206

**Chapter 206: Emperor**

In the midst of the battlefield, Steve Rogers shouted, "Avengers, assemble!"

Immediately, a roar like a mountain and a tsunami erupted as countless Avengers formed ranks and charged towards Thanos.

Thanos, standing on the other side, raised the Overlord Skyblade, with his army surging behind him.

The army charged forward and clashed with the Avengers.

Thanos remained passive, watching the two forces battle with cold detachment and a sinister smile. "Senseless resistance!"

If Tony Stark and the others were to see him up close, they would notice a significant difference in Thanos.

Standing before them, Thanos appeared grayer and more wrinkled. If the Thanos of memory was a vibrant purple, this Thanos resembled a decrepit version of that.

This was not the Thanos from 2014!

The Chitauri soldiers began releasing the giant apes from their shackles. Thanos observed, then commanded, "Let this beast loose; it will surely demoralize the enemy!"

Soon, several Chitauri soldiers wheeled out a cage containing a man wearing a collar.

The Hulk!

"Roar..."

The caged Hulk, driven mad, was nothing more than a feral beast, roaring and charging towards the Avengers.

Watching the Avengers struggle fiercely, Thanos was filled with contempt, his thoughts drifting back a few days...

He was not originally from this universe; to be precise, he was a criminal from a parallel universe.

In that world, Thanos sought to annihilate all life from the very beginning. Invincible, he invaded Earth and easily defeated all the Avengers. Except for the Hulk, whom he kept as a pet, he wiped out the Avengers, leaving Earth in a state of death.

Even after conquering Earth, Thanos's quest did not end.

He then targeted Asgard, intending to destroy the ruler of the Nine Realms.

At that time, Asgard was under the rule of Thor, who had inherited the mantle of the All-Father.

Despite rallying the power of the entire realm, Asgard struggled to resist his forces, and the Nine Realms fell to Thanos's tyranny.

Not content with destroying Asgard, Thanos craved further conflict and destruction.

At this point, he had become the destroyer of all life.

After countless years of battle, Thanos had grown old, yet his strength only grew stronger.

He destroyed the entire universe, slaughtering all its inhabitants.

Aside from his dark army and the creature he had tamed like a pet, he was the only living being left in the universe.

He was the supreme ruler!

After achieving domination, he experienced endless loneliness. He had never felt so empty, and the entire universe seemed devoid of purpose.

Ultimately, Thanos, plagued by boredom, devised a radical plan: to travel to the past and prevent his past self from destroying the world!

However, the six original Infinity Stones had long been destroyed, making time travel extremely difficult.

Having obliterated the universe, Thanos acquired the most advanced technology available.

After countless failures, he finally developed a device capable of time travel.

The final hurdle was to find someone in the past timeline to assist him.

To orient himself and avoid getting lost in the vastness of time and space.

At this moment, another formidable figure attempting time travel appeared at the end of time. The other self...

Was him from another world!

What was most intolerable was that, unlike his own self, this alternate version was a failed, retired fruit farmer, defeated by the Avengers, with all his ideals shattered on this remote planet Earth!

Unable to accept this reality, he prepared to eliminate that timeline and restore Thanos's former glory...

The fruit farmer Thanos intervened.

"The Avengers in this world are far beyond imagination. Rushing in would be unwise. A more secure plan is required!"

The retired Thanos was surprisingly cautious. "This is our last chance; a decisive blow is essential! Failure means no chance for a comeback. I will seek additional allies!"

Old Thanos did not object, though he felt it was unnecessary. No matter how long Thanos had lingered in the opponent's universe in the past, for him, he could instantly travel to the time of the opened coordinates.

Upon returning to his own timeline, Thanos completed all his preparations during the ten days the Avengers spent searching for him.

Finally, having fulfilled his mission, he had the sorcerer Mardo use the Mind Gem to erase his memories and returned to his retired life as a fruit farmer in peace.

Reflecting on the present, Thanos tightened his grip on the Overlord Skyblade.

The self in this world had completed all the arrangements he had made and rested eternally.

The rest was up to him.

From now on, he would be the inherent threat to this world!