Compared to Ronan's joyous monster farming on one side, the battlefield on the other wasn't going as smoothly. Thanos's immense power was finally on full display.
If, during their first encounter, the Avengers were crushed under the might of the Infinity Stones, it was understandable—they were overpowered by the stones. This could be considered an objective reason for their defeat.
But now, with Thanos no longer in possession of the stones, relying solely on his raw strength and combat experience, he was still intimidating the Avengers' strongest heroes.
He was absurdly powerful!
For the Avengers, taking down Thanos was the main goal, but with the battle dragging on, stopping him from destroying the world left them with one option: returning the Infinity Stones to their rightful places.
Thus, the Infinity Gauntlet, embedded with six stones, became the prize everyone was after.
While Ronan was happily clearing the battlefield and racking up experience, his teammates were engaged in the final tug-of-war for the Gauntlet.
A classic Infinity Stone chase was now underway.
The Avengers adopted a relay race approach.
The Gauntlet first passed from Hawkeye to Black Panther. But after a brief run, Black Panther was intercepted by Thanos.
However, one person, destined to make Thanos lose face, appeared: Scarlet Witch.
Using the opportunity, Black Panther slipped away from behind Scarlet Witch—sly and quick.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark finally reunited with Stephen Strange.
"Hey, you once said we had a one-in-fourteen-million chance of winning," Tony said.
"Is this it?"
Tony finally asked the burning question on his mind, especially since, at the moment, things didn't look promising for them.
"If I told you, it wouldn't happen," Strange replied, not directly answering, but his message was clear—they had found their chance.
Tony nodded, and just as he was about to leave, he turned back.
"Uh… compared to that other Sorcerer Supreme, your riddle skills could use a little work. Keep practicing!"
With that, Tony flew off, leaving a thoroughly confused Stephen Strange behind.
Back on the battlefield, the handoff of the Gauntlet continued.
The entire battlefield was chaotic, but the Infinity Gauntlet in Black Panther's hands stood out.
Though he cleared many enemies easily, Black Panther was soon blocked by Ebony Maw.
So, he tossed the Gauntlet to Peter Parker.
With help from the "Mom Squad," Peter Parker made his way through the battlefield with ease. But Thanos, who had been getting pummeled by Scarlet Witch, couldn't take it anymore.
He issued the order for "Rainfire."
He didn't care that his own soldiers would be caught in the blast.
Thanos could never have imagined that this red-clad woman, pale and incredibly powerful, could push him to such a desperate situation.
She was even starting to tear off his armor!
Terrifying to think about!
If Thanos had seen some of the horror movies from the East, he would know that when a woman dies wearing red, she becomes a terrifying vengeful spirit.
And when you kill her lover in front of her—well, that's a recipe for deep, haunting hatred.
So, it was only natural that Scarlet Witch was beating him senseless.
But the barrage of fire from Thanos's ship soon bombarded the ground, with energy bombs scorching the earth and igniting massive flames.
Both Thanos's army and the Avengers were caught in this "fireworks display."
No doubt, the people of Japan would have a special understanding of such destruction.
"Noooo! F*ck you!" Ronan cursed as he watched the enemies around him get hit by bombs, dying one by one.
All he could do was shield himself with Raggador's Ring, while cursing Thanos under his breath, and occasionally using the Rings to divert some of the bombs for a bit of experience gain.
But even with Raggador's Ring, the experience points were less than before.
This system was stingy—why should it matter how the enemies were killed? Why was his experience being cut?
Ronan's heart ached as he watched.
Those were experience packages, each one of them!
Wasted by Thanos's bombing!
It was truly heartless!
Was this game supposed to have some kind of "denial" mechanic? Or was it that by denying the enemies their resources, Thanos grew stronger?
What was next—was Thanos secretly a pro-gamer?
As Ronan lamented, Scarlet Witch, who had been giving Thanos a severe beatdown, was finally hit by one of the bombs, putting an end to her "strip Thanos" plan.
Apparently, Lady Luck had no desire to see Thanos in his birthday suit either.
"Uh, guys…" came Pepper Potts's voice through Ronan's earpiece.
She had also joined the battle in her blue Rescue suit, flying in the sky. Pepper noticed something was happening at the shoreline.
The sea was about to surge onto the battlefield!
Strange glanced at the rising waters, and with a wave of his hands, unleashed the Winds of Watoomb.
A miracle of magic to control the tides!
Unfortunately, Ronan wasn't watching this classic scene. His attention was elsewhere.
The ship that had been bombarding the ground suddenly shifted its focus to the sky.
All the artillery was now firing into the dark clouds above.
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
But Ronan knew exactly what was happening: another powerful woman had arrived to challenge Thanos.
Thor and Steve Rogers might have been able to hold their own against Thanos for a few rounds, but that's about it.
Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel, on the other hand, were a different story. These two weren't just trading blows with Thanos—they were dominating him.
One nearly stripped him naked, and the other was about to crash head-on with him in a "friendly greeting."
Captain Marvel, especially, could overpower Thanos.
Female heroes seemed to be far more formidable than their male counterparts.
Just then, Captain Marvel, with her new haircut, streaked across the sky like a shooting star, smashing directly into Thanos's warship.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rocked the battlefield, and everyone saw Captain Marvel tear through the side of Thanos's ship, causing a massive explosion before flying out the other side.
Then, she looped around and repeated the move from a different angle.
Oh no, she's cheating!
Ronan voiced what Thanos was surely thinking.
Even Thanos, mighty as he was, had rarely seen such a spectacle.
But for Captain Marvel, empowered by the Space Stone, this was business as usual.
Ronan, too, was no stranger to such power.
He could almost drool at the thought of it.
If only he could destroy a massive ship like that, the amount of experience he'd gain would be through the roof!
But that was just wishful thinking.
After Thanos's indiscriminate bombing, most of the experience packages had already been wiped out.
Now, only a few big targets remained.
Ronan's eyes shifted toward Ebony Maw.
And then, upward... to Thanos.
Taking a deep breath, Ronan steeled himself.
"Mana... no, System, add points!"