Lin Huai clapped his hands, breaking the silence.
"Then the first step is to rescue Gamora from Thanos's hands."
"Everyone, get ready."
Just as he finished speaking, a massive sense of pressure, like a physical shadow, descended from the sky!
Everyone looked up abruptly.
The dark red sky was torn open by a deep blackness.
A warship as massive as a moving continent slowly sailed out from the ripples of a space jump.
It hung overhead like an Abyss, casting the entire Planet into shadow.
Sanctuary II.
Thanos's flagship.
He has arrived.
"It seems our luck isn't very good."
Tony activated his armor's faceplate, and streams of analytical data flashed by rapidly.
"Or rather, it's great; it saves us the trouble of finding him."
Steve gripped his shield tightly and stood in front of everyone, his expression incredibly solemn.
Lin Huai's expression, however, remained unchanged.
He quietly gazed at the warship looking down upon all living things, a hint of indifference on his face.
"I'll go meet him."
Lin Huai spoke calmly.
"What?!"
Steve immediately turned back to object.
"Lin Huai, this is too dangerous! We should go together..."
"No, Captain."
Lin Huai shook his head, interrupting him.
"This isn't a battle where numbers matter."
He raised his left hand, wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, as the three stones emitted a faint glow.
"You stay here and be ready to receive Gamora at any time; I'll go create an opportunity for you."
After saying that, without giving them time to react, the Space Stone on his left hand shone with intense blue light.
His figure vanished from the spot.
In an instant, Lin Huai appeared on the grand, empty bridge of Sanctuary II.
On a cold metal throne sat a burly figure clad in golden armor.
Resting his chin on one hand, he stared at the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared.
Below the throne, Thanos's subordinates immediately went on high alert, while in a corner of the bridge, Gamora was bound by invisible Energy Chains.
Seeing Lin Huai's sudden appearance, there was no surprise on Thanos's face; instead, a hint of approval appeared.
"A brave Earthling? Are you truly an Earthling?"
His gaze crossed Lin Huai and fell on the Infinity Gauntlet embedded with three stones.
"Or rather... should I call you an unknown creature? The Mind Stone tells me you are very strange."
Ignoring the Black Order who were on high alert, Lin Huai walked straight to the foot of the throne and looked Thanos in the eye from a distance.
"I'm just a passing scholar."
His tone was light, as if making small talk.
"It just so happens that I'm not very interested in this cliché plot of yours about universal balance."
"Plot?"
Thanos frowned slightly, seemingly disliking the word.
"Everything I do is to correct the Universe's Error."
"The unchecked reproduction of life only leads to the depletion of resources and eventual destruction."
"I will grant them balance and bring salvation."
"By randomly killing half of all people?"
Lin Huai smiled.
"What an imaginative plan."
"Has no one taught you that there are many ways to solve a problem, and Carnage is always the least efficient one?"
"The fate of the Universe does not need mortal wisdom for guidance. I have received divine revelation, and my past experiences tell me that what I am doing is right."
Thanos's patience seemed to have run out.
He slowly rose from his throne, his massive frame bringing a mountain-like sense of pressure.
"It seems you have no intention of surrendering the stones voluntarily."
"Voluntarily?"
Lin Huai acted as if he had heard a joke.
"That word isn't in my dictionary."
"Very well."
A killing intent flashed in Thanos's eyes.
He raised his right hand, and the Power Stone embedded in it shone brilliantly!
A destructive energy capable of tearing apart Planets transformed into a thick beam of light, blasting toward Lin Huai.
Facing this world-ending strike, Lin Huai simply raised his left hand gently.
The Reality Stone flashed with red light.
The violent energy beam silently transformed into a swarm of colorful butterflies a few meters away from Lin Huai.
The butterflies fluttered about, decorating the solemn bridge like a fairy tale.
Thanos's expression remained unchanged; he had long anticipated this.
The moment the butterflies obscured his vision, he moved!
The Mind Stone in the palm of his left hand erupted with a brilliant golden light.
An invisible Shockwave of Will surged toward Lin Huai like a tsunami, attempting to crush his mind.
This strike was intended to force out Lin Huai's Time Stone.
But Lin Huai's response completely exceeded his expectations.
Facing a Shockwave of Will sufficient to drive even a god insane, Lin Huai did not use the Time Stone, nor did he even defend.
He simply closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, it was as if countless fragments of history were flowing within his eyes.
Scholar of Yore!
When the majestic Shockwave of Will reached three feet in front of Lin Huai, it seemed to hit an invisible dam.
A Historical Projection from one second in the past, identical to Lin Huai, appeared before him.
"Boom!"
The mental shock hit the projection, which instantly shattered like glass and dissipated into nothingness.
But it also neutralized the fatal attack.
For the first time, horror appeared in Thanos's eyes!
What ability is this?
It wasn't space, it wasn't reality; it seemed like the power of time.
And this was only the beginning.
"A good test, now it's my turn."
Lin Huai's voice rang out from behind Thanos.
At some point, he had used Paper Clone Substitutes to deceive Thanos's perception, and his true self appeared behind the throne.
Immediately after, Lin Huai's hands traced complex symbols in front of him.
"I see an interesting piece of history..."
Along with his low chanting, the scene on the bridge began to warp and blur.
The cold metal walls vanished, replaced by a landscape of burning ruins.
The ruins of Titan.
A young Titan, whose skin had not yet fully turned purple, knelt in the ruins, despairingly clutching a handful of dust and wailing.
"I said it! I said it long ago! Unchecked consumption only brings destruction!"
The young Thanos roared at the empty sky.
"Why! Why did no one believe me!"
This sudden Historical Illusion was like a sharp blade piercing Thanos's deepest wound, causing his indestructible will to fluctuate violently for the first time.
"Is this... an illusion?"
Thanos growled, the Mind Stone glowing again as he tried to dispel the illusion.
But it was useless.
This wasn't an illusion; it was the Reality Stone recreating history that had actually happened!
In the moment his mind faltered, Lin Huai's real attack arrived.
"I have also seen another piece of history."
Lin Huai's voice became ethereal and majestic.
Behind Thanos, a towering and ancient figure stepped slowly out of the long river of history.
It was a one-eyed God-King clad in magnificent golden armor, holding the Eternal Spear, Gungnir, his gaze majestic as he looked down upon all creation.
Odin! The all-father in his prime!
"Boom!"
Thanos's mind was shaken, and he couldn't react in time as the God-King formed by the Historical Projection threw the divine spear with all his might.
Gungnir tore through space and slammed solidly into Thanos's back.
"Clang—!"
A loud crash.
Even with Thanos's body, as tough as a Planet, he was sent stumbling by this blow.
A clear crack appeared on the golden armor on his back!
Odin's projection and the illusion vanished like smoke.
The bridge returned to its original state.
Thanos turned slowly, looking at Lin Huai, who was composed and ready, his eyes filled only with solemnity and wariness.
In that brief exchange, he hadn't managed to hurt his opponent, but he himself had suffered a hidden blow.
He understood that the person before him was not just a holder of the stones.
He also possessed a strange power that Thanos could not understand.
Lin Huai also knew that Thanos's terrifying physique and indestructible will made his attacks yield little result.
Had it not been for the element of surprise, Odin's projection wouldn't have even made him budge an inch.
This was a standoff between equals.
"Very good... very good!"
Thanos laughed out of sheer anger and sat back on his throne, his killing intent slowly receding.
"It seems I truly underestimated you."
His tone returned to calm, but beneath that calmness lay an even deeper murderous intent.
"But you can't change anything; the Universe's fate must be corrected."
He looked at Lin Huai as if announcing an unshakeable future.
"Take your stones and struggle to your heart's content."
"I will let you see with your own eyes that all your efforts are nothing more than an interlude before the curtain falls on this great drama."
He glanced down at Vormir, his gaze falling upon the high altar.
"As for her..."
He He glanced at the bound Gamora.
"She will sacrifice herself for a greater cause, and I will receive my due reward here."
Having said that, Thanos no longer paid attention to Lin Huai.
He grabbed Gamora's chain and dragged her toward the edge of the bridge, preparing to descend to Vormir.
Lin Huai gave him a deep look and did not strike again.
His figure turned into a blue light and vanished from the bridge.
Immediately after, he returned to the mountain peak of the altar.
"He's coming down!"
Steve said tensely.
"With Gamora!"
Lin Huai nodded, his face solemn.
He watched the purple figure slowly descending from the sky, and the green figure struggling in despair in his grasp.