Chapter 440
Outside the building at 177A Bleecker Street, Manhattan, New York, which resembled both a church and a library, two figures completely hidden under cloaks were furtively pressing the doorbell on the gate.
"Big guy, are you sure this is the right place!"
Rocket Raccoon looked at the New York Sanctum, where no one had opened the door for a long time, and suspiciously raised his head to look at Dr. Banner!
Dr. Banner, completely hidden under a cloak, adjusted his glasses. "The location is correct. I've been here before. Could it be that the people inside aren't home?!"
"Whether there's anyone inside or not, we'll know if we just go in and see!"
Rocket Raccoon's eyes darted around. He pulled out a Sonic Key from his pocket, approached the gate, and wanted to show Dr. Banner his special skill at picking locks.
Just as Rocket Raccoon aimed the Sonic Key in his hand at the gate of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, the gate suddenly opened from the inside.
"Would you believe me if I said I was a locksmith?" Rocket Raccoon looked at the Bald Mage in front of him, baring his teeth and showing an awkward smile.
Master Ancient One looked at Rocket Raccoon with peaceful eyes. That look of compassion for the world and having witnessed the impermanence of life actually made the usually lawless Rocket Raccoon feel a trace of shame.
"Please come in!"
Master Ancient One greeted the two, turned, and walked into the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. Rocket Raccoon and Dr. Banner exchanged glances and followed her in.
As soon as Dr. Banner stepped through the gate of the Sanctum Sanctorum, the gate closed by itself without any wind.
"Oh?"
Rocket Raccoon walked into the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, one of the Three Sanctums in the World, and was immediately captivated by the various strange and rare collections displayed inside.
In the magic cabinet, magic artifacts were displayed, various Medieval longswords, magic staffs, cloaks, compasses, crystal balls, and Rocket Raccoon even found a beating heart among them.
Sunlight filtered down from the starry sky glass ceiling above, scattering into these magic cabinets, adding a touch of mystery to these magic weapons.
Dr. Banner looked up at the intact starry sky ceiling above his head, his gaze somewhat strange. If he remembered correctly, the last time he came to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, he had directly smashed through the roof of this Sanctum.
Of course, that was in another world... That time, the Hulk was directly beaten into self-isolation by Thanos, which also indirectly caused the fusion of his and the Hulk's two personalities.
"Master Ancient One! We didn't mean to offend just now. We are indeed here because we have something we need your help with!" Thinking of Thanos, Dr. Banner's face twitched with pain, as if remembering the pain of Thanos's iron fist smashing into his face.
He quickly shook his head to dispel the shadow in his mind and began to speak to Master Ancient One about the main business.
"Aren't you looking for Strange?" Master Ancient One looked at Dr. Banner with a smile.
Dr. Banner said awkwardly, "I went to look for Strange, but he's still a Surgeon right now!"
"You've come two years too early," Master Ancient One looked gently at Dr. Banner and Rocket Raccoon. Two chairs floated behind them. "Please sit. Would you like tea or coffee!?"
"I'll have coffee, thank you!"
"Give me a beer!"
Master Ancient One glanced at Rocket Raccoon in front of her. Just as Dr. Banner and Rocket Raccoon, who had just sat down, finished speaking, two cups appeared in front of them.
In front of Dr. Banner was a cup of hot coffee, and in front of Rocket Raccoon was a large cup of golden beer.
"Ah!" Rocket Raccoon picked up the large beer mug in front of him and took a hearty gulp, looking utterly refreshed by his expression.
"Oh? Cool! Is this magic?" Looking at the cup that automatically refilled after he finished drinking, Rocket Raccoon widened his eyes, looking at Master Ancient One in front of him.
"Magic, something like that!" Master Ancient One smiled, waved her hands in front of her, and a light screen appeared before the three of them.
"I know your origin, and I know your purpose for coming here! In the future I've seen, our chance of winning is only one in two hundred and sixty thousand! We need helpers to resolve this cosmic calamity!"
In the light screen created by Master Ancient One's spellcasting, a figure wearing a red cloak was wreaking havoc among a fleet of spaceships.
The fleet sent by Thanos to intercept Superman was a fleet dispatched by the Romulan Civilization. The Romulan Civilization didn't even rank among the top thousand among the civilizations subservient to Thanos. The reason they were chosen to come to Earth with the main fleet of Thanos's Black Order was simply because they were the closest to Thanos at the time.
The technological level of the Romulan Civilization couldn't be considered advanced, but that depended on who they were compared to.
Compared to Earthling who hadn't even left their planet, the Romulan Civilization's technology was at least several thousand years ahead of the Human World. Even the Chitauri, whom humanity treated as a formidable enemy, could only be considered a decent nomadic mercenary army in front of the Romulans.
The Romulan warships resembled bullets from the Human World, with round, pointed heads and huge engine thrusters at the back. These warships flew extremely fast, capable of traveling at near light speed in the vacuum environment of space.
Besides their speed, although these Romulan spaceships were less than a thousand meters long, each spaceship was equipped with hundreds of various energy ship cannons, whose force was enough to flatten a Mountain Peak on Earth with a single shot.
In the Flagship Command Room of the Romulan Fleet, the Romulan Cobra Commander, wearing a blue spacesuit, was discussing the target of Thanos's campaign this time with the Adjutant beside him.
"Cobra Commander! What civilization do you think we're campaigning against this time? Is it a Level 4 civilization? Or perhaps the legendary Level 5 civilization! This Mad Titan didn't use to summon us Affiliated civilization when he acted!"
Glancing at the Adjutant, the Romulan Cobra Commander sighed and shook his head:
"I'm not sure either, but I received information that the Mad Titan has issued a death order this time. Not only us, but all civilization that belong to him and have sworn allegiance to him must send Fleet to join this war, otherwise, they will be considered a betrayal!"
Looking at the porthole in front of him, the Romulan Cobra Commander narrowed his eyes and began to calculate.
Anyone who could make the Mad Titan treat them as such a formidable enemy must be a powerful enemy. Their Romulan Civilization, caught between them, was like a meteorite between two Star, liable to be ground into dust by their gravity if not careful. This mission from the Mad Titan was an opportunity. Their fleet might as well stay here and pin down the enemy, delaying time as much as possible, and wait until the Mad Titan's main fleet and the unknown powerful enemy determined the outcome before waiting for an opportunity to act.
"Pass down the order," the Romulan Cobra Commander ordered: "Have all warships increase distance, full firepower. Since the enemy is fast, use a saturation attack! Cover the entire Battlefield with fire!"
Soon, the Romulan Cobra Commander's order spread throughout the entire fleet. The fleet, which had been lined up to attack Superman (nickname Da Chao), began to spread out—a dense network of fire of blue energy appeared in space, just as the Romulan Cobra Commander had envisioned. The dense artillery fire completely turned large areas of the Asteroid Belt into dust in the Universe. Superman (nickname Da Chao) Clark Kent was in the net, like a fish in a net, or a mosquito caught in a screen, constantly shuttling and dodging the attacks of this artillery fire.
In the Romulan Flagship Command Room, the sharp alarm sound continued to ring. The situation did not change because the Romulan Cobra Commander changed the combat mode.
More bad news flooded into the integrated command system like a tide.
Compared to warships nearly a thousand meters long, Clark Kent's body size was too small. His attack mode was also very simple. Relying on speed that surpassed these warships, as well as the biological force field around his entire body, and his powerful strength.
At this moment, he was like the Droplet weapon from the Trisolaran Civilization, extending his arms forward, easily dodging the enemy's artillery fire attacks while ramming into those warships at near light speed in the vacuum environment.
The Romulan warships' energy protective force fields were easily shattered by Superman's impact. Their sturdy warship armor was as thin as a piece of waste paper easily torn apart under his iron fist.
In just one and a half hours, this Romulan Fleet of three thousand warships had battle losses exceeding two hundred, and the remaining warships had to pull back... This indeed caused Clark Kent some trouble. After all, these Romulan warships were dispersing further and further, which also meant he would have to spend more time to defeat this fleet.
"Cool! Looks like we're about to win!"
Rocket Raccoon looked at the scene of Superman displaying divine might on the light screen, and couldn't help but raise the beer mug in his hand in celebration, taking a big gulp.
Dr. Banner, however, was not as optimistic as Rocket Raccoon. Although he had not had contact with Master Ancient One, he had had quite a bit of contact with Strange and knew well that these Mage, by utilizing the power of the Time Stone, possessed a miraculous ability to see through the future.
Just now, Master Ancient One said that their chance of winning was less than one in two hundred and sixty thousand, which was definitely not alarmist talk.
Facing Dr. Banner's puzzled gaze, Master Ancient One sighed, casually drew a Space Gate, and a Space Gate with sparks flying appeared on the Ceiling of the New York Sanctum.
On the other side of the Space Gate was surprisingly a pitch black environment. In the pitch black space, dotted with occasional starlight, a steel flood that could not be seen from beginning to end suddenly appeared. "Ancient One! Are you sure we have a chance to win!" Dr. Banner looked at the vast warship fleet on the other side of the Space Gate, and his entire body couldn't help but tremble. These warships were more than a hundred, a thousand times more numerous than those Superman was facing. Clang!
When Rocket Raccoon saw the vast warship fleet on the other side of the Space Gate, he was so frightened that the beer mug in his hand rolled directly onto the ground, and the beer in the cup instantly soaked the carpet under his feet.
"One in two hundred and sixty thousand chance!"
At this moment, a passing warship seemed to have detected the life aura on the other side of the Space Gate, and an energy cannon blasted towards the vicinity of the Space Gate.
The blazing white energy beam hit the Space Gate directly!
Just as Dr. Banner and Rocket Raccoon were about to dodge, the Space Gate above their heads suddenly disappeared.
And below the alien warship that fired the energy cannon, a Space Gate flashing with sparks suddenly appeared. Then, a blazing white energy beam shot out from within the Space Gate, hitting the armor layer below the warship—
After dealing with an alien spaceship, Ancient One flicked her sleeve, and another Space Gate with sparks flying appeared within the Sanctum.
On the other side of the Space Gate was a scene of singing birds and fragrant flowers, like an immortal realm, but Rocket Raccoon and Dr. Banner recognized at a glance that the other side was Asgard.
Master Ancient One stepped into the Space Gate, and Dr. Banner and Rocket Raccoon hurriedly followed.
Inside the Asgardian Golden Palace, Odin sat high on his Throne, his single eye flashing with radiance, lost in thought. In the Great Hall of the Golden Palace, two individuals named Thor, one fat and one thin, were confronting each other from a distance, the atmosphere seeming somewhat stiff. The still charming Asgardian Queen Frigga stood between the two, holding one in each hand, seemingly trying to persuade them of something.
Wonder Woman Diana Prince stood to the side, her look somewhat helpless.
According to the division of labor they had formulated before coming, she and Thor were here to seek Odin's help in Asgard.
But unexpectedly, this guy Thor, perhaps due to a special hobby for his hammer, summoned his hammer as soon as he arrived in Asgard, and this time he directly summoned the Thor of this Universe as well.
Thus, the scene before them unfolded.
Thor looked at the fat man in front of him, truly unwilling to believe that he would turn into this appearance in the future. He was Asgard's strongest man!
This must be an illusion created by Loki! Thor glared unpleasantly at the Mjolnir in Fat Thor's hand. Moreover, even if you are Thor from a Parallel Universe, you can't snatch my hammer! Queen Frigga, on the other hand, looked at her obese son with a face full of pity, looking at his uncoordinated eye, and couldn't help but reach out to stroke his cheek.
"Child, you must have suffered a lot these past years!"
"I've been doing very well these past years!" Thor felt the warmth of his mother's palm on his cheek, feeling his tears almost fall again. He pretended to be strong and said, "I found another home, and that mother is as good to me as you are, and Loki, he's changed now too. That cheap half-sister is very violent, but she's also good to me!"
When King Odin, who had been sitting on the Throne lost in thought, heard Thor mention his sister, he raised his head and looked at Thor, a trace of suspicion flashing in his eyes.
"That's good! That's good!" Frigga stroked Thor. As the Goddess of Magic, she could feel how much damage Thor had suffered over the years.
Watching his mother and the fake from a Parallel Universe stage a scene of deep mother-son affection in front of him, Thor felt a pang of jealousy, feeling utterly sour. If he hadn't recently encountered a series of events and trained on Earth for a period of time, if it were before, according to his personality, he would have already swung his hammer and fought a battle of real versus fake with the fake claiming to be from a Parallel Universe in front of him.
When the Space Gate with sparks flying appeared in the Golden Palace Great Hall, dozens of Asgardian Berserkers stationed in the Great Hall, wearing horned helmets, drew their swords and surrounded the sudden Space Gate.
"Stand down, these are my Guest!" Odin saw the Space Gate that suddenly appeared in the Great Hall, raised his Right Hand to signal the guards to retreat, and rose from his Throne to meet them.
The numerous guards rustled as they stepped back from the Space Gate. Master Ancient One, wearing a yellow robe, stepped out of the Space Gate with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Master Ancient One! Long time no see!"
Odin walked up to Ancient One, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries.
"The last time we met, I remember it was thirty years ago, when Bahamut wanted to invade the Reality Dimension, and you came to borrow the Eternal Flame from me! I didn't expect so much Timeline to have passed in a flash!"
"Thirty years, for you Aesir, is just a few days!"
"That was before. When I was young, I didn't know the preciousness of Timeline. Seeing that Ragnarök is about to arrive, I now cherish every day. Is Master Ancient One's purpose for coming here also because of Thanos?"
"The future I saw has changed. This time, if Earth wants to overcome this difficulty, I'm afraid you will need to personally step in to help!"
Odin looked at Ancient One, his eyebrows furrowed slightly: "Master Ancient One, it's not that I want to shirk responsibility, but you should know that Asgard's strength has greatly diminished since that last incident. The manpower that can be mobilized is really not much, and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim have been restless..."
"Father! I will deal with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. I've long found them displeasing!" The young Prince couldn't help but ask to fight after hearing Odin's words.
However, Thor's request to fight only earned him a cold glance from Odin's single eye, instantly turning him utterly deflated.
Ancient One still had a gentle smile on her face, as if Odin's reaction was not beyond her expectation. Instead, she nodded in agreement: "Indeed, with Asgard's current strength, even if they all went in, they wouldn't be able to stop this calamity!"
"Oh? Even with your strength, Master Ancient One, you cannot stop Thanos!" King Odin's single eye was full of suspicion.
He had been dealing with this bald head for more than just a day or two. He had seen with his own eyes more than once how this bald head, humble in words, effortlessly banished Evil God and Demon who invaded the Reality Dimension into endless Hell. He even felt that if Ancient One was willing to act, she could even pull the millions of warships that had entered the Solar System into a time loop together.
"I can't either," Ancient One sighed. "The power of the Time Stone may not be effective against guests from a Parallel Universe. If I act and get tied down, Dormammu and several other old friends will take advantage of the weakness. At that time, not only will Earth not be saved, but this calamity will also evolve into a catastrophe affecting the entire Universe!"
Odin knew that Ancient One could see through countless Timeline in the future by utilizing the ability of the Time Stone. What she said was definitely not alarmist talk.
He looked at Ancient One with a solemn expression: "Then what do you need me to do?"
"I hope God King can utilize Gungnir to summon Yggdrasil and form a Defense Line outside of Earth!"
Ancient One flicked a finger, and immediately the Defense Line she wanted Odin to set up appeared before her. A green branch of Yggdrasil wrapped around the entire Earth.
"That's it?" Odin looked at Ancient One in disbelief: "Open up a Battlefield for the Earthling, and you think they can win?"
Gungnir in his hand could indeed materialize the concept of Yggdrasil, but even with the enhancement of his divine power, Yggdrasil did not possess any lethality. As for defense, the concept of Yggdrasil surrounds the Nine World, from which one can know how large the gap is between the leaves.
Saying it's a defense, it only shortens the original million-mile front line to a hundred thousand miles. How many people does Earth have in total? Even adding their Asgard, they cannot resist the attack of Thanos's millions of warships.
If Thanos directly uses high-power planet-destroying weapons, he doesn't even need to come to Earth. He only needs to launch an attack towards the Sun, and the entire Solar System will be buried with this Star.
(end of chapter)