The War Continues

A day passed quickly.

Thanos's Space Fleet finally arrived ten million kilometers from the Asgardian fleet.

They were greeted by a barrage of laser fire.

At that distance, even lasers took thirty-three seconds to reach them.

Sanctuary II calmly raised its shield and withstood the attack.

Thanos sensed Odin's presence in the distance and smiled.

"Looks like my luck's holding."

What he had feared most was failing to find Odin in the vastness of space and giving him time to grow stronger.

By then, Thanos might find himself hopelessly outnumbered.

The Escort Ships soon arrived behind Sanctuary II and immediately raised their shields.

Shaped like hexagonal turtle shells, the Escort Ships had little offensive capability. Their main purpose was to carry enormous Energy Shields.

As they activated, Energy Shields ten times the size of the ships sprang into place.

The lasers sent faint ripples across the Energy Shields but could not penetrate them.

Attack ships, carriers, and supply ships arrived one after another behind the Escort Ships.

In just half an hour, ten thousand Spaceships had reached the outskirts of Asgard.

Thanos waved his hand, and the Black Order commanders directed the Spaceships around the enemy fire to flank the Asgardian fleet from both sides.

Odin saw that the smaller enemy force was trying to surround him, and anger flared.

He immediately ordered his forces to counterflank them.

A few hours later, the two formations resembled a pair of birds.

Both sides had concentrated their main forces in the center, each trying to break through the other's middle and encircle its wings.

The forces on both wings fought just as hard to break through and surround the opposing center.

Across the star-filled void, Spaceships were destroyed and lives were lost.

But with the two sides evenly matched, both fought cautiously.

After a full day of encirclement and counter-encirclement, their combined losses amounted to only a little over a thousand Spaceships.

The dead among the Black Order and the Asgardian warriors, however, were too numerous to count.

Most of those losses were on Odin's side.

The chief reason was the overwhelming power of the Titan-class Warship.

Every time Sanctuary II fired its main cannon, it wiped out a broad swath of Odin's forces, putting enormous pressure on his center.

If this continued, Odin's fleet would be whittled away until it could no longer resist.

Odin realized it too. Taking up Gungnir, he flew out of his ship.

"Die!"

A powerful blast of energy shot toward Sanctuary II as it charged its main cannon.

The nearby Escort Ships rushed forward, raising their Energy Shields one after another.

Brilliant bursts of fire bloomed across space.

One by one, the Escort Ships in the blast's path were destroyed.

Only when a large Escort Ship moved in front of it was Odin's attack held back for a few seconds.

But only a few seconds.

Five seconds later, the large Escort Ship was destroyed, and the blast continued toward Sanctuary II.

That delay had given Sanctuary II time to stop charging its main cannon and raise its Energy Shield.

A moment later, Odin's attack struck the Energy Shield.

In the control room, Thanos watched Sanctuary II's energy reserves plunge and tightened his grip on the Destruction Blade.

Only another Skyfather-level fighter could stand against Skyfather-level power.

Perhaps future technology would produce a Spaceship capable of matching it, but he had no such ship now.

Thanos appeared outside Sanctuary II and held out one hand to meet the blast.

After their powers ground against each other for a while, Odin stopped his attack and fixed his gaze on Thanos, a thousand kilometers away.

Thor and Heimdall came to his side, glaring at Thanos with eyes wide as saucers.

Thanos merely gave them a cold smile and waited for the battle to run its course.

Now that he had found the Asgard Continent, he was in no hurry.

The battle favored him. He could let his forces destroy Asgard's Spaceships, then wear Odin down at his leisure.

Odin understood Thanos's plan, and unease began to creep into his heart.

Before long, the battle shifted again.

On the left wing, Corvus Glaive personally led his ship against a large enemy Spaceship and destroyed it. He then broke through the enemy formation and began to encircle the forces on that flank.

Odin's forces were suddenly in grave danger.

Seeing this, Thor said urgently, "Father, I'll go help them."

He swung Mjolnir and flew toward the left flank.

Odin immediately looked at Heimdall beside him.

He worried about his son and feared Thor would be at a disadvantage.

But after a moment's thought, he decided against sending Heimdall after him.

His entire fleet was in danger. If Heimdall went to help Thor, what would happen if another flank called for aid?

Would Odin have to intervene himself?

If he did, Thanos would come charging in with a smile.

On the other side of the battlefield, Thor soon reached the left flank.

He saw Corvus Glaive slaughtering Asgardian warriors in the distance and charged without hesitation.

He sensed that the man before him was only at the Planetary-level Peak, nowhere near strong enough to face him.

Corvus Glaive sensed Thor's approach and tightened his grip on the Death Glaive.

A moment later, Mjolnir flew from Thor's hand straight at him.

Throwing his hammer was what Thor did best.

Boom!

Corvus Glaive blocked the strike with his Death Glaive, but the impact drove him back.

He immediately realized he was no match for Thor.

Proxima Midnight sensed her lover's peril. After destroying an enemy Spaceship, she flew over to help.

Even together, she and Corvus Glaive were still on the defensive against Thor, but they could just manage to hold him off.

Their own Spaceships surrounded them, after all, and fired in support from time to time.

A dozen minutes later, Cull Obsidian, Supergiant, and Ebony Maw broke through the right wing of Odin's forces together.

Seeing this, Heimdall went to help without waiting for an order.

With his forces under mounting pressure, Odin gripped Gungnir, aching to unleash an attack and sweep the enemy aside.

But Thanos's presence in the distance remained locked onto him, and he dared not make a move.

Just as Odin's forces began to falter, a ripple of space appeared behind the Asgardian battle lines.

Moments later, more than a thousand ice-covered Spaceships emerged from a spatial jump.