However...
This was not the end.
The true battle had only just begun.
Defeating the Dimension Lords was merely one part of the war.
The real threat was still Thanos.
Since he had already defeated the invading Dimension Lords, it was time for Nolan to leave this battlefield and return to the true front line.
Nolan glanced at Hela.
"What are you planning to do?"
Hela let out a soft laugh.
Her usually confident and graceful figure carried a hint of exhaustion.
The battle just now had not lasted very long.
However, the pressure it placed on her was enormous.
Mephisto was, after all, one of the strongest Dimension Lords in existence.
Facing an opponent of that level was not something even Hela could handle effortlessly.
So at this moment, her condition was far from perfect.
"I think I should stay here."
"Otherwise, if those Dimension Lords return after you leave, the entire Earth may fall."
Hearing this...
Nolan nodded.
He knew Hela was right.
Those Dimension Lords, especially Mephisto, were extremely cunning.
And unlike Dormammu...
Mephisto had not suffered any injuries.
The only one seriously wounded was Dormammu.
The remaining two Dimension Lords were still in relatively good condition.
Even Shuma-Gorath had only suffered minor injuries.
At this moment, having a powerful person guarding this battlefield was the best choice.
It could also prevent the situation on Earth from collapsing if the battle below turned unfavorable.
"Then I'll leave this place to you."
"I need to return to Wakanda."
"The battle there still needs me."
After saying that...
Nolan immediately opened a portal and rushed toward Wakanda.
At this moment...
While Nolan and the Dimension Lords were fighting, Wakanda's battlefield had never stopped.
Thanos' army had already launched a full-scale assault.
Thanos himself was fighting against Earth's strongest warriors.
The terrifying intensity of the battle placed immense pressure on every hero present.
Under that overwhelming pressure...
Many had already suffered severe injuries and lost their ability to continue fighting.
But they still held on.
However...
No one knew how much longer they could endure.
Based on the current situation...
They could be defeated by Thanos at any moment.
Even Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, who had once been full of confidence, was now covered in injuries.
The pride and confidence she had displayed before were gone.
Only exhaustion and determination remained.
Meanwhile...
Thor, holding Stormbreaker, was covered in wounds.
He looked at Carol Danvers and said:
"Perhaps I should change my opinion of you."
"My mother once told me that my first impression of you was not good."
"Because you were too arrogant."
"But now..."
"At least we have become true allies."
Carol Danvers glanced at Thor.
A faint look of disdain appeared in her eyes.
Even though she was badly injured...
That did not mean she would suddenly think highly of Thor.
During this battle...
Thor's performance had not been as impressive as she expected.
Stormbreaker was indeed a powerful weapon.
But Thor himself was not currently capable of fully displaying its true potential.
Seeing Carol's expression...
Thor could only smile helplessly.
He looked behind him.
The Avengers were now reduced to only four people still capable of fighting.
Thor.
Tony Stark.
Bruce Banner.
And Wanda Maximoff.
Everyone else had completely lost their ability to participate.
As for the Guardians of the Galaxy...
Only Peter Quill could barely continue fighting.
Besides them...
There was also Valkyrie and Stephen Strange.
A lineup like this should have been incredibly powerful.
But right now...
They only felt that it was far from enough.
Countless weapons and machines supported by the Red Queen continued firing toward Thanos.
It was this endless wave of attacks that slowed Thanos' advance.
But Thanos was simply too powerful.
With the Power Stone in his possession...
Every strike he unleashed was almost impossible to withstand.
Any machine that rushed toward him, regardless of its model or strength...
Was destroyed instantly.
"When is Nolan coming back?"
Bruce Banner asked.
He felt that he was already reaching his limit.
Even Hulk's power was beginning to disappear.
Hearing this...
Tony Stark gave a bitter smile.
"When can he come back?"
"Are you joking?"
"You weren't there when we fought the Dimension Lords."
"But I can tell you this..."
"That battlefield was probably far more terrifying than what we are facing now."
"What we need to do is not wait for Nolan to return and save us."
"What we need to do..."
"Is defeat Thanos first."
"Then go to the dimensional rift and help Nolan defend against the Dimension Lords."
Hearing Tony's words...
Bruce Banner opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
Were those Dimension Lords really that terrifying?
He had never participated in a battle against them.
But he had fought Thanos before.
The previous time...
Thanos had not even used the Power Stone.
Yet they were still defeated easily.
And now...
Thanos had the power of an Infinity Stone.
Under these circumstances...
Bruce couldn't see any possibility of victory.
However...
Looking at Tony's serious expression...
Bruce knew Tony was not joking.
Things were much worse than he imagined.
Bruce Banner felt the strength inside him fading again.
Originally...
Nolan had been his only hope.
But now Tony had told him that Nolan could not return.
So...
How could they possibly continue?
Bruce looked around the battlefield.
This was a battlefield that seemed endless.
The entire area around Wakanda looked as if it had been destroyed.
Of course, that was only an illusion.
The battle was happening outside Wakanda itself.
But even so...
The destruction was beyond everyone's imagination.
Death.
Blood.
Destruction.
Everything around them had been stained by war.
The ground was covered with the marks of explosions.
Craters.
Broken weapons.
Destroyed machines.
Behind them...
Were fallen warriors who would never rise again.
There were also countless damaged robots being dragged away by recovery machines.
They were repaired as quickly as possible.
Then sent back into battle.
But what could these damaged machines accomplish?
Their performance had already declined.
They were only buying time.
They were not capable of changing the outcome.
Opposite them...
Thanos' army continued pouring into the battlefield.
There were simply too many of them.
No one had expected Thanos' forces to be this enormous.
Nor had they expected his army to contain so many powerful warriors.
The terrifying beasts among them could withstand small-caliber weapons.
Some could even endure artillery attacks.
Their charges created enormous pressure on Earth's forces.
And even without those beasts...
The soldiers of Thanos' army were still terrifying.
Their weapons were far beyond Earth's technology.
Their physical abilities were also far beyond ordinary humans.
This was a battle between completely different levels of power.
Even if they continued fighting...
Bruce could not see any hope of victory.
He no longer wanted to continue.
And he was not the only one who felt this way.
Across the battlefield...
Despair filled the hearts of humanity.
Many silently wished for the battle to end.
They wondered when their turn to fall would come.
This despair continued weakening humanity's resistance.
Meanwhile...
Thanos' mood was not good either.
Human resistance had exceeded his expectations.
He originally believed his army would easily break through Earth's defenses.
Then he would obtain the three Infinity Stones.
But he never expected...
Two of those three Infinity Stones were in Nolan's hands.
Nolan Lock.
The powerful opponent he had once fought in space.
A man who had become a serious obstacle.
And besides Nolan...
Stephen Strange, who possessed the Time Stone, was also far stronger than expected.
He had caused Thanos many problems.
And then there was another unexpected person.
Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
That woman.
Thanos had heard her name throughout the universe.
Although they operated in different regions of space...
Carol Danvers' reputation was still significant.
He never expected this battle to gather so many powerful beings.
He never expected Earth to resist this strongly.
Originally...
He did not want to use the Power Stone.
Because using Infinity Stones consumed his energy.
And now...
He could already feel exhaustion spreading through his body.
Even though he tried to hide it...
His eyes no longer carried the same confidence as when the battle began.
If this continued...
He could not even guarantee whether he would still be able to take Nolan's Infinity Stones after the battle ended.
But now...
He had no choice.
For his dream...
He had to continue.
Even if these enemies were powerful...
Even if this was the strongest resistance he had ever encountered...
The final victory would still belong to him.
He would complete his goal.
He would reshape the universe.
With that belief...
Thanos roared.
The Power Stone on his Infinity Gauntlet erupted with terrifying energy once again.
And this time...
That overwhelming force struck directly toward Carol Danvers.
Carol reacted immediately.
She crossed both arms in front of herself.
But even so...
The impact sent her flying backward.
The terrifying force caused blood to spill from her mouth.
As she flew through the air...
She felt every bit of strength leaving her body.
Although she possessed endless energy...
Energy and physical endurance were two different things.
Her body had reached its limit.
She could no longer continue fighting.
But just as she was about to crash into the ground...
A hand suddenly pressed against her back.
"Hey, woman."
"Are you already finished?"
A familiar teasing voice came from behind her.
"Nolan?"
Carol Danvers looked back in shock.
Nolan Lock was standing behind her.
The moment everyone heard his voice...
They turned toward him.
And when they saw Nolan...
Something returned to their eyes.
Hope.
Just moments ago...
Tony had told them that Nolan could not return.
They had already given up on the possibility of his arrival.
But now...
At the moment when they had fallen into complete despair...
Nolan had returned.
And even more unbelievable...
There was not a trace of exhaustion on him.
It looked as if he had never fought a battle at all.
Hope immediately ignited in everyone's hearts.
"Hahaha!"
"You damn bastard!"
"You finally came back!"
"If you were any later..."
"We might have actually lost!"
Tony Stark shouted excitedly.
Although he had not expected Nolan to return...
Seeing him now still filled him with renewed confidence.
Nearby...
Stephen Strange stared at Nolan in disbelief.
He had participated in the battle against Dormammu.
He knew exactly how terrifying a Dimension Lord was.
According to his predictions...
Once the battle against Dormammu began...
Those who entered the dimensional rift would never successfully return.
Let alone return this quickly.
But Nolan had broken his understanding completely.
Everything he had seen through the Time Stone...
Seemed like it had never happened.
And for the first time...
Stephen truly hoped his vision of the future had been wrong.
Because now...
The Time Stone's prediction really had been wrong.
Nolan had returned from the dimensional rift through his own strength.
And he had joined a battle he was originally destined to miss.
Thor's pupils contracted.
A Dimension Lord.
As the prince of Asgard, and now the King of Asgard...
No one understood the terror of Dimension Lords better than him.
Yet Nolan had defeated them.
And then returned to Earth so quickly.
For Thor...
This was undoubtedly good news.
Because this war that had almost reached its end...
Had changed once again.
And this time...
It was a change Thanos absolutely did not want to see.
Nolan smiled slightly.
"Thanos..."
"Looks like this damn war..."
"Is not over yet."
...
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