Thanos stared at the silver-gray armored figure who had torn through his battleship to reach him. His expression was incredibly grim as he questioned,
"Who exactly are you? Whether in the past or the future, I have never seen you!"
Thanos racked his brain but could not recall when he had ever offended such a powerful individual!
He never expected that upon arriving in this Universe, he would encounter a powerhouse of this level!
Hearing this, the Symbiote on Ryan's right arm surged, forming a blade that gleamed with a cold light. He pointed the tip at Thanos and said coldly:
"Like you, I am an outsider from another Universe. However, unlike your goal of wiping out all life in this Universe, my purpose is specifically to kill you!"
After speaking, Ryan didn't wait for Thanos to reply. He kicked off the ground and shot toward Thanos like an arrow.
As a world-renowned cosmic tyrant, Thanos was naturally not that simple. The moment Ryan charged, he blocked with his thanoss double blades.
Clang——!
Even though Thanos reacted to Ryan's strike, he still underestimated Ryan's strength!
Facing Ryan's upward slash, Thanos was sent airborne by the sheer force of the blade, crashing through the battleship's ceiling and flying out!
Ryan didn't stop either. He bent his legs and leaped through the large hole Thanos had made to follow him!
Seeing this, the other members of the Black Order wanted to follow and help, but they were stopped by the elegant gesture of Ebony Maw, who said indifferently:
"Our Father hasn't encountered a decent opponent in a long time. Let him play this time. Our current task is to get the Infinity Stones from those ants below before Father's battle ends."
As the adopted son who had followed Thanos the longest and served as the strategist for his army, Ebony Maw possessed the highest command authority second only to Thanos.
So when he spoke, the other members of the Black Order abandoned the idea of following. They used the battleship's gravitational transport device to descend toward the Avengers Base on the ground.
There was no other choice. Ryan had just rampaged through the ship. Although the battleship hadn't crashed yet, Ryan had deliberately destroyed the entire weapons system.
Now, the Black Order had to personally seize the Infinity Stones from the Avengers.
What they didn't know, however, was that they weren't facing the fragmented Avengers of the past—which only consisted of Doctor Strange, Wong, Iron Man, and Spider-Man...
This time, they were facing the fully upgraded Avengers of the 2012 era!
Clang——!
On the roof of Sanctuary II, the Symbiote blade collided with the thanoss double blades once more. Ryan didn't budge, but Thanos was forced back several steps by the impact!
Thanos looked at his thanoss double blades, which had two visible notches and was vibrating incessantly, with a look of utter disbelief.
He was the most outstanding descendant of the Titan race, known for their strength, and his blade was forged from the hardest metal by the Universe's greatest master smith. How could he be defeated in both strength and durability!
So, was that really the case?
Yes, and no.
Undoubtedly, a fully buffed Ryan was indeed stronger than the tyrant Thanos in terms of raw power, perhaps by more than just a margin.
However, the Symbiote blade was far from being as hard as Thanos's weapon. After all, the thanos double blades could even shatter Vibranium, while Ryan's was merely a biological blade; it had its limits.
He was able to notch Thanos's blade entirely because of the Symbiote's infinite regeneration and his own miraculous strength!
As long as the Symbiote blade repaired itself fast enough, it was a divine weapon with zero wear and tear!
Ryan looked at his perfectly intact Symbiote blade just as Thanos did, but his eyes didn't hold disbelief; instead, they were filled with disappointment:
"Tsk, tsk. Little Thanos, you've really disappointed your Uncle Ryan. I thought you could at least give me a surprise, but it turns out you're just a Pro version of the brainless, strong Hulk..."
"Brainless and strong?" The astonishment in Thanos's eyes faded, replaced by sharpness, and his aura began to shift:
"My strength has never been just about power. It's because I always know what my ultimate goal is, and for that great goal, I will do whatever it takes!"
"No one can block this path. I am inevitable!"
With that, the gold-armored Thanos began to stride toward Ryan with heavy but determined steps, dragging his blade!
This caused Ryan to feel a faint sense of danger from Thanos!
Clearly, Thanos, the Cosmic Tyrant, was getting serious!
Sure enough, in the ensuing battle, Thanos stopped relying on pure strength and began utilizing the combat techniques he had honed over countless years!
Even for Ryan, who was a veteran of many battles, his combat techniques were more than a notch below those of Thanos!
After all, Ryan's fights were usually curb-stomps. In the early days, he mostly dealt with ordinary people with guns, and later against other superhumans, he mostly relied on overwhelming stats.
While he had his own unique fighting style, it certainly couldn't compare to a tyrant like Thanos who had campaigned across the Universe for countless years!
And this was exactly what Ryan wanted!
He lacked very little now... money was inexhaustible... strength-wise, he had surpassed Hulk and Thanos... as for superpowers, his Spider-Sense and the Symbiote's ability to devour and copy others' powers gave him more than enough variety... one of the few things he lacked was combat experience against the truly powerful!
Thanos, who had fought the strongest of countless races and possessed enough experience to take on the entire Avengers alone, was undoubtedly Ryan's best sparring partner.
Thus, Ryan, who always sought to maximize his gains, did not finish Thanos off quickly even though he could have.
Instead, he constantly absorbed Thanos's combat experience during the fight, strengthening himself through knowledge!
At a certain moment, Ryan suddenly changed his fighting style. To Thanos's surprise, Ryan's blade struck the thanos double blades using the exact same move Thanos had just used!
Clang——!
Axes and hammers collided. Thor's stormbreaker was clearly superior, sending Black Dwarf, who was attacking the Avengers Base, flying with a single strike!
Ebony Maw watched Black Dwarf flying toward him but had no intention of helping. Instead, he flicked his finger, using Telekinesis to toss the flying Black Dwarf aside!
Having gained the upper hand in the first clash with Thanos's Black Order, Thor couldn't help but shout trash-talk at the group led by Ebony Maw: "Is that all you've got?"