Thor had returned from Nidavellir.
Now wielding Stormbreaker, he finally possessed the power worthy of his title: the God of Thunder.
The moment Thor emerged from the Bifrost, he locked onto Thanos' army.
With a powerful swing, he hurled Stormbreaker.
The axe spun through the air with a roar.
As it flew, it drew down thunder. Bolts of lightning rained from the sky, chasing after the axe and blasting apart the many-armed monsters one after another.
After making a full circuit, Stormbreaker returned to Thor's hand.
Thor let out a roar and shot into the sky.
The clear heavens immediately changed. Dark clouds gathered overhead as if a storm were about to break.
Lightning flickered within the clouds.
As Thor brought his axe down, a dazzling bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the middle of Thanos' army and blowing his forces apart.
Thor slammed his axe into the ground.
Snakelike arcs of electricity spread in every direction. Wherever they passed, the grassland became scorched earth.
When he stood up again, no one around him was left standing but himself.
"I've got to say, your brother really knows how to make an entrance."
"As for you... did you come from a circus?"
"You have to come to my birthday party. A magician would be a huge hit."
Rocket glanced at Loki, who was casually playing with a small knife.
Using his illusions, Loki created one phantom after another, forcing enemies to struggle for their lives while he repeatedly drove his knife into their necks.
His efficiency was actually quite good. As his figure flickered about, a whole group of enemies had already fallen.
It just lacked any sense of overwhelming power. He looked more like a stage magician.
"Thor!"
Using his shield to block Black Panther's flying kick, Steve shouted, "Go help Dr. Banner and the others!"
"They won't last much longer."
Thor had been searching for Thanos. Only after hearing Captain America's shout did he look toward Banner's group.
The situation there was clearly bad.
A swarm of robots surrounded Banner and the others, and the Hulkbuster armor looked like it wouldn't hold much longer.
Thor immediately flew into the air and once again called upon the heavens.
Looking down at the robots surrounding Banner's group, he frowned.
"Does Thanos have troops like these?"
Then he swung Stormbreaker.
One silver-white bolt of lightning after another crashed into the Black Iron Tide's robot army.
Each autonomous machine suffered an electrical overload. Their bodies shook violently as blue smoke poured from their joints and seams.
When Thor landed with his axe, the robots were blasted into the air. Parts flew everywhere, clattering to the ground like rain.
One piece rolled to the feet of the Hulkbuster.
The armor opened, and Dr. Banner shouted excitedly, "I've missed you so much, Thor!"
"You really look impressive now."
"Huh? Your eye's back?"
After Hela had gouged out one of his eyes, Rocket had given him a prosthetic. Thor smiled.
"It's a long story."
Then he asked, "Is Thanos here?"
"I'm going to kill him."
Black Widow stepped forward, "Thanos isn't here."
"The ones attacking us are his subordinates."
Thor pointed at a wrecked robot nearby, "His army has things like that?"
Bucky removed his vibranium arm and shook his head, "No. Those are Wakanda's war machines."
"Wait, I'm a little confused."
"What's Wakanda?"
Since the Aether incident, Thor hadn't returned to Earth, so he knew nothing about Wakanda or Black Panther.
The only reason he had come here was because he had sensed Thanos' army.
Black Widow said, "It's a country with advanced technology. They were supposed to be our friends."
Banner climbed out of the ruined Hulkbuster armor, "But now there's been a problem."
"Wakanda's princess helped us remove the Mind Stone from Vision's head."
"Our original plan was to have Wanda destroy the Stone and shatter Thanos' hopes."
Black Widow sighed, "But at some point, Wakanda pledged loyalty to the Conqueror. They intend to keep the Mind Stone, wait for the Conqueror to arrive, and present it to him."
Thor nodded, "All right. I've heard so much bad news today that one more doesn't make much difference."
"So Thanos isn't here, and the Mind Stone is with some princess."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Tell me where she is."
Black Widow's earpiece immediately crackled with Falcon's voice, ["Princess Shuri has already left the laboratory building. She's headed into the forest behind it."]
As soon as Thor heard the news, he prepared to take off.
Just then, a purple kinetic energy beam shot through the air.
Thor swept Stormbreaker across to block it, but he was still pushed backward, sliding across the ground.
When the beam disappeared, he lowered his axe and saw Black Panther land nearby.
"And who is this?", Thor felt it was time to update his knowledge of Earth.
"Black Panther."
"T'Challa, King of Wakanda," Captain America said as he arrived.
"A king?", Thor looked at Steve.
"Is he our enemy?"
Captain America glanced at T'Challa, "At least for now, he's not our friend."
"Understood."
"I'll handle him."
Thor charged toward T'Challa, "You go after the princess."
Inside his helmet, T'Challa said, "I won't let you pass."
"That's not your choice!"
Thor shouted.
Lightning burst from his eyes.
He raised Stormbreaker high, drawing down a bolt of lightning from the sky that merged with the axe before he brought it crashing down at Black Panther.
Knowing how dangerous it was, Black Panther didn't dare take it head-on.
He rolled across the ground, letting Thor's axe strike the grass instead.
The power of the blow was like a missile.
Lightning exploded in every direction as a huge section of grassland was blasted into the air. The grass skipped the burning stage entirely and turned straight to ash.
Inside his helmet, T'Challa's pupils contracted slightly.
"That Asgardian?"
"He's far stronger than he was six years ago."
"If the second-generation armor takes a direct hit, it probably won't be able to absorb all of the kinetic energy."
Though surprised, T'Challa wasn't afraid.
Using his agility, he circled around Thor. Whenever Thor couldn't keep up with his speed, Black Panther attacked from his blind spots.
But his attacks were like scratching an itch for the God of Thunder.
After letting Black Panther pester him for a while, Thor stopped playing cat and mouse.
He lifted Stormbreaker and swept out a ring of electricity.
Caught off guard, T'Challa was struck by the electrical wave. His armor quickly absorbed part of the energy, but he was still sent flying.
After landing, T'Challa rolled several times before trying to get back up.
Thor descended from the sky and brought his axe down.
Black Panther hurriedly crossed both arms to block Stormbreaker.
Even so, Thor's blow smashed him back onto the ground.
"Stay down," Thor warned.
T'Challa answered firmly, "Impossible."
Thor shook his head.
Lightning blazed from his eyes.
He raised Stormbreaker, and the axe met another bolt of lightning descending from the sky.
Electricity immediately coiled around the weapon.
With a shout, Thor brought Stormbreaker down, wrapped in countless arcs of lightning.
At that moment, a single arm suddenly appeared between T'Challa and Stormbreaker.
The hand reached out lightly.
It grasped the handle of the axe.
Stormbreaker could go no farther.
Thor's eyes went wide.
Because that arm was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet.