Chapter 4041

Thanos was sitting in the throne room of the Dark Quadrant, looking at the defense map in silence.

For so many years, the planet he once called his base camp, which contained his countless ambitions and expectations, had been sealed off, unable to make any progress in the changing decade or so, and even the defensive measures were lagging behind terribly. Those generals who once followed him into battle had even let their martial arts skills go to waste.

And now, outside the base camp, there were six Magnetos. Six.

Thanos was already considering what to say to Death when he saw her again this time.

"Thanos, I believe this is a situation neither of us wants to see." Charles's voice rang in his mind. This meant that the Dark Quadrant's shields couldn't stop him at all.

Thanos didn't respond to him, only saying with some mockery: "I didn't expect you to think so highly of me, actually sending so many Magnetos."

And Charles, far away in the Andromeda Galaxy, didn't speak. In fact, this wasn't sent by him, but rather, upon hearing that they were going to fight Thanos, this group of people took the initiative to go there.

At the time, they wanted to just send Erik alone, as after all, this Thanos now had no Infinity Gauntlet, no fierce generals, and not much of an army left, and the base had no defense to speak of; one hand could handle him.

But unfortunately, Thanos from other universes was indeed famous, and mutants from other universes all thought this was a great battle and insisted on following. This time, it wasn't just six Magnetos who went, but also a bunch of Scarlet Witches, Phoenixes, Psylockes, Cyclopses, and Vulcans, etc., from other universes.

And it wasn't just one; there were basically five or six of each of the above. Let's put it this way: even if the Eternal Temple were in this encirclement now, Eternity would have to weigh it carefully.

Of course, mutants and Thanos had no deep hatred. The act of snapping his fingers didn't cause much destruction in the comic universe, as there were plenty of world-ending events more outrageous than this.

Moreover, mutants in the comics jumped through time at the drop of a hat; for them, half the people missing at a certain time node really wasn't a big deal, as there was still "No More Mutants" anyway.

But their relationship with Batman was even more distant; many mutants didn't even know why they had come to fight this battle, and most were just here to join in the fun. However, having waited for a long time in the Andromeda Galaxy without getting a turn to take action, they had long been somewhat impatient.

Finally getting a job to intercept reinforcements, it ended up being the young mutants who went. This time, hearing that they were going to fight Thanos, most people used the excuse of going on a mission to go out and get some fresh air.

It was just tough on Thanos. When that monkey committed a heavenly crime back then, the lineup of pursuers wasn't this luxurious. To deal with a small administrative chief like him, they actually went and copied a whole list of Omega-level mutants. Even if he died, was buried, and the grass on his grave was three meters high, he would still have to shout from the grave—was this really necessary?!

The mutants didn't care about this. Although they didn't know why they were fighting Thanos, they were here anyway. Today, your head is ours, Thanos!

And in the main universe, far away on Apokolips, Batman also received this news. He knew it must have been Schiller and the others who had meddled, making the other side mistakenly believe this was Thanos's conspiracy, so they were preparing to eliminate this mole first.

Sure enough, not long after, Arkham Batman and Schiller's group returned to headquarters, also bringing back three Infinity Stones.

One was the Eye of Agamotto, one was the stone from the Grandmaster, and one was snatched from the hands of the main universe Doctor Strange, which was the stone from the Collector.

So now, they had three, and the other side only had two. If they could find the whereabouts of the missing Soul Stone, that would be four against two.

Moreover, the two stones the other side possessed were all in Asgard. As long as Asgard could be breached, it wasn't impossible for them to get them. And Asgard was currently bearing the brunt of the frontal attacks from two major enemy empires, and the pressure was also very high; if they added fuel to the fire, perhaps they really could breach it. In other words, now, they were the ones with the hope of gathering all the stones.

"Soul Stone..." the main universe Batman murmured softly. In terms of finding stones, the Sanctum Sanctorum had too much of an advantage; perhaps they had already locked onto its whereabouts. So, should they go and find it, or watch them and snatch it directly?

After a moment of hesitation, the main universe Batman chose the latter. Finding a stone in an entire universe was like looking for a needle in a haystack; it was better to wait until the other side got it and then snatch it.

But who would the other side send to find the stone?

Mutants were unlikely; a portion were held up near Centauri by Superman, and another portion went to deal with Thanos. Besides, the Infinity Stones had stronger magical attributes and had nothing to do with mutants.

Then, the most likely candidate was actually the mage of this universe, or rather, the Sorcerer Supreme of this universe.

The main universe Batman didn't know that the Eye of Agamotto was actually handed over by Strange. Although Constantine knew something was wrong with this, he didn't tell Batman. Therefore, Batman felt that the other side must be very eager to get the Infinity Stones, so the Sorcerer Supreme was the safest candidate.

Therefore, they only needed to keep an eye on Strange and understand his movements, and they might be able to find the whereabouts of the Soul Stone.

As for how to keep an eye on him, there were ways. The Flash was the best candidate for tailing, and the Martian Manhunter's psychic network allowed them to communicate in real-time. As long as Strange's figure was spotted in any corner, reporting it immediately would give them a high probability of blocking him.

Of course, other mages couldn't be let off either, otherwise, it wouldn't be good if they played the "sneaking across the sea" trick.

After arranging the tasks, the main universe Batman began to think again: should they intervene in the mutants' encirclement of Thanos?

In the view of the main universe Batman, Thanos of the Central Universe was inferior to Darkseid in every aspect. The Dark Quadrant wasn't as strong as the Apokolips domain, and Thanos himself didn't have a killer move like the Omega Beams; although he had impressive records in other universes, this universe clearly hadn't developed, and the strategic value didn't seem very high.

But the so-called enemy of an enemy is a friend; Thanos at least had the identity of the administrative chief of the Interstellar Security Council, which was similar to a police chief, and he was a local snake after all. The various intelligence he held was the most valuable.

Batman's side was originally fighting an away game, and the biggest disadvantage was the lack of intelligence. The main universe Batman arranged for Constantine to go to the market planet to collect intelligence precisely to make up for this deficiency.

But now that planet full of black markets had exploded directly, and this had also caused panic in Centauri, with all kinds of intelligence peddlers scattered; even if they spent money to buy, they couldn't buy any decent intelligence. This was very unfavorable for subsequent operations.

As long as Thanos hadn't been removed from office, his official identity was very useful. Currently, it seemed that his management during his tenure was still very good, and the Interstellar Alliance shouldn't have any intention of removing him.

Should they save him? The main universe Batman pondered.

Before he could think of a result, he had already received a distress message from Thanos.

In the throne room of the Dark Quadrant, Thanos closed his eyes after sending the message. Anyway, if Batman didn't come, he had no room to struggle; with that big bunch outside, even if he died at their hands, he could still boast to the Goddess of Death—being besieged by multiverse mutants could truly be called a glorious funeral.

However, Thanos was confident that Batman should save him. His years of management weren't for nothing; the identity of the Director of the Interstellar FBI carried significant weight. Moreover, in the market planet battle, he was a suspect, but Batman couldn't escape either. Once he was finished off, it would be Batman's turn. With so many mutants, Apokolips would also have to tremble.

Currently, it seemed that if they wanted to lift the mutant threat, they had to rely on the Infinity Stones. And Batman didn't have a local intelligence system, so if they wanted to find the Infinity Stones, didn't they have to rely on him?

Just as Thanos was thinking, a figure landed in front of the main hall; it was Magneto from the Central Universe.

"Long time no see, Thanos."

Thanos sneered and said, "Long time no see, you damn robber."

"You are truly stubborn."

"That's what I should say to you." Thanos stood up, looked at him, and said, "Killing me won't change your nature as a robber who endangers interstellar security. Justice may be late, but it will never be absent."

"Then go to your death with your naive thoughts." Erik sneered. "From now on, no one will be able to stop me again."

The two stared at each other coldly, neither willing to give an inch, neither willing to let their momentum weaken by even half.

Although mutants from other universes had no deep hatred for Thanos, the ones from the Central Universe were different.

The Mutant Brotherhood of the Central Universe was a well-known interstellar terrorist group. In the early days of the Andromeda Galaxy's development, what they did was highway robbery.

And Thanos had always followed the path of maintaining interstellar security. Although he hadn't become a high-ranking official at that time, it was precisely to climb up that he spared no effort in formulating various policies to crack down on the Mutant Brotherhood.

Thanos was a very talented person, and the various security policies he formulated, as well as the grassroots defense lines he organized, created very big trouble for the Mutant Brotherhood.

And when Thanos reached a high position, they fought even more fiercely, both wanting to step on the other to get ahead, even developing into armed conflicts at one point. Don't look at Thanos's lack of individual ability, but after all, he had the backing of the three major empires, and both sides had casualties, already locked in a life-and-death struggle.

"No matter what, today is your death day." Magneto extended a hand and said.

"I am the last Titan, but I will never be the last defender of interstellar security. You will surely fail, Magneto." Thanos's eyes were also surging with the light of ion energy.

Their conversation left the mutants outside the door confused.

Wait, is there something wrong with these roles? We came to fight the evil demon king Thanos, right? How come it sounds like the demon king is actually me?

Not just them, Professor X, who was sitting in the Andromeda Galaxy, was also full of question marks. They were even more confused than the other mutants because they could hear that Thanos wasn't lying, nor was he just being stubborn; everything he said was true.

But everything he said was our lines!

What do you mean "Justice may be late, but it will never be absent"? What do you mean "I will not be the last defender of interstellar security"? How come this sounds a bit tragic?

They couldn't help but cast frequent glances at Charles, really wanting to ask: what did you all do to make Thanos look like a positive character?

The problem is, if he dies like this, won't he really become a hero who died for a just cause?!

But even if Professor X wanted to stop it, it was too late. When the magnetic storm and ion energy collided, the sky of the Dark Quadrant changed color. And when the Scarlet Power was also mixed in, Thanos no longer had any chance of winning.

The tall Titan knelt down on one knee, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. He stared fixedly at the figure in mid-air and said, "History will remember my choice, and it will also remember yours."

"History will only remember my greatness."

Erik walked up to him, extended a hand, manipulated Thanos to float into the air, and then a electromagnetic cannon directly pierced Thanos's chest.

But just at this moment, a red light suddenly lit up, and Erik and Thanos disappeared simultaneously, leaving no trace.

?? Laughing to death, hero Thanos