Hearing the report, Nolan's expression became solemn.
"So... they've finally arrived."
He turned to Doctor Stephen Strange.
"I'll go first. If it becomes necessary, you can join the battle later. Otherwise, stay here and guard the dimensional rift."
"Keeping the Infinity Stones separated gives us room to recover no matter where something goes wrong."
Although Nolan was confident in facing Thanos, confidence was not certainty.
Until they actually fought, no one truly knew how powerful Thanos was.
Everything so far had only been an estimate.
Only the battlefield would reveal the truth.
And besides Thanos himself, there was also his enormous army to deal with.
Strange hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"I understand."
"Be careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nolan opened a portal and disappeared from the dimensional rift.
Meanwhile...
Deep within the dimensional realm...
Dormammu watched Nolan vanish.
"Nolan Lock is gone?"
"Why?"
Recently, Earth's movements had become increasingly unusual.
Although Dormammu had only a handful of spies on Earth, they were enough to keep him informed.
He knew that Nolan had been fighting alongside Stephen Strange against the dimensional invaders.
Nolan's strength had become so overwhelming that even Dormammu considered him a troublesome opponent.
Lately, both Nolan and Strange had appeared in the dimensional rift almost constantly.
In the past, only a handful of guardians had remained there to monitor potential invasions.
Now, the place had become heavily occupied.
Something had clearly happened on Earth.
But according to the intelligence they had gathered...
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Until recently.
His spies finally reported that massive military mobilizations were taking place all across Earth.
It looked as though the entire planet was preparing for war.
Yet the world itself remained peaceful.
No one understood why.
Dormammu suddenly spoke.
"Mephisto."
Without warning, a terrifying figure emerged from the darkness.
Mephisto answered calmly.
"I don't know the full story."
"But it seems an enemy from beyond Earth is preparing to invade."
"The entire planet has become extremely tense."
His voice sounded almost bored, carrying little concern.
Unlike Dormammu, Mephisto had never been desperate to conquer Earth.
Among all the dimensional rulers, his influence over Earth was already one of the strongest.
If another ruler conquered Earth, it offered him little benefit.
He would rather possess the mortal dimension himself.
Of course, even he knew that was easier said than done.
Although he possessed the Ghost Rider as his agent...
The modern Earth had become increasingly difficult to understand.
Even the Ghost Rider feared Nolan's strength.
Once, Mephisto had secretly projected an avatar onto Earth and approached Nolan from afar.
Yet before Nolan even noticed him, Mephisto felt overwhelming danger.
It was as if...
If Nolan discovered him...
He would die.
To Mephisto, such a feeling should have been impossible.
Yet it was undeniably real.
That was why he didn't mind sharing information now.
If Earth could be broken during this opportunity...
He certainly wouldn't complain.
"A war?"
Dormammu frowned.
He was more shocked than curious.
In his eyes, Earth had become frighteningly powerful.
What kind of enemy could make them prepare on such a scale?
As the Lord of the Dark Dimension, even he lacked confidence in conquering Earth now.
Still...
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
"Mephisto."
"What do you think about Earth?"
Dormammu smiled.
Darkness rippled endlessly behind him.
"If you're interested..."
"This may be the perfect chance."
"Whatever Earth is preparing for, the fact that they're taking it so seriously proves the invaders are incredibly powerful."
"We don't need much."
"As long as someone keeps Nolan occupied for a while, we can enter Earth and destroy the Three Sanctums."
"Once the Sanctums fall..."
"Our full power will be unleashed."
"And then no one will be able to stop us."
"If we miss this chance..."
"We may never get another one."
Mephisto fell silent.
"Perhaps..."
"I'll wait and see."
He gave no definite answer.
Even he wasn't sure.
His current influence on Earth had been built over countless years.
If he joined forces with the other dimensional rulers now and failed...
Everything he had invested could be lost.
That was the last thing he wanted.
Dormammu, however, had no such concerns.
Compared to Mephisto's Ghost Rider, Dormammu's influence on Earth was insignificant.
The Ghost Rider had become one of Earth's strongest champions.
As long as Nolan wasn't involved...
Very few could stand against him.
Dormammu laughed.
"Think it over."
Then he looked elsewhere.
"Agamotto."
"Oshtur."
"Hoggoth."
Three figures appeared simultaneously.
Their powers resonated so perfectly that they seemed like one being.
Together...
They formed the Vishanti.
"We will not participate."
The three answered in unison.
This was not their path.
Without another word, they disappeared.
Dormammu simply shook his head.
He glanced once more at Mephisto before withdrawing his gaze.
Then...
Another terrifying existence opened its eyes.
Those eyes seemed capable of swallowing the entire universe.
"Shuma-Gorath..."
Mephisto's expression instantly became wary.
Even he had no desire to provoke that ancient horror.
No one knew what Shuma-Gorath truly wanted.
But one thing was becoming clear.
Earth's troubles had only just begun.
Meanwhile...
Nolan had already returned to Wakanda.
Beside him stood a robot carrying two Infinity Stones.
The Mind Stone.
And the Reality Stone.
As for the Time Stone...
It naturally remained with Doctor Strange.
In Nolan's opinion, with two Stones gathered here, Thanos would almost certainly come to Wakanda first.
If Thanos unexpectedly changed course...
There would still be time to summon Strange using portal magic.
That remained one of their greatest advantages.
Meanwhile...
Beyond Earth.
The massive alien fleet had entered the Solar System.
The Lunar Fortress activated completely.
Every weapon entered combat readiness.
Inside the flagship...
Thanos watched as his fleet rapidly approached Earth.
Suddenly...
A devastating beam erupted from the Moon.
One warship exploded instantly.
The entire fleet immediately entered full alert.
"Attack detected."
"Source confirmed."
"The Moon."
Proxima Midnight reported immediately.
Thanos spoke without hesitation.
"Destroy it."
It was a simple order.
Dozens of warships immediately broke formation and charged toward the Moon.
Every ship activated its energy shields.
At the same time, the Lunar Fortress unleashed its full firepower.
Countless energy blasts rained toward the incoming fleet.
The bombardment struck the shields continuously.
Although the attacks failed to destroy the ships immediately, the shields visibly weakened under the relentless assault.
Finally...
One shield collapsed.
The next blast pierced straight through the vessel.
It exploded.
And that was only the beginning.
Within minutes...
Every attacking warship had been reduced to drifting wreckage.
Seeing the first assault fail...
Thanos' expression darkened slightly.
He looked toward Proxima Midnight.
Understanding his meaning immediately, she gave the next order.
"Continue the assault."
This time...
Not dozens.
Hundreds of warships surged toward the Moon.
It was enough to qualify as an entire detachment of the Thanos Army.
Hundreds of vessels advanced together beneath overlapping energy shields.
Although ships at the front continued taking losses...
Their overwhelming numbers allowed them to push steadily forward.
Soon...
They reached lunar orbit.
Watching the scene unfold...
Everyone on Earth fell silent.
No one had imagined the Thanos Army would be this enormous.
Every warship could carry hundreds of soldiers.
Some...
Perhaps even thousands.
With hundreds upon hundreds of ships...
That meant Thanos commanded an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands...
Perhaps even millions.
This...
Was a true interstellar war.
Less than ten minutes later...
The Lunar Fortress was completely destroyed.
Then...
The Thanos Army entered Earth's atmosphere.
Inside the flagship...
Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet.
The Stones resonated.
The Infinity Stones naturally attracted one another.
With three already in his possession, that resonance had become dramatically stronger.
Back when he possessed only one Stone...
Finding the Space Stone had been incredibly difficult.
Now...
He immediately sensed two separate locations.
One contained greater Infinity Stone energy.
The other...
Only one Stone.
Without hesitation...
Thanos issued another command.
The enormous fleet split into two groups.
The smaller force headed toward the single Stone.
The larger fleet...
Led personally by Thanos...
Flew directly toward Wakanda.
Seeing this...
Nolan's expression remained calm.
As expected...
Thanos was no fool.
It looked like Doctor Strange would have to join the main battlefield after all.
If Thanos' forces reached the dimensional rift...
Even the dimensional rulers who had no intention of joining the war would seize the opportunity.
That outcome...
Would be catastrophic.
Countless dimensional rulers coveted Earth.
Normally, only a handful of the strongest dared attempt an invasion.
The others lacked the confidence and merely watched from afar.
But if the Thanos Army entered the dimensional rift...
Every watching ruler would be drawn in.
Once countless dimensions invaded simultaneously...
Even Nolan would have no chance of stopping them.
Earth would inevitably fall.
Tony Stark sighed.
"So things didn't exactly go according to plan."
He already knew the strategy Nolan and Strange had prepared.
But plans changed.
Now...
They would have to adapt.
Nolan immediately contacted Doctor Strange.
After hearing the situation...
Strange agreed without hesitation.
Even so...
Concern filled his face.
"What about the dimensional rift?"
Nolan looked toward Carol Danvers, who was eagerly preparing herself for the coming battle.
"Ms. Danvers."
"We have an extremely important mission."
"And honestly..."
"I don't think anyone else on Earth can accomplish it."
Carol looked at Nolan suspiciously.
She was convinced there was a catch somewhere.
Even if she couldn't identify it yet.
Still, she answered.
"What exactly do you want?"
"I'm not promising I'll agree."
"But you can explain first."
She still didn't trust Nolan.
Even so...
Since Nolan was commanding Earth's defenses...
She was willing to hear him out.
Nolan looked directly into her eyes.
"We need you to go somewhere else."
"There's another battlefield."
"And the enemies there..."
"...are even stronger than Thanos."
Carol burst into laughter.
"The next time you want to trick someone..."
"You should come up with a better lie."
"An enemy stronger than Thanos?"
"I came to Earth to fight Thanos."
"In this universe..."
"There can't possibly be anyone stronger than him."
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