There was no need to worry about appearances anymore.
As for Hela, Karl did not seem to have any romantic feelings toward her at the moment.
Meanwhile, Great Wanda and Ganata had already boarded their own warships earlier. With the fleet traveling together, there was no way for them to escape even if they wanted to.
Everyone else on Skyblade VII was occupied with their own activities.
Pietro and Peter were in one of the recreation rooms playing games.
Natasha and Yelena were exercising in the training chamber.
Meanwhile, Speed and Juggernaut were working together in the engineering bay.
They were attempting to design an off-road vehicle capable of operating in space.
The idea had originally been proposed by Juggernaut.
Speed had become very interested in the concept and frequently joined him during the research process.
Elsewhere aboard the warship, Samuel continued his research into various genetic samples.
Karl had recently given him the corpse of Apocalypse, which he had obtained earlier.
When Samuel learned that the specimen was the first mutant, he was beyond excited.
He immediately began studying it day and night without rest.
Meanwhile, Yan was tending to her small garden while simultaneously overseeing the operation of the entire warship.
Now she controlled every system aboard Skyblade VII.
Her consciousness was directly linked to the ship's computer core.
For her, controlling the vessel was effortless.
Eventually, the warship exited its previous route and reappeared within the Milky Way Galaxy.
From there, it began traveling toward a distant nebula cluster.
Karl brought several of the others to his private chamber.
At the same time, he activated a sound-insulation barrier, preventing any sound from leaving the room.
Elsewhere in the universe—
Another force had begun moving.
Thanos had learned that someone had gathered all six Infinity Stones.
After receiving this information, he immediately mobilized his massive interstellar fleet and began moving toward Earth.
From his perspective, two major obstacles had already disappeared.
The Ancient One, protector of Earth's mystical forces, was dead.
And Odin, ruler of Asgard, had also passed away.
With those two gone, Thanos no longer needed to worry about interference.
Thus, his fleet advanced toward the Milky Way.
Ironically—
The direction his fleet traveled was the exact same direction Karl's group was heading.
Sooner or later—
The two sides were destined to meet.
However, neither side initially knew this.
As time passed, Skyblade VII suddenly detected a large concentration of warships ahead.
Yan immediately received the alert.
She informed Karl at once.
Then she used the enormous computing power of Skyblade VII to hack directly into the enemy fleet's systems.
Moments later, a visual feed appeared.
Karl looked at the projection.
He immediately recognized the figure seated upon a throne.
A towering purple-skinned Titan.
Standing beside him were several intimidating figures.
Karl smiled slightly.
"So it's Thanos…"
"The Director of the Cosmic Population Control Office."
It was clear what had happened.
Thanos must have sensed the deaths of the Ancient One and Odin.
With those threats removed, he had personally come to Earth to claim the Infinity Stones.
Unfortunately for him—
He had no idea that all six stones were already with Karl.
Karl thought about it for a moment before speaking.
"Yan."
"Prepare Skyblade Judgment."
"Target the central black warship."
He pointed toward the projection.
"That fleet is most likely heading to invade Earth."
"And they're definitely searching for the Infinity Stones."
Karl's expression became cold.
"Earth's current strength can't handle an invasion like this."
"Since we encountered them here…"
"We'll eliminate them."
"Understood."
Yan nodded calmly.
Immediately, she activated the weapon system.
Inside Skyblade VII, immense energy began gathering.
The massive Skyblade Judgment cannon slowly opened.
Energy condensed within the weapon.
Because Karl had previously infused the ship with Infinity Stone energy, the power gathering inside the cannon now shimmered with seven distinct colors.
When the energy reached its peak—
The weapon fired.
BOOM—!
The attack streaked forward like a cosmic meteor.
It struck the central black warship almost instantly.
That was the ship carrying Thanos and the Black Order.
From Thanos's perspective, the attack came out of nowhere.
There had been no warning.
No detectable source.
Just a sudden catastrophic strike.
The Black Order reacted immediately.
But it was already too late.
The energy beam had pierced directly through the warship's hull.
Explosions erupted throughout the vessel.
Realizing the ship could not be saved, the Black Order quickly evacuated.
Moments later, the massive warship began collapsing as internal detonations spread across its structure.
Now Thanos and the Black Order floated in open space.
Thanos stared coldly at the empty void nearby.
His expression was dark.
Although Skyblade VII was right there—
Its advanced stealth systems prevented the enemy fleet from detecting it.
They had not even realized that such an enormous warship existed nearby.
Soon, the surrounding fleet began aiming their weapons at the point where the attack had originated.
Then—
Space distorted.
A massive warship appeared.
It was far larger than Thanos's flagship.
Everyone in Thanos's fleet stared in shock.
How had such a gigantic vessel approached them without being detected?
At that moment—
A golden throne appeared at the front of Skyblade VII.
Seated upon it was Karl.
The throne had been created earlier by Yan during the warship's construction.
Perhaps it reflected her habits from her own universe.
Or perhaps it had been made specifically for Karl.
Standing behind Karl were:
YanBlack PhoenixGreat WandaGanataSpeed
These six individuals were currently capable of surviving directly in outer space.
Hela had not come out.
The others either lacked the ability—or had not yet reached that level of strength.
Karl looked down at Thanos.
Then he spoke calmly.
"The Mad Titan, huh?"
"You're heading to Earth, aren't you?"
Karl leaned slightly forward on the throne.
"You don't need to go there."
"All six Infinity Stones are with me."
He smiled coldly.
"If you want them…"
"Come and take them."
His tone was filled with absolute disdain.
Karl did not consider Thanos a real threat.
After all—
Thanos was only a Celestial-level powerhouse at most.
Meanwhile, Karl—wearing the Golden Cloth embedded with the six Infinity Stones—had already reached the Single-Universe Level.
Even if Thanos fought with everything he had—
He would still be no match.
After all, the difference between a Single-Universe Level attack and a Skyfather-level attack was enormous.
If Karl failed to precisely control his power—
His attacks could easily destroy an entire planet.
At full power, Karl could even launch an energy strike capable of obliterating an entire galaxy.
Not through the snap of the Infinity Stones—
But through pure energy output alone.
At that moment—
One of the members of the Black Order stepped forward.
"Master."
"Allow me to retrieve the Infinity Stones."
His voice was cold.
"That man is far too arrogant."
"He shows you no respect at all."
This figure was the leader of the Black Order.
The Undead General.
His abilities included immense physical strength and rapid regeneration.
Even severe injuries could heal instantly.
More importantly—
His soul resided within his battle sword.
As long as the sword remained intact—
He could resurrect endlessly.
...
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