Meanwhile, after blasting Thanos away, Li Yue assumed the Kamehameha stance, gathering his energy for a final, devastating attack on Thanos.
Having been sent flying several hundred meters by Li Yue's full-force strike, Thanos crashed through the forest surrounding the Avengers' base, breaking dozens of trees in his path. From a bird's-eye view, one could see a clear path of destruction carved through the dense forest.
Thanos finally stopped after smashing into a boulder, which shattered upon impact, burying him under the debris.
As Thanos struggled to free himself from the rubble, Li Yue completed charging his energy attack.
Facing the incredibly resilient Thanos, Li Yue showed due respect by using one of his most powerful energy attacks: a combination of half-thunder god power and half-blue spatial energy. The two energies intertwined harmoniously, forming a soccer ball-sized energy sphere with blue energy and silver lightning perfectly fused.
The radiant light from the energy sphere shone through Li Yue's fingers, resembling a miniature star, too bright to look at directly.
...
"Take this!"
With those words, Li Yue released the energy sphere toward Thanos, who had just broken free from the rubble. The sphere shot forward with a piercing sound, rapidly expanding as it traveled.
The energy sphere grew larger as it moved, forming a spiraling tail of silver and blue light, tearing through the air and the ground below, carving a ten-meter-wide, three-meter-deep trench as it advanced.
Anything in its path—trees, grass—was instantly incinerated, leaving no trace of burning but rather an impression of having been erased.
The sheer destructive power of Li Yue's attack was awe-inspiring. As Thanos braced himself, sensing the overwhelming energy approaching, his expression turned grim. He knew there was no time to dodge.
Understanding the futility of escape, Thanos stood his ground, spinning his double-edged sword at unprecedented speed to deflect the incoming attack. The sword spun so fast that it became a blur, seemingly disappearing.
...
The energy sphere, traveling just below the speed of sound, covered a distance of nearly 500 meters in about two seconds, expanding to a diameter of almost three meters—larger than Thanos himself.
As the energy sphere collided with Thanos, he roared in anger or pain. The impact triggered an explosion resembling a nuclear blast, with a mushroom cloud rising into the sky and unleashing a powerful shockwave.
The shockwave instantly vaporized trees within 200 meters of the blast center. Trees further away were left charred and stripped of branches, bent outward as if subjected to immense force.
High above, aboard the Sanctuary II, Ebony Maw, preparing the army for an attack, was stunned by the massive energy explosion. Such an explosion was unprecedented, and it was clear that Thanos had not caused it.
"Could it be that Lord Thanos is... No, impossible! Lord Thanos has never been defeated, especially not on a primitive planet like this!"
Ebony Maw tried to reassure himself.
"Lower the ship to the explosion site and prepare the army for deployment. It's time to assist Lord Thanos in conquering this planet!"
The ship began moving toward the explosion site.
...
Several seconds after the explosion, the residual shockwaves subsided, revealing a massive crater in the once-forested area.
At the center of the crater lay Thanos, motionless, with silver lightning occasionally crackling across his body. His golden armor was in tatters, and his helmet lay in scattered pieces.
Thanos' double-edged sword was no longer in his hand but lay about ten meters away, with one blade broken and the other heavily damaged.
Thanos' body was covered in numerous wounds, bleeding profusely.
"Cough, cough..."
Suddenly, Thanos' body convulsed, and with a weak cough, his eyes snapped open. Struggling to sit up, he coughed up more blood.
"I never thought... after all these years of conquering the universe, I would be defeated by a human... Cough, cough..."
Acknowledging his severe injuries, Thanos gave a bitter smile. Despite his condition, he forced himself to stand, staggering toward his broken weapon.
...
"Lord Thanos, are you alright?"
The sky darkened as the Sanctuary II descended, and Ebony Maw's voice reached Thanos from behind.
"Cough... I'm not dead yet."
Without turning, Thanos picked up his shattered weapon, eyes fixed on Li Yue in the distance, filled with fear and awe.
"Ebony Maw, gather the troops and prepare for an attack!"
"Yes, Lord Thanos. Our forces are ready and awaiting your command!"
"Good job."
"Begin the assault!"
"Objective: destroy this planet! Leave no humans alive!"