Cough, cough, this is normal! After all, such a massive burst of energy-generating heat is expected!"
Hearing Rhodes' remark, Li Yue remembered to check his right hand, which still had the Gauntlet on after snapping his fingers. Sure enough, his hand, still wearing the Gauntlet, emitted wisps of smoke like freshly baked food!
Although it didn't look promising, Li Yue wasn't harmed. His body's resilience was so great that this heat level barely registered.
"Here, Rocket, hold this for me. Don't give it to anyone else but me!"
"Next, we have other matters to attend to!"
Li Yue used his left hand to remove the still-warm Gauntlet and handed it to Rocket Raccoon for safekeeping.
"I told you not to call me that!"
"Never mind, considering you just snapped your fingers, I'll let it slide!"
Rocket complained while instinctively taking the Gauntlet from Li Yue.
"Wait, why are you giving this to me? And what are these other matters?"
Realising what he was holding, Rocket asked in surprise.
"You'll find out soon!"
Li Yue responded with a mysterious smile.
...
"So, is our plan successful now? Did we manage to bring back everyone who disappeared?"
Seeing that Li Yue was indeed unharmed, everyone relaxed. However, no one paid much attention to Li Yue's earlier words. Captain America, filled with anticipation and uncertainty, voiced his question.
"It seems... we did it!"
When the metal panels covering the windows slowly lifted, Ant-Man looked out and saw the revived scenery, exclaiming with joy! Birds in the yard suddenly seemed to multiply, chirping non-stop!
Ring... Ring...
The phone on the table in front of Hawkeye suddenly rang urgently, shocking him beyond measure! Ever since his family disappeared, his phone hadn't rung at all!
The sudden call suggested his family might have returned to the world!
"I'm sure we must have... really... succeeded!"
With a mixture of anxiety and hope, Hawkeye slowly picked up the phone. Seeing the familiar caller ID, he couldn't contain his excitement and shared the good news with everyone.
"Whoa, everyone, be careful!"
As everyone turned to look at Hawkeye, Ant-Man suddenly shouted!
...
"What's wrong, Scott? Even if we know we succeeded, there's no need to yell so loudly!"
Hearing Ant-Man's sudden shout, everyone turned to him, puzzled.
"Wait, that figure... could it be Mr. Li Yue? But how did he get there?"
However, Ant-Man seemed oblivious to their questions, standing dumbfounded, staring at the sky as if shocked by what he saw. He mumbled to himself as he watched.
"What do you mean, Mr. Li Yue? Isn't he right here... Whoa, where did he go? He was just here!"
Hearing Ant-Man mention Li Yue, Thor responded in confusion. But when he looked back to where Li Yue had been, he saw only Rocket and no sign of Li Yue!
"He... he disappeared right before my eyes without any warning!"
Rocket, holding the Gauntlet, stammered.
"He's already outside! It turns out that this was his real purpose for coming here! And he indeed came to help us!"
As everyone noticed Li Yue's sudden disappearance, Tony's voice came beside Ant-Man, looking up at the sky!
"Stark, what's going on? That ship looks like Thanos' ship!"
"It was this ship that slaughtered half my Asgardian people, including my friends and... Loki!"
Thor quickly joined them at the window, looking up to see a massive spaceship, his face turning grim with anger as he spoke.
...
"This is the price of time travel! You tampered with time, and now time is tampering with you! This was all destined!"
Tony, eyes fixed on a figure, spoke slowly. The figure was effortlessly blocking the bombardment from the spaceship! Those energy blasts were aimed at them, and without that figure blocking them, the Avengers' base would have been reduced to rubble!
"How is he doing that? Is it magic?"
Ant-Man, still in shock, asked as he watched the scene unfold.
"I'm not sure. The magicians I met used yellow magic, and he is blue! It seems different!"
"And I've never seen one this 'big' before!"
Tony answered seriously, though without giving a definitive answer.
...
Thor looked at the two, still discussing such trivial matters, feeling speechless. With Thanos reappearing, shouldn't they be more serious?
"Everyone, let's go and fight alongside him! We can't let Mr. Li Yue face Thanos' army alone! This is our responsibility, and Mr. Li Yue has helped us enough!"
Captain America, seeing the situation, spoke solemnly to everyone.
"Understood, Captain!"
...
Perhaps because Li Yue saved some time when he snapped, Thanos didn't start his bombardment immediately. When he did, Li Yue teleported to the sky to prevent the base from destruction.
Thanos' ship unleashed a wide range of white energy blasts like raindrops! Although Li Yue's strong body could withstand the bombardment, blocking each blast one by one would be exhausting!
So, Li Yue employed a simple magic shield to block the bombardment!
Other mages might not have been able to block such a wide area with an ordinary magic shield, but Li Yue was no ordinary mage! Using limited energy, regular mages could only create shields a few meters in diameter, just enough to protect themselves and a few others.
However, Li Yue's magic shield spanned nearly five hundred meters in diameter, constructed with an endless stream of energy in his mind, forming a bright blue barrier like a thin sheet of ice, covering the entire Avengers base!
Thanos' ship's powerful blasts could destroy any defence and couldn't even dent Li Yue's massive magic shield!
...
"Cease the bombardment! Let me meet this person myself!"
Aboard Sanctuary II, Thanos, wearing golden armour and wielding a double-edged sword, watched the scene below with surprise. He then ordered Ebony Maw with a hint of interest in his voice.
"Yes, Lord Thanos!"