Preparing for Expedition

"Poor soul..." Hearing Loki's words, Thanos didn't mock him further, but instead shook his head, feeling that the other was both pitiful and pathetic.

He had wanted wholeheartedly to gain Odin's recognition, yet from beginning to end, Odin had merely treated him as a chess piece to control the Frost Giants.

Furthermore, Odin had given Loki the hope that they could stand on equal footing, only to shatter that hope in the end and cast him into a cosmic wormhole.

As Odin grew older and seemingly grew kinder, no longer waging wars at will, it was merely because he had acquired the Eye of Wisdom and learned of the existence of Celestials, forcing him to suppress the ambition in his heart and resort to schemes and plotting.

One had to know that in his youth, Odin had even sealed his own biological daughter, Hela, away in the Underworld simply because he feared her achievements would eclipse his own, going so far as to sacrifice all the Valkyries without hesitation.

It was clear that in Odin's eyes, all family bonds and lives could be sacrificed for the sake of his power.

Would a person like this change for the better? It was as likely as the sun rising from the west.

As the saying went, it wasn't that old people became bad, but rather that bad people grew old.

To claim that Odin had improved simply because he had aged was nothing short of a cosmic joke.

Upon seeing Thanos's look of pity, Loki instantly reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, growing agitated.

"What is that look on your meaning! Are you pitying me? What is there for me to pity! I am the future king of Asgard, and I am the future overlord of the universe! By then, all of you will kneel at my feet!"

Watching the other's seemingly neurotic roar, Thanos frowned and said with displeasure, "Enough, put away those little tricks of yours, God of Mischief."

How could someone known as the God of Mischief lose his composure over just a few words?

It was nothing more than deliberately exposing a flaw in his heart to make others think they could control him.

Over the past five hundred years, he had seen plenty of such people who fancied themselves clever.

Hearing Thanos call him the God of Mischief, Loki immediately understood that his little trick had been seen through by the other.

Thus, his expression instantly returned to calmness, and he said indifferently, "Speak, what will it take for you to let me go?"

Seeing that the other seemed to have resigned himself to fate, Thanos did not speak right away.

For he knew that this fellow was by no means an easy chess piece to use.

When he was utilizing the other, wasn't the other utilizing him in return?

Therefore, with a person like this, one could only make use of them, not truly employ them as a trusted tool.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke, "I don't need you to do anything, as long as you obediently play your part as a bargaining chip."

His coming here this time was merely to confirm whether the other was truly Loki.

Seeing Thanos turn and leave the room without the slightest hesitation, Loki panicked for real this time.

"Wait, I have utility. I can bring you the Infinity Stones. I know where the Space Stone is..."

Yet no matter how he shouted, Thanos remained resolute, leaving the place without even turning his head.

After confirming that Loki had indeed been found, Thanos proceeded to recall his other three subordinates.

Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, and Supergiant.

Together with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, the five of them were known as the Black Order.

They were also the capable assistants with whom Thanos had continuously expanded his forces while training himself.

Once all members of the Black Order had returned, he issued a Level 1 combat readiness mobilization.

The so-called Level 1 combat readiness mobilization meant that all civilian activities and resources had to take a backseat to the war.

First, around the black hole, ten meteorites with a diameter of about ten thousand kilometers were pulled into position, and a Space Fortress was established upon them.

This type of space fortress was currently the pinnacle of Thanos's technological crystallization.

If the protective shield was activated, he... well, he estimated it would take ten blows to destroy it.

Because he had never tested it, he wasn't entirely certain and could only make a rough estimation.

Next, he ordered the planets under his command to increase their population reproduction rates.

This was in preparation for the upcoming war against the Asgardians.

A war between two major factions naturally wouldn't be like the movies, where a few leaders slaughtered each other and the victor took all.

That was simply because movie runtimes were limited and tailored to market appeal, making things appear overly simple.

In a cosmic war between Asgard and a faction like his, the number of casualties among subordinates would start at least in the hundreds of millions, and if the fighting dragged on, tens of billions or even trillions dead was entirely possible.

Increasing the population in advance could effectively alleviate future wartime pressure.

With all preparations completed, the next step was naturally to manufacture various types of spaceships at full capacity.

His goal was to assemble a fleet of ten thousand spaceships within a year.

Time passed quickly, and a little over a year went by.

In the Sanctuary.

Thanos sat upon the throne on the top floor, gazing indifferently at his five subordinates below.

After more than a year of training, although their strength was still not enough to fully satisfy him, they had nonetheless improved significantly.

They probably wouldn't get instantly slaughtered like mere grunts the way they did in the movies anymore.

After a moment, he ordered several subordinates to bring him his weapons: Tyrant's Blade and the Tyrant Armor.

Tyrant's Blade was a two-meter-long double-bladed sword composed of two one-meter-wide broadswords, and its primary material was Adamantium.

This was precisely why the Captain America's shield had been hacked to pieces within a few blows in the movie.

After all, Adamantium was a metal even harder than Vibranium.

The Tyrant Armor presented an overall golden-yellow appearance with black patterns, possessing not only formidable physical defense but also substantial magic resistance.

Aside from Adamantium, its main composition also incorporated a certain amount of Uru.

It was precisely this Uru that provided the magic-resistant capabilities.

In the movie, although a berserk Scarlet Witch had pressed the attack against Thanos, she was unable to kill him for a time due to the existence of the Tyrant Armor, ultimately giving him the opening to make Sanctuary II launch an indiscriminate attack.

Once fully equipped, Thanos raised his head, swung Tyrant's Blade for a moment, and pointed it toward the sky.

"A new round of war has begun. Have you prepared yourselves?"

The Black Order immediately dropped to one knee and shouted in unison.

"My lord is our guiding light, and wherever your gaze falls is our target for conquest."

"We swear to follow the lord's footsteps to the ends of the earth, until the universe achieves unity."

"We are the lord's most loyal servants!"

Following the Black Order's impassioned and spirited oaths, the surrounding subordinates also dropped to one knee one after another and began to swear allegiance.

Among these individuals were bio-warriors of the Black Order, Chitauri, and Titans, among others.