Recently, Karl had been living quite well on Earth.
But some people were doing far less well.
One of them was Thanos.
Last time, after listening to Dormammu's persuasion, Thanos had gone straight to Earth, deep in Svalbard.
What he had not expected was that Karl's strength would so greatly exceed his estimates.
One man against both him and Dormammu, yet Karl had still not fallen behind.
To win, Thanos had paid a grievous price.
The Dark Power Dormammu had left inside his body still had not been completely purged, even now.
Not only that, the army he had built up over many years had been nearly wiped out in a single battle.
Only a few stragglers remained aboard the mothership, nowhere near enough to be useful.
Perhaps the only thing worth taking comfort in was that the Black Order had not died and still remained loyal to him.
Looking at the black markings on his skin, Thanos felt fury burning in his heart without end.
Crack!
Thanos crushed his throne once again, no longer retaining even the slightest composure of a cosmic overlord.
Only after half a day had passed did Thanos finally calm down.
"Dormammu really deserves to die!"
Thanos roared inwardly in rage.
If it had been before, his emotions would never have gone out of control so easily.
It was all because of that Dark Power, which had greatly affected his soul.
Even his emotions had become violent and irritable. For a powerhouse, that was no small matter.
After forcing down the anger in his heart, Thanos turned his gloomy gaze toward Ebony Maw, who was kneeling on one knee before him.
"Ebony Maw, how goes the search for the Heart of the Universe?"
"Have you found any leads?"
"My lord."
"As for the complete Heart of the Universe, we have no way to search for it. I suspect that legendary divine artifact may not even exist in this universe."
"We only found a fragment of the Heart of the Universe."
"It was hidden by the Eternals on some ancient planet."
Ebony Maw placed a hand over his chest as he spoke.
"Good."
"A fragment of the Heart of the Universe is enough."
"Once I break through to the Skyfather level, this Dark Power will no longer be able to do anything to me."
"And with the power of the Infinity Stones, I will return to Earth."
Thanos looked at Ebony Maw as he spoke.
"My lord, your name shall be sung throughout the universe."
Ebony Maw showed not the slightest shame as he launched straight into flattery.
"Change course. Head to that ancient planet you found."
"I'm going to take back what belongs to me."
Thanos clenched his fist tightly as the power of the Infinity Stones coursed around him.
Under Thanos's orders, his flagship quickly found that planet deep in the cosmos.
Under Thanos's all-out assault, nearly all the remaining forces aboard his mothership were wiped out, and every member of the Black Order was injured.
They looked even more miserable than when they had attacked Earth.
Fortunately, Thanos finally obtained what he wanted.
The Heart of the Universe.
The most powerful divine artifact in existence, a broken fragment of the One-Above-All.
Even if what he held in his hand was only a shattered piece, its power was still beyond the imagination of ordinary beings.
Holding that blue sphere in his hand, Thanos felt a gentle power continuously pouring into his body.
The dark divine power Dormammu had left inside him was directly driven out by that brilliant force.
The injuries on his body were also slowly repaired.
His immense power gradually returned.
Without the slightest hesitation, Thanos once again began wielding the mighty power contained in the Infinity Stones. Violet energy began to drift around him.
Blue energy shone alongside it, the two reflecting each other.
A terrifying aura continuously surged through his body.
Spurt!
Thanos's aura suddenly rose by an entire level.
Thud.
The members of the Black Order dropped to their knees uncontrollably.
"Ah!"
"Great Lord Thanos, you are the one and only being in the universe."
"Your power leaves everyone else in this universe dim by comparison."
"Under your leadership, we will surely achieve our goal and create an even better universe."
Ebony Maw chanted in a low voice like a madman.
The aura around Thanos had already settled.
His presence and power were completely restrained within his body, making him look no different from an ordinary person.
Thanos had broken through.
He had surpassed the Pseudo–Skyfather-level and become a truly powerful Skyfather-level existence.
Ebony Maw spoke excitedly.
But Thanos merely gave Ebony Maw an expressionless glance.
"Go to Earth?"
"No. Going to Earth now would be suicide."
"Are you really that confident in your own power?"
Ebony Maw went numb.
What a joke.
Even Thanos couldn't win. How could he possibly be a match for that opponent?
He had no intention of throwing away his life for Thanos's ideals.
"My lord, what is your plan?"
"Even with your current divine might, are you still unable to deal with those sorcerers on Earth?"
Ebony Maw asked with an ugly expression.
But Thanos did not answer. He merely said,
"Did you find what I told you to look for?"
"Of course, my lord."
"We have already discovered traces of the Silver Surfer in the Centaurus System."
"But why are we looking for him?"
"That fellow brings nothing but death."
"And the one behind him is at his easiest to hunt right now."
A trace of fear appeared in Ebony Maw's eyes. Clearly, he was deeply afraid of the existence he had just mentioned.
"Frenzied?"
"That is precisely why we need to find the Surfer."
"Under normal circumstances, even a meteor follows a fixed trajectory."
Thanos spun the long blade in his hand in a flourish, his heart far from calm.
"You mean…"
"You want to use Galactus to devour Earth?"
Ebony Maw was greatly alarmed.
"But…"
"What about the Infinity Stones?"
"Galactus would swallow the entire Earth whole."
"How are we supposed to find the Stones then?"
Ebony Maw asked in confusion.
"You have no idea what kind of power the Stones possess."
"Even a being as great as Galactus cannot devour the power of the Infinity Stones."
"When the time comes, he will naturally spit the Stones back out."
"All we need to do is sit back and collect the spoils."
Thanos murmured to himself.
"Lord Thanos, we swear to follow you anywhere."
Ebony Maw once again placed a hand over his chest in praise.
Thanos gave Ebony Maw an expressionless glance.
But inwardly, he was clearly very pleased.
If not for that, how could Ebony Maw have replaced Corvus Glaive and become his current number one lieutenant?
"Set out."
"Jump to the Centaurus System."
"I will naturally find the Surfer and speak with him."
Thanos spoke those words without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Under his orders, the ship made the jump.
In the end, Thanos encountered him within a small star system.
What the two of them discussed, no one knew.
People only knew that after that conversation, the Silver Surfer changed his course.
And the direction he headed in was Earth.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]