Lucas casually dropped the broken blade in his hand, raised his fists, and faced Thanos's double-edged sword.
This was why he didn't like using weapons, they were too fragile.
Fists met blade, separating as soon as they touched.
Thanos, with his sturdy and massive build, constantly maneuvered. He hoped to defeat Lucas through skill, avoiding solid attacks and striking at weaknesses.
But after discarding the blade, Lucas's combat skills improved dramatically, allowing him to block Thanos's sword attacks every time. Or rather, his previous wild hacking was intentional. Now, this was his true skill level.
As both of them unleashed their full skills, the battle once again reached a stalemate.
Lucas was surprised to discover something. Thanos could actually keep up with his movement speed, which was unscientific.
Although Thanos was also a nearly well-rounded warrior, like Thor, speed was his weakness.
Lucas, however, was truly well-rounded with no blind spots. His strength was greater than Thanos's, and the stalemate only occurred because he wasn't going all out. Similarly, his speed should have been even greater than Thanos's.
Releasing his force, Lucas pulled back. Although he didn't know why, in close-quarters, fast-paced combat, where skill was paramount, his advantage wasn't significant, and that was a fact.
Composing himself, Lucas observed carefully and noticed something unusual. At some point, a yellow gem was embedded in Thanos's armor.
The Mind Stone!
"You're using the power of the Mind Stone to enhance your mental perception?" Lucas asked.
Thanos didn't hide it and even attempted a verbal attack, "That's right. The Mind Stone can strengthen the mind, enhancing the five senses and thought speed."
"Every move you make is visible to my perception, with nowhere to hide. You'd best be careful. If I hit you, the Mind Stone's power will twist your mind. At that point, you will be controlled by me and become my dog beneath my throne."
"However, if you surrender now and serve me, I promise not to use the Mind Stone to control you, and I will grant you a position second only to me."
Lucas sneered, "If the Mind Stone could control me, you wouldn't have said it out loud. Such psychological tactics are useless against me."
"However, since you've used an Infinity Stone, I'll use one too."
With that, Lucas took out the Power Stone and held it in his hand.
The next second, he stepped forward, his right hand turning purplish-black, and a punch wrapped in the destructive energy of the Power Stone heavily struck Thanos's chest.
Thanos dared not be careless, also channeling the Mind Stone's energy into the double-edged sword in his hand, then blocking with the blade.
Lucas's fist heavily impacted Thanos's blade.
As the two wrestled, the powers of the Power Stone and the Mind Stone also clashed.
Purple and gold colors shot up into the sky, creating a clear division at the point of impact, holding their ground on opposite sides.
Chaotic energy spread outwards, washing over Sanctuary I.
Crack!
Suddenly, a crisp sound.
The double-edged sword in Thanos's hand was the first to give way, developing cracks. Then, the cracks spread rapidly, and the entire blade shattered with a crash.
Boom!
Lucas's punch heavily struck Thanos's chest.
Under the combined effect of Lucas's immense strength, divine power, and the Power Stone, Thanos flew backward. He crashed through layers of walls until he fell into the void of the Universe.
The terrifying energy fluctuations, released when the double-edged sword shattered, further damaged various parts of Sanctuary I. With severe internal damage, and the outer shell breached, the internal and external pressure became imbalanced, and the air inside the battleship rapidly escaped.
Coupled with the flight crew falling unconscious, under the influence of various factors, the damage to Sanctuary I rapidly intensified, and various systems successively failed. This massive battleship was essentially destroyed.
Finding that Thanos had not returned to the ship, Lucas rushed out of the ship and into space.
At this moment, Thanos was somewhat disheveled. His golden armor was shattered, and his body was covered in bloodstains. A few glistening drops of blood were frozen by the low temperature of space, floating around him.
This was the first time either of them had bled since Lucas and Thanos began fighting.
"He's injured."
In the Mirror Dimension, Gamora and Nebula had followed.
Seeing Thanos bleed, they were somewhat disbelieving. For decades, they had never seen Thanos injured. Thanos's body seemed even tougher than the hardest material in the Universe.
Thanos glanced at Gamora and Nebula, then withdrew his gaze, wary of Lucas.
The Mirror Dimension could not block his perception. In fact, while he was fighting Lucas, he had shattered the surrounding space-time countless times.
Under Thanos's wary gaze, Lucas once again gripped the Power Stone. He moved, bursting with speed, and charged towards Thanos.
After losing the influence of gravity and the limitations of terrain, Lucas's speed fully unleashed. He was like a beam of glowing white light mixed with purple, shooting towards Thanos.
Thanos barely reacted, crossing his hands in front of his chest to block Lucas's attack, and was once again sent flying.
Lucas pressed in, turning into a flash of light, catching up to the retreating Thanos, and attacked again.
Drawing energy from the Power Stone, each strike was powerful and heavy, slamming into Thanos's body, continuously accumulating his injuries.
In this high-speed combat, the role of the five senses was infinitely weakened.
And Lucas's extraordinary perception transcended the five senses.
For a time, Thanos's skills could no longer be fully utilized, and he was beaten back by Lucas.
Thanos realized the situation was not good and fully activated the Mind Stone to boost his mental perception. But the enhancement of perception also made his pain more acute.
He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, but his eyes glowed with fierce intent.
He disregarded the danger, secretly and frantically drawing energy from the Mind Stone, quietly accumulating it within his body, making sure Lucas wouldn't notice. He planned to deliver a fierce blow to Lucas when he got close again.
The opportunity quickly arrived. This time, facing Lucas's heavy punch, Thanos no longer passively defended. Instead, he returned a heavy punch of his own.
The enhanced perception allowed him to successfully catch Lucas's movement again. The instant his fist struck Lucas, the accumulated power of the Mind Stone surged out frantically. He even disregarded whether it would harm himself.
Accompanied by a spatial rift, Lucas was sent flying by Thanos's punch.
And Thanos, who had abandoned his defense and endured Lucas's heavy punch, also flew backward.
After the strength competition and the skill competition, the third round, the void battle, ended.
Thanos grinned.
The warmth in his mouth dissipated, and his blood quickly congealed but Thanos didn't care.
This round, he had seized it, turning the tide.
Leveraging his height and arm reach advantage, his punch had landed on Lucas's head.
But was the situation truly as Thanos imagined?
Thanos looked in the direction Lucas had flown backward, the smile on his lips freezing along with the bloodstains.