The Watered-Down Meat Before the Great Battle's End

Clutching the Space Stone tightly in his palm meant he had already won more than half this battle; yet Xiang Qian did not feel at ease because of it.

After Thanos regained his senses, he made no unnecessary moves. He merely gave Xiang Qian a long, deep look before turning to rejoin his legion, which began withdrawing into their landing ships.

They left cleanly and decisively, abandoning their hard-won gains as if they were worn-out shoes. Even when they suffered fresh casualties during the retreat, not one of them looked back. Their swift, resolute style was exactly like when Thanos had received Xiang Qian's message and launched his surprise attack without hesitation.

Setting aside Hela, that enforcer whose own consciousness might not even be in control anymore, it was Thanos's performance that truly gave Xiang Qian a long-forgotten sense of dread.

As his own power had gradually grown, there were now no enemies besides beings such as Eternity and Death who could make Xiang Qian feel troubled.

Even that "god" beneath the Indian Ocean's crust, whom he had painstakingly planned to deal with years ago, was only feared because its reach was too broad and it threatened too many people. If he truly went all out, two Infinity Stones would have been enough to suppress it.

But when he turned his gaze to Thanos before him, Xiang Qian saw a madness rooted in extreme rationality. This man could rationally control the Infinity Stones, yet he also dared to use them to commit acts of madness.

There was no shortage of such rational madmen on Earth. The most outstanding example was Hitler in history; beneath him were all sorts of highly intelligent antisocial personalities.

Of course, one could not forget that he was also a simp—a rational yet insane simp. With