Perfect Infiltration

At the outskirts of Chitauri Prime.

After flying through space for a long time, Beckett finally caught sight of Chitauri Prime, which had been surrounded layer upon layer by Thanos's forces. Having received advance notice from Thanos, the First Legion opened the docking passage of its flagship. Clad in silver armor, Beckett stepped out of the warship once docking was complete.

"Your Highness Beckett."

As one of Thanos's most trusted adopted sons, Beckett had long since made a formidable name for himself beyond their ranks. The First Legion's soldiers offered him no obstruction along the way, and he soon arrived at the flagship's control room.

A figure stood beside the console. After so long apart, he still wore that tattered cloak and still had that eternally expressionless face. Even standing there with his hands behind his back, he carried an aura unlike that of the other members of the Black Order.

The leader of Thanos's Black Order, and the strongest among the four in individual combat—Corvus Glaive.

"How are the Centaurs, Beckett?"

"Gone."

Corvus Glaive's fingers paused over the holographic screen before him. He turned around and, seeing that the coldness on Beckett's face was genuine, shifted his attention back to his work.

"Where's Proxima Midnight?"

Seeing only Corvus Glaive at the console, Beckett spoke up. According to what his adoptive father Thanos had told him earlier, Proxima Midnight should have been here as well. Yet Beckett saw only Corvus Glaive handling official matters.

"Were you looking for me, Beckett?"

The moment Beckett finished speaking, the control room doors opened. Proxima Midnight, the member of the Black Order whose appearance and temperament most resembled a human's, strode in while twirling her weapon. A Chitauri followed behind her.

"Ah, I was, but it seems I won't need you now." Beckett's gaze landed on the Chitauri behind Proxima Midnight. His half-mechanical, half-biological traits, his grotesque and terrifying face even without an expression, and the brown armor that only high-ranking Chitauri lifeforms were qualified to wear all made his identity as an insider obvious to Beckett.

"Unfortunately, you still have to rely on me." Already accustomed to Beckett's personality, Proxima Midnight paid no mind to his attitude. She stepped aside and shoved the Chitauri before him with one hand.

Beckett had no intention of responding. His red tail swayed behind him as his icy gaze fixed upon the Chitauri before him, making the latter's heart tremble. Beckett's reputation as a god of slaughter had long spread beyond Thanos's inner circle. Suddenly being stared at by such a demon who killed without blinking, The Other felt chills crawl down his spine, even though he knew he should be safe.

He was loyal to Thanos. Probably. Maybe. Nothing would happen to him, right?

Though The Other was deeply uneasy, he still endured the deathly stares of the three and forced himself to lay out the plan he had agreed upon with Thanos.

"Your Highness Beckett, please return to Chitauri Prime with me shortly. According to the plan devised by Lord Thanos, I will take you to the residence of the current Chitauri King."

It was the familiar decapitation operation Beckett had carried out countless times before. The difference this time was that, so long as Beckett could defeat the Chitauri King swiftly and decisively, The Other could take the opportunity to rise to power and seize the current king's control over the military.

"What do you think? Need help, Beckett?"

Proxima Midnight fiddled with a small object in her hand and looked at the stern-faced Beckett. A teasing smile gradually curled across her lips.

"Just take care of yourself." Unmoved by Proxima Midnight's teasing, Beckett flicked his tail and directly bound up The Other, who had not even had time to react, before walking toward the hatch.

"He really gets worse at talking as he grows up." Watching Beckett and The Other disappear around the corner, Proxima Midnight's teasing smile faded. She turned her gaze toward Corvus Glaive, who remained unmoved.

"How else do you expect him to talk to you? Have you forgotten how you treated Beckett during his trial when he was seven?" After Beckett left, Corvus Glaive's fingers danced over the holographic screen as he issued the order for the entire army to attack. This was also part of the plan. The First Legion led by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight would continue applying pressure to the Chitauri from outside, allowing Beckett to infiltrate smoothly and carry out the decapitation operation.

"Didn't you nearly skewer him with your spear too?"

"So you think my relationship with him is good?"

"Fair point." Proxima Midnight thought about it and found herself unable to refute him. They did not know whether Thanos had done it deliberately or whether Beckett was simply cold by nature, but after all these years, aside from displaying different emotions toward his adoptive father Thanos, Beckett had always kept everyone else at arm's length.

The damned thing was that a Beckett like that was unexpectedly popular among Thanos's various armies.

"By now, Beckett should be about ready to take command of a legion, shouldn't he?" Thinking back to the way Thanos had trained her, she had taken over a portion of Thanos's military forces after making a name for herself, fighting campaigns for him and slaughtering countless enemies. Beckett was clearly following the same path now.

"Otherwise, why do you think Lord Thanos suddenly had the two of us attack Chitauri Prime?" Corvus Glaive had already seen through everything. If Thanos had not intended for Beckett to take control of the Chitauri, did she really think he would have tolerated the Chitauri King until now?

As far as Corvus Glaive was concerned, every plan involving Chitauri Prime was merely Thanos paving the way for Beckett. The effort Thanos had invested in Beckett far surpassed that devoted to any of his other adopted sons.

"Now, it depends on whether Beckett can seize the opportunity himself."

Cold. That was Beckett's first impression as he set foot on Chitauri Prime alongside The Other. The oppressive environment, terrible weather, and even the rugged terrain made the planet seem like a dead world based on the senses alone.

Perhaps because it had just rained, the uneven road was filled with puddles. Beckett's gleaming silver boots stepped through them, splashing water in every direction.

"Your Highness Beckett, at the end of this path lies the current Chitauri King's residence. Please be extremely careful." Walking ahead as their guide, The Other turned back to look at Beckett, who was still swaggering along without concealing his whereabouts in the slightest. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to speak.

Since the Chitauri King knew he was already opposed to Thanos, he would naturally strengthen his defenses. According to The Other's plan, the two of them would be best off infiltrating the Chitauri King's palace safely without alerting the powerful guards.

"The King has set up—"

The Other's voice stopped abruptly. Ten guards' corpses rolled down from the hillside. At some point, Beckett had already ascended to the mountaintop. With his foot planted upon the eleventh Chitauri corpse, he looked toward the distant palace, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

His father had said that if you killed everyone who saw you, it was a perfect infiltration.

I was wrong, orz.

I was too tired after watching Espanyol's match last night and fell asleep immediately. My laptop even crashed onto the floor... Luckily, Huawei laptops are pretty durable...

King Wu is awesome!!!

Next season, I want to see King Wu knee-slide at Old Trafford!!!! Go!!!