A vast army stood at the border.
Not long after Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight led the First Legion under their command into Chitauri Prime, the true helmsman of the Dark Order—the last Titan in the universe, Thanos, known to the outside world as the Mad Titan because of his atrocities—arrived on Chitauri Prime with his capable subordinate, Ebony Maw.
Beckett, Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight, the three supreme generals under Thanos, stood to one side of the clearing, welcoming the arrival of their adoptive father.
"You truly haven't disappointed me, Beckett." Thanos, clad in golden armor, stepped down from his flagship. His gaze swept across the respectfully standing Chitauri soldiers around him as he gave full affirmation to Beckett's performance.
"And you two, your coordination with Beckett was flawless." After praising Beckett, Thanos turned his gaze toward Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight.
"This is what we should do." Corvus Glaive, having put away his weapon, bowed slightly. Before Thanos, the leader of the Dark Order's First Legion remained as humble as he had been when he first started out.
"Let's go in and take a look."
After taking everything in, Thanos spotted the Chitauri who had pledged allegiance to him behind Beckett. However, he did not ask The Other anything.
The clack of combat boots striking the ground echoed out. Surrounded by the crowd, Thanos's golden-armored figure gradually disappeared into the depths of the Chitauri Prime warship command hall.
The royal hall where the Chitauri King resided had already been destroyed by Beckett himself, so the warship command center, second only to the royal hall in scale, became The Other's first choice for receiving Thanos.
Unlike the spacious royal hall, the warship command center was crammed full of all kinds of technological equipment.
"Please take your seat, Lord Thanos." The perceptive The Other bowed respectfully, revealing the throne hidden behind him to Thanos.
This had been the Chitauri King's exclusive seat, but now The Other offered it without hesitation to Beckett and to Thanos.
In his view, it made no difference which of the father and son sat there. In any case, he and his people would be able to bask in the glory of the Titans. And according to The Other's guess, the one most likely to sit in that position was not Thanos, but Beckett.
Thanos had his own cause and his own base. He could not remain on Chitauri Prime for long. But Beckett was different. Ever since leaving Thanos to carry out missions independently, he had always worked alone.
And the facts turned out exactly as he had expected.
The first thing Thanos did after ascending the throne was beckon to his son Beckett, having him climb the steps to stand beside the throne. Before everyone, he announced that from that day onward, the Chitauri legion would be placed under Beckett's command.
Beckett, who had originally been alone, became the one with the most troops in the Dark Order's system with this single order from Thanos. Although the Chitauri were not particularly strong in combat, their fearlessness of death was still enough to give most planets in the universe a headache.
Having made the right bet, The Other was thrilled inside. He felt that his earlier decision to publicly swear allegiance to His Highness Beckett had been exceptionally farsighted.
However, Beckett himself clearly did not appreciate Thanos's gesture.
After the Chitauri Prime division conference, presided over by the current Chitauri King, The Other, came to an end, Beckett did not leave with the others. Instead, he remained beside the throne, looking down as people including Corvus Glaive and Ebony Maw departed one after another.
"What is it, Beckett? Is there something else?"
Thanos noticed Beckett's unusual behavior. Familiar with his son's temperament, he waited until everyone had left the warship command center before turning his gaze toward Beckett, who stood beside the throne, and asking.
"Father, I don't need the Chitauri." Beckett's response was concise and direct. A hint of contempt appeared on his stern face when he spoke of the Chitauri.
In Beckett's eyes, a race of such weak fighters was of absolutely no help to him.
"You don't need the Chitauri?"
"Yes. I don't need subordinates who will hold me back." Beckett was very clear on his assessment of the Chitauri. Their mechanical behemoths, which the Chitauri took pride in, had been utterly unable to resist him, and those were already the strongest forces the Chitauri could produce.
For Beckett, he was still more accustomed to coming and going alone.
"Beckett, this universe is vast."
Thanos rose from the throne, raised his right hand before Beckett, and snapped his fingers.
The lights throughout the warship command center went out at once. Then, magnificent images of the universe replaced the dazzling lights and reflected in Beckett's pupils.
"So vast that you cannot personally handle everything. Just like me now."
"You are proud, Beckett. That innate pride is your defining trait, and it is also what I admire most about you."
"But there is one thing I hope you remember: do not let pride blind you."
Even someone as powerful as Thanos had been Beckett's age once. He too had suffered many setbacks, and now Thanos wanted Beckett to avoid as many unnecessary detours as possible.
"You can think carefully about it. Are the Chitauri truly useless to you?"
"And most importantly, Beckett, you are my son. That means you cannot remain alone forever. Sooner or later, you must learn how to manage an army and share my burdens, just like Ebony Maw and the others."
As soon as he finished speaking, another snap rang out.
The cosmic images vanished, and the lights of the warship command center shone before Beckett once more.
"Wars in the universe cannot be resolved by simple decapitation strikes alone. Do you understand, Beckett?"
With his hands behind his back, Thanos, preparing to begin the next stage of Beckett's training, continued to instill his own ideals in him.
Beckett's tail swayed behind him. His stern face revealed nothing as he quietly considered Thanos's words.
What use would the Chitauri be after becoming his subordinate army? What could he use the Chitauri army for?
Cannon fodder?
That was the first thought to surface in Beckett's mind.
Just as Thanos had said, Beckett, who had always acted alone, now needed to change his way of thinking. Decapitation operations cultivated Beckett's individual strength, while commanding an army would allow him to fully digest the knowledge he had learned while following Thanos and turn it into experience of his own.
"Your Highness Beckett, it is time for you to soak in the Fountain of Life."
The intelligent program on Beckett's wrist projected the image of a blue raccoon before him. "Woz has prepared the Fountain of Life for you according to Gates's instructions."
I had to make a work trip to Dongguan, so updates have been rather late these past two days. (_)
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