the Transformers’ homeworld. And the Transformers would never permit any fleet to trespass.
If someone refused to warp in and instead insisted on forcing their way through with thrusters, there were only two possibilities. Either they came with hostile intent—in which case, they would be annihilated immediately. Or they were fools ignoring clear warnings—and even then, even if they were allies, they would still be struck down.
The Transformers would not forgive ignorance. Whoever entered would be attacked.
...
As time passed, Thanos’ three legions reached the outer Solar System and began moving toward Midgard—Earth.
But beyond Earth, there was another world. Once called Mars. Now it was Cybertron.
After a period of navigation, Thanos’ fleet drew close to Cybertron. Through the remote projection, Ebony Maw observed—and froze in disbelief.
His eyes widened as he turned to Thanos.
"Lord Thanos... the homeworld of the Transformers... it’s right next to Midgard..."
"What?"
Thanos, calm until now, could hardly believe his ears. They had searched for the Transformers’ homeworld for so long and never found it. And now, in this desolate corner of the universe, it appeared before them?
Why? Why would the Transformers place their homeworld here? Why not claim a high-resource planet? Why settle so close to Midgard?
Coincidence? No—it had to be deliberate.
The next moment, in Ebony Maw’s projection, a blinding light erupted from Cybertron’s outer defenses.
Ebony Maw reacted instantly.
"Disperse the fleet!"
At his command, the fleet began to scatter. At the same time, he asked,
"Lord Thanos, the Transformers’ civilization is right beside Midgard! If we attack Midgard, we’ll inevitably clash with the Transformers army!
Do we fight—or retreat?"
Corvus Glaive spoke immediately.
"Fight!"
Proxima Midnight shouted the same.
"Fight!"
But before the words had even faded, twenty blazing beams of light struck the fleet.
Boom!
In an instant, all three of Thanos’ legions were blasted back by the energy waves, and one of the three flagships vanished outright.
Seeing this, the orange glow in Thanos’ eyes flared violently. He gave the order in a deep, cold voice.
"Attack!"
At the same moment, the instant the Thanos Legion was detected, a single message echoed across every Transformer channel.
"All Transformers—engage!"
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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