This was a small Shuttlecraft.
At this moment, Lin Huai, Thor, and Loki were on this ship.
Far behind them was the Asgardian fleet led by the Queen of the Gods, Frigga, herself; they had just completed the rescue of the Dwarf King, Eitri.
Behind that standard fleet, a cluster of red light dots representing malice pursued them relentlessly.
Lin Huai simply looked at the Holographic Star Map before him calmly.
On the star map, three markers were clearly visible.
The golden light dot at the very front represented themselves.
The large cluster of golden light dots in the middle was Frigga's rescue fleet.
And at the very back, a cluster of crimson light dots clung to the rescue fleet like maggots on a bone.
"This is Thanos's fleet."
Lin Huai's voice was very flat.
"They are here to hunt down Eitri, or rather, to take the Dwarf King back. If left alone, the Asgardian fleet will be caught within three hours."
He paused, raising his left hand which wore the Infinity Gauntlet.
"So, let's go help them take out these pursuers."
Before Thor could react, Lin Huai's mind stirred.
The Space Stone erupted with a brilliant blue light.
"Hum—"
The space in front of the small Shuttlecraft distorted and folded violently, like a lake surface with a stone thrown into it.
The ship plunged in, instantly disappearing from everyone's radar.
A second later, when it reappeared, it was already directly in front of that crimson fleet!
It was like a ghost appearing out of thin air, blocking the path of the entire Cull Obsidian fleet.
On the bridge of the blade-shaped main ship, Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight were observing the sudden appearance of the small golden ship through a holographic projection.
"What is this?" Proxima Midnight's cold voice carried a hint of surprise.
"An Asgardian scout ship? Do they think they can stop us with such a puny effort?"
A cruel glint flashed in Corvus Glaive's eyes.
"Crush it! Fire!"
However, before he could issue the formal attack order, a young voice with a light chuckle rang out directly on their bridge through wide-area information technology.
"Good evening, Thanos's Black Order."
"I don't have time to play with you right now. Can you take your fleet and leave? Go back and tell Thanos that we are both collecting Infinity Stones, so a battle is inevitable. Let's both stabilize our rears first, and then have a real fight."
Lin Huai's calm words made Corvus Glaive fly into a rage.
"Where did this bumpkin come from, daring to address My Lord Thanos by name? Attack! All fleet fire! Tear that wreck into cosmic dust!"
At the command, countless small fighters and a tide-like swarm of Outriders poured out of the mothership, covering the sky as they charged towards the lone golden ship.
"It seems there's no room for negotiation."
Inside the ship, Lin Huai shrugged, his face showing no sign of tension.
"Thor, Loki, let me show you the power of the Infinity Stones."
Lin Huai simply sat steadily in front of the console and snapped his fingers.
The Reality Stone glowed intensely red.
The energy fire from the dozens of enemy ships charging at the front twisted strangely in mid-air, turning into bundles of colorful soap bubbles, quite beautiful to behold.
Immediately after, the metal hulls of those fighters began to soften and stretch like melting cheese, eventually turning into a swarm of giant metal butterflies dancing in space.
This absurd and terrifying scene left all the Outriders and soldiers of the Cull Obsidian Order stunned.
Lin Huai snapped his fingers again.
The blue light of the Space Stone shone.
The space around several ring-shaped warships trying to Flanking ring warship were forcibly compressed; they crashed into each other uncontrollably, exploding into a brilliant display of cosmic fireworks.
"This..."
On the bridge of the main ship, Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight watched the battle, which could almost be called "toying," feeling it was unbelievable.
He realized something was wrong and immediately prepared to have the fleet retreat.
But it was too late.
A figure stepped out of a portal and appeared on the bridge.
It was Lin Huai.
He had used the Space Stone to teleport directly through a portal.
"Hello there."
Lin Huai looked at the wary Corvus Glaive holding his Glaive and gave a playful smile.
"Surrender peacefully, or should I help you maintain your dignity?"
"Arrogant!"
Corvus Glaive roared, his figure disappearing instantly as the Glaive in his hand pierced toward Lin Huai's heart at a tricky angle.
However, Lin Huai just stood there quietly.
The Glaive pierced right through Lin Huai's body, but the body melted like a candle, turning into the corpse of a Black Order soldier.
"Too slow."
Lin Huai's voice came from behind Corvus Glaive.
Corvus Glaive was horrified and swung around.
But what met him was a fist wearing the golden gauntlet.
Corvus Glaive was struck by an unmatched force, sent flying backward to crash heavily into the bridge wall, sinking deep into it.
Lin Huai walked forward slowly, easily taking the Glaive that had fallen to the floor, then lifted him by the neck like a chick.
When Thor and Loki followed through the portal opened by the Space Stone to this fleet, what they saw was Corvus Glaive, captured by Lin Huai, with his Glaive and body separated.
"Thor, Loki, I'll go deal with the rest of the fleet. I'll leave that Proxima Midnight to you."
The two nodded. Thor faced Proxima Midnight directly, while Loki cleared out the Small Fry on the bridge.
Lin Huai returned to the bridge again; Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight were already tied together waiting. Except for this main ship, the rest had been crushed into cosmic dust by the Space Stone.
"It's over just like that?" Thor still felt a bit unsatisfied.
"What else?" Lin Huai shrugged. "This is the power of the Infinity Stones."
As Lin Huai spoke, a strange light lit up in his eyes, and he began to talk to himself.
"Good grief, not counting temporary Marionettes, I finally got a good Marionette and it got torn apart not long after. Let me see how the quality of this Cull Obsidian is."
However, when his gaze pierced through Corvus Glaive's body and touched the soul level, the expression on his face instantly froze.
What did he see?
Inside this tall alien, there were indeed Spirit Thread.
But the source of all the threads did not come from Corvus Glaive's body.
Instead, they pointed to... the Glaive he had just seized!
Thick Spirit Thread full of life energy extended from inside the Glaive, connecting to every part of this husk, controlling his every move.
This body was just a puppet.
This blade was Corvus Glaive's true self!
"Holy cow..."
The corner of Lin Huai's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
This really was a case of a knife to the rear—a real eye-opener!"
He had always thought the Beyonder characteristics of the Mysterious World were weird enough, but he didn't expect such an operation in this Universe.
The true body is equipment, and the equipment is the person?
No wonder this guy is known in the comics for being immortal; as long as the Glaive isn't destroyed, he can be resurrected infinitely.
So that's the root cause.
"Mentor? What's wrong?" Thor asked, puzzled by Lin Huai's shifting expressions.
"Nothing."
Lin Huai snapped out of it, a smile even more brilliant than before appearing on his face.
He looked at the tied-up body of Corvus Glaive, his gaze like he was looking at a priceless and rare specimen.
Making it directly into a Marionette would be too wasteful.
This guy... has a greater use!
Studying this method of grafting a soul onto an item would also be a huge help to his understanding of the "Bizzaro Sorcerer" Pathway.
He could even... use him to demand benefits directly from Thanos. There are only five generals in total, and two have been caught here; it should cause quite a headache for Thanos.
Thinking of this, Lin Huai waved his hand at Thor and Loki.
"Change of plans."
He picked up the cold Glaive, waved it in front of Corvus Glaive's body, and spoke with a joyful tone.
"Tie them both up tightly and have the fleet take them back to Asgard to be locked up. We'll use the Space Stone to return to Earth."